//------------------------------// // Weakness... // Story: Struggles // by Echo Breeze //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash didn't know what had gotten into Sunset since she left her this morning. She was okay before Rainbow left her, so something must have happened after that. She was going to find out soon enough though. Running after Sunset through the halls of Canterlot High wasn't an easy task as there were a lot of students still milling about on their way to the cafeteria for lunch, but Rainbow managed to keep Sunset in her sights the whole way, Applejack not far behind. They turned a corner on the third floor in time to see the door to one of the least used bathrooms in Canterlot High swing closed. Rainbow managed to make it all the way there before the door closed fully, bursting into the room to see Sunset standing, staring into the mirror with the cold glint of steel showing through her fingers. "Sunset, you okay?" Rainbow asked carefully. She didn't need to see Sunset's face to know that she had been crying. "Do I look okay, Dash?" Sunset deadpanned. "Oookay. I'm gonna take that as a no then." Rainbow replied. "Ah can see yer not okay, sugarcube. May ah ask what's eatin' ya. As yer friends, we'll always be there ta listen if ya need it." Applejack said from the door. "Alright then, get inside and shut the door. I don't want this to leave this room." Sunset said, turning her puffy, red gaze towards Applejack. Applejack did as she was told, and turned to face Sunset, Rainbow doing the same thing. "It all started on the night of the fall formal…" __________________________________________ The last thing Sunset remembered before putting the crown on her head was a sense of triumph at finally succeeding in her plans. After the crown was on, all she remembered was pain. Al the pain she had caused as a bully over three years. Pain caused by abandoning her mentor in Equestria. Pain as she felt her mind being torn apart. Suddenly, she had more power than she ever dreamed of, and she hated it, but she was no longer in control of her body… __________________________________________ "That's one of the reasons why I was in tears at the bottom of the crater. I had no control over what I was doing. It was like all my dark desires and arrogance were given sentience and I was pushed to the back of my mind like an afterthought." Sunset said, tears forming in her eyes again. "And don't get me started on the pain from the rainbow laser blast. Imagine that your mind is being stitched together like the hem on one of Rarity's dresses, and having those extra appendages burned off." She said as she turned away from them and lifted her shirt. What Applejack and Rainbow Dash saw, made them gasp in surprise. "I have these now as a permanent reminder of what happened that night." Sunset said, tears falling down her cheeks, as she lowered her shirt again. "Sunset, why didn't ya tell us. We coulda helped ya get through this." Rainbow said in surprise at the new information. "I'm not used to having anybody to help me with anything. I've always been on my own." Sunset said. "But this isn't the end of it. I got home that night to find that my apartment was broken into…" Applejack and Rainbow Dash gasped again. "How can so much bad luck happen ta one person in a single day. Ah don't understand it, why does it have ta happen ta someone with so much potential for good." Applejack said, half to herself. "I don't know AJ," Rainbow said, looking a little crestfallen. "I don't know." "It's fine girls. Insurance paid out, and I now have a neat truck to fix up as well, so it's not all that bad." Sunset said, trying to cheer them up. "That's not the worst of the last week leading up until today. Almost every night, I am plagued by nightmares and my inner demons. And last Monday, when I had gone to get replacements for all my stolen stuff, I was confronted by Trixie. She made me feel bad to the point where I didn't want to leave my apartment, but I fought through it, arriving here today. It took a lot, because the whole week, I stayed in my apartment, I never left once." Rainbow was fuming. She knew something must've happened, but she never would have thought that it was that bad. She wanted to punch Trixie in the face. "And to top it all off, after you left me Dash, I got to my locker and found several hateful letters, including this one from Gilda." Sunset said, opening her hand to reveal a crumpled note. Rainbow took it and unrolled it. She instantly recognised Gilda's handwriting. "After I found that, she cornered me. After the altercation, I ran like a bat out of hell to get here…" Rainbow Dashand Applejack could not believe what they were hearing. Here Sunset was, no longer the arrogant, self-centered bully she once was, but a vulnerable teenager beating herself up for past mistakes. "And to top it all off, my inner demons, as well as the literal one, are bringing up the past shit I did. I just feel like whatever I do, I'm just not gonna make a difference. It makes me feel that I don't deserve friends like you girls." Sunset said dejectedly. "I just feel so worthless." "Now Sunset. Ah can't say ah know what yer goin' through, but ah can say that as yer friends, we will help ya get through it, togeth'r." Applejack said. "Yea, because that's totally what friends are for." Rainbow Dash said in excitement. "And that is the honest truth." Applejack said while nodding her head. "But… Yer gonna hafta bring this up with the others so we can all help ya when ya need it." "Thanks girls, this means the world to me right now, but I can't promise to always come to you for help. I'm kinda used to going it alone…" Sunset said with a determined look. __________________________________________ "I wonder if leaving Sunset Shimmer in that world was really a good idea, Spike?" Princess Twilight said, pacing around in her library while awaiting the delivery of the mirror portal. Princess Celestia tasked her with watching over it for the foreseeable future. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Twilight. Our friends on that side will look out for her. I'm sure of it." Spike said, walking into the library holding a mug of tea for Twilight. "I know, but I can't help but worry. This is her home too." Twilight said, stopping her pacing to gaze forlornly out the castle window.