//------------------------------// // 14. The Power of Friendship (Part 1) // Story: Sunset's Wonderful Life // by sonicfan05 //------------------------------// Sunset didn't dare to look up. She couldn't bring herself to look up to see her friend jumped off the bridge. Instead, she kept herself buried into her arms and wept, blaming herself for not being able to save her friend… and her beloved crush. "I want to live again… I want to live again… I want to–" Sunset was interrupted by her sorrow when she felt someone touching her shoulder. "Sunset? Sunset are you okay?" Sunset grunted and tried to wave her intruder off. "Not now Twilight! Can't you see that I'm mourning for y--" Sunset ceased her crying and lifted her head up in realization after hearing a very familiar voice. Hoping it wasn't a cruel dream, Sunset slowly turned around and then gasped when she saw who it was and filled her with so much joy. "TWILIGHT!" Sunset exclaimed. Before her friend could react, Sunset immediately hugged tightly around her, never wanting to let her go again.  "Twilight… you're okay!" Sunset whispered, letting a few tears of joy leaking down her face. "Um… of course I'm okay Sunset," her friend responded before she chuckled softly. "Wow, I know it's been a while since I last visited you from Equestria, but I didn't know you missed me that much!" Sunset eyes flew open from her words. Slowly she brought herself out of the embrace and properly looked over her friend. Twilight was wearing a purple sweater with a violet coat over it, dark purple winter pants, light purple boots and white fluffy earmuffs. Sunset immediately blushed when she realized that not only this Twilight had longer hair and wasn't wearing her glasses, but also the fact that she was speaking to a different Twilight. "Oh, Princess Twilight!" Sunset exclaimed before she immediately backed away, feeling embarrassed from her behavior from earlier. "I'm… I'm so sorry! I… I was just–" "No, it's okay Sunset," Princess Twilight insisted, despite the blush on her cheeks. She then quickly cleared her throat. "You must have gone through a lot tonight! With the party ruined twice and that CHS is in danger of closing down by the mayor." Sunset was taken aback from Princess Twilight's statement. "H-how did you know?" "The girls already explained it to me after they used your journal to call me over," Princess Twilight explained. "...oh. I see," Sunset said softly as she sadly looked away. "Are they still mad at me? I don't blame them after everything that happened." Princess Twilight stared at Sunset in disbelief. "Mad? They're worried sick! You disappeared for a long time after your outburst and they were afraid that something happened to you. After I came over, we organized a search party to find you, the CMC's and this world's Spike all over the town!" She then smiled. "Thank Celestia that you're okay!" Sunset was taken aback by how her friends went through all of the efforts of finding her for her safety, despite everything that happened. "You…all worried about me?" Sunset spoke quietly, nearly on the verge of tears. "They… still cared about me?" "Of course we're worried about you!" said Princess Twilight with a caring smile. "We all care about you Sunset… especially the other me!" "Other you?" Sunset asked slowly before her eyes widened with realization. "You mean my Twilight?" Princess Twilight giggled from the way Sunset had phrased her human version. "Yes. She was the one who organized a search party to find you. Despite that you were missing for three hours, she wouldn't stop resting until she finds you and knows that you're safe, along with the others!" Princess Twilight then frowned. "Poor girl was running herself ragged. But I guess I would be worried too if someone I cared about was missing." ...Twilight, Sunset thought with a somber expression. Even after everything I said and done, she still wanted to be my friend. And my friends… they needed me as much as I needed them! I will never leave them behind and doubted myself ever again. I will go back and be with them… even if this is my last night. There were some things that Sunset was concerned about and needed to be sure. She looked at Princess Twilight in the eyes with a desperate expression. "Anything happened in Equestria?" Sunset asked. "And how are you and your friends?" Princess Twilight gave Sunset her confused look. "Oh, well… other than saving the world from my former student of my school, Equestria was fine!" she answered before smiling. "In fact, it is just as lively as ever, especially that Hearth's Warming is just around the corner. As for me, I was busy with my royal duties, but I was fine and so are my friends. We're actually going to spend the holidays at my castle tomorrow to celebrate Hearth's Warming and you're more than welcome to join if you want!" Sunset felt touched that Princess Twilight was inviting her to a Hearth's Warming party back at her castle Equestria. If only she knew that Sunset was persuaded to go back to her homeworld permanently, but Sunset to put that issue aside for now. "And… Princess Celestia?" Sunset added with anticipation. "Oh she's fine!" said Princess Twilight. "Busy, but she is fine. She really missed you since your last visit to Canterlot." Sunset let out a huge sigh of relief. Oh, thank goodness! Equestria is okay! My teacher is okay! My friends are okay! Everything is okay! Sunset's thoughts were interrupted when she felt Princess Twilight touching her shoulder. She looked up to see her concerned expression. "Sunset… are you okay?" Twilight asked quietly. It was then that Sunset was finally aware that she was crying. However, those weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of happiness and relief. She quickly wiped them away. "Sorry, I… I'm just glad you're here," Sunset said softly. Twilight gave Sunset her caring look. "Of course I'm here Sunset! I'm always here for my friends!" She then broke off her hug. "C'mon, let's get you back to CHS and let everyone know you're okay." As Twilight turned around, Sunset spoke up. "Twilight?" When she got her friend's attention, Sunset gave Twilight a look of gratitude. "… thank you," said Sunset softly. Twilight tilted her head. "For finding you?" Sunset smiled. "For giving me another chance so many moons ago… and for being a good friend." As she and Princess Twilight were heading back to the school, Sunset was immediately relieved after seeing the town's name back to Canterlot City and not Dazzling City. She was also glad that none of the buildings were destroyed from Midnight Sparkle and that the town folk was happy and healthy instead of hopeless and despair due to the Sirens’ greed. Everything seemed like it was back to normal, but Sunset wasn't completely convinced until she sees the school and her friends. The two teenaged girls eventually arrived at the school. Sunset was not only relieved when she saw her school back to the original look but also happy to see the sign which said: Canterlot High School. Keeping her tears at bay, Sunset bowed her head with a smile on her face. I never thought that I'll be so happy to see my school again! Thank goodness that I'm back! "You okay Sunset?" Princess Twilight asked, noticing her friend acting very quiet all of a sudden. Sunset looked up to her friend with an assuring smile. "I am now Twilight. Now let's head inside." So Sunset and Princess Twilight walked through the main school doors and headed towards the gym. As soon as they entered the gym, Sunset couldn't believe what she was seeing. She spotted many students running around with their cell phones close to their ears, talking frantically. There was also a small group at the corner of the room, going over a huge map of the town and neighborhood with Xs at certain areas with a photo of her, along with the CMC’s and Spike. Sunset also noticed some other people like Gloriosa Daisy, Timber Spruce, Juniper Montage and (to Sunset’s surprise) some Crystal Prep among the group including the Shadowbolts who apparently joined in on the search as well. While this was going on, no one even noticed Sunset and Princess Twilight in the room at all. "Wha...what's all this?" Sunset asked quietly with a stunned expression. "I told you Sunset," Princess Twilight replied. "After you disappeared, your friends organized a search party for you and the others. Everyone felt really bad about how they treated you and the stress you went through to organize this party for them, so we all pitched in to help look for you, as well as the CMC's and Spike. Even the people from Camp Everfree and Crystal Prep who heard of what happened had volunteered to help search for you!" "They're... all helping out… to find... me?" she asked softly, feeling her eyes welled up a bit. She never thought anyone outside of her friends would even bother to help find her, especially with her “history” and her “episode” a couple of hours back. But seeing both the student body and many others going through the trouble to help find her whereabouts just to come back safely really touched Sunset. She really felt like she truly belonged here. Just as she was going to ask Princess Twilight where her friends are, she heard a shout from the side. "You listen here buster!"  Sunset turned, only to see her Twilight yelling at her cell phone close to the markerboard with written locations ideas of where the missing people are. From the look of things, Twilight’s hair looked a bit frazzled, probably due to the stress of finding her and the others. Sunset could also sworn that Twilight’s eyes looked red and puffy. Sunset wondered had her friend been crying after she disappeared. She felt horrible for leaving her friend like that after her blow up. She then heard Twilight spoke up again. "You better stop stuffing your face with donuts, get off of your butt and actually do your job or I'll have my brother have your badge! You got it!?" Twilight hanged up the phone and then let out a frustrated and distressful sigh as she buried her face on her hand. Before Sunset could approach her, she saw Rarity already at Twilight’s side. "Any luck darling?" Rarity asked. "No," Twilight sighed with a resentful frown. "Officer Blind Eye thinks finding those missing students are too insignificant for his job!" Rarity had a look of disgust. "Are you serious!? How is finding our missing friend and sisters insignificant? That officer should be fired!" At that moment, Applejack approached the two of them with a frown on her face. "Any luck AJ?" Twilight asked. Applejack shook her head. "Nope, nothin'! Everyone is still lookin' fer Sunset and our sisters! We’re trying our best to search every crook and cranny in this town!" Suddenly, Applejack was interrupted when Octavia walked over to her.  "Sunset is not at her home," she said. "Well look again!" Applejack responded. As Octavia walked away, Lyra approached Applejack.  Sunset is not at the mall!" she said. "Well look again!" said Applejack with a sigh. As Lyra walked away, Trixie approached her with an annoyed expression. "Well she's not in Trixie's thoughts," Trixie announced dully. Applejack huffed at the magician. "WELL THINK AGAIN!" During that commotion, Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared from her speed ability with a determined look. "Me and my search team are going downtown again!” Rainbow Dash said as she put on her winter coat. “But this time, I won't be back until I find them." "Here are the missing fliers that me and Pinkie made!" said Fluttershy as she and Pinkie approached the girls. “I even made you some snacks while you’re out there!” Pinkie added as she handed the snacked to Rainbow Dash. "But Rainbow Dash, we've been looking for hours, we don't know where Sunset or the others are!" Rarity protested. "I can search all night if I have to!" Rainbow retorted as she was putting away the snacks and flyers into her backpack. "I won't give up on them, especially Sunset!” She looked down with a guilty expression. “I… I wanted to apologize to her from how I acted earlier!" "You're not the only one Rainbow Dash," said Twilight with a sigh. "We all need to apologize to her, especially me! I felt like I'm the cause of all of this!" Applejack placed her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. "Oh Sugarcube, it's not yer fault that Sunset and the others are missin'!" "Even so, I still made it worse," Twilight retorted with tears in her eyes. "If only I told her sooner about Timber and me! And to also tell her how much I–" "Um… hey everyone!" Everyone stopped what they were doing the moment they heard Sunset spoke. When they all turned to see her, everyone in the gym gasped. "SUNSET!" Her friends exclaimed. Before Sunset could utter a single word, her friends immediately ran up to her and engulfed her into a tight group hug. "Where were ya?" "Are you okay?" "Are you hurt?" "Do you want me to bring you something warm to wear?" "Do you need a cupcake?" As her concerned friends kept bombarding her with their questions, for the first time since before this whole incident started, Sunset laughed. Despite that her tears were flowing down from her cheeks, she continued to laugh wholeheartedly, feeling overwhelmingly happy that she was with her friends again. No alternative universe or any unfortunate events could ever take that happy moment away from her. Sunset began to calm down somewhat when she noticed her friends were giving her their strange and concerned looks. "Girls, girls, it's okay! I'm okay!" Sunset said merrily as she wiped her eyes. "In fact, I'm more than okay! I never felt so happy in my entire life! And it's almost Christmas! We should be happy and celebrate life instead of frowns and sadness!” Sunset then raised her arms and cheered, “Merry Christmas CHS! Merry Christmas everyone! Feliz Navidad! And a Happy New Year!" Everyone including her friends felt even more concerned after seeing how overwhelmingly happy Sunset was as opposed to when she was having a breakdown hours ago. "Oh boy… Sunset had finally lost it!" Rainbow commented. “Yeah, she definitely went loco in the coco!” Pinkie agreed. "Oh no… I think the poor dear was out in the cold for too long!” said Rarity. “Should we get her some hot soup?" Fluttershy asked in a worried tone. “Maybe we should get Nurse Redheart?” Applejack suggested. After hearing her friends’ concerns, Sunset quickly stepped away and raised her palms out to her friends. "No girls! I am not sick or have lost my mind! Honest! I was just..." Sunset paused. "Well, let's just say… a lot has happened while I was away.” She then let out a long sigh. “Anyway... I wanted to apologize to all of you for how I was behaving.” The girls gave Sunset their looks of understanding and sympathy. “Oh sugarcube,” Applejack began. “You don’t need to apologize to us. We’re–” “No no, I need to do this,” Sunset interrupted firmly. “What I said and how I acted towards you girls and everyone else was... out of line.” Sunset set her eyes on Pinkie Pie first, who still had straight and flat hair. "Pinkie Pie… what I said to you about your jokes and laughter is stupid and that you never take anything seriously… I'm really sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. I know you always take things seriously and that you just wanted to make people smile, including me. And the truth is… I always enjoyed your jokes, your laughter and your bubbly personality. Those always made me smile… and that you are my friend!” Touched from her friend’s apology, Pinkie Pie had a sweet smile on her face with tears in her eyes. "Aww, Sunny!” Suddenly, Pinkie’s hair changed back to her poofy look before she gave Sunset her big hug. “Of course I forgive you Sunny! Parties may be crazy and silly at times, but my friends are what really made me smile! It brings me so much joy that me being your friend means so much to you!” Sunset hugged back. “You and me both Pinkie.” Sunset broke her hug from Pinkie and turned to Rainbow Dash next. "Rainbow Dash… I'm sorry for accusing you of never being loyal to me and calling you an insensitive jerk. It was uncalled for and… you were nothing but loyal to me and I was too angry, stressed and a big… jerk to see it. I hope you forgive me!" Rainbow Dash had a look of surprise before her expression changed to her caring look. "Well duh! Of course I forgive you Sunset!” said Rainbow Dash as she playfully punched Sunset’s shoulder with a smile. She then frowned and rubbed at the back of her neck. “That is... if you forgive me for not being cool with you either and acting like a hothead? I… was never really good at talking about my feelings.” Sunset nodded before placing her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I know, but I’m glad I have such an awesome friend like you and thanks for always sticking by me.” Rainbow Dash simply smiled at Sunset. With a heavy sigh, Sunset talked to Rarity next. "Rarity… I’m sorry for what I said to you earlier. I take back what I said about you being selfish and that your clothes are… are…” “Stupid?” Rarity guessed. Sunset inwardly winced from that word but she nodded. “Y-yeah, that. But they’re not stupid at all! You always make the best clothes and you are an amazing and generous person, as well as beautiful both inside and outside. You are an inspiration to us all... even me!” “...oh Darling,” Rarity cooed while trying to keep her tears at bay. “You don’t need to apologize Sunset! While your comment from earlier stung me a lot, I was at fault too for fussing over some clothes over my friend’s feelings!” “But you were also stressed and upset from the sabotage of your clothes and my anger made things worse,” Sunset pointed out in shame. “Can you ever forgive me Rares?” Rarity smiled sweetly before hugging Sunset. “Only if you forgive me Darling.” Once they broke the hug, Sunset turned to Fluttershy. She also burst into tears after seeing her, remembering what happened to her in the alternate world. Still, Sunset kept herself composed and spoke to her friend in a gentle manner. "Fluttershy… I’m really sorry for calling you a wimp and took my frustration out on you. You’re actually a wonderful, strong and caring person and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, including me!” Sunset sighed sadly. “I don’t deserve any of your kindness you’ve been giving me... or your friendship.” Sunset was suddenly engulfed into a hug by Fluttershy, who was giving her her watery smile. "It's okay Sunset,” said Fluttershy. “I forgive you and I don't blame you for acting that way. And as I told you multiple times, everyone deserves a little kindness, including you. And I’m blessed to have you as my friend!" Sunset teared up. "You really are an angel Flutters!" Finally, she faced Applejack and look at her farmer friend in the eye. "Applejack, I… I'm sorry for accusing you of being a liar and… said all those terrible things I said to you about not caring about me at all... and bad-mouthing your family member! What you called me earlier really hurt me, but that’s no excuse for the way I blew you and everyone up like that. Can you forgive me?” Applejack smiled softly before she gave Sunset a quick hug. "Ah shucks Sugarcube, I fergive ya!” said Applejack. She then frowned somberly, feeling ashamed of herself. “But to tell ya the truth… Ah'm the one who should be apologizing to you fer acting like a mule from earlier… along with other things. What Ah said was also out of line. You’ve done nothin’ but good to us all this time and when things went wrong, I kept throwin’ yer past to yer face. Ah wasn’t being fair to ya and Ah should’ve known that it was still a sore spot to ya. If anythang… Ah was a terrible friend!” Stunned from her friend’s words, Sunset shook her head. "Applejack, you’re not a terrible–" "Now look here Sunset," Applejack said sternly before stepping back. "We were just to blame for this party debacle as you are and we did a terrible job of not only helping you for the party, but also defending you when everything was falling apart.” She then turned and glared at someone from the crowd. “Especially after some people who decided to unnecessarily badmouth ya on Christmas of all days!” Some students in the crowd bowed their heads down in shame for partaking in ridiculing Sunset from earlier, especially Trixie for calling Sunset that "nickname", which caused the tipping point of Sunset breakdown. Applejack shook her head at them in disappointment before bringing her attention back to Sunset. “Anyways, we realized you were highly stressed from this and it was unfair of us to pin the blame on ya like that. We were even worried that something happened to ya when you left and it was our mission to find you and… our sisters. And since yer finally here, we just want to say…” Applejack as well as the rest of the Equestria Girls grouped themselves together and looked at Sunset with their sincere expressions. “We’re sorry Sunset!” they all said. “You guys…" Sunset choked before joining her friends in a group hug. "I forgive you girls! I'm so lucky to have you all as my friends!" "And we're lucky to have you as our friend!" Applejack responded with a smile. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. Sunset felt so happy and touched that her friends still cared about her and didn't hate her despite what happened earlier. She truly was lucky to have them as her friends. But as happy as she was, there was still one more person she owed an apology to. Sunset broke away the group hug from her friends and turned towards her last friend that she had yet to apologize to: Twilight Sparkle. Despite the circumstances, Sunset was overjoyed that her best friend (and crush) was here in front of her and alive and well. However, ever since Sunset's arrival, Twilight became very quiet and haven't said a word. Sunset wasn't sure if her friend was still upset with her due to a blank expression on her friend's face, which made her all the more nervous. With a gulp, Sunset slowly walked up to Twilight until they were inches away from each other. Even if things don't work out for the two of them, Sunset was at least glad that her friend is okay. "Um, h-hey Twilight," Sunset said quietly.  Twilight didn't respond and her expression remained unchanged. Sunset sighed sadly and decided to get right to the point.  "I… I know you're probably still angry... and upset with me from how I acted… a-and you have every right to be!" Sunset then teared up. "B-before you s-say anything, l-let me first to say, that I'm--" Sunset was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace by Twilight, who began to cry into her shoulder. "Sunset, I'm glad you're okay!" Twilight cried. She wiped her tears before giving Sunset her angry look. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Sunset winced from Twilight's tone, making her feel even more guilty for worrying her friend. "I'm so sorry Twilight," Sunset said softly. "I didn't mean to make you and everyone else worried about me. I won't run off like that again." Sunset then looked right into Twilight's eyes with a pained expression. "And I'm also sorry… for everything I did to you. For taking my anger out on you, for what I said to you and for acting like a big... meanie." She swallowed a small lump from her throat and sighed. "When I overheard you talking to Rarity from the storage room that you told everyone about your breakup with Timber but me… I was hurt. I thought that I wasn't a good enough friend to you... and that you wouldn't trust me enough to let me help out, but after the way that I acted… I realized that I'm not being a very good friend… and that I'm possibly the one who single-handedly ruined your relationship with him. I don't know what I did exactly, but I wanted to fix it for you and Timber no matter what it takes!" She looked sad, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Even if you don't forgive me and… not wanting to be my friend anymore." "Oh, Sunset…" Twilight said softly with tears in her eyes. She then shook her head and wiped her tears away. "You got it all wrong! I was never mad at you! Yes, you hurt me, but I thought it was something what I did! Even if you did something wrong, I'll never stop being your friend, no… my best friend and I trusted you with my life! So, of course, I forgive you!" "Twilight…" Sunset whispered with a look of awe on her face. "It was also my fault for not telling you sooner," Twilight sighed with a guilty expression. "I didn't break up with Timber because you did something terrible." Sunset blinked. "It… it isn't?" Twilight shook her head. "No. You see… Timber and I… don't feel any connection between us at all. Sure, we had fun with our dates, but every time we’re together, we don’t feel any of that spark at all. And after our last date, I decided to break up with him, on good terms I should add, after I realized… that I have feelings for someone else." Sunset stared at Twilight both in shock and confusion. "Really?” she said.  While Sunset was glad that she didn’t ruin Twilight’s relationship with Timber, there was still something that she didn’t quite understand based on the conversation she heard between Twilight and Rarity. “Then... who was it?” Sunset asked. “And what does that have to do with me?” To Sunset’s confusion, she noticed Twilight was looking away from her as she began to blush around her cheeks. Was it something that Twilight was too embarrassed to tell her what that is? Was it about the person that she likes? Or maybe it was the gender of the person that she likes? Whatever that is, Twilight should know that she will never make fun of her for anything, including whoever she likes. Sunset swore to herself that whoever her friend likes, she will give her friend her full support no matter what. With a gulp, Twilight looked back into Sunset’s eyes and took a deep breath. "Sunset… the truth is–" “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!?” Both Sunset and Twilight jumped from an authoritative voice. The two teens and everyone else in the gym turned towards the source to see Mayor Mare who was heading towards them with an angered look with Abacus Cinch in tow. Sunset’s eyes widened in panic at the sight of the pair. Oh shoot! I forgot about them! When the two older ladies finally reached them, Mayor Mare gave them her piercing glare. “I thought I told you all that I’m shutting down this school and you kids should go home!” Mayor Mare growled. “We only stuck around because our friend was missin' and organized a search party!” Applejack spoke up for everyone's defense. “Yes, and Sunset had just returned to us!” Rarity added. “Sunset is here?” Everyone turned to see Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna entering the gym. They both rushed towards Sunset until Principal Celestia was close enough to engulf Sunset into a hug. “Sunset! Oh, thank goodness!" she cried. "Are you okay? Where have you been?” Sunset winced from the Principal's hug but still managed to reply. “I… I’m okay Principal Celestia! I… went out for a walk… to do some soul searching.” Principal Celestia broke away from the hug, feeling sheepish for letting her emotions get the better of her before giving Sunset her stern stare. “Well don’t do that again young lady! You had us all worried sick!” “I know,” Sunset sighed with a guilty expression. “I promise to not disappear like that again!” “You pinkie promise?” Pinkie Pie spoke up with her pleading look. Sunset turned to her friend with a reassuring grin. “Pinkie promise!” The moment was interrupted when they heard Cinch clearing her throat. “Well, now that little problem is solved, it’s best that you all leave! You are currently trespassing!” Cinch said snidely. “We can’t leave yet!” Rarity protested. “There’s still three more kids and a dog missing that we need to find!” Cinch snorted. “Well, you can find those kids elsewhere! It’s none of my concern whether those brats are found or not!” “What did ya say!?” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily. “That’s OUR sisters you were talking about!” Rarity exclaimed, appalled by Cinch's behavior. “Ya ain’t telling us what to do!” Applejack yelled. Everyone else was also voicing out in anger until Principal Celestia spoke up. “Settle down everyone!” Principal Celestia soothed before turning towards Mayor Mare and Cinch. “But the kids had a point! We’re trying to locate the other missing children. Please have a heart Ms. Mayor!” Cinch scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Oh very well then. We’ll allow you to continue with this “search party” a little longer.” She then turned towards Sunset with an expected look. “And as for you Ms. Shimmer,” don’t you have a place to return to… like we discussed?” Sunset was beginning to look uncomfortable while everyone stared at her with confused expressions. “Sunset… what was she talking about?” Twilight asked. Knowing that she can’t avoid the issue and delay the inevitable any longer, Sunset let out a long sigh. "Listen girls… tonight is my last night on CHS… and this world." "W-what!?" said Twilight, dread filling her heart. "Sunset, what do you mean!?" "...I'm returning to Equestria," Sunset answered bluntly. Her friends’ eyes widened. “WHAT!?” “But you just got here!” “Why are you leaving us!”  “Did we hurt you that much?” “Please don’t go!” “We love you Sunny!” Sunset kept herself from crying, but she needed to be strong and keep her friends safe. “I’m sorry girls… but I already made up my mind. It was time for me to return to where I came… it’s better that way.” “Sunset, I don’t understand!” Princess Twilight spoke up. “Why are you suddenly decided to go back? I thought you said that everything’s okay!” “...let’s go, Princess!” Sunset said emotionlessly as she began to move. Despite her friends’ plea, Sunset slowly walked away from them, heading to the door. She felt great pain from within her heart, but she pushed on despite tears flowing down from her eyes. Cinch for her part let out a grin as she watched one of the most influential girls of this school to finally be out of her way. “Cinch was controlling you, wasn’t she?” Sunset stopped in her tracks while Cinch had an annoyed scowled as someone spoke up. At first, Sunset thought it was the Princess again, but when she turned around, it was actually her Twilight who spoke up. Sunset should have known that her friend would catch on, but she didn’t want to get hurt by Cinch. “Twilight… Cinch isn’t controlling me,” said Sunset. “It was from my–” “Please don’t lie to me!” Sunset flinched from Twilight’s harsh words. Twilight breathed slowly to calm herself before she gave Sunset her serious expression. “Cinch once blackmailed me that she’ll deny my independent study in order to join the Friendship Games! The fact that she oh-so-gently reminds you to go somewhere and your reaction tells me that she somehow got a hold of you!” Her eyes narrowed. “What exactly is she threatening you?” “Miss Sparkle,” Cinch stated. “What your friend and I discussed was none of your concern!” Twilight glared at the older woman. “Whatever you’re doing to my best friend IS my business you HAG!” Everyone gasped at Twilight’s response, surprised that she could talk back to anyone like that. Even Cinch was taken aback from her former student’s response. She never talked back to her like that before. In fact, no one ever talked back to her like that in all her life. Satisfied that her former Principal was a loss for words, she turned her focus on Sunset again. "Sunset… I know that you wouldn't be acting this way unless you have a good reason," said Twilight with a concerned expression. "Please… tell me what she did to you?" Sunset wanted to deny her friend's plea, lie to her that there was nothing wrong and told her to just drop it, but after a look from her friend's caring face, she couldn't bring herself to do it. As she glanced around the room, her friends were giving her that same look too, wanting desperately to help her and leave no room for argument. She inwardly cursed herself for getting caught in this situation and that she couldn't protect her friends. With a somber sigh, Sunset bowed her head. "She was keeping tabs on us!" Twilight blinked. "What?" "Cinch has been keeping tabs on us!" Sunset repeated much more loudly, shocking everyone in the room. Sunset then looked at her friend in the eye. "She's somehow got a recording of us using our Equestrian Magic and where we got our powers from. She threatened me that she'll release them to the public and ruin you guys unless I return to Equestria and never to return here again!"  Tears began to flow out from her eyes like waterfalls, but Sunset didn't care at that point. "I don't want to go and leave any of you!" She sobbed. "But none of you wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't brought magic to this world! I will never forgive myself if your lives are ruined because of me, so… I have to go and protect you… even if I would never see you again!" She bowed her head again, afraid to see her friend's reaction. She feared that everyone including Twilight will blame her for letting this happen, and their silence only increased her fear. She was thinking about running out of the room again until she felt someone’s arms wrapped around her and pulled into a warm hug. "...oh Sunset," Twilight whispered, almost in tears. "I had no idea you were in so much pain this whole time. I'm sorry that I didn't notice sooner." Twilight then turned towards her former Principal and sent her the angriest glare that Sunset had ever seen from her. "...You!" Twilight shouted. “You were trying to chase off my best friend by using us to blackmail her!?” Cinch, who felt indifferent from Twilight’s anger crossed her arms. “And what if I was?” Twilight growled. "You evil, heartless, no-good... WITCH!” She pointed accusingly at Cinch. “It was bad enough that you once threatened me over something petty, but now you just threatened my best friend for something so cruel!" "That’s right!” Rarity added. “What you did to Sunset was horrible you brute of a woman!" "Yeah, that was not cool!" Rainbow Dash retorted. "You big meanie!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "You big snake!" Applejack spat. "You mother frigging, big nasty, stuck up… FEMALE DOG!" The girls turned towards Fluttershy with surprised expressions, who the latter took notice. "Oh, um… too much?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "G...girls?" Sunset uttered quietly. Twilight turned towards Sunset. "Sunset… you can’t blame yourself for bringing magic into this world. While it may have happened unintentionally, but because of that, we never would have met you!” She then placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. "You remembered what I said to you when we were on that yacht trip a while back? I really meant what I said that I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. Ever since we first meet, not only you understood my pain, even before I became Midnight Sparkle, but you are also my very first friend! Every time I was with you, I felt like I can do anything! Without you… I wouldn’t be the person I am today!” Sunset eyes widened from Twilight’s words. While she had seen what her life was like without her, but she had no idea how much she really impacted Twilight’s life that much. The thought that Twilight really felt highly of her really made her heart feel lighter. Twilight then gave Sunset her tender smile. “So you see... have done more good than anything since you came here and you made each of our lives for the better, including me! And I’m sure the others felt the same!” She then had a determined look. “You always went after your way to help us… now it’s our turn to let us help you!” While Twilight’s words made her feel better, but the fear of what Cinch will do to her and her friends still held her back. "But Twilight, Girls… she has the recording of ALL of us! And once she'll release it then–" "We know Sunset... but we don't care!” Twilight interrupted firmly. “WE don’t care what happens to us! If our powers get exposed to the public is the cost of keeping our dear friend from leaving this world, then we’ll gladly take it! No matter what you do to try to convince us otherwise, we will stick it to you to the end!" The girls nodded in agreement with encouraging smiles, willing to put their lives on the line for her. Their actions only made Sunset teared up more but in happiness. “Twilight… girls…” Their moment was interrupted when Cinch let out a loud scoff. “Are you serious!? You are willing to stick up for this girl? The same one who used to bully and tormented everyone and single-handily made you all freaks after she infecting this world with her magic? As far as I know… she is better off not coming to this world at all!” Everyone who was in the gym was appalled to both Cinch’s behavior and the things that she had done to Sunset. Even both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were trying to keep themselves together from harming their former college. Twilight, having enough of Cinch belittling her friend, walked up to the older woman and was nearly close to her face. "You listen here Abacus Cinch!" Twilight spat with a look of contempt. "Sunset is the most wonderful person I've ever known and I'm proud to be her friend, regardless of her past! In fact, she is a far better person than you'll ever be! You are nothing more than a disgusting, vile and horrible human being! I don't want to see you and hear your horrid comments about her or any of my friends in front of me again, including to the person I love!" Sunset’s eyes went wide after hearing her best friend’s confession. “W… Wha?” Suddenly, she heard a few of her friends whooped loudly from behind her, making her even more perplexed. "Whoo-hoo! Go Twilight!" "How romantic!" "About time!" "Oh… my!" "You owe me five bucks AJ!" Sunset slowly shifted her gaze at Timber Spruce, who awkwardly smiled back at her. It was then that Sunset realized exactly why Twilight broke up with Timber and only told her friends. It wasn’t because of something bad she did to Twilight and Timber, it was because Twilight has feelings for her. Sunset felt so many different emotions running through her right now. But before she could fully process this, she spotted Twilight stood in front of her while still looking at Cinch in the eye. "If you want to get to Sunset, you have to go through me first!" Twilight declared. Cinch sputtered, couldn’t believe that a once shy and quiet genius from her old school was now standing up to her as if she was trash. She quickly recovered and narrowed her eyes at her former student. "...fine,” she spat quietly before lifting up her phone. “Then I shall ruin your life as well!" "Not so fast!" They all turned just in time to see Rainbow Dash stepping towards Cinch with her challenging glare. "If you're coming after my best friends, you'll also have to go through me!" Rainbow Dash growled as she stood in front of Sunset next to Twilight. "And me as well!" Applejack added as she also stood in front of Sunset. "Same here!" Rarity replied, following her friends’ example. "And me!" "And me too!" "And don't forget about me! Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Princess Twilight also stood in front of Sunset with challenging looks. Sunset’s felt her heart soar. She couldn’t believe that her friends would risk themselves to get their lives exposed just to protect her. She felt her throat tightened. “Girls…” Cinch scoffed as she pushed her glasses. "Fine! Then you AND your friends are going to be exposed as well!" "Not on my watch!"  To the girls’ shock, someone else joined in to form into a barrier for Sunset, and it was none other than a certain blonde girl with misaligned eyes. "You'll have to go through me before coming after Sunset and these girls!" she said with a determined glare. Then someone else joined in and it was the person they least expect it. "You'll have to take down the Great and Powerful Triiiixie, before getting them!" Trixie declared. Then one by one, more students joined in to form into a protective wall for Sunset. “And me!” “And me!” "And me too!" “Me as well!” "YEAH!!! ME TOO!" Sunset couldn’t believe what was happening. Not only her friends are protecting her, but everyone from her school as well! Tears started to form in the corners of Sunset's as she was was fully convinced that everyone does care about her and that she truly belonged here. "I don't think it's necessarily everyone," Celestia stated as she stood in front of Cinch with narrowed eyes. "Because the one they have to go through first is me!" "And me as well!" Vice Principal Luna added. Twilight gave Cinch her smug grin. “Well Cinch, you messed with one Wondercolt, you messed with all of us!” Everyone nodded in unison while Cinch let out an infuriating growl. "Fine!" Cinch spat. "Then I shall expose the entire school! Say goodbye to your lives!”  Just as she was about to press her phone, the gym doors suddenly burst open, startling everyone in the room. "HOLD IT!"