//------------------------------// // Chapter 196 – You Promised // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 196 Canterlot High School Near the Portal 4:52 p.m. Thankfully for Sunset, her friends were waiting by the statue. The colors of the multiverse lingered in her vision, eventually fading as she set foot on familiar solid concrete once again. Just feeling her boots against that ground, smelling the residue of a freshly-cut lawn, and hearing the chorus of friendly gasps was enough to ease her worrisome heart. Her eyes fluttered open, the blinding rays of the falling sunlight almost blinding her. She flinched against it, raising a hand and not a hoof to block out those afternoon rays. Sunset’s narrowed eyes slowly widened. Her jaw fell, as did her hand. Standing before her in a clustered pack of uncertain glances, stunned stares, and frozen postures, her best friends met Sunset’s astounded expression with mixtures of their own. Applejack rested her hands on her hips, lips pursing as a weak exhale left her nose. Rarity’s own hand rose up to shield her mouth. Fluttershy looked as if she was about to cry, her face breaking at the mere sight of her long-lost friend. Pinkie Pie popped out from cover behind Fluttershy, her jaw falling wide open, eyes as large as dinner plates. Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, clear frustration evident on her expression with the risen brow. Sunset knew exactly why she was frustrated. And she could hardly do a thing to defend herself from it. She had her reasons, but even Sunset didn’t know if she was strong enough to bring them up, to face the tribulations ahead like she knew she needed to. Amending her wrongs always seemed so much easier in her head, outside of reality where that pain was real. Yet seeing her friends standing before her—after not seeing them for five years—did not seem to hurt as much. Not nearly as much as it did to see Twilight Sparkle staring intensely at her. She and Spike resting in her arms, each of them holding that same intensity, that same confusion, that same pain. That same betrayal. Seeing that—seeing all of them—elicited the tears from Sunset Shimmer, the woman rushing forth and impacting the closest friends she could reach. They were Twilight and Rainbow. Momentarily stunned by Sunset’s actions, the two eventually turned to one another and did nothing. After hearing the subtle weeps from Sunset, feeling her tremble between them, both Twilight and Rainbow eventually embraced her just as well. Something had happened on the other side, in the pony world, that was beyond their understanding, beyond anything Sunset could have explained in her earlier letter. The time to understand Sunset’s reasonings would come. But right there, right then, more than ever, their friend needed them. She needed them just to be with her. So, they did. Everyone else joined in comforting Sunset Shimmer, hugging the fiery-haired woman in a bundle of shielding arms. Her heart ached to feel them all against her, her friends finding the strength to give her comfort when she deserved none of it. It made Sunset love them all the more, being with her at her lowest, accepting her at her worst, ultimately making her the best part of her herself. They were her foundations, her strengthening anchors to everything she had come to believe about friendship. There was nothing more that Sunset wanted than to rebuild those foundations. It all began with an apology. Sunset hugged them back, whimpering, “I’m so sorry… for breaking my promise. For not contacting you. There was a disruption in the magic; the connection between our worlds severed! I… I-I-I wasn’t able to get Twilight’s messages in time. I thought… I-I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know why you didn’t send any messages. I didn’t know…” “It’s okay, Sunset,” Twilight whispered in return. Spike patted and rubbed Sunset’s hair. Despite everything that had happened, despite the rapid explanation Sunset tried to give them, she was still their friend. She still managed to come home. And she was still hurting. That meant more to them than any nagging qualms they may have still had with her. Twilight, especially, felt that, holding Sunset gingerly while gazing off onto the clean face of the statue. Her brow furrowed, voice arising in curiosity. “A disruption between our worlds… Guess that explains it. Partially… some of it.” “What severed our worlds?” Fluttershy weakly asked, her eyes rising to turn to each of her friends. None of them had the answer. All eyes fell back to Sunset. Still holding onto Twilight and Rainbow, Sunset could feel their eyes peering at her, expecting the answer only she had. Closing her eyes, sniffling softly, she said, “If only I had known… maybe I could have worked to fix it. Maybe I should have sent a message… but even then, you would have never known. I was just so focused on Equestria, with everypony there. All the suffering… all the damage… I just couldn’t turn away from that. Not when they needed me for so long…” Her friends practically flinched back when she mentioned the suffering and the damage, all of them seemingly understanding that it was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more buried deep under the pain in Sunset’s voice. So much more she had to answer for. So much she probably didn’t have the strength to explain. It showed when their hug ended, leaving just Sunset standing awkwardly in front of them, her hand rubbing her opposite arm, eyes refusing to rise in order to connect with theirs. Somehow, she found that strength. Somehow, she did it, and met their eyes. “I’m sorry,” she told them and really meant it. “I’m sorry for staying away for so long. For…” “A week,” Rarity interrupted. Sunset stared at her, breathless and awestruck. Rarity smiled sadly. “Give or take a few… months.” Sunset could feel her heart turn icy-cold before falling into the deepest portion of her stomach, drowning it with that same infectious revelation. “A few months?” Sunset breathed. She backed away, almost feeling nauseous. She stumbled on her own two feet, like she had completely forgotten how to walk. For how long she was gone, her friends found it odd that Sunset was already failing to recall basic motor function of humans, despite having done so with ease for years prior. For how long she was really gone, the sensation was not only unnatural for her, but completely and utterly mind-shattering. Twilight reached out and gripped her shoulder, keeping her steady. Though Sunset appeared to be stuck in an existential crisis, Rainbow Dash stepped forward and clarified, “Yeah, you missed the entire summer. Probably having too much fun in pony land without us.” Applejack elbowed her. Rubbing her side, Rainbow tried to glare back at her but realized it was fruitless, realizing quickly that the look of panic and confusion in Sunset’s expression meant more than they could understand. Starting again, Rainbow clarified slowly and more carefully, “College is gonna start next week, Sunset. We were so worried you were gonna miss the first day like you missed orientation. We looked everywhere. Principal Celestia even said the school’s security cameras never caught anything with the statue. You just… never came back.” Pinkie slipped forward, past Rainbow so she was standing directly in front of Sunset. She said, “But after Twilight got your message, we all came home to… well… you know… welcome you back.” Pinkie tried to laugh it off, only succeeded in chuckling awkwardly. The situation did not really offer her many options. Her friend looked absolutely shell-shocked. Her breath was trembling. She had seen and experienced things none of her friends could fully understand, not without her help. When she turned back to them, Sunset finally noticed that her friends had shrunk—no, she had grown a few inches taller. They didn’t seem to notice, and if they did, they just wrote it off as her boots offering those extra inches. Sunset knew otherwise. She knew so much more. Managing to breathe at least, Sunset stared back to the ground, feeling the edges of her vision beginning to blur as her mind tried to process the situation. In the end, all she could really say were her own slipping thoughts, those grave words that breathed, “But… it’s been years…” “Years?” Twilight asked, astounded. The reactions from the rest of her friends were accurate to say the least, just as dumbfounded, shocked, and confused as Sunset was. They all stared at the portal, Twilight especially furrowing her hardened brow to it. Moments before gazing back to Sunset. “What happened in there?” Sunset maintained her consciousness. Just enough for her to lift her eyes to them. She couldn’t say a thing, not able to find the strength to do so. Not right then. But they needed to know. Them, out of anyone else, deserved to know everything. “Looks like you got a bit of a story to tell,” Spike said, pointing his paw to her. Sunset followed the paw to where it pointed, her eyes dropping just over her chest. From the slim necklace, Sunset finally noticed that her Element of Harmony had transformed. It had returned to the same geode she had left with. Her trembling fingers rose and caressed the stone gently, washing over the intricate and beautiful sun design on its face. It shimmered under the afternoon light, that light glowing in Sunset’s glistening, tear-filled eyes. She had almost expected one of her friends to point out the golden necklace, to bring attention to the Element of Harmony she left Equestria with. Instead, everything went back to normal, as it should have. Leaving just her and the nearly limitless memories left to tell the story instead. Sunset smiled sadly, still holding that geode. Still holding that memory. “You could say that.”