"A trained actor," Sunset Shimmer said icily. Sunset was taking Timmy home on a motorcycle. For seven minutes of the ride, Sunset had not said one word to Timmy, staring straight at the road. Those seven minutes were one the most uncomfortable of Timmy's life. Timmy initially thought Sunset was calm, but he eventually realized that Sunset was too angry to speak. After seven minutes, Sunset asked him who the clone really was.
"Yeah," Timmy said with a sheepish smile," a trained actor from Hollywood."
"And where did you get him again?"
"Internet."
"Interesting," she replied in a voice that showed she was only pretending to care about his words. "You're telling me...you let a stranger into your...house without your parents or me knowing." The hidden force in Sunset's calm voice made Timmy's fragile smile fade.
Timmy was at a loss for words. "I-,"
Sunset angrily pulled over into some empty parking lot, got out, and walked away from Timmy, silently staring off into the distance. Timmy sat in the cab, too afraid to try and walk up to her. After a few moments, Sunset started laughing. This wasn't the good kind of laugh; this was the angry laugh that his mom would do when she was very, very annoyed. As Sunset came back toward him, a nasty grin forming on his face, Timmy resisted the urge to run away.
"You know what the really funny part was?" Sunset asked, the smile of a mean alligator on her face. Timmy wisely chose not to dignify her with a response. "You thought you could away with it."
"I-,"
"What were you thinking?!" Sunset finally yelled. "What made you want to do this so badly that you would disobey your parents and me?!"
"Th-there were these jerks in school who are really popular," Timmy said fearfully, "and I thought if I could go there and win the contest, I could become popular."
Sunset's anger seemed to rise even further if her glare was an indication. "Oh, that's what this is about," Sunset said with utter disbelief, "you ran out on me because you wanted to be popular?"
Timmy felt some of his nerves come back to the surface. "Hey, if you stop treating me like a baby and let me go-,"
"Oh yeah," Sunset interrupted sarcastically, "letting a bunch of idiots get under your skin and disrespecting me is the definition of maturity."
"I wasn't trying to disrespect you."
"Well, you did!" Sunset yelled, bending down to glare at him. "I cook your food, I watch over you, help you with chores, help you with your homework, play video games with you! And for all that, I still matter less than impressing two jerks who couldn't care less about that." Timmy felt a little bit of shame at that. "Do those two jerks do any of those things for you?"
Timmy felt some regret form on his face. "No."
"Not only that, but you ran out on me," Sunset said in a disappointed tone, "into a neighborhood full of dangerous, little punks who could hurt you."
"Nothing bad was going to happen," Timmy argued, albeit without as much force as before.
"And what if something did happen?" Sunset asked, sounding more upset than angry. "And I had no idea where you were?" Timmy tried to argue but couldn't. Sure, he had Cosmo and Wanda, but Sunset had no idea about them. The guilt in Timmy's stomach grew, and he looked at the ground in shame. "Imagine if you disappeared. What do you think I would tell your mom and dad?" To Timmy's shock, Sunset started to cry a bit, her face falling into her hands.
Sunset was right. How could he have been so stupid? "I'm sorry," Timmy said in a pained and genuinely remorseful voice. "I wasn't trying to do that." He felt a small tear run down his eye. He felt his head being raised to look at Sunset. The fire-haired girl was still upset but no longer as angry as she was.
"I know you are," Sunset said in a calmer but still stern voice, "so I know you'll understand why I have to tell your parents." Timmy hung his head again but didn't say a word. He accepted he deserved to be punished. Unbeknownst to him, Sunset was smirking a bit.
They pulled up to his house a few minutes later, with Timmy still looking down in shame. "Wait out here," Sunset said with a quiet voice. Timmy sat in the sidecar, still brooding over how he treated Sunset.
"Guys," Timmy said to his fairies. They were still disguised as a skateboard and helmet. "Am I a bad...person? Is Sunset gonna hate me forever?" Timmy said, almost on the verge of tears.
"Timmy," Wanda said in a soothing tone, "you were being selfish and mean. But you're not a monster."
"Yeah," Cosmo said, "you made a mistake."
"All you can do is be better," Wanda assured him, "and Sunset will forgive you."
After a few moments, Sunset came out of the house. Timmy forced himself to look at Sunset. Sunset didn't look angry at him anymore. "I decided I'm not gonna tell your parents," Sunset said in a calm voice.
Timmy felt a surprising smile forming on your face."Really?" Timmy asked.
"I honestly believe you're sorry," Sunset said. She then frowned at him and crossed her arms. "But let me be clear, you're not off the hook with me." Timmy's hopeful smile died. "You still have to earn my trust back."
"I guess," Timmy said, bitter but not arguing with the fact that he deserved to be punished.
"Tomorrow Saturday," Sunset began, "you're going to do some chores for my friends and me. If you work hard, we'll be cool. But if you don't, I'll tell your parents what you did, and you'll be grounded for a week." A smug smile formed on her face. "Do we got a deal?"
"Yeah," Timmy said, still feeling ashamed of himself. He felt someone patting him on the head and saw him looking at Sunset with a warm smile.
"I'm sorry," Timmy said, feeling warm tears fall down his face.
"Don't worry," Sunset said, warmth in her voice. "We all do stupid things."
"He seemed honestly sorry," Sunset said, writing in her journal to Princess Twilight while sitting in her apartment. Sunset told Twilight what happened tonight. "Of course, it helped that I turned on the waterworks a bit," scribbled with a smile.
"That's good," the Princess wrote back to him. "At least the Stone hasn't affected his morality."
"But there was something...off about the Stone," Sunset wrote.
"What was?" Twilight asked Sunset.
"Well, Zephyr showed me that he was tearing up the skate park with some inhumanely cool moves," Sunset dictated. "But as soon as he tried to compete, the Stone...failed him."
"That is odd," Princess Twilight replied. "Maybe the Stone has limits on its power."
"Which is good.," Sunset wrote. "Maybe we could be able to fight him if he went rogue without the rune. Anyways, I'm going to see how honest he can be tomorrow."
"Let's hope things go well," the pony princess wrote her friend.
"Now remember ya'll," Applejack said to her family in the farmhouse as they awaited two guests. "What are we not goin' to do?"
"Bring up magic," Apple Bloom repeated.
"Now I know y'all don't like ya fudgin' the truth," Applejack stressed, "but if Timmy finds out we were spyin' on him, then we're doomed. Got it?"
"Yes," Apple Bloom said.
"Mhmm," Big Macintosh said.
"Not a word," Granny said.
They heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Applejack said. She opened it and saw Sunset standing at the door.
"Hey, Sunny," Applejack greeted happily as Sunset came into the door, "where's the little troublemaker?"
"Just outside," Sunset said.
"Hey, Sunny," Apple Bloom said gregariously.
"Hey, Apple Bloom, guys," Sunset said to the Apple Family. "Thanks for doing this."
"Don't worry, sugar cube," Applejack said, "we're happy to help someone get their act together-"
"And not because we're trying to subvert child labor laws and get free labor," Apple Bloom finished while darting her eyes back and forth, as did the rest of the family.
"Anyways," Sunset said, "I'll let him in."
Timmy entered the farmhouse with trepidation. He wondered what the Apple family was like and if they would treat him like a bad kid. The door opened, and Sunset beckoned him to come inside.
Timmy walked into the farmhouse. The place was both quaint and modern. She saw a girl who was slightly taller than Sunset, and even his own mom, waiting for him. Timmy expected some barefooted hillbilly girl with broken teeth. Instead, this girl looked well-groomed. She had long blond hair with a small ponytail held together with a red scrunchie. She wore a Stetson, a white shirt with green sleeves and an apple, a denim skirt, and brown boots with little tiny apples on them. Her skin was tan, and she had tiny freckles on her cheeks.
"Timmy, this is Jacqueline Smith," Sunset said. "But you can call her Applejack."
"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres," the farmer girl said with a warm smile. Timmy felt his fear die down a bit at the farmer girl's friendliness.
"Thanks," Timmy said, still feeling a little shy.
"Don't you fret sugar cube," the tall girl said reassuringly, "here at Sweet Apple Acres, we believe in second chances." Timmy let out a small sigh of relief.
"Anyways," Sunset said, "I've got errands to run. Just do what Applejack says, or you know what will happen," Sunset finished with a sinister tone and a frown.
"Yeah," Timmy said uneasily.
"See you at two," Sunset finished with a smile, walking out of the farmhouse.
"So let's get you set up sugar cube," Applejack said. Timmy followed Applejack into another room with a group of people. "Timmy," Applejack said, "meet mah family."
"Mah little sister Appletini Bloom Smith," Applejack said, gesturing to a girl in a green shirt, jeans, yellow boots, and with bright red hair with a pink bow. She looked like she was in elementary school like him. "But you can call her Apple Bloom."
"Nice to meet you," the girl said in a friendly tone.
"Mah big brother Macintosh Apple Smith," Applejack said, gesturing to a muscular teenager. The guy was as tall as his dad since Timmy had to crane his neck to look up at him. The guy had orange hair, tanned skin, and freckles on his face. He wore jeans, a red jacket with a brown leather collar, tiny apples, and red shoes. "But you can call him Big Mac."
Big Mac simply gave him a friendly nod. "Yep."
"And my grandma, Malus Smith," Applejack said, gesturing to an old lady. She was an overweight woman with grey hair tied behind her back. She wore a red skirt, a tan blouse, yellow boots, and an orange scarf tied around her neck. "But y'all can call her Granny."
"Pleasure to be havin' a youngin' like you come around," Granny said in a friendly voice.
"Nice to meet you," Timmy said politely if nervously.
"Anyways," Granny said, "Time to get ya' set up."
"So what am I doing," Timmy said to Applejack and Big Mac. He followed the two siblings outside into a field somewhere. He marveled at the miles and miles of apple trees. "Picking apples?"
"There's more to being an apple farmer than just pickin' apples," Applejack said with a sly smile. "No, we're creating more farmin' land, so you'll be mowin' the lawn today," she finished as they approached a lawnmower.
"That doesn't sound too-," Timmy looked with horror at the field, which looked to be a whole acre."I have to do all that," Timmy said with disbelief.
"Wah no sugar cube," Applejack assured him. Timmy let out a sigh of relief.
"You'll be doing that!" To Timmy's horror, she gestured to an area of land the size of a football field.
"Really," Timmy choked out.
"Yep," Big Mac said.
"Can't I just...pick apples?"
"Nope," Big Mac said.
"The only reason you're here is because y'all made a mess of yer life by tellin' lies," the blond girl admonished with harsh green eyes. "When y'all make a mess, you've got to clean it up, or as some people call it, takin' responsibility." Timmy's bratty indignation faded, accepting Applejack's point, albeit reluctantly. "Y'all promised me an honest day's work, and a real man keeps his promises and delivers. So I expect a good amount done within an hour, or I'll tell Sunset you've been slackin' off." Timmy's blood went cold over Applejack's threat, and he immediately began painstakingly pushing the lawnmower across the grass. With that, the two Apple siblings walked away.
After a few minutes, Cosmo and Wanda poofed to him, disguised as a pitchfork and a watering can. "Well, Timmy, at least you're learning something," Wanda said, trying to reassure Timmy, who was grumbling about how unfair it was that he had to do this.
"Yeah, and it looks like you're having fun," Cosmo said, oblivious to how exhausted Timmy was. The disguised fairy looked around for a bit and frowned a bit. "That's odd."
"What?" Wanda said.
"I think we're completely alone," Cosmo said. Timmy stopped mowing, looked around, and saw no one was around him. No one is watching him—a devious smirk formed on his face. "Timmy," Wanda said in a warning tone of voice, knowing the look on Timmy's face, "don't you think you should just do the work yourself?"
Timmy thought about it for a few moments. "Nah," Timmy concluded with a cheeky smile. "I wish the lawn was done." With an annoyed sigh, his fairy godparents raised their wands...and instead, the annoying raspberry noise came out. "What happened?" Timmy asked with annoyance. Wanda poofed up Da Rules and opened the book.
"According to Da Rules," Wanda said, "a godchild can't wish away chores that are given to him as punishment."
"What?" Timmy said in exasperation.
"So you know what that means?" Wanda asked rhetorically.
"It means it's time to get mowing!" Cosmo said happily.
Unknown to Timmy, two figures were watching him from a distance, hidden in the shrubs, wearing camouflage and holding binoculars.
"Is he doing anything?" Applejack asked Apple Bloom with narrowed eyes. Sunset warned her that since Timmy had used magic to do his chores once, he might be bratty enough to try and use magic to get out of his punishment. And so they laid a trap for him; they'd make Timmy think he was alone. If Timmy tried to cheat with magic when he thought no one was looking, Sunset would go right to Timmy's parents.
"I think he's complaining to a pitchfork," Apple Bloom said in a deadpan tone. "Where did those even come from?"
Applejack stared in confusion. "I don't know. Maybe Timmy wished them up to do the work?" Applejack muttered to herself. "But is he using his magic to do the work for him?" Applejack asked.
"Doesn't look like it," Apple Bloom said after watching Timmy go back to lawnmowing, albeit with an annoyed frown. "He's angry, but he's mowing the lawn the honest way."
Applejack felt a proud smile form on her face. "Well, that's nice," the apple farmer commented porudly. "The kid may act like a varmint, but at least he has the decency to do things the right way and not use magic to do them."
"I wish I could use magic to do this," Timmy muttered angrily as he painstakingly mowed another part of the land. He saw his disguised fairies about to raise their wands. "Not literally."
"Anyways, Apple Bloom just stays here," Applejack said, walking away, "and keep an eye on him in case he tries anything funny."
"I don't mind that at all," the red-haired girl said with a smirk and a blush.
After an hour, Timmy stopped, feeling like he was going to collapse from exhaustion. He looked around, and he only managed to get about a tenth of the lawn done to his despair.
"Time's up," Applejack's voice said. Timmy panicked as the girl approached him with a stern expression.
"I'm sorry," Timmy said in a sad voice, "I know was supposed to finish, but there was so much-,"
"Wow, sugar cube," Applejack assured him, raising her hands. "I said put in an honest effort. And ah see that you have. I don't expect someone as short and scrawny as you to finish everything."
"Thank you so much," Timmy said with a frown and a sarcastic tone of voice.
"I didn't mean it like that," Applejack said with a smirk. "What matters is you're trying you're best. I came in here to tell you it's time for lunch."
"Lunch?" Timmy asked. "But I thought I was in trouble."
Applejack smiled assuringly at him. "Sunset said to put you to work; she didn't say you couldn't eat. Unless you're not hungry." The growl on Timmy's stomach proved he was.
"Sure," Timmy said, an honest smile forming on his face.
Timmy approached the dinner table in the kitchen, where the rest of the Apple clan had assembled. His eyes fell on the freshly baked pie on the table. His mouth watered as he approached it. Apple Bloom also was drooling at the sight of the pie,
"No pie for you youngin'," Granny Smith warned. "Not until you finish your collard greens."
"Aww," Apple Bloom and Timmy said in unison. Timmy went to join them at the table. Applejack watched with a smirk as Apple Bloom moved away from her brother and moved her chair closer to Timmy. Soon, the family and their guest/indentured servant began eating.
"So Mr. Turner," Granny Smith said, "what do you like to do?"
"I love video games," Timmy said to the old lady.
"Too many young people staying indoors," Granny Smith mourned. "Back home in North Carolina, we wrestled pigs'. That was our video game!"
"Ooh," Timmy said excitedly, pulling something out of his pocket, "I have that same game for my Joy Boy." He showed off a game cartridge that red "Pig Pen 2." Granny rolled her eyes.
"In mah day, we didn't need fancy doohickeys," Granny waxed nostalgically, much to the quiet annoyance of the Apple family. "Everybody pulled his weight and didn't accept help from nobody either. Too many people want something for nothing."
"Granny," a Sweet Apple Acres employee said, barging into the room, "our subsidies from the government came in."
"Yeehaw!" Granny said happily, "free government money." She ran out of the room like a kid in a candy store, following the employee.
"I also love Crimson Chin comics," Timmy said to Apple Bloom.
"You ever read Daring Do comics," Apple Bloom asked Timmy.
"Not really," Timmy said, "they're boring." Apple Bloom stared at Timmy like he was an evil monster, while the rest of the Apple family looked at Timmy with amused horror.
"Now you have done it," Applejack said with a roll of her eyes.
"Done what," Timmy began, only to see the ten-year-old girl coming up to him with a glare.
"Daring Do ain't boring," Apple Bloom said in an angry tone. "Daring is a brave archeologist who battles evil using her wits."
"Yeah, but all she has it was a whip and a hat," Timmy Turner said dismissively, "The Crimson Chin has superpowers and can defeat anybody with his awesome chin."
"I say being awesome isn't about power," Apple Bloom said passionately, "it is about how you use whatcha got. Without his superpowers, Crimson Chin would be a nobody." Timmy Turner glared back at Apple Bloom.
"I bet Chin could wipe the floor with Daring, even without his powers," Timmy argued back.
"No, he can't," Apple Bloom said.
"Yes, he can't," Timmy said.
"No, he can't," Apple Bloom argued.
"OH YEAH!" Timmy said.
"YEAH!" Apple Bloom
The rest of the family looked at the arguing with amusement.
After lunch, Timmy returned to work for another couple of hours of boxing, gardening, plowing, apple-picking, and banjo-tuning, much to Timmy's terror. By the time it was over, he was completely winded when Sunset came to pick him up at the farmhouse.
"So, how did he do?" Sunset asked Applejack.
"Can I lie down," Timmy muttered with a hoarse throat.
"I reckon he put in an honest day's work," Applejack said with a smile," and didn't cheat." Sunset recognized the code word for 'magic use' and smiled proudly at Timmy, who was too exhausted to care.
"Bed," Timmy requested.
"Later," Sunset said sternly, "you still got more work to do." Timmy let out an annoyed sigh but followed Sunset to the motorcycle.
"It was nice havin' ya," Applejack said. Despite his exhaustion, Timmy returned his wave with a genuine smile. While the Apple family was strict and worked him to the bone, they were actually kind of nice. Apple Bloom smiled at him a lot. "Thanks for lunch," he said gregariously.
"We'd love to have you back real soon," Apple Bloom called out to Timmy.
"I bet you would," Applejack said with a roll of her eyes.
Timmy and Sunset entered the lobby of Canterlot's animal shelter. Since he was going to an animal shelter, Timmy decided to carry Cosmo and Wanda into the lobby as goldfish. The lobby was a whimsical place, full of pictures of animals and little kids walking out with their adopted pets. At the reception desk was a girl with long, pink hair with a somewhat skittish disposition. She wore a white tank top, a green skirt with butterfly pictures, and green boots.
"Hey, Fluttershy," Sunset said to the girl.
"Hey Sunset," the girl, one of the softest voices Timmy had ever known, "is this Timmy-," Fluttershy paused when she saw the goldfish."Oh my gosh!" Fluttershy said, jumping up to Timmy and taking the tank they were located in, much to his amazement. "These goldfish are so cute," Fluttershy said, ignoring the eye roll from Cosmo and Wanda, "what are their names."
"Cosmo and Wanda," Timmy said uneasily. "Be careful-,"
"Don't worry," Fluttershy said in the most assuring voice possible, "I'll take good care of them," taking the bowl with her into the backroom and putting them on the shelf."Oh, you're so cute," Fluttershy cooed to the tiny fishes. She poured some fish food into the bowl."Eat up," Fluttershy said before walking out of the room.
"That girl was really nice," Cosmo said.
"I guess we're just gonna sit in here," Wanda said. "Cosmo, let's-" Wanda looked to Cosmo and saw that the green-haired fairy was eating the fish food. "Cosmo, what are you doing?" Wanda asked with astonishment.
"Wanda, please," Cosmo said. "My doctor said I needed more earthworms and squid in my diet." Wanda let out an annoyed sigh.
"Thanks for coming," Fluttershy said to Timmy, who followed her into a room full of caged animals. "It is so nice of you to volunteer."
"Well, I'm not really a volunteer," Timmy said, his eyes darting back and forth. Still, he couldn't help but notice how nice this girl was.
"There are so many animals that need help," Fluttershy said, ignoring Timmy's protests, "but a little love and kindness from everyone can go a long way."
"Fluttershy," a voice warned. The sound of angry barking found it. One of the most vicious guard dogs Timmy had ever seen came out. It was black, massive, and was snarling viciously at Timmy and Fluttershy."Dover got to lose," the voice said.The dog barked and looked at them with merciless eyes.
"Someone do something," Timmy said, shaking in fear as the dog lunged toward him. To his confusion, Fluttershy got in front of him. "Fluttershy!" Timmy said with horror as the mean dog lunged toward the shy girl. Timmy closed his eyes, waiting for the girl to scream. None of the screamings happened. Only Fluttershy's cooing. Timmy opened his eyes and saw something that was impossible; the vicious guard dog lying on his back like an adorable puppy and Fluttershy rubbing its belly.
"Who's a good dog," Fluttershy said in a nice voice. The guard dog jumped up and began licking Fluttershy, who laughed, cooed, and kept talking about how sweet the dog was.
"How did you do that?" Timmy asked Fluttershy, amazed that this timid girl turned the Rottweiler so nice.
"A nice scratch behind the ears," Fluttershy said.
"Really?" Timmy said with confusion.
"Dover came from a mean family that didn't give him love," Fluttershy said, some sadness creeping in her voice.
"That's terrible," Timmy said, frowning with some pity at the once vicious dog.
"Sometimes, anger is just another way of being sad," Fluttershy said, "and what is the best way to help a sad person?"
"Tell them to get over it," Timmy offered bluntly.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "No. Be nice to them. Sometimes kindness is better than any medicine or acting like a meany." Timmy looked back at the now docile guard dog letting little kids petted him, and began to see Fluttershy's point.
"Anyways, let's start with your first chore," Fluttershy said, beckoning Timmy to follow her into another room full of birds. Parrots, canaries, chickens, geese, and ducks were all in cages and making weird noises.
"Since this is your first day," Fluttershy said, "we'll start with something simple." She gestured to a sack of seeds in the corner. "Make sure all the cute birdies get their seed while I'll check on the baby turtles." She walked out of the room.
"How hard could it be to give a bunch of bird brains seed?" Timmy said. He went over to one of the bags and made a small tear into the bag.
Only for the whole bag of seeds to pour out on top of him.
"I'm all covered in seed," Timmy said in anger. "At least this can't get any worse." He got up, put his hand on the wall, only to accidentally push an "Open the Cages" button. Suddenly all the cages opened. The birds jumped out and stared at Timmy and the seed he was covered in.
"Uh, hi," Timmy said nervously.
They all licked their beaks, eyes brimming with hunger.
"Hey Timmy," Fluttershy said, walking back into the room, "I just wanted to check-" only to find a seed-covered Timmy running out of the room with a yell, escaping from a horde of ravenous birds. Fluttershy saw what had happened and facepalmed.
Timmy and Sunset walked out of the animal shelter, the former not looking too hot. Timmy had his fishbowl in his arms, was covered in feathers, and had an embarrassed and defeated expression on his face. Timmy winced as the other employees, except Fluttershy, kept laughing about the whole thing. To the brown-haired boy's chagrin, Sunset was also snickering.
"C'mon, Timmy, it's a little funny," Sunset assured him in between fits of laughter.
Timmy's spirits were more than a bit down. "I'm just a screwup," Timmy muttered miserably. "Nothing I do ever goes right." Sunset's snickering ended and was replaced with concern for her charge. "Don't worry, Timmy," Sunset said, patting the forlorn ten-year-old on the shoulder, "everybody has bad days."
"I feel like those days are every day," Timmy moaned.
"There's no such thing as a perfect day," Sunset said in a soft voice. "Sure, you got chased by birds, but at least you got to have a nice lunch."
"I guess," Timmy said, his spirits rising a little bit.
"Anyways," Sunset said once she reached her motorcycle, "onward to your last chore."
"Yippee," Timmy said without passion, jumping into the sidecar.
"So this is where you live," Timmy said. Sunset lived in a loft. The place was all one room, with lots of band equipment, computers, and video game consoles. It had a single flight of stairs that led to a platform where Sunset slept.
"Yep," Sunset said, "your last chore is to clean my apartment."
Timmy looked in horror as he saw the room was a total mess: clothes lying on the ground, trash not taken out, dishes not washed, and dust everywhere. Timmy glared at Sunset suspiciously."Are you trying to teach me a lesson," Timmy asked with an edge in his voice, "or are you just using me to clean your room?"
"A little from column A and a little from column B," Sunset said with a smirk on her face. "Would you rather I tell your parents?" Sunset said with a hint of nastiness in her voice.
"No," Timmy breathed. With that, Timmy started cleaning the place up.
After several hours of sweeping, polishing, vacuuming, and scrubbing, Timmy was finished cleaning the apartment. With one last sigh, Timmy collapsed onto the couch."I am so tired," Timmy said with a sigh.
"Good," Sunset said proudly, bringing Timmy some cheese quesadillas fresh from the microwave," that means you learned your lesson and earned back my trust." Timmy felt his spirits rise at that and eagerly took one of the quesadillas.
"Do you live here?" Timmy said idly.
"Yep," Sunset said.
"Where are your parents?" Timmy asked her.
"They're... out of town," Sunset said, her eyes darting back and forth.
"That's great," Timmy said, "not having parents to tell you what to do."
"You can't imagine," Sunset said with a sad smile. She noticed Timmy becoming drowsy.
"So do I go home," Timmy asked Sunset,
"I decided it was late, so I texted your parents," Sunset said, "and asked them if you could stay over. I figured you were too tired to be moved so-,"
"Thanks," Timmy said with a smile. He felt his eyes begin to get heavy.
"Timmy," Sunset said, "there's this lullaby from...someone I knew. Whenever she sang it, I would always fall asleep."
"Lullabies are for babies," Timmy argued weakly.
"So you don't want-,"
"Please."
"Sure," Sunset said. "Just let me set up my guitar."
Princess Celestia was working in her office when she began hearing whimpers in the other room. Sunset's room. The Princess galloped to the room in a panic and opened the doors.
"Sunset," Princess Celestia said to her student. Sunset was tossing and turning and letting out the occasional whimper. With a pat on the head, the little filly woke up with tears in her eyes.
"Sunset, are you OK?" Princess Celestia asked.
"I'm fine," Sunset weakly argued, the tears trailing down his eyes. "It was just the zombie pony dream."
"Sunset, there is a song I know," the Princess said with a warm smile, "a lullaby that my mother sang to me."
"Lullabies are for little foals," Sunset groaned.
"I see," Celestia said with disappointment, "then I better-"
"Please stay," the filly asked abruptly, "and sing it to me."
Note: The rhythm of this song is similar to Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA.
Sunset Shimmer
The darkness can be scary,
The night full of fear,
But fret not, little one,
I'll always be near,
Don't be afraid,
For I'll be by your side
Until the day returns
For the sun will always rise.
Princess Celestia
The night can be cold,
What lies there is unknown,
But fret not my filly,
You are not on your own.
I shall stand by you,
Look into my eyes,
I promise this,
The sun will always rise.
Cosmo and Wanda watched as Timmy's babysitter sang him to sleep with no small amount of joy from their fishbowl. They held hands, or fins, and felt the need to sleep. They swam back into their castle.
Cosmo immediately fell asleep when he got into bed. Wanda felt her eyes close as she entered her bed when she felt a short burst of magic. Wanda, deciding she was too tired, decided it was nothing and decided to go to sleep too.
Princess Celestia
If I am not there,
Please don't cry,
For you have another friend,
Sunset Shimmer
Who hangs in the sky.
The stars that are so ancient
That hang-up on high
Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia (unison)
They watch over you, little one
Until the sun shall rise.
Sunset watched as Timmy was now asleep on her couch, letting out a gentle snore. To Sunset, the brown-haired kid was the most precious thing in the world. Sunset carefully removed his hat and shoes and placed a yellow blanket over his body. Sunset began getting ready for bed herself. She glanced at a mirror, and to her shock, her hair had extended downward, and pony ears grew out the back of her head.