//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: A Passing Through Kamen Rider: Movie Max the First: Sunset Over Zero // by thunderclap //------------------------------// Sunset sighed as she walked home from school. Picking a piece of dried concrete out of her hair, she reflected on the last couple days. As expected, she was a social pariah. Most students opted to glare rather than talk to her. In addition, Principal Celestia had elected that she assist in the repairs to the school. The girls were doing their best to try and include her but she could tell that they were keeping her at arm's length. And why shouldn’t they? She had made them hate each other for years, how could they just forgive her? One uplifting speech doesn't undo three years of hurt. She was just glad to have people that weren't outright hostile to her. Real friendship could come later, if ever. What hurt most was coming clean to her parents. Admitting all of her past deeds felt freeing, allowing her to pour out her shame and guilt. But in the end, those disappointed looks were heartbreaking. Even if they were "just" her adopted family.  That was one of the reasons she was doing more than just rebuilding the school. She had opted to assist the janitor when she had the time and even joined Fluttershy at the local shelter every once in a while. Anything to prove to everyone, especially herself that she truly wanted to change. On a whim, she took a detour through the park. With no real destination in mind, Sunset found herself on a small bridge spanning the local pond. Resting her arms on the rail, she looked out over the water. Picking up a little pebble off the ground, Sunset idly tossed it and watched the ripples it made. “It seems you have a lot on your mind.” Taking a spot next to her, a young man greeted her. He couldn’t be older than late twenties. His clothing was old, bearing more than a few holes. She didn't want to let her eyes linger, thinking he was perhaps homeless. Forcing her gaze upward, his jet black hair was cut haphazardly short, though the yellow roots poking through betrayed the dye job. "Mind if I stay here a spell too?"  “It’s a public park,” she responded, turning away from him. "Thank you," the man said, nodding his head. "Penny for your thoughts? I'm used to bending an ear to others so I'm a pretty good listener." Sunset gave a short laugh, staring at her reflection. “You don’t need my problems. I brought them on myself. I’m the one who has to fix them.” "People always say things like that but rarely do we solve our problems by ourselves," the man noted, staring off into the distance. "No man is an island after all. The bonds humans make are truly special." Lifting her head up, she frowned. “You make it sound like you aren’t one.” Snickering, the man met her gaze with an impish grin. "Do I? And what about you? Have you ever felt like you're not quite human?" “More than you know,” she muttered, her frown deepening. “I usually feel like that everyday.”  "Sounds like that's one of those problems you mentioned," he commented, hopping onto the rail to take a seat. "Take it from someone else that's been brought low. When you get taken down from on high, you always know when you've crashed. After that, there's nowhere to go but up." Sighing, Sunset rested her chin on the rail. "Nowhere to go but up, huh? Guess that's true enough. I can't see how my current reputation could go any lower." Retrieving an apple from his coat, he held it up to the sky. “Now you're seeing things my way.” Wiping it on his sleeve, he tossed it to her. “Besides, if you did go any lower, you’d easily find some very unpleasant company.” Catching the apple, she took a bite. Despite looking like an ordinary apple, it was better than one from Sweet Apple Acres. Not that she'd say that to AJ. She'd just gotten the farm girl to talk to her. "Thanks for the talk, and the apple." Extending his hand, he squeezed Sunset’s shoulder. He caught her eyes, searching them for some unknowable quality. Pure joy blossomed across his face, finding what he sought. “You're quite welcome, young lady. I hope you put it to good use.” "Young lady? You're barely older than me." Sunset took another bite of the apple, studying the young man. He was odd to be sure, but he seemed like a decent enough guy. “What’s your name?” "My full name's kind of a mouthful," he explained, scratching his cheek, "so you can just call me Nel. Or Nelly if you wanna make it cute." Pushing off the railing, Nel brushed his clothes down. “I’ll catch you around. You’re going to do great things.”  Snorting, Sunset waved goodbye to the vagrant. "Yeah, gonna try for that. I'll even settle for neutral at this point." Taking another bite of her apple, she watched the clouds pass overhead. She couldn’t see burning gold that had become her eyes. With a newfound confidence, she resumed her walk home. Sunset Shimmer would rise from the ashes.