There has never been a single day in the neighborhood that wasn't beautiful. The sun always brought such a harmonious quality to the picturesque community that all the residents never truly notice when it's gone. If one were to go to 143 Trolley Avenue, they would come across a quaint little home which belongs to an equally quaint man who is known by the locals as Fred Rogers. Every time a neighbor gets to pay a visit to Mr. Rogers' abode, the very first thing he/she sees is a traffic light that always blinks yellow with a picture in the background that always greets said neighbor with a welcoming "Hi." Like all visits to Mr. Rogers' the neighbor has grown accustomed to seeing his/her good friend enter the moment his/her gaze turns to the front door where he would treat his neighbor with a catchy tune that serves as an indicator that today is going to be a beautiful day as usual. While singing his song Mr. Rogers would always go through the routine of placing whatever special item he brought with him on his little bench, switch out his jacket for one of his colorful cardigan sweaters (with his much favored red sweater being his choice for today), zipping it up while leaving his neck tie exposed for his neighbor to see, taking off one of his dress shoes to slip on and tie one of his blue sneakers, and then removing his last dress shoe before tossing it to his other hand and finally tying up the final sneaker.
"Hi neighbor, it's so good to see you again. Do you ever get the feeling that you haven't seen anybody in what feels like a hundred years, even if it's only just been a day ago? I know I get that feeling sometimes, but that what makes it all the better when we do see each other again.
"Do you know what special item I've brought with me today?" Fred took the time to pick up the item so that his neighbor may get a clear view. "It's a scrapbook. People use these to store mementos. Do you know what a memento is? It's a symbol that people use to remind themselves of a special occurrence that they greatly cherish. Would you like to see some of my mementos?" Opening up his scrapbook, Mr. Rogers thumb through some pages until he saw something that he felt his neighbor would find interesting. "Here are tickets that my cousin, Tom Hanks, delivered to my family and I for a movie he was starring in, and on the next page is the Presidential Medal of Freedom that was bestowed upon me by the President of the United States. Can you say bestow? Like, it's generous to bestow money to charity, or a mother always bestows love and care for her children. Allow me to bestow more mementos to you." Fred flipped through more pages before finding what he wanted his neighbor to see. "Here is a drawing that a child made for me of Daniel Striped Tiger and his family, and next to it is a photograph of myself and a new friend I made in last December. Her name is Sunset Shimmer; she might've been happy in this picture, but when I first saw her, she was awfully sad and felt completely lost. I later found out it was because she was having a hard time forgiving her friends for hurting her. Do you know what that means? To forgive? It's a decision we make to relieve someone of the feelings of anger we have towards them. It can be hard to forgive those we don't like, but it's even harder to forgive those we love.
"Would you like to see how it all happened?" Putting down his scrapbook, Mr. Rogers got off the little bench and proceeded to his trolley bench. Situating himself upon said bench, Fred mess about with some controls until a little toy trolley appeared from behind him. "Hi Trolley, it's been a while since we had a little make believe." Trolley responded with a series of dings and whistles. "Let's pretend that it is December 14th, Sunset Shimmer is just arriving to Canterlot Highschool where she'll undergo some circumstances that'll lead to our eventual meeting. Take us away, Trolley." The mechanical trolley crossed into a tunnel which led the neighbor to the events of December 14th.
...
The trolley powered through the heaps of snow that blanketed the very tracks it was running on, while its sole passenger hopped off it and stood upon her destination. There was a time when Canterlot Highschool was brimming with the goodwill of this joyous season, but it quickly dissipated when a mysterious MyStable user known only as Anon-a-Miss sowed distrust amongst the student body. All it took was a few embarrassing secrets to be posted on the website, and then Anon-a-Miss' page became overflowed with a surplus of secrets posted by spiteful students.
Seeking a scapegoat to vent out their frustrations over having their secrets exposed on the internet, everyone elected to have all fingers pointed towards Sunset Shimmer, even by those who were her friends and family up until now. As much as it pained her to keep attending a place that rained hate upon her on a daily basis, she took solace in the fact that she only has to endure today and finally free herself from the never-ending abuse during the winter break.
Despite no longer being out in the snow, Sunset could still feel the cold following her like a shadow. She can't even recall the last instant when she felt warm; she only knew that the icy stares and frigid whispers amongst her peers were only adding to the cold that lingered over her. Throwing her scarf and earmuffs in her locker, Sunset made a sharp turn with her body that led to her colliding into the body of another passing student.
The student who had the mild misfortune of bumping into Sunset Shimmer was a green skinned girl with a long set of green hair who looked at the fiery haired girl with a look of indifference. Although Sunset hasn't been given too much of a reason to show any kind of common courtesy to anybody, she felt this strange girl did nothing to warrant disdain.
"Sorry, I didn't see you." Sunset pulled the girl back up.
"You and everyone else in this school."
The tone in which the green girl made her response caught Sunset Shimmer by surprise. There wasn't even a hint of the icy anger that most people have been hurling at her these past few weeks; it came off as rather hollow, as if the very person who said those words was nothing more than a husk of a human being. But any further pondering over the strange girl had to be put on hiatus when the firm hand of Vice Principal Luna gripped Sunsets' shoulder.
"Miss Shimmer, come with me to the Principals' office."
"Does this have anything to do with Anon-a-Miss?"
"It does. I don't know how to explain this to you, so it's best if you come see for yourself."
Sunset had a feeling this time would eventually come. It wasn't enough that she was being harassed by her classmates, it was only a matter of time before Principal Celestia would get involved. She had been picturing how this event would play out since the day her former friends declared her to be Anon-a-Miss: she would step inside the Principals' office where she would be greeted by the icy stare of Principal Celestia, and she would make a desperate attempt to convince her that she's not Anon-a-Miss, only for her plea to fall on deaf ears and become expelled from Canterlot Highschool.
After taking a walk that felt like a mile alongside the Vice Principal, the desolate girl had to look at her feet as she made her way into the office. Mustering enough willpower to lift her gaze, Sunset detected the expected sight of a stone-faced Principal along with the unforeseen display of her former friends along with the three freshmen known to the entire school as the CMC.
"Let me guess, Anon-a-Miss said something mean about your sisters and you're all demanding Principal Celestia to have me expelled," Sunset crossed her arms as she spoke to her ex-friends.
No one responded right away. Sunset took note of the contrite expressions upon the girls' faces, including their sisters'; a far cry from the looks of betrayal that once plastered their faces when they made the cruel choice of severing their friendship with the fiery haired girl.
"Girls, tell her." Principal Celestia ordered the three freshmen.
The girls dragged their feet as they walked up to Sunset, when they got close enough, they merely looked at the ground in an ashamed manner that all kids have whenever they get in trouble for a few seconds until Apple Bloom finally mustered up the nerve to speak, "Sunset, we're the ones who setup the Anon-a-Miss account. We were all jealous of our sisters spendin' so much time with ya that we thought framin' ya fer postin' their secrets would have them spend more time with us."
Sweetie Belle took this chance to join in, "But when everybody else started submitting secrets of their own on the webpage, and you kept getting hurt every day, we just couldn't stay silent any longer and had to put a stop to this mess before things got even worse for you."
Lastly, Scootaloo stepped up to make their closing statement. "Principal Celestia already gave us six months of detention for what we did, and she's gonna make us announce this in front of the whole school after this, we just wanted to tell you how sorry we are for making your life so miserable these past three weeks and that we'll do everything we can to make it all up to you."
To say that Sunset had been stunned by what the three girls said would be a gross understatement. Weeks of being arraigned by the entire school for allegedly disclosing everyone's most embarrassing secrets on the internet, only for today of all days for Sunset to find out that not only was she truly innocent like she been saying since her friends cut all ties with her, but that the true culprits were three freshmen girls of whom she had absolutely no recollection of bullying or harassing in anyway, not even back when Sunset used to be a tormentor. But the fact that their basis for wanting to frame Sunset was built on something so picayune as not getting to spend a single night with their sisters left her so dumbfounded that she could only stand still like a statue in order to process it all.
Seeing Sunset being deafly quiet and unresponsive left the three girls in a state of confusion, which gave Scootaloo cause to ask, "Aren't ya gonna say something?"
Hearing those words of Scootaloo ringing inside her ears was all Sunset needed to break out of her emotionless comatose. Only the CMC took note of the way the fiery haired girl's brows began to furrow, her teeth grinding, and her fist clenching were signs that a sudden outburst of rage is imminent. And the girls only managed to back away two paces before they felt the full fury of Sunset impact them.
"Are you kidding me?! You mean to tell me that you little brats turned me into a pariah just because you didn't get to be in our sleepovers?!"
"Well, it's Christmas," Apple Bloom meekly attempted to justify hers'--and her friends'--actions, "families are meant ta spend time tagether, and they were spendin' it with you fer some reason."
"Oh sorry," Sunset replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "I had no idea that getting to spend a couple of nights with your sisters would be so selfish of me! If you really want to spend time with them so badly, then you can have them!"
Turning her back from everyone, Sunset promptly stormed out of Celestia's office with her newfound acrimony looming over her like a rain cloud. Many of the students have grown accustomed to seeing Sunset Shimmer be an unresisting girl since the aftermath of the Fall Formal; so, it came as bad news when everybody saw that the fiery haired girl, who was once desperate to gain the approval of the entire school, had relapsed to the ill-tempered queen bee who struck fear in the hearts of every student since freshman year.
The predominant fashion in which she carried her whole body was enough to make crowds of students back up against the rows of lockers that made up the hall. The only person who remained oblivious to Sunset's sudden change was an orange haired drama girl named Golden Hazel, who just happened to be in the middle of checking her phone; the only problem is that she unknowingly happens to be leaning against Sunset Shimmer's locker. Having lost all concern over the opinions of her classmates, Sunset seized the unsuspecting girl by the shoulder and flung her to the side like a sack of potatoes.
"What's your problem, Anon-a-Miss?!" The foolish girl made the even graver mistake of talking back to an enraged Sunset.
The already infuriated girl twisted her body with the ferocity of a predator as she thrusted her head up to Golden's face and her fiery gaze pierced into her as she shouted from the top of her lungs, "YOU GOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SAY TO ME?!"
"J-j-just w-w-wanted to you wish you a m-m-m-merry Christmas." The shattered girl whimpered as she slowly backed away on all fours like a wounded puppy.
Allowing the intensity of her words to sink into the souls of her classmates, Sunset slowly returned to the task of opening her locker. As she was about to reach inside, her ears picked up the sound of somebody calling her name, which she found to be her ex-friends running up to her along with the CMC and Principal and Vice Principal.
"And what do you backstabbers possibly want?!" Sunset pointed an accusing finger towards them.
"Other than a chance to say we're sorry?" Rainbow spoke up.
Sunset let out a dry laugh before proceeding with, "You honestly think that a simple 'we're sorry' is going to make me forget that the five of you are as horrible as the three brats who created the Anon-a-Miss page, and the other jerks who were purposely stoking the fire that these posts were building just so they could lash out while blaming me?!"
Hearing about the identity of the true creators of Anon-a-Miss caused every bystander in the hallway to be as shocked as Sunset was when she heard about it for the first time. "Sunset, darling, please," Rarity beseeched her with clasping hands, "the other students aren't ready to know about this yet."
"What's the matter, Rarity? Afraid that the whole student body will start harassing your sister and her friends?" Sunset responded. "You and the rest of my false friends sure had no problem allowing everybody to do just that to me; so why shouldn't they be put through the same abuse as well?"
"Because they're family!" Applejack blurted out the first response she could think of without bothering to polish it in a way that wouldn't exasperate her ex-friend further.
"Oh, I get it now; it's wrong to be angry at someone who's really your family, but being angry at somebody who's only family in name is perfectly justifiable?!"
"It's not like we wanted to abandon you," Fluttershy peeped her typically soft voice, "the evidence at the time just happened to be pointed towards you."
"Evidence?!" Sunset raised the question along with her tone of voice. "You seriously consider a few posts, pictures of me cropped out of them, and a crudely made icon photo that happens to resemble me to be sufficient evidence to jump to conclusions without even so much as listening to my side first?!"
"I guess our reasons for labeling you as Anon-a-Miss does sound kinda stupid when you put it like that," Pinkie Pie rubbed the back of her head and blushed in embarrassment.
Sunset followed this up with a slow mock clapping before saying sneeringly, "Bravo Pinkie, you've said something smart for once; and here I thought that you had nothing but candy and balloons on the brain."
Watching the normally cheerful Pinkie Pie shed a hurtful tear made Principal Celestia realize that she must act fast if she hoped to deescalate Sunset's rising temper. "Sunset, I understand that you're upset over these dreadful events that have transpired, but you mustn't allow it to sever the bonds of friendship that you've worked so hard to build."
"Those so called 'friends' of mine were the ones who severed our ties in the first place, so don't you dare try to place any of the blame on me!" The fiery haired girl now gifted the principal with the not-so winsome present of pernicious talk. "And the last thing I need is a lecture from a do-nothing Principal who hid inside her office while the whole Anon-a-Miss disaster kept getting worse!"
"We're school officials, Sunset, we don't have control over a social media website." Vice Principal Luna spoke in her sisters' defense.
"You two could've at least listened to me when I had nobody to talk to, comfort me when I was hurt, or at least give some semblance that you were concerned for my wellbeing; but no, you instead turned your backs on me like every other teacher and left me at the mercy of hateful peers who were just waiting for an excuse to let their true colors be revealed! All I know is that this whole debacle has shown me what a complete waste of time my efforts at being everyone's friend truly is!"
"Sunset, you don't mean that," Fluttershy attempted to reach her former friend as tears of her own welled up.
"Don't tell me what I mean or don't mean, and you can wipe away those crocodile tears because you won't get an ounce of pity out of me! As far as I'm concerned, neither of you deserve to call yourselves my friends--let alone my family!"
"You're not being fair!" Rainbow cried out.
"Seems perfectly fair to me, because now you know what it was like for me trying to gain everybody's trust during the Battle of the Bands; only you all shouldn't even bother attempting to regain my friendship, because spoiler alert, I'm never forgiving any of you!"
Sunset once again turned to take out whatever stuff she had kept in her locker, until she felt Rainbow's hand clutching her shoulder. "Sunset, will you just...?"
Up until this point, Sunset had only expressed her anger through harsh words that were sharp enough to cut through solid steel, but feeling Rainbow placing her hand upon her shoulder in a bid to get her to listen to whatever schmaltzy apology she wanted to pour out made the irritated girl come to the conclusion that talking may not be enough to get her point across to this bullheaded ex-friend of hers. And so, channeling all of the rage that's been flowing all over her body, she directed her fury into a clenched fist and let it fly right into Rainbow's face with enough force to send the athletic girl sliding across the hallway a good thirteen feet.
Rushing over to their beaten friend, the girls--along with the CMC--cringed when they all got a good sight of Rainbow's cyan face splattered with blood gushing out of her shattered nose. Taking their eyes off of her, the girls looked back at Sunset who was watching them with the same resentful expression plastered on her face along with her still clenching fist, which is now lightly bruised and covered with a bit of Rainbow's blood.
"I never want to see any of you again!" Not even caring anymore about what's in her locker, Sunset swiftly bolted away with speed that could almost rival that of Rainbow Dash until she went through the nearest exit.
Sunset had no clue just how long she'd been running; she only knew that she was a good distance from Canterlot Highschool by this point. At the rate that she was running, Sunset felt as if she could probably continuously sprint until she found herself in a new town. If that were indeed her intention, then she would be greatly disappointed to realize her course had to be brought to an end when her foot stepped upon a particularly slippery piece of ice on the sidewalk.
Upon collapsing onto the frost covered concrete, Sunset could only muster enough strength so that only her arms and knees were propping her up. Shivering from the rigid cold that was slowly engulfing her, Sunset felt her rage subside and give way to a devastating sadness the like of which she hadn't felt since the day her friends abandoned her. No longer caring if any passing stranger were to see her in such a pitiful state, Sunset permitted herself to bewail over the hurt that she carried on her back; the thought that she would always be a slave to her anger, the idea that there is not a single soul on this planet who would ever show compassion to the likes of her, and her own convincing that she forever sealed her fate of eternal loneliness by denying her friends her forgiveness (and physically assaulting one of them), combined together would form the absolute worse pain the poor girl could ever experience.
Sunset was so preoccupied with wallowing in her despair, that it came as a shock to her when she felt something drape over her shoulders. Using her hands to grab part of it, she found that it's nothing more than a dark green wool blanket. Before she could dwell on the matter any further, her eyes were suddenly fixed upon an open palm that appeared in front of her face, beckoning for her to place her own hand upon it. Having no affinity for the prospect of slowly freezing to death, Sunset willingly placed her hand upon the open palm and found herself being both gently lifted up to her feet and led towards a luminous light that forced her to close her eyes.
When she felt her body stopping in place, Sunset's eyelids gradually opened to reveal that she's inside a church. She had heard of churches back in Equestria, but was never all that curious to see what one looked like from the inside. The Romanesque architecture which practically delineates the purity of this church may come off as simple in the eyes of most people, but in the eyes of Sunset Shimmer it was breathtaking. What really caught her eye were the stained-glass windows depicting Biblical events that immediately triggered a flood of memories of her old days as Princess Celestia's student; for a moment, her mind wasn't fixated on her anguish but on contemplation over whether or not Celestia would be more than happy to welcome her back in her castle, and if she'd ever forgiven her former student for never appreciating her attempts at molding her into the potential heir that she could have been.
"I hope you don't mind coffee; it's the only thing I have that's warm." A soft voice broke Sunset's concentration. Directing herself to the source of said voice, she found that her Good Samaritan was an elderly, gray haired, wrinkly man whose elegant robes told Sunset that he must be the ordained minister of this house of God, and who is currently offering a foam cup of coffee. Gladly accepting the drink and thanking this kind stranger for his charity, Sunset sipped enough of the warm beverage to remove the shivering sensation she obtained from outside, though not quite as effective at purging the cold that still lingered within her.
When she looked back at her gracious host, she saw something on his face that she hadn't seen in a long time: a smile. Ever since being branded as Anon-a-Miss, Sunset could not recall the last instance of somebody smiling upon or making so much as eye contact with her; so, to see a smile from a kind old man came as bit of a shock. What really fascinated her is how genuine and sincere the smile felt. But she also remembered the smiles that her former friends used to give her before their sudden betrayal, and the mere afterthought was enough for the fiery haired girl to reinforce her defenses.
Not entirely sure of what to make of this priest, Sunset's first response was to shake his hand and say, "I'm Sunset Shimmer."
"Fred Rogers." The kind stranger returned the gesture. "I never expected to see a girl across from my church who's bereft of any winter gear."
"I was in a rush to get out of school; I guess putting my gear on slipped my mind."
"Would you mind if I took your jacket off?"
The apprehensive manner in which Sunset cling to her leather jacket told Fred that she would indeed mind. Noticing the concerned look upon his face, Sunset tried to bring forth an alternate topic to discuss. "Your church looks beautiful, Mr. Rogers. Or am I supposed to call you, Father?"
"Mr. Rogers will do. I'm glad that you like my church; everybody is welcome here."
"Including monsters like me?"
"Why would you refer to yourself as a monster?"
"Everybody in school treats me like one, including the five friends who were the closest thing I had to a family. It took the entire school blaming me for something I never did to make me realize how meaningless my attempt at gaining friendship truly is."
Fred didn't require any glasses to perceive the forlorn eyes of Sunset which were devoid of all hope. Seeing anybody this woebegone was enough to pain his heart, and he always had a sense for when somebody was in need of help, even if they don't outright say it. Keeping his smile in place, Mr. Rogers said to the poor girl, "I was just about to head over to the Children's Hospital to deliver presents and spend some time with them. Would you care to join me?"
Sunset almost spilled her coffee upon hearing that simple request. "It's nice of you to ask, but I'm better off alone."
"Nobody should ever be alone on Christmas; bringing people together is what makes this holiday so special. And I just know that the children will be overjoyed if you pay them a visit."
"I don't even have a present to give them."
"That's OK, we'll just say that the presents are from both of us. Besides, your company is the gift that truly matters to them."
Despite the sincerity of Mr. Rogers' words, Sunset's defenses were still reminding her of the last time she placed her faith in people who appeared to want to offer their friendship to her, only for those same people to turn away from her as if their previous affinity to her was just a cruel joke this whole time. At the same time, she could feel an inkling inside her heart that was compelling her to give this kind man a chance. And considering that Mr. Rogers had gone out of his way to deliver her from the bitter cold, part of Sunset figured that helping him could be a small way of repaying him. In the end, Sunset decided to oblige Fred and join him on his visit to the Children's Hospital; although her brain was still telling her that Fred may end up hating her should he find out what a horrible person she used to be, Sunset's heart persuaded her that it was a risk worth taking.
The drive to the Children's Hospital was uneventful, to say the least. Despite the supernumerary of ice that coated the roads, Mr. Rogers had no trouble steering his Oldsmobile into the parking lot. The time it took for them to go from the church to the hospital wasn't too long, but the lack of music made Sunset feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. When Mr. Rogers finally parked his car, Sunset practically burst out of the door as if her life depended on it.
Popping the trunk of his car, Mr. Rogers took out three wrapped presents and a little black leather briefcase, while Sunset carried the other four gifts. With the icy surface forcing the two to tread to the hospital entrance at a snails' pace, Sunset took it as a chance to chat with Fred.
"Is there a reason you don't have a radio in your car?"
"It was a special request of mine when I bought the car."
"Really? The first thing I'd do with a car of my own is crank the radio up to full volume. Why wouldn't you want one in yours?"
"I consider silence to be the greatest gift we have; and it's hard to appreciate that gift when your senses are being bombarded by constant noise."
"What's so great about silence?"
"Silence can help us to stop and think about the people who help us. Is there somebody who helped you become who you are right now?"
She would've said her friends, but she'd only be lying to herself if she gave the impression that she forgiven them enough to still consider them to have left an impact on her life for the best. But then she quickly remembered the only friend who believed in and wanted to listen to her. "Twilight Sparkle."
"Who is she?"
"She's my first friend, and the one to help me change into the person I am now. I've only been able to talk to her through writing these past weeks, but it still feels as if she's right beside me."
"It sounds like she must care about you very much."
Before she could continue their conversation any further, both she and Mr. Rogers finally reached the entrance. With the automatic doors granting them entry, Fred and Sunset stood upon the door mat as they gazed around the waiting area of the hospital, until finally spotting a large open box that held donated gifts inside. The two of them had just finished placing their presents inside when they heard a voice cry out, "Hello Fred, I was wondering when you'd show up."
They both discovered that the voice came from a plump nurse with pink skin, and light purple and white hair. Fred wasted no time in returning her greeting with a handshake. "It's nice to see you again, Sweetheart. I'd like for you to meet my new friend, Sunset Shimmer. She wanted to see the children."
"It's very nice of you to spare some of your time to see them, dear." Sweetheart turned to Sunset. "Let me take your jacket off for you." Like before, Sunset clutched to her leather jacket in a manner that says, "don't touch it". Respecting her wishes, Nurse Sweetheart turned back to Fred and removed his winter gear where she placed them upon a nearby coat rack. "The children are going to be so happy when they see you."
"I'm always glad to bring joy to them on beautiful days like this." Fred told the nurse.
"'Beautiful'?" Sunset remarked. "Did you not notice the complete lack of sunlight outside?"
"It doesn't matter what it's like outside," Mr. Rogers replied, "it can be a beautiful day inside."
Before Sunset could question what Fred said any further, Nurse Sweetheart prompted them to follow her to where the children are currently playing. Upon reaching their destination, Sunset and Fred stopped to a halt, while Nurse Sweetheart announced, "Children, look who's come to visit."
When she stepped aside, Sunset saw what appeared to be seven children playing together near a rug with various toys, all of them wearing colorful pajamas along with bathrobes and slippers. When their eyes spotted Fred, all seven of them shouted in unison, "Mr. Rogers!"
Placing his briefcase down, Fred dropped to one knee as he allowed all of the children to hug him one at a time. Upon receiving the final hug, Fred took the chance to introduce Sunset, "This is my new friend, Sunset Shimmer. She wanted to meet all of you. Can you tell her 'Hi'?"
"Hello, Sunset." The children recited together.
"Hello." Sunset waved with a meek smile.
"I love your hair." A little girl with buttercream skin and crimson hair tied in a ponytail complimented her.
"Thank you, and I love your..." trying to think of a nice way to return her felicitation, Sunset could only focus on the red birthmark that encompassed her left eye. So, without any better options, Sunset blurted out, "...birthmark?"
"You do?" The little girl placed her hand near her birthmark. "Most kids say it looks like an ink blot."
"I don't think so," Sunset told her. "It looks more like a blooming flower to me."
Hearing that brought a smile to the girls' face that could melt the coldest of hearts. Sunset was about to ask the girl her name when Mr. Rogers placed his hand upon her shoulder. "I see that you've met Faith."
"Faith. That's a pretty name." Sunset complimented the little girl some more.
The moment Nurse Sweetheart had completed putting away the last toy, she announced, "All right, kids. Let's gather around in a circle."
Following her instructions, the children--along with Fred and Sunset--formed a circle around the round rug and crossed their legs upon situating themselves, with Sunset sitting between Mr. Rogers and Faith. It wasn't too long before a yellow skinned boy with spikey orange hair spoke up, "Did you bring more friends, Mr. Rogers?"
"As a matter of fact, Gallop, I did." Unclasping his black briefcase, Mr. Rogers reached in with only one hand as he pulled out a threadbare hand puppet of a stripped tiger, whose brown fur has since become grayed with dust.
"Hello everybody," Fred spoke in a childlike voice as he made his puppet wave to the children, with Sunset taking note of the fact that he wasn't even attempting to hide the fact that he was talking with his lips moving.
"Hello Daniel!" the children greeted the puppet back.
"It's so good to be here with all of you again." Fred then made Daniel motion his way towards Sunset, where he immediately made the tiger cower in a shy manner akin to that of Fluttershy. "Oh, I don't believe I ever met you before."
"I'm Sunset Shimmer." The fiery haired girl played along for the kids' sake. "Are you afraid of me?"
"No, I just get a little sheepish when I meet new people, even though I'm technically a tiger." That little joke educed laughter out of the kids' mouths, and a light chuckle from Sunset. "That jacket you're wearing makes you look a little scary, though."
"Really? I always thought it made me look tough, especially the spikes."
"Those spikes do look awfully sharp," Daniel pointed out. "You could probably hurt someone if you bumped into them."
"I never try hurting people with the spikes." I just hurt people in different ways.
"That's good to know; you don't seem to be someone who likes hurting people."
"I don't like hurting people, but..." as much Sunset knew admitting this may not be the best thing to do, she still felt compelled to come clean. "I did hurt one of my friends today. (Or ex-friends I should say.)"
"What happened?"
"My friends left me alone for weeks because they thought I did something horrible; I was so angry at them that when one of them tried to stop me from leaving..." Sunset paused to look at the children who were practically thinking that they were watching an intense tv show that ends on a cliffhanger, while simultaneously being afraid and curious to discover what the outcome would be. "I punched her."
Upon divulging her violent conduct to everybody, Sunset immediately closed her eyes and lowered her head in shame, anticipating Mr. Rogers, the children, and Nurse Sweetheart to see her for the heartless monster that everybody at CHS saw her as before her innocence was made clear. She didn't hear a single word escape from anyone's lips, but she did feel the soft paws of Daniel rubbing her arm in a soothing manner. When her eyes finally opened, Mr. Rogers made Daniel say, "It's OK, Sunset. Everybody gets angry sometimes."
Sunset was understandably perplexed by this response. But what puzzled her even more were the expressions on the childrens' faces, which were that of sympathetic understanding. "I don't get it. None of you are disgusted by the fact that I just hurt my friend?"
"I once got into a fight with a friend of mine when he accidently splattered mud on my favorite skirt." A pale Spring green skinned girl with peach colored hair shared with Sunset.
"And I once smashed my sisters' dollhouse after she broke one of my toy cars." A light grayish opal skinned boy with dark azure hair spoke up.
Fred lowered Daniel so that he could talk to Sunset face-to-face. "You see, Sunset, everybody hurts their friends or loved ones whenever they get mad, and everybody also hurt themselves when they get angry. But there are many ways to convey your anger without hurting anybody or yourself. Lily, what do you do when you're angry?"
"I pound my dad's punching bag until the anger is out of me." The little pigtailed girl named Lily answered.
Mr. Rogers turned to a gray skinned boy with bright red hair. "And what do you do with your anger, Train Tracks?"
"I push my toy train as far as I can."
Mr. Rogers then turned back to Sunset. "Do you know how I let my anger out?" She shook her head in reply. "I pound the keys on a piano with all my might." Utilizing the sole hand that happens to be sans a puppet, Fred commenced to pretending that said hand was indeed pounding some piano keys while emulating the sound effects from his own mouth.
When he appeared to be finished with his demonstration, Faith took the chance to ask, "Mr. Rogers, could we sing 'What Do You Do With the Mad That You Feel' to Sunset?"
"That is an excellent idea, Faith. Would you like to hear it, Sunset?"
Receiving a nod from the fiery haired girl, Mr. Rogers and the children bestowed upon her an upbeat song about the wonderful feeling of controlling one's rage. It was a rather simplistic and repetitive tune, starting off with a list of various nonviolent alternatives to letting out anger such as punching a bag, pounding clay, playing tag with friends, or running as fast as one's legs can carry, all leading up to the central theme of how good it feels to prevent wrathful impulses before it's too late. And as she listened to each lyric being uttered out loud, part of her was indeed being convinced that someone like her can have control over her anger; and for the briefest of moments, Sunset could feel a glimmer of hope rekindle inside her.
When the song eventually ended, Mr. Rogers once again looked upon Sunset to say, "Did you enjoy that?"
After gaining another nod from her, Fred raised Daniel back up and made him say, "Do you know what I do when I get angry? I take comfort in my friends and family."
"It's too bad that nobody could ever like a monster like me." Sunset bemoaned once more.
"I don't think you're a monster," Daniel said. "I think you're a good person as you are right now; and I like you just the way you are."
"Thank you, Daniel." Sunset graciously accepted the puppet's kind words.
With the twist of his wrist, Fred had Daniel make eye contact with him as he said, "It's time for me to go back in the briefcase, Mr. Rogers."
"Make sure you bid everyone farewell first." Facing Daniel towards the children, he made the tiger wave his little paw in a gesture that said, "ta-ta for now," which the children return to him in kind. Upon returning Daniel to his mobile home, Mr. Rogers spoke to a minty green skinned boy with dark grayish cyan hair. "Mint Chip, I believe it's your turn to pick today's story."
Bouncing to his feet, the boy called Mint Chip rushed over to a dinky bookshelf containing an array of picture books, ranging from beloved classics such as Don Freeman's Corduroy, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, and even the entire works of Dr. Seuss. Scanning the multicolored spines that laid in front of him, Mint slipped out a thin book he found sandwiched between The Polar Express and The Snowman. Handing his chosen story over to Mr. Rogers, the kind man raised the book's cover in display, revealing that the boy had selected The Velveteen Rabbit.
As Fred was preparing himself to sit back down, Faith suddenly asked, "Can Sunset read it?"
If surprises were bits, Sunset could easily amass enough wealth to rival all the nobles in Canterlot. She couldn't even speak up before Fred said, "I won't mind if she doesn't mind. How about it, Sunset, would you care to read todays' story?"
The manner in which Mr. Rogers extended the book within Sunset's reach, combined with the pleading puppy dog gaze that Faith was directing towards her, were all the indicators the fiery haired girl required to realize that refusing is not an option. Accepting her impromptu responsibility as today's storyteller, Sunset took the book as if she was holding the torch of the Olympics when she sat down with her legs crossed while also permitting Faith to nestle beside her as she began reading the chosen story to the entire circle.
It wasn't that long of a book, spanning a mere forty pages, but Sunset took it upon herself to read aloud in a steady pace in order for the children to let each uttered sentence sink in. It was a rather plain child's story about a stuffed rabbit who through both the love of a little boy and the magic of a fairy becomes a real rabbit. There were a few dismal parts (Sunset herself thought the rabbit almost being burnt to ashes would be enough to traumatize these kids), but the happy ending was enough to make all the children let out cries of cheer.
With story time out of the way, Nurse Sweetheart walked in with a toy guitar as she announced that now is the time for singing. Sunset was not entirely sure what compelled her to make her prowess as a guitar player be known to everyone, but once it was out, she knew that she'd practically volunteered to perform today's song--which ended up being "Where is Thumbkin?". As she took the guitar from the nurse, Sunset noticed Faith leaving the circle while making her way to a small yellow table near a corner, but that wasn't enough to make the fiery haired girl put the performance on hold for the other kids. The next two minutes was spent singing about every finger on the human body--including the middle finger, which elicited a light giggle from both Sunset and Mr. Rogers.
With the song finally at an end, Mr. Rogers picked himself up as he announced to the children, "It has been a real pleasure getting to spend time with all of you, but it's time for me to go home." He then offered his hand to a still sitting Sunset. "It would be a real delight if you could have dinner at my place, if you wish to join my wife and I."
Finding herself becoming less trepidatious than when she first met him, Sunset responded with an affirming nod as she gladly took his offered hand to lift herself back to her feet and bid the children farewell. Sunset only managed to take two steps before the sound of Faith's voice halted her exit. Directing her body to face Faith, the little girl extended a piece of paper towards her with both hands.
"I really liked spending time with you Sunset, and I don't know if you'll ever come back, so I made this for you, so you won't forget me."
Bending her knees in order to accept the little girl's gift, Sunset looked closer to see that it was a crayon drawing of her and Faith joining hands together with the message "IT'S YOU I LIKE!" written in pink. Before she even had a chance to verbally reply, the fiery haired girl suddenly felt her neck become girded by the arms of Faith, who also proceeded to nuzzle her face next to Sunset. It felt like an eternity the last time Sunset felt such a warm embrace on her person, but that tender expression Faith offered her was enough to make her eye's leak with tears of joy. Upon returning the kind gesture with a hug of her own, Sunset parted with Faith by saying, "I'll never forget you, Faith."
Rising back to her feet, Sunset joined beside Mr. Rogers as the two of them returned to his car to commence their latest journey to his abode. As she wiped off her tears with a tissue that was generously given to her by Nurse Sweetheart, Sunset only just now noticed that for the first time since her friends cut all ties with her at the onset of the Anon-a-Miss fiasco, she finally felt warm again.
Much like the drive to the Children's Hospital, the excursion to Mr. Roger's home proved to be equally prosaic. The only part of the drive that can even be considered remotely riveting are the numerous turns Mr. Rogers had to take when entering his neighborhood. Fortunately for Sunset, it didn't take Mr. Roger's long to drive up to his driveway and park his Oldsmobile. Compelled by her innate hastiness, Sunset swung the door open and lunged herself out without delay only to feel her entire body slip back and would've experience the excruciating pain of landing on one's bottom upon icy concrete had she not grabbed both the knob and side of the car in time. Fearing for Fred's wellbeing, Sunset carefully made her way to the other side of the car and offered her arm as a means of providing him with some much-needed balance, which he graciously accepted.
Upon reaching the front door, Fred removed his arm from Sunset's so that he could extract the key to his home and provide his guest with a passage to his humble abode. With the door finally open, Sunset was permitted to enter first out of courtesy so that Fred could close the door from behind.
"Joanne, there's somebody I'd like you to meet." Fred called out while rummaging through a nearby closet.
"In a moment Roge, I'm just getting the cookies out of the oven." The voice of Mrs. Rogers resonated from the nearby kitchen.
Sunset merely stood about in the living room as she took in the sight of the modest amount of furnishings that range from a cozy looking couch with a coffee table across from it and two grand pianos that are both set alongside the sides of a nearby fireplace currently warming up the environment with its soothing flame. The sound of footsteps directed Sunset towards an elderly bespectacled woman with curly white hair, who was in the process of placing a plate of baked cookies onto the table before taking notice of the fiery haired girl's presence.
"Why hello, I don't believe we've met."
"I see you've just met my new friend, Sunset Shimmer." Fred immediately commenced the introductions after trading in his Winter gear for a red and green cardigan and sneakers. "Sunset, allow me to introduce you to my lovely wife, Joanne."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Rogers." Sunset offered her hand to Fred's better half.
"The pleasure's all mine, dear." Joanne reciprocated by shaking the hand of her guest. "May I take your jacket?"
Before Sunset could resort back to her resistive response, it was Fred this time who gently stopped his wife and explained, "Sunset prefers to keep her jacket on, Joanne."
"I understand." Joanne replied before speaking once more to Sunset, "I was only making sure that you're comfortable, dear."
"I am." Sunset confirmed before changing the subject. "I don't think I've met anybody who keeps two pianos in their home."
"Roge and I went to the same college to earn our music degrees, so we each have a piano of our own for whenever we want to perform together."
"Roge?"
"Naturally." Fred replied. "Doesn't your special someone ever refer to you by a special nickname?"
"I was never that entirely close with the last boyfriend I was with, which is why he and I aren't together anymore."
"We understand Sunset," Joanne imparted her own experience with love to her guest, "Roge and I didn't even settle down until we both finished college; during that time, we would often be at different locations and even date other people until Roge finally proposed to me. When he did propose to me, it was done by a letter he sent to me, and I in turn called him by phone to let him know that I accepted." The ringing of a nearby clock on a wall provided Joanne with a newfound haste. "Oh dear, I'd love to talk with you some more but I gotta pick up our sons and their families' at the airport. Help yourself to some of the cookies I just baked. Roge, can you walk me to the car, so I don't slip on the ice?"
"As you wish."
While Fred provided Joanne with much needed support to their car, Sunset was momentarily left to her own company while savoring one of Joanne's cookies that gifted her with an idea of how love must taste like. After licking a few remaining crumbs off her fingers, Sunset rotated her gaze all around the living room until she spotted a rectangular scrapbook that was propped up by a golden stand. Indulging her curiosity, Sunset took the scrapbook and laid it upon her lap as she thumbed through pages that contained photos of all the people Mr. Rogers has met.
The fiery haired girl got up to three pages before Mr. Rogers reentered his home and said, "Ah, I see you've stumbled upon my scrapbook."
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Rogers, I never should have looked through it!" Sunset apologized while frantically trying to return the book to its proper place.
"No, no, you did nothing wrong Sunset." Fred assured his contrite guest. "I'll be happy to share some of my memories with you." Placing his scrapbook onto his own lap, Fred displayed the mementos that were most precious to him. "This was when I was wedding Bright Mac to Pear Butter. Their families had been in a fierce feud for the longest time, but that didn't stop these two from loving one another. Both Bright Mac's mother and Pear Butter's father burst right into the church by the time the two lovers sealed their marriage with a kiss; of course, both parents were furious by this, but not so much as Pear's father, who at that moment had openly disowned his daughter and moved away without her. Pear Butter was utterly heartbroken to have lost her father, which is all the more fortunate that she had a loving husband and a caring mother-in-law to help comfort her; especially when the time came for new additions to their family."
Fred pointed out three specific pictures to Sunset. "This was when I baptized their first child, Big Macintosh (of course he wasn't exactly 'Big' per say), and that's when I baptized their second child, Applejack, and that's when I baptized their third child, Apple Bloom. I imagine those children cherish everyday they got to spend with their parents, even after that tragic day when Bright Mac and Pear Butter got on a train that was taking them to where Pear's father was in the hopes that he could be part of their family, only for said train to derail and claim both of their lives."
Not wanting to allow such a bleak reminder to dampen whatever joy that begun to rekindle inside Sunset, Fred turned to photos that he didn't realize would make the fiery haired girl feel worse. "Here's a photo of me baking apple fritters with Applejack for her family reunion, and here's a photo of me trying on a sweater Rarity made for me, and this is a photo of the time I helped Fluttershy with looking after the animals at the shelter, and here's me and Pinkie Pie during a birthday party that she set up for me, and this is when Rainbow Dash had taught me how to juggle a soccer ball with my knees."
It was at this moment that Mr. Rogers finally noticed Sunset had completely turned her body away from the photos he was displaying to her. "Is something wrong, Sunset?"
Keeping her back turned and drumming her knee anxiously, Sunset spoke up, "You remember when I told you about having five friends who were like a family to me until they abandoned me?"
"I do."
"Those were the five friends." The fiery haired girl pointed at the photos of her ex-friends.
"I can certainly see them as your friends; I have known each of them since they were children. But what could have happened to make you lose their friendship?"
"It's a long story, and frankly I'm afraid that you'll end up hating me as much as everyone at CHS does the moment I tell you."
"Sometimes the path to healing begins with a friendly ear, and my ear is open should you wish to use it." Taking note of how Sunset has yet to face him, Fred gently placed his hand upon hers which caught the attention of her eye. "Sunset, I promise that if you share your story with me, that I'll listen to it with an open mind as well as an open heart. Because you're my friend, and nothing you tell me will ever make me regret extending my friendship to you."
Upon letting Mr. Rogers' words sink in, Sunset found herself facing an internal impasse. Would telling this kind man everything that led up to their meeting help with her dilemma? Or would she end up losing what might very well be the only true friend she has in this world? All Sunset knew is that Mr. Rogers has been nothing but open with her the entire time they've spent together, and it's only fair that he'd be made aware of what kind of a person he's lending his hand to. With a newfound confidence, Sunset compelled herself to look Mr. Rogers right in the eye and divulge her entire life story to him.
"Before coming to CHS, I was the apprentice to a wise mentor who wanted to teach me the value of friendship, only I was far too arrogant and snide to appreciate her teachings. After I did something that made my mentor lose faith in me, I was expelled by her, and I chose to run away where I ended up at CHS. The only thing that ever mattered to me was power; and I gained it by bullying my classmates or exposing any embarrassing secret about them for my personal gain. All of that changed when my first true friend, Twilight Sparkle, managed to beat some sense into me (in a manner of speaking), and helped me realize how much of a monster I truly was.
"Before returning to her home, Twilight entrusted me to five friends who would be the ones to help turn me into the better person that I should've been. It wasn't easy at first, since most of my classmates weren't exactly too keen on forgiving me for all the times I bullied them, but everyone eventually warmed up to me and I accepted that I changed for the better. But all it took for it to end was for a user named Anon-a-Miss to post embarrassing secrets of my friends on the internet. First my friends cut all ties with me, then everybody would shove or verbally assault me every time I went to school for weeks, until the true culprits finally revealed themselves to have been the little sisters of three of my friends who framed me simply because their sisters were spending too much time with me.
"I was so angry at those three for ruining everything I worked for, but I was even more angry at my five friends for all the pain their betrayal brought upon me, both emotionally and physically." Sunset rubbed the sleeve of her jacket before asking, "Do you want to know why I didn't want anyone to take off my jacket?"
"Only if you're comfortable with telling me." Rather than straight up telling Fred, Sunset rolled up her sleeve to reveal seven red scratch marks that were on her wrist. "My goodness! Who did this to you?"
"I did them all to myself."
"Oh my! Did any of your friends knew about this?"
"No, and even if they did, they'd probably would've been disappointed that I was still alive afterwards."
The sudden scornful tone in her voice told Mr. Rogers that this young lady was in need of some assurance. "Sunset, as angry as your friends may have been towards you, I don't think any of them would have felt joy to hear of your death."
"They weren't just friends to me; they were the closest thing I had to a family ever since I left my old life behind me. Only now I can't even look at them the same way now that I know they never truly forgiven me for all the past wrongs I did to them. What's even the point of trying to gain friendship when everybody is always going to judge me by who I was in the past?"
Fred attempted to wipe a few tears that were trickling down Sunset's cheek. "It's OK, I understand what it is you're going through."
"No you don't!" The now frustrated girl swatted away his hand. "I've seen the way people just instantly love you the moment they lay eyes on you! You are the absolute last person who could ever know what it's like to never have a single person that you can call a friend! Seriously, it's like you haven't been listening to a single word that I've been saying to you!"
Realizing what she just said, Sunset turned away like before and lowered her head in shame for having allowed her rage to lash out at the one person--aside from Twilight--who was willing to listen to her. The fiery haired girl braced herself for whatever scolding she was about to receive from Mr. Rogers, who she is utterly convinced no longer wants her in his home. But the only thing she received was a light pat to the back that made her look back into the eyes of Mr. Rogers.
"I have been listening to you, Sunset," he calmly assured her, "and I do know what it's like to not have friends." Clinching the rest of the pages with his thumb and index finger, Fred permitted the paper to slip through his grip until he spotted a page containing a photograph of a plump little boy.
"Who's that supposed to be?" Sunset wondered.
"That's me when I was a boy."
Sunset's eyes were constantly darting back and forth between Mr. Rogers and the picture of his younger self as if her own vision was deliberately playing a trick on her. When the image of Fred being pudgy finally shank in, Sunset couldn't help but lightly chuckle at the thought of it.
"I'm so sorry Mr. Rogers, I'm just having a hard time in believing that you used to be a chubby kid."
"It is certainly inconceivable," Fred admitted, "although probably not nearly as equivocal as imagining me being shy. But like you Sunset, I didn't start off as the person I am today. I was nothing more than a sickly, chubby, and timorous boy who didn't have many friends growing up. Any kids who did want to be around me would only tease me and call me such hurtful names like 'Fat Freddy'. Sometimes when I would be by myself, I would cry, and other times I would be very angry. Not only at the kids who'd hurt me, but at myself for not being able to have anyone I could call a friend--aside from my family and neighbors. Their constant teasing had discouraged me so badly that I was beginning to believe that my very existence was a mistake that never should've happened. I never even gotten to experience true friendship until I reached high school, just as you did."
"How?"
"By performing a small act of kindness to the most popular kid at my school; all I had to do was bring his homework to the hospital he was recovering in to make sure he didn't fall behind, and he in turn told all of his friends that I was a friend to him, which made me their friend as well. Of course, it was Joanne who I have to thank for helping me to get out of my shell entirely."
"It's too bad that my former friends couldn't have harmonize with me as well as any of your friends or family."
"You honestly think that I never experience any friction between my loved ones? I may have gotten better at letting out my anger through non-violent outlets, but even I can still lose my temper at times. For instance, after a particularly grueling day at work, I visited my two grandsons who were in the backyard squirting each other with water hoses with their babysitter. I made it more than clear that I didn't want to get squirted on, but my eldest grandson, Alexander, chose to test the limit that day. When he had squirted the water a little too close to where I was, I told him in my harshest voice, 'OK, that's it Alexander, turn off the water, you've had it!' He turned the hose off like I wanted him to, told me he was sorry and looked absolutely sad; when I realized that I had let out my frustration from work onto my grandson, I felt completely awful about it and just had to call him and tell him how sorry I was. Do you know what he told me? He said, 'Oh Bubba, everybody makes mistakes sometimes.'
"Our friends and family are the people who make us the most happy in life, but they can also be the people who make us the most angry as well. There are also times when we can forget that we love one another, and we can hurt one another too; but just because we forget how much we love our friends and family doesn't mean that love is gone forever. There are plenty of good people in this world who may do or say bad things once in a while, and there are also some bad people who do or say good things as well. My car was stolen one day, and you can imagine how much that incident had shaken Joanne and I, and you would also have been as surprised as we were to find our car returned to us and with an apology note from the carjackers no less. I do believe that I have that very note in my scrapbook somewhere."
Flipping through some pages for at least ten seconds, Fred eventually stopped and showed Sunset a crumbled piece of paper that was carefully glued onto a page of his scrapbook with a single inscription which read, "If we knew this was yours, we wouldn't have stolen it." The fiery haired girl couldn't even decide whether she ought to be more astounded by the fact that there exist car thieves who have standards, or that someone as compassionate as Mr. Rogers could inspire anybody to immediately regret committing a crime.
"I actually know a song that's all about the complexities of a persons' nature. Would you mind if I played it to you?"
Upon receiving her permission, Mr. Rogers proceeded to return his scrapbook to its proper place upon the golden stand as he settled himself upon the seat of his grand piano. Playing a harmonious melody with the keys, Fred took his previous conversation he had with Sunset and converted it into a song. The main theme that Sunset quickly took notice of was the idea of how people who are typically good in nature can also be bad on certain occasions; he even mentioned how people who are normally loud and outspoken could also be quiet and introverted, or that people who find themselves succumbing to rage are also capable of expressing gladness (a subject which Sunset suspected was specifically mentioned for her sake). With each of these examples being addressed, Fred would often end by pointing out how it's the same case for him, but when his song was finally being brought to an end, Fred particularly turned his sights to Sunset and asked if it was the same for her.
Still being weighed down by her own self-doubt, Sunset maintained her forlorn gaze as she said, "It's too bad I can't just completely eradicate my anger and be more like you, then maybe more people could actually warm up to me."
"There's no life that's ever free of pain," Fred sat back next to the fiery haired girl. "Anger, sadness, fear, and happiness are emotions that are inside everybody; it is not the absence of such feelings that define who we are as people, but rather how we choose to express those feelings. There are plenty of people who are just as flawed as you and I when it comes to controlling our emotions; but to be flawed is to be human, and anything that is human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable is manageable. As painful as those lonely years of my life were to me, that pain also showed me how everyone else goes through the same experience and inspired me to provide all children with the same guidance that I would've appreciated when I was a boy. There's probably someone at your school who has been lonely just as long as you have been, and you could be a great help to that person."
"Making a new friend definitely sounds easier than forgiving my former friends." Sunset took the idea into consideration before asking Mr. Rogers the one question that's plaguing her mind. "Do you honestly think that I can be a forgiving person?"
"No Sunset, I know that you can be a forgiving person. I've only known you for the past hours we've been together, and even I can see that there is far more compassion inside you than you realize. Most people who experience the kind of hurt that you had to go through would've actively tried to pass their pain to anybody they come across. I recall you telling me how you saw yourself as a monster; I may not know everything, but I do know that a so-called monster wouldn't tell a girl like Faith that her birthmark is the most beautiful thing about her or allowed me to hold onto her arm so that I wouldn't slip on the icy driveway. If you could be able to spread goodness to people despite carrying so much pain inside, then forgiving your friends can be just as possible.
"If I may share a little secret with you, a wise friend of mine once told me that 'there is one thing that evil cannot stand, and that is forgiveness.' Because whenever you do forgive people, you're not just relieving them of your anger towards them, but you're also making the choice to not permit your anger into controlling you. I understand that being angry at the people who hurt you feels cathartic sometimes, but you mustn't allow it to grow too strong. Take the fire over at the fireplace for instance, its heat can provide comfort to you, but if let entirely unchecked it'll consume everything around you. The reason I bring this up is because the years you spend in high school are the years that help mold everybody into the kind of people they will become for the rest of their lives. I probably wouldn't be the same person I am now had I not performed that simple act of kindness to the most popular kid at my high school, but I'm glad that I did make that decision, because it helped brought me to my wife and so many people who I get to call my friends, and it brought me to you. Should the time when you bump into your friends come at some point, you will have to decide whether to hold onto the anger that's preventing you from loving them again, or you could show them the compassionate person that you truly are and never let anger define who you are anymore."
Their conversation had to be put on hiatus once the two of them heard a knocking from the door. Rising to his feet, Fred advanced to the door in his usual leisurely pace in order to welcome whoever was paying him a visit at this moment. "Why isn't this a lovely surprise?" Stepping aside, Fred permitted his unexpected guests to pass into his abode where Sunset was able to get a clear view of each of their faces and was quick to recognize that these visitors were none other than the five ex-friends who she didn't think she'd see again for some time, along with the three sisters who had brought the very fracture to their friendship in the first place.
Time itself seemed to have reach to a complete standstill as both Sunset and her former friends along with their sisters silently stared back at one another with only the sounds of the constant ticking of a nearby clock and the crackling of embers from the fireplace providing ambience. As if finally unpausing a video game, Sunset finally initiated the exchange of utterance with, "How did you all know I was here?"
"It's nothing that a phone finder app can't fix." Pinkie Pie held up her cell phone which still had the convenient tracking app on full display. "And boy what a journey you led us on; one moment you were at the church, then you were at the Children's Hospital, and then we finally find you at Mr. Rogers' place."
"You really tracked me down, even after I punched Rainbow Dash and said I never wanted to see you again?"
"After the way we all treated you, I probably deserved much worse than a busted nose." The aforementioned Rainbow Dash spoke up while lightly rubbing the bandage that wrapped her fractured nose in place.
"It almost feels like fate that we found you at Mr. Roger's place," Apple Bloom's voice chimed in, "considerin' that he was the first person I confessed ta."
Sunset swiftly shifted her gaze towards Fred who responded with equal haste, "It's true, she paid me a visit at the church to confess her--and her friend's--sins before she went to school. She confided in me how she knew she needed to come clean to everyone, but was afraid that her sister would never love her again; I of course assured her that although her sister maybe angry with her for a while, she would never stop loving her."
"Especially since my Ma and Pa would've wanted me ta tell the truth, even if I get punished fer it." Apple Bloom resumed her account. "After that, the girls and I had our sisters and their friends follow us ta the Principals' office, where we confessed everything ta them and waited fer Vice Principal Luna ta bring you ta us."
Sweetie Belle decided to take the reins from the remorseful farm girl. "After you stormed out of the school, we pretty much had no choice but to tell everyone that all you said about us was true; they were even angrier than you were, and they would've tried to beat us within an inch of our lives had Principal Celestia not intervened."
Scootaloo took the chance to finish it. "She told them that she already given us six months of detention for what we did, but that the same punishment will be applied to any student who willingly submitted a post on the Anon-a-Miss page, and that anybody who tries to physically harm us inside or outside of school grounds will be suspended for a month and will have their detention time restarted. I know that we're the ones who deserve to have our noses busted, so if you wish to do to us what you did to Rainbow, we'll hold still."
Placing themselves into position, the three girls stood side by side as each of them closed their eyes in anticipation of the thrashing they felt Sunset was entitled to inflicting upon them. Neither of them had to wait long for Sunset to make her decision when the sound of her icy tone rung in their ears. "As tempting as your offer is, I don't think Mr. Rogers would appreciate violence in his own home. Seeing as how we're in a confessing mood, I think that it's only fair that I share with you three the worst pain this Anon-a-Miss business has put me through."
Without missing a beat, Sunset rolled up her sleeve as if ripping off a Band-Aid as she exposed the seven red slashes that adorned her wrist in full display; an act which elicited varying reactions of horror from the CMC as well as Sunset's ex-friends.
Sweetie Belle's lips trembled as she attempted to voice out what the others were only thinking, "Y-you t-t-tried t-t-to...?"
"I did," Sunset cut her off, "and in each attempt I was entirely convinced that nobody would shed a tear over me. Given how fixated you three were to cut me off from your sisters, I'd imagine news of my death would've been the most delightful thing you've ever heard."
The fiery haired girl was banking on the three culprits to orate their verbal remorse upon discovering the depths of suffering their actions propagated, but she didn't count on the three girls encompassing all sides of her body in a clinching hug while reiterating their rueful pleas.
"We're so sorry, Sunset!" Sweetie Belle wailed.
"We could never apologize ta you enough times ta take away the pain we caused, but we truly are sorry!" Apple Bloom tearfully affirmed.
"Please believe us when we say that we'd feel nothing but shame knowing that we drove you to end your own life!" Scootaloo whimpered.
In spite of the resentment the CMC had evoked within Sunset after confessing to being Anon-a-Miss, the fiery haired girl permitted them to maintain their collective hug, with the addition of allowing them to drench her shirt with their tears as each of them buried their faces into the fabric.
The sound of a zipper being unzipped directed Sunset's eyes to the sight of Fluttershy pulling out an all too familiar object from her coat. "I hope this doesn't anger you further, Sunset, but after you stormed out of the school, I took the liberty of extracting some of your things you left behind--including your journal. While we were waiting for Nurse Redheart to patch up Rainbow Dash, I read out a few passages in your journal; both from before and after our confrontation. It was this passage that made me realize what a mistake it was to turn our backs on you."
Unclasping the journal, Fluttershy thumbed through the many pages of Sunset's and Twilight's private conversations until her eyes spotted the one passage she felt needed to be read aloud. "'Dear Twilight, My second slumber party with the girls, and already I feel so much closer to everyone! I haven't felt so loved, so accepted, in...well...ever! I feel like I finally have a family again. Without all of you to help and support me, I'd be--well, you know what I would be! Anyway, I should get some sleep. But I wanted to let you know, before I do...that I love you all.'"
Closing the journal and holding it to her chest, Fluttershy kept her head down for a solid thirty seconds making no sound aside from light sniffling until she jerked her head up to reveal a downpour of tears. "Oh Sunset, I could never imagine anything more painful than finally gaining a family only for that same family to cast you out the next day! I'm sorry that we can't take back all the hurtful things we said and did to you; you had every right to say all those harsh words in front of the entire school!"
After wiping off Fluttershy's teary waterfall with her best handkerchief, Rarity took the opportunity to voice her own reparation. "Darling, we may not be able to undo all the mess this Anon-a-Miss debacle has wrought, but we all promise to listen to whatever you have to tell us and not abandon you ever again--especially since our cruel actions almost cost you your life; because you're our friend and family, and we love and care about you as much as you once did for us."
Applejack took off her hat before chiming in. "Back at our first slumber party, I mentioned that you have ta take the good and the bad when it comes ta family; as angry as I was at Apple Bloom fer what she and her friends did, I could never bring myself ta stop lovin' my sister, because family should always be like a bundle of sticks that can never be broken. It's also the reason we all tracked ya down despite yer tellin' us ta never show our faces ta you again; because doin' so would've meant letting you spent yer entire life alone with nobody ta love or care fer ya. We may not be the perfect family fer ya, but we can absolutely be the family ya deserve and need if you can give us a chance."
Rainbow Dash finally stepped forward. "We never forgot how difficult it was for you to gain the trust of the entire school when you reformed, which is why we're willing to go through the same winger as you did until you've decided that we have more than earned your trust."
"Even if it takes us a hundred years!" Pinkie Pie declared.
Having listened to their case, it was now up to Sunset to decide if the five girls deserve to be her friends and family once more. Her face was entirely stoic, with not even so much as a frown or furrowed brow as she made her judgement. "You're right about one thing, it was difficult when it came to earning everyone's trust, and you definitely would deserve to go through the same pains that I had to go through." Each of the girls began to lower their heads to look upon the floor in anticipation for Sunset's likely retaliation in the possible form of months--if not years--of the fiery haired girl making them have to work for her trust as if paying off a massive debt. "But I don't feel like waiting that long to have a family again."
Perking their heads up in astonishment, the five girls witnessed the once stoic Sunset form a half smile while raising her arms as an invitation for a hug, which her redeemed friends and family tearfully accepted. After giving Sunset some breathing room, the fiery haired girl turned her sights to the quietly observing Mr. Rogers, whom she felt was owed a hug after helping her regain the friends and family she had lost.
"I'm so proud of you, Sunset."
"I'm sorry that I wasn't nearly as trusting of you when we first met. Can you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive, Sunset. I'm just glad to know that you'll never be alone again." Parting his arms from Sunset's body, Fred dug out a camera he kept stored in a nearby drawer before turning back to his new friend. "May I have a picture with you before you leave with your friends?"
"Anything for you, Mr. Rogers."
Handing his camera over to Pinkie Pie, Fred and Sunset stood side-by-side with their arms upon their respective backs and held their faces with a smile as Pinkie said, "Say 'trolley'!" before flashing the camera to capture their pose for Mr. Rogers to cherish every day. Bidding his guest farewell with a "Merry Christmas", Fred took the time to go up to his bedroom where he picked up a little black book containing the names of every person who he prays to every morning on his nightstand, and with pen in hand, he scribbled in the name of Sunset Shimmer.
It was the first day of school after spring break when Sunset drove herself to CHS after earning her driver's license. She parked her car into the student parking lot, turned off the ignition, but did not step out until dedicating a minute of silence to think about the people in her life who helped her become who she is today. With that minute finally up, the fiery haired girl stepped out while practically blazing in the new wardrobe Rarity had provided her, which consisted of a spiky black leather vest over a shoulderless orange shirt along with a purple skirt tied up by a studded belt.
Stepping into the school was no longer a toil that she had to endure; the once callous student body who openly disdained the girl that they wrongly assumed was Anon-a-Miss had been replaced by repentant classmates who would actively apologize to Sunset for every rude remark or gesture that was spat upon her (even if she had already accepted the apologies the first time). She even once received a rather interesting apologetic gesture from the Principal and Vice Principal, who both hugged her as if she were a daughter to each of them, and assuring her that their door shall always be open to her.
Sunset had just closed her locker when she suddenly noticed a presence she had not seen since the day the real Anon-a-Miss was finally revealed; the green skinned girl whom she accidentally bumped into. She was easy for the fiery haired girl to spot in the crowd of students, what with her messy green hair as well as the drab looking attire she had on that make her stand out like a wilted rose amongst a freshly bloomed bouquet. The sepulchral manner in which she carried her body as she traversed the school amongst the classmates who appeared to be ignorant of her presence was a clear sign to Sunset that this girl might very well be the loneliest person in CHS--if not the world. Remembering what Mr. Rogers told her about there being someone who has been alone longer than her, Sunset quickly realized that this is her chance to do to this girl what Twilight did to her.
"Excuse me." Sunset tapped the green girl's shoulder in order to make her see that someone was willingly wanting to speak to her. "You may not remember me, but I was that girl who bumped into you when we first met back at last December."
"We actually first met in ninth grade English." The green girl corrected Sunset in the same hollow tone she spoke with before. "My name is Wallflower Blush, not that it even matters since you're going to forget about me as quickly as you did the last time. So I'll just head on to my first period class."
"Wait!" Sunset latched onto Wallflower's wrist before she had the chance to vanish into the crowd. "Look, I'm sorry for forgetting about you. I wasn't the nicest person back then, which is why I'd like to make it up to you by being your friend. Do you have any plans for after school?"
Wallflower contained an understandable amount of skepticism at this sudden interest in her daily life, but it didn't prevent her from divulging her after school plans to Sunset. "I'd often go to my secret garden across from where the parking lot is, what with me being president of the Gardening Club. Although managing it isn't too overwhelming seeing as how I'm the clubs only member as well as the only person who knows about the garden's existence."
"Would you be OK with my friends and I joining you?" As dubious as it seemed to Wallflower that Sunset Shimmer would take an active concern for her sake, the lonely girl could not find a valid reason to reject an offer to gain new friends. Upon giving Sunset a nod of approval, the fiery haired girl said, "Great! My friends and I will wait for you at the parking lot after school."
True to her word, Sunset waited alongside her friends at the currently vacant parking lot in anticipation of including a new member to their circle of friendship. All six of them turned their sights at the creaking door where a rather startled Wallflower was amazed to find Sunset and her friends be exactly where they'd say they'd be.
"Good, I'm glad you made it!" Sunset took Wallflower by the hand, who was now living up to her last name as both of her cheeks began to turn crimson red while Sunset started the introductions. "These are my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. And girls, this here is my new friend, Wallflower Blush."
"Howdy sugarcube." Applejack tipped her hat.
"Whaddup?" Rainbow waved.
"Howdy-doodley-oodley!" Pinkie greeted in her usual high-spirited manner.
"Nice to meet you." Fluttershy offered a coy salutation despite feeling sociable compared to Wallflower.
"Charmed, darling." Rarity got her greeting out of the way as she immediately eyed up Wallflower's wardrobe. "After your garden tour, you must let me treat you to an ensemble that'll make you the apple of everyone's eye!"
Before the tour of Wallflower's garden can get underway, the sudden arrival of an all too familiar Oldsmobile pulled into the parking lot, followed by the highly appreciative entrance of Mr. Rogers--whom the girls immediately granted a group hug.
"What brings you here, Mr. Rogers?" Fluttershy asked.
"I was picking up some new photos to add to my scrapbook when I decided to drop in to check on Sunset."
"I'm doing fine, Mr. Rogers," Sunset assured the kindly old man. "In fact, you're just in time to meet my new friend, Wallflower Blush."
"It's so nice to meet you, Wallflower." Fred extended his hand to the still blushing Wallflower.
"Likewise," Wallflower shook his hand in turn, "I was about to show everyone my secret garden. Would you like to join?"
"I'd love to join."
Taking the lead, Wallflower guided her newfound acquaintances through the small patch of forest until they finally reached her secret garden. Everyone marveled at the assortment of plants that were clearly carefully tended to everyday as well as the varied placed stones which help to make this garden feel like something straight out of a fairytale.
"Did you really plant all of these flowers yourself?" Fluttershy asked Wallflower.
"Uh-huh, tending to them helps keep my mind off of everybody ignoring me."
Hearing that response was all Fred needed to ask her, "Have you always been alone?" The only response he received was a silent nod. "I understand how painful loneliness can be, and I also know that the warmth of friendship can be a good way of healing that pain."
"But what if they all forget about me the next day?"
"I know each of these girls personally, and I know for a fact that they can be the best friends you'll ever have." Fred took the time to pull out his camera. "May I take a picture with you? I always like to take pictures of people I meet for the first time so I can always remember them."
Not once in Wallflower's life has anybody asked for a photographic memento to remember her by until today. The green girl felt a surge of joy that caused happy tears to leak out of her eyes and also compelled her to wrap her arms around Mr. Rogers in a grateful hug which he gladly returned. Once her tears of joy finally subsided, Wallflower stood beside Mr. Rogers as the two of them held up potted bonsai trees in preparation for their photo, while Pinkie Pie once again had the honor of taking said photo.
Upon returning to the parking lot, Fred suddenly remembered something else he had brought with him. Searching through his car, Fred returned with a small square package which he presented to Sunset. "I got you this belated Christmas present some time ago, and never found the perfect time to give it to you until now."
Graciously accepting the gift, Sunset opened the package to find a gold locket in the shape of a heart and tied with a necklace string. Opening the locket, Sunset found a small picture of her and Mr. Rogers on one side, and on the other side was an inscription which read "It's such a good feeling to know you're alive."
Feeling the same joy that moved Wallflower, Sunset shed some tears of joy of her own while also hugging Mr. Rogers. "You've given me so much, I only wish I could give you something in return."
"The greatest gift you can give to anybody is your honest self, and you have been giving me that gift since the day we met. I am honored to be your friend." This pleasant moment between Sunset and Mr. Rogers got briefly interrupted by the whistling of a passing trolley.
...
Upon returning Trolley into the tunnel, Fred took the time to have a discussion with his neighbor. "Isn't it so great to see good friends reconcile with one another after a rift? Of course, not everybody is quick to let go of the anger they have towards the people who hurt them. Have you ever gotten into a fight with a friend or family member? Has it ever been difficult for you to forgive those who hurt you? Sunset could have easily chosen to not forgive her friends. But could she have been able to make friends with anyone else had she made that choice? Would she have even offered her friendship to Wallflower Blush? And who knows what Wallflower's life would have been like if she hadn't received Sunset's compassion? People always tend to underestimate how efficacious a single act of kindness can have on a person's life; that's why something as simple as asking to have a picture taken with her meant the whole world to someone such as Wallflower."
A sudden knocking from Mr. Rogers' door gave him cause to walk up and peek at the window. "Why it's Mr. McFeely and Derpy. Let's see what they've brought today."
Opening his door, Mr. McFeely entered first while stating his catchphrase, "Speedy delivery!" Derpy followed after who wasted no time in giving Mr. Rogers a hug.
"Why Mr. McFeely, I notice that Derpy is carrying your mailbag." Fred pointed out.
"Indeed, she is," Mr. McFeely confirmed. "I'm training her how to deliver mail to every house in the neighborhood."
"I've been to thirty houses, including yours!" Derpy declared with pride.
"That's wonderful, Derpy." Fred congratulated her. "Can you explain to my neighbor what made you want to work as a mailperson?"
"I've always admired mailmen like Mr. McFeely since I was a kid; they always have to make sure a package or letter is delivered to the right people, and they also get to meet so many people who depend on them."
"Do you have any mail for me?"
"That I do!" Derpy rummaged through the mailbag until she pulled out two items. "First, a new batch of fish food so that your fishies don't go hungry, and a letter from Sunset Shimmer."
"I wonder what Sunset sent me," opening the envelope, Fred gave off a big smile when he presented his neighbor, "why it's a group photo of her with her friends and the children at the hospital. There's Sunset in the center with Faith beside her, and Wallflower is at the far right showing a picture of a flower she drew with Lily. This will be a perfect addition to my scrapbook."
"It's been nice chatting with you Fred, but Derpy and I have more houses to visit."
"Mr. McFeely, can I say it this time?"
"Certainly."
"Speedy Delivery!"
As the two made their exit, Fred closed the door behind them and said to his neighbor. "First thing I'm going to do is feed this new fish food to my fish." Setting his scrapbook and photo on a nearby table, Fred uncapped the fish food dispenser so that he could sprinkle enough morsels to keep his fish full. With that out of the way, Fred proceeded to retrieving a glue stick from one of the kitchen drawers so he could include his latest addition to his scrapbook. With the photo firmly glued into place, Fred walked back to his little bench so he could deliver his closing message to his neighbor.
"Saying goodbye has always been the hardest part for any good friends such as us; especially when you consider that our visit may end up being the last one for good. I've had to bid many friends and family of mine farewell when their times have come, and I am familiar with the same pain you go through when you have to deal with the hard fact that nobody can live forever. Part of you probably feels that the world shall become worse when I have to leave it for good; while it's true that people can die, that doesn't mean the ideas and values of that person dies with them. I have gotten to know you throughout all the visits we've had with one another ever since you were very young, and I am truly grateful that I had the privilege of watching you grow into the person you are today. I have been there to cheer you up whenever you felt blue, and comfort you whenever you felt scared, and even taught you that it is always possible to make goodness attractive.
"Of course, there may have been some instances where you forgot about the goodness inside you and did something that made you feel horrible afterwards; whether it be losing your temper or getting into a fight with someone you care about. But you never needed to be perfect to be my neighbor. Because much like Sunset Shimmer, your compassion doesn't fade away just because you forget how to love someone for a time. It's also the same reason why I know that you'll be as good of a mentor to the children in your life as I was to you; I've been providing you with all the means to teach children the many ways they can express their feelings in ways that don't hurt themselves or others. And much like a scrapbook, you can always look back at our previous visits as a way to help remind yourself. And it's always a good feeling to know that goodness and kindness are the things that never die."
Fred then began to bring today's visit to a close the same way he ends all visits, with a jaunty song. As he sang about the good feeling of knowing his neighbor is alive and the happy feeling of knowing that his neighbor is growing inside, Fred went about slipping off his sneakers in exchange for his dress shoes, unzipping his cardigan and snapping his fingers before returning the sweater to the closet in exchange for his jacket while assuring his neighbor that he'll be back with more ideas and would be ready to discuss some new topics together.
"You always make each day such a special day," Fred told his neighbor while picking up his scrapbook, "by just being yourself. There's only one person in the whole world exactly like you, and people can like you exactly as you are. Bye bye."
With a friendly wave, Fred departed his home and left his neighbor with yet another lesson that shall help them to continue growing into the good person that Fred has always known them to be.