//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - A simple game of chess // Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II // by bigsnusnu //------------------------------// A simple game of chess "Bishop to H-Five" Sunset said with a smirk, moving her bishop on the chessboard, causing Dusk's king to be in check. "Please, continue with your story." Sunset had Dusk cornered, she was sufficient at chess as he remembered. As soon as Dusk moved a piece, Sunset immediately moved one of hers, which didn't give Dusk time to think, and certainly Dusk urgently needed some time to think! Not about his next move in the chess game, but to gather his thoughts and to be able to understand what happened with the disaster that occurred the night before and then with the sudden and unexpected appearance of Sunset back in his life. Now they were both played chess calmly, as if there was nothing pending between them. Once Dusk woke up that morning, he almost jumped with fright, forgetting for a moment where he was and what had happened, and discovering that his old friend Sunset Shimmer was sleeping on his chest. With Dusk's cry of surprise, Sunset woke up, gave him a warm smile and then quickly began to chat about where they would go in Canterlot and what they could do together. It was at that moment Dusk perked up and demanded that they have a serious talk, since both had many things to clarify before being able to chat quietly. Sunset agreed, but only if they played chess while chatting. Surprised by the request, Dusk couldn't understand what was going through Sunset's mind. Was she trying to avoid the topic of their past, or had she simply forgotten about it? Or worse, did she decided to ignore it, as if that past that had tormented Dusk hadn't existed. No matter what the truth was, Dusk had decided to stand up to Sunset and face her. But before that happened, Sunset smiled and placed Dusk's old chessboard between the two of them and quickly put the pieces into position. "Sunset... I... I want to talk to you seriously." Dusk had said, looking at the yellow unicorn with a mixture of fear and confusion. "I know, but like I told you, we can talk while we play. There are many serious things we need to talk about, and this will make it less stressful. You go first!" Sunset cheerfully responded, then she put on a sad look. "Please, for the old days?" That had surprised Dusk. Not because of Sunset's insistence to play, but because of hearing her say 'please'. That was something that Dusk never thought he would hear pronounced on Sunset's lips, which left him confused for a second. Then Dusk looked at the board and reluctantly decided to follow Sunset's game so that he could chat with her about their past. "You... Why you-?" Dusk had managed to ask, starting with his questions immediately after moving his piece on the board. However, he was immediately interrupted by Sunset. "Pawn to D-Five." Sunset said, moving her piece quickly, without stopping to look at Dusk for any second. "Tell me Dusk, is it true that you now live in Ponyville?" "Uh? Y-Yes, that's right... Pawn to F-Four." Dusk answered, surprised by Sunset's speed of play and by the unexpected question. "Anyway, what I want to know is-" "Knight to H-Five. So, how did you end up in that little town?" Sunset asked, quickly interrupting Dusk again. She wasn’t even looking at the board; keeping her gaze fixed on him. Without him realizing it, Dusk was now answering Sunset’s questions instead of the other way around. He told her about how the princess had sent him to Ponyville, how he had met his friends, how they had beaten Nightmare Moon, and all the other adventures he and his friends had gone through together. "Pawn to G-Six." Dusk answered, understanding that the long game of chess they had been playing was nearing its end. "After that, the cockatrice ran away and Fluttershy took me to her house..." Dusk added, finishing the last story he had been telling Sunset while they were playing. "Oh Dusk, you always have a habit of sacrificing your pawns so often." Sunset grinned, for the first time forgetting to ask Dusk something about his past in Ponyville, and only focusing on the game in front of her. "Rook to H-Two." Sunset added, making her rook to capture Dusk's last pawn. "Sometimes you have to sacrifice the pawns to win. Knight to B-Four." Dusk said. For the first time, the colt had a small grin when he saw that he was only two moves away from a checkmate. "Years ago, I didn't have such an exciting game." Dusk thought with a small smile, totally focused on the game. "Poor Dusk, you must never forget..." Sunset countered, picking up one of her pawns. Which made Dusk immediately realize his mistake. "…A pawn can become a queen. Checkmate." Sunset added, arrived with one of her pawns at the end of the board, which made it a queen piece and at the same time cornered Dusk’s king into checkmate. With that last move, Dusk's eyes widened in surprise and facehoofed in frustration. He had been so focused on offense that he had neglected his defense. "How did I not see that!?" Dusk said, pretending to be annoyed, because in reality he felt very satisfied after such a challenging and fun game. "I always told you, you should never lose sight of what’s really important." Sunset said, hinting that Dusk forgot to protect his king. However, that last comment was like a reality blow for Dusk, who realized how once again he had been manipulated during all of the conversation to avoid talking about what was truly important with Sunset. "So, do you want a rematch?" Sunset asked with an innocent smile. "No… No! Stop!" Dusk finally yelled. The initial fear and confusion were swept away by the anger he felt now. "Enough of this, Sunset! Enough of this charade that you’re interested in my life in Ponyville, enough of the pretending that nothing happened in the past, enough of the manipulation. Stop acting like you’re my friend!" Dusk yelled furiously, as if all that rage that had been contained had finally exploded. At Dusk's outburst, Sunset simply stared at him with a serious look. A look that seemed to be analyzing everything. "Why do you think we are no longer friends?" Sunset asked calmly. "Why!? Don't you remember what happened the last time we saw each other!? Those two bullies were beating me up, and you left me! You even encouraged them! I… I was just a foal, I was crying, and you were the pony I trusted the most. You abandoned me when I needed you the most!" Dusk almost screamed, finally reveling some of the pain he had felt for so many years. "So that's how you remember our farewell..." Sunset said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You weren't the only one who was just a foal, I was also just a little filly. Do you remember how I felt that day? You have no idea what was going through my head. I... I thought you might be mad at me for what I did that day, but I never thought that would be a reason for you to want to end our friendship forever." "What friendship!? That false friendship you started only because the Princess and the Archmage ordered it?" Dusk said with small tears about to flow from his eyes when he remembered that cruel feeling of betrayal. "I read your diary, you never really wanted to be my friend!" For the first time, Sunset seemed surprised. The fact that Dusk had read her diary was something she never knew about, and for that reason, it was out of her calculations. "How did you read...? It was that nosy Mi Amore, wasn’t it!?" Sunset yelled furiously. "What does it matter who told me!? The important thing is that I discovered the truth. You never wanted to be my friend, you were only with me out of interest, you just followed orders. For you, I... I was just a parasite..." Dusk added, clenching his teeth, feeling the pain of betrayal return to him. Faced with the bitter truth told by Dusk, Sunset just lowered her head, her eyes closed for a few seconds, as if she was carefully choosing the words she would use. "I already told you, Dusk. I was just a filly, a confused little filly, who made many… m-mistakes." Sunset said slowly, as if it pained her to admit that she had made a mistake. "And what you say is true, I approached you out of obligation. But what does it matter what the reason was? Didn't you enjoy the afternoons we talked about magic in your room? Or the times we played chess until nightfall? Or when we sneaked into the forbidden section of the library?" At that moment, Sunset got as close as she could to Dusk, staring at him. "If you can tell me to my face that it was all a mistake, that you never enjoyed being with me, then fine. I'll leave right now, and you'll never see me again." Sunset said, looking seriously at Dusk, while he kept a scared face. He knew that while it still hurt, what Sunset said was true. "You can't do it, can't you? Like it or not, you’re an important part of my life as I am of yours, and you can never forget that. Regardless of the reason, I was your first friend. And here I am, in front of you, admitting that I was wrong. Have you never argued or had a misunderstanding with your friends in Ponyville? Isn't true friendship being capable of forgiving somepony?" As Sunset looked at Dusk, waiting for an answer, a big part of Dusk screamed in his mind not to forgive her. That this was just another one of her manipulations. That she had already betrayed him once. He couldn't be fooled again! However, there was a keyword that Sunset had used: 'Friendship'. And for Dusk, for almost a year, that word had a deep and special meaning. He had been sent to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship, and there he had witnessed its great value. He had even been able to save Equestria thanks to that powerful feeling. And now, before him, was his oldest friend asking him to forgive her, the friend who had betrayed and hurt him. However... as Sunset said, not everything in their past had been darkness, they had had good times together... So, that tiny spark that remained from their old friendship... was it enough to make Dusk able to forgive her? Especially him! Who was supposed to be the bearer of the Element of Magic. "We all need a friend, and I… I need you with me, Dusk. That's why I came back to Canterlot, because of you! I want... to get back together." Sunset added with a sad look, just at the moment that Dusk's mental balance was indecisive, finally causing Dusk's kind side to win over his anger and resentment. "I... I can forgive you... But I'll never forget what you did to me." Dusk added slowly, as if his mind had run a marathon and was now mentally exhausted. Feeling that even saying those words took a lot of effort. As soon as Dusk said that, the remorse on Sunset’s face immediately disappeared and was replaced by her usual arrogant smile. "I knew you would... We’re destined to be together." Sunset said, bringing her face closer to Dusk and staring at him. "Forever and ever." Before Sunset's intense gaze, Dusk didn’t react, he simply remained motionless while lost in his thoughts. He still wasn’t sure if what he had said was the right thing or not. He felt like he wanted to scream out of frustration, confusion, anger, and grief, screaming at the accumulation of feelings he felt every time Sunset stared at him that way. "Now that we've sorted out that little misunderstanding, we should decide what the first thing we do in the city will be." Sunset said, moving away from Dusk and putting on a thoughtful look. "We could go to the library to reminisce about old times, or maybe to the castle to-" "Ponyville..." Dusk whispered, interrupting Sunset. "What did you say?" Sunset asked, unable to hear Dusk's murmur. "I... I need to go back to Ponyville." Dusk said, remembering that he still had something very important to do. "Oh… I suppose you want to go back to that insignificant town to talk to those new 'friends' of yours, don't you?" Sunset asked, quickly erasing her smile and putting a cold look of contempt. "Don't tell me you really think you and those bitc- er, mares have a special magical bond just because you all saw the same rainbow the day you got your cutie marks. Come on, Dusk! We’re adult ponies, we’re no longer foals who believe in fairy tales." "Don't you dare make fun of them or our special bond!" Dusk said immediately, angered to see that cold look on Sunset, a look that had brought back so many bad memories, and that he wouldn’t allow it to be directed towards his beloved friends. "I… did something terrible. Yesterday they... they told me something very important, and I wasn’t able to answer them properly." Dusk added, putting on a worried look when he remembered what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala. Seeing that Dusk had glared at her angrily, Sunset quickly erased her cold gaze and smiled again, deciding to change strategy. "Forget about them, now you have me. What could they do that I couldn't do for you?" Sunset said with a tender smile despite her cruel words. "They would never abandon me." Dusk answered, again looking resentfully at Sunset. This surprised the mare, who upon seeing that look on Dusk, looked away and bit her lip. "There are things you don't know about me, Dusk." Sunset whispered in a sad voice, something that surprised the lavender colt. However, Sunset quickly changed her attitude and turned to look at Dusk with a serious look. "Alright… if those mares are sooo wonderful and sooo important to you, I guess I'll have to meet them myself. But I don't want you to influence my opinion of them, so you'd better stay here while I spent a day alone with them, getting to know them thoroughly." Hearing that Sunset wanted to meet his friends alone, a strange chill ran down Dusk's spine, immediately understanding that it was very dangerous for the sly and calculating Sunset to meet his kind friends. "That’s not a good idea." Dusk said, putting on a worried look. Despite Sunset saying she was sorry for her past, Dusk couldn't risk having his past repeat itself with his friends. "Hehe, silly Dusk... I wasn't asking you." Sunset said with a sweet smile. "You still don't realize it, but everything I do is for your own good..." Sunset added, making Dusk's gaze focus only on her eyes, so he wouldn't notice that her horn was starting to light up. Pinkie Pie was jumping at top speed, trying to rush her friends as they walked through the streets of Ponyville. As soon as the sun had risen, she had sprinted to Rarity's house to tell her about what she had discovered about the mare that had taken Dusk the night before. However, Rarity had to perform her usual beauty ritual of washing and combing her mane and applying makeup before allowing herself to be seen by anyone. When she was finally finished, it took the unicorn around five attempts to understand what the pink pony was saying at blinding speed before she eventually understood the situation. The pair then set out on the journey to gather the other mares in the group. Unfortunately, there were also long delays in receiving the other mares. Fluttershy had feed her animals breakfast before leaving her cottage and Applejack had to wrap up some small tasks at the farm before leaving. Rainbow Dash was the most difficult as it took almost all morning to wake her up and get her down from her house in the clouds. Every one of Pinkie's friends had thought that she would gather them together just to tell them about some crazy party she recently came up with. However, after she managed to explain to them that that yellow unicorn that had taken Dusk was the mare that had hurt him in his past, the mares understood the severity of the matter and were determined to find the lavender colt. "Ugh! That's why I went to warn you so early! We’re already late!" Pinkie Pie said, urging her friends to run as well. "We already missed the first train to Canterlot! And if we don't hurry, we'll lose the next one going out!" As the five mares ran towards the train station, Rarity suddenly stopped in her tracks as she looked towards the library. "Pinkie, wait!" Rarity said, causing everyone to stop. "I think before we go, we should see that Spike is okay. The poor dear has been alone in the library since yesterday, so at the very least we should notify him of what’s happening." Rarity added concerned. "Hmm… It’ll be easier if we take him with us!" Pinkie said impatiently, changing direction and starting to run towards the library. "There is no time to lose, Dusk needs us!" Once they all arrived in front of the library, Rarity knocked on the door. "Spikey, darling, are you there?" Rarity asked. Slow hoofsteps were heard from behind the door, and it finally opened. As it did so, the eyes of the five mares widened in total disbelief as they saw that the one who had opened the door was precisely the mare they wanted to face in Canterlot, Dusk's old friend, Sunset Shimmer. "Wow…you five are always together. As close as Dusk said you were." Sunset said, smiling kindly. All while Dusk's five friends were speechless. "Rarity! I- I'm sorry, I couldn't open the door." Spike said worriedly, appearing from behind Sunset. "I couldn't open the door because I had… an unexpected visitor." Spike added, looking somewhat resentful at Sunset. "Y-You… What are you doing here!? Where is Dusk!?" Rarity asked, coming out of her amazement thanks to Spike, looking defiantly at Sunset. "You know... I think I broke the horn of the last unicorn that looked at me like that..." Sunset said with a cold and terrifying look, causing Rarity to freak out for an instant and take a step back. "Oh relax, it’s just a joke! Hehe! I would never hurt Dusk's friends." Sunset added, radically changing her attitude and smiling kindly. "You don't scare me, missy. Now tell us what you did with Dusk!" Applejack demanded, taking a step forward and this time she was the one threatening Sunset with her gaze. "I already told you, it was just a joke." Sunset replied calmly. "Don't tell me that Pinkie Pie is the only one that can make jokes in your group." Hearing that Sunset knew her name, Pinkie and her friends were shocked. "How do you know my name?" Pinkie Pie asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Sunset. "Well, I needed to know your names if I wanted to meet you." Sunset said with a shrug. "I spoke to Dusk this morning, and he kept talking about how great his friends from Ponyvile were. So, I told him I was going to Ponyville to meet them myself." "Where’s Dusk?" Rainbow Dash asked, glaring at Sunset. "He’s still back in Canterlot. I told him that the only way to really get to know his friends was to meet them on my own, without him interfering." Sunset explained. "Since we’re all friends with Dusk, I think it's good that we get to know each other, so we can also become friends!" Sunset added with a well-acted look of tenderness. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other suspiciously, not sure whether to believe that mare or not. While Applejack, as a faithful representative of the Element of Honesty, could see that Sunset was only acting and had hidden intentions behind her. For their part, Rarity and Pinkie Pie narrowed their eyes, both recognizing from experience when somepony was faking, and internally accepted the challenge of unmasking that fake smile. "Uh… girls. I-I think it’s best if you come back when Dusk returns to the library." Spike said shyly, looking askance at Sunset, knowing that it wasn’t good that a mare that had left such a painful mark on Dusk was now with his other friends. "Don't be silly, Spike. We'll all have a fun day together!" Sunset said, giving Spike a little hug that made the little dragon shiver. "So, how you plan to spend the day with us?" Applejack asked, deciding to play along with Sunset for now. "Well, Dusk met each of you differently, and each of you has a talent that Dusk admires. So, I would like to see you in your daily life to get to know you even better." Sunset said smiling kindly. "And I think I could start with the mare that Dusk considers the bravest. The one he first met." Sunset added, staring through the other mares until she focused her gaze on the mare that was farthest away: Fluttershy, who upon seeing Sunset's gaze, flinched weakly, trembling at what might happen. After leaving the library, the six mares and Spike went to Fluttershy's cottage. Sunset Shimmer continued to wear a cheerful grin as she happily chatting with the yellow pegasus, praising her for having been so brave in taking on an adult dragon and even a cockatrice. Fluttershy was admittedly confused by the pleasantries. Despite how aggressive Sunset had been when they initially met, it seemed like she was genuinely trying to be nice and friendly. However, Fluttershy continued to remain cautious, feeling that despite her kindness, the mare was still hiding something. For their part, the other four mares were walking a couple of steps behind Fluttershy and Sunset, since it seemed that for now the attention of Dusk's old friend was focused only on Fluttershy. As they walked, the four mares hadn’t said any word the whole way, but they well knew that they were all thinking the same thing: they had to be careful. Spike was the most nervous of all and seemed wanted to be as far away from Sunset as possible, but he had forced himself to go to protect his friends, since Dusk wasn’t there to do it. "Girls, you need to be careful with Sunset. She… She’s dangerous." Spike muttered, still worried that his friends would follow Sunset's game. Seeing that the little dragon was in distress, the unicorn stopped for a moment to give him a few soothing pats on the head. "It will be alright, Spikey-Wikey. She's not the only one who wanted to meet face-to-face. We also want to know more about this 'friend' of Dusk." Rarity replied, smiling at Spike and then glancing at Sunset. "We know that she went to the same magic school as Dusk, so she must be very strong with her magic. But I'm sure she won't attack us, that would be a crime." At Rarity's words, Spike bit his lip and looked away uneasily. "Sunset’s magic is really strong, it’s true. But… that's not why she's dangerous." Spike whispered, speaking very softly, fearing Sunset would overhear him. Finally, they all made it to Fluttershy's little cottage. Outside, most of the animals that the kindly pegasus cared for were still finishing breakfast. "What cute little animals." Sunset said with a friendly smile, walking over to some little bunnies who were eating. However, as soon as the rabbits saw an unknown mare approach them, they all got scared and fled from there. "What's wrong with them? Dusk told me that the animals in this forest were very friendly." "Oh, they are… But they’re always skittish when someone they don't know gets too close to them for the first time." Fluttershy politely explained, thinking that was a reason for the animals to run away. However, there was also another possible reason: perhaps they felt that whoever approached them had bad intentions. "I see... Can you help them trust me?" Sunset asked kindly, with an innocent look. Fluttershy looked confused for a moment at Sunset, then she approached her and together they called the bunnies. Seeing that Fluttershy was with that unknown mare, the critters began to quickly approach and finally allowed themselves to be caressed by Sunset, who genuinely smiled at the to be able to pet the cute little animals. "Maybe I'm being paranoid… The little animals definitely wouldn’t approach her if she was evil." Fluttershy thought guiltily. "You know, I bet you’re thinking that the bunnies would never trust somepony who is supposedly evil? Am I right?" Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow, perfectly reading what Fluttershy was thinking. "Uh! I… no… I mean…" Fluttershy stuttered with nervous embarrassment. "Although, I don't think somepony is completely good or completely bad. Through my travels, I’ve learned that the world is not black or white. It’s always gray, sometimes lighter, sometimes darker, but every pony harbors good and evil in oneself." Sunset said, caressing the bunny on her lap and smiling. "That's why I wanted to meet the kindest pony in all of Equestria, to confirm that she’s just a wicked sham." Sunset added, still smiling and stroking the bunny. "A-A sham?" Fluttershy asked, surprised and confused. "Well, what I mean is that you’re not really the pure angel that you pretend to be. You acted evil when you drove the dragon out of the mountain, or when you drove the cockatrice out of the forest." Sunset said, staring at Fluttershy. "Even now, what would you do if I decided to go ahead and snap this bunny’s neck?" Sunset added, smiling as she gently stroked the bunny, something the little animal seemed to enjoy a lot. At Sunset's words, Fluttershy turned pale and immediately looked at the bunny. Fluttershy tried to move to take the bunny Sunset was holding, however she couldn't move. Only then did Fluttershy realize that a thin layer of magic was surrounding her body. "Don't panic, I'm just holding you back with my magic so you won't react before I finish what I have to say. As I said, kindness and cruelty just depends on the point of view you look at it. What would you say if I told you that the dragon you drove out came here because it was driven out of the land of dragons by the Dragon Lord? Or if I told you that the cockatrice starved to death after it stopped hunting for the scare you gave it? Then the evil one would be you." Sunset said with a thoughtful look, still stroking the bunny, while Fluttershy couldn't help but have a look of horror as she looked at the bunny that Sunset was holding and fearing that she would carry out her threat. "Imagine how neglectful you were. You let a stranger get close to your precious animals without knowing their true intentions. But if you hadn't let me get close, what kind of selfish pony would you have shown yourself to be? Were you kind or were you merciless?" Sunset added as she released her magic. As soon as she was free, Fluttershy pounced on Sunset and yanked the bunny from her hooves, much to the surprise of Spike and her other friends. They had been surprised to see how well Fluttershy and Sunset seemed to be getting along while they were talking, only to then see Fluttershy lunged violently at Sunset. "Fluttershy!" They shouted in surprise from the furious act of their friend and ran to get closer and find out what had happened. In that instant, Fluttershy felt something move hard against her hooves. Then the pegasus looked down and saw that the poor bunny was resisting her strong hold. She released the little bunny, who ran scared away from Fluttershy to snuggle up next to Sunset, who smiled fondly and gave him reassuring pets. "Do you see it, Fluttershy? Everything is a matter of perspective." Sunset said with that same sickly-sweet smile. "I'm sure that you have only shown Dusk your tender and sensitive side, but you can never be a true friend of him until he knows your cruel side and accepts it." At Sunset's words, Fluttershy felt a pain begin to grow deep within her heart. As desperate as she wanted to, she couldn't find the words to refute her, because inside herself, a part of her feared that was true. "What in tarnation did you do to Fluttershy!?" Applejack said furiously as she rushed to her friend’s side. Regardless of what they had seen, Applejack knew that Sunset must have done something to make Fluttershy react that way. Then she looked at the bunny Sunset was holding, who, like the other animals around her, seemed to be looking fearfully at Fluttershy. "You... you casted a spell on those rabbits, didn’t you?" Spike muttered in horror, as if he had remembered something horrible from his past. "I haven’t cast a spell on anyone. I’m not using magic on any animal." Sunset said with an innocent look. "All we did was talk. I guess she didn't like some of the hypotheticals I told her. Perhaps she took them too seriously." Sunset added with a shrug. After Sunset's words, Applejack stared at her for several seconds. It seemed that she was telling the truth, but then what had happened? "R-Release the bunny." Fluttershy said with tears in her eyes once she was able to calm herself to speak. Then Sunset raised a hoof and raised her eyebrows in confusion. "I’m not holding him back. He’s free to go to you if he wants." Sunset said, looking at the little bunny that was looking shakily at Fluttershy after the rough grab. "I'm sorry little one... Please, come with me." Fluttershy said with sadness and guilt, calling out to the little bunny. But the little animal simply refused to approach her, which broke the pegasus's heart. "If you want them to come so close, I can help you." Sunset offered. Then Sunset conjured her magic and the eyes of all the bunnies around her sparkled for an instant. Then all the bunnies smiled and ran to hug Fluttershy, bewitched by Sunset's spell. "Seriously, taking care of animals is so easy. I still don't understand how Dusk was so impressed by something so simple." Sunset said with a shrug. "Don't use your magic on them!" Fluttershy cried, worried when she saw her bunnies with their bright eyes. As soon as Fluttershy said that, Sunset stopped using her magic. Then the bunnies came to their senses, and when they saw that they were hugging the 'violent' Fluttershy, they all ran to hide again, leaving Fluttershy even more depressed. "You can catch more flies with honey… All that about understanding animals and being loved by them is nothing more than a simple facade." Sunset added, staring at Fluttershy and smiling. Then Sunset moved her head and looked at her next target. "I think after meeting Fluttershy, Dusk went to your farm, didn't he, Applejack?" Sunset said kindly as if nothing had happened. At Sunset's gaze, Applejack was shocked and then glared at her with a very angry look. "That's right." Applejack responded fiercely, determined that she wouldn’t fall into a trap like Fluttershy. The walk from Fluttershy's house to Sweet Apple Acres was fairly short and otherwise quiet. Like before, Sunset was at the head of the group, only that she was talking with Applejack now. However, this time the conversation was not smooth. Every time Sunset talked to Applejack about what Dusk had told her about Applejack, such as the family reunion, the big apple harvest, or when she saved an entire town from a buffalo onslaught; Applejack just nodded her head in silence, still upset that Sunset had tricked Fluttershy into making her look violent. As for the other girls, they were all behind trying to talk to Fluttershy about what happened. However, it seemed that Fluttershy barely listened to her friends as she walked. Even though she knew that Sunset had tricked her into reacting badly, Fluttershy kept wondering if Sunset’s philosophy on good and evil was true. No one knew her better than herself and she knew that she actually had a less kind side that she didn't show to others. But above all else, Fluttershy was thinking about what Sunset had said about Dusk, and if she could really consider herself a friend of him (or even think of being more than just a friend) if Dusk only knew her good and gentle side. "Wow! I’ve never seen so many apple trees in my life! And I’ve traveled throughout Equestria and beyond. I’m impressed, Applejack! You and your family have a spectacular farm." Sunset said with a genuine smile. "Uh-huh..." Applejack said raising an eyebrow, trying to sound nonchalant. The truth was that Applejack felt conflicted with Sunset, she had never met somepony who spoke and acted like her. As much as Applejack saw and listened to Sunset, she didn't see or feel the slightest bit of a lie in what she said, and that puzzled her. She couldn't understand how somepony could be as cruel as she was supposed to be if she only told the truth. "So, what is your main job on this farm? I think I remember Dusk said you were good at harvesting apples." Sunset inquired. "Yeah... The main harvest of the year is just a short time away, so most of the apple trees are already bearing fruit." Applejack replied, looking carefully at Sunset. "Could you show me how you harvest them?" Sunset innocently asked. "Yeah! Show that mare your awesome bucking skills, AJ!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, knowing that her friend was the best at it. Encouragement that her other friends also gave her, who wanted to motivate Applejack to show the true strength of the Ponyville mares, even more so after Sunset had managed to deceive poor Fluttershy. At the encouragement of her friends, Applejack put on an unsure look. She didn't want to participate in whatever Sunset was planning. However, her pride kept her from hiding something she was proud of, so she finally agreed. Applejack walked over to one of the apple trees that already had buckets under it, as she planned to harvest some apple trees that day. Then Applejack struck the apple tree with flawless technique, the product of years of experience, causing all the apples on the tree to fall in one fell swoop. "Wow, what great strength you have." Sunset said very surprised by the strength of Applejack's hind legs. "I've never seen an earth pony buck like that before. It really is incredible what you can do despite all your limitations." "Limitations?" Applejack repeated raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, this would all be so much easier with magic. Any unicorn could do this in far less time." Sunset said, looking carefully at the tree that Applejack had struck. "Obviously such a harvesting method wouldn't work for a big business, but I think it's fine for a simple hamlet as small as this one." "Don't think I don't realize that you’re disguising your insults as flattery! I’m the best apple bucker in Equestria, and not even a dozen unicorn could beat me!" Applejack retaliated. "Even Dusk tried to harvest apples with magic and realized how difficult it is." "Oh, of course. Dusk told me about that. It was when you two met and he couldn't harvest as well as you." Sunset replied without looking at Applejack, just keeping her gaze fixed on the tree as if she was analyzing something. "But it's not really that difficult, it just takes practice. If Dusk had kept trying a couple of times, he surely would have beaten you." "That’s not true!" Applejack said, feeling tremendously offended to hear her hard work being looked down upon. Following Applejack's words, Sunset simply smiled and lit up her horn. A row of magical battering ram constructs appeared in front of the apple trees. The battering rams then simultaneously leaned back and stuck their respected trees with great force, causing all of the apples to fall at once. The spectacle left Applejack speechless, who realized with just a glance that Sunset had indeed harvested all those apple trees in just an instant. "Knowing Dusk, he probably didn’t put enough power into his buck. You have to hit them hard, and more importantly, at the right angle, like you do." Sunset said with a yawn, as if what she had done was the simplest thing in the world. "Dusk probably realized that but didn't want to. After all, what’s the point of humiliating somepony inferior to you?" "I... I'm not-" Applejack stuttered for a second, as the shock of seeing that her hard work could be done so easily and Sunset's intimidating gaze made her slowly start to lose her courage. "Sorry, that ‘inferior’ comment wasn’t meant to be an insult." Sunset said with a knowing smile. Every word Sunset said, she said with genuine honesty. Those words were like daggers to Applejack realizing that everything Sunset said, she believed faithfully. "Every pony has a role in this world. And for ponies with exceptional magical talent, like Dusk or myself, we'll always be amused to see how non-talented ponies manage to do their daily tasks... I guess that was what attracted Dusk to you, to see how different you were and how a prodigy in magic could be friends with a simple and worldly pony without great talent. It’s so adorable!" Sunset added with a small laugh. Then Sunset moved closer to Applejack, grabbed one of her hooves and looked at her with a loving smile. "But hey, I still want to be your friend too! Just like Dusk! So someday when I return to the city, I’ll be able to show off and say that I have a friend from the country like you. A friend who tries so hard to do something that for others is so simple, it’s worthy of praise!" Sunset said in a sickly-sweet tone. Applejack turned pale with a thousand-mile stare. Applejack had been defeated in an instant in what was supposed to be her strength, her natural talent. But more importantly, Sunset's last remarks were like slow poison began to take over her thoughts. She wondered if Dusk had always seen her like this, just a simple country mare. She knew it was true that they both lived two very opposite lives, with Dusk living as a colt to a magic school in the big city, while she had lived all her life in the country... Was she just an experiment for Dusk? A simple anecdote to tell others when one day he leaves Ponyville? Did Dusk secretly think her job was simple? After those thoughts, Applejack didn’t say any more words, she simply lowered her head sadly, with a lost look full of concern and fear. Seeing Applejack so crestfallen, Sunset smiled and turned her back on her. For their part, the other mares were surprised to see how Applejack's fighting spirit had been broken so easily, causing them to look at Sunset with fear. Finally, the mares understood what Spike had wanted to tell them about how dangerous Sunset was. It wasn't because of her magic, but because of her words, the knack of words that she had to make others feel miserable with themselves. Seeing her dear friend in such a state of depression, Rarity shook her mane and approached Sunset with a big smile. "You know darling, I remembered that I have some clients to attend to at my boutique. Would you like to accompany me?" Rarity said, with a big, forced smile of kindness. "Sure! I would love to!" Sunset responded cheerfully, with the same forced smile. Both mares remained still for several seconds looking at each other, only smiling at each other, but both knew that behind their smiles, other less benevolent feelings appeared. The next stop on the mares' tour was Carousel Boutique, which they quickly arrived at. Sunset was leading the way, only this time with Rarity, who kept talking happily about various little things with a delightful smile, as if both were the best friends in the world. Behind them were Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike, and a little behind, Applejack and Fluttershy, who seemed unable to come out of their depressive states after being with Sunset. "Come on, AJ! Don't let that bully get you down." Rainbow Dash said as she slowed down to walk with Applejack. "How would you feel if you realized that your great talent was actually nothing special?" Applejack said with a pained look. That made Rainbow Dash step into Applejack's place and give her a chill. "That won't happen to me, no one is faster than me!" Rainbow Dash frightfully thought. "She’s just trying to get into your head by lying to you." Rainbow Dash said, trying in vain to motivate her friend. "She… She wasn't lying, sugarcube. She really believes everything she said… about me being inferior…" Applejack replied with great sadness, knowing that also meant that what Sunset said about Dusk could also be true. Once they approached Rarity's home, they all saw that in front of the front door were three mares: Daisy, Rose and Lily, the owners of the town flower shop. The trio were surprised to see that Rarity approached with her friends. "Oh, how lucky you showed up! We were about to leave." Daisy said. "There was a sign on the door that said you were closed for the day." "So it was, darling. I was planning to deliver the dresses you ordered from me tomorrow morning, but… there were some unforeseen events that canceled my trip to Canterlot." Rarity said, giving a fleeting, withering look at Sunset, who just kept smiling. "Did you finish the dresses!?" Lily asked excitedly. "They are almost ready; they just need a few details. But if you like, we can go in and finish them right now." Rarity answered with flair and opened the door of her boutique. Once everyone entered, Rarity led the three florists in front of a curtain. Then she drew the curtain with her magic and showed three mannequins, in which each one wore a dress very similar to each other, but with some small details that differentiated them. "Oh... they look so pretty." Rose cooed, reaching out to touch the soft fabric of her future dress, which left her very satisfied to see its quality. "Thank you darling, but as I told you outside, they're not finished yet. These are just the base of the dresses." Rarity said. "I planned to add green petals embroidery to Daisy's dress on the trim and sleeves; fold Lily's dress at the waist to match a beautiful lace model that I have in mind; and I was thinking of decorating your dress with some ribbons and a flower pattern that I think will be divine." Rarity added with a big smile. "What beautiful dresses! I can already imagine them!" Sunset suddenly forcing herself into the conversation, which surprised Rarity, who for a second almost forgot she had something more important to worry about right now. "Of course they will be beautiful. I'm the best dressmaker in Ponyville." Rarity said proudly, something the three florists also accepted, who nodded upon hearing that. "Well, it's not like you have a lot of competition. You’re the only dressmaker in town!" Sunset said with a raised eyebrow. At that comment, Rarity lost her smile for the first time and pursed her lips, looking annoyed at Sunset. "Does she want to belittle me the way she did Applejack?" Rarity mused in distain. "Don't be offended, dear Rarity. I was just saying a fact." Sunset nonchalantly said and then looked at Rarity's three clients. "Wouldn't you like to know the vision of somepony who has traveled the world and really knows what is fashionable in the world today?" The three florists were surprised by the question and looked thoughtful, as what that yellow unicorn was saying really interested them. "I know what's fashionable!" Rarity said angrily, feeling offended. "Let's see... Here it is!" Sunset said, ignoring Rarity and levitating with her magic one of the fashion magazines that the white unicorn had on her table. Then Sunset flipped through several pages until she found the one she was looking for and approached the three florists. "Look! This is what is in fashion nowadays in big cities." As the florists approached the magazine, they saw that there were several photos of models wearing short dresses, usually in one color and without much embellishment. Seeing the beautiful models wearing the latest fashions they wore in Manehattan, the eyes of the three florists sparkled with excitement as they imagined looking as beautiful as the models in those magazines. "T-That...might be what’s fashionable in cities right now, b-but-" Rarity said with concern, seeing how her clients were getting excited by designs that were far from what she imagined for their dresses. "I've been to Canterlot, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia… And you know what amazed me the most when I arrived in Ponyville? How old-fashioned the clothes here look." Sunset said, laughing as she ignored Rarity and focused only on the three florists. At Sunset's comment, the three florists were offended and for an instant they glared at Rarity with resentment. Rarity, feeling hurt by those looks, she angrily turned to Sunset. "Stop! You’re filling their heads with lies!" Rarity said angrily. "I haven't told a lie. Have I, Applejack?" Sunset asked, glancing at Applejack, who in turn was surprised to hear her name, as she hadn't been paying attention due to how depressed she felt. "Dusk used to say that you made the most beautiful dresses in town. And he's technically right." Sunset said, looking at Rarity and then at the florists. "But the truth is if you want to stand out in a big city, you have to dress fashionably like all the modern mares do." Sunset added, then used her magic to levitate scissors and began to cut Rarity dresses to make them more like those of the fashion magazine. "What are you doing!? Stop!" Rarity screamed in terror when she saw that her dresses were being cut off. Then she stretched her hoof to try to stop Sunset, however, she was stopped by the three florists. "Don't stop her." Lily said, looking away in embarrassment. "Yeah, we… We want to dress fashionably like the mares in the big city!" Rose added, with a small look of anguish. Seeing that her own clients had stopped her, Rarity froze, then took one last look at the dresses, of which little was left of their original design. Sunset hadn’t only cut the dresses, but the beautiful idea that was in Rarity’s mind of what those dresses would look like in the end and the smiles her clients would have when they saw those beautiful dresses. Seeing how the dresses finally turned out, the three flower mares gave uncertain looks, as they felt that before the dresses looked better. Yet Sunset had shown them the truth, and now the dresses did look like those of those model mares in the magazine. So finally, the three mares thanked Sunset for help and left the boutique, somewhat satisfied with their new dresses. "Why did you do that?" Rarity asked weakly, feeling destroyed that her goal of proving to Sunset that her tailoring skills couldn't be surpassed had been a total failure before she even started. "I only gave them another option. A better option. They were the ones who chose." Sunset said with a shrug. "But fashion isn’t something that really interests me. It’s something so banal, so changeable, so subjective... The real power is in convincing others about what is fashionable. With enough skill, you can convince everyone that wearing a potato sack is the latest trend." Then Sunset approached Rarity and looked at her with an evil look, finally leaving the fake smiles behind. "So elegant, so dignified, so feminine, so fashionable... That definitely catches the attention of any stallion in this little dirt town, it even caught Dusk's attention." Sunset said, smiling wickedly. "But in the big city they would make fun of that false appearance. After all, as the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Having that cruel look in front of her, Rarity froze again, her lip trembling, feeling that she would start crying at feeling so humiliated in her own home. "Enough!" Pinkie Pie said, jumping up to hug Rarity to consul her and glaring at Sunset. "My my! If it isn’t the ever-smiling Pinkie Pie." Sunset said raising an eyebrow, smiling proudly. "It doesn't seem like you're smiling much now, does it?" "I knew that a mare that hurt Dusk so badly couldn't be good at all." Pinkie Pie said with a serious look. Sunset narrowed her eyes slightly, as if that comment had stung a bit. "But you're right, I always find the time to smile." Pinkie Pie added with a smile. However, it wasn’t a smile of joy, but a smile of confidence. She stared at Sunset, knowing that this time it was her turn to challenge her. "Alright, let's have a laugh then." Sunset replied, putting on the same Pinkie smile and looking at her defiantly. With three of the girls in a state of depression after being deceived, despised, and humiliated by Sunset Shimmer, it was Pinkie Pie's turn to guide them elsewhere. Now there was nothing to hide, it was obvious that Sunset didn’t seek to know them better or get along with them. She only wanted to confront them and beat them in whatever they were good at. And if that was the case, Pinkie Pie knew what to do. "We’re here!" Pinkie said with a big smile once they reached Sugarcube Corner and opened the door of the bakery. As they entered, everyone saw that Mr. and Mrs. Cake's shop was full of foals, a few years younger than Apple Bloom and her friends. The entire bakery was filled with streamers and balloons, and there were several tables with small cakes. "Today is Dinky Doo's birthday! I got everything ready in the morning so Mrs. Cake could host it while I was gone. But since I'm here, we're all going to enjoy this party!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile, ready to start celebrating with the others, as if she had completely forgotten the tense atmosphere present just a few minutes ago between her friends and Sunset. "Uh... Pinkie, I don't think it's a good time to be at a party." Spike said, a little concerned. "You're wrong, this is just what we need!" Pinkie said, then turned to Sunset and surprisingly putting her hooves on Sunset's cheeks to force her to smile. "I'm not going to challenge you to anything Sunset, and that's how I'm going to win! All I want is for you to stop that fake smile and smile with genuine happiness." Pinkie Pie added. Then Sunset moved her face away from Pinkie’s hooves, then she stared at her and put on a small smile while raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I assure you that all my smiles have been genuine." Sunset arrogantly replied. After that conversation, Pinkie Pie ran to a drawer that was under the stairs of the bakery and stuck her head inside it, shaking it roughly. Then Pinkie popped her head out of the drawer, only this time she was wearing a big multi-colored wig and a lot of clown makeup on her face. "Time for fun!" Pinkie Pie screamed with joy, causing all the foals to also scream with excitement at the knowledge that the pink pony’s show would begin. With incredible skill, Pinkie Pie stood on a ball and began to play the accordion as she began to sing the happy birthday song to the birthday filly. Seeing Pinkie's antics, all the foals started laughing together. For her part, while singing, Pinkie Pie occasionally glanced at Sunset, who simply stared at her with the same fake and arrogant smile she had when she arrived at the bakery. "I’ll show her that laughter isn’t silly… I’ll show her that even evil and grumpy mares like her can smile and change their hearts!" Pinkie Pie thought with a look full of determination as she continued with her act, remembering the words that Dusk had said to her about her old friend. Suddenly Pinkie lost her balance and fell sharply to the floor, hitting her face as she fell. Then all the foals started laughing, thinking that this was also part of Pinkie Pie's antics. For her part, Pinkie was shocked for a second. On any other occasion, she would have laughed at her accident and continued with her show. But she knew there must be a culprit behind her fall. And as much as she had wanted to smile despite seeing her friends being attacked by that evil yellow unicorn, for an instant her anger overcame her normally cheerful demeanor, and she glared at Sunset, as if all that pent-up anger she'd been trying to hide had finally come to light. "You.. You made me fall!" Pinkie Pie accused, determined not to be intimidated or fooled by Sunset, as had happened with her friends. Sunset just shrugged and looked confused at Pinkie’s angry glare. "I didn't do anything, Pinkie Pie. It’s true that I thought about it, but how could I teach you a proper lesson with such a dirty trick." Sunset grinned. "It seems that you were too busy looking at me and thinking about other things, and you got distracted. I didn't do anything; I swear to you." "I-It's not true!" Pinkie Pie claimed angrily, thinking that it was likely that had happened, but she didn't want to lose to Sunset. "Smile! Isn't that your gift? To smile no matter the situation?" Sunset asked, staring at Pinkie Pie. "By the way, that ‘always making others smile’ shtick doesn’t seem to be working very well for you." The unicorn added, looking away toward the center of the room. Pinkie Pie looked to wear she was gesturing and was startled to see that all the foals at the party were now looking worried and confused at Pinkie Pie. Because of that outburst of anger, Pinkie had forgotten about her show and that she was trying to entertain those foals, which made Pinkie feel bad about herself. "No! Don't let her get into your head! Don't let her win again!" Pinkie Pie fearfully thought, forcing a smile so as not to worry the foals at the party. Before Pinkie Pie could react and say something to lighten the mood, a light similar to a small sparkler, flew in front of Pinkie Pie's eyes, doing several loops in the air. Then the flare flew to the center of the room to where the foals were, who were amazed at the beautiful light that moved in such an amusing way. "Fret not, little foals! Follow me outside and we’ll have some real fun!" Sunset said with a big smile, full of excitement for the foals to follow her. So, she used her magic to keep moving that magic light and persuade the foals follow her out of Sugarcube Corner. All the foals ran excitedly out of the bakery, leaving Pinkie Pie and her friends alone. The pink mare still confused about what was happening. Outside of the bakery, Sunset began working as the new emcee. She used her horn to create dozens of magic flares that twirled and looped over the heads of the foals, who playfully tried to catch them with their hooves without success. Then Sunset created several figures of lights, forming the multicolored silhouettes of a great dragon, a ursa and a chimera. Then she formed the figures of two alicorns, a stallion and a mare, who defeated the three beasts of lights, causing the foals to applaud excitedly for the show. Finally, Sunset built up her magic and launched several fireworks into the sky, causing the foals to be even more excited by the noise and lights of the great show. As Sunset finished launching the last fireworks with her magic, Pinkie Pie approached her, because seeing the foals so excited, she didn’t want to interrupt their happiness. Once Pinkie was at Sunset's side, the unicorn smiled, winked at Pinkie, and used her magic to create a portal just below her, causing Pinkie to fall through. Then Sunset created another small portal just above the first, where Pinkie Pie appeared, but since this second portal was just above the first portal, Pinkie disappeared below and appeared above, falling in an infinite loop, so dizzy she didn't know what to do. That lasted only a few seconds as Sunset, exhausted from using so much high-level magic, broke the spell and finally Pinkie Pie fell to the ground, totally dizzy and lost. Seeing Pinkie so dizzy, all the foals started laughing, thinking that all of that had been part of the show and started clapping. For her part, Pinkie shook her head to shake off the dizziness, then she looked at the foals laughing, and her mouth began to tremble, trying to smile. She then averted her gaze from the foals and looked ahead, where Sunset had come extremely close, almost touching her, with a penetrating gaze and a huge smile. "Come on! Laugh! That’s why Dusk adores you, because you’re always happy and make others laugh, LAUGH! LAUGH!" Sunset exclaimed with an evil smile. At Sunset's cruel gaze, Pinkie's smile and eyes began to tremble as she truly began to feel that there was no escape from her failures. "YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!!" Rainbow Dash screamed angrily, who upon seeing Pinkie Pie about to cry, flew at full speed and grabbed Sunset by surprise and took her away from there. Seeing that Rainbow Dash and Sunset were gone, Pinkie Pie wiped her eyes and stood up. Then her friends quickly approached her. "Are you okay, Pinkie?" Rarity asked. The unicorn was quite concerned to see that her festive friend, despite all her efforts, had also fallen into Sunset's trap. "Yeah, I'm fine." Pinkie replied without being able to look her friends in the face. She always hated when others, especially her friends, saw her sad or depressed. Save for one special pony, of course. "Come on… We can't leave Rainbow Dash alone with that… meanie." The four mares hurried to where their daredevil friend had gone by following the rainbow trail she left behind. For their part, Mr. and Mrs. Cake had been watching from the bakery window and they hadn’t wanted to intervene when they felt the tense atmosphere between Pinkie and that yellow unicorn. However, when they saw that the mares were leaving and that the foals were still outside, they called for the foals to come back inside and continue enjoying the party. The only one left outside was Spike, who had just sent another letter with his fire. After what happened with Fluttershy, Spike had run to Fluttershy's cottage to find a scroll and a quill and had sent a letter to Dusk telling him what had happened. He repeated this with both Applejack and Rarity while also trying to stay out of Sunset’s sight so that she wouldn’t be wise to his plans. After what happened with Pinkie Pie, Spike had sent a fourth letter to his brother. However, after sending that last letter while waiting outside Sugarcube Corner, Spike put on a look of utter concern. Dusk and Princess Celestia were the only two ponies he could send letters to with his magic fire, and they both always responded immediately, which is why Spike began to freak out. It was already weird that Dusk hadn't answered one letter, but four unanswered letters!? Knowing that Sunset was involved with his friends, Spike hated the fact that Dusk wasn't there to help them. Without Dusk's presence, it would have to be his responsibility to protect his friends. However… he was terrified of Sunset. One of the first memories that Spike had in his short life was of crying as he was being controlled like a puppet by Sunset's magic. Both she and Dusk were just foals, and Sunset had wanted to try a control spell on someone, and sadly little Spike had been the perfect guinea pig. If it hadn't been for Dusk stopping Sunset, something worse could have happened with the poor dragon that time. No… Spike knew what Sunset was capable of, and he, as much as he wanted to, couldn't face her alone. He needed Dusk, he needed the help of his older brother… At that moment Spike, gritted his teeth hard in frustration, wishing with all his might that he could be of any help. "DUSK! ANSWER BACK ALREADY!" Spike yelled in frustration, not realizing that when he yelled, he released flames of his magic fire, which seemed to glow brighter than normal for an instant. Meanwhile at the town park, Rainbow Dash was glaring at Sunset. She had taken her to the park, taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many ponies around, to finally confront her openly. "I bit my tongue when you messed with Fluttershy and when you belittled Applejack and when you made fun of Rarity, but what I'm not going to put up with is you making Pinie Pie cry!" Rainbow Dash said, who had wished for quite some time that she could go face to face with Sunset. "Well, what do you plan to do about it? Do you want to fight me?" Sunset ask, raising an eyebrow with a defiant look. In that instant Rainbow Dash imagined how easy it would be to fly her up to the top of the sky and simply drop her. But no, she wasn't the evil one here, Sunset was. "I want you to apologize to my friends, an honest apology!" Rainbow Dash said, threateningly putting a hoof on Sunset's chest. "Huff... the ever-loyal Rainbow Dash… So blinded by loyalty to her friends, she can't see things objectively." Sunset replied with a shrug. "All I did was talk to Fluttershy, and she freaked out with a silly example I gave her. With Applejack, I just showed her how she could make her farm more efficient. With Rarity's clients, I just gave them a tip on fashion in the big city. And at Pinkie's party, I distracted the foals so they wouldn't freak out when they saw Pinkie Pie angry. Now tell me, exactly why should I ask for forgiveness?" Those words served to make Rainbow Dash's fury waver. What Sunset was saying was largely true, but… Rainbow Dash couldn't get out of her head how sad and devastated her friends were after being with Sunset… Was what Sunset was saying true? Was she blinded to the truth by the affection she had for her friends? Whatever it was, the only clear thing that Rainbow Dash knew at the time was that she couldn't fight Sunset because of what she had done. Sunset hadn't used violence against her friends, so Rainbow Dash couldn't use it against her, no matter how much she deserved it. "Wait… what if that was her plan? To make me angry for me to hit her and make it seem like she’s the innocent one in this whole story…" Rainbow Dash thought, her eyes widening in surprise. Then Rainbow Dash pulled the hoof off Sunset's chest and lowered her gaze in disgust, knowing she couldn't fall for Sunset's trap. "You see? I didn’t do anything wrong. It's not my fault that your friends are useless." Sunset said with a smile laced with venom. At that moment, Rainbow Dash's blood boiled in her body. She raised a hoof and punched Sunset's face with all her might. "Rainbow Dash!" Applejack and the other mares shouted, who had just reached the park and caught sight of Rainbow Dash throwing a blow at Sunset. Then the group of mares ran to where the two of them were. For their part, Rainbow Dash and Sunset were frozen with Rainbow Dash's hoof on Sunset's cheek, though more specifically, with Rainbow Dash's hoof 'almost' touching Sunset's cheek. At the last second, knowing that it would arouse Rainbow Dash's ire, Sunset had used her magic and protected herself from Rainbow Dash's blow, so a very thin but strong layer of magic had cushioned the pegasus's blow. "Violence leads nowhere, Rainbow Dash. What would Dusk say if he saw this." Sunset asked with an arrogant smile. Then she expanded the aura of her magic, causing Rainbow Dash to fall onto her back. Just at that moment, Rainbow Dash's friends came over and helped her up. Meanwhile, Sunset kept her horn glowing with magic. "At no point did I attack you, however, one of you just attacked me." Sunset said with a wicked smile, flashing her horn with great intensity. "I suppose now I can defend myself and use my magic against you as I please. Perhaps wipe all of you from this mortal coil..." Sunset added, with so much accumulated magic that her horn began to shoot out some lightning bolts and sparks. Seeing that Sunset threatened them with her magic, the five mares knew they had no chance, as they knew how powerful she could be. Then the five of them hugged each other and looked fearlessly at Sunset. Whatever she threw at them, they would face it together. "No... there’s still something to destroy..." Sunset thought, looking with contempt at the friendly embrace that the mares gave each other. Then she looked up at the sky and a great idea came to her head. "Fortunately, unlike you, I don’t encourage violence." Sunset said, shrugging her shoulders and gradually diminishing the magic in her horn until it disappeared. Then Sunset focused her gaze on Rainbow Dash and smiled. "How about we solve this little misunderstanding with a little healthy competition?" "Uh?" Rainbow Dash said, totally incredulous at what she was hearing. On the other hoof, Spike had just arrived at the park and joined his friends. "Let's see..." Sunset said with a thoughtful look, then looked to her right and pointed away. "How about the first to get to that hill, touch the clock tower, and come back here, will be the winner. Ready?" "What!? You just threatened us with your magic and now you want-?" Rainbow Dash said, confused and annoyed. "Three... Two... One..." Sunset said, getting into position ready to run, ignoring Rainbow Dash's confusion and counting down, not giving her time to think. "Now!" As soon as Sunset gave the starting shout, Rainbow Dash averted her gaze and flew off to the hill. She didn't have time to argue, she couldn't let Sunset win again! No matter what she was planning, she wouldn't let her win! This was a race, and no one in the entire universe could ever beat her in a race! Rainbow Dash was flying at full speed, almost about to reach the clock tower, one hundred percent focused only on the race. Meanwhile, at the starting point of the park, Sunset was still static, just watching in the distance as Rainbow Dash finally touched the clock tower and now began her speedy flight back. "Wow... She really is fast." Sunset said with a hoof over her eyes as a visor to see better in the distance. Just then, while Sunset was distracted, Spike burped out a scroll. Rainbow Dash had already gone more than half the way back and was about to arrive with her friends. "Yaaawn… Okay, time to win." Sunset said. Quickly using her magic, Sunset teleported to the clock tower and was back in just an instant. Right before Rainbow Dash got to her friends. As the pegasus tried to catch her breath, Sunset looked at her and smiled. "I think I won." Sunset said, playfully sticking her tongue out, which further irritated Rainbow Dash. "You… You didn't win! Huff… You cheated… You cheated!" Rainbow Dash eventually stuttered out. "I told you it was a competition, not a race. I had to touch the clock tower and come back, and I did." Sunset said with an arrogant smile. "It’s useless to be fast and train your muscles if you don’t use the main one, your brain! So fast, yet so dumb..." "You..." Rainbow Dash growled. "What do you think Dusk would say? Do you think he would want a friend who acts without even thinking? That's not Dusk's style, is it?" Sunset argued, smiling arrogantly at Rainbow Dash. Seeing Sunset's intense gaze, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but look away and feel that what the unicorn was saying was partly true. She had always feared that Dusk would think that she wasn’t smart enough, since he was a brainiac. Seeing that moment of doubt in Rainbow Dash, Sunset smirked wickedly. "Well, since I won the competition, I think I'll celebrate with something special." Sunset said while looking up at the sky where there was a small cloud. Then she closed one eye and made a face of concentration, as if what she was going to do required great accuracy. Upon correct calculation, Sunset's horn lit up, and a beam of magical light flew out swiftly from her horn and hit the cloud, causing it to be destroyed. What happened next was nothing none of the other mares expected. As the cloud broke with magic, a rainbow light briefly expanded like a ripple away from the cloud, filling the sky with colors for a brief moment. "That... That was..." Rainbow Dash stuttered, as if she had seen a ghost. "I think you call that a Sonic Rainboom? It's really nothing special. Clouds are made of water and when strong light hits them at the right angle, the droplets refract the sunlight, breaking down the light into the visible spectrum of light." Sunset casually explained, as if what she was saying was the most basic thing in the world. She then shifted her kind smile to a fake look of pity as she looked at Rainbow Dash. "What? Did you think that explosion was something special? Or don’t tell me, did you think YOU were special!?" Sunset added, taunting the blue pegasus. Rainbow Dash was already feeling terrible from falling into Sunset's trap and losing that race, where she basically made it clear that she was a dumb pony. However, nothing had prepared her to see that Sunset could also mimic a Sonic Rainboom... That was her thing! It was her trademark! As Sunset said, it was what Rainbow Dash believed made her special and unique. Not only her, but also... "Did you think that was proof of a ‘special magical bond’ that you have with your friends?" Sunset then gestured to the rest of the mares. "Did you think that was proof of a special bond you had with Dusk!? Well, let me spell it out for you. None. Of. You. Are. Special." Sunset stated, enhancing each of her words. She raised her head high and smiled victoriously, since after everything that happened that day, the spirit of the five mares had been thoroughly destroyed. The five mares felt downcast. They had been deceived, belittled, humiliated, mocked and insulted by Sunset. And what hurt them the most was that Sunset hadn’t technically lied… Without realizing it, Sunset had targeted their great fears and had used them to tear down what they believed to be their great strengths. And the last ray of hope that they had left, their great bond of friendship, had also been ridiculed and belittled, taking away the last of their courage and self-love. "Enough with the lies! You say you haven't lied, but that's not true!" Spike yelled, taking all his courage to overcome his fear and face Sunset to defend his friends. "You said that was a Sonic Rainboom, but that’s not true. I’ve seen and felt the Sonic Rainboom that Rainbow Dash makes. It’s not just a simple rainbow, it’s so much more spectacular and grander than that, it reverberates in the hearts of all who see it. It fills you with energy and a feeling of joy that makes you want to jump with happiness." Those words served to allow the five mares to raise their heads again. Words that slowly drove Sunset's hurtful words away. Then Spike walked over to Rainbow Dash and stared at her. "I’ve always told Dusk that you’re Sonic Rainboom is the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen. But do you know what Dusk always tells me? He always tells me that it pales in comparison to the mare that makes it, his dear friend Rainbow Dash." Spike said with a warm smile. Hearing those words, Rainbow Dash perked up for an instant and was able to smile again. After that, Spike glared at Sunset and showed the scroll that had come to him a few moments ago. The yellow unicorn merely eyed the dragon intensely. "I wrote to Dusk about all the bad things you were doing to our friends. And he finally answered me." Spike said, again reading the scroll, only this time, out loud: "I don't know what trick Sunset used, but she can never make the forest animals love her more than Fluttershy. She takes care of them day and night. When they get sick, she is there. When they’re afraid, she is there. That unconditional love is not a hoax, it’s pure kindness, and it’s something Sunset can never match. The same goes for Applejack. She doesn’t just harvest apples. She sows the seeds, grows the acres of trees, watches them grow and die, they are part of her family. So what does it matter if Sunset can harvest more apples than Applejack, she couldn't do it for the rest of her life. Because she doesn't love to grow and harvest like Applejack does! No pony could have a better farm than Applejack because no pony loves her job the way she does, and that's the honest truth. Just like the love Rarity has with each of her dresses. She doesn't need to copy fashion styles; she creates fashion styles! It doesn’t matter that other mares dress in a sophisticated way, all in the same dresses. Rarity’s generous heart allows her to spend hours of her time imagining and devising a special and unique dress for every one of her clients. And Pinkie must understand that anypony can throw a party, anypony can put on a show, even anypony can smile. But not just anypony can bring true joy to others. Pinkie Pie was born to make ponies happy! There are no tricks or hoaxes in her laughter and that's why her parties will always be the best in Equestria! Girls! Don't be fooled by Sunset! What I want the most right now is to be there with you, with my true friend!. I'll be there soon!" After Spike read the letter, he looked up and sighed in relief when he saw that his five friends were smiling again. They weren’t completely healed by the emotional wounds left by Sunset but hearing Dusk's tender words managed to rekindle their spirit and make them regain their confidence little by little. However, the little dragon’s relief lasted only a few seconds, as there was still one mare that was not smiling... Sunset had simply remained motionless, looking with a terrifying indifferent gaze at Spike. Feeling that intense look, Spike couldn’t help but tremble with fear. Sunset's magic removed the scroll from Spike's grasp and slowly tore it into tiny pieces. Then she inched towards Spike, always keeping a cold, indifferent gaze. Finally, she lowered her head to be level with Spike and looked directly at him, almost touching his nose. And… Sunset smiled kindly. "You're absolutely right, Spike!" Sunset said in a sweet tone, which did little to relief the anxiety in the dragon. He thought for sure that Dusk's words would thwart whatever plans Sunset had to annoy and depress his friends. Then Sunset raised her head and looked at the other mares. "What Dusk said in his letter is true. I could never match your talents perfectly. Try as I might, I could never take care of animals like Fluttershy, harvest with Applejack's passion, design like Rarity, or make parties like Pinkie Pie, let alone be as fast as Rainbow Dash. That’s because each pony is unique and has a unique talent, that's what differentiates us from other species. It's what our cutie marks reflect." Sunset said with a loving look. "But you must understand, having a unique talent doesn’t mean that talent is something special..." She added, looking at the mares with false concern. "Do you think Fluttershy is the only pony in Equestria who takes care of animals? Is Applejack the only mare that works on a farm? Is Rarity the only fashion designer? Doesn't anypony else in Equestria party or laugh like Pinkie Pie does? Isn't anypony as competitive as Rainbow Dash? Without much effort, I was able to do everything that you girls do almost as well as you. Your talents are unique, but they aren’t special. To be special is to have a gift, like Dusk. Only he could awaken the Elements of Harmony, only he has the magic proficiency to become a powerful sorcerer. You must understand... none of you are good enough for him." Sunset added, glaring with a fleeting but intense look of contempt at the mares. "Even if you didn't realize it, everything I did today, I did to help you. I saw you the night before, and I knew I had to help you before you made a big mistake." "You can still be friends with Dusk, so long as you understand that he’s on a different level than you. However, I was scared to realize that some of you could mistake that friendship for love... Can you imagine!? What if one day, one of you decides to declare your love for Dusk? Poor Dusk wouldn't know what to do or what to say if one of you fell in love with him. I suppose he would be so embarrassed that he couldn't even look you in the eyes." Sunset said feigning concern, just as her words sank deep into the hearts of the five mares. Each one kept the secret of that unanswered declaration of love that they had given him at the Grand Galloping Gala. Secrets that were now burning a hole in each of their hearts. "Dusk Shine said it himself in his letter: 'my true friends', and that's what you will always be, Dusk's friends. I just wanted to warn you before you got hurt, don't fall in love with Dusk. You are all unique, but you’re not special like him, you can never be on the same level. He will never see any of you as something else." After Sunset's words, the five mares once again lost the brightness in their gazes, as if that fire that had briefly revived in their hearts with Dusk's letter had been completely extinguished. The mares didn’t know, but Sunset did know about the declarations of love that the five mares had made to Dusk. With that, she was able to pretend that she was simply giving them advice. False advice that attacked them right where it hurt the most. Sunset had once again exploited their greatest fears, only this time it hadn't been their talents, but their unrequited loves. And that caused the five mares to fall into a deep depression. "Castling, I protect my most valuable piece and then checkmate. A perfect game." Sunset smiled proudly, turning around and walking away, happy to have accomplished her mission. "They‘ll never understand … Dusk belongs to me." Sunset thought with a look full of determination as she walked back to the library to await Dusk's arrival. For their part, the five mares just stood there, all lost in thought. Each of them was sinking in the sadness, confusion, pain, and insecurity that Sunset Shimmer's harsh words had generated in them. Spike only stared at all of them with worry and confusion. "I don't understand, why did Sunset's last words affect them so much? None of them declared to Dusk. None of them have fallen in love with him, otherwise Dusk would have told me. Right?" Spike thought pondered, not knowing what to say to encourage his friends again. Spike suddenly put his thoughts aside when he was forced to burp, causing a scroll to appear from his magic fire. "Great, now you're answering all my letters when it’s too late, Dusk!" Spike thought, taking the scroll with frustration. However, he was surprised when he reviewed it more carefully. "This isn’t a letter from Dusk… It has the royal seal." At that moment, as if the weather wanted to be consistent with the atmosphere of depression experienced by the mares, it began to rain on Ponyville. "Rain?" Spike asked, remembering that the weather team hadn't scheduled rain for that afternoon. Then, smelling something strange, Spike ran his tongue over some of the drops that landed on his nose. "It tastes like… chocolate?" End of chapter 2