//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Melody at Sunset // by shadowslayer133 //------------------------------// Sunset paced frantically, mind racing as she tried to figure out why Twilight and her friends were being so nice to her. They didn’t punish her for attempting to steal the Element of Magic, instead putting her in a guest room and explaining that they would join her shortly. She couldn’t understand why. Twilight claimed she wanted to be her friend, which Sunset immediately concluded must mean she wanted to use her, but use her for what? Her position? She was no longer a student to princess Celestia, Twilight hardly knew her, she had no position to use. Her power? Twilight was a Princess of Equestria, an Element of Harmony, and was close with the other princesses; she had little need for her power. Then what? Sunset couldn’t think of a single reason the lavender alicorn would forgive and forget so easily. Was she lying for the sole purpose of getting her hopes up and then shattering them like glass? Or was it a lie to keep her complacent while they prepared a punishment for her crimes? Or maybe, just maybe, she was being genuine? That last thought brought a small smile to her face, but she immediately shook it off. That couldn’t be the reason. Before she could ponder further the doors to her room burst open. Twilight was the first to enter, followed closely by the other Elements of Harmony. The pink one quickly broke off from the group, bouncing over to Sunset excitedly, shoving a cake in her direction while offering her the brightest smile she’d ever seen in her life. Her eyes widened, darting between the cake, the overly happy pink mare, and Twilight. “W-What’s this?” Sunset stammered, surprised by the unexpected action. The pink one only giggled in response, her friends finally catching up to her. “Pinkie here insisted on throwing you ah ‘congrats on making six new friends’ party” the farmpony answered, “We all agreed to turn it into a slumber party. We’re all anxious to get to know ya, sugarcube” “You are?” Sunset replied, looking lost and confused. The reaction brought small frowns to the elements, but Pinkie quickly smiled once more. “Of course we are silly! We even baked a cake for you!” She said, reaching into her puffy mane and pulling out confetti, which she threw into the air with a cheer. “But...why?” Sunset asked, still visibly unsure what to make of all this. The purple maned unicorn stepped forward and replied. “Because you're our friend, darling. Or we’d at least like you to be" "We know how all those mean ponies treated you. Nopony deserves that" the buttercream pegasus added. The rainbow maned pony nodded along to her words. "Yeah! If I were there I'd have given them a piece of my mind!" Suddenly she took to the air, punching an invisible opponent with her forelegs. Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend's actions. Sunset however still watched them all with obvious skepticism. "I just can't figure you out. What could you possibly want with me? Why would you care about my problems or my past? Why would you care about me?" Sunset asked bluntly, causing Twilight to suddenly look determined as she replied. "Sunset, my friends and I represent the Elements of Harmony. Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty. These elements represent the magic of friendship. The elements wouldn't choose ponies who don't represent those qualities. How could we possibly ignore somepony in need of a friend?" "You can trust us, Sugarcube. I'm nothing if not honest" Applejack added. "I want to make you smile all day!" Pinkie agreed. "We all just want to help you, please won't you let us?" Fluttershy begged. "We know you're new to this whole friendship thing, but it's okay. We'll help you through it" Rarity said. "Come on, Sunset! You'll be at least 20% cooler with me as your friend! How can you possibly turn that down?" Rainbow Dash boasted, grinning at the fiery maned unicorn. Sunset squirmed under their stares, looking between each of them with less and less uncertainty. She couldn't think of any other reason behind their actions. It seemed they were genuine, but even so, Sunset found it hard to trust them. She eyed the cake in Pinkie Pies hoof, then back to the smiling and hopeful faces of the elements. Biting her bottom lip she slowly nodded, the room erupting in cheers. Sunset took a bite of her strawberry vanilla cake, deeply invested in the stories her new friends excitedly shared about themselves. Rainbow Dash was currently telling her how they defeated Nightmare Moon together, swinging her hooves in the air as she explained the fight in great detail. "So there I was, all alone. My friends were defeated and needed my help. With no other choice, I bravely took on Nightmare Moon in hoof to hoof combat, using my superior speed to avoid magical blasts from her horn" With every swing of her hoof she would make a sound, such as bam or blam, while her friends all stared at her with unamused expressions. Sunset considered herself relatively intelligent, but it didn't take a genius to understand those stares. Rainbow was clearly boasting and over exaggerating the situation, if not outright making it up. "Ahem" Twilight cleared her throat, causing the cyan mare to stop mid-sentence. Seeing her friends glares she blushed softly, chuckling nervously and giving Sunset a sheepish smile. "Okay, so maybe it didn't happen exactly like that. But it was close!" "Close my tail, Rainbow Dash" Applejack huffed, crossing her forelegs and rolling her eyes. Twilight giggled, turning her attention to Sunset as she explained what really happened. "When Nightmare Moon destroyed the elements I thought we were done for, but then I heard them calling out to me. I felt the spark inside me when I realized they were my friends. When I realized how much I care about them, and that they cared about me. That spark created the sixth element of harmony, Magic, and together we purified Nightmare Moon and saved Princess Luna" "Wow, that was quite a story. You six are truly interesting ponies" Sunset complimented, allowing a soft smile to grace her features. Rarity was the first to respond. "Thank you, darling. I must admit I was absolutely delighted when my tail grew back. Speaking of which might I say your mane is absolutely divine" "Oh?" Sunset replied with a blush, "Thank you so much, Rarity" "Think nothing of it. Perhaps I could convince you to model for me sometime, hm?” “I’d love to, but tomorrow is the last day the mirror will be open. I’ll have to leave before it closes again” Sunset explained. “You’re planning on leaving?” Fluttershy asked softly, frowning at the information. The other ponies seemed saddened as well, Twilight getting up from her seat across from Sunset and approaching her, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “I thought for sure you’d want to stay now that you have friends. You know you’re welcome here, right? No matter what you may have intended to do, we forgive you and understand why you did it. You don’t have to go back there” Twilight explained, offering the unicorn a reassuring smile. Sunset couldn’t help but to return the smile, placing her hoof over Twilight's as she attempted to explain her feelings. She only hoped they would understand. “It’s hard for me to be here, in Equestria. I’ve felt so alone here for so long, and nopony ever cared enough to help me until I met all of you. Even Princess Celestia, though unintentional, left me alone when I needed somepony the most. There are too many memories here. The teasing, the hatred, the jealousy. The world beyond the mirror is lonely too, but at least I don’t have to deal with the memories there. And who knows, maybe I can make some friends there too, now that I know it’s possible without the power of an alicorn princess” “So you’ll never come back to Equestria?” Pinkie Pie asked, her mane less puffy and her demeanor much less energetic and happy. Sunset turned to her quickly, shaking her head. “No, no, of course I will. I’m just not ready right now. This friendship thing is all new to me, and I need time. Maybe one day I can come here to stay, but not right now. Please, I still want to be friends with all of you, but I just can’t stay here yet” One by one the ponies around her nodded, small smiles coming back to their faces as they tried to reassure her of her decision. “You do what you have to, Sugarcube. You will always be my friend, no matter what!” Applejack said. “She’s right. If you’re not comfortable being here yet then we will be waiting for you when the mirror opens again” Rarity agreed. “If Sunset’s leaving tomorrow then I say we make tonight's party the bestest party ever!” Pinkie yelled, jumping to her hooves and grinning as her hair seemed to poof up once more, “I’ll get the party canon!” “I agree with Pinkie Pie, let's enjoy the time we have together,” Fluttershy said. “Then what are we waiting for? Let's Party!” Rainbow cheered. Sunset looked between the six ponies in the room and felt a warmth in her heart that she hadn’t felt since Princess Celestia first took her on as her student. Had she really felt so cold for so long? Getting to her hooves she couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped her lips as she watched Pinkie Pie pull a literal canon from out of nowhere, blasting confetti all over the room before anypony could stop her. Sunset placed a hoof over her chest, fresh tears falling from her eyes and she looked between the Elements of Harmony. She finally had friends, she wasn’t alone anymore. She would never be alone again.