"I'm not mad at you guys."
The Rainbooms met in Sunset's apartment. She asked them to come over for a talk but was deliberately vague. When she invited them in, she looked despondent. The Rainbooms expected a major ass-chewing or tearful shrieking. To say there were stunned by those words was a massive understatement.
"But-," Pinkie began, only to be cut off by Sunset raising her hand.
"I can't blame you guys for what you did," Sunset said in a soft, empathetic voice. "The whole Anon-A-Miss thing is something I would've done, and you had no way of knowing your sisters would've done something like that. It was pretty easy to suspect me." Sunset briefly stared at the floor before continuing. "And I do believe you guys are sorry and ashamed of yourselves. You did break down and cry when you thought Gilda murdered me." Sunset let out another thoughtful pause before continuing. "Part of me wants to give you guys a chance the same way you gave me a chance," Sunset said, "but-," Sunset looked down again, her face incredibly uncomfortable.
"What is a sugar cube?" Applejack asked with concern.
"It's OK to tell us," Fluttershy assured her.
"I'm seeing. I don't know, a pattern," Sunset said uneasily, "that shows that deep down, you guys always held a grudge against me, you never actually forgave me, and the only reason you hung out with me is that you felt sorry for me."
The Rainbooms were shocked at the accusation. "Sunny," Pinkie objected, "that's not-,"
"Pinkie Pie," Sunset uttered in a calm but forceful tone. The pink-skinned girl shut her mouth. "Let me recap. When I was suspended, the only people who bothered to hang out with me were Applejack and Pinkie", Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity looked down in shame, "and even then, we only met once a week after school, either in Cherry's diner or in my house where no one could see us." Pinkie Pie and Applejack suddenly felt like they wanted a hole to swallow them up in embarrassment. "And that was after I paid compensation to one of you."
"And you two," Sunset gestured to the fashion lover and the animal enthusiast, "only hung out with me because Applejack and Pinkie Pie begged you. And you," Sunset turned to Rainbow, "you avoided me for a couple of weeks and took joy in my suffering." Rainbow didn't even respond, looking thoroughly ashamed. "And the only reason why you hung with me as I was carted off to jail." Sunset felt herself on the verge of tears and took a deep breath before continuing.
"And there were all those times you 'joke' about me being a demon," Sunset said, her voice about to crack. that hurt the Rainbooms even more than a scream. "And," Sunset bit her lip to control her quiver, "maybe I deserve some of those comments, but they tell me you think of me as a monster."
The accusation completely abashed the Rainbooms. "But Sunset," Fluttershy said in a horrified, "we've taken you to our sleepovers, and movies, and dinners-,"
"Did you do that because you wanted too," Sunset asked with a serious look, "or did you do it because you felt you had to?" Sunset clenched her fists. "Let me tell you something. What you guys did to me was worse than what Gilda, Micro Chips, and everyone else did when I got back." The Rainbooms look confused. "Yeah, they were rough on me, but at least they didn't lie to me or pretend to be my friend. When you guys ditched me, it was like...Quick when he pretended to like me when he was plotting revenge." Sunset's friends, Applejack especially, were mortified by the comparison. Sunset began feeling tears fall down her eyes. "I'd rather have no friends than be around people who are gonna lie to me later."
"Sunny," Rainbow finally said, "I'm sorry-,"
"I KNOW YOUR SORRY! I KNOW YOU FEEL BAD! BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Sunset took a deep breath before continuing in a hoarse voice. "I need to know the truth: did you guys hold a grudge against me all this time?! If you want to hang out with me now, it's not going to matter if you still hold a grudge because it means you'll probably ditch me again!" The Rainbooms sat still in contemplative silence over the question.
"OK," Applejack said uneasily, "maybe we did hold a grudge against you! But that wasn't the only reason why we got upset."
"Then why?"
"Let me put it this way, Darling," Rarity said in a soft, thoughtful voice. "It's because you became our friend that we got mad at you. You are stealing our secrets would be the equivalent of my father or mother doing it. It's because there was so much love between us that we got mad. After all, we thought someone we'd come to care about was betraying us". Sunset softened at that, albeit slightly. "But yes," Rarity admitted to her shame, "maybe we never really got over our fear."
"And again, I don't blame you," Sunset said. "But if you're going to keep holding a grudge against me, then what's to stop you from abandoning me again the second I do something wrong? Again, I don't want to hang out with people who deep down resent me."
"We promise Sunny," Pinkie Pie said in a pleading tone, "we'll throw you-"
"Pinkie," Rainbow interrupted. "Sunset doesn't want a party, she wants to be able to trust us again." Rainbow looked at Sunset with pleading eyes. "What can we do to prove we won't ditch you again?"
"OK," Sunset said with a stern look. "There is something I want you five to do. I want you to name someone you despise or have hurt you in the past." The Rainbooms looked perplexed at the idea.
"OK," Rainbow said in a confused tone. "Uh, Gilda."
"Uh, Fleur De Lis," Fluttershy said.
"Suri Polomare."
Pinkie didn't respond, not thinking of a single person she despised.
"Strawberry Sunrise," Applejack said.
"I want you to go up to these people and try and bury the hatchet with them," Sunset said. "Not just apologize. Make an effort to hang out with them."
"But Sunset," Applejack objected.
"Again, if you still have lingering resentment toward me, your apologies and gifts and invitations are going to mean nothing because your gonna ditch me when things get rough again."That statement hurt the girls. "The only way to you can prove your sorry is if you can do the hard thing and bury your hatred with someone else." Sunset's expression softened. "I'm not saying you guys have to bend over backward to appease these people if they act rude to you. But here's what the Princess taught me: 'you can't be good when its convenient. You have to be good to everyone. Either everyone is happy, or no one is happy.' Thus, if you guys can't let go if your grudges against them then you won't be able to let go of your grudge against me. If you can do that, then it shows me you won't let your grudges consume you anymore, and I can feel comfortable hanging out with you again."
A long silence hung over the air. "You're right," Applejack declared solemnly, "if we can't forgive these people, then we can't call ourselves Elements of Harmony, now can we?!"
"She's right," Fluttershy said. "We need to be good, even when it's hard." Rainbow looked uneasy. But then she remembered Sunset crying down the ground, and her face became one of resolve.
"We'll do it," Rainbow said in a low, serious voice. "We can't let the stupid things in the past control us anymore."
Sunset looked at them very, very stoically. "Well, you gotta prove that to me." The unsympathetic tone made them cringe because it showed she while she wasn't tearing them down, she wasn't putting stock in their words anymore. They had to prove their words through actions now.
"Also, I want us to take a break." Her friends looked confused. "Look, it isn't what you think it means. I realize I can't keep relying on you guys, and I need to make my own friends. For a month, I want time to meet new people, OK?"
To Sunset's joy, her friends didn't protest, instead giving her tearful smiles, proving they accepted she wanted some time apart.
Gilda bench pressed in the gym with Micro Chips as her spotter. Her face was red sweat, her skin sweaty, and her arms were screaming in pain.
It was a perfect day for the white-haired girl.
"28," Chips counted, "29, 30!" Gilda let out a sigh of relief as she finished her reps. She got up from the bench and took a seat near a plastic chair.
"Good job, Gilds," Micro said with a congratulatory smile.
"Nah, I'm slowing down," Gilda muttered as she took.
"Not in the sack," Micro joked. Gilda spat out a drink in both astonishment and laughter.
"The nerd is finally loosening up," Gilda said in a smile that was both.
"Well, that's what ointment and tissues are for," Micro Chips said.
Gilda let out another proud cackle. "You are on a roll, Chips." Micro looked at his watch.
"I got to get to the AV Club," Micro said to Gilda, running out of the workout room.
"See ya." Gilda went over to a mirror and began lifting a few dumbbells over her head.
"Gilda." The white-haired athlete paused when she saw who was in the mirror. She reluctantly turned around and saw Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow," Gilda said in an icy tone. "What do you want?" Rainbow frowned like she had a nasty paper cut. "Well, out with it."
"I want to say that," Rainbow bit her lip, "what happened to Blossomworth...wasn't your fault." Gilda's eyes widened. "Yeah...you peer pressured me...but it was my choice to make her go walk on the ledge too, so I can't blame you." Rainbow took another deep breath. "But since that time...I've treated you like you were a worm. Even when you tried to save Applejack, and...I wanted to know if...you wanted to make peace and...bury the hatchet...and all that." Gilda stared at Rainbow with an inscrutable expression.
"If you don't want to," Rainbow said with resignation, "that's-,"
"I was jealous of you and Blossomworth."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What?"
"I was jealous of you and Blossomworth," Gilda repeated in a soft voice.
"Why?" Rainbow asked. "You seemed pretty popular. That's why Moondancer and I-,"
"Yeah, well being popular among lowlifes is pretty hollow." Gilda frowned seriously. "Almost all those goons that followed me ended up in juvie. Believe I wouldn't trust them as far as I could spit."
Rainbow frowned sympathetically at Gilda. "Really?"
"The reason why I hung out with those jerks and did all those stupid stunts was that," Gilda frowned morosely, "I never had anything worth living in life. And, maybe, I made you and Blossomworth do those things was because," Gilda's lip began quivering a bit, "deep down, you and Blossom," Gilda looked down with regret, "had something I never got." The military brat's eyes began to water. "You two had people who...cared about you." Gilda started shaking. "And-and my-my mom was-," She bit her lip. "And maybe I was dragging you down to my level."
Rainbow put a hand on Gilda's shoulder. "Gilda, I didn't know-,"
"But that didn't make it right for me to do what I did," the white-skinned girl croaked. "Making Blossom do that, and-and making fun of her and-," Gilda broke down in tears.
Rainbow pulled the military girl into a hug. Gilda let out an apology in between sobs while Rainbow patted her on the back and said sorry too.
"We can't change the past," Rainbow cooed with a smile as the last of Gilda's tears died down. "From now on, we go forward." Rainbow extended her hand. "Deal."
Gilda looked scared, but then accepted the hand with a grateful smile. "Deal."
Micro Chips watched this with such a small amount of pride. His girlfriend was growing up.
"Keep digging."
Apple Bloom and her friends dug a new flower bed while Officer Garda supervised. They worked for hours, getting covered in sweat and dirt. Officer Garda watched this while sitting under an umbrella, sipping lemonade, and reading a book on ancient torture techniques.
They felt like slaves and him the slave master. Being forced to toil on Saturdays wasn't just bad. It should be a human rights' violation.
"Can we take our break now?" Scootaloo asked in a desperate tone.
The man didn't look up from his book. "Ten minutes."
The three scrambled to a nearby table and took out their lunches.
"Granny's making clean out the pig troughs!"
"Rarity has me scrubbing the floors."
"Rainbow's making me do the laundry for all the sports teams."
They didn't say anymore. They knew they deserved it. But it didn't make their punishments suck less. They chowed miserably on their lunches when they saw a shadow emerge. They looked up and their blood went cold.
Sunset Shimmer approached them with a smile while holding a plastic bag. The fire-haired girl probably had some revenge scheme planned out. Apple Bloom let out a resigned sigh. "Go ahead. Do yer worst."
"You're right," Sunset replied with a scarily happy smile. "I am going to do my worst." The three shook as Sunset took something out of her bag."You're getting blueberry pie, not cherry."
Apple Bloom and her fellow Crusaders looked confused, seeing the fire-haired girl offer them a pastry. "Why are you getting us a pie?"
"I wanted to welcome you to a special club."
Scootaloo cocked her head. "What club?"
"The Did Stupid Things Club," Sunset remarked with an odd smile. "To qualify, you have to do a foolish thing. Once you get in, your activities include back-breaking labor, being grounded, and having everyone distrust you." Sunset's expression softened. "But there is another part of this club: forgiveness and getting a second chance."
The Crusaders looked morose. "But...we humiliated you and hurt our sisters," Sweetie Belle muttered remorsefully.
"Well," Sunset said, "you did save my life." Apple Bloom was surprised. "I can definitely forgive someone who saved me, even they were mad at me."
"But what about the rest of us?" Sweetie Belle said in a soft, weak. Scootaloo looked curious.
Sunset's expression became more severe. "What you did was wrong, but...I shouldn't expect you to be completely comfortable around me or that all of your hatred would vanish. But also, life's too short to hold grudges. I can see where that leads." She wordlessly gestured to their condition: despised outcasts who worked to the bone for their stupid behavior. "And if people can forgive me for being a demon, I can forgive you guys. Especially since you guys are already making up for your mistakes."
The Crusaders broke down in tears, muttering apologies.
"See, you guys understand what you did was wrong," Sunset assured them with a smile, placing the pie on the table and giving them each a hug.
As the last of their tears died, Sweetie Belle looked at Sunset with a serious question. "Want to join us?"
"Sure," Sunset said with a smile. Sunset sat down and pulled a plastic knife out of the bar to evenly split the pie between the four of them.
Officer Garda looked up from his book for a moment and looked at Sunset with a proud smile.