Sunset smiled sweetly. "Just walked in, but I'd have heard enough if I wasn't a practiced eavesdropper."
Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Uh, okay, um--"
"Shut up a minute."
Rainbow shut up. Sunset took in a deep breath with her eyes closed, then opened them. "I was so worried, when I went to confess what I'd done. I was worried I was gonna lose you as a friend."
"Never going to happen," Rainbow said firmly, folding her arms over her chest.
Sunset stepped closer, glaring into Rainbow's face. "I was so relieved when you said you weren't mad. I thought...hell, I thought you'd at least be honest with me. I thought we could be honest with each other. If you're not going to tell me anything I don't want to hear, then I've not really made any progress, have I?" She jabbed a finger in Rainbow's face, finishing with, "Are we really friends, Rainbow Dash?"
"Yes! Of course we are! I just--" Rainbow threw up her hands. "I'm an idiot, okay? I go with the first plan that comes to mind, and I don't give it a second thought! Like I shouldn't have punched Gilda, no matter how much she deserved it, but I did it anyway! And...I should have been honest with you! I'm sorry...I...I worry about you."
"I told you already—you missed your chance," Sunset said. She gave a smile, adding, "I'm not going anywhere, Rainbow." She held out a hand. "Friends, still?"
Rainbow took the hand, then pulled Sunset into a deep hug. "Friends," she said.
Sunset stiffened, not expecting the hug, but, after a moment's deliberation, hugged Rainbow back.
"Eh..."
They broke apart, turning to Cold Brew. "May I take your order?" he asked tiredly.
"Oh, uh, sorry," Sunset said, clearing her throat. "Large coffee please."
"Coming right up," Cold Brew said.
"Come join us," Rainbow offered, waving Sunset over.
Sunset hesitated, then followed Rainbow Dash, sitting at her side. "Hi, Applejack. I assume...you've already had the big talk?"
"Eeyup," Applejack said. "I'm not sure how I feel about ya, but I'm willin' to give you a chance, Sunset."
"Thanks," Sunset said with a smile. "I'm just...glad I didn't ruin your friendship forever, y'know?"
"Someone would have called us out on it eventually," Applejack said with a shrug. "Or we'd just randomly meet up and it would just come up naturally."
"Meet up in college, think you dislike each other, but gradually realize you're still the friends you once were, no matter what came between you two?" Sunset suggested.
"Er...somethin' like that, maybe," Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.
"I watch soap operas," Sunset explained. "So, what were you two going to do next?"
"Probably talk to the rest of our friends," Rainbow answered as Cold Brew set the coffee in front of Sunset. "I still think the sooner we talk to them, the better."
"Do we have time?" Applejack said. "It's four-thirty."
"If you hurry, you could probably manage," Sunset said.
"Why not you come with us?" Rainbow suggested.
Sunset hesitated. "I don't know, Rainbow Dash. That could get awkward."
"If they're not gonna accept you as my friend, might as well hear about it now," Rainbow said with a shrug.
"It would be good of ya to join us," Applejack said, "but I understand that ya might be, uh...concerned about it."
Sunset sighed, thinking it over. "Okay, fine," she said. "But please, Rainbow...don't punch any of them, okay?"
"Har de har," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
"That wasn't an answer," Sunset said.
"Yeah, I caught that, too," Applejack said.
"What? Okay, fine--I promise I won't punch anyone," Rainbow said, throwing up her hands. "I wasn't going to anyway, you know."
"No, I really don't," Applejack replied, taking a bite of her apple fritter.
Rainbow glared at her. "You're lucky I just promised not to punch you," she muttered.
Per Sunset's request, they arrived at Rarity's house first. Sunset climbed the steps up to the door, ringing the bell once.
Rarity's house was startlingly small, to anyone who knew her. Of course, if you knew her really well, and had met her parents, you'd see past the 'big city girl' charade she put on.
The door slowly opened, and a strikingly beautiful young woman looked outside. "Hello! May I help--" She hesitated, looking into Sunset's face, then back behind her to Rainbow and Applejack. "You?" she finished.
"Um, actually," Sunset said. "I came here partly to apologize...for the Spring Fling. Here lately I've been...reflecting on my life until now, and...well, I'm just gonna say it. I've been a royal bitch for most of it. Since we were coming over here anyway, I thought this would be a great time to apologize to you for...for everything."
Rarity stared at her, eyes narrowed. Then, she slowly flicked her gaze back to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Alright," she said. "Thank you. I...appreciate it. Now, what is this 'other' reason you're here? Actually...it looks like it'll take a minute. Why not come inside to talk?"
"That would be wonderful," Sunset said. "This would be a really awkward position to have this conversation in."
"I can tell," Rarity said with a smile.
Rarity had them seated in her living room, and listened in silence as Sunset explained her actions, with Rainbow and Applejack putting in a few words.
Finally, Rarity sat there, hands folded against each other, as she took it all in. "So, those emails from Pinkamena...were really from you?"
"Y-yeah. I'm sorry...I..."
"Hold on just a moment, darling, I'm still processing this," Rarity said, leaning back in her seat. "This...this must have been eating you up, hasn't it, darling?"
Sunset opened her mouth, then shut it. Instead of saying anything, she just nodded.
"Thank you," Rarity said. "I know this must have been quite hard for you...especially after I heard about what Gilda said. You've had it quite rough, haven't you?"
"Well...yeah, but it's all my fault, so I don't really have any right to complain about it."
"Oh, pfft-tch-k!" Rarity said, impossibly stringing several consonants together in a way that shouldn't have worked. "Fault hardly matters where hardship is concerned," she said. "It doesn't matter if it's your own fault if you still went through it."
"I guess," Sunset said, running a hand through her hair.
"Have you talked to Pinkie or Fluttershy yet?" Rarity asked. "Are we going to meet up tomorrow?"
"I'd like to meet up at lunch," Rainbow put in, "but we haven't talked to them yet."
"That sounds wonderful," Rarity said. "How about I find you then, hmm?"
"That sounds great," Applejack said, pulling out her phone. "But, Dash, we ought to consider headin' on towards Pinkie's now."
"Do send her my regards," Rarity said. She hesitated. "If I just call her, maybe I can see if she needs help with the Fall Formal prep."
"It would probably be best to just talk to her tomorrow," Sunset said. "If you wanted, you could sign up to run, too. I was going to take my name off the ballot, so--"
"You were what?" Rainbow demanded.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "We both know no one's going to legitimately vote for me," she said, "and I have no interest in another fake trophy."
"I can understand that," Rarity said, "but I'd be thrilled if I could have another contestant to make it more authentic."
"Heck, give me five minutes and a phone call and I could get Trixie in the running," Rainbow said, tossing up one hand.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Sure you could," she said.
Rainbow whipped out her phone, but Applejack cut her off. "Just give her a wave tomorrow, alright, RD?"
"Ugh, fine," Rainbow relented. "So, Rarity, want to head with us to Pinkie's?"
"Gaaaah..." Rarity looked up to the clock on the wall. "I don't know, Rainbow. It is a little late, and I do have work to do designing dresses for several other students."
"We understand, and I think she will, too," Rainbow replied. "Come on, girls! We still got to more houses to hit before full dark."
The Pie family lived in a massive concrete structure that had been built as a bomb shelter during World War II, and then repurposed and used as a house. Of course, only if you were fine using 'repurpose' loosely, as virtually no effort had been made to make the house look like something other than a bomb shelter.
Applejack reached up, giving the door a few solid knocks.
"This is Pinkie Pie's house?" Sunset asked, staring at the imposing concrete structure. "It looks more like a burial mound."
"Nah, that's the next house over," Rainbow said, nodding to the prim, fancy house down the road.
The door opened before Sunset could come up with a reply, and they were met with a deadpan pair of eyes that observed them emotionlessly. And wordlessly.
"Hi, Maud," Applejack said. "Is Pinkie home? We were kinda hopin' to have a minute to talk to her."
"She's home," Maud said. Her gaze passed over to Rainbow Dash, and she added, "I didn't know you were talking to each other again."
"Well, since today, and that's what we were hoping to talk to your sister about," Rainbow said. "Applejack and I have made up, and we're getting the band back together!"
"Oh. That's wonderful," Maud said without raising her voice in the slightest. "Come on in. She'll be ecstatic to hear it."
She waved Applejack and Rainbow inside, but put her hand on Sunset's shoulder.
Rainbow spun around, eyes narrowing, and Sunset froze, looking into Maud's eyes. "I heard about what Gilda said," she said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said, relif flowing into her. "Thanks for asking."
"It's a big-sister thing," Maud said. "Come on in. And don't worry--the burial mound is in the backyard." Sunset hesitated, freezing in place on the doorstep.
"That was a joke," Maud said in the same tone she'd been using.
Sunset gave a nervous chuckle, clearly trying to figure out how Maud had even heard that comment, but went inside before she could overthink it.
Maud stepped through the house, calling out, "Pinkie, your cousin's here to see you."
"COMING!" Pinkie shouted from somewhere deep within the house. A second later, a whitish figure stepped out of a sideroom, two eyes peering from beneath a thick layer of flour. "Hi, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Sunset Shimmer!" She paused, then frowned. "Wait a minute--" Pinkie shook herself, sending flour scattering...somewhere. Rainbow couldn't quite figure out where it went, as it didn't coat anything she could see.
Pinkie let out one of her trademarked gasps. "Applejack, are you friends with Rainbow Dash again?"
"Eeyup," Applejack said. "If you can sit down a moment, we can tell ya all about it."
Pinkie's gaze drifted over to Sunset. Sunset gave a nervous chuckle, giving a small wave. "Hey, Pinkie."
"Hi...Sunset," Pinkie said hesitantly. She leaned over to Applejack, asking in a tone that wasn't as quiet as she seemed to think, "Is she with you?"
Applejack nodded.
"Well, then it's great to see you!" Pinkie shouted, zooming over and seizing Sunset's hand. She shook her hand aggressively, setting Sunset's eyes crossed.
Rainbow smiled at Pinkie's antics, but Sunset didn't seem to be enjoying them as much. As Pinkie zoomed back over to fetch drinks from the fridge, Sunset rubbed her hand, wincing.
"It took me some time to get used to all her...Pinkie-ness, too," Rainbow told her. "It's fine to be a little annoyed, but she means well."
Sunset stared at the baker. "This...just flick me if I start being a bitch. Her antics have always gotten on my nerves."
"Got it," Rainbow said with a salute. Sunset moved to follow Applejack, who had followed Pinkie into a kitchen...of sorts. It at least seemed more decorated than the rest of the house, aside from Pinkie's room. The modern appliances almost looked strange in comparison to the lightly painted walls, but the oven was the weirdest, being a massive, thousand-dollar appliance without a speck of soot on it. It stretched to almost four feet across, with more dials than Rainbow could finger-count, and a built in timer. The cleanness of the oven was a stark contrast to the massive, doughy mess that was the counter next to it, and Rainbow felt some pity for the handle sticking out of the mass of dough.
"Uh, sorry," Pinkie apologized. "This cake did not come out like it was supposed to."
Sunset laughed. "Yeah, I think we can all see that. Can't all be winners, right?"
"Nope! But it is still delicious!" Pinkie Pie spooned off some dough--destroying the metal spoon produced out of the aether in the process--and took a bite of the raw dough.
Sunset gagged, eyes going wide and jaw dropping.
Pinkie gagged as well. "Nope. Not still delicious," she admitted. "Drinks, anyone?"
"I'll take one," Rainbow said. Pinke set down several apple ciders on kitchen table, then sat down and popped one open.
Sunset hesitantly sat down after Applejack, and Rainbow sat down and immediately snatched up a cider. "Oh, man, I've missed this," she said, chugging the cider. She sighed contentedly, grinning. "You have no idea how hard it was boycotting your cider, AJ," Rainbow said. "The rest of the team is going to be thrilled to hear we made up."
"Uh...thanks?" Applejack said, clearly not sure how to take it.
"So," Pinkie said, leaning over the side of the table--despite the baking catastrophe on her countertop, she herself seemed startlingly clean. "What brings you girls here?" She gave a wide, inviting grin.
"So..." Sunset ran a hand through her hair. "I have something to confess, actually. About...well...you see..." She winced. "Okay. The thing is--"
"You're actually a magical unicorn from another dimension who tutored under the immortal goddess of the sun but your learning wasn't as fast as you'd have liked so you ran away through a magic mirror and ended up here but still weren't getting what you wanted but now you realise that maybe you don't want it as much as you thought you did and you're regretting your choices and also realising you've been a teensy bit of a jerk to everyone and you're sincerely hoping to make up for your past mistakes?" Pinkie interrupted.
Sunset's jaw dropped.
Applejack chuckled. "Nnnope," she said. Elbowing Sunset, she told the fire-haired girl, "Pinkie likes to throw out random guesses like that. Don't mind 'em too much if they're wrong."
"They're usually not," Pinkie said with a shrug. "I call it my Pinkie Sense."
"R--Right," Sunset said, clearly shaken. "Um--okay. Where was I?"
"So, you see that Applejack and I are friends again?" Rainbow asked.
Pinkie nodded.
Rainbow launched into the explanation, waiting for Sunset to interject, but the former bully remained silent. She looked from side to side, but her eyes kept returning to Pinkie. Several times she almost said something, but seemingly thought better of it. She didn't even touch her fizzy apple cider...nor did she say anything when Rainbow took it and began drinking it.
"So, to sum up," Rainbow finished, examining Pinkie's 'thoughtful' expression, "Sunset broke us apart but felt really bad so she admitted to it after I became her friend, and now I'm getting the gang back together."
Pinkie stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright! Hold on just one second!" She whipped out a giant phone, then quickly began dialing.
"Uh, what is she doing?" Sunset said. "Aren't we in the middle of a--"
Pinkie made a hushing motion, then her face split into a wide grin. "Hey, Rarity! Yeah, Rainbow, AJ, and Sun-Shim are here!"
"Sun-shim?" Sunset said, eyes narrowing.
Rainbow flicked her forehead, prompting a glare from the other as Pinkie continued.
"I was just wanting to let you know that there is still some party prep to be done before the Fall Formal, and if you still wanted to help, I'd really appreciate it!"
Rarity made a reply that Rainbow couldn't hear, despite her best efforts.
"Aw, thanks!" Pinkie said, with a grin. "Come by tomorrow! If you want, there's still time to set you running for Princess, too! Oh, just a hunch, is all. Great! Glad to hear it! Uh-huh...well, see you then! Gotta get back to my guests."
No amount of phone interference could blot out the indignance in Rarity's voice. "Well, I wanted to talk to you as fast as possible. Uh-huh. Understood! Bye!" She hung up. "She said I should get back to talking to you."
"I see," Sunset said slowly.
"Do you gals need more drinks?"
"I'm good," Sunset said.
"You sure?" Rainbow said, waving the empty apple cider bottle. "This stuff is great!"
Sunset gagged, tongue lolling out of her mouth. "Ugh, no thanks," she said. "I can't stomach it. I find it disgusting."
Rainbow flicked her again.
"Ow! What did I do that time?" Sunset snapped.
Wordlessly, Rainbow pointed the empty cider bottle at Applejack.
Sunset's eyes trailed over to the cowgirl, then to the cider, then she stiffened. "Oh! I'm sorry, I--"
"Yer tastes are yer own, and you can't change that no matter how hard you try," Applejack said with a shrug. "So however wrong you are ain't yer fault."
Sunset almost shot back a retort, but paused. "Sorry," she said instead.
"Ain't nothing to apologize for," Applejack said.
"It's getting kinda late," Pinkie said, staring out the window. "Have you talked to Fluttershy yet?"
"Nope, we were gonna do that when we were done here," Rainbow said.
"Then you should probably leave soon," Maud intoned. "Being out after dark can be rough."
Sunset hissed through her teeth. "Yeah, I should call my mom and head home," she muttered. "I live pretty far from here."
"But only a street or two down from where Fluttershy lives," Rainbow said. "Come on!"
She jumped to her feet, chair sliding away from the table as she moved.
"Was great to see ya, Pinkie," Applejack said. "We'll try and have all of us meet up tomorrow, a'right?"
"Yes-sir!" Pinkie said, saluting. "We can all meet up in the gym! Rarity and I were going to be going over the decor for the Fall Formal there anyway, so that'll be a great place to meet up!"
"About the Fall Formal..." Sunset said. "Can you take my name out of the running?"
Pinkie blinked. "Why would you want me to?"
"I don't want another fake trophy. Heck, I'm not sure I'd want a real trophy either, at this point," Sunset said with a shrug. "I don't care about that anymore."
Pinkie leaned in really close, looking Sunset right in the eyes. "I think you do care about it still," she said.
Sunset stared back at her in shock.
"Ask me tomorrow, at school," Pinkie said, then split her mouth in a wide grin. "You should really hurry if you want to get to Fluttershy's house before dark."
"Alright! Seeya, Pinkie!" Rainbow said, waving as she stepped out the door. Sunset hesitantly stepped out behind her, casting worried glances behing her.
"Everything alright?" Rainbow asked her.
"Yeah, just...tired, I guess," Sunset said. "Um...how often does Pinkie make random predictions like that?"
"Eh, pretty often. Unless they turn out to be right, though, don't pay 'em any mind. Still, that unicorn thing was pretty outlandish, even for her, eh?" Rainbow laughed.
Sunset fumbled over a response, running a hand through her hair.
Rainbow blinked, freezing by Pinkie's fence as Applejack stepped out of the house behind them. "Uh, Sunset?"
"We...can talk about that later," Sunset muttered, not making direct eye contact.
Rainbow stared at her, then breathed out two words. "Fuckin' awesome."