//------------------------------// // III - The Melancholy of Sunset Shimmer // Story: The Misadventures of Sunset Shimmers // by Yukito //------------------------------// Wednesday afternoon came quickly for the students at Canterlot High. The rest of the day was going to go even quicker for some students; since the day was going to be cut short, and the only period left would involve no actual learning or thinking at all. Since it was Parent’s Evening later that day, the final period would simply be the students moving things around and helping the teachers to get ready. Rainbow Dash found and joined her friends after picking out her lunch. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Big Macintosh, and Golden ‘Carrot Top’ Harvest were all sitting at the table. Rainbow Dash looked around the cafeteria as she sat down. “I haven’t seen Sunset today. It’s not like her to skip school. A class or two, sure, but she always shows up to school itself.” “It’s ‘cause today’s a Parent’s Evenin’,” Applejack explained. “Don’t tell me ya haven’t noticed she’s always absent on Parent’s Evenin’ days.” “And Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,” Rarity added. “And on Family Appreciation Days, too.” “She seemed to be fine yesterday,” Fluttershy said. “Although she was a lot quieter on the way home.” “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Golden Harvest called out to the friends, “Why exactly are you guys so intent on becoming her friends?” “What’s wrong with wanting to be friends with somebody?” Pinkie Pie asked. “You can never have too many friends, y’know?” “But she’s Sunset Shimmer,” Golden Harvest said. “She tried to take over the entire school using that weird demon-magic thing, and she’s always bossing people about and acting so rude!” “Well, she’s gotten better,” Applejack defended. “A smidge, at least.” “She’s not all that bad,” Rarity told Golden Harvest. “You remember her ex-boyfriend Flash, correct?” “Guy who moved to Russia about a month ago?” Golden Harvest asked, receiving a nod. “Yeah. He dumped her, right?” “Right,” Rarity confirmed. “And yet, despite having plenty of opportunities, she not once took the time to exact her revenge.” “There’s also the time she tried to take the crown from Twilight,” Fluttershy spoke up. “She could have threatened to hurt Spike for it, but instead she let him go and threatened to break the portal.” “Spike?” Golden Harvest asked. “Y’all remember that lil’ dog that followed Twilight around, don’tcha?” “Oh yeah!” Golden Harvest clapped her hands together. “He was so cute! And he could talk, too! How cool is that?” “But what we are saying,” Rarity continued, “Is that Sunset Shimmer is not as bad as she makes herself out to be.” “Sure, she can be a bit bossy, an’ a tad short-tempered,” Applejack admitted, “An’ at first, we were all convinced she was a hopeless case. But after spendin’ some time with her, we all found out that it’s just a tough exterior, an’ beneath it is an okay gal who we’d all like ta know a lil’ better.” “We just gotta keep her away from all-powerful magical crowns from other worlds and she’ll be fine,” Rainbow Dash said, prompting a laugh from Golden Harvest. “No, I’m serious.” “Hey!” Pinkie Pie suddenly shouted, startling the others. “You know what? We should go over to her place after school and make sure she’s okay!” “That’s a splendid idea!” Rarity said. “Only we don’t know where she lives.” “Why don’t you ask Featherweight?” Golden Harvest suggested. “He knows everything about everybody in this school.” “But he only discloses it to the school’s paper,” Rarity pointed out. “If we just ask him outright, he’ll never tell us.” “Y’could always ask Principle Celestia,” Big Macintosh suggested. “If it’s Sunset’s friends tryin’ ta help her out, ah’m sure the principle’ll help ya out.” “Hey, yeah!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Celestia’s gotta know for sure! Thanks, Big M.!” “Thanks bro,” Applejack said. Big Macintosh simply nodded and bit into his hamburger. “Eeyup,” he said with his mouth full, disgusting the girls and causing them to all back away as they cringed. Sunset Shimmer rolled in her bed, her left arm feeling numb after lying on it for so long. Her arm started to feel a little better now that blood was flowing through it again, but now she was staring directly at her window. Despite her curtains being closed, light still peeked through and even closing her eyes didn’t help much. She grumbled as she tried lying on her back, simply facing the ceiling above her. Hearing the door open downstairs, Sunset Shimmer knew that school must have finished around one hour ago, as that was usually how long it took Celestia to return home. Sunset’s stomach rumbled, but she was in no mood to clamber out of her bed and walk downstairs for a snack. She reached towards her phone to see if she had received any texts, having put it on ‘silent mode’ that morning. Turning back to her ceiling, Sunset realised how plain and boring it was. It was just a smooth sea of white and had no special features worth noting. Sunset Shimmer wasn’t feeling comfortable, so she rolled back onto her left side. “I hate days like this,” Sunset mumbled to herself. “Stupid humans and their happy little families…” A knock came at Sunset’s door. She figured that it must have been Celestia, coming to give Sunset her compiled reports from all of her teachers before leaving her alone. “Come in,” she said. The door opened, and five sets of footprints marched inside. Noticing the clear discrepancy, Sunset sat up to find five girls standing at the foot of her bed, all smiling at her, and the leader of the pack – Pinkie Pie – waving. “Hi!” Pinkie said. “Ah!” Sunset responded as she threw her covers off of herself, revealing her orange pyjamas with her Cutie Mark pattern running across it underneath. “W-What are you doing here?!” “We came ta see how you were doin’,” Applejack explained. “So this’s yer room, huh? It’s a lot more… ordinary than ah would’a pictured it.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sunset asked as she watched Rainbow Dash, who had decided to give herself a tour of the room, closely. ‘I gotta make sure they don’t find my notes on creating new Elements of Harmony!’ “You’re not feeling unwell, are you?” Fluttershy asked with deep concern, approaching Sunset Shimmer to check her temperature. Sunset batted away the incoming hand. “I’m fine,” she said. “Wait, if you guys are here, then that means… You know!” “Know what?” Rarity asked. “That Celestia is…” “Oh!” Rarity waved her hand dismissively. “Please don’t let that worry you, Sunset dear. If you wish to keep that a secret, then we shall not tell a soul. Is that not right?” “You got it!” Pinkie Pie said. “Our lips’re sealed,” Applejack confirmed. “Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked at the rocks on display beside Sunset’s laptop with a confused look on her face. Fluttershy simply nodded. “Well, that aside,” Sunset said, “What gives you all the right to just barge into my room like this?” “We didn’t barge in,” Applejack said. “We knocked, and y’all told us to come on in, so we did.” Sunset Shimmer wanted to argue against that, but the room was starting to spin as a result of her sitting up far too quickly after lying in bed all day. That and she knew that Applejack had a valid point. “Whatever. Just leave already.” “But we came to make sure that you are okay,” Rarity said. “And you can see that I am okay,” Sunset Shimmer returned. “Then why’d you cut school?” Rainbow asked. “And why’re you just lyin’ in bed doing nothing?” “Maybe that’s how I spend my time,” Sunset said through gritted teeth, a hint of annoyance slipping out in her voice. “C’mon, Sunset,” Applejack pleaded, sitting down on the foot of Sunset’s bed beside her. “Y’can tell us if there’s anythin’ wrong. We’re jus’ worried ‘bout you.” “Well no one asked you to be worried,” Sunset refuted, though that didn’t seem to make any of them back down. ‘Why me?’ she thought to herself as she sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you. And then you leave, got it?” The other five girls nodded. They waited for Sunset Shimmer to begin, but she instead just sat on her bed with her eyes closed. “… Well?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Right,” Sunset said, opening her eyes after thinking about where to begin. “You all know that I’m not from here, right?” “Yes,” the five girls responded in unison. “And that I’m actually a pony from another world?” “Yes.” “… Well, I wasn’t exactly alone in that world.” Sunset saw that she needed to elaborate from the looks on the other girls’ faces. “I had a family. A mum and a dad. They both loved me, and they were so proud of me. Whenever I scored high on a test, they rewarded me. Whenever I was hurt, they cheered me up however they could.” “They sound nice,” Pinkie Pie said. “I’d like to meet them.” “… So would I,” Sunset said, bringing the conversation to an immediate halt. “Oh,” Rainbow Dash said as realisation struck her. She took a step forward, but stopped. She wasn’t sure how to approach this. “You miss yer folks, then?” Applejack asked. “I haven’t seen them since I came to this world,” Sunset told the other girls. “I haven’t seen them in so long. And there’s no way for me to see them until the portal opens, but even then… I can’t.” “Why not?” Pinkie Pie asked. “‘Why not’?” Sunset asked with a scoff. “Oh, I don’t know… Maybe because it’s been so long they probably wouldn’t even recognise me. Maybe I wouldn’t recognise them. Maybe they’re not even alive! Maybe I wouldn’t even be able to find them! Maybe news of what I did has reached their ears, and even if I went back to them, they wouldn’t even want me!” Sunset Shimmer groaned and slammed her face into her hands, shaking her head as she took a deep breath. “… Most of all, there’s no way I’d be welcome in Equestria. You saw how I was left behind. I’ve been banished, so even if I go home, I’ll never be able to see them again. Never…” “So that’s why you’re always absent on these days,” Rarity surmised. “Parent’s Evening, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Family Appreciation Day… They’re all just constant reminders of what I’ve lost. Of what I’ll never have again. Every time I see a student hanging around their parents, with big smiles on their faces… I hate it.” “Ah understand,” Applejack said in a gentle tone, trying to place a hand over Sunset’s only for the other girl to pull her hand away. “You don’t understand!” Sunset yelled. “Your parents died and you made peace with that, but I don’t even know how mine are doing! I have no way of talking with them, but for all I know they’re still out there!” “Ah know!” Applejack shouted, placing her hands on Sunset’s shoulders. “Ah know, Sunset. It’s never easy bein’ separated by family. But ya don’t have ta feel alone, y’know?” “That’s right,” Fluttershy said. “Um, if you want, we’ll be here for you…” “We can be your family!” Rainbow Dash suggested. “You can like, think of us as your older sisters or something.” Something snapped inside Sunset Shimmer. She pushed Applejack away and climbed to her feet, gritting her teeth at Rainbow Dash who flinched under Sunset Shimmer’s glare. “I don’t have any siblings!” Sunset shouted. “Or maybe I do! I wouldn’t know, because there’s NO WAY FOR ME TO SEE MY FAMILY!” Before anybody could say anything, Sunset Shimmer bolted passed the five girls and out of her room. Everybody quickly followed after her down the hallway outside. They watched her enter her bathroom and slam the door shut behind her, a clicking sound following after. ‘Stupid human girls!’ Sunset thought as she curled up inside of the bathroom, burying her face into her knees as her back pressed against the door behind her. ‘I don’t want you to be my family! You’ll never be my family! My family is in Equestria, and I’ll never see them again!’ A choke escaped Sunset Shimmer and she felt a tear roll down her face. ‘I’ll never know how they feel about me… If they still care for me, or if they’re upset and blame me for being trapped here… I’ll never know… ‘I-If I go back to Equestria… will I be allowed in? Would I be allowed to move freely? Even if I am, that Celestia betrayed me, after I devoted my life to her! My whole purpose for going back is revenge! My parents… would never accept me back into their lives if they found that out…’ A knock at the door broke Sunset Shimmer’s thoughts. “Sunset?” Celestia asked from outside. “W-What?” Sunset asked as she rubbed the tears from her face. “Are you almost done in there? I would like to have a shower before I leave for Parent’s Evening.” Sunset remained silent for a few seconds as she simply stared at the door. After taking a deep breath and grabbing a nearby towel to dry her face, Sunset Shimmer unlocked the door and walked outside. “I’m going to go to sleep early today,” Sunset announced as she walked outside, past Celestia and towards her room, where the five girls were waiting with concerned looks on their faces. “That means get out.” “Now hold on!” Applejack said, stepping forward in front of Sunset Shimmer. “Look, ah’m sorry if we upset ya just now. We didn’t mean ta hurt ya, we just wanted ya t’know ye’re not alone.” “But I am,” Sunset said. “I came to this world by leaving everything behind, including my family. Whether or not that was a mistake… I don’t know. But there’s nothing that I can do about it now.” “Ah know we can never replace yer family,” Applejack said, reaching forward and wrapping her arms around Sunset Shimmer, “But we can still be yer friends, right?” “Let go,” Sunset said, trying to push Applejack away from her but failing to find the strength. “Why do you even care so much?” ‘Obviously because Twilight told them to.’ “Because you’re hurt,” Rarity said, catching Sunset off guard. “You’ve been bottling this up all this time, haven’t you? That’s not healthy, dear. Besides all the wrinkles, you’ll only wind up hurting yourself more and more until one day you just can’t take it.” “And besides, it’s what friends do!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping to the side of the two girls and embracing them both in a big hug. “You keep calling me your friend,” Sunset pointed out. “Because it’s true,” Rarity responded. “It’s nice to have a lot of friends, don’t you think?” Fluttershy asked. Sunset remained silent even as Pinkie Pie and Applejack released her. ‘I never had friends back in Equestria. Even here, I don’t really care much for friendship.’ Sunset sniffed as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. ‘But… it doesn’t feel so bad. Better than moping around in bed all day, at least.’ “Oh no!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she checked her watch. “We have to leave for Parent’s Evening!” “So what’ll ya do?” Applejack asked Sunset Shimmer. “You alright stayin’ here? Or d’ya wanna hang with us tonight?” “What’s the point?” Sunset asked. “I’ve got no parents. It kind of defeats the purpose.” “We can still have fun though,” Pinkie Pie said. “If the six of us go together, we can talk and play together and compare our results and stuff!” Sunset Shimmer was about to turn down the offer, but something inside her chest stopped her. ‘I’d much rather just stay here, but…’ Sunset sighed. ‘But I’d just be wasting my night by staying in bed anyway.’ “I guess I can go.” Sunset immediately cursed herself mentally, but the other five girls seemed ecstatic. “Ya will?!” Applejack asked. “She will!” Pinkie Pie confirmed. “You all heard her! No takesies-backsies!” Sunset Shimmer turned around to hide her annoyed look. “Fine, I’ll go! But if I don’t enjoy it, I’m leaving.” “That seems fair enough,” Applejack said. “But, are ya gonna go like that?” “Hm?” Sunset looked over her body, finding that she was still dressed in her pyjamas. Her face reddened as she heard the girls behind her giggling. “… I’m going to change. You girls wait downstairs and don’t touch anything!” “Don’t take too long,” Rainbow Dash said as she and the others walked past Sunset Shimmer, heading downstairs whilst Sunset made her way back towards her bedroom. ‘I don’t get it,’ Sunset thought to herself as she began to unbutton her pyjama top. ‘Why am I suddenly so energetic? Am I looking forward to this?’ Sunset quickly shook the thought away. ‘No. Of course I’m not. There must be a more logical reason behind this.’ “Hey Sunset?” Pinkie Pie asked as she entered the room, just as Sunset Shimmer removed her top and dropped it to the floor. “… Wow.” Sunset’s face exploded into a sea of red as the pink girl continued to stare, her fists shaking and her eyes burning with fury. She quickly picked up her shirt to cover her chest, and shouted, “KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER!” Pinkie Pie quickly ducked outside, screaming apologies as she slammed the door shut. “I think that confirms it,” Sunset Shimmer said as she walked over to her wardrobe and opened it up. “I definitely don’t like those girls. Not one bit.”