//------------------------------// // 2. The rarity of the situation // Story: The Shimmer of Magic // by Hakuno //------------------------------// Chapter 2. The rarity of the situation. Sunset woke up in the darkness that the storage room was submerged in. As her eyes lazily tried to bring the world into focus again, she moved her tongue in circles, trying to produce and spread some saliva and moisten her dry mouth. She slowly rolled on her back to face the ceiling, blinking twice to dismiss the slumber and heaviness of her eyes. The events of the night played in her mind as her consciousness returned. She had been so close to achieve her goals; for the past years she had to endure living away from home, away from everything she knew, yet surrounded by so many familiar faces. She had to lie about who and what she was, because in this world, magic didn't exist, and the strange creatures that called themselves humans were the only species able to fully communicate with a language she understood. And as soon as she got there, she learned that being rude with everyone wasn't enough to make them do what she wanted; so she also had to lower herself to the most filthy levels, threatening and blackmailing the other students. She still remembered the first time she blackmailed. It was in her very third day in the human world. Homeless and starving, Sunset saw the opportunity of a lifetime: the former trainer of the football team. When he thought nobody was hearing him, he called someone and said that he was running out of steroids. Fortunately for Sunset, the day prior she read an article in some magazine about it. So she threatened the poor man to telling Principal Celestia and the police about it if he didn't gave her money. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, evil even. But she was desperate, the school's cafeteria only gave very small portions of food; she was starving, she needed clean clothes, school material, and a lot of things she required to fool everyone that she was a human like them. She felt her heart ache remembering when the poor man just nodded and gave her everything he had in his wallet that first time. However, as weeks passed by, Sunset grew more and more used to the barbaric methods she had to use in order to survive. It frightened her how fast she stopped feeling guilty, and started to feel powerful. In just six months she had made everyone afraid of her, and yet nobody would ever say a word to the school's personnel because she knew everything about everyone, and she would use that information against them. By the time her first victim of blackmailing was discovered of using steroids and got fired of school, Sunset already had another, legal way to gain money. She still felt a little -just a little- awful knowing that everyone hated her, but at least money wasn't involved anymore. She sat up on her improvised bed, her left bicep sore for sleeping on it. She had hoped that everything would be finally over last night. She finally would be in Equestria, ruling as she deserved. But, Miss Perfect Twilight Sparkle ruined everything, and not only she was stuck in this world again, but now that everyone was united again, she wasn't sure she would be able to keep threatening them. No. She thought. I don't want to do it anymore. Sunset frowned. Of course she didn't want to do it anymore; she didn't want to do it in the first place. But she had to; it was the only way she had to keep everything under her control. Even if everyone was together and against her, she still knew everything they didn't want others to know, so she still was able to at least rule the school. Her expression darkened. No, she definitely didn't want to do it anymore. Her heart ached as the very first time she used those barbaric methods to get what she wanted. That wasn't her: she wasn't some kind of criminal. She was a respected and honorable member of Equestrian society, and one of the most powerful unicorns there are. At least, until she crossed the damned portal. She felt how tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. Why did she cross the portal in the first place? What was she trying to achieve? She couldn't remember, her memories from back then were a gray blur in her mind. Sunset sighed in defeat. It was pointless to be thinking on it right now; she had to endure another thirty moons in this alien world before she could return to Equestria. But, with what purpose? She questioned herself, hearing her own voice as a distant, yet understandable echo inside her mind. Celestia will most likely imprison me… or worse. She shuddered at the thought of her former mentor dictating sentence upon her. Princess Celestia was known as the kindest and most comprehensive pony in Equestria, though: maybe if Sunset begged hard enough, Celestia might reconsider the punishment and only make her write a hundred thousand word essay about why she shouldn't try to coup Equestria with an army of teenagers again. Sunset smacked her right palm against her forehead hard enough that it started a chain of pulsations within her head that might become a migraine. What was she thinking? An army of teenagers? Why not an army of bunnies instead? That would be scarier; they might have rabies. She sighed again. Thinking about it wasn't helping. She stretched her arms in front of her, hearing a few pops here and there, giving her an ever so grateful feeling of relaxation. But, instead of placing her arms on her lap as she always did, she froze in place when something dreadful caught her attention. Her blood felt electric in her veins and cold sweat started to form in her forehead. The dim light coming from the painfully small window at one side of the storage room as the sun struggled to illuminate the world once again, cast small shadows in her arms; but even if her jacket was of a coal black, she was able to see the horrifying, heartbreaking sight of the direst of her paranoid delusions. Her favorite leather jacket had several tears along its sleeves. Sunset stood up so quickly that she almost tripped with the banner she used as a blanket. She took off the jacket in record time and pulled it away from her so she could see it better. Her stomach fell as her fears were confirmed; not only the sleeves, but the whole jacket had tears big enough to sew more sleeves. The small pockets at the sides had been ripped in several pieces and the zipper was missing. Ruined. Sunset thought as she pulled the jacket against her chest. It's completely ruined. She leaned in a wall as the memories of the last night replayed in her mind once again. Sunset considered herself to have a really sharp eye, nothing went unnoticed for her, at least, until today. She just couldn't explain how she didn't notice at all that her favorite jacket had been ruined, most likely because of the rainbow laser. She frowned and clenched her teeth. Not only did Miss Perfect Princess Twilight Sparkle ruin her life and got what she deserved, no, she also had to ruin her favorite jacket. That's it! Next time I see you I will smack the thickest book I find in your stupid-looking face! Sunset let out a heavy sigh, the day hadn't even begun yet and she already had to mourn the loss of her beloved object. She tossed the jacket in a trashcan near the door; it had been her friend for a whole year, it had been with her in the good days and in the bad ones, it had helped her be warm in cold days, and look badass in the hot ones. It had been a loyal and comprehensive companion; but it had said goodbye, and it would never return. Sunset let out a single tear roll down her left cheek as the war hero was buried underneath deflated balls, broken gym material and ripped banners. After several seconds, Sunset finally decided that she had to move on; her jacket wouldn't want her to be sad for it. So she got out of the storage room and into the gym. Her stomach growled as the faint smell of punch filled the air. She remembered that she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. She took a muffin from a nearby table and bit it. It was a little hardened, but it was edible and tasty. The punch caught her attention, she never really liked it, but she needed something to help her swallow the muffin, so she filled a small plastic cup and drank it. Once she had eaten enough, she moved to the girls' locker room. Fortunately, since she had the best grades in all the school, she had convinced Principal Celestia to give her the key. Unfortunately, Sunset thought, after the events of last night, she wouldn't be able to keep it. She took the key from the hidden pocket in her skirt and opened the locker room. At least I can use it today. She went directly to her locker and opened it. There she had her sports uniform, consisting in a dark blue pair of pants with yellow stripes and a grayish white T-shirt. She also had a small notebook where she kept the cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses of everyone in the school, a brown wallet with some compromising photos of a few of her classmates, and a hairbrush. She took the brush and closed the locker, heading to the nearest mirror. She looked at the clock that was hanging on a wall. It was seven in the morning. She sighed a little; she had a whole hour before she had to go to the entrance as Vice Principal Luna ordered. Sunset then looked at the mirror and started to brush her slightly messy hair. As the seconds passed by, she grew more and more uncomfortable with her own reflection. In the time she spent in the human world, she had gotten used to her human form; but for some reason, she found her own face unfamiliar. She stopped brushing and leaned closer to the mirror as her frown deepened. No, not only her own face was unfamiliar, she didn't like it at all. By now she would be in Equestria again, in her pony form. Her eyes narrowed as realization hit her. She hated being a human, not because she hated humans, but because she missed being a pony so badly. She missed her magic, powerful and handy; she missed her fur, soft and warm, yet fresh; she missed her tail, another extension of her body since ponies were able to control their tails as extra limbs; she missed the strength and resistance of her equine legs, letting her walk and stand still for hours without even noticing; she missed her sense of smell, as a human it was almost impossible for her to smell the scent of flowers. But there was something she missed the most about being a pony: her estrus. She would never have thought she would think or say that, but she really missed having the estrus. As a pony, it only came twice a year, and she would use her magic to eradicate the smell to avoid having stallions around her as vultures; then she would hide in her room or in the library until it was over. But, as a human, it was uncomfortable, it was inconvenient, it was messy, it was painful, and it was every. Single. Month. Honestly, she was completely and utterly unable to understand how human females lived the most part of their lives with that. Sunset felt like she was about to cry; she had been so sure that her plans would be victorious, that she would be a pony again. Yet she was stuck in this world again, as a human, with the most annoying biological function in the two worlds knocking the door every three weeks. Sunset sighed and started to brush her hair again. At least this time she knew what was coming, and she had the resources to face it. And it was even better that high school was just one year away to end, thus she'd have another year and a half to prepare the speech that hopefully would save her from a lifetime in the dungeons. Maybe, if Sunset used the proper words, Princess Celestia would even consider having her as her student again. She smiled at that. Even if she would be denied the title of princess forever, at least she would be able to keep learning from the wisest pony of all. Once she was completely sure that her hair looked perfect, she finally stopped brushing and went to save the brush in her locker again. She then returned to the mirror to wash her hands and clean the last pieces of tiredness of her face. She then looked at the clock again; she had thirty minutes. She decided to head to the entrance to wait for her punishment to begin. She didn't want to, but if stacking bricks was going to help her be at the Principal's and Vice Principal's good side again, then she would do it. ~~~~~~~~ Sunset decided to go to the statue and sit down, leaning her back on the closed portal. She crossed her legs underneath her body and rested her hands on her lap. She looked at the sky. There were a few faint clouds making their way to the west. The soft and fresh morning breeze played restless with Sunset's hair. She closed her eyes, leaning her head on the portal. It had been years since the last time Sunset did something like that. No studying, no practicing magic, no learning from Princess Celestia, no plotting against Equestria, no making everyone's life miserable. No, right now she was just there, enjoying herself. And a thought crossed her mind. The punishment consisted in helping repair the entrance and then a month of detention. She opened her eyes and scanned the mess she had made the night prior. Doing some calculations in her mind (using her knowledge in how humans worked), Sunset estimated that the repairs would be over in about a week, nine days at most. So, she would just be obliged to be there for little more than a month. And when everything was over, she didn't need to return to the school. What was the purpose on doing it, anyways? If she wanted to learn something, there were libraries with those -she had to admit- magnificent devices called computers with internet. She didn't need to keep ruling the stupid school; she just did it for her plans against Equestria. But, now she didn't want to rule anything anymore, she just wanted to return to her own world. Sunset closed her eyes again and smiled at herself. Yes, only a month and a week of punishment and then just wait for the portal to open again. It had to be easy, or at least, easier than the first thirty moons, since now she only had to take care of herself and everything else could might as well just go to hell. "Sunset?" No, the wizard of Oz. "What are you doing here?" Sunset opened her eyes. In front of her was Rarity, who was using a soft pink sweatshirt and jeans. And her hair had been tied up in a ponytail. It wasn't exactly the kind of attire one would expect from the fashionista. Sunset had to blink several times to make sure that it was Rarity who spoke. "I'm waiting to be punished for becoming a monster and destroying a high school." She answered with a sarcastic tone in her voice. "Y'know, a typical Tuesday." Rarity cocked an eyebrow and placed the back of her hands on her hips. "Well now, there's no reason to be so rude." She said with a faint smile. "I asked because I'd have never imagined that you would sit in the grass like that…" She paused a little, gazing at Sunset's skirt. "You seem to be the kind of person that gives a high priority to her clothes." Images of her loyal friend being tossed in a trashcan came to Sunset's mind. "Yeah, well…" She said with a bored expression. "That's an acquired habit." They stood there for several seconds without talking, and Sunset was growing more and more uncomfortable as the silence got more and more awkward. She glanced over Rarity and saw her opening and closing her mouth, as if trying to say something but kept forgetting. She wanted to stand up and walk to the school's entrance, but she was still a little tired, physically speaking, so she quickly dismissed the thought. Fortunately, Rarity finally broke the silence. "So… How are you doing?" She asked with an uneasy smile. Sunset sighed and looked at Rarity directly at her eyes, taking her by surprise. "What do you want?" She asked with an annoyed tone; perhaps a little more than she had intended. "I just want to know how are you doing. Is that a bad thing?" "Why do you want to know how I am?" Sunset snapped, not wanting to answer any question. "Why the sudden interest in me?" Her eyes then widened a little as if she just remembered something. "Oh, I know. You want me to apologize for what I did to you in the last Spring Fling. Don't you?" Rarity was taken aback. She indeed wanted an apology, but she wasn't thinking that in that precise moment. Besides, Sunset sounded somehow, unsettlingly calm. "Well… I…" Sunset interrupted her with a motion of her hand. "No, don't try to deny it." She stood up using the edge of the statue as support. "I suppose you deserve it. Fine. Sorry for ruining your dress. Is that better?" Rarity had her jaw slightly dropped, because having it fully dropped was so unladylike. She was really surprised; never in her life did she ever expect Sunset to apologize for nothing, even if it didn't really sound honest. Well, in retrospect, she didn't expect to meet a pony princess from another world, have a pony-like transformation and blast a half-demon girl with a rainbow either. Yep, weirder stuff has been seen by her beautiful eyes. Though, maybe Sunset apologizing was a little more unexpected than the talking dog that in reality was a dragon. Giving Sunset a quizzical glare, she finally nodded. She did promise to try befriending Sunset, and she did get the apology she wanted. "Yes, better." She answered with a smile. "But you haven't answered me yet." Sunset narrowed her eyes. She obviously wasn't going to get away that easy. Clearly, an apology wasn't enough, no; the drama queen also wanted a conversation. She sighed in defeat. "Just one month…" She whispered to herself. "What was that?" "I said that I'm fine." Sunset answered a little louder than she intended to. "All things considered…" Rarity gave Sunset a confused look. "All things considered? Are you feeling sick or something?" "I've been feeling sick ever since I came here." Sunset snapped, and almost instantly took her right hand to her face and started to rub the bridge of her nose. "Listen, Rarity. What happened yesterday was a mistake. All of it. But that doesn't change it." By this point, she was staring at the big crater in the yard. It somehow looked a lot smaller than last night. "I have a lot of things in my mind right now. Things that you'll never understand and-" "Try me." Sunset turned to see Rarity, who was giving her a reassuring smile, but her eyes had this shine of challenge in them. Sunset narrowed her eyes, but after a few seconds, she just sighed in defeat, finding a rock near the crater a lot more interesting. "What did Twilight tell you?" Rarity didn't expect that question, so now she had a confused shine in her eyes. "What do you mean? About… About where is she from?" Sunset only nodded, not looking away from the rock. "She said it's a place called Equestria where its inhabitants are mostly ponies. She also said she is one of the princesses there, and that her talking dog is in reality a fire breathing dragon… I know it's… kind of hard to believe, but after the events of yesterday, I don't have option other than to, well, believe it." "You're talking as if I didn't believe it." Sunset said. Her voice was unnervingly serene, though it had a tone that Rarity didn't quite catch at all. "Well, now that you mention it…" Rarity put her left hand on her chin and rubbed it with her thumb. "You knew about the portal and other things…" Her eyes widened in realization and her mouth closed tightly. "Yes, Rarity. I also belong to that other world." Sunset said, still staring at the rock. Rarity finally understood the other tone in Sunset's voice. It was homesickness. "So, do you still want to be my friend?" Sunset finally turned to see Rarity, her eyes were narrowed, but her gaze was somewhere between sadness and annoyance. "I'm a pony. For human standards, that means I belong to a farm or something. And I also have been a bitch with everyone ever since I got here." Sunset looked directly at Rarity's eyes. "It's just because Twilight made you promise to befriend me, isn't it?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, let me tell you this: I do not need, nor want, friends. Much less, fake friends." "Oh really?" Sunset arched an eyebrow. "Then everything you said last night was a lie?" Sunset was about to answer, but Rarity spoke first. "If you don't want friends, then why didn't you say so? And don't try to lie to me, I know what I felt when the rainbow reached you." Sunset's eyes widened in surprise, and that surprise quickly changed to fear. She looked away and gave a step back. "What did you feel?" "Pardon me?" Sunset looked again at Rarity, her gaze now filled with anger. "What did you feel when you blasted the rainbow to me?!" It was Rarity's turn to step back. "I… I felt that you were… well… sad… and… lonely…" "Sad and lonely?! SAD AND LONELY?!" Sunset snapped at Rarity, who started to walk backwards in fear. "Do you want to know what I felt?! PAIN!" She started to walk towards Rarity. "Do you know how it's like to be burnt alive?" Rarity's heart sunk in her chest at Sunset's words. "I…" "No! You don't!" Rarity got to a dead end as her back pressed against the statue. Sunset was now mere inches away from her. There was a pause as Sunset sighed heavily and looked at the ground. "Do you… Do you even know what happened last night?" Rarity was at a loss of words. Sunset was known for having anger outbursts when something didn't happen as she wanted; but this, this was completely different. Sunset was changing from sadness to anger, to sadness again. She shook her head, but then remembered that Sunset wasn't looking at her. "N-No…" Sunset gave a forced laugh. "Of course you don't…" She then stepped backwards and turned around. "Of course you don't." She repeated and started to walk to the school's entrance. "Wait!" Rarity called, but Sunset just ignored her. "Tell me what happened! I want to know! I… I deserve to know!" Sunset stopped and turned around to see at her with a confused gaze. "Why do you want to know?!" She yelled as a migraine was starting to build up. "Isn't it better to just ignore me?! Why can't you leave me alone?!" "Because I want to get to know you." Rarity answered almost instantly, offering Sunset a warm smile. Sunset was silent, and Rarity interpreted it as a chance to keep talking. "Ever since you came to… this world, you've been driving everyone apart, being rude and mean, threatening and blackmailing…" Rarity put her hands in her chest, as if trying to embrace her own heart. "But now, both of us know that you can't keep doing it. So, what's left for you then?" Sunset was now listening intently. "I, for one, am willing to let the bygones be bygones." Sunset's right eye twitched at those words. "I'm not saying that we become the best friends right away; but we are certainly more than mere acquaintances, don't you agree?" Rarity let out a soft sigh and crossed her arms, giving a more confident body expression. "Besides, you want to learn about friendship, don't you?" Her expression darkened a little. "I'm not exactly the best example to follow, but I'm pretty sure we can learn together, and with the help of the other girls as well, it will be easier." There was a pause as Sunset contemplated Rarity's words. For all her life she had been alone; she always thought that other ponies were there just as stepping stones to help her reach greatness, "friend" was just a meaningless word to her. But now, after all she had done, there were people willing to befriend her. Was friendship really that big of a deal? Was it really worth to give it a shot? She embraced herself as a cold breeze surrounded her body, looking away from Rarity and to the very interesting rock near the crater. "I…" She bit her lower lip as she pondered her situation. She was going to be in this world for a long time, did she really want to spend all that time locked in her house with no social interaction whatsoever? Granted, she'd been driving everyone apart since she can remember, but being completely alone? "I suppose I can… try" She finally said, still hesitating on her own words. "We." Rarity corrected, making Sunset look at her again. "We can try." Sunset looked at Rarity for several seconds. The silence returned, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as before. Rarity was giving her a welcoming smile, was she really going to just forgive and forget? What if she wants me to lower my guard so she can stab me in the back? I know humans like to do that a lot. Sunset sighed; for some reason, she didn't want to think that of Rarity. Sure, the fashionista had a reputation for liking gossip, but she couldn't picture her plotting like that. However, her paranoia wouldn't let her live five minutes without thinking that Rarity might actually be planning something evil. But, if at the end Rarity was really saying the truth and she really wanted to befriend Sunset, it was a chance, maybe a small one, but a chance nonetheless, to learn a little more about the Elements of Harmony, and why they picked humans as provisional bearers. To Sunset's own studies, the human world didn't have magic because then humans would have already eradicated the human race from earth. "So…" Sunset said, finally deciding to give Rarity a chance. "Why are you here? I'm pretty sure school is cancelled for the lack of a proper entrance." Rarity giggled a little. "Yes, before Twilight returned to Equestria, we had a last dance. After the dance, Principal Celestia told us that school would be closed until further notice." She looked at the former wall, now a pile of broken bricks and dust, and then to Sunset again. "But we, as in, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and yours truly, decided to come one by one to help you with your punishment and, well, talk with you and get to know you." Sunset raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "And you are the first one." Rarity nodded. "And I suppose Principal Celestia will absolutely love that someone is helping me with this." She said with the most sarcastic voice she could make. "I don't know if I love it, but I sure do appreciate it." Both Rarity and Sunset jumped in surprise at the new voice, one they knew too well. Principal Celestia was looking at the girls with an unreadable expression. "Good morning Miss Rarity… Miss Sunset." She said the latter name with a too obvious tone of disappointment and a little of anger in her voice. "Good morning, Principal Celestia." Rarity said with a smile, not a smile one use with their friends or family, but a more professional, if cold, smile one uses with authority. Sunset remained silent, looking directly at the woman's eyes. The first weeks in the human world, Sunset had troubles keeping her composure around the principal, for she often feared that the princess had followed her and in any moment would punish her. Now, though, Sunset was perfectly able to tell the whole set of differences between the human and the pony; for example, Princess Celestia would never talk with anger to anypony. Disappointment, yes, but never anger. "I think you will be happy to know, Miss Sunset, that the repairs are estimated to last just a week." Sunset only blinked, but inside her mind she had a Cheshire smile. Ha! Nailed it! "After that, as my sister have already told you, you are to attend to one month of detention." She made a pause. When Sunset didn't try to say anything against it, as she was so used when dealing with teenagers, she continued. "But I want to talk with your parents before classes begin again." Rarity's eyes widened in surprise. Sunset had just admitted to be a pony from the other dimension, which meant that her parents wouldn't be in this world. She looked at Sunset with a worried gaze, but to her bigger surprise, Sunset had an almost invisible smile. "I'm sorry, principal, but you cannot talk with my parents." Celestia arched an eyebrow. "Why not?" "They're not here." Sunset said, putting her hand on her hips. "And I don't mean right now; I don't mean for the time being; I mean that they are not here." Rarity was confused by Sunset's answer, she wasn't telling the truth, but she wasn't lying either. But the look in her eyes held a weird sense of seriousness. Rarity then looked at Celestia, who was looking at Sunset with a mix between sadness and self-loath. And then something clicked inside Rarity's mind. "Your tutor then." Celestia finally said after a few seconds of silence. "Don't need any. I'm an adult." To prove her words, Sunset took her small black leather wallet from a hidden pocket in her skirt and pulled out her ID card. Celestia inspected the card thoroughly, used to teenagers falsifying them just to buy some beers or enter in night clubs. This one, though, seemed to be real. Name: Sunset Shimmer; age: nineteen; address... Celestia blinked, reading the address again, and a third time just to make sure she didn't misread the words. After what seemed like minutes, Sunset retrieved her card to her wallet, and her wallet to the hidden pocket. "Well then..." Celestia said, trying to recover her serenity. "I want to have a talk with you in my office after the repairs are done." Sunset shrugged. "As you wish." Celestia nodded. "The construction workers will arrive soon. I have already told them that you are to help them, so don't try to get away from your punishment." Sunset crossed her arms, letting Celestia know that she just offended her. "Miss Rarity," Celestia ignored Sunset's expression. "I let you know that your volunteering work is highly appreciated." Rarity blushed a little. "Oh, it's nothing, really. I'm here just to help Sunset." Celestia nodded and walked to the school, leaving the girls alone again, at least until the workers arrived. After Celestia was out of sight, Rarity turned to see Sunset. "Forgive me if I'm so bold as to ask, but, did you just imply that your parents-" "Are dead?" Sunset interrupted, completing Rarity's question. "No, I said they're not here, but you humans like to assume the worst of everything, and since that seems to work almost for everything, I just let it slide." Rarity blinked. "Okaaay, so, would you like to tell me what happened yesterday?" Sunset rubbed the back of her neck with a hand, as if giving herself a massage. "Easy." She said with a bored expression, trying to give it less importance. "The crown I stole? A powerful magical device of a set of 6 retrieved just a year or so ago. They are called the Elements of Harmony. "I took precisely that one, because it's the Element of Magic. I wanted the power within it to coup and rule over Equestria. About what happened last night…" She made a pause a let out a heavy sigh. "The Element didn't like that I stole its magic, so it restored its bound with Twilight anyway. I don't know why you five were chosen to connect with the other Elements in Equestria though, but you were, and you used the full power of the Elements of Harmony to give me a painful experience worse than death." Rarity swallowed as guilt started to build up in her heart. "I think that's why you all grew pony ears and three of you had wings." Sunset said, the tone in her voice was alien to Rarity; a weird combination of anger, fear and utter curiosity on the subject. "And when the Element returned to Equestria, the bond with you five was completely broken. That's why you lost your transformations." Sunset turned to see Rarity. "But why it required you to transform, I will never know." "I see…" Rarity muttered, trying to assimilate what Sunset had just said. "I… I'm sorry." Sunset arched an eyebrow. "You what?" Rarity met Sunset's gaze with a sad look on her own. "You said the rainbow hurt a lot… It's not something I ever thought myself saying, but it happened… And for that, I'm truly sorry." Sunset closed her eyes and waved her right hand in a dismissive way. "Bah, I think I deserve it for being the Alpha Bitch for so long." She then looked at Rarity with a small frown. "I just wish my jacket hadn't been completely ruined." Rarity blinked. "Oh…" She was about to apology again, but then her eyes sparkled and a big smile spread across her face. "Oh, I know!" She said, taking Sunset's hands with her own and looking directly at the surprised -and slightly uncomfortable- girl. "What if I make you a new jacket? You like leather, right?" "I…" Sunset said, a little dumbfounded by Rarity's sudden outburst. "You don't have to. Yes, it was my favorite jacket, but I have more." "Oh don't play shy with me, Sunset." Rarity said, freeing Sunset's hands and delicately placing three fingers on her chest. "It is only proper that I give you a brand new jacket after I ruined your favorite one!" Sunset gazed at Rarity for several seconds before speaking with a slightly annoyed voice. "No offense, but I don't think you understand my sense of fashion, or rather, the lack of it." She said, waiting for Rarity to turn to look at her before speaking again. "Black leather jacket." She said blankly. "No shiny dresses with 'not enough' sequin. To me, black leather jacket goes with anything else." Rarity smiled fondly at Sunset. "I understand your sense of fashion just perfectly, Sunset." She said with a prideful expression. "Why, I've known you for years. And outside of the princess' coronations, you've always used black leather jackets. Just give me a chance; if you don't like it, you just toss it to a nearby trashcan, ok?" Sunset's left eye twitched. "Ok…"