Sunset Shimmer stood nervously in front of the microphone, very much aware of the hundreds of eyes burning into her from every direction, and found she suddenly had a greater understanding of what Fluttershy must suffer through every day. The last time she’d been up here, it was immediately after having knocked Rainbow Dash to the ground, and while the student body remained silent this time, she knew they were all waiting for just the slightest excuse to judge her. “Hello,” she began, clearing her throat before continuing.
Behind her stood her friends; Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and even Princess Twilight all in a row, giving her supportive smiles even if she couldn’t see them. Beyond them were Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna, their arms crossed and expressions radiating disappointment, and Sunset was thankful for their acting ability. “We would all like to apologize for, and explain, what happened last Friday.”
It had been a whole week since the Battle Of The Bands, and by now most of the students had compared notes and figured out what had really happened, crazy as it seemed. Sunset had found herself regarded with a great deal less hate, though suspicion still reigned; three years of her tyranny couldn’t be let go so easily. Regardless, everyone now had a fairly firm idea of events, and trying to rewrite that perception again would not be a simple task.
“And I personally would like to apologize, not only to you but to all my friends, as this had been my idea." Now she turned to look at her friends, and their genuine smiles warmed her heart. She turned back to the audience, emboldened. "It started out as a Senior-year prank, but we all lost control of it and nearly set the school against itself again… in hindsight, this was in truly bad taste after the Fall Formal.”
At the very top of the bleachers, sitting dejectedly and most likely not even listening, sat three girls, with orange, purple, and blue hair respectively. After nearly a whole week of understandable absence, Sunset and her friends were surprised that they’d finally shown their faces again, and debate had sprung out during lunch period over what action should be taken. Careful observation of the trio, followed by a long and difficult discussion with the Principals and a considerably easier discussion with a certain DJ, had led to this course of action, and so Sunset pushed on.
“And I apologize to Vinyl Scratch, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk for their involvement as well.” She gestured to the students in question, suppressing a frown as the Dazzlings failed to take notice of their own names. On the other hand, perhaps this was better; surprised reactions may have undermined their already-shaky story even more. “Vinyl provided a lot of the visual effects; she did a good job, but she shouldn’t have had to. And the Dazzlings… I am really, truly sorry. You are new students, and I didn’t consider how your role in this may affect perceptions of you.” At this, Adagio finally raised her head, confusion seeping in alongside misery. Addressing the student body once more, Sunset added, “I hope you can all forgive them for their role in this; none of us expected them to play the villainous part so… effectively.”
Turning back again, Sunset finished by addressing Celestia and Luna, their hard gazes boring into her. “And finally, I want to apologize to you two… prank or no, it wasn’t right to shanghai the musical showcase like we did, and we hope next year’s attempt will progress more smoothly.”
Rarity stepped forward, and Sunset handed the microphone off to her, falling in between Fluttershy and Twilight as the fashionista provided further explanation, smoothly reinterpreting the Battle of The Bands and explaining how the Rainbooms had brought all of this about, even explaining Twilight’s presence as being her version from this world, whom they had gone to great effort to ensure her cooperation. Princess Twilight, befitting her role, had to act more distant from them than she really was, grinning nervously at the crowd and shifting her weight as though wishing to escape the presence of the Rainbooms. Applejack, too, was shifting, though her discomfort was at the web of lies being spun. Still, even she had earlier conceded that this was the best thing to do.
Sunset, however, only had eyes for the Dazzlings. They were the main reason the Rainbooms were doing this, after all, and she really hoped they wouldn’t make a mistake of it. She truly had no idea how they felt about this, after all; were they in any way remorseful for their actions, or were they only so miserable because they’d lost? This was a difficult thing they were doing here, and Sunset really didn’t want that effort to have been in vain. But for now, she saw no smug grins at escaping karma; Adagio merely stared at the group on-stage in shock, while Aria and Sonata still seemed not to have noticed at all.
“Finally,” Rarity ended, “I speak on behalf of us all as we once again apologize for our actions, and implore you all to, even if you don’t forgive us, at least forgive Vinyl and the Dazzlings.” Principal Celestia strode forward, accepting the microphone from a humble Rarity, and the Rainbooms slowly filed off stage.
“Do you think it worked?” Twilight questioned once they were safely out of view. “From what I’ve seen before, they all seem rather…”
“Finnicky?” Applejack suggested.
“Volatile?” was Rarity’s contribution.
“A bunch of crazy kids who’ll unfairly judge anything without a second thought?” Rainbow said.
“…Yes.” Twilight nodded.
Sunset had been standing off to the side, but now she let out a big sigh. “I just hope it’ll be worth it. There’s no telling how the Dazzlings will react…”
Fluttershy set a comforting hand on her shoulder, her smile heart-meltingly sweet. “Either way, it was very brave of you to try to give them another chance, even if it meant your reputation is at stake again.”
Sunset shrugged, trying and failing to feign nonchalance. “I’ve been hated long enough that it doesn’t really get to me anymore… but even if they deserve it, I don’t want them to have to go through all that, too. Popularity isn’t everything, but I think we all know being a pariah isn’t exactly a walk in the park. And I hope this plan doesn’t drag you all down, too.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Besides,” Rainbow butted in, “If people are nicer to them, then maybe they’re less likely to go all jerk-mode again if they get the chance!”
“That too.” Sunset nodded. She had been aware of that angle, and it had been how they’d finally convinced the principals to agree with lying to the whole student body, but if she was entirely honest with herself, it was the last reason she’d had in mind when she came up with this plan.
Still, she couldn’t help but look back at the stage, where Celestia and Luna were wrapping up the assembly, and wish she could keep an eye on their former rivals. She’d had to go through a long process of turnaround even after being freed of her demon-self, but with the way the Dazzlings had been defeated, they could very well remain entirely unrepentant and just use this attempt to clear their names to stir up further mischief or something equally unpleasant. At the same time, though, Sunset felt they deserved at least a chance.
After all, without a chance, where would she herself be now?