//------------------------------// // Let the Rainbow Remind You // Story: Saving the Sirens. // by SkyeSilverwing //------------------------------// She drifted, alone in the darkness, the emptiness in the depths of her soul mirroring that of the void around her. A black blank nothing filled only with pain and regret. Over what, she could not say. Nor did she truly want to. The Darkness was all there was. And in that Darkness, the emptiness and loneliness was all. There was nothing else, and there had never been, that she could recall, so here in the dark, she was content. Then, there was something. In the distance, on the very corner of her awareness, she sensed it. She had no awareness of what that glimmer could be, but it shimmered, and shifted. It was not like that darkness at all. It was different. It was special. This tiny speck of light was something, and in that darkness and emptiness, it was easily as consuming as the dark. It felt… nostalgic. It felt… like home. Whatever it was, she let herself drift toward it. Soon, it resolved into colors, a kind yellow, a loyal blue, a generous violet, an honest orange, and an optimistic pink. She did not know why she had attributed these feelings to these colors, but it felt right somehow. There were more colors, too, though she could not attribute one feeling to any of them. The white, the Purple, and another shade of pink… All felt wise and abiding. Then there was lavender. Lavender felt… The colors swirled around her and everything came flooding back. Sunset Shimmer awoke. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. Sunset took her time opening her eyes. The exhaustion she felt pressing her into the mattress on which she lay as inexorably as gravity could. She did not believe that she would be able to move from that spot if she tried. Even her eyelids felt so heavy that it should have been impossible for her to open them. But she did. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the interior of a hospital room. In a chair across from her friend, Rarity, was in her human form, reading a fashion magazine. In another chair beside her bed was Aria Blaze, also in human form. Aria was watching her intently. When their eyes met, the former Siren’s eyes widened and she leapt to her feet. “She’s awake!” she announced. Rarity, too, then jumped to her feet, her magazine falling, forgotten, to the floor. “Oh, thank goodness!” she said, rushing to her side. “We thought we lost you.” Rarity took Sunset’s hand while Aria hurried to the door. A moment later, there was an influx as the rest of the Rainbooms and the former Sirens flooded in and crowded around her. Sunset smiled at the sight of them all. “I think…” Sunset said to Rarity, “You nearly did. I was gone, but the light of your friendship brought me back.” This elicited a group hug from all of the Rainbooms, leaving the three Sirens standing back against the wall awkwardly. Sunset looked at Adagio, Aria, and Sonata and smiled. “I am glad to see you all looking better.” She said, then the side of her mouth quirked up, “Relatively, of course.” Aria smiled back, matching Sunset’s smirk. “This from the girl who has been in a hospital bed for a week.” She said playfully. Sunset grimaced slightly. “No wonder I am feeling so weak.” She said, “What happened?” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “The Tree of Harmony is about balance.” She said, “We were essentially giving a small amount of Pony magic to each of them, so it demanded more magic than the equation suggested.” Sunset nodded. “I felt it.” She said, “I thought it that if it wanted to take my life so that these three could live, it was a good trade.” The three Sirens gasped. “What?” Sonata cried, “We aren’t worth that!” Sunset Chuckled and took the girl’s hand. “Of course you are.” She said, “I would give my life for any one of my friends.” Twilight sighed. “You… may have lost more than that.” She said sadly. Sunset looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?” she asked. Twilight didn’t meet Sunset’s gaze. “When you collapsed…” she said, “Your horn was destroyed, and your Cutie Mark was gone. It… Stripped you of all your magic... we barely managed to get you back through the mirror before it could kill you.” Sunset Shimmer blinked for a long moment. “So… what you’re saying is…” she asked. Twilight hung her head. “You will never be able to use magic again.” She said, “And Princess Celestia does not think you will be able to survive returning to Equestria again either. I’m afraid you’ve lost your pony side forever.” Sunset’s heart sank as the ramifications hit her. Even if she had not really thought about it, she had been looking forward to being able to study with Princess Celestia again… and see her parents… and… make new friends and…. She found tears falling. She had not been a good pony, but a pony was what she would always be at heart. To lose that connection… It felt like a piece of herself was gone forever. She looked around at the nine girls around her. Each of them mirroring her pain, knowing how she must feel. And then she knew. It clicked in her mind as the light from the window struck a vase on the nightstand and cast a rainbow across the room. “It’s alright, Twilight.” She said, bringing a smile onto her face. “I might miss the old me, and regret the choices that brought me here, but I have never been so happy to be here now. I have so many friends that I could not have imagined having before, and these three girls now can have that chance too. It may have been a hard road getting here, but I would not change one thing about it. I have finally forgiven myself for my past mistakes, like my friends have forgiven me, and I realized that as long as I have my friends, I have all the magic I need.” This drew another round of hugs from Twilight and the others, but the Sirens hung back, looking like they weren’t sure if they should be included. Sunset smiled. “You girls can come in for the group hug, too.” She said, “Forgiveness includes everyone.” Aria and Sonata glanced at each other and then joined in the hug. Adagio held back and rubbed her arm nervously. Sunset Shimmer looked at the girl and then looked at the rest of them. “Girls, can you give Adagio and I a minute?” she asked. The rest of them nodded in assent, and herded out of the room, closing the door behind them. Sunset slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position in the bed and looked at Adagio for a long moment. “So what’s the problem, Adagio?” she asked. Adagio hung her head. “I… I am not sure I deserve to be forgiven for all I have done.” She said, “It was my greed, my desire to gain back all of the power that we had when we lived in Equestria, which brought about this whole incident. Everything you have been through since we arrived… everyone turned against you in the Battle of the Bands, forcing you and your friends to the breaking point, and now losing your magic… It was all my fault!” Sunset looked at the orange haired girl with a good-natured smile. “What you did was teach me that I had to forgive myself before I could expect anyone else to truly forgive me for what I had done.” She said, “After Twilight and her friends showed me the true meaning of the Magic of Friendship, I spent months wondering around trying to figure out why no one else was forgiving me, why they would not see me as different from the way I was before. It wasn’t until I had put aside my grudge against myself and let myself be the friend I needed to be for my friends, that I finally was able to be accepted around here.” She reached out and took Adagio’s hand. “I forgive you, whether you think you deserve it or not. And I thank you for showing me how to forgive myself. I just hope that you can forgive yourself as well, so that everyone else can see the real you.” Adagio’s chin trembled for a long moment, and then she burst into tears and flung her arms around Sunset Shimmer. “Thank you…” she said between sobs, “You don’t know how much it means to me that you can forgive me…” she seemed to have a flash of inspiration. “I… have something I want to give you.” She said, moving over to her bag and pulling out the broken necklace that had once held her heartstone. “I kept it after the Battle of the Bands because I thought there might be a way to fix it… But that me just isn’t me anymore… You know?” Sunset Shimmer nodded. Adagio held the necklace out. “Now, it seems like it is a good thing to symbolize our friendship…” she said, “Because you broke this when you set me free and then you forgave me for all I had done to you.” Sunset took the necklace, and, for a moment, it felt like she could see a rainbow race across its surface. Suddenly, she did not feel as exhausted as she had a moment before. “Thank you, Adagio.” She said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and hugging the girl more closely. Adagio pulled back from the hug after a few moments. “Do you think that the other girls will be able to forgive me, too?” she asked. In response, Sunset Shimmer stood slowly and walked over to the door. “I don’t know.” she said with a mischievous smile on her face. “What do you think, girls?” With that, she swung the door open, causing seven eavesdroppers to fall through it, landing in a confused jumble of tangled legs and skirts. Behind the rest of them, Twilight Sparkle leaned against the wall across the hall, a knowing smile on her face. As soon as they disengaged themselves from the pile, each of the Rainbooms expressed their forgiveness for the siren’s former leader, with a round of hugs. Sonata and Aria waited until the others had finished, and then approached their sister. “You know we forgive you, right?” Aria said, punching Adagio lightly on the arm. “You are family.” “Yeah!” Sonata said, throwing her arms around them both, “And family is for forgiveness! They even start with the same letter! We can always forgive family!” Aria glared at Sonata. “I forgive you for being an airhead.” She said sourly. Sonata returned the glare with a grin. “I forgive you for being a meanie-head.” She replied. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie flung her arms around all three of them. “I forgive all of you, too!” she announced, “Families are fun! Hey – that’s another f-word!” “I’ll show you an f-word…” Aria grated. Adagio moved her hand to Aria’s shoulder. “Forgiveness is fine, Aria.” She said, a genuine smile on her face. Aria gave a snort and then the four of them broke down giggling. Twilight Sparkle smiled watching the entire seen and then glanced at Sunset Shimmer. “I think that you might survive a trip back to Equestria after all.” She said, then nodded toward Sunset’s new accessory, “And if that is what I think it is, it might change things… a lot.” Sunset looked from the necklace in her hand, and then Twilight Sparkle, a smile spreading across her face. “I think I have had enough change for one day.” She said, “Things are fine the way they are. There will be plenty of time for more magic later.” Twilight smiled at her. “I thought you might feel that way.” She said, “I have to be going. Write me if you need help or advice, or just to talk. I will see you soon enough.” With that, she turned and departed, arguably heading back to the portal. Sunset turned back to her friends, and smiled. More magic could wait. She had plenty. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. Back in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle descended into the basement of her castle, down into its core, where the crystal seed from which it sprang hung suspended from a crystal vine. The box stood open, hanging like a flower, its six petals spreading out from the center, where a seventh and final keyhole had been hidden. Twilight smiled and thought about her friends in the human world. Then she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. Yes, there had been much changing lately. She could wait, too. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.