Sunset stared at Luna and Nightmare Moon, who only stared back at her in mild confusion, their mouths slightly agape. Sunset guessed that they would be confused at her, and truth be told, she was slightly confused herself. Nonetheless, she knew her answer was true, and it was her other self who showed her that. Looking back to her demi She-Demon self, Sunset felt as though she knew the full answer to her own, and everypony’s, question.
Why? Why do I say I can’t forgive myself?
“Sunset, we do not understand what you mean. Why is it that you feel as though you cannot forgive yourself? Surely, you deserve forgiveness for your actions,” Luna said, floating over to Sunset, who had sat down on the floor with her face buried in her hands.
“Come on, Sunset, you know the truth. Why can't you forgive yourself, huh?” the She-Demon remarked, smirking at Sunset, who paid her no mind.
“That’s just it. I don’t understand, yet I do,” Sunset said, looking up. “I understand that what I did was out of greed. That I had no other motivation that pushed me towards doing what I did other than myself. But, I feel like there’s more to it than just that.”
“Sunset, you do not need to look further than what has happened now,” Nightmare Moon said, landing by Sunset’s side. “While what has happened here was not foreseeable, that does not mean we haven't achieved something.”
“And what was it that you achieved? A little mercy, happiness, forgiveness?” her She-Demon taunted.
“Silence you cur, we will deal with you later,” Nightmare Moon retorted.
The She-Demon rose to her feet and spread her wings out. “Oh, I’m so scared. Who do you think you are? This is still our mind, you do not have any control here whatsoever.”
Nightmare Moon was taken aback by her comment. She had her mouth open, like she wanted to admonish her reasoning, but had no words against it.
Smiling with satisfaction, the She-Demon turned to Sunset. “So, Sunset, you know the real reason why you can’t forgive yourself, ourself. Look deep inside the back of your mind to find the answer, because you and I know it’s there.”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY?!” Sunset screamed back with tears in her eyes. “I know I’m a bad pony, and what I did was wrong. What more do you want from me?
“The truth,” the She-Demon hissed, coming up to Sunset’s face and looking her dead in the eyes. “I want you to know the truth.”
“Back off, you have done enough already,” Luna said, flaring her wings out, blocking the She-Demon’s sight.
Sunset gently moved Luna’s wing out of the way as she stepped forward. “You’re nothing but a demon of my past. What is it that you're trying to show me? Why do you even care?”
“Why do I care, you ask? You know the answer to that already.” The She-Demon snarled, flying back a little.
Sunset closed her eyes, breathing out slowly. She knew the answer to her own question, but she refused to acknowledge it. She knew her demon was herself, and what she was feeling and had hidden inside. She couldn’t deny it much longer, but she didn’t want to accept it either. She was a greedy tyrant who tried to change for the better.
“Do you not think she deserves some peace of mind from your corruption?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“Did Luna deserve a rest from you?” the She-Demon remarked.
“Then what are thou trying to say?” Luna questioned, her horn glowing from agitation.
The She-Demon smirked as her hand started to glow. “Let me show you.”
With a burst of teal light, an aura surrounded Sunset’s body. With another flash of light, another figure appeared before them, separating from Sunset with ease. The figure was another Sunset, but she glowed a faint orange hue. She had wings made of fire and seemed to be at peace of mind. The flaming Sunset took off in the air and flew around the room before flying behind the She-Demon, fading away. Luna, Nightmare Moon, and Sunset stared out with wide, open eyes from the small display. The She-Demon only looked back and smirked at Sunset, for she knew that Sunset understood.
“I do not understand. What it is that you are trying to prove?” Nightmare Moon queried.
“It is not for you to understand, but for Sunset herself,” the She-Demon said, sitting back down.
Sunset’s mind started to race as all her thoughts and feelings came to the surface. Sunset looked to Luna with shame in her eyes. She knew what that image was suppose to mean. Herself trying to break free, only to end up falling back to her dark ways. It was the thing Sunset feared the most.
“Princess Luna, I know you were trying to help me forgive myself, but it’s impossible, for I do not have any reason that would allow me to do so. What I did was completely for my own selfish reasons. I was drawn to power, my greediness overcame me, and I tried to run away when I knew it was wrong. You had your reasons that drew out Nightmare Moon. I have no reason for what I have done.”
Luna looked down to Sunset and draped a wing over her shoulder. “Sunset, everypony makes mistakes, but that does not mean thou shall not be forgiven. You made a mistake and you're sorry, that’s enough reason to forgive yourself.”
Sunset looked up at Luna, still feeling regret. “I tried to change who I was to mask my old self. I tried to become different than who I am. Have I truly learned anything?”
The She-Demon flew up and glided towards Sunset. Stopping just near her, she whispered. “You should not try hiding who you are. You can not get rid of me, for I am you, remembered that. Just cause you say you have friends, doesn’t mean they are your true friends. They would never have your back, you know that as well as I do. It happen before, who said it won’t happen again.” With that said, the She-Demon flew backwards and erupted in flames. “You mind has been unlocked and our personality are now entwine? This is not the last we will be speaking to each other.
Sunset watched as her She-Demon faded away, her last words linger in her mind. She wondered what her demon means about unlocked, but she guessed it has something to do with the key on her neck. The biggest question that was now on her mind were her friends. Could she still considered them her friends? She knew that they failed her once before, and she wondered how much more would it take for it to happen again. She put both hands to her head as she now question her own friends. Where was the forgiveness now she wondered. Do she forgive herself, and her friends? Was their anything for her to forgive herself? Should she despise them, even though she knew why her friends did what they did? Now Sunset was more confused than she was when she first came here. At least one question has been answered, and that was her own forgiveness.
Nightmare Moon stood up and looked around, the room around them started changed. They were now standing on top of the hill where Sunset once stood, where she helped her friends defeated the Sirens. The guitar on the necklace started to vibrate in a orange glow, catching Sunset attention. As quickly as it had started, the guitar vibration stopped and went silent all together. The area around her started to blur as Luna and Nightmare Moon transformed backed into their alicorn pony self.
“Sunset, morning is about to come and our sister Tia is calling. We shall wake up before you to lower the moon. Do not fear, we will put you into a peaceful dream. Once you wake up, we can talk more. For now, have a good night rest, and we shall see you when the sun rises.”
With that, a door appear in front of Luna as she stepped through it. Looking back, Luna’s horn flare a azule blue and Sunset vision started to blur soon after. Nightmare Moon walked over to Sunset and bathe her body in the same aura glow.
Nightmare Moon looked down at Sunset as she swayed on her feet, her body changing back into a pony. “Sunset whenever you are here, we will try to visit you as much as possible. For now, I’ll shall watch over you to prevent anymore nightmares occurring for the rest of your slumber.”
Sunset smiled at those words as she laid down, her mind imaging a comfy bed which appeared below her. As Sunset laid down, two images flashed before her eyes, startling her. Her She-Demon self and one of the gems from the elements of harmony. Before she got the chance to question anything more, her mind filled with exhausting, pushed her to her limit and she passed out.