Sunset woke up with a yawn the next morning. She thankfully had no nightmares, but that didn’t mean she had a restful sleep. Between the uncomfortable floor and the thoughts running through her head she could not get a full sleep. She would nod off for a few minutes to an hour and then wake up again. She contemplated getting up and doing something but the soft, cute snoring coming from the bed above her made her just lie there. Eventually, around three in the morning, she finally fell fully asleep.
She sat up and noticed that Fluttershy wasn’t in her bed. It was unsurprising, given how quiet she usually is, but it still was somewhat disheartening to Sunset. She would have felt better if Fluttershy were there, if nothing else, to let Sunset know she wasn’t alone. Whatever. I’m a big girl. So what if she isn’t there. That doesn’t make me feel any better. Sunset got up and looked around for a clock. She found one on Fluttershy’s nightstand. it read 11:30am. Half an hour from when she and Fluttershy were supposed to go see her friends.
“Shit! Shitshitshitshitshit,” Sunset exclaimed, cursing herself out. You can never do any freaking thing right! She ran down the stairs, lightly running into the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
“Sunset! Are you okay?” Fluttershy exclaimed from her seat at the counter in the kitchen. Sunset looked up at her in surprise.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to wait for me; I can catch up. You go have fun.”
Fluttershy tilted her head, then righted it when Sunset's meaning became apparent just a split-second later. “Oh, Sunset, I was just about to wake you up. I figured you’d sleep in, so I asked my friends if we could push the meet-up time to one. They said it was fine.”
“Oh…” Sunset didn’t know what to say other then that. She went from angry with herself to being angry with Fluttershy, but that didn’t last long before she just was even angrier at herself for being angry with Fluttershy. It wasn’t Fluttershy’s fault she overreacted.
“Um… I’ll go and get ready then.”
Sunset went upstairs and went into the bathroom. For a while, she just looked at herself in the mirror. She looked a mess and felt even worse. She turned on the water and took a handful to wash her face. The water felt good on her face. She could almost feel the dried tears washing off her. She brought her head up again to dry her face, when she noticed her reflection giving her a vindictive smirk, the same kind she used to give everyone when she was in ‘Alpha Bitch’ mode.
“You’re so pathetic. Not only did you try to kill yourself, but you also have to be taken care of by Fluttershy,” her reflection said. Any normal day, Sunset would know that this was all just her own thoughts, and deep down, she did know. However, in her emotional state, she couldn’t help but listen to the reflection like it was an actual person.
“I am not! I need help, but I’m not pathetic, and what’s wrong with Fluttershy? She’s been nothing but helpful since this all started,” she told her reflection.
“Except during the week, when you actually needed the help.”
“What was I supposed to do? I was blocked by her friends.”
“You know you didn’t even try, especially with Applejack. She just said it wasn’t a good idea for you to talk to Fluttershy right now. You just bowed your head like the little, insignificant mouse you are now and walked away. If I were there, I would have demanded to know why they would deny me from seeing her.”
“Shut up! You wouldn’t have bothered to get them to be your friends one way or the other. At least I’m trying.”
“You’re doing a great job. Rainbow nearly drove you to suicide, while the others still think of you as the she-demon that destroyed the school. Oh, and then there is, of course, Fluttershy, who seems to be just treating you like a hurt puppy rather than a person. Although I doubt she sees a difference. I don’t.”
“Shut up! Fluttershy is the only one who actually cares about me, and don’t forget, you’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place. You had to be the alpha bitch, you had to get everyone’s attention, and in the end, everyone hated you. It should have been you on that bridge, not me!”
“Ah, but therein lies the problem, dear: We’re the same person,” her reflection said, giving an evil, toothy smile.
“Shut up!” Sunset screamed and punched the mirror. The mirror cracked around her fist. She left her fist there for a few moments, just staring at her reflection. The only thing that got a reaction out of her was Fluttershy slowly opening the door and poking her head in. Sunset turned her head and met Fluttershy’s eyes. She could see the concern and worry in her eyes. This, combined with her thoughts and the pain she was feeling in her hand, was enough to make Sunset burst into tears.
Fluttershy, who was about to ask what was wrong, closed her mouth, walked in and hugged Sunset. Sunset was a bit surprised by the hug, but returned it and cried into Fluttershy’s shoulder. She cried for what seemed like hours, although it was only a couple minutes. As she finished, she pulled back from Fluttershy and looked at the mirror, then her hand. The mirror was cracked and probably would have to be replaced, and her hand was bleeding from a couple of decently sized cuts. Sunset was surprised that she didn’t feel much pain, but she chalked it up to adrenalin. She looked back up to Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry. My head just got to me. I’ll pay for the mirror, or do something. I just… I don’t know…”
“It’s okay, Sunset. Here, just let me help with your hand.” Fluttershy led Sunset over to the toilet, where she sat Sunset down and began to clean and bandage her hand.
“Do you want to talk about it, Sunset?”
“I... no… yes… I don’t know… Not right now, I guess…”
“Alright, you don’t have to. Do you want me to push back our meet-up time again?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be ready.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, okay. I’ll let you finish up.” Fluttershy stood up and started to walk out the door.
“Wait, Fluttershy, just one thing,” Sunset said, making Fluttershy pause halfway through the door.
“Hmm?”
“Fluttershy… What am I to you? I mean, am I just another one of your hurt animals that you feel you need to take care of?”
“Sunset, I understand why you would feel that way. But, I don’t see you as another animal to take care of. You’re hurt in a different way then they ever could be, and I can’t help you as a caretaker. I can only help you as a friend, and that’s how I see you: as a friend.”
With that, Fluttershy closed the door and left Sunset to her own thoughts. Sunset just sat on the toilet for a while, just thinking. She shook her head and went ahead with her normal routine. Thinking hadn’t helped her so far, and she doubted it would help her now.
Sunset left the bathroom about a half-hour later, fully dressed. There had been no more incidents, thankfully, and in fact, the shower actually made her feel better. At least, she thought it was the shower. It might have been Fluttershy’s words that put her at ease. Either way, she felt better, and she was ready to meet Fluttershy’s friends. Am I, though? Sunset worried herself again, and she hated herself for it. She sighed and walked downstairs to see Fluttershy grabbing her purse and getting ready.
“Oh, Sunset, you got out just in time. Do you need anything before we go?”
“No, I’m fine, just a bit nervous.”
“Don’t worry, Sunset. I’ll be there with you, and I’ll make sure they don’t do anything. We can leave whenever you want to. But, I suggest we start going; it takes about a half-hour to walk to the mall from here.”
“You walk to the mall? Oh, yeah, you also walk to and from school. Why?”
“It’s nice to walk, and sometimes, my animal friends keep me company. It’s also really relaxing.”
“Oh, well, yeah, I guess we should start going, then.”
Fluttershy was right: Walking to the mall was relaxing. It seemed Fluttershy took a very scenic route through a forest. It brought them to the back entrance of the mall. It was a huge mall compared to the small town it was in, multi-storied with hundreds of stores. It was something you would see in Manehattan, not Canterlot.
They walked into the mall, crowded with people, and made their way to the food court, where Fluttershy said they’d meet the rest of the group. They went down the escalator and almost immediately saw the group, mostly thanks to the combination of rainbow hair and stetson that was so commonly seen on Rainbow Dash and Applejack. As they walked towards the group, Sunset became more and more anxious, and that was before the group noticed them. The first to see them was Rarity, who said something inaudible, but Sunset made out through lip movements what was an ‘Oh my’. This is when everyone else looked at them, giving various reactions. Sunset didn’t see anyone’s reaction other then Rainbow’s. Rainbow gave her a beyond-angry glare and crushed the cup she was drinking from in her hand. Sunset turned to Fluttershy just as Rainbow started to stand up.
“I can’t do this. I’ll just go home. I’m sorry,” she said turning around to run away. However, Fluttershy grabbed her wrist and held her back.
“No, Sunset. I’ll deal with her. You shouldn’t have to run away from potential friends.”
“I just don't--“ Sunset was cut off by a fist slamming into her face. She fell to the ground and gasped. She even spit out a bit of blood from her tongue, which she bit when she was punched.
“Rainbow! How dare you? Get the hell away from her!” she heard Fluttershy yell at Rainbow. Fluttershy never cursed, nor had she ever raised her voice to a screaming level. However, Rainbow didn’t seem to notice the new tone in her friend, only the words.
“I warned her not to go near you, and why the hell do you care? She’s been nothing but a bitch to you since she got here. I’m just putting her in her place.”
“You’ve done quite enough, Rainbow. You’ve made her life miserable, more miserable than any person's should ever be.”
“Good. She deserves every second of it. In fact, she doesn’t even deserve to be on this planet anymore after what she’s done. She’s a pathetic bitch who’s only talent is manipulating people, and now that she can’t do that anymore, she plays all nice-like and tries to get in your head so she can gain her power again. I bet she’s biding her time right now to go all she-demon again. I’m only trying to protect you, Fluttershy. She’s a threat.”
“Rainbow, you said almost the exact, same thing yesterday, and you want to know what happened? You made Sunset try to commit suicide."
“Good.”
“I had to--What?!”
“I said, 'Good.' She’s only going to hurt you, Fluttershy. She shouldn’t be here. I don’t care how she leaves, she just needs to.”
“I… just… Rainbow, you need to leave. Now,” Fluttershy deadpanned.
“Ah agree, Rainbow. That was completely outta line. No one deserves to get talked to like that,” Applejack said from behind them, she and the rest of the group having rushed over to see what was happening and hearing it all.
“Agreed. Sunset hasn’t done anything unworthy of another chance,” Rarity chimed in.
“Not cool, Dash,” was all that Pinkie said. Rainbow looked around at the group and realized she was outnumbered.
“Fine! I don’t need this bullshit. When she turns you all against each other again, don’t come bitching to me.”
With that, she stormed away, leaving the group to themselves. Fluttershy wasted no time in checking on Sunset, turning around and bending down to comfort the crying girl. Just like she hoped, the others quickly went to Sunset’s aid, too.
“I’m sorry, everyone. This is all my fault. She hates me so much, and you all should too,” Sunset said through her tears.
“No, it isn’t, Sunset. Actually, it's kind of my fault,” Fluttershy said while hugging Sunset.
“What do you mean ‘your fault’? You didn’t do anything to her.”
“She’s mad because she thinks you’re the reason she and I broke up.”