//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four 
// Story: Only Love Can Make You New 
// by Tealove 
//------------------------------//

	Sunset Shimmer woke up to the smell of waffles and maple syrup drifting up to her from downstairs. She yawned and tried to scrub her hand over her eyes, but when it was a hoof that touched her face she gasped and nearly fell out of her bed. Wildly, she looked around, trying to get her bearings. Tossing back the covers, she launched herself from the bed without thinking and hit the floor with all four hooves. Noise that had been coming from below paused at the thud, and a sweet voice called, “Are you okay up there?”
For some reason the question and the voice were the very things to anchor her, to remind her what was going on. She was back in Ponyville, there to atone for her past mistakes, and she was staying with a pegasus mare called Scribes. Breathing out, Sunset looked down at her hooves and shook her head. “Get a grip,” she murmured, still trying to shake off the residual confusion. To Scribes she answered, “Fine. I'll be down in a minute.”
A minute turned into more than a few more minutes later. She decided to take a hot shower and use the time alone to mentally prepare herself for whatever the day had in store for her. There were so many ponies with which she had negative memories from the past, it was hard to decide where to start her journey to forgiveness. When the water began to run cooler and she knew she'd used up all the hot water, she dried off quickly with a towel. Not seeing any sort of hair dryer or curling iron, the amber unicorn looked her reflection in the foggy mirror, frowning at her pin-straight mane. This had all been done with magic before. Teal eyes went to her reflected horn with disdain. Fine. If magic was the only way to get her hair to look the way she liked it, she'd just have to learn to live with it straight. With an annoyed huff, she flung her wet towel over the towel rod and sulked her way downstairs.
There was a plate on the dining room table that was stacked high with golden waffles. Little dishes filled with syrup, whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries, along with coffee that, she was sure, had once been steaming hot, sat waiting for her on the table. Sunset looked around but Scribes was nowhere in sight. Guilt welled up inside of her for taking so long. The pegasus had clearly gone through a lot of trouble to make her feel welcome and Sunset thanked her by draining her hot water tank. She blew her mane from her face and made herself a plate, grateful for the food even if it was all cold now. Maybe she could make it up to Scribes by doing the dishes once she was done. 
It was certainly a lonely meal; even the cat was nowhere to be seen. Once Sunset's stomach was full she carefully picked up every dish, put things away in the icebox, and washed down the table and everything that was dirty. With no hands and her refusal to use magic it was not an easy task, but she was finding things were not as hard as she imagined they would be. The thing she struggled with most was her mane constantly getting in her face. She was continuously flipping her head back in an effort to clear her vision, fearing she'd give herself whiplash sooner or later.
A sneeze from somewhere outside caught her attention. Sunset looked around the cabin and saw two big glass doors off of the living room that she hadn't noticed the night before. As she drew closer to them, she glanced over the book cases she passed that were stacked inelegantly with books and piles of papers. Scribes sure was sweet, but well organized she was not. Opening one of the glass doors, Sunset Shimmer poked her head outside to find her hostess sitting at a table with a quill in her mouth and parchment before her. When Scribes noticed Sunset, she dropped the quill and smiled.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.” The fact that the greeting was so warm made her feel even worse for taking so long in the shower. She shuffled outside like a filly awaiting discipline and offered Scribes an apologetic smile. “Sorry for taking so long, and for ruining the breakfast you made. It was still good, even cold.”
Scribes looked at her with sincere kindness. “You didn't ruin anything. Once I heard the shower I figured you'd be awhile so I ate while it was still hot. Did you sleep okay?”
Sunset jerked her head back, blowing her mane away from her face once more. “Yeah, I slept great. Probably a little too well, really. When I woke up I forgot where I was and what I was.”
“Gosh, I can't imagine what I'd do if I woke up and was a human.” There was no nervousness in Scribes' voice, only awe and wonder. “To suddenly have to walk on two feet, and have fingers and toes.”
“They're not all they're cracked up to be,” said Sunset dryly. “Way more hygienic things to worry about.” Scribes gave her a look of confusion, but Sunset hardly noticed. She flicked her hair back again and looked around, out over the river to the forest and Ponyville down below. “Wow, this really is a great view. If I lived here I doubt I'd leave very often.”
Scribes gave a humorless chuckle. “It's definitely a pretty prison.”
Now Sunset was the one confused. “Prison?”
Waving a hoof, Scribes shook her head. “Nevermind. You look like you need a little help with you mane.”
The offer made Sunset sigh thankfully. “Yes, please. I forgot how hard some things are when you only have hooves to work with.” She sat and let Scribes get to work on her mane. “Sorry if I interrupted you. It looked like you were working on something.”
“I'm always working on something.”
“Where's Gallifrey?”
Scribes shrugged casually, pulling one of the blue bows from her own mane. “He's around here somewhere. During the day he likes to wander but he always comes home at night.” She was silent for a moment as she twisted sections of Sunset's forelock back in a rope of red and yellow, then tied them up behind her ear with her bow. Stepping back, she smiled at her work. “There. Maybe now you can see a little better.”
“Much.” Sunset turned around to look at her reflection in the mirror. The hair that was pulled back looked soft and sweet, something she wasn't used to, and that which was left down and loose to drape over her withers was already curling naturally. The bright blue bow behind her ear made her look almost girlish and it took her aback. “Thanks, Scribes. I really like it.”
“You're welcome.” The pegasus went back to the table, her own tri-colored mane now hiding half of her face. She picked up her sheets of parchment to gather them all together and make them into a neat pile. “I have to go into town today to get a few things and didn't want to leave until I knew you were all set. I wasn't sure what your plans for the day were.”
Sunset shrugged, clueless. “I honestly don't know. I'm kind of making this up as I go.”
“Well you're free to come with me if you like, or if you want to stay here, that's fine, too.”
“You'd really be okay with me staying here without you?”
Scribes gave Sunset a curious look. “Why wouldn't I? You don't strike me as the kind of pony to steal things, not that I have much worth taking, and if you did, well I'd have to assume you needed it more than me. I don't really have any secrets either, so snooping doesn't wouldn't even be that big of a deal. I know you're here to do something big. Princess Luna didn't tell me what, only that she knew you would need a safe, quiet place to be able to go when you needed it. That's what this is. While you're here, it's your home, too. Come and go as you like. If you need time alone, you can tell me without hurting my feelings.” She smirked. “I'm a writer. Trust me when I say I understand the need for alone time.”
For a long moment, Sunset wasn't quite sure what to say. She was used to the kindness of her friends at CHS because that's what they were: friends. Scribes had only met her the day before, not even a full day before and here she was offering something so kind. Either she was genuinely this nice or she was entirely too trusting. Whichever the case was, it both endeared her to Sunset and made the unicorn worry for her. She knew how harsh the world could be and how easily it would eat Scribes up. As much as a day in Equestria all to herself sounded good, she wanted to get to know Scribes better. After all, there was no telling how long she would be there before going back to the human world. She really should get to know her temporary roommate better.
“If you don't mind,” she said, watching Scribes carefully pack her papers into a satchel, “I think I'd like to come with you.”
Scribes beamed, slipping the satchel over her head. “I don't mind at all. Let me just do the dishes and we can go.”
Now it was Sunset's turn to grin. “Already taken care of.”
Scribes nodded as she trotted inside, impressed. “It's handy having a unicorn around.” Sunset's only answer was a nervous chuckle.
Together they took the same road they'd traveled the day before, conversation between them coming just a bit easier than it had the last time. Scribes had a lot of questions about the human world and it was hard for Sunset not to laugh at times, especially when some of the questions seemed so far out there. “Do humans really sleep standing up?” “Is it true that if a human goes out in the rain they melt?” “Can a human truly turn their eyelids inside out?” Sunset answered as best as she could, sometimes having to bite the inside of her cheek before answering so as not to potentially offend her new friend. Before too long, however, she was eager for a change of subject. Talking about her other life made her miss her friends greatly, and she would rather not think about what fun they were having without her.
“What about you?” she asked as they crossed over into Ponyville. “What are your friends like? I'd love to meet some of them.” The words surprised her, but even as she said them she knew it to be true. There were so many unfamiliar faces in Ponyville alone, she'd be interested to get to know some of them and see what life here was like when one wasn't trying to become the most powerful pony in all of Equestria. But the question didn't seem to sit well with Scribes. The pale blue pegasus gave an awkward smile.
“You'll have to do a lot of reading if you want to meet my friends.”
Uncertain how to respond, Sunset looked at Scribes with a furrowed brow and an uncertain smirk. “Funny. What about real friends? Pony friends?”
It was unsettling to see the way all the joy drained from Scribes, her orange eyes looking to the ground as they walked. A slight blush stained her cheeks and when she spoke, her voice was very quiet. “I don't...really have any.”
Sunset didn't understand and it was obvious by the way her brows drew together. “What do you mean? Everyone - everypony has friends. Even me once I stopped being an evil she-demon and you're nowhere close to that.”
“Not everypony.” Scribes looked so embarrassed the Sunset felt horrible for even bringing it up, but the pegasus shook her head and continued. “Sometimes it's not worth having friends.”
“Not worth-” Sunset was cut off by her name being yelled. Both ponies stopped in the middle of the busy park they were walking through and looked around. Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle was heading her way with four other ponies right behind her. No one had to tell Sunset who they were; it was easy to figure them out by similar characteristics. Pinkie Pie was bouncing, Rainbow Dash had the unmistakable hair just like Applejack had her Stetson, and Rarity looked simply glamorous. Without thinking, she rushed forward to greet them as though they were all familiar, but a look from Twilight had her drawing up short. Right. These weren't her friends. They didn't know her, at least they didn't know her like her CHS friends did.
“How are you?” Twilight asked her. “Everypony, this is Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer, this is...well...everypony.”
A cacophony of sound went up around the amber unicorn as both greetings and questions were thrown at her rapid fire. From what she could gather, they all knew quite a bit about her, making it feel even more awkward that she knew nothing about them except who they were. For a few minutes she answered what she could, but quickly felt overwhelmed at all the attention. Looking around, she saw Scribes standing several feet away, just watching, and cleared her throat. “Um, hey everypony, can I introduce you to my friend, Scribes?”
All the chatter stopped almost instantaneously and everypony looked at the pale blue pegasus. She took a few steps forward, encouraged by the shift in attention, and offered a timid smile to the group. “Hi. I've met all of your briefly before at different times. Well, all of you except for Rainbow Dash. She and I went to Flight School together.”
The group was silent for a moment as though letting the information sink in, then Dash said a quick, “That's cool,” before turning back to Sunset Shimmer and asking, “So compared to the other me, how awesome are my flying skills?” All of the others started up their questioning as well, save Twilight who could only watch with a bemused expression. Sunset watched Scribes lower her head, her ears drooping. Trying to change the subject in hopes of finding some neutral ground, the amber unicorn looked at Twilight.
“Where's Fluttershy?” If anypony could make Scribes feel welcome in a group it would be the kindest of them all.
“She should be here soon. She's had to deal with – uh – let's just call him an unwanted house guest.”
Pinkie Pie began bouncing up and down again, pointing back in the direction they had all just come from. “Look! Here she comes now!”
“Oh how marvelous,” Rarity sighed. “She's brought a friend.”
Fluttershy trotted down the lane to join her friends, a curious looking creature hovering in the air beside her. As soon as he spotted Sunset Shimmer he disappeared in a pop of magic, only to reappear right in front of her and in the middle of the group of ponies. “Sunset Shimmer!”
“Aw, c'mon Discord!” Applejack gave him the dirtiest look of all as she backed away, though the others hardly had any warm smiles of greeting for him either. They all took a few steps back, helpless to watch as the Draconequis picked up Sunset under her forelegs and hugged her to him like a cherished old rag doll.
“I have heard so much about you!” he enthused. “Finally somepony who enjoys a little chaos as much as I do!”
Twilight glowered up at him. “Put her down, Discord.”
“Now don't be jealous, Twilight. You'll still be my favorite purple pony princess.” He batted unnaturally long lashes at the alicorn, but did as she ordered when her stern look didn't go away.
Sunset, now back on the ground, took a step back as well and looked up at Discord in confusion. “Should I know you?”
He slithered through the air like a snake, circling around her to twirl a claw through the loose strands of her mane. “Should you know me? Of course you should know me. Everypony should know me! But the real matter at hand here is that I know you.” He snapped his talons and her pony head was replaced by her human head. “You're the hot-headed unicorn who tried to overthrow dear old Tia – emphasis on the old, am I right? - and ended up running away to the human world only to come back and steal the crown from poor naïve little Twily here and bring it back to your world to use it so you could try and gain -” He grew to quadruple his size, blocking out the sun with his massive form, and flexed his muscles. “-ULTIMATE POWER!” Like a deflating balloon, Discord shriveled back down to his original size. “Does that about sum it up?”
Sunset Shimmer stared at him, speechless and a little horrified until her head turned back to normal. When her mouth dropped open but no words came out, Discord tapped her under the chin. “Close your mouth, dear. You'll catch flies.”
“Discord, that's enough.” The quiet command was almost a whisper, but still fierce enough to draw his attention. Fluttershy looked at him with disapproval. “How would you like it if a total stranger reminded you of your past?”
The question made the draconequis hunch over and pout. “Oh, all right.”
Thankful for the help from the pony equivalent of her best friend from CHS, Sunset Shimmer looked at Fluttershy with a grateful smile. The pale yellow pegasus, however, only regarded her with careful respect. Once more Sunset was reminded that this was not her group of friends, but this interaction above all of the rest of them hurt the most. Once Twilight had gone back to her world here in Equestria, Fluttershy had been the first one to really give Sunset a second chance. It had meant so much because Sunset had always been the cruelest to her. Yet her kindness toward Sunset in those first few weeks after Twilight had gone was what made them such strong friends. To have pony Fluttershy look at her so coldly felt like a slap to the face.
“Anyway,” said Applejack, breaking the awkward silence, “we were all about to head over to the ice cream parlor. You should come with us.” Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Dash, and Rarity agreed and weren't shy about trying to talk Sunset into joining them. That took some of the sting from Fluttershy away, and Sunset smiled, though the good feeling didn't last long. She quickly realized the invitation was for her alone and that the others seemed to forget Scribes was even there. Turning around, she saw the pegasus watching the group with a mixture of sadness and hurt on her face. Now what? Should she ask if Scribes could join them? Except it didn't look like she would want that. She knew she certainly wouldn't want to join a group that had forgotten her and feel like some sort of tag-along. She also didn't want to abandon her new friend, especially the way she was obviously feeling, but wanted to spend time with the others as well. She'd never felt so torn before.
“Um...” She knew what she needed to do and gave a thankful smile to the group. “Maybe a raincheck? I have a lot that I really need to do.”
The group protested, but Twilight gave a knowing nod and shushed them all. “We understand. Good luck, Sunset. We'll catch up with you later.” With waves of goodbye, the group all headed off as one, Discord floating along with them. It was hard to watch them go, but when Sunset turned around to rejoin Scribes, she felt she'd made the right decision.
“Are you okay, Scribes?” The pegasus nodded slowly and Sunset tilted her head. “Wanna talk about it?”
“There's nothing to talk about.” Scribes wouldn't even look Sunset in the eye, making the unicorn uneasy. “You should have gone with them. They're your friends.”
“You're my friend, too.” She looked after the retreating forms of the group. “Besides, it's really only Twilight who knows me. We're all still pretty much strangers to each other.”
“Well then it's a good time to get to know them.” Mustering a small smile, Scribes finally looked at Sunset. “Go on. I have some errands to do anyway. I'll see you back at the cabin later.” There was no time for Sunset to argue. Scribes spread her wings and took to the air, flying away as quickly as she could.
Sunset there for a moment feeling terribly conflicted. She'd never had to deal with a situation like this before where she had to choose between friends. Was the whole principle of friendship different here in Equestria? What was she supposed to do now? There was really very little choice. Scribes was gone and she could still see Twilight's group in the distance. She could go with them now and hopefully talk to Scribes later. With a deep breath, Sunset started to run to catch up to the group, but another group of ponies suddenly appeared before her blocking her way. Sunset skidded to a halt before running into them, gasping upon seeing faces that had once been so familiar. Lyra, Amethyst Star, and Twinkleshine all stared at her as though they were seeing a ghost from their past, but it was Lyra, standing in the middle of all three of them, who spoke.
“Well...if it isn't Sunset Shimmer.”