Only Love Can Make You New

by Tealove

Chapter One

A chorus of cheers surrounded the field as Rainbow Dash sent a soccer ball soaring into the netted goal of her opposing team, cinching the win. She jumped up and down, fists in the air in victory, reveling in the glory. From the bleachers her friends watched as people poured onto the field in celebration, all of them smirking or shaking their heads as the rest of Rainbow's team hefted her up onto their shoulders to parade her around the field.

“She's certainly in her element,” mused Rarity, chin in her hand. “Look at her. You can barely see her amid the throngs of her adoring fans.”

“You can't really blame her this time,” Pinkie Pie admitted. “This was the last game before the playoffs, after all.”

Fluttershy grimaced. “Her winning means everyone is going to stop her in the halls to congratulate her.”

“Great,” drawled Applejack. “Because her head wasn't big enough to begin with, now it's gonna be extra inflated for the rest of the week.”

The crowds were shifting and Rainbow's elevated form was lost among the moving bodies, impossible to find until she broke through and jogged across the field. Looking up at her friends, her face was beaming with pride. “Did you guys see that? How awesome am I?”

“Super awesome!”

“Really great!”

“Wonderful job!”

Amid the compliments being thrown down to Dash, Sunset Shimmer smiled to herself and watched the way the five friends interacted. It was a fairly predictable scenario that played out before her now. Though they'd just spoken about Rainbow's growing ego they were all quick to give her genuine praise as she recounted the game they'd all just watched play by play. None of them seemed to mind, always giving appropriate comments at the right time. They each had their own roles to play within the web of their friendship and they did it so flawlessly. Sunset Shimmer had been friends with them for close to two years now and they always greeted her with open arms, but oftentimes she felt she was an outsider looking in. She still didn't quite feel like she belonged.

“Great game, Rainbow,” she offered when the chatter began to quiet. “I think that was the best you've played all year.”

“Thanks, Sunset! I know, right? I was on fire!”

Pinkie's head tilted unnaturally far to the side, big blue eyes blinking. “You were? I don't remember seeing any smoke.”

Dash gave her a side-eye and said,” Aaaaaaaanyway. The whole school is going down to the ice cream parlor to celebrate. We should all totally go!”

Though everyone was quick to agree and begin discussing exactly what they would get, Sunset felt a little hesitant. This year, her final year at Canterlot High had been the best out of all of them. She'd finally made amends to everyone and for the most part, her classmates accepted her for the person she was now. But it was hard being around the bigger groups of people. Though they'd all forgiven her of her past mistakes, she wasn't so forgiving of herself. Sometimes she could only see the faces of people she'd hurt and not the faces of new friends.

Fluttershy turned a winning smile to her, teal eyes wide and full of excitement. “It's the perfect ending to a perfect day, don't you think?”

Sunset scratched her neck and gave the pink-haired girl an awkward smile. She was the one Sunset always felt the worst about letting down because they were the closest. Though Fluttershy was the one she'd tortured most out of all the girls, she was also the one to open her heart quickest and make the timid reformed girl one of her closest friends.

“I don't know,” said Sunset, hesitance on her face. “I should probably go home and study for finals.”

“Aw come on, sugarcube,” Applejack protested. “If anyone here's gonna ace 'em it'll be you already. More studyin' will only make your brain all muddy.”

Pinkie nodded vigorously. “And no one likes muddy thoughts. They stain.”

Sunset gave an apologetic shrug. “Rain check?”

The rest of the girls looked around at one another to take a silent poll: would they let her out of the group date or harass her into going? Rainbow looked ready to put up a fight but Fluttershy put her hand on Sunset's knee and smiled kindly. “It's all right. We understand.”

“We do?” Dash asked. Rarity cast her a dirty look.

“Of course we do, darling.” Turning her attention to Sunset Shimmer, her expression softened. “You hurry home and get to work if you feel you must. Perhaps we'll drop by later with a pint of your favorite ice cream for you to enjoy when you feel like it.”

“Thanks, Rarity. All of you. Have fun.” Sunset stood and slung her bag over one shoulder. “I'll see you girls later.” With a little wave she jogged down the steps of the bleachers and out across the field.

The walk across campus was a slow one. She could feel the familiar weight of depression forming in the pit of her stomach while words of self-depreciation began echoing in her mind. She wasn't good enough to be friends with anyone in the school, let alone Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. There was so much darkness in her past, things she'd done wrong, she wasn't deserving of such friendship. Yes, she'd made things better here, but what about Equestria? She had a life there once, too. Ponies had been hurt because of and by her actions and things she'd said. Ponies who probably still thought of her and bared their teeth, if they thought of her at all.

Looking up at the sky as she walked, Sunset Shimmer tried to imagine seeing some of those ponies again. Her roommate while in school, classmates, teachers...all ponies she thought she was so much better than. How could she ever feel worthy of friendship when she knew those relationships were still broken? How could she possibly make amends for all her wrongdoings?

She didn't feel like going home and instead walked down the familiar paths that would take her to the park. Here there were swingsets for children, a big pool already open for after school hours, and a large stage set at the bottom of a sloping hill with benches built into the landscape as stadium seating for summer concerts. It was here she decided to sit, alone and far away from everyone with only the sound of birds and distant laughter from children to keep her company.

Setting her bag down beside her, Sunset pulled a thick book from inside with a two-toned sun – her cutie mark from her days as a pony – on the cover. Idly, she flipped through the pages and skimmed over some of her earliest entries and letters to Princess Celestia. Even writing as a young filly she could see the craving for power in her own words. As the letters progressed and Sunset aged there also cropped up themes of resentment and anger in her letters, as well as a strong sense of jealousy. Memories of what a horrible pony she'd been were still so vivid and now so painful that it brought tears to her eyes. Her last letter to Celestia was so mean and hateful...and then there was a break, and finally:

Dear Princess Twilight...

That was the beginning of something amazing and wonderful. Well, a second beginning. Meeting Twilight had turned her world upside down in more ways than one, and it had all been for the better. Without her influence and power, Sunset would have taken over the school and reigned over everyone as a raging she-demon. But Twilight and her friends defeated her and showed her what true friendship was like. They forgave her and as time went on she tried to get her to forgive herself. But it wasn't so easy.

A pink hand holding a tissue jutted out to catch a falling tear, and Sunset Shimmer gasped. Looking up from the book, she found Pinkie Pie right beside her with a sympathetic smile and an offering of a fresh tissue. The other four girls were there as well, all looking at her with concern, and it only made her all the more emotional.

No one said a word but all five girls huddled around Sunset to cocoon her in the middle of a tight group hug. Even Rainbow Dash was silent as they all simply let their friend cry and purge herself of all the pent up emotion she'd been trying to keep to herself. Each one of them understood what it meant to feel the need to carry a burden by themselves. But they also knew now how important it was to let someone else come alongside them and help carry those heavy emotional burdens.

“There, there,” Fluttershy cooed after awhile, drying Sunset's face with yet another tissue. “Everything's going to be all right.”

“I'm sorry,” Sunset sniffled. She looked down in embarrassment and shook her head. “I didn't want you girls to see me like this.”

Applejack frowned and rubbed Sunset's arm. “Isn't that what friends are for? To be there when you're needin' a shoulder to cry on?”

“Whatever possessed you to come here on your own?” asked Rarity. “All you needed to say was that you were burdened by something and we would have gladly come along with you so you could talk to us.”

Sunset reached up and dried her last tear on the sleeve of her shirt. “Because I didn't want you to feel like...I don't know. Sometimes I feel like such an obligation.” Cries of protest went up around her and she was quick to clarify the meaning of her words. “I make myself feel that way. None of you ever have. It's hard because I just don't feel worthy of your friendship sometimes.”

“Because of the past?” Fluttershy asked. When Sunset nodded mutely, Fluttershy took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You've made amends for all of that. No one holds any of it against you anymore.”

“Maybe I've fixed everything here, but I had a whole other life before I even knew any of you, others I hurt that I haven't been able to apologize to.”

“In the alternate universe where everyone is a pony and have to face things like a three-headed dog, bumblebears, an evil magical centaur overlord, and a Draconequis?” Everyone looked at Pinkie who in turn looked blankly at all of them. “What?”

Sunset continued as if Pinkie hadn't even spoken. “I just wish there was a way I could go back and ask for forgiveness. I wish I could talk to Princess Celestia again. The last thing I said to her was that she was making the biggest mistake of her life. I was so angry at her and I was so wrong.”

Sitting and resting an elbow on her knee, Dash's brow was furrowed. “You want to go back to Equestria?”

“Is that even possible?” asked Applejack.

“I don't know.” Sunset looked down at the book. “I know the mirror still works every thirty moons but that mirror was the catalyst for my downfall. I'd rather not use it.”

“There may not be any other way,” Rarity told her. “And didn't Twilight make it so that the portal could be opened any time she wanted it to be?”

Sunset was hesitant. “Yeah, but...”

“But nothing!” the purple haired girl declared. “If you feel the need to return to Equestria and set things right as you've done here, why shouldn't you?”

“You think so?”

Fluttershy nodded. “We'd all miss you of course, but if your heart is telling you this is something you have to do, you should listen to it.” Her eyes slid to the book. “Write to Twilight. Tell her what you feel.”

Sunset's expression fell and she turned to the very end of the book. “I only have one page left.”

“Well then,” said Rainbow, “you better make it count.”

Back in Equestria, Rainbow Dash had just finished saying the same thing to Twilight. Along with the rest of their friends, they stood at one end of a long corridor that glimmered and shone like a mirror in the sunlight that poured in through the windows. At the other end of the corridor, stuffed animals were set up in a triangle formation. In the direct center of the corridor between the ponies and the plushies was a blanket.

“C'mon Twi!” Applejack cheered. “Last shot!”

“Which is why I said 'make it count,' “ goaded Dash. “Let's go. We don't have all day!”

Twilight straightened from her “ready to charge” stance and quirked a brow. “We don't?”

“Well maybe...I don't know. You never know when that map in there is going to start sending us all over Equestria.”

“Good point.” Twilight spread her hooves and lowered her head. With eyes narrowed in determination, she took off, running at top speed. When she was just close enough to the blanket she leaped into the air and landed in the middle of it, her centripetal force sending her and the blanket sliding across the floor. With a whoop of joy, she crashed into the stuffed animals and ran into the wall of pillows that had been set up behind them.

Rarity looked up from the book she was hoofing through by the corner and counted dispassionately. “Four.”

“YES!” shouted Rainbow. “I win by three!”

“Can we stop playing this game now?” Fluttershy begged quietly.

“Aw, it's okay, Fluttershy.” Pinkie slung her foreleg around her friend's withers. “They're not real animals.”

“That doesn't mean they don't have feelings,” squeaked the pegasus.

“Now what do we do?” Twilight righted the knocked over stuffed animals and folded the blanket they'd been using in mid-air with her magic. “It's been so long since all of us had a day together where nothing was threatening Equestria, I just want to do as many fun things as we possibly can.”

“We could watch a movie,” Pinkie suggested.

“Or go for a nature walk,” supplied Fluttershy.

Rarity sighed happily. “Or go get a massage.”

Rainbow Dash made a face. “I'd rather stick a screwdriver in my temple. C'mon, let's do something fun! Something adventurous! Something-”

“Something about the flashing in the other room.” Everyone looked at Applejack only to find her looking into one of the rooms off to the side.

“It must be the map,” said Twilight, no small amount of disappointment in her tone. “All right girls. Guess it's time to go to work.” But as they all trailed into the great hall one after the other, they found the map itself was silent and still. Confused, Twilight hurried further into the room to see the source of the light was coming from a book on one of her many shelves. As her magic wrapped around it to pull it free, it vibrated in the grip of the magenta aura, giving her a funny fizzing sensation that made her eyes rattle.

“Sunset Shimmer must have sent me a letter.” Setting the book on a nearby end table, Twilight shook her head to rid herself of the fuzzy sensation before turning to the very last page. The other five ponies gathered around to eagerly hear how Twilight's friend was doing, but when Twilight finished reading, she looked up with a thoughtful expression that made them all lean in a bit closer.

“What did she say?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“She wants to come here.” Turning around to face her friends, Twilight's brow was furrowed. “She wants to come back to Equestria.”

“Whoa,” Applejack breathed. “What makes her want to do that? I thought she was getting' on fine there with her new friends.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “She is. They're as much her best friends there as you are mine here. She's fixed everything she's done wrong and made a brand new start. But she wants to fix what she did here too.”

Pinkie Pie bounced. “What are you waiting for? Tell her to come right away, duh!”

“I don't know, Pinkie. It's a little more complicated than that.” Twilight turned back to the book and flipped back through the pages to some of the earlier entries, those addressed to Princess Celestia and not herself. “When Sunset Shimmer left here to have a life in the human world, she left behind a lot of hurt and anger in her wake. Not only with Princess Celestia, but other ponies as well. I told you all about how worried I was about upsetting my friends from school...well Sunset's lasting impression is ten times worse than what I imagined mine to be.”

Fluttershy sank to the floor, her hooves covering her head. “She was a bully here too?”

“To put it mildly.” Twilight frowned. “I understand her wanting to come back here to try and make things right...but I just don't know what the best thing to do is. I know she's different than how everypony remembers her to be. I've seen the change in her.” The lavender alicorn gave a small smile. “Actually, I think you girls would really love her.”

“This sounds like too important of a decision to make on your own,” said Rarity. “Perhaps it would be best brought before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

“I think you're right, Rarity,” said Twilight softly. She floated the book to her and tucked it under her wing. “I should go right away. I'm sure Sunset Shimmer is waiting for an answer.” She looked at her friends with regret. “I'm sorry our day of fun together was interrupted.”

“Are you kidding?” asked Dash. “This is important Princess of Friendship stuff. We get that.”

With a smile of appreciation, Twilight couldn't help but be thankful for the friends she had. She could almost picture Sunset Shimmer among them. Everypony deserved a chance to feel worthy of friendship. If Sunset needed to come back to Equestria to try and make up for her past mistakes so she could move on with her life, Twilight would fight to see that she had that chance.

Taking a deep breath, she said, “Wish me luck!” before disappearing in a burst of magic.

Two seconds passed before Pinkie screamed, “GOOD LUCK!” Unfazed by the sight of the rest of the girls covering with their hooves in their ears, she asked, “Think she heard me?”

Comments

[Chivalry]

Perusing. Please Standby...

I am interested to see where you take this.

[Tealove]

6202325 That picture though...

[Chivalry]

6202414
They told me not to use it but I didn't listen!

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Nice beginning. I felt bad for Sunset. Interesting how she says she feels like she doesn't belong and deliberately isolates herself from her friends. Gives a real sense of her self-loathing.