So we tried being friends
Have you ever gone to a place you know by heart and immediately noticed something was amiss? For example, perhaps you have a particular restaurant you like and you instantly know that the flooring was changed, or when a friend changes a hairstyle. It’s a thing that’s so obvious to you that to let it go unnoticed would practically be a crime.
So, all in all, it was hard not to notice the crater that took up a good portion of Canterlot High’s front lawn when I went back to school on Monday. Not just any crater but a crater that had the diameter to have been created by a large-scale explosion. A clean-cut, still slightly steaming, ten foot deep freaking hole in the ground.
I looked around at the school for a moment, checking the building itself for any signs of damage. I mean, a hole this size had to have been created by something on a rather immense scale, so why couldn’t I see any residual damage? Actually, the better question was why I hadn’t even heard about this already. Had no one been talking about this, or had I been too preoccupied with spending time with Mom to even notice? My mind flitted back to Friday night when Mom had mentioned some sort of sound and a light in the distance. Had I been wrong about Jester’s party and this had been the source?
A creaking noise of metal crunching wood met my ears and I jumped. I looked over to my left to see a sight so strange it took me a moment to comprehend it: Sunset Shimmer pushing a wheelbarrow full of debris and hoisting it into a nearby dumpster. She looked more grungy and woe-be-gone than I had ever seen her. Her usual haughty manner was nonexistent, her proud stance and walk was noticeably absent. To cap it all off, she had dispensed of her atypical leather jacket and was instead wearing working clothes with a sander affixed to her belt.
The scene, already strange thanks to a catastrophically large crater, had just become something out of the Twilight Zone. I didn’t know what was going on, why it was happening, or what had caused it to happen at all.
I peered down into the hole once more- no busted pipes or torn electrical wires, so I guessed that school was still on. I started walking towards the main entrance and when, by accident, I made a squelching noise by stepping in some mud, Sunset Shimmer turned and saw me, and made the whole thing even stranger: she turned pale and immediately walked away as fast as she could. I couldn’t even begin to understand what had happened.
When I went into school, it seemed like everything was normal. Students went this way and that, friends were talking in their usual groups, and most of the comments I heard reflected on the dance. There was one guy who I overhead say something unusual –“Can’t wait to see Sunset Shimmer get it. She finally got what she deserved, if you ask me”- but I did nothing except keep on walking. It didn’t do well to be around those who insulted Sunset. Come to think of it, I’d never heard anyone talking badly about her like that so brazenly.
I headed over to my locker and out of the corner of my eye saw the familiar head of blonde hair and cowgirl’s hat that I knew so well. I remembered how we had left each other on Friday and I felt my conscience tug. Before I did anything else, I needed to make up with my friend.
“Hey, Applejack,” I said reluctantly, pulling up behind her at her locker.
She turned around to face me, her normally cheerful face oddly expressionless, as if sizing me up to see if I was in a mood for a fight. “Hey,” she said cautiously. “We missed you at the dance, wish you woulda come.”
I gave a sigh. “Look… Applejack, I’m really sorry,” I said without preamble. “All that stuff I said to you the other day wasn’t- it wasn’t fair. I was mad because it seemed like you’d been ignoring me on purpose and I was kinda worried you weren’t really my friend and, and, uh… jeez, I’m just-”
“It’s alright, sugarcube,” she said. “Ah’m real sorry, too. Ah got so caught up in getting things ready for the Fall Formal and whatnot that I wasn’t being a very good friend to you. When ah ran out on ya it was cause Twilight was in a spot and needed some help. Ah shoulda come back and told you later when ah first had the chance.”
Of course that was it. Why I had thought AJ was up to something funny now seemed ludicrous to me on this side of things. “Well, what I thought was pretty stupid. Gosh, AJ, can you forgive me?”
“Shore ah can,” she replied promptly, her usual smile returning once more. “Can you forgive me for not being a very good friend to ya lately?”
“Of course,” I replied, and she promptly put her arms around me in a hug. I gave a sigh and smiled softly, glad to have my closest friend back again.
“Land sakes, look at the time!” Applejack declared, having noticed the clock just above my head. “We gotta head to class, come on!”
“Whoa, let me get my books, wait up!” I yelled, dashing back to my locker and racing to catch up with her. “So, about that giant hole outside of school… care to tell me what happened?”
“Err…” Applejack opened her mouth, looked at me for a moment, and then closed it with a shake of her head. “You wouldn’t believe me even if ah told you.”
“Musta been one heckuva party y’all had at the Formal,” I remarked.
“That’s, uh, one way of putting it,” Applejack replied.
“Anything worth mentioning that I should know about?”
Applejack again seemed to struggle for words. After a few false starts she finally managed to spit out and say, “Well… Twilight was named Princess of the Fall Formal over Sunset Shimmer.”
“No way!” I said, immediately breaking into a riot of laughter. “That must’ve killed the old witch! What’d she do, go ballistic?”
“In her own little way, yes,” Applejack answered. “Though ah doubt she’ll really be gettin’ in anyone’s business anymore.”
“That’ll be the day,” I remarked darkly. “What was she doing cleaning up outside? She have something to do with that big great hole in the ground?”
“Oh yeah, she most certainly did,” Applejack said. “Don’t worry, she won’t give you any more trouble. Ah think her usual ways are gone for good.”
“What makes you so certain?” I asked incredulously.
Applejack once more failed to get her thoughts together. “She, uh… got humbled by Twilight Sparkle. Sunset apologized, and that’s that. Things are good.”
“OK, I guess,” I said. “Say, before we go into class, I have to ask- did you and Rainbow Dash finally have it out?”
“Her? Naw, we’re good,” Applejack said with a smile. “All of us old gals are back together again. You should come by at lunch and hang out with us, alright?”
I was so bewildered I didn’t even reply. I had seen a bunch of strange stuff at San Marino and here, but today was taking the cake and first period hadn’t even started. I didn’t know who this Twilight Sparkle was or where she had come from, but she certainly seemed to have changed this school for good. Who was she? A superhero, some mystic, just a regular student, angel, something I couldn’t even name?
After a few minutes I gave up and just said she was something like a therapist. I had better things to think about.
At lunch a few hours later, I discovered that the oddity of today was nowhere close to being finished. Just as Applejack had said, the old group of former friends was reunited, though Twilight Sparkle was noticeably absent. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her all day. It was such a peculiar sight, seeing the farmgirl and the sportie actually getting along- whenever I’d been around the two at the same time they were always spitting rage at one another.
“Hey, come and have a seat,” AJ said, waving at me. “Come on over, there’s an open space next to Fluttershy.”
It dawned on me at how little I knew most of these girls, having only gotten close to Pinkie and Applejack. I’d only met Fluttershy & Rarity a handful of times, and Rainbow Dash I’d only come across once when I was doing some exercise out on the soccer field. I, who had been one of AJ’s closer friends, was once again the outsider. It was like being the new kid in school all over again. However, I took a seat next to Fluttershy and hoped for the best. I’d been through worse.
“So, uh, you’re Fluttershy,” I said offhandedly. “I don’t think we’ve really met, have we?”
I offered an outstretched hand but instead the pink-haired girl stared at my hand as if it was a snarling beast. Unable to look me in the eye, she muttered something so quietly that hearing it was an impossibility.
“Uh, sorry, didn’t quite hear you,” I said. “Do you mind saying it again?”
She again kept her eyes on my hand, seemingly transfixed by the sight. I struggled to understand for a moment until, realizing what she was seeing, I brought it back and stared down at the fat ‘W’ branded into my palm.
“Oh! Yeah, I totally forgot about that,” I said breezily. “Yeah, I got that a few years ago. Back when I started high school, in fact.”
“Wha… what happened?” Fluttershy asked quietly, her soft voice finally audible.
I pursed my lips and thought over the answer. “I did something stupid,” I answered, which was as truthful as I could be. It wasn’t a lie, just an omission of the whole story.
Rainbow Dash sniggered and the entire table stared at her. “Sorry, I just… come on, how can you do something so dumb that you’ve got a huge ‘W’ scorched on your hand?”
I shrugged. “Stupid crap happens in West End all the time, you just don’t hear about it.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re the transfer student, right?” Rainbow Dash inquired.
“Yeah, I went to San Marino for three years,” I answered. “Got a scholarship to come here at the start of the semester.”
“San Marino… isn’t that school just a big dump where there’s a bunch of gangfights?” she asked.
“Uh…” It wasn’t that she was wrong. The problem was that I had helped that culture grow exponentially for almost the whole time I had gone there. “I guess it was, I dunno.”
“What do your folks do?” Rainbow pressed, either ignoring or unaware of how uncomfortable I was with this conversation.
“Umm… Mom works for a cleaning company,” I said, shooting a glance over at Applejack. She was the only one who really knew that I was poor, and it wasn’t exactly something I liked to admit.
The cowgirl saw that I wasn’t enjoying this. She gave a cough and said gently, “Uh, Dash, why don’t you eat something-”
“What about your Dad? What’s he up to?” Rainbow Dash asked, cutting through before anyone could stop her.
“Uhh… Umm…” I didn’t answer and instead fiddled with the green beans, feeling my face flush. I knew full well what he did –or, more accurately, what he had done- and where he was gonna be for the next five years and I had no intention of admitting it here.
“Rainbow! Please, can’t you see you’re being rude?” Rarity scolded, staring down her friend with a severe expression.
“What? I was just asking!” Rainbow protested.
“Yes, and as usual you’re not taking a person’s feelings into account. Don’t be so forceful,” she explained. She turned to me and said, “Do excuse her. Rainbow Dash means well but boundaries aren’t really her thing.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” I said. I glanced up at the clock and saw we still have twelve minutes left in lunch period. I gulped and picked at my food, making no eye contact with anyone else at the table. This day had been awkward enough.
As I settled into my meal I listened to the others make their small talk: an overdue paper, what other students were doing, plans for the weekend. I noticed I wasn’t being mentioned in most of them and I felt my spirit begin to sink. I was happy AJ had gotten her old friends back, but was it going to cost me time with one of the few friends I had?
“What about you, dear?” asked Rarity. I looked up and saw all five of them were staring at me. I think I’d missed something.
“Sorry, what?” I asked, swallowing the last of my green beans.
“I said, would you care to join us?” she said with a smile that hid her laughter. “We’re going to see a movie this weekend and I was wondering if you wanted to come along.”
My mood rebounded almost instantly and I nodded eagerly. “Yeah, sure! Thanks, I guess.”
“Wonderful. Hmm, how does 7:30 sound to everyone?” she asked aloud and we all agreed it was a good time to meet up. For all I cared they could’ve said 3am and bring a purple unicorn. Whether she’d done it intentionally or not, Rarity had made me feel like I was a part of things. I might be a bit awkward around them right now, but they seemed like pretty good girls and they were trying to be nice to me in their own way. I returned to my meal so as to hide the smile from my face.
A few minutes went by and a hissing noise jolted me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see what appeared to be the entire student body booing, jeering and taunting at Sunset Shimmer. Spitballs and wads of paper were being thrown her direction, and one brave student even went forward and threw a fistful of mashed potatoes straight into her face. The girls gasped and looked appalled at the display; I grinned in vicious satisfaction, feeling elated that the cruel former overlord of the school was reaping what she’d sown.
“We should do something,” Fluttershy piped up, watching the scene and looking like she was about to cry. “We can’t let them treat her like this.”
“You’re right. Hey, Sunset Shimmer! Over here!” Applejack called.
“Ah! No, no!” I protested in a panic. “What in Hell are you doing, why are you inviting her over here?!”
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Rarity countered.
“Yeah! If we’re not nice to her then Sunset Shimmer will be all alone and that’s really sad and I hate the thought of anyone feeling sad so we’re gonna invite her to sit with us so she’ll be happy!” Pinkie Pie added, gabbling in her usual manic display.
“I’m her punching bag, why would you do this to me?!” I beseeched, watching in horror as Sunset caught notice of us and came walking over. Was it just my imagination, or did she turn a little paler when she caught sight of me? “That’s it, I’m out, I’m not gonna wait for her to pour gravy into my jeans!” Without another word, I stuffed what remained of my lunch into my mouth and dashed off before I could be in what was considered firing range. I’d had enough weirdness for one day and I didn’t want a fight added to the mix.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time I had to deal with the bully. Sunset and I shared a third period Physics class together and I was –cursed as I was- just a row in front of her usual spot. When I saw her walk in, I kept an eye on her, wondering when she was going to make her move. She’d smacked me more than once with her textbook, I wasn’t willing to let her do it easily.
Instead, I went through what was possibly the most unusual Physics class I had ever endured- an uneventful one. No poking, no prodding or any taunting of any kind. Instead, the students around her kept a good distance away from her and every once in a while would throw her a dirty glance. The whole thing was so weird that I wondered if losing the crown at the Formal had caused her to snap.
But the joke had only begun. Right when class was over, as I was piling my things into my backpack, I felt a light tap on the shoulder and I turned to see her staring up at me, an apprehensive expression carved into her features.
“What?” I asked contemptuously.
“Umm… have you got a moment?” she asked, her voice almost as soft as Fluttershy’s. “I was wanting to, you know, talk for a quick second?”
“Second’s up,” I replied harshly and sidestepped her for the door.
“Wait! Please, hold on,” she said, grabbing hold my arm.
“Get off of me!” I spat. “What do you wanna do, break my arm?”
She let go instantly and put her hands in the air. “OK, OK, I get it, that was a bad idea, I’m sorry. I was just wanting to say…”
“Say what? Get it out already!” I barked.
“I’m… I’m sorry for being so mean to you,” she mumbled, staring down at her shoes. “Ever since you’ve been coming here I’ve been pretty rotten to you and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”
I blinked, totally nonplussed by what was a most unexpected statement. Sorry? Since when had she ever been repentant about anything? This whole attitude, the silent acceptance of abuse, the total lack of hostility… it was a trick. I burst out laughing, a sound full of all the derision and mockery and hatred I’d garnered against this girl. Yet, instead of fighting back or giving any sort of resistance at all, Sunset just stood there and let it beat down upon her.
“You’re sorry you got caught,” I said scornfully. “You’ve been treating people like they’re garbage for ages, you act like they’re not human, and you’ve been putting yourself on a pedestal like you’re freaking Wonder Woman all your life, and now look what happened: you got shown up by a new girl and you found out that nobody likes you. Good, I’m glad you’re getting all the hate and hell you gave everybody else. Enjoy your crap life, you jerk!”
I turned and walked out feeling like I was on top the world. And, as if the heavens had smiled upon me, I heard a faint sniffle emanate from somewhere behind me. Oh, this day may have been strange and very unpredictable, but it was being oh so good.
“You said what?!” Applejack asked, looking horrified. “What would make you say something like that?”
It was the next day of school and one of the very first things I had made sure to do was tell Applejack about my little encounter with Sunset Shimmer. I’d been looking forward to it since I’d woken up and I was hoping she’d be as ecstatic about it was I was. Instead, she seemed upset for no good reason. I was completely taken aback.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked, confused by her reaction. “You do realize she’s made it her goal to humiliate me ever since I stepped foot into this place, right? Before I even came here she tried to get me arrested!”
“Yes, ah know that, and you have a lot of reasons to be mad, but good gracious,” Applejack said, “You didn’t have to say something so awful!”
“Why shouldn’t I?” I replied brashly. “I love seeing her get slammed by everyone in the school, it’s all the crap she’s ever given anyone else and it’s coming right back to her!”
“Sugarcube, she’s changed,” AJ said patiently, sounding like a parent trying to reason with a child. “She’s genuinely changed and when she tried to apologize to you? She meant every word.”
“AJ, please, she’s a scheming whore who’s never done a nice thing for anyone,” I said firmly. “She’ll be back to her old ways in no time. Proud old witch.”
“No, she won’t,” the farmgirl replied. “She’s done with her old ways and you should forgive her. Let it go.”
“No way in Hell,” I said flatly.
AJ gave a long, weary sigh. “Ah apologized for ignorin’ you for days,” she said. “And you forgave me. Why can’t you do the same for her?” She walked away from the locker and off to class, leaving me behind.
Applejack was right, I concluded. I should genuinely just let it go and forgive Sunset Shimmer. But whenever I’d think about it, I’d remember getting cuffed by that policeman, the time she poured hot soup in my lap, and all the other times she’d made my life miserable. There was no way she was going to be forgiven.
But it wasn’t over there. Before lunch started, as I was walking into the cafeteria, I saw that oh-so-familiar head of bacon-colored hair heading in my direction. She seemed to be surrounded by a group of guys who were all intent on harassing her. The one seemingly in charge of the band, a wiry senior named Brad, was screaming right into her face. “You hear me, you filthy whore? You ain’t got nothing on me, I can do whatever I want to you!” he raged. “You’re worthless, you’re nothing but complete and utter garbage fit for skinning dicks!”
People around him were cheering and laughing, intent on watching the spectacle. It seemed that with Sunset’s dethroning everyone was celebrating the downfall of a tyrant. I admit I couldn’t help but enjoy it a little, what with all that she’d done to me. Hopefully it’d keep her down for good so she wouldn’t try to revert back to her old ways.
But, right before she entered the cafeteria hall, she glanced over in my direction and noticed I was watching her. She raised her hand to wave and gave me a weak smile. Was she honestly still trying to be nice to me?
I scowled and marched to step into the lunch hall before her, cutting her off and causing the students watching to hoot with glee.
“You see that, whore?” Brad asked, pointing straight at me. “Even Trash thinks you’re nothing, you see that? You have nothing here! You’ve got nothing and we are gonna make the rest of your life Hell!”
I looked around for AJ and the others and instead found myself staring at the back of Sunset Shimmer’s head as she found an empty table and took a seat, bringing out a sack lunch from her backpack. Brad and his friends all took seats surrounding her, each one taking turns to insult her, crush her food, or just generally abuse her. I watched with raised eyebrows as I’d never seen this kind of dedication and fury at this school from anyone at Sunset. It was so strange to see it from anyone else.
It didn’t last long. Rainbow Dash and Rarity came over to the table, the fashionista staring down at the boys surrounding Sunset with such a violent expression that it was bordering on murderous. “Isn’t there somewhere you need to be?” she asked lightly, her tone masking the rage emanating from her body.
“No,” Brad answered bravely, somehow able to hold his nerve.
“Well, if you don’t have any place to be, then I’ll expect you out on the soccer field after school- all of you are going against me one on one!” Rainbow Dash declared.
That broke them. Brad and the others scrambled away as fast as they could, so fast that one of them slipped and slammed into the wall, generating laughter from all across the lunchroom.
Sunset muttered something to Rarity and Rainbow Dash, and soon enough all the girls –Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity- were sitting beside their newfound friend. They kept looking around at the various students who were still watching, as if challenging them to be the next to try anything. There were no takers.
Again, my mind flickered between sympathy and anger, wondering if I should just give it up and let it go. And, just like last time, I felt the handcuffs slide over my wrists. No way in Hell, just as I’d said.
The rest of the week felt like something out of a drug trip. No matter where I went I’d either meet up with Sunset Shimmer, who would again try to apologize, or one of the girls trying to convince me to forgive Sunset Shimmer. It was an incessant track on repeat day in, day out, a constant badgering so unforgivably annoying I was beginning to wonder why I was friends with any of them in the first place. Rarity and Rainbow Dash both tried to talk to me, Applejack tried once more, and even Fluttershy said a word to me- or, tried to in her weird little way. I couldn’t figure out if she had a speech impediment or not.
But nothing, nothing any of the others could do would beat out Pinkie Pie’s attempt to convince me. I was heading home and was just going to stuff some supplies into my locker. However, as I opened the door, confetti and a variety of other things exploded from my locker and sprayed the surrounding area in a haze of glitter.
“What in Hell- No, no, no, no!” I cried, backing away as fast as I could.
Not fast enough. Standing before me was Pinkie Pie dressed in a knee-length dress and wearing a small top hat. I felt my blood run cold as I realized I was about to be forced to endure a dreaded musical number.
“Oh you’ve been real grumpy, your face is taut and long,” she began to sing.
“Pinkie, please,” I begged weakly.
“So I thought I’d come over and sing to you a song,” she continued.
“I understand you’re angry, you’ve got reason to be mad,
But can’t you see that all your mean is making Sunset sad?”
“Why do you hate me?” I asked, now collapsed on the floor as my knees had given way.
“Sure she once was grumpy, scary-mean and strong,
But now she sees she can’t be mean, so let’s all get along!
All I want to ask you, all that I need to say,
Is come with me, we’ll go away,
And we’ll go make a friend!”
She concluded with a smile so wide that pure terror had been left behind ages ago. In concluded then and there that Pinkie Pie was the embodiment of an unholy demon from the deepest pits of Hell itself.
As the song concluded, I could do nothing but gawk, one of my eyes twitching. A few people clapped, but most were in the same mold as me- frightened and extremely disturbed.
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeel?” Pinkie Pie asked, her smile gleaming.
“Pinkie, what drug are you on?” I whispered.
She gave a giggle. “Nothing, silly! Now come on and let’s go find your new friend!”
“Pinkie, that was possibly the single-most unnerving thing I have ever experienced and I’m a John Carpenter fan!” I said, finally regaining control of my senses. “I said no, and this- this just sealed the deal. Come on, this is just creepy… hang on, how’d you get into my locker?”
She stared at me and then, I kid you not, her hair deflated like a balloon. Her smile went from a foot wide to less than an inch and she gave a small laugh right before she scarpered.
I groaned and brought my face to my hands, running my fingers through my hair. “How does everyone keep getting into my locker? Come on, the password can’t be that bad,” I muttered.
I was sleeping peacefully in my bed when I heard my phone go off. I looked over and saw it was an unknown number with no local area code. In fact, as I squinted at it, I couldn’t make out where this was from at all. I don’t know whether or not it was curiosity, but I decided to answer and find out. “Hello?”
Someone spoke back to me, but it was in a language I didn’t recognize. “Hello?” I asked, feeling awake and starting to feel confused.
The voice spoke again in the same language. It was so weird. I hung up, deciding it was a wrong number. But, right when I hung up, another number called. And then another, and another, and another! All night long I was receiving text messages, voicemails, phonecalls, MyStable requests, and so many other notifications that any chance I had at sleeping disappeared after the first fifteen minutes. I got sent so many different numbers and requests that I started to wonder what on earth I had done to anger the technology gods and I quite literally got on my knees and prayed for it all to stop.
“What is going on?” Mom asked as she poked her head in at six in the morning, staring at me in abject confusion.
“Someone musta put my phone number on the internet somewhere,” I snarled, having been kept awake since eleven o’clock. I was a complete wreck, disheveled in every conceivable way. I was angry, tired, and upset beyond measure.
“Well, whatever’s going on, you need to get some breakfast. Come on, school starts soon,” Mom said.
I screamed, begging for mercy. I had been so occupied in dealing with all the annoyances I was getting that I had completely forgotten about school!
You can guess at how school went. I fell asleep in every single class I had, I tried to sneak a nap in during lunch but was interrupted by Vice-Principal Luna waking me and saying that I couldn’t sleep in the halls. On and on the day dragged until, finally, ringing through the air like a sweet melody, the bell rang to signal the end of school. I could go home and nap!
Or so I thought. I ran into Applejack, who I hadn’t seen all day, and she stared at me in concern. “What on earth- you alright, sugarcube?” she asked.
“I kept getting international phone calls from all over the world,” I muttered groggily. “I think someone posted my phone number somewhere. How they managed to get it…”
“Hey, um, can you come with me for a moment?” Applejack asked suddenly. “Ah need your help with- somethin’. Yeah, somethin’. Uh… Big Mac’s workin’ today and ah need a second pair of hands. Cause, uh, you know, ah’m not too good at sortin’ through stuff and giving out names, and, uh, friendships- I mean apples, or, or… Something… yeah.”
Even in my sleep-deprived state, that was one of the weirdest things she had ever said. I should’ve seen the signs then and there, but I was pulled down by a lack of energy.
“Applejack, I’m very tired,” I said heavily. “Maybe some other time, alright?”
“It’ll only take a second!” she said quickly, grabbing hold of my arm with an iron grip and pulling me down the hall. “Come on, ah promise. Since when have ah ever lied to you?”
“Uh-”
“Great. Come with me!” she said, now positively dragging me down the halls towards a classroom that nobody ever used.
“Wait, AJ, what’s going on?” I asked, starting to feel worried. “Seriously, I’m really beat, I don’t think I can help-”
“Just- oh, just get in there, will you?” she said, pulling the door open and starting to push me in.
“Hey, that-” I stopped my protests when I caught sight of who was waiting for me: Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Sunset Shimmer.
“I SAID NO, YOU CRAZY NUTJOBS!” I yelled, grabbing hold of the doorframe with all my might.
I was no match for Applejack, who gave me a fresh shove in the back and pushed me into the room, promptly closing the door and locking it behind me. “You’re staying in here, sugarcube,” she said sweetly. “You’re not gonna leave until we get this done.”
“Oh come on!” I snarled. “Kidnapping me and trying to force this out of me isn’t going to work! When I said no I effing MEANT IT!”
“But you’re my friend and so is Sunset Shimmer!” Pinkie Pie protested. “I can’t be friends with two people who don’t get along, that’s really awkward and it makes me sad so we gotta do something about it and I thought –gasp!- why not get the two of you together so Sunset Shimmer can apologize and you can forgive her and we can all be best friends-”
“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NO!” I shrieked, losing what little patience I had. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT CRAZY PSYCHOPATH HAS DONE TO ME?!”
“Yes, we do,” Rarity said, her calm manner the polar opposite of my own. “She mistreated you, abused you, and humiliated you for two months. We have been around her for over three years now, would you like to hear what she has done to us?”
“It was you all!” I exclaimed. “One of you put my phone number up on the internet! I got a call from some hooker in Poland, do you realize how awkward that is? I got asked if I wanted a fresh fish!”
“What’s a fresh fish?” Fluttershy inquired.
“I don’t know and that makes it really creepy! Why would you do something like that to me? That’s her sort of thing!” I screeched.
“Ah put it up there cause ah knew you’d be too stubborn to silence your phone,” Applejack replied, looking angrier than I’d ever seen her. “You were willing to forgive me and take my flaws but you can’t do the same for someone else. Get over yourself and think about the other folks around you. Right now, for instance, you could get over what Sunset’s done to you and starting thinkin’ about what she did to our friendships. If that even occurred to you.”
It hadn’t and she knew it. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d been pegged from the start of this.
Sensing her moment, Rarity said, “We grew up together as the best of friends, dear. We were inseparable for so long that for one of us not to be a part of each other’s’ lives seemed a nightmare. But then Sunset Shimmer came along. We turned on each other like beasts and we could barely stand to look each other in the eye. Now, please tell me, how do you think that made us feel when we realized we’d been played for fools?”
I glanced over at Sunset Shimmer. She darted a look at me and blushed ever so slightly, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
“We felt awful,” Fluttershy said, taking Rarity’s place in the discussion. “We’d always been so close and then we started being so mean to one another. It was like we’d all been torn and damaged and nothing could really fix it.”
“Yet here we are, friends again!” Pinkie Pie declared gleefully. “And now we’ve got two new friends in you and Sunset Shimmer!”
“But she tore you all apart!” I objected, and I saw Sunset wince out of the corner of my eye.
“Yes, she did,” Rarity replied tolerantly. “But we learned what it means to be a friend to someone- a real friend. And if we could forgive each other after so much indifference and dislike, we decided we could forgive her as well.”
“And so should you,” Rainbow Dash added. “Cause frankly, you’re acting just like the rest of the school and being a big jerk to her.”
“So why not deal with the rest of the school?” I challenged. “Why just me?”
“Because you’re our friend,” Applejack said sternly. “And you know better than this. Despite all the dumb stuff you’ve done, you’ve got a good heart and you’ve proven it to me. So start digging for that good heart again.”
I stood there, facing off against the five of them, glaring daggers and completely unwilling to admit I’d been licked. They were right, every stinking one of them, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say so. Despite my huge leap forward the week before, I was still a very proud, very self-centered person.
“Can- can I say something?” Sunset Shimmer asked timidly, looking straight at me.
“Course you can,” Applejack said warmly, then glancing up at me.
“Don’t look at me, I’ve got zero power here,” I said, and I looked down at Sunset. “Well?”
“Umm…” she bit her lip, trembled slightly, and said, “Look, I know I’ve probably said it a million times over, but I’m really sorry for all the horrible things I’ve done to you.”
I stood there, impassive. Sunset shivered and looked straight at me, her gaze boring straight into mine, and I found myself taken aback. Gone was the contempt and anger that had been ever-present, gone was the fire that burned behind her gaze. Instead, all I saw was a sadness and pain that misted a pair of beautiful teal eyes.
“I’m sorry about all the times I ruined your schoolwork, I’m sorry of all the times I made fun of you, of when I’d humiliate you in the lunchroom, when I’d annoy you in classes, when I’d cause you to get in trouble and get detention,” Sunset said breathlessly, “And I’m really sorry that I got you arrested by the police. I was selfish and cruel and mean for no good reason and I never should’ve done all those things, you didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I know they want you to forgive me, but I know you don’t have to. I’ve treated you badly enough. If you want to stay mad at me, that’s fine. I can accept it.”
“Wow,” I whispered, instantly slapping my hands over my mouth. But it was true. I was impressed, not only by her apology, but by how well this had all been planned out. Applejack and the others had worn me out because they knew my pride would keep me awake, and also because they knew me better than I knew myself, believing that deep down I had a shred of decency that would be willing to forgive Sunset Shimmer for what she’d done. And if they could forgive Sunset Shimmer for all the years of abuse they’d been given, I had no excuse for being unable to withhold grace for two months’ worth. After all, I was still the new kid compared to all of them. What right did I have?
“Look,” I said wearily, rubbing my eyes, “I don’t know whether or not you’re trying to be friends or not, but I’ll just say now I don’t know if I can do that, at least right now. You and I aren’t really seeing eye-to-eye yet. But… I guess we can bury the hatchet.”
“Really?!” Sunset asked, leaping to her feet and looking cheerier than I’d seen her all week. “You mean it?’
I couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Yes, I mean it,” I said. “Besides, now I’ll be able to sleep cause this whole thing’s all said and done.”
“Ah’ve already taken your phone number down,” Applejack interjected. “Nicely done, sugarcube.”
“Don’t ever do that again,” I said warningly.
“Try me,” the cowgirl replied with a cheeky grin.
I groaned and turned back to Sunset Shimmer, who was staring at me with a smile that could rival Pinkie Pie’s. “Fine, let’s start this off right,” I said, extending a hand. “My name is…”
I hardly ever laugh at my own work, but Pinkie Pie's song had me in stitches. A chapter full of extreme ludicrousness is something I rarely get to write and I highly enjoyed this one.
As usual, please point out any mistakes or errors I made, and I hope you enjoy!
And come on, did you really think I was gonna say the main character's name? 
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I keep reading the main character's lines in the voice of Jaime Reyes from Young Justice, so I'm just gonna pretend that's his name,
6343300 Whatever floats your goat, friend. I left it unknown so people can think whatever they like.
I think its your name except inthird persom could be wrong though oh well cant wait to see what happens next
This chapter happened way to soon....I think you should have built up more of the torment between Sunset and the guy. I don't feel any impact on them trying to be friends.
6343575 I'm gonna build up the relationship in the next couple chapters. Right now they're just not spitting rage at each other. Main character wouldn't have forgiven her if he hadn't been forced to.
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What about Octavia? Does she still have a role?
6344805 Don't really know. I think so, but I'm not quite sure. I have a general idea where the plot's going to go (Major sequences, the ending, etc) but I rarely know what happens in between. I like to let it flow and see what happens.
Imma call our protagonist: Juan! Because of the background given.
6345216 whoa whoa whoa
That's seems pretty racist. You gotta pick a name that isn't a stereotype like Tyrone, or Jose, or Donald Trump...... Oh wait
6346009 I didn't give "Juan" his name JUST because of the gang he was in or his parents' background, those are minor reasons. It's because I saw it rather fitting and "Juan" is a nice and simple name.
6346211 No need to worry, I'm just messing with ya.
6347838 I got that, I just needed to say something before other people say something.
6347954 Ah okay, just wanted to make sure you weren't going to put my head on pike for making racial joke.
You never know since people seem to get offended all the time.
6349454 Tell me about it.
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Well you know, it takes Juan to know Juan.
I lost it here.
I'm off this story. I really hate it whenever a character gets cliche guilt-tripped into doing x, y, or damn z. This had to happen, yes, but I wish it could have been done in a less cliche and rubbish way. Dislike.
He should had stayed a dick to her, MAKE THE BITCH SUFFER
WARNING, THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS HARSH CRITICISMS OF THE CHAPTER! Please keep in mind that this is not meant as an attack on the story/author, but rather as both feedback on what I believe to be genuine flaws in an otherwise compelling narrative, and a way to vocalize my frustrations with said flaws. As such, while there may be several factors that make this seem like just another rant, I implore you to focus on what is actually being said, rather than how I'm saying it.
...Are you fucking kidding me?
No, no this is bullshit. They couldn't possibly believe that would wor... ok, maybe they would, but there's no way in hell that they could think it was justified.
For starters the 'you forgave me so why not her?' thing is completely off base. What Applejack and Pinkie did -ignoring him for a few days- was not only mild as far as the actual offense, but the reason behind it -being so caught up helping one friend that they forgot to inform/focus on another- was an honest mistake with no malice behind it. In fact, the worst part about it was that they didn't give him any explanation for it until after it was all over, and even then it's understandable due to how preoccupied they all were.
Sunset did things to him that were not only physically -scalding water to the crotch... do you even realize how badly that could have ended?- and emotionally damaging, she did these things knowingly, willingly, and with true malicious intent. The MC could -and arguably should- press charges for the things she's done to him.
Comparing the two is like comparing the fallible nature of an overall good-hearted human to the inherently cruel nature of a stereotypical she-demon hellspawn!
...*blinks*
...Moving on.
Any sane individual would hold a grudge for a while after all that. And a true friend would respect that, rather than try to force the issue.
Then there's the fact that while we may know that Sunset has truly changed, the main character isn't privy to our knowledge. And that's not even taking into account the fact that his past experiences with people like her -due to his own admittedly shady background- would make him seriously skeptical of her sudden heel-face turn. In his mind, even if she really isn't just biding her time whilst plotting some sort of revenge, any remorse she might display would be that of a criminal/delinquent that got caught. He wouldn't see it as true repentance for her actions, but rather as an attempt to avoid further punishment.
Next up we have this:
If they really gave a shit about Sunset, it wouldn't matter who was mistreating her. In fact they should be more inclined to stop the rest of the student body from tormenting her first, since not only would they be easier to convince -just implying that they're all acting as dickish as Sunset herself used to would go a long way with individuals such as them- but they're actively bullying her, while the main character is at most just enjoying the show from the sidelines while refusing to forgive her, as he has EVERY RIGHT to do.
But then we get to the big one, the Coup de grâce, the absolute fucking worst of all the problems with this situation.
...Multiple offenses against the MC's person, of both the criminal and moral variety, perpetrated by his so-called 'friends'. The following are direct links to articles relevant to three of the most obvious acts in question:
1: Sleep deprivation
This one, while legally debateable, is almost unanimously considered wrong from a moral standpoint.
Distributing the MC's phone number was a deliberate attempt to wear down his mental acuity so that he would be unable to offer as much resistance to the shared desire of the group. Speaking of which...
2: Invasion of Privacy and Harrassment
There were a lot of conflicting reports as to the legality of disseminating someones phone number via the internet, but what it all boils down to is that if it was done intentionally it counts as a violation of privacy and/or a form of harassment.
3: False Imprisonment
This one isn't nearly as muddy as the previous issue, and -based on the requirements stated in the link- what happened here definitely qualifies.
It's textbook, open and shut, and completely illegal.
Bottom line, in their attempts to force him -which is in and of itself wrong- to forgive Sunset, the girls have ended up doing things just as bad -even if different in nature- as the acts that they're trying to make him forgive her for.
Sorry for ranting, but these are some pretty glaring flaws and I'm surprised that I seem to be the first to point them out. Honestly, there's no easy fix to these issues, and since I haven't read the rest of the story yet -yes, I still plan on reading this, no I haven't given up on it- I can't even suggest a good way to rewrite the chapter, as doing so might unintentionally screw up the continuity with later parts of the story that I'm currently unaware of.
So I've read quite a lot of stories on this site, some are great, others (let's just not talk about them). My point being is that you've created a pretty good story here. You have conveyed a good deal of emotion, not so much that it's one big hormonal blubber-fest, but enough to empathise well with the main character. From reading the comments and seeing the like to dislike ratio, comparative to other stories I've seen of this standard you seem to be getting "hate". I'm not sure if it's the EQG genre or what, but your story is deserving of more notoriety and more likes. I look forward to reading the rest. Liked and favourited.
Nope, sorry. The minute I found out AJ had been the one behind putting his number on the internet, I'd have written them all off. I probably wouldn't even have tolerated it if Pinkie had done it. Hell, this whole chapter is a rehash of the Cranky Doodle toxic lesson (harass someone long enough or pry into their personal lives and they'll be your friend) only it's everyone doing it instead of just Pinkie.
Yeah. I'm kind of in agreement with what some people have said.
Sunset wasn't just the typical "mean girl". She nearly caused someone to be arrested. Jail itself is a scarring experience, and having jail on your record is something that can follow you through LIFE! It can bar you from many jobs, loans, and other necessary things for prosperity.
I could forgive someone for pouring stuff on my books. I could forgive physical assault. I could forgive nasty remarks.
But I could NEVER forgive someone for framing me and getting me arrested, even if I avoided actually be charged with something. Because that person tried to not merely inconvenience me, but cripple me socially. Even if the person is apologetic, I would never let that person near me.
That's not to say I would actively seek to cause them pain. You shouldn't hold a grudge But I would avoid that person like the plague, and make sure others are aware of what she did. Wanting to avoid someone who is dangerous is pretty natural.
It is a good story, but I wish the process of forgiveness had been more gradual then one chapter.
This whole chapter would have went so differently if that was me. F*ck everyone at that dumb, pathetic, hypocritical, p*ssy a** school.
7395057
I wouldn’t even say he was a dick, this man just kicked back and watched the show.
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I agree 100%. I feel like this scene needs to be rewritten or have an alternate ending. There seems to be this trope of always forgiving sunset no matter what and if you don’t your the problem or the villain.