Epiphany

by KalenNighteyes

Epiphany, Part Four

Sunset

I stood there for a moment in a sort of stunned silence. I wanted to rush after Twilight, and I almost did, but then I stopped myself. We both needed a little space to think and figure things out. As I stood there, I finally realized that I had eyes staring at me. My five friends still sitting in the living area were looking at me with very -- albeit understandably -- confused expressions. With a sigh, I moved over to the door and spoke to them, but only a few words. I just needed a couple minutes to think over what had just happened.

“I’ll explain, I promise. Just give me a few minutes? Please?” I asked.

For a moment no one said anything, but then Applejack spoke up. “Alright, sugar cube. Take yer time.”

I gave my friends a half smile, then shut the door to my room and sat down on my bed. I ran through the last few minutes in my mind hoping to pin down anything I could use to convince her to come back. I just was hoping she wouldn’t actually go back to Equestria and that I’d get the chance to talk to her. The more I replayed the memories in my mind, the harder it was to try and make sense of things. Had she really assumed that I expected her to just get past her heartbreak? I mean, I probably would have done that when I was the old me, but not now. I had even said that I’d work through this with her. I was only being supportive and she got so upset with me. I could give her room for being in pain, but I was only trying to help her.

That was the answer. I was feeling so hurt, but it wasn’t over the fact she still harbored her feelings for Rainbow. No one can just forget about their feelings for someone so easily. I was hurt over the fact that she wouldn’t listen to me and trust that I could help get her through it. At that point it was hard for me to not just be angry with her for being so angry at with me for no reason, but I was managing to push the feeling back. I still wanted to help her and I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was angry with her.

I was about to get up and open the door when another thought came to me. Was this whole thing really my fault? I mean, it was Twilight that figured out I had feelings for her. She had asked directly, but I suppose I didn’t have to answer. I put my hand on my head and sighed at the thought. That really would have made things worse than they already were. Not answering could have led to more tension than the relaxation Twilight was wanting. Denying could also have thrown Twilight into an even bigger spiral of sadness and rejection. I was already going to be lucky if she had decided not to dash back through the portal to Equestria. Going there to hunt for her to try and work things out would be a nightmare.

I let out a groan of frustration as I realized my thoughts weren’t getting me anywhere. I needed my friends to help me so I stood up, and opened the door for them. I was sure they could help me make sense of all this mess, but I knew I didn’t want to spend too long talking. I wanted to get out there and find Twilight. Judging by the clouds outside the window, a storm was brewing, and she had left without a jacket.

As I sat back down on the bed, Rarity and Fluttershy sat down next to me. Rainbow Dash leaned up against the wall by the closet; Applejack sat down in the chair at my dresser, while Pinkie Pie sat down on the floor in front of me. All of my friends gathered around me made me smile slightly. I couldn’t imagine if they had turned their backs on me, which was why I wasn’t just going to turn my back on Twilight. It’s just not who I am anymore.

I felt Rarity place a hand on mine. “Dear...are you alright? What happened?”

I took a small breath and looked at her. “The reason Twilight is here is because she had her heart broken in Equestria. She needed to get away and I told her she could come here. She made me promise not to tell you she was here and I felt really bad I didn’t. I guess she didn’t want you all to see her in the state she was in. It was pretty bad.”

“Why wouldn’t Twilight want us to see ‘er? She should realize we’re her friends and we’re there for her through thick and thin!” Applejack exclaimed.

I smiled at AJ’s words. “She does know that, but she was a wreck. When she was changing into her pajamas, she had a pretty big break down. She could barely stand. I had to help her back here.”

“Well, I can kinda understand that. I don’t like to cry in front of people either,” Rainbow said.

I gave Rarity’s hand a squeeze. “We just kind of had a fight about a conversation she and I had last night.” I stopped. Was I ready to tell them about that part of me? Was I ready to tell them about my feelings for Twilight? I shook my head slowly. Whether or not I was, they needed the whole picture. “She figured out that I had feelings for her.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Like, romantic feelings?” Dash asked.

I glanced around at my friends, then nodded. “Yes. I began to develop them when she told me at the Battle that you guys needed me. She was the only one to see it. Also the writing back and forth in the book that she and I did kind of started to reinforce the feelings. We shared so much in common and she was always so sweet.” After I finished saying those things, I stopped talking and sat there in quiet contemplation for a moment. When I looked up at my friends, all of them were smiling at me and it was kind of creepy. “What?”

“What do you mean what? We saw you with that book so much we knew something had to be going on with the two of you! We aren’t idiots you know!” Rainbow said, moving over to Applejack and elbowing her gently on the arm.

Applejack chuckled, removed her hat, and took out two pieces of somewhat thick paper from them. “Alright Rainbow Dash, you win. Here’s the tickets to the basketball game in the city. And yes, Ah’ll be goin’ with ya.”

That was a bit odd that they would bet on something like that, but I found myself smiling and letting out a giggle. “You mean you two actually bet on whether or not I liked Twilight romantically?”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack both gave me sheepish smiles. “Well, to me it was obvious! I may have looked over your shoulder a few times when you’d write to her. Every time she’d write back an excuse to not come, I could see the sad look on your face. That’s not the sadness someone gets when a friend can’t come by,” Rainbow said.

I wanted to scold her for reading over my shoulder, but she made a compelling, and, honestly, quite sensible argument. That kind of insight wasn’t what I’d expect from Rainbow, but she was completely right. “Yeah, okay. That’s a fair point, but it’s kind of what has everything haywire here. Her finding out I had feelings for her completely threw her into an even more chaotic storm of emotions. I can’t help but feel terrible for it.” With a sigh, I stood up and walked into my closet to find a jacket that would fit Twilight. “I need to go find her. It’s going to rain soon and she’s out there without a jacket or umbrella. I also need to go talk to her and let her know that I’m still here for her no matter what. I’m going to the high school.” Failing to find the jacket I wanted to give her, I moved to the door of my room to leave and start my search. “You guys can stay here if you want or you can go check out other places for her. She may have changed her mind once she got further away from here.”

“No worries, sugar cube. We’ll go search other places we’ve been with her and see if we can’t find her,” AJ said.

I smiled at my friends. “Thank you all so much. I’m so glad you’re here and I’m not having to deal with this difficult situation on my own. I’ll make sure to convey that to Twilight, too. She doesn’t need to go through what she’s going through alone.”

With a nod, I moved through the living room, grabbed my umbrella from the stand next to the stairs, and finally moved up the stairs to the roof of the loft. When I stepped outside, I could smell the coming rain. I took a moment to stand there and enjoy the scent while I collected my thoughts. I needed to be level headed when I talked to her because I was still feeling hurt from how she hadn’t acknowledged I said I’d help her. Finally, I walked down the outer stairs to the ground and began my trek toward the high school.

I had been walking for about ten minutes when there was a distant crack of thunder and the rain began to fall. I could feel the early droplets hitting my cheeks. I wanted to just let the rain soak me, I knew that might not be such a good idea so I opened up the umbrella and continued walking. Between the rain and the low, distant rumbles of thunder, I found myself in a strange sort of calm even though the situation was a tense one. It might sound a little strange, given my name, but I’ve always liked the thought of a cloudy day more than a sunny one.

Even though I was wearing my leather jacket, I could tell that it was cold out here. It was early fall after all and that meant it was the season for cold rain storms and possibly even an early snow. The thought of that made me pick up my pace as I didn’t want Twilight out here in a possible snow storm. As I neared the school, I could see two figures standing by the statue.

To my surprise Rainbow Dash was standing there putting what looked like a book into a bag. She was talking to Twilight, but obviously I was still too far away to tell what they were saying. I watched as Rainbow gave Twilight a hug then walk into the portal. Was that the Rainbow Dash from Equestria? What was she doing here?

I watched as Twilight stared at the portal for a long moment. It was the longest moment of my life. I was terrified she was going to run after Rainbow and I’d never see her again. After an eternity, Twilight turned her back to the portal and began to walk this way. I hadn’t noticed that I’d positioned myself next to a tree and was kind of blending into it. The rain had begun to start pouring a bit harder at this point and Twilight already had her arms wrapped around her. As my friend moved closer to me, I stepped toward her and offered a small smile.

I watched as her eyes widened. “Sunset? What are you doing here? I was just on my way back to the loft,” she said, shivering slightly.

I didn’t think twice. I handed Twilight the umbrella, took off my jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders. “There. Now you won’t be cold.” Twilight said nothing now. She had an almost dumbstruck look on her face. “What is it?” I asked, taking the umbrella back and holding it over the two of us.

The words seemed to snap her out of whatever thought process she was going through in her mind. “I thought you’d be furious with me. I got so angry at you and you didn’t even deserve it. You were just trying to help.”

I nodded and motioned for us to start walking. “Well, to be honest, I am a bit hurt. I was just trying to help. I was offering you my heart in that moment and it kind of felt like you took it and trampled it, you know?” I looked down as the rain continued to fall around us while we walked. “I wanted to be angry with you, but I knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything. I’m also trying not to be that person anymore. The old me would be angry and I’m not her anymore.”

“I know...You’re better than you were. Better than I deserve.” I could see tears starting to form in her eyes that were already bloodshot and tear-stained. “I didn’t mean to do that. I was just so confused, you know? I didn’t know how to deal with anything in that moment so I elected to get angry and yell at you. It wasn’t fair for me to do that and I know that an ‘I’m sorry’ probably isn’t good enough.”

“I mean…’I’m sorry’ is a start. I know the feeling of confusion. I was feeling it a bit after you ran out. It’s not a fun feeling to experience.” I decided to save the first part of what she said for last as I didn’t feel she was correct. “Also, I think you’re wrong. I think I’m just the person you deserve. I really do think I can help you get through this hard time.”

Twilight let out a sigh. “You say that, but I don’t believe that of myself. I don’t even feel like I should be using your jacket. I’m the dummy who ran out when it looked like rain.”

I didn’t know what to say to that right at this moment, so I brought up the other question that burning inside me. “I saw Rainbow over by the portal with you. What were you two talking about?”

“You and my feelings for you. She also did a bit of tough love on me in regards to her. It kind of put things in perspective for me. It’s still going to take time to fully get over her.”

I felt the urge to grasp Twilight’s hand, but I resisted it for now. “I know. It’s not easy to get over hurt like that. I’ve kind of had a taste of what it’s like to be crushed.”

Twilight shook her head. “I know. I hate myself for doing that to you. I swear to you that it won’t happen again. And...I think I’m ready to move on. The hurt is still there, but with what Rainbow said to me, it’s making the pain that much less. I guess I kind of had an epiphany about all of this...”

“What did she tell you?”

I saw her swallow before she continued. “She said that she was with AJ and that wasn’t going to change no matter how much I might want it to. Honestly, I should have just been happy for her, but instead I got angry and decided to avoid her entirely.”

I couldn’t help myself anymore and took her hand in mine, lacing my fingers between hers. “Kind of like what happened today. Rather than face another situation that was hard, you ran from it.”

Twilight nodded. “But I’m here now. I’m ready to face this head on and commit.”

I glanced over at her when she said the last part. “What do you mean ‘commit?’”

She blushed slightly, pulled the jacket closer around her, and squeezed my hand. “I’m ready to try moving on with someone who I can be with and does love me...like you do.”

I felt my own cheeks turn red as she used my own words back on me. It was a really sweet gesture and it almost completely melted my heart, but there was still that nagging feeling I couldn’t shake. The blush and my smile faded as I looked at her. “I want that very much, Twilight, but after earlier...I don’t want to go through that all the time. I want to be with you, but I can’t handle repeat episodes of a break down like we had.”

Twilight nodded and she even managed to keep her smile. “I know that. I don’t think there’s going to be a repeat of today. I think that as long as I have you to support me and believe in me, I can make it through anything that’s thrown at me. Even this pain will pass. Just being next to you right now and holding your hand is making the hole in my heart so much smaller. Even you giving up your jacket to me because you saw that I was cold is helping.”

“Well, I’m glad that I’m starting to help you, but I thought I was doing that last night, too. Look how that turned out.” I felt bad for saying that, but I couldn’t help feeling nervous about where this could go. I trusted Twilight, but this felt all too familiar. As much as I wanted to believe that the same thing wouldn’t happen, I knew my concerns weren’t unwarranted.

Twilight looked to the ground as we walked. “Well, it’s like I said. Rainbow kind of forced things into perspective for me, and when I thought about it more, so did you. With her it was the tough love she gave me. With you it was your question about fawning over someone I couldn’t have or choosing to move on with my life…” She glanced over at me. “I’m choosing to move on with my life. Choosing to move on with you as a part of my life.”

Those words sealed things for me. The last bit of resistance I had faded as she finished saying those sweet words. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but it was a challenge I was willing to endure. After all, Twilight was my special someone. She believed in me when no one else seemed to want to and I owed her just the same.

“We should get back to the loft. I don’t want you to get sick, Sunset. In fact, I think you should take back your jacket…”

I put a finger to her lips to stop her talking. I wanted to lean in and give her a kiss, but I felt that would probably be too soon to do. “No. You’re keeping my jacket, but I do agree. Let’s get back to the loft. The girls will be glad to know you’re alright.” As I began to walk, Twilight’s grip tightened on mine. I looked back at her and saw she wasn’t moving. She must have been nervous about seeing the other Rainbow. “Twilight, everything will be-”

I was interrupted as Twilight moved forward and began to kiss me, quite passionately, on the lips. It was unexpected, but welcome. Almost immediately I returned the kiss, dropping the umbrella to the ground. In that special piece of time, nothing but Twilight mattered to me. The entire world around us seemed to fade into nothingness in that moment of passion. I could still hear the rain and it only served to make the moment that much more meaningful to me. It also seemed to serve the purpose of kind of sealing things between us. We were together now.

After the kiss finally broke, I looked into her magenta eyes and smiled. “What was that for?”

“For being so sweet, calm, and understanding through all of this. For not giving up on me entirely after I ran out on you. For not telling me to just go back to Equestria and never come back. For believing and trusting in me to make the right decisions.”

I moved my hand from hers to her cheek and caressed it softly. As I looked at her I shook my head. “You believed in me during a time that was rough, I’d be quite the hypocrite if I didn’t believe in you during yours. I will always believe in you.”

Twilight placed her hand on mine. “I know. Just like I’ll always believe and trust in you. You are such a strong and capable girl and I really like that about you.”

I wanted to keep having this conversation, but now I was starting to get cold. “Come on,” I said as I picked up the umbrella once more and put it over the top of our damp forms. “Let’s go back to the loft now. I’ll make some hot cocoa, we can dry off, and talk more. There’s still some things I think we need to work out from earlier, but I’m confident we can.”

“Definitely.”

Once again I took her hand and we began walking back toward the loft. In the time we were walking I knew a few things to be true. Twilight did genuinely care about me and wanted to be with me. I knew that I could feel the love from her in so many ways, even before now. Finally, I knew that we were both going to be more happy than either of us had been at any point in our lives.

Later that night as the rain continued to fall, Twilight and I found ourselves back in our pajamas in my room. I was sitting behind her once again positioning her fingers on the strings of my guitar, attempting to once more teach her how to play it. She had told me what she was feeling last night when we fell asleep in each other’s arms and I couldn’t agree more. In this moment I had never felt more secure, so content, and so at peace in my life.

Author's Note:

Here we go. Part four finally! I feel like this story is now complete and I'm going to mark it as such. I'll be watching the comments for how this part is received. That will determine whether I keep going on it or not, but I personally feel that I've hit a good end point. Thank you all so much for reading! I appreciate it so much!

Comments

[Shadow Hero]

Amazing end to a amazing story.

9.8/10 (Nothing in this world is truly perfect)

[KalenNighteyes]

7638018

Wow. Thank you so much. Quite the compliment! Makes me feel really good to hear that you liked it that much

[X 865]

Definitely a good end point for the story.
But I will never say no to more Sunlight.
MORE, please.

[KalenNighteyes]

7638759

Oh don't worry. Though this story has reached its conclusion, there will be more SunLight in the future! Something I wrote in the final part actually made me want to write a different story with a ship of two different characters. Whether or not it's a romantic one I'm not sure yet!

[PrincessTwilightSparkle1]

A perfect ending to a wonderful story.

[KalenNighteyes]

7638832

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

[Nightmare mare]

Wish it wouldn't end but still an amazing ending

[screamindivr145]

Personally I'd like to see more. I read the other story with them and I think that's a great direction to go in.

[PromKing2010]

Aww another adorable SunLight story! Well done. This was adorable! So much emotion. I feel like the characters really had a lot of depth to them.

[pabrony]

Just curious but is this a prequel to Times We Cherish?

[KalenNighteyes]

8628815
Yup! Sorry! I've been meaning to make a pinned timeline post! I just have been wanting to write xD I should probably have added that this is the prequel to it though...

[ScopeEva]

Hum... honestly this sort of rubs me the wrong way. People need time to grieve from a loss, to process their emotions and recover. There's nothing wrong with Twilight finding out she has feeling for Sunset during this time but it should be taking a back burner until she's gotten over Rainbow's rejection. As is? It kind of feels like Sunset is being impatient and pressuring her. Definitely feels like they're at least rushing into things. The lack of apologies on Sunset's side in this part doesn't help either.

Still, were a few nice warm cute moments here and there that were good so I'll at least be checking out the following stories even if this one doesn't sit entirely right with me.