Full Circle

by Sotharan

Part III: Redemption's Flower || Chapter 27: Trust But Verify

Since it was a couple hours yet until the party, the girls continued to hang out at Sugarcube corner. Twilight was enjoying her time with her friends, and even with Sunset, who really seemed to be changing. Still, pony Rainbow’s warnings were in Twilight’s ears, and it was not lost on her how dangerous Sunset would be if she were to team up with the Sirens. She decided she had to hear, from each of the girls, what their opinion of Sunset’s reformation was. Also, she was genuinely curious about how the past two months had gone. It was an uncomfortable situation – on the one hand she had been worried about Sunset and very much wanted to find out how her recovery had been, while on the other hand she had to allay her own concerns about whether Sunset’s new attitude was genuine. She decided to talk to the girls, one by one, and started looking for opportunities to get each of them alone for a moment. She tried to do this as inconspicuously as possible, so that Sunset wouldn’t suspect what she was doing. As soon as she could, Twilight pulled Applejack aside. “AJ, do you have a sec?”

“Sure, Twilight! What’s on your mind?”

Twilight looked slightly uncomfortable, but pressed on. “AJ, how’s she been doing? Is she really changing? I have to know.”

“You mean Sunset? Well…Ah don’t know how else to put this, sugarcube, but you oughta be mighty proud. That girl really has turned it around, and Ah’m not kidding. Ah haven’t seen the slightest evidence of any meanness, or manipulation, or greed since you left. In fact, if anything, she’s gone completely the other way. Ah can’t tell you how many people she’s apologized to – including us, of course – and she’s been trying to make everything right that she can. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to accept her apologies or her attempts to make things better. Pretty much it’s just us right now, and of course Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.”

Twilight seemed relieved. “She’s been on my mind a lot these past few weeks. I don’t like that I had to leave so soon – I feel kind of responsible for her. You’re sure?”

“This is me you’re talkin’ to, sugarcube.”

“Right! Of course. I want to know more about how her first few days went, but I don’t think we have time now. Maybe we can talk more about it later?”

“Absolutely. But why don’t you ask her? You really can trust her, Twilight. Ah promise.”

“I’ll think about it.”

---

Twilight had a chance to get Rainbow Dash alone next. “Rainbow, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot!”

“Shoot? I’m not going to shoot you!”

Rainbow Dash guffawed. “No, no, silly! It’s just a saying. It means, ‘go ahead’.”

“Oh. Right. Well, I need to ask you about Sunset.” Twilight took a deep breath. “AJ said she’s doing well – great, even. And it’s not that I don’t trust AJ, but I’d like to hear it from each of you. What do you think, Rainbow? Has she really changed?”

Rainbow Dash was uncharacteristically quiet and pensive for a moment. The smile disappeared from her face. Finally, she said, “Twilight, in all honesty, I was skeptical at first. But I don’t know how else to explain it, except to say that she’s totally reformed. I mean it. Sometimes she even gives Fluttershy a run for her money in the kindness department, which is saying something.”

“Wow. That’s amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, allowing herself to become a bit excited. "That’s exactly what AJ said. It seems hard to believe, but now that I think about it, when I pulled her out of that crater, she seemed pretty broken up.”

“You don’t know the half of it. It was three weeks before she could walk without limping. I don’t think she stopped crying for more than a few minutes at a time for two weeks at least. And don’t get me started about the nightmares.”

Twilight’s face fell. “Oh Rainbow! That’s not what I wanted for her! I’ve been so worried. I had to leave right away – I would have preferred to look after her for a while!”

Rainbow smiled at Twilight. “Don’t worry. You asked us to look after her, and we did. It was…a pretty powerful experience, really. But you should ask Rarity and Fluttershy more about that. You know I’m not the best at the mushy stuff.”

Twilight smirked knowingly, and poked Rainbow in the shoulder. “You say you aren’t. But deep down, I know you care just as much anybody else. Thanks for being there for her.”

Rainbow Dash had the grace to blush slightly. “You’re welcome. It was…an honor. Yeah, that’s it! An honor.”

---

Pinkie Pie was third. “Pinkie, do you have a minute?”

Pinkie leapt all the way across Sugarcube Corner to land right next to Twilight. “OOO! OOO! OOO! Is it time for you and me to have a really serious, cathartic conversation about Sunset so that you can be sure she’s really reformed and that we took good care of her and that she’s trying hard to make amends and that you can count on her to be a part of the team?”

Twilight burst out laughing. “Yes, Pinkie, yes! It’s time!”

“OK! What can I tell you?”

“I’ve already heard from AJ and Rainbow, and they say she’s doing really well. But I want to hear from each of you. If all five of you say the same thing, I can’t tell you how relieved I’ll be.”

“THEY’RE RIGHT!” Pinkie yelled joyfully. “Sunset is doing super awesome! She was really sad for the first few weeks or so – but now she only cries a couple times a day! That’s a big improvement, trust me. She’s got most of her energy back, too!”

“Energy?”

“Yeah, she was exhausted for like the first month. We had to help her with a lot of things. But we enjoyed it, and she was so grateful. She’s grateful a lot, lately. You’ll notice that.”

“I’m sure I will. So, no reservations?”

“Nope! She’s a real sweetheart now, you’ll see!”

“Glad to hear it!”

---

Rarity was second to last.

“Rarity, can I ask you something?”

“I know what you’re going to ask, darling,” responded Rarity as she fixed her hair in the bathroom mirror.

“You do?”

“Of course. You’re worried about Sunset. You want to make sure she’s really reformed, and you want reassurance that we took good care of her – because, through no fault of your own, you could not.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I wouldn’t say obvious, though Sunset is no fool. She’s noticing that you’re a little…reticent around her. And that you’re talking to each of us alone, without her.”

“Well, I don’t know what else to do. A lot could be at stake, and I have to be sure. It’s…my duty as a princess, I guess.”

Rarity turned to Twilight and smiled. “I know. I’m not judging. I’m just looking forward to you and Sunset having a little chat and clearing the air.” Rarity turned back to the mirror. “Twilight, I am telling you the absolute truth. Sunset isn’t just reformed, she’s…a force for good. There’s no other way to describe it. Not everyone is ready to accept her – in fact, there’s still a lot of resentment, but at this point, given the number of tearful apologies, and the nice things she’s done to try to make up for her misdeeds, and how hard she’s working to be good and kind – well at this point if other people aren’t willing to forgive her, that is their problem.” Rarity’s lips were compressed into a thin line. She turned back to Twilight.

“We all have our gifts. During the first few weeks it fell to Fluttershy and me to do the most work with her. I promise you, she is sorry. I’ve never seen anyone so sorry. I have to admit, I thought I’d want a big tearful apology, and I was looking forward to getting angry and pointing out all the things she’d done to me, one by one. But when the time came I found I didn’t want that anymore. None of us did. We didn’t want our pound of flesh from her. We just wanted her to know she was forgiven, and that we welcomed her and cared for her, and that she was safe.” Rarity sighed, her eyes moist. “Sorry, it’s not… that easy to talk about. Those were hard weeks.”

Twilight looked morose. “Please don’t say that – I wanted to stay. It was so hard to leave so soon! I’ve been really worried about her. About all of you.”

Rarity put her hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “As I said, we know it wasn’t your fault. And it was a privilege to take care of her. Really. It was a very special, meaningful experience. We all grew up quite a bit, and while it was hard to go through at the time, now that I’m through it I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. She…belongs to us, Twilight. And we belong to her. I don’t know how else to put it.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. I’m so relieved to hear you say that. I can’t wait to talk to Sunset now. I just need to hear from Fluttershy, though I no longer doubt what she’s going to say.”

Rarity just beamed.

“At some point, maybe tonight, will you tell me about those first few weeks? I know it won’t be easy, but I won’t be able to rest until I know what she went through.”

“Of course, darling. Though you should ask Sunset too.”

“I will.”

---

Fluttershy was last, but not least. Twilight sat down next to her as they watched the other girls kick the soccerball around for a while. The girls had headed to the school, but there was still half an hour left before the party. “Fluttershy, can I talk to you about Sunset?”

Fluttershy looked up. “Yes, I’d be happy to talk about her. What can I tell you?”

“Well, I have to admit, I’ve already asked the other girls, and they say Sunset is doing really well. That she’s…turned it around in an amazing way. I want to believe it, but I need to hear from all five of you before I’m absolutely sure. I have to be able to trust her. A lot could be at stake.”

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. Then, in her small voice, she began, “Sunset’s really sorry, Twilight. For everything. For the first few days, we could hardly get her to say anything else. She was so weak, and so sad. She really understood what she’d done, and she was having a really hard time getting past it.”

Twilight sighed heavily.

“A big part of the work was just helping her to do the most basic things. She needed help walking, and getting into and out of her clothes, and brushing her hair…”

“WHAT?”
Fluttershy looked a bit surprised. “Oh. You didn’t know? She was hurt. Not very badly, but bad enough. She had a sprained left knee, and lots of cuts and bruises, and all her muscles hurt, and there was the weakness…”

Twilight looked discouraged. “That’s not what I wanted! I didn’t want to actually hurt her!”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight sympathetically. “She did try to kill you, Twilight. If you ask her, she’ll say she got what she deserved. But that didn’t make it any easier to watch her in pain. At first I thought it would, but it didn’t. Not one little bit. In the end, each of us tried to cut her off when she tried to apologize. We…just couldn’t be angry at her anymore. We didn’t hate her. We wanted her to get better, and we didn’t want her to be alone.”

Twilight just stared at Fluttershy in wonder.

“Twilight, please listen to me. We know you didn’t want to leave her like that – that’s a big part of why we worked so hard to help her. And, we know you need to clear the air with her. But please be gentle. We’ve worked really hard to put her back together these past two months, and she’s really starting to bounce back. But she’s still fragile. To be honest, a kind word or two from you would go a long, long way. She’s like a little girl in some ways – if you praise her, it will mean the world to her. She just wants your approval. That’s the honest truth.”

Twilight smiled at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I can’t tell you how relived I am to hear you say that. That’s what you all have said, so now I know it’s true. And I will praise her. It sounds like she’s really turned back to good. Oh, I’m so happy to hear it! And I can’t wait to tell Princess Celestia about it too!”

Author's Note:

I do think Twilight would have been genuinely curious about how Sunset’s reformation had gone, so I added these conversations. I hope you find them interesting and moving. Also, what better way for Twilight to become confident Sunset had truly turned to good than to hear each of her friends bear witness to it.

Comments

[moonlit scribe]

So far, I have to say, this is my favorite chapter...

[aceina]

your laying it on a bit thick with twilight

[Csquared08]

Hey, whoa. A big and meaningful new set of scenes to the "Rainbow Rocks but slightly different" arc. Sweet!

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Pinkie leapt all the way across Sugarcube Corner to land right next to Twilight. “OOO! OOO! OOO! Is it time for you and me to have a really serious, cathartic conversation about Sunset so that you can be sure she’s really reformed and that we took good care of her and that she’s trying hard to make amends and that you can count on her to be a part of the team?”

I don't think I'll ever see myself getting used to pinkie doing this.