Part III: Redemption's Flower || Chapter 28: Reconcilliation (Twilight Sparkle)
The other girls had headed in to the gym at Twilight’s request. So, at last, Sunset and Twilight were alone for the first time since Twilight had returned through the portal. There were a few seconds of awkward silence as Twilight became aware that Sunset was barely holding herself together.
“Sunset, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked softly with an encouraging smile, knowing full well what was on Sunset’s mind.
Sunset took a few seconds to answer. When she didn’t answer right away, Twilight volunteered: “Actually, why don’t I start? I think I owe you an apology. I’m sorry I hesitated when you offered to help me up earlier. That was unkind of me. I guess I wasn’t sure yet that your reformation was true…”
“I don’t blame you,” answered Sunset quietly, looking down. “In fact, I’d have been surprised if you’d done anything else.”
“No, Sunset. It hurt you, and it wasn’t right of me. Finding you with the girls, well – that should have been enough," Twilight suddenly realized. "I really am sorry.”
Sunset didn’t know what to say at first. She was totally unprepared to have Twilight apologize to her for anything, especially something Sunset didn’t consider to be unreasonable at all. But, since it seemed to be bothering Twilight, she finally ventured, “please don’t worry about it. I…forgive you? Is that the right thing to say?”
Twilight nodded encouragingly, trying to get her to say more.
Sunset’s tears started, and she finally blurted out, “I’m so glad you’re back! I…there’s so much I’ve wanted to tell you! And knowing that it would be thirty moons until we could communicate again – it’s been so hard! I owe you so much! A huge apology, gratitude…and I never got to say anything until you were gone!”
Twilight knew exactly what to do. Her concerns completely allayed by the words of her friends and by Sunset’s own behavior, Twilight stepped forward quickly and pulled Sunset into an embrace. Sunset cried quietly in her arms, but they were tears of relief, not of sorrow.
“It’s been hard for me, too,” Twilight said, rocking Sunset gently. “You’ve been on my mind a lot. I’ve been worried, and I’ve wanted to check on you very much. I’m so glad you figured out how to contact me!”
“Thanks,” Sunset sniffed. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Sunset looked up at Twilight, who was actually a little taller. “I know it sounds strange, but…all I’ve wanted is for you to see how I’m trying to change. How much I regret what I did. I hope it doesn’t sound crazy or clingy or something, but…I just want you to be proud of me!” she finished, looking back down and burying her face in Twilight’s shoulder.
Twilight was amazed by how vulnerable Sunset was making herself, and decided to make sure Sunset knew she was safe. “I am proud,” she said softly. “I can see the change already. It’s like night and day. Please be encouraged!”
Sunset could only nod. She looked back up at Twilight, who was now smiling at her with genuine affection. “I’m so sorry for how I behaved. I hurt you, and I tried to steal from you, and I tried to destroy your reputation. To top it all off I tried to ki…”
Twilight shook her head. “Stop, Sunset – you don’t have to say it.”
But Sunset was shaking her head too, and pulling back. “But I do! Please let me. I have to say this. I have to know you understand! That you know I understand!”
Twilight seemed sad, but relented, letting her arms fall to her sides.
“I tried to kill you, Twilight. And I tried to usurp your throne,” said Sunset, her mouth a thin line.
Tears started in the corners of Twilight’s eyes. She still shook her head, trying to stop Sunset from saying any more.
“It’s called treason. You’re a princess,” Sunset continued sadly.
Twilight shut her eyes as the tears started to escape from them.
“I know what the penalty is for treason,” Sunset said quietly. And then, to Twilight’s amazement, she fell to her knees and bowed her head. “Please forgive me, Your Highness,” she begged, and her shoulders shook as she wept.
Twilight was stunned. The degree to which Sunset was humbling herself was heartbreaking. Twilight was far from having become comfortable with being royalty, and this was unbearable. She pulled Sunset back up into her arms and hugged her more tightly than ever before. “Oh, Sunset, no, no, no, don’t worry! Don’t be afraid! I do forgive you! With all my heart!”
“You could have destroyed me,” Sunset sobbed, “or taken me back to face justice…”
“That’s not what I wanted! I wanted exactly what is happening! For you to be free from darkness, and to heal!”
“I know. I know! Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!”
They just held each other and cried for a time. Eventually, Twilight turned Sunset’s face up to her own. She was glad to see relief and a new measure of peace in Sunset’s eyes. Nothing could have made Twilight happier. “You are so welcome. And there must never be any formality between us. We’ve already been through too much together for that. Now and always, I am only Twilight. Ok?”
Sunset nodded.
Having made their peace, Twilight and Sunset arrived at the party and entered the gym. Immediately the sounds of students arguing assaulted their ears. The situation was clearly worsening. They made their way over to their friends, disturbed by the conflict that swirled around them.
Flash Sentry, on his way to get more punch, crashed into Twilight, as was traditional. “Twilight?” he asked in confusion as he helped her up.
Twilight, again as was traditional, was rendered perfectly inarticulate. “Eh, bumped, into, always, doing?” she attempted to ask as her friends desperately tried to avoid snickering out loud.
But Flash was undeterred by Twilight’s incomprehensible question. “What are you doing here? I’ll bet you came back for the big competition, right?” he asked with a smile.
“Something like that,” Twilight answered, unconsciously playing with her hair.
“Huh. Not that there's gonna be any real competition. No one here wants this as bad as my band does!” he boasted.
Something seemed off about Flash to Twilight. She figured it was probably the Siren’s charm spell. Deciding the better part of valour was to avoid talking to him too much while he was enchanted, Twilight excused herself. “Can you excuse me for just a minute?” she asked timidly.
“Sure! Good seeing you again!” said Flash as he waved and continued to the punch table. Twilight frowned after him. She didn’t like seeing him like this, or any of the students, for that matter. Twilight was not a fan of dark magic. In fact she abhorred it. Righteous anger began to creep over her – it was time to take the Sirens down. She asked Sunset to point them out to her.
On the other side of the gym, the Sirens observed their handiwork with satisfaction. “Oh, no! No one's mingling! It's like there's some kind of underlying tension that could bubble to the surface at any minute!” Adagio crowed wickedly.
Somehow Sonata missed the implication. “It's the punch, isn't it? I knew I used too much grape juice!”
Adagio, knocked off her stride, whirled on her sister. “It's not the punch! It's us!”
“But the punch is awful, too,” Aria added for good measure.
Surprisingly, this comment offended Sonata deeply. “What do you know about good punch?” she demanded angrily.
“More than you!” Aria retorted.
“You do not!” Sonata rejoined, becoming increasingly angry.
“Do too!” Aria replied, enjoying her sister’s discomfiture. Soon the two were trying to mess up each other’s hair.
Adagio watched the two of them fight with mild amusement for a moment, then decided to bring them back to the event at hand. “This is just the kickoff party, girls. Imagine what a tizzy they'll be in by the time the Battle of the Bands starts.” She hadn’t yet noticed Twilight walking directly up to her.
“There isn't going to be a Battle of the Bands!” Twilight challenged her. “We're gonna make sure of that!” Adagio stared at her in complete amazement as her sisters instantly stopped fighting and looked at Twilight as well. It had been a long time since anyone had directly opposed Adagio, and she didn’t know quite how to react. “Alright, girls, let's do this!” Twilight continued. She linked hands with her friends, who had formed a line on either side of her. Sunset looked on in anticipation, a bit glad that someone other than she was going to be on the receiving end of the Rainbow Wave this time. “Friendship is magic!” Twilight shouted triumphantly.
…Aaaaaand a whole lot of nothing happened.
An awkward cough came from somewhere in the gym.
“Uh, weren't there rainbows and lasers and stuff last time?” Rainbow asked Twilight out of the corner of her mouth.
“I don't understand. We're all together again. Why isn't this working?” Twilight wondered to herself out loud.
Spike was getting concerned. “You, uh... really need to go ahead and do that whole ‘Magic of Friendship’ thing now,” he said nervously.
“I'm trying, Spike,” Twilight responded, exasperated. “I thought the six of us standing together against the sirens would bring out the magic we needed to defeat them. That's what happened before…”
Adagio was no fool. She recovered quickly, instantly seeing the Rainbooms’ failure as an opportunity to sow further discord. “Talk about throwing down the gauntlet! This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren't they? Claiming there won't really be a battle. Seems they think they've already got this thing all locked up.”
The taunt had the desired effect. “Not if the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie has anything to do with it!” Trixie yelled.
Flash bristled. “Whatever, Trixie! We're the best band at CHS!”
“No! The Crusaders are gonna win!” Apple Bloom asserted loudly.
Now all the students were arguing even more bitterly than before. The Rainbooms, meanwhile, were trying to make an inconspicuous exit.
“I think we may have found what we're looking for,” Adagio said to her sisters. “Or rather, it found us.” Sonata shrugged her shoulders, completely missing what was happening. This caused Aria to facepalm. “Magic!!” Adagio growled. “Don't you see?! Everyone else has fallen under our spell. But not these girls,” she said, hungrily watching the Rainbooms leave. “These girls are special.”
The girls regrouped outside the entry to the school and tried to figure out what had gone wrong. “It doesn't make any sense!” Twilight was fuming. “I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That's how it worked before!”
Sunset spoke up before she could stop herself – debating the characteristics of magical effects had put her in her element. “But to defeat me, you drew magic from the crown I was wearing. The Sirens' magic comes from their music. So maybe you have to use the same kind of magic to defeat them.” Silence greeted her as six pairs of eyes swung to focus on her. “Or... maybe not,” she hedged, hoping she hadn’t overstepped.
But Twilight was smiling at her, genuinely pleased. “No, Sunset – I think you're onto something!”
“Really?” Sunset ventured shyly, returning Twilight’s smile.
Twilight gestured to the rest of the girls. “It's when you play music that you transform now, right?”
“Yup. Ears, tails, the whole shebang,” Applejack answered.
Twilight was on a roll. “So maybe the way to use that magic to defeat the Sirens is by playing a musical counter-spell!”
“You mean like a song?” Fluttershy clarified.
“Uh-huh,” Twilight confirmed excitedly. “And in order to free everyone who's been exposed to the Sirens' spell, we'll need them all to hear it.”
All of them wracked their brains to try to figure out how they could accomplish that feat. Suddenly Rarity gasped. “The Musical Showcase! That's the next time we can be certain everyone will be in the same place at the same time!”
Applejack smirked proudly. “Guess the Rainbooms are the band to beat.”
“And I believe you, Twilight, just became the Rainbooms' newest member!” Rarity declared happily. All of the other girls, except Sunset, rushed Twilight with joy and laughter. No one noticed Sunset still sitting on the steps, her head hanging dejectedly.
Pinkie began to produce increasingly improbable musical instruments from, apparently, nowhere. “So what do you wanna play? Triangle? Sousaphone? Theremin? Soooo magical,” she finished, playing a wavery note on the theremin.
“I might take a little too long to learn how to play something with these,” Twilight pointed out, wiggling her fingers at her friends. “I'll just sing!”
Rainbow was instantly defensive. “Like, as in, lead singer? Cuz that's usually my gig. This being my band and all.”
“It's our band!” Applejack said with irritation. “And, of course, as lead singer. She's the one with the magical know-how to help us pull this thing off!”
Rainbow had to relent. “Okay, yeah, that's cool. I'll just use this as a chance to hone my already insanely good lead guitar skills.”
“It's only temporary,” Twilight said quickly, wanting to reassure Rainbow. “And we don't have to win. We just have to perform during the first round.”
Rainbow’s natural enthusiasm returned almost instantly. “Ok then! Let's get to learning that musical counter-spell!”
Twilight seemed suddenly embarrassed. “Well, that's just it. I don't know any,” she confessed.
“Oh,” the other girls said with one disappointed voice.
“But I'm sure I could figure out how to write one!” Twilight said, trying to encourage them.
“Totally!” Spike interjected proudly. “Twilight can write a spell like it's nobody's business. That's pretty much how she got to become a princess in Equestria.”
“Technically, I helped finish a spell. And there was a little more to it than that, Spike.”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Spike, glossing over Twilight’s clarification.
“I've got this,” Twilight said confidently. She waved over her shoulder at Spike. “C'mon!”
Applejack looked completely confused. “Where're you goin', sugarcube?”
Twilight acted like heading back into the school was the most natural thing in the world. “Well, last time we were here, Spike and I spent the night in the library.”
The other girls laughed. “Are you crazy, Twi?” Pinkie asked as she tried to control her laughter. “We're besties now! Slumber party at my house!”
Twilight was thoughtful as Applejack and Rarity loaded various sleepover items into Applejack’s pickup. Rarity noticed, and decided to ask Twilight to open up.
“Twilight. You’re very quiet all of a sudden. What’s on your mind?”
Twilight looked slightly startled, but then smiled. “It’s true. I’m trying to work a few things out in my head.”
“You mean the counterspell?” Applejack asked as she picked up a rolled-up sleeping bag.
“I am thinking about that a lot, but just now I was thinking about something else. About something Fluttershy said about Sunset, and something I’ve noticed for myself.”
“Go on,” Rarity encouraged with a smile.
“Well, does it seem to the two of you that she…looks up to me, I guess? Maybe…a lot?” Twilight seemed embarrassed.
Applejack and Rarity exchanged a knowing glance. “Yep. We’ve noticed that too,” Applejack confirmed, pausing in her work and leaning against the pickup.
“Well, do you think it’s…normal? Healthy, I guess?”
“You’re not fully comfortable with it?” Rarity asked.
Twilight paused a moment. “Well, since I’ve become an alicorn and a princess, I’ve had to start dealing with the fact that some ponies think I’m a big deal, just because of that. But I really try not to put myself on a pedestal or anything – I really think I’m just a regular pony who has some amazing friends. I guess…I’m just not comfortable with being looked up to like that, and I’m worried that Sunset is headed in the same direction. I’ve tried to tell her – I don’t want my status as an alicorn princess to come between us.”
Applejack chuckled. “Oh, Ah wouldn’t worry too much about it, Twilight. In Sunset’s case, Ah think it’s just a bit of good old fashioned hero-worship.”
“Hero-worship? Me? Seriously?”
Rarity came and stood next to Twilight. “Twilight, darling, I think you have to put yourself in Sunset’s shoes a little bit – or should I say horseshoes, perhaps? Surely you realize you’ve become an extremely important figure in her life?”
“Really? No, I guess I hadn’t realized. Maybe significant, but ‘extremely important’?”
Applejack came over and stood next to the two of them as well. “Twilight, Ah guess we have a bit of an advantage. We’ve heard her nightmares and her dreams, in great detail. She’s shared her struggles with us. The truth is this: the image of your face, and your hand, as you reached down to her in that crater, is burned into her memory.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh! I hadn’t thought of it that way!”
Rarity elaborated: “Twilight, you must understand that your actions that night – the fact that you had compassion on her and led us to do the same – that has become one of the most important events in Sunset’s entire life. Maybe the most important of all.”
Twilight nodded, as realization dawned on her.
Rarity continued. “I know for a fact that she divides her life into two parts: before your hand touched hers, and after. It’s that simple. You didn’t have to do what you did. But because you went the extra mile, it’s made all the difference. For her and for us.”
Twilight looked down for a moment, absorbing Rarity’s words and what they meant. Then, she slowly looked back up and toward the doors to the school, from which the rest of the girls, including Sunset, would come at any minute.
“But Rarity, I’m not that amazing. I make mistakes, and I don’t always have all the answers. I’m still learning about friendship too. Would you believe that a little over three years ago, I was an antisocial egghead?”
“That is hard to believe, except perhaps the egghead part. But I wouldn’t worry about Sunset. She’s a smart girl too. She’ll figure it out. In the meantime, just be careful how you treat her.”
“Yes, I understand. I could hurt her badly just by being careless, but I can really help her by being extra kind. Don’t worry. I only want to build her up. Especially since she seems to be so kind herself now. I don’t want to do anything to endanger that.”
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Alright, we're moving things along pretty nicely now. Lots of meaningful extra scenes. That first part a couple chapters ago had me worried that it would only be a few small, if significant, changes and additions. But now it looks like there are plenty of big additions that add a reasonable amount.
As someone who is slowly becoming a surprisingly shameless FlashLight shipper, so do I.
I really just want to compliment your dedication to using the lines from the movie, that must have taken a long time to get right. This is dedication.
This part was one of several scenes in RR/Rainbow Rocks I disliked a lot.
Pats shoulder