• Published 9th Jul 2018
  • 3,684 Views, 998 Comments

Consequences - shallow15



Things come to a head as recent events bring Sunset Shimmer and her friends in conflict with a government agent and something angry lurking in the woods outside Canterlot City

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Surprises, Concerns, and Television

“Coming!” Rarity's voice chimed from behind the closed front door of her house. Sunset waited patiently on the front stoop, giving her friend the extra time she needed to get to the front door. Rarity had been wheelchair bound for the last couple of weeks, since a tragic accident during a fight with a magically overpowered enemy had caused her to fall from a great height and land hard.

Fortunately, her spinal cord had escaped any damage. Her brain was not so lucky. The impact had caused some trauma with the result that the fashionista was unable to feel anything from the waist down. She had been attending physical therapy on almost a daily basis, with a determination her friends had rarely seen. Rarity may have been a drama queen when it came to any sort of personal disaster, but where this was concerned, she channeled her energies into getting better and committed to walking again when she had been told it was a possibility.

Sunset frowned as she heard a regular thumping noise coming from behind the door. The deadbolt snapped and the door opened. Sunset blinked and stared as Rarity appeared, smiling brightly.

“Ta-daaaa!” she sang. Sunset's expression of surprise turned to an excited smile. Rarity was on her feet. Her legs were in braces and she was leaning on a set of canes, with cuffs that held her forearms in place. She had lifted one cane up in a showgirl pose.

“You're on your feet!” Sunset cheered. Rarity mirrored her excited expression.

“I know!”

“You've got canes!”

“I know!”

“When did this happen?” Sunset's voice was high with excitement. Rarity was just as giddy, her eyes sparkling as she explained.

“This afternoon! Tough Love surprised me with them. Earlier this week I started feeling things below my legs and after checking at each session, he said we could start working with the braces and canes!”

“That's great!” Sunset leaned forward and embraced her friend. Rarity leaned one cane against her hip and freed her arm, allowing her to return the hug. They separated and Rarity put her arm back in the cane.

“I'm still getting used to them,” Rarity explained, making her way back into the house and allowing Sunset in. “I get tired fairly quickly, but I just had to show off!”

Rarity led Sunset to the living room, where her chair was. She lowered herself into the seat and disengaged from the canes. “Could you be a dear and lean those up by the door, darling? I'll take them back to my room later.”

Sunset leaned the crutches up against the door frame and sat down on the couch. Rarity leaned forward. “Now then, darling, what's going on? You sounded a bit distracted on the phone.”

Sunset sighed and explained about the conversation she had with Starlight in the journal. Rarity's eyes widened when she heard Sunset's homeland had been invaded.

“So, I agreed to stay here,” Sunset finished. “But I hate it. I feel like I should be over there. Looking for Twilight or helping Starlight or something. Not here where I'm safe. They need all the help they can get and I feel like I'm... I don't know... shirking.”

Rarity took her hand. “You are doing no such thing, Sunset. No, you aren't back in Equestria, on the front lines, but you are doing what you've promised you would do: protect this side of the mirror. Starlight is right. We have enough problems in this world without these invaders coming through and making things worse.”

Sunset sighed. “I don't know, Rarity. I mean, yeah, we have Agent Shadow sniffing around town, but we've stopped using our magic for right now and, hopefully, in a couple of days she'll leave town and we can get our lives back to some semblance of normal.”

“And there's always the other possibility, darling,” Rarity replied. “You have to admit, there's still a few people out there that have witnessed what's happened around us who might not be so amenable to keeping mum about the magic.”

“I know,” Sunset sighed. “I just feel so helpless. I can't do anything to help Starlight, and unless something happens here, I can't do anything about that either.”

Rarity gave her a soft smile. “I know the feeling, darling, believe me. You reach a point where you've done absolutely everything you can possibly do, and it doesn't feel like enough. So you rack your brain, trying to figure out what else you can do, convinced there has to be something.”

Rarity's expression turned somber. “But there isn't. And you have to accept it, no matter how much it angers you, or frustrates you... or even hurts you.”

Sunset looked at Rarity's sad expression. Ever since the slumber party the previous Saturday, where Rarity had detailed her struggles adapting to her injury, Sunset and the other girls had done everything they could to support her. She leaned forward and put her hands on Rarity's shoulders. Rarity smiled again.

“Sorry, darling, didn't mean to bring down the mood. The point is you being here in case something goes wrong while Agent Shadow is in town is just as important as whatever Starlight is doing in Equestria. And, supposing you did go over there. I know what would happen. You'd be losing your mind worrying about us and trying to figure out how to get back here as soon as possible.”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose I would.”

“So, we cut out the futility of worrying about things we can't change.” Rarity grabbed the remote control for the TV. “For now, you and I are going to take our minds of our respective troubles in the manner common to girls our age.”

Sunset quirked an eyebrow. “Trashy teen dramas and junk food?”

Rarity waggled the remote. “I have the latest episode of Greendale on the DVR.”

“Do I look like the kind of person who watches Greendale?

“Oh, I beg your pardon.” Rarity brought up the DVR menu and highlighted the “delete” option. “Shame though. From what I hear, Vanessa finally has it out with her mother, and she decides to give Adam a shot.”

“What?!” Sunset sat up straight. “Why in the hell would she give Adam the time of day?! He was at the quarry the night Rachel was killed! God, what are the writers thinking?! There is no way Vanessa would ever be that stupid!”

Rarity smirked. Sunset blinked and blushed.

“Not that I... watch the... I caught a couple of episodes over at Twilight's, okay!”

“So, you won't mind if I delete this episode then?”

“NO!” Sunset jumped up, her face panicked. Rarity giggled and Sunset sat down on the couch, folding her arms. She pointed at Rarity. “You better have cookie dough,” she pouted.

Rarity put the remote on the coffee table, and turned to wheel into the kitchen. “Please, darling, we're not savages. Chocolate chip or peanut butter?"

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