Amending Offences

by Bookish Delight

5: Analyzing Every Incident

Except for the part where she knew she could answer.

Where she knew she absolutely had to answer, with the bitter truth that she hated to admit and would rather run away from, forever, while eternally doing her best to make sure it never came up again.

But running just made her more and more tired.

And cranky.

And now, here she was, all over again.

"I'm used to being ashamed of myself," Sunset whispered. "I can take it."

---

The resignation felt almost relieving for Sunset in its catharsis—it was finally all out in the open, now. Infinite apology for who she was, for who she'd been, for whoever she would become.

Her past was not her present, and that was all well and good—but was her present worth bragging about if it couldn't weather the love of a friend?

So, yeah. She was okay with it, she reminded herself as she closed her eyes. She really was. She had to be. As far as she was concerned, she'd lost all license to be anything but a self-apologist long ago.

Odd how she wanted to cry, now, but no tears came when she bade them. That was how it always worked, wasn't it?

Sunset didn't see Pinkie step forward, closing the gap between them, and only barely felt Pinkie embrace her. She opened her eyes upon feeling contact, meeting with a tearful stare that was also trying desperately to be motherly....

...and, against all odds, succeeding.

Sunset's face crumpled as she fell into Pinkie's arms. Both girls leant against each other, choking and sniffling.

"This was supposed to be an easy apology," Sunset croaked. "Why isn't it?"

"I've never heard of an easy apology," Pinkie said.

"Well, this should be!" Sunset cried. "There there's nothing complicated about this! Pinkie Pie, you're my best friend and I love you so much."

"Me too," Pinkie whimpered in reply. "Everything you just said."

Sunset pulled back, revealing a tear-soaked face. "And I love it when everything lines up with us! I want that to happen all the time! But I hate myself because it doesn't! I hate myself because I know it can't, and you deserve better than me!"

Sunset's raised voice echoed off the brick walls, surprising herself... and yet, Pinkie appeared unfazed. Why?

"But... I don't want that," Pinkie whispered.

Sunset blinked, her heart doing a double take. "You... you don't?"

Twin trails of tears crossed both sides of Pinkie's smile. "All of my friendships are messy, Sunset. That's how I know, when they last this long, that they're real." She smiled wider. "And this is the really realest mess I've ever been in with a friend. Sure, we're in sync sometimes, Sunset, but I see even non-chaotic friends who don't always line up. So I don't expect us to. I don't want us to."

Pinkie thumbed Sunset's tears away from one cheek before placing a hand on it. "I love Sunset because she's Sunset, not some... Pinkie clone. I mean, can you imagine, me having a whole bunch of friends who were all just like me?" She gigglesnorted. "That doesn't sound like any fun at all."

Sunset giggled back, or at least tried to amidst never-ending hiccups. The sun rose in her mind, peeking over the horizon. If she understood what Pinkie was getting at...

"So you're saying, sometimes we make bad decisions. Or at least decisions that make us fight. But running away from the messes when they happen..."

Pinkie nodded. "That way lies blowups. And guilt sundaes."

Sunset sighed, looking away. "I... I've made so many bad decisions for so long that hurt a lot of people too. But they weren't because I was hoping to make them happy, like you."

She looked back up to Pinkie in earnest.

"That's why I'll always want you here. Will..." she fidgeted, looking for the right words. "Will you help me tell the difference?"

Pinkie's smile was as big as the sunrise in Sunset's mind. "Of course, silly! Always." She reached out to take her best friend's hand. "Oh, and Sunset?"

"Yes?"

Pinkie winked. "Apology accepted."

Through tear-filled laughter, Sunset Shimmer threw her arms around Pinkie Pie, voicing the only three words running through her heart right now:

"Pinkie... never change."

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I mean, can you imagine, me having a whole bunch of friends who were all just like me?

And the pink girl with the teal-streaked hair in another booth began sweating.

As did the three girls who looked exactly like Pinkie.

In all seriousness, wonderful bit of catharsis. The messy bits are how you tell pleasant acquaintances from true friends. They may not be fun, but they're worth the effort.

[The Voice in the Water]

I'm afraid that there is only one thing that can fully describe exactly how I feel about this entire thing:

D'awwwww!

Poor Sunny still has issues with her past. Understandable that, but that's why she's got friends to help her heal. Not forget, but maybe find a way to forgive herself.

Thanks for the mid-day dose of cute and sweet Bookish.

[twience]

I love this friendshipping, so much.

[Nali]

Whoops, went and lost at emotional Russian Roulette again.

lousy psychic writers mining my head for story updates that feel too real, *grumble grumble*

[Darkstarling]

So much love and caring.

[Norm De Plume]

9759825

Good thing Too Many Pinkie Pies happened before Equestria Girls, otherwise one of them might have escaped through the mirror.

[SunsetSparkle23]

An excellent quote from one of Sunset’s songs that definitely fits with this story’s message:

Don't be afraid of walls coming down
Sometimes it hurts, you'll figure it out

You know a friendship is real if everyone involved takes time to look for the sunshine behind the grey clouds.