Chapter 1: Dark Clouds

View Online

“You girls enjoy yourselves!” Rarity’s mother shouted from her car window, waving to the six of them as they walked towards their lodge.

“Bye, Miss Crumbles!” Pinkie waved enthusiastically.

“Thanks for the ride!” Rainbow swung her hand a few times before turning back around, staring at the two-story building in front of them. “Whoa…”

Sunset watched the car speed off before diverting her attention to the wooden structure in front of her. “You sure this is our lodge? It seems a bit too… large.”

Rarity glanced down at her key. “Lodge 23-A.” Turning her head up, she saw the plaque on the wall had the same numbers and letter inscribed on it. “Yup, this is ours!”

“Well then, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go!” Applejack excitedly shouted, sprinting forward. The rest followed her, except Fluttershy, whose run looked more like a jog.

Rainbow raced ahead, swiping the key from Rarity’s hand. “Wah- hey! Rainbow Dash!”

“Sorry! Have to be faster than that! Every moment here counts!” Rarity merely scowled, running awkwardly due to her high-heeled shoes. Rainbow reached the door first, placing the key into the hole and twisting it with the knob. With one large push, the door flew open with a loud 'thud!'.

“W-whoa…” Rainbow froze just after taking only one step inside. Each one that arrived after that had the same reaction, blocking the door for the long haired girl at the back.

“O-oh, excuse me. Oh I can’t see.” Fluttershy barely whispered out, not wanting to disturb her friends’ awe. She jumped to try to get a glimpse but to no avail.

“Oh, sorry Fluttershy,” Sunset apologized upon noticing the difficult time she was having. She took a large step to her left, allowing Fluttershy to take her place. When she finally got a look at the interior, she understood why the others froze so suddenly.

The entire interior had been crafted with wood, save for a few items. Upon entering, they were greeted with an indoor stone waterfall. The walls, floor and ceiling was a light brown due to the bark. While the kitchen could be clearly seen immediately to the left of the entrance, furnished with stoves, fridges and fine marble countertops. The living room sat in the middle, adorned with a decent sized table and cushioned teak chairs. Beside that, a large television was hung on the brick fireplace, which itself was surrounded by three large couches.

Meanwhile, Rarity was focused on the staircase, which led up to the three rooms that awaited them. Rainbow, on the other hand, was staring at the giant glass wall on the other end of the lodge,giving a majestic view to the outside, where a balcony with chairs awaited an awe-inspiring view to the forest and rivers that awaited them. Applejack took a deep breath in, smelling the fresh air, no doubt produced by the evergreen trees which surrounded the cozy home.

“Now this is a lodge!” Rainbow shouted, snapping out of the silence, sprinting upstairs to place her bags. “Dibs on Room One!”

“Hey! I want room one too! One rhyme with fun!’ Pinkie exclaimed, shooting up the steps just behind Rainbow.

“All the rooms are the same!” Applejack tried to reason but the door to room one had been shut close. Letting out a sigh, she turned towards the rest of the girls. “So, who's gonna be in room two?”

“I will! Having the middle room would be the most efficient in getting down to the first floor as it is nearest to the top of the steps, making sure I won’t sweat!” Rarity struggled to move towards the staircase, using all the effort she could to pull her suitcases.

“Oh, let me help Rarity!” Fluttershy grasped two of the bags from Rarity’s hands and lifted them up, not even breaking a sweat as she proceeded upwards to room two. The fashionista stared, dumbfounded for a second before trailing behind.

“I guess that means we’re in room three, Sunset,” Applejack turned towards her, smiling. “You alright with that?”

“Well, there’s no difference anyway, right?” Sunset laughed, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Applejack chortled as well. “Nope. Ain’t no difference to me.”

As the two of them moved up the steps, she spoke once more, “glad you could join us Sunset!”

“Glad you all thought to invite me!”

“Heh, why wouldn’t we?” She continued, reaching the top of the steps. “I mean, you're a friend to us!”

“Yeah! Well, I’m still getting used to having friends.” Sunset looked down at her feet, only turning up after she felt a hand hug her across the shoulder.

“Well, don’t let anything from the past fool you into thinkin’ otherwise!” Applejack comforted her, opening the door of the third room.

Sunset gazed inside, noticing that the room was much simpler than the extravagant main rooms. Two separate beds laid on the left, facing towards the right wall, separated only by a bedside table on which stood a lamp. At the back of the room, beside the bathroom, stood a small window with two pink curtains tied up neatly beside it.

“Simple! Just the way I like it!” Applejack sat on the bed furthest away from the door, placing her bag just beside it. Sunset took the other, setting her belongings down as well. “Brought your pajamas? I mean, knowing Pinkie she probably prepared all sorts of games and stuff so we ain’t gonna get much sleep, but still, good to at least dress comfortably!”

Sunset chuckled, feeling the soft material that made up the bedsheets. “Yup. Got it.” Resting her head on the pillow, she asked, “so what’s up first?”

Without warning, a soft growl filled the room. Sunset Shimmer could only burst out laughing as Applejack’s cheeks got bright red. “Lunch, hopefully.”

“Who cooks well?” Sunset inquired, standing on her feet.

“Rarity and Fluttershy cook well. Pinkie’s really good at baking.”

She nodded before exiting the room with Applejack. Glancing down below, they saw the other four already headed to the kitchen.

“I’m making lunch!’ Rarity sang, hauling a bag onto the countertop.

“You basically brought an entire grocery store with you,” Rainbow joked, taking a seat on the couch in the living room.

“Well, one must come prepared!” Rarity took out several knives as she ran them under the tap.

“Rarity, your idea of preparation might be a little different than ours.” Applejack slumped beside Rainbow as the latter turned the television on.

“Like that time we asked you to prepare for a bake sale and you brought your electric mixer!” Pinkie laughed.

“If we needed one, I would’ve been a hero!” Rarity argued once more, starting to chop up several vegetables.

“We were in a park.” Sunset jested, jumping onto the couch as well.

“But the birds were nice!” Fluttershy held her hands together on her cheek, smiling. “D-do you need some help Rarity?”

“Yes, in fact I do. Would you mind helping me warm up the pan with a bit of oil?” Rarity lifted a large bottle of cooking oil from the bag.

“Of course not!” Fluttershy carefully placed the pan on the stove.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. Always a great help!” The words caused the her to blush a faint red as she poured a small amount in.

Applejack forked the meal into her mouth hurriedly as did Rainbow. When their servings were done, they quickly reached to the plate in the middle for seconds.

“I...I see you two are enjoying the spiced salad?” Sunset asked, dodging little bits of flying lettuce and cabbage from Rainbow’s rapid eating. “...A lot?”

Rarity, meanwhile, was daintily piercing one leaf at a time, savoring the flavor of each bite. “I’m glad you two are enjoying my cooking.” Tilting her head up to the two messy eaters, she continued, “but could you two maybe not eat like animals?”

Fluttershy was doing the usual, tucking her right hand to her side as she used only her left hand to fork the food into her mouth. She chewed softly and slowly, for fear of disturbing the others at the table and apologized every time the crunchy leaves would...well, crunch.

“Why can’t you be like Fluttershy here?” Rarity gestured towards said girl, who was now using her hair as a drape to cover her face. Applejack and Rainbow didn’t pay any heed to her words, only continuing their ravenous assault on the greens.

“Where’s Pinkie? She’s been gone for a while now.” Sunset looked at the empty seat just beside Fluttershy. Pinkie had taken only one serving of the salad before dashing off to her room. “Is she alright? Should I check on her?” She gave a concerned stare at the first bedroom door.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about her.” Rarity assured.

“Yeah!” Rainbow added with a mouth full of carrots before swallowing. “Chances are Pinkie’s just preparing a party.”

“A party? For what?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“If you know Pinkie for as long as we have, you know that girl don’t need a reason to throw a party.” Applejack swirled her fork at Sunset only to receive Rarity’s hand on hers, pushing it down.

“Don’t wave your fork, it’s rude,” Rarity spoke with a stern, motherly tone.

Sunset giggled a little, swallowing the last of her meal. “Great meal!”

“Thank you dear. Now, is everyone done?” Rarity set her fork down, gazing at the empty plates that sat in front of each of them. “Good. Now then, what should our first activity be?”

“How about— oof!” Before Rainbow had a chance to finish her sentence, she was pelted from the side, causing her to fall off her chair with a ‘thud!’.

“Rainbow!” Sunset stood up on instinct, turning to see the attacker. Just outside the door to their room stood Pinkie her right arm thrown forward and her left leg high in the air. “Pinkie!?”

“Oh.” Rainbow hopped onto her feet, holding the ball that had just slammed into her a moment ago. “It. Is. On.” However, as she started to wind up her right arm for a throw, she felt the ball taken away from her. “Hey!”

“Maybe we should take this outside, hm?” Applejack said, smirking as she raced out the main door, back to the front yard.

“Hey! Come back here! AJ!” Rainbow sped off after her. One by one the girls left the lodge. Sunset almost did so as well, until she turned around to see Fluttershy clearing the plates left by them.

“Fluttershy? You… you coming?” Sunset gestured her hand towards the door, sounds of screaming and shouting resonated from outside. “Before they hurt each other too badly to play?”

“O-oh heavens no, sports aren’t my thing. Plus, there’s all these dishes! You go on ahead.” Fluttershy replied in a meek tone, setting the dishes carefully into the sink before starting to scrub. Sunset strolled up to the sink, grabbing the second sponge as she started to clean the dishes as well.

“Y-you should really join them you know? I can do this on my own.” Fluttershy didn’t turn her head up as she spoke.

“Well, there’s no reason you should do it alone. Doesn’t matter if you can.” Sunset scrubbed in circular motions before running it under the tap water. Fluttershy didn’t reply as she combed her hair to the side.

Not more than a few minutes later, Sunset sat the last dish to the side to dry, smiling. “And...done. Will you go out now?”

“I-I don’t know…” Fluttershy whispered, holding her right arm with her left hand.

“Come on. You don’t have to play! Maybe...be the referee?” Sunset negotiated, moving towards the main door.

“I-I guess that would be alright.” The shy teenager shuffled out the door, Sunset moving along with her.

The main door flew open in a flurry as thunder roared and lightning flashed. The six girls quickly sped inside, drenched from head to toe from the intense rain. Sunset took large breaths, laughing with the others as she did so.

“I totally scored that last point!” Rainbow bellowed out, sitting down on the floor as she caught her breath.

“Am I going to have to punch the air out your head? Rarity and I totally scored it!” Applejack argued, squeezing water out of her ponytail.

“I think Applejack is quite right. That ball was kicked by us.” Rarity fluttered her blouse dry.

“But rebounded by me!” Sunset pointed at herself.

“Alright, Fluttershy. Since you're the referee, who scored that last point?” All four girls turned towards her, causing her to shiver.

“W-well, maybe...maybe we’re all winners?” Fluttershy inched her way to the washroom. “I mean, if that’s...that’s alright with all of you. We don’t need to argue.” Once she was close enough, she ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

“I think you’re all winners too!” Pinkie hopped up and down, poms poms in her hands. “D-A-S-H! You are super super great! Go...Dashie!” she cheered with glee, waving the soaking wet spheres of plastic over Rainbow’s head, causing rainwater to drip down onto her.

“H-hey! Alright! Enough cheering!” Rainbow batted her hands away softly. Pinkie remained unfazed, continuing her shouts of hurrah.

“Well, looks like we’re not going out there anytime soon.” Sunset tossed her shoes to the side, taking off her socks as well.

“Well, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun here!” Rarity spoke with an upbeat tone.

“Rarity’s right. Just because we can’t go out there doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be having fun here. It is our holiday after all!” Applejack waddled towards the staircase.

“But first we should take a bath. Unless we want this lodge to be covered in rainwater.” Rainbow hurried to her room as well.

“Right!” Rarity, Sunset and Pinkie agreed together, all of them racing to their individual rooms.

Sunset Shimmer opened the door to her room, dressed in a loose orange t-shirt and yellow shorts. She packed her dirty clothes into a small bag before setting it down.

“How was the bath?” Applejack asked as she laid on the bed.

“Great! Never enjoyed a warm shower so much before!” Sunset continued to dry her hair, running the towel roughly through her locks.

“If you wanna enjoy a cold shower just ask for work at the farm!” Applejack joked, turning towards her.

Sunset laughed as she hung the towel on the hook at the back of the door. “So what’s next?”

Applejack gave a nonchalant shrug. “We kinda didn’t plan for rain. Tonight we were supposed to do a barbeque but seeing as how this weather is wetter than the Canterlot High’s sprinkler malfunction, I think we can safely say that ain’t gonna happen.”

Sitting down on the bed, Sunset Shimmer turned her attention to her hands, which were now clasped together. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be fun. Anything will be fun as long as I’m spending it with you girls.”

“Umm, you alright?” Applejack sat herself upright, giving a concerned stare towards Sunset Shimmer.

“Y-yeah? Why?” Sunset lifted her head and tilted it slightly as she asked.

“Nothing. You kinda just...said that outta nowhere.” Applejack gave a warm smile. “Well, we’re glad to have you here as well.” Upon hearing the words, Sunset couldn’t help but give a smile of her own back. However, their moment was quickly interrupted by their door opening and Rainbow’s head poking in.

“Hey, you two! Come down to the living room, we’re going to play a game to pass the time!”

“Be right there, Rainbow Dash!” Sunset nodded as the door closed shut. “Well, come on, don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Wonder what game it is…” Applejack tapped her chin.

“Truth. Or. Dare!” Pinkie spoke in a low, gruff voice, her face mere inches from Applejack’s.

“G-great! Sounds like...fun?” Applejack grinned nervously.

“You’re right it does!” Pinkie bounced to her sitting position, returning to her usual bubbly personality once more. “Everybody knows how to play?” To which the rest nodded. “Oki doki loki! Whose first?”

“Me! Duh! Always first!” Rainbow reached down and spun the glass bottle. The others focused their eyes on it, watching it pass by each girl that was gathered on the living room floor. The bottle soon slowed to a stop and…

“Wow Rainbow, you really are first!” Pinkie spoke with an innocent tone. Rainbow slapped her own forehead, glancing once more at the neck of the bottle pointed right at her to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. “So…?”

“Dare.” Rainbow breathed in. “But let’s make a rule, no going outside alright? I don’t have enough spare shirts for another bath so soon.”

“Aww...alright!” Pinkie agreed. “I dare you to...eat this entire candy!” Upon saying the words, she whipped out a small yellow candy in front of Rainbow’s eyes.

“...That’s it? Puh-lease Pinkie!” Rainbow swiped the candy from her fingers, tossing it into her mouth. “There! Easy!” As the candy touched her tongue, she felt an intense rush of sour hit her senses.

“Oh right! I forgot to say, it’s super sour!” Pinkie and the others laughed hard at Rainbow’s continually contorting face. Her mouth scrunched up and eyes squinted hard, only for them to open wide and repeat the process once more.

“I haven’t seen Rainbow so funny—” Applejack paused, slamming a fist on the table. “—since that time she took one of my green apples!” She barely muttered out through her laughter.

“O-or that time she accidentally signed up to model for the school dresses!” Rarity spluttered, wiping away a stray tear.

Rainbow had a million rebuttals ready but was too concentrated on the moisture-sucking sweet that was on her tongue. Only after a few painful minutes did she manage to swallow the tart candy, her face still sucked in as if somebody had vacuumed the air away.

“Peech oh chake.” Rainbow bluttered out through her pursed lips, only causing even louder laughter from her friends.

“A-alright, I- hehe- I guess I’ll go next.” Fluttershy reached her hand down to the bottle, spinning it. As the others recovered, the bottle stopped with its neck pointing towards Rarity.

“Oh my. Well, I suppose truth would be the safer choice. Considering what Rainbow Dash just had to go through.”

“Hm… have you...ever liked a boy?” Fluttershy asked, hoping she wouldn’t get called out on how simple the question was.

“Well of course, Fluttershy! I’ve liked many boys!” Rarity knew Fluttershy would never get too personal and so, was not worried at the shy girl’s question.

“I don’t mean just like, Rarity. Not to ask them to carry your books for you but are there any boys you...you really liked?” Fluttershy’s words generated a soft blush from Rarity, who turned away with a finger at her curls.

“...No, I’m afraid not. However, I am not worried. That special someone will come along eventually!” Rarity quickly sat upright once more. “I think that answers that!”

“Well, yes. Thank you Rarity.” Fluttershy smiled at her friend.

“Well, it’s my turn!” Sunset grabbed the bottle and gave it a good spin. ‘Wonder who’ll get-” Before she could finish her sentence, the bottle stopped, pointing directly at the spinner. “...Oh horsefeathers,” she sighed. “Dare.”

“Eat this chip!” Rainbow took the offer, passing Sunset a single potato chip from a bag. Sunset took the crispy object, analyzing it for anything that might be off about it.

“What’s the catch?” Sunset cautiously asked, still inspecting it.

“Why don’t you taste it to find out?” Applejack coaxed. Sunset took a deep breath and placed the chip into her mouth, crunching down on it. Hearing the snickering of Applejack and Rainbow, she was worried it would spontaneously combust in her mouth.

At first, everything seemed fine. However, two seconds later, a sudden spicy sucker-punch slammed into Sunset’s mouth, igniting a raging inferno. “Mmm!” the unfortunate victim gave a muffled scream, rushing towards the kitchen and pulling the fridge open. She snagged the carton of milk, drinking it down, hoping to quench the wildfire that was in her mouth. It poured down the side of her face as she drank it with reckless abandon.

Meanwhile, the snickering from Applejack and Rainbow had turned into full-blown laughing, the others even joining in as Sunset drenched her face in the milk.

“N-nice one Rainbow!” Applejack stuttered out, clutching her stomach.

“T-thank- bahahahahaha!” The prankster’s laugh echoed off the walls of the cabin.

Sunset soon returned, her tongue hanging out of her mouth, eyes watering. “N-next please…”

An hour or two passed, many truths and dares had been done. Rainbow had upped the spicy chip for each dare from one to two to the current four. Luckily, Sunset had the idea to pour a cup of milk for each of them, allowing them to drink swiftly should they take the dare.

Once more, the bottle stopped at Sunset, this time Rainbow being the spinner. Sunset took a deep breath to recover herself from her previous laughing fit. “T-truth.”

“Alright! So...what was is it like when you were younger?”

The words shocked Sunset out of her giggles and smiles, causing her to freeze for a few seconds to process what she was just asked. And even then, she sat in disbelief. “I’m… s-sorry?”

“You know, back in your world, what was it like?”

Sunset closed her eyes tight, her breathing becoming slow and focused. All at once a rush of horrible memories entered her mind, about what she did, what she felt. The once light and carefree atmosphere of the lodge had been suddenly weighed down with what felt like several trucks. Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes but stared at the floor to her right, her mouth in a long frown. “I-I’d like dare instead...please.”

“No take-backseys!” Pinkie cheerfully and obliviously sang out.

With the air around her threatening to choke her and steal her breath, Sunset stood up. “I...I need to get something from my room. You all continue without me.” With that, she sped up the steps, hoping to find some solace and calm on her bed. She tossed the door open and dashed inside, shutting the door behind her.

The others only looked at each other in confusion.

“W-was it something I said?” asked Rainbow, running her hand through her hair.

In the room, Sunset lay on the soft bed, eyes fixated on the wooden ceiling above her. She took deep breaths, trying to let the pitter-patter of rain on her window and the distant roar of thunder drown out the sudden influx of horrible emotions. So focused was she on her thoughts that she didn’t hear the door creaking open.

“Hey, sugercube?” A familiar southern accent reached her ears. Sunset raised her head to glance at the waiting girl. “Mind if I come in?”

Sunset shook her head, allowing Applejack to take a few more steps inside and shut the door as quietly as she could. Taking a seat on her own bed, Applejack spoke once more, “about what happened downstairs…”

“I’m sorry. It’s just...my past is something that’s—” she took another large breath. “That’s hard to talk about.” Sunset returned her gaze to the ceiling above.

“Well, then let’s not talk about it.” Applejack pulled her bag towards her, unzipping the top. “You have anything you wanna do?”

“Huh? No...no I just...I’m really sorry about ruining the moment.” Sunset inhaled deeply. “I guess that’s what I seem to be good for.”

“Now that ain’t true and you know it.” Applejack reached into the open compartment of her bag, retrieving two bright red apples. “Hey, catch!”

Sunset looked right just in time to catch the flying apple. She glanced at its shining red skin, noticing just how fresh it was. “...Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Juices flew in Sunset’s direction as Applejack took a bite out of hers. “Dinner’s anytime now.”

“Dinner?” Sunset gazed at the clock, noticing that it was almost seven in the evening. “Wow...today just flew by.”

“Wanna help Rarity prepare?” inquired Applejack.

“I would, but the last time I tried to help cook something, I almost burned Canterlot High down with it,” Sunset joked, trying to get her mind off her memories.

Applejack responded with a laugh. “Trust me, with Rarity that won’t happen. Heck, she won’t let you even cut the carrots unless it’s exactly the way she wants it.”

“W-well, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t mind. I’m just scared that—”
“Then what’re you waitin’ for? Come on!” Applejack hopped to her feet and held the door open. Smiling to herself, Sunset exited the room with Applejack’s hand over her shoulder.

“Wonderful job on the dinner!” Pinkie complimented.

“Thanks, dear. But Sunset was of a lot of help. I simply could not have done it without her!” Rarity placed her hand over Sunset’s shoulder, patting her back. Sunset smiled humbly as she cleared the empty plates.

“Hey, Sunset. About what happened at the truth or dare game.” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I mean. Look, about what happened—”

“Apology accepted.” Sunset scooped up Rainbow’s plate, smiling to the athletic girl before heading to the sink to wash the dishes.

“Oh, so what do we do now?” Fluttershy turned to look out the large glass window. “It’s still pouring harshly.”

Pinkie saw that the sky was near pitch-black, no doubt that the downpour obscured the moon and stars as well. Darting from one end of the lodge to the other, she started tossing odd objects on the floor in front of the fireplace. Books, flashlights and other small objects flew past the five waiting girls.

Suddenly, the lights went off, drenching the place in darkness and silence.

“Umm...P-Pinkie?” Sunset stuttered out, unable to even see her own hand in front of her face.

With a ‘click’ the only source of light flickered on, coming from a small flashlight that illuminated Pinkie’s face at the other end of the table. “Scary stories!” she screamed out at the other girls. However, the only scream that came was from Fluttershy, who hugged the person closest to her: Sunset Shimmer.

“Alright!” Rainbow pumped her fist in the air. “I have a whole bunch to tell!”

“Then come to the fireplace!” Pinkie acted as if she was drifting on thin air, wiggling her fingers and making ‘ooo’ sounds to attempt to scare her friends. The rest turned to each other, giggling softly as they sat down in a circle.

“Me first!” Rainbow picked up her own flashlight. “Let me tell a story about...the Cabin in the Mountaintops!”

“Like this one?” Pinkie asked, perky once more.

“This very one in fact!”

“And so, if you hear sobbing from outside, never, ever check it. Because...it might be her!” Rainbow raised her arms threateningly, backed up by a sudden flash of lightning. The others gasped before a round of applause followed it.

“Nice one Dashie!” Pinkie clapped.

“Yeah! That was pretty scary!” Sunset smiled. “So, who's next?”

“How about you Fluttershy?” Applejack grabbed the flashlight, passing it to the trembling girl.

“O-o-oh no, I’m afraid my stories are too scary for all of you! And they’re real too!” Fluttershy pushed Applejack’s hand away.

“Pfft, please. Too scary for Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow puffed her chest out. “No such thing!”

“W-well, if you say so.” Fluttershy grabbed the light and shined it from under her chin. “There was this one time, I was in my backyard late at night.”

“Uh huh?” The others leaned forward.

“And...and I saw Angel bunny.” Fluttershy had begun shaking.

“Uh huh?” The five girls repeated, leaning closer.

“He...and he… he was angry! Which wasn’t like him…” Tears had started to flow, prompting a quick hug from Applejack.

“And?” They were practically in a tight circle now.

“And it was because...he had a thorn in his paw!” Fluttershy dived into Applejack’s shoulder, sobbing immensely. Sunset’s eyebrows furrowed, looking at the others who had the same reaction.

“That’s i- Ow!” Rarity’s elbow had slammed into Rainbow’s shoulder. She turned to the fashionista, who was very fiercely shaking her head.

“So...so that was...that was creepy alright!” acted Rainbow with a large grin.

“Yes it was!” Fluttershy’s muffled cries could barely be understood.

“Oookay then!” Sunset quickly tried to change the subject as Applejack patted the crying girl on her back. “So whose—”

“Me!” Pinkie grabbed the flashlight, shining it under her chin.

“Pinkie dear, this isn’t about the time your bottle of whipped cream came alive again is it?” Rarity sat with her knees pressed against her chest.

“First of all, it was a bottle of frosting! And no! It’s totally different, even more scary than that!”

“I sure hope so…” Rainbow whispered with gritted teeth, only to receive yet another soft elbow blow to her chest. This time, it came from Applejack. “Ow.”

“This story is about a lonely young girl who lived in an unnamed town!” Pinkie begun, her eyes widening to twice their size.

“Wait, unnamed? Meaning that no one has named it?” Rainbow interrupted.

“Or that no one knows the name?” Applejack continued.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to name it?’ Sunset reasoned.

“Ah, all of the above! Now let me continue my story!” shouted Pinkie. “Ahem. This girl went to a school in that town, but she was special! She was smart!”

“Oh?” Sunset listened in, her interest piqued.

“Oh, yes! But even though she was really smart, there was one thing she couldn’t do. She couldn’t...make friends!”

Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy let out a cohesive gasp as thunder boomed from outside. Sunset’s arms quickly wrapped around herself upon hearing the words. “O-oh?” she asked once more, closing her eyes.

“Yes! Scary, I know right?” Pinkie returned to her high-pitched tone for a second but quickly went back to her low, serious tone. “No matter what she tried, she couldn’t make friends with anyone but the teachers, who liked her for how smart and attentive she was! But that wasn’t enough for her, so one day, she disappeared.”

Sunset had drawn her knees to her chest, tightening the hug around herself significantly.

“Rumors say that she wanders to each school in the country and that you can hear her if you walk in a school at night, where she asks you to be her friend. Or else…”

“Or else… or else what?” Rainbow was shaking, though she probably wouldn’t admit it later.

“Or else...she’ll make it so that you can get any friends!” Pinkie threw her flashlight in the air, catching it with the loop at the end of her hair. Applejack screamed at the sudden movement, as did all the others but Sunset Shimmer. The screaming quickly dissolved into laughter. Even Fluttershy, wiping the tears from her eyes, had begun to joyfully giggle and sit upright.

“Sunset dear, are you alright?” asked Rarity, finally noticing the odd position she was in.

“I’m...I’m fine.” Sunset forced a smile, pretending to let out an audible yawn.

“Tired already?” Rainbow scooped a few chocolates and dumped them into her mouth.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m not used to… to having such a tiring day.”

“Sunset’s right though. We’ve had a busy day. Maybe we should call it a night?” Applejack crunched on a few chips as she spoke.

Fluttershy let out a tiny yawn, immediately apologizing after doing so, “sorry. I’m a little tired too.”

“Well, then let’s get some sleep so we have energy for tomorrow!” Pinkie beamed, bouncing towards the steps and later, up it.

“I heard that!” Applejack stood, offering a hand to Sunset.

“I need everybody to be in tip top awakey bakey shape!”

Sunset maintained her smile, grabbing Applejack’s hand as they moved back to their room to rest.

Lifting her head up, Sunset Shimmer gazed at the clock once more.

Midnight… She continued to toss and turn, hoping that she would finally fall asleep after hours of cluttered thoughts and scattered memories. Sitting up again, she pulled her bag softly towards her, careful not to wake the snoring country girl just across her. As she unzipped the top, she could see the faint symbol of her cutie mark on the book she had been using quite a bit for the past few months. Sunset grabbed the spine and headed out of the room.

Down at the kitchen, Applejack walked down the steps to the living room and kitchen. Still in a slightly dazed state, she didn’t notice much until a faint light caught the side of her eye. Looking up, she saw Sunset Shimmer sitting at the kitchen countertop, candle beside her, eyes locked onto the book.

“Awake this late?” Applejack’s call caused Sunset to jump a little before she realized it was just her roommate.

“Yeah. Can’t...can’t sleep.” Sunset rested her head on her left hand, staring back down at the worn yellow pages.

“Those scary stories didn’t cause that did it? Cause I’m certain they were just made up.” Applejack pulled a stool and sat beside Sunset, who giggled at her theory.

“No, no. Just some other things.”

“Like?” Applejack gazed over at the book, noticing that it was the very first page, one she had not seen before.

“Like… that story Pinkie told when about the girl who couldn’t make friends?”

“That’s just Pinkie being Pinkie, that story ain’t true. You ain’t gonna hear no ghost girl asking to make friends!” Applejack dismissed it quickly, shifting closer.

“That’s not the part that’s disturbing me, Applejack. I’m not afraid to encounter her. I just...I feel like I’m her. B-besides the ghost part.” Sunset ran her right index finger across the words of the first page. Words Applejack couldn’t make out under the dim candlelight.

“What, that you can’t make friends? That’s nonsense.”

“Yeah, sure seems like it now. Not when I was younger though.” Sunset leaned back in her chair, setting the book on her lap. “A student of Princess Celestia.”

“That must’ve been quite an honor. Being a student of a Princess,” commented Applejack.

“It was. It was the greatest honor I ever had but the other students in my class didn’t like that.” Sunset looked up into Applejack’s jade-colored eyes. “It’s weird. When you’re a student of Celestia, teachers don’t care for your name. They just think you’re perfect. Everyone looked to me for answers and I was hated when I had them, I was hated when I didn’t. They expected...perfection. Something I couldn’t give them.” Sunset placed the book on the countertop, shifting it to Applejack. “I talked to Twilight about this very problem at the sleepover at Pinkie’s.”

Applejack lifted the book, holding it under the light, finally able to read what it said.

‘Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m so happy to write my first friendship report! I found some great new friends! They’re really fun, really happy! I haven’t told them I’m your student yet, I want it to be a surprise! But I really think I can find the magic of friendship!

Your faithful student,
Sunset Shimmer’

“They weren’t surprised. I think they were more of furious, jealous.” Sunset Shimmer rested her head on the table. “What I wouldn’t give to write that letter to Princess Celestia about you five.”

“They...didn’t like it that you were a student of a Princess?” Applejack asked, perplexed.

Sunset shook her head. “They thought that meant I was smarter, greater. They thought I was saving it to show-off, when all I ever wanted to do was make friends. It’s so weird. No matter how many times I told them I wasn’t the answer to everything, they still expected it. The last thing I want was to… let everybody down, so I tried to find the answers to everything, which only caused them to hate me more.”

“S-Sunset, I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”

“It’s fine, AJ. I just wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that everything’ll work out. Though I’m not even sure if she’ll believe me.” Sunset twiddled her fingers, sitting back upright. “All of you sound like you had such a great childhood.” A heavy sigh escaped her lips. “Makes me kind of envious.”

“Heh, I’m not sure we can compare to your childhood from another world, but our past ain’t all sunshine and rainbows either.” Applejack closed the book. “Get to know the other girls long enough, you know that they didn’t know no magic of friendship either for the longest time, until we came to Canterlot High.”

“And then I drifted you girls away with fake texts…”

“Now don’t you be bringing back old news,” Applejack sternly said, crossing her arms. “Just because you didn’t do good things in the past, doesn’t mean you can't do good things in the present or future.”

Sunset paused for a beat. “Still can’t believe you all forgive me for what I did.”

“That’s what friends do, Sunset. Granny Smith always told me that my pa used to say ‘Ain’t no use focusing on what’s gone and what’s to come. Just focus on the present. Cause that’s exactly what it is, a gift.’ “ Applejack threw her hand around Sunset’s shoulder.

“Your father sounds like a very wise man.” Sunset grabbed the book, hugging it to her chest with a small smile.

“I was told he was. Though I was too young to remember anything about him.”

Sunset remained silent and turned away, closing her eyes. “Wonder if Princess Celestia has forgiven me like you all have.”

“Well, that ain’t gonna matter. Whether she has or not, we forgive you and so has most of Canterlot High!”

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m still reeling about finally discovering what it’s like to have… to have friends.” Sunset grinned, standing up.

“Well, don’t worry. You’ll get used to it,” Applejack laughed, patting Sunset’s back as she stood up. “I’m actually gonna make some juice, yer want any?”

“Thanks but...I better get some shut eye. See you tomorrow?”

Applejack gave a firm nod. “See you tomorrow.”

With Applejack’s words ringing in her mind, Sunset moved up to her room and closed the door. Laying on her bed with the book hugged tightly to her chest, she fell asleep with a smile drawn on her face.

Chapter 2: Board Games & Warlocks

View Online

A wonderful aroma wafted to Sunset Shimmer’s nose. Rising up from her bed, her ears picked up the faint sounds of tiny droplets of rain still falling onto her window. After focusing her vision, she turned to her left to see Applejack sleeping soundly and that the book she was reading was still well in her grasp. She sat the book down and stood up. As the door creaked open, Sunset could hear the faint sizzle of the pan from the kitchen.

“Rarity!” Sunset shouted from the staircase, moving downwards.

“Oh, morning Sunset! You’re the first one up!” Rarity sprinkled some salt into the frying pan, pressing down some eggs. “Well, besides me of course.”

Sunset gave a loud yawn, stretching her arms up high. “Yeah, you’re up early.”

“Well, I had my seven hours of rest and so decided to make breakfast! How do you like your eggs? Scrambled? Sunny-side up?” Rarity cracked two eggs into a second pan, hearing the loud sizzle echo through the lodge.

“Anything’s fine, really. Thanks, Rarity.” Sunset opened the kitchen cupboard and took out utensils.

“It’s of no trouble, darling. So, did you sleep well?”

“Surprisingly…” Sunset placed a fork in front of a seat, turning to Rarity. “...yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“Well that’s excellent. Because from what I heard, Pinkie brought some odd board game for us to play.”

“Board games?” Sunset Shimmer asked curiously, still laying napkins and spoons for each person.

“Yes. Apparently it’s one she loves. Rainbow did have an array of contests for us to take part in. However, seeing as the weather is...less than ideal for that,” Rarity gestured with her spatula to the heavy storm pouring just outside. “Pinkie suggested we play indoors instead!” Rarity answered, breaking off several leaves from a coriander plant and sprinkling them into the eggs.

“Well that sounds fun! As long as we aren’t eating any of those spicy chips!” Sunset laughed, prompting Rarity to do the same.

“So, have you written to Princess Twilight?”

“Huh? Why would I?” Sunset placed her final spoon, holding onto the top of a chair as she spoke.

“Well, I thought you would want to tell her about this trip is all. It would be interesting! And you could also ask if she’s done something similar!”

“Twilight? Camping? I don’t know, she doesn’t strike me as the…” Sunset waved her hand in front of her face several times, trying to find the right words. “Outdoors kind of person.”

“Fair enough. Still, you should tell her how you’re hanging out with your best friends in a lodge and how you’re having an absolutely wonderful time!” Rarity tilted a pan over a white porcelain plate, watching the scrambled eggs slide onto it. “Y-you are having a good time, right?”

Sunset’s mind was already forming the letter in her head, though she barely managed to catch the last few words Rarity had said. “H-huh? Oh yeah, of course! Spending time with you girls in a lodge like this? How can I not?”

Rarity pushed the plate towards Sunset Shimmer, who took them with a smile. “Mmm...smells great.”

“You’re lucky I’m the one making these eggs and not Sweetie Belle. That girl has some talent to be able to burn juice.”

Sunset paused as she was about to take a bite of her breakfast. “...B-burn...burn juice?”

“Yes. Don’t ask me how. I never understood and neither do I want to know!” Rarity quickly cracked another few eggs as Sunset took a bite of hers.

One by one the others had started to arrive, each of them requesting their eggs from Rarity who then prepared their order to a tee, making sure the eggs were a scrumptious golden yellow before serving.

“These eggs are perfect, Rarity!” Fluttershy chirped happily, taking more bites.

“I sure hope so! Each egg was carefully prepared with just the right amount of seasonings, herbs and love!” Rarity bragged a little, smiling proudly.

“Yeah! They’re even better than those instant noodles from the store!” Rainbow shoveled the breakfast into her waiting maw.

Rarity gave a soft sigh. “Why am I not surprised.”

“Well, I usually eat cakes for breakfast, but this is good too!” Pinkie scooped a good amount of her scrambled meal into her mouth.

“Wait, cakes? For breakfast?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah! Pancakes!” Pinkie clarified.

“Oh, whew. I thought you meant dessert-type cake—”

“With an entire bottle of whipped cream!” The hyperactive girl interrupted, licking her plate clean.

“Right, at least now I know what all the whipped cream in your fridge is for.” Sunset muttered under her breath, placing the fork down on her empty plate.

“Alright, Pinkie. Why don’t you get your game and set it up so we can begin?”

“Oki doki loki!” Pinkie sped up the steps and into her room.

Sunset lifted her tiny figure depicting a robed warlock-like person, looking at its hunched form and long staff. “Right, so work together, defeat the evil demon thing and then we win?” she asked, squinting to see the figure’s crumpled robe.

“Yup! And survive!” Pinkie unfolded a long board, covering her side of the table.

Rainbow placed her figure, one depicting a thief holding two daggers, down on the board. “So, like, everyone’s my teammate except you Pinks?’

“Right! I’m the evil storyteller that’s trying to kill all of you!”

Sunset gazed down at what Pinkie called her character sheet, where long words and numbers describing her character’s strength, agility and a multitude of other statistics could be seen.

“So, everybody’s working together except for… you Sunset!”

“Huh?” Sunset turned her attention to Pinkie, who was dressed in a long black robe.

“You’re working for me for now. Umm...no offence.”

Sunset sighed. “None taken… I’m used to it,” she spoke in an exhausted tone. “Fine, let’s be… let’s be all evil and stuff.”

“Okay, so Rainbow, you find yourself at an inn with Applejack, who’s a brawler! You can talk to her now.”

“I could…” Rainbow’s mischievous smirk appeared once more.

“Oh horsefeathers.” Applejack covered her eyes, already knowing what her playful friend was planning.

“Or...I could steal from her first!” Rainbow lifted her head slightly, an air of arrogance surrounding her.

“If you want to, sure! Roll your twenty-sided die!”

Rainbow lifted her die and tossed it forward, letting it roll before watching it land on the number seventeen. “Aw yeah!”

“You...steal from Applejack twenty bronze pieces.” Pinkie ran her hand along something behind her board, what it might have been the others wouldn’t have been able to guess.

“Rainbow! We’re supposed to be working together!” Applejack shouted to which Sunset couldn’t help but giggle.

“Fine, fine. I speak to Applejack! I say ‘Hello Brawler! Could you lend me twenty bronze pieces?’” After which Rainbow quickly broke down laughing, hitting the table.

“Argh! ...Pinkie, can I punch her?”

“I suppose so, AJ! Roll for punch!” Pinkie threw her two hands up in the air. Applejack cupped the die in her hands, preparing to roll when Sunset stopped them.

“Hey hey! You two are supposed to be working together! Don’t kill each other!” Sunset yelled. “Friends, remember?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, sighing softly. “Alright, alright. Pinkie, I give her the twenty bronze coins I stole.”

“Oki doki!”

“And I accept.” Applejack calmly placed her die on the table.

“Alright, so you two meet and…”

“Two damage!” Rarity shouted.

“Woo hoo! Nice one Rarity! High-five!” Rainbow slapped Rarity’s open palm. “That means that this orc is D-E-A-D!”

“Yup! So continue on deeper into the dungeon?” Pinkie asked, scribbling down some notes.

“Duh! We’re on a roll! Nobody can stop us!” Rainbow proudly stated, crossing her hands as she leaned back into her chair.

Sunset was resting her face on her right hand, having barely gotten any play time since they started. “Yeah… great…”

“As you move deeper into the dark dungeon...Surprise! The sorcerer’s evil daughter surprises you!” Pinkie leaned to her left where Sunset was sitting. “That’s you!”

“Huh? Oh...oh! Right! I...I appear!” Sunset grabbed her waiting figure and placed it in front of the five others.

“O-oh dear. I don’t want to hurt Sunset!” Fluttershy covered her mouth with the character sheet.

“Fluttershy, you’re a cleric. You can’t hurt anyone anyway.” Applejack pointed to her strength statistic, which read a measly ten.

“O-oh, right. But still—”

“No time to chat!” Pinkie’s sudden outburst caused the meek girl to raise the character sheet even higher. “The Sorcerer’s daughter casts an evil spell!”

“That’s right!” Sunset stood up, using her legs to push the chair backwards. “I cast… life drain! On...you!” She pointed her finger at Rainbow, who reacted with a loud gasp.

“Oh it’s on!”

Sunset threw her die on the table, watching it reach a seventeen. An evil smirk grew across her lips, looking back at Rainbow who looked on with devastation.

“No!” Rainbow shouted, throwing her head back.

“Five damage! You’re one hit point away from dying, Dashie!”

“I know! Fluttershy, you have to heal me!” begged Rainbow.

“O-oh, of course. I could always—”

“No, Fluttershy!” Applejack cut in. “You have to heal me! I can do the most damage!”

“Of-of course. I’ll heal you and then—”

“You do the most damage? I deal way more with my agility stat, AJ!” Rainbow pointed at her character sheet, showing an impressive thirty-three agility.

“But I’m faster! We ain’t gonna know how fast or slow Sunset is!”

The argument raged on, Fluttershy shaking as Rarity jutted in, claiming she deserved the heal as she could defend them from attacks and buy them time. Pinkie leaned in towards Sunset, who was looking on confused.

“Good job sowing evil like that!” Pinkie complimented, but it only caused Sunset to open her eyes wider.

“H-hey, you girls.” Sunset tried to cut into the increasingly loud shouting but to no avail. “Girls, please. Girls, come on.” She moved forward. “Girls!” The booming voice cut the argument immediately, all eyes turned towards Sunset Shimmer. “Girls, let’s...let’s take a break alright? Take a bath? Do...do other things for now?”

“Sunset’s right! We’ll continue after lunch!” Pinkie scribbled a few more things before closing the board. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow gave each other a short scowl before leaving to their individual rooms. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was under the table, shaking. Sunset sat back down, not noticing Fluttershy’s position.

“P-Pinkie…” Sunset called in an exhausted tone.

“Hm? Yes Sunset?” Pinkie had begun packing her items.

“Can I...can I not be the bad guy, please?” Sunset breathed in to hold back the mix of emotions within her. “I just… I don’t want to be remembered like that.”

“Oh? I thought you would be happy being the sorcerer’s daughter!” Pinkie shifted her chair beside Sunset, who hugged herself.

“Well I’m not, alright? I want to be a hero! Someone who saves the world! You know… a good guy.”

Fluttershy’s shivering stopped upon hearing Sunset’s request. She summoned her courage and poked her head out. “But you are a good guy.”

Sunset leaped in her seat at Fluttershy’s sudden appearance. “F-Fluttershy. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

“Sunset, it’s just a game. We don’t think you as a villain! You’re a friend!” spoke Fluttershy.

“I know it’s just a game! But...I want to be seen as a hero too.” Sunset sighed, placing her arms on the table.

“Hmm…” Pinkie tapped her chin. “Tell you what, I have an idea! Why don’t you make lunch with Fluttershy and I’ll see what I can come up with!” Pushing herself back to her packed objects, she dug and pulled out her notepad, starting to write down a few things.

“I...alright. Thank you, Pinkie.”

“Come on. We’re going to make the most delicious fried mash for them!” Fluttershy offered a hand to Sunset, who took it without thinking. Pulling her up, she proceeded to the kitchen.

“Shouldn’t we check on the others?”

“Oh they’ll be fine. Just give them some time to cool down and they’ll be back to normal by lunch!” Fluttershy basically sang, passing a few heads of lettuce to Sunset. “Help me chop these up alright?”

Sunset nodded, lifting up the knife as she started to prepare the vegetables.

The dining table was unusually quiet. Everyone paid attention only to their own plates, chowing down on the golden brown mash.

“S-so, crazy rain huh?” Sunset tried to start a conversation, but there was no follow-up. “Talk about heavy rain...eh heh…” Once again, silence. Sunset placed her fork down. “I’m sorry, alright?” This time, the others turned their attention upwards to her. “I didn’t mean for you guys to argue! I was just...I was excited to finally play! Don’t be like this, please! I don’t want to break you all up!”

There was silence once more, until Rainbow burst out in laughter. “Huh?” Sunset looked at her oddly, but Applejack and Rarity soon joined her as well, chortling loudly. “I...I’m so lost.”

“Y-you thought we were going to stop being friends because of a game?” Rainbow held in a breath of air to try to calm down.

“Oh, Sunset. We ain’t gonna stop being friends because we argued a bit,” explained Applejack.

“AJ’s right. In fact, we argue quite often, but that doesn’t mean we hate each other!” Rarity continued.

“I...I thought best friends don’t fight at all!” Sunset looked at Pinkie and Fluttershy, who were smiling as well.

“Heh, you have a lot to learn about friendship, Sunset. You see, best friends aren’t going to not fight forever!” said Rainbow, grinning.

“After all, we’re all different!” Applejack sat her fork down.

“Best friends argue yet forget and or forgive the others just as quickly!” Rarity scooped a bit of the mash into her mouth.

“Because their friendship is worth more than any argument!” Pinkie added.

“So...you all aren’t mad?” Sunset hoped to clarify one last time.

“No!” The five answered together, smiling at her.

“We aren’t mad at each other or you. Maybe we were just now, but not right now!” Rainbow picked her fork back up.

“Sounds like you have a letter to Princess Twilight to write.” Fluttershy sipped her drink.

“Yeah…” Sunset forked the last of her lunch in. “I definitely do!” she excitedly agreed, running up the steps and into her room. Yanking the book out of her bag, she sat down and flipped open to a fresh page, pen in hand.

‘Dear Princess Twilight...’

“Heal!” Fluttershy nervously flicked her die forward.

“Ten! You heal her for...two!” Pinkie pointed at Rarity.

“Good enough! I cast shield block!” Rarity threw her die forward, Rainbow and Applejack watching anxiously.

“No!” Rainbow shouted.

“Oh no…” Applejack stared at the large number one that taunted them.

“Critical failure! Sorry Rarity, your spell fails!”

“Great!” Rainbow slumped her head on the table. “Our last damage dealer is going to be incapacitated as well!” She poked her own figurine, which had been turned on its side, signaling that it had been critically injured.

“Well, your turn Sunset!”

“I… cast revive all.”

“Huh!?” The four heroes exclaimed out loud.

“Gasp!” Pinkie shouted the word, badly feigning shock, watching Sunset’s die roll and land on a fifteen. “You...revive them all! But why oh why would you do that Sorcerer’s daughter?”

“Yeah...why?” Rainbow squinted her eyes only to receive a light smack on her shoulder from Applejack. “Ow! Stop that!”

“The Sorcerer has been torturing its citizens.” Sunset tried to act the part as best she could. “And I can take no more. I have been seeking a group of adventurers worthy enough to fight him. The others perished in seconds but you all… you all have vigor the likes of which I have never seen! Will you allow me to join in your quest?”

“Well? What say you?” Pinkie spread her arms forth towards the four girls.

“I say we let her join!” Fluttershy was, surprisingly, the first to comment.

“What!? After she almost killed us!?” Rainbow spurted out.

“Almost, Rainbow. But she didn’t.” Rarity corrected.

“W-well, I guess… I guess you’re right.”

Applejack nodded. “We accept her offer!”

“Woo hoo!” Sunset leapt up. Only realizing what she had just done did she quickly get back in her seat and clear her throat. “I-I mean… thank you. We shall slay that evil being together!”

“Alright! Great! Warlock Sunset Shimmer has joined the party!”

Rainbow gestured Sunset over, letting her sit with the four of them as they faced Pinkie. She gave a small wink towards her dungeon master, who gave a nod, and a smile, in return.

Sunset was beaming, happiness and warmth welled up inside her, almost enough to drive her to tears. Finally a hero.

“And...eighteen.” Sunset sat back in her chair, smirking to Pinkie.

Applejack turned to Rainbow, raising an eyebrow. “Well, Sunset’s doing...well…”

Pinkie looked down at her notepad and scribbled a few other things. “Okay so, now that the guard to the throne room is dead… in one turn. Wowza.”

Rarity nodded, smiling. “Sunset definitely is a great help.”

“Alright so you five move into the throne room and—”

“Wait, wait!” Sunset interrupted. “It’s...it’s already evening. Shouldn’t we do something else? I mean, it seems wasted that-” A roar of thunder paused Sunset’s speech. “We would be here just playing this…”

“A-are you not having a good time?” asked the dungeon master.

“It’s not that. I’m having a great time! I just...I don’t want you girls to look back and think we wasted our time or something.”

Rarity stifled her giggle. “Sunset dear, just because we’re not doing...lodge-y things, doesn’t mean we’re wasting our time.”

“Yeah! If you spend time doing what you like with yer friends…” Applejack started.

“...Then that time spent isn’t wasted at all!” Rainbow continued.

“Mmhmm. As long as everyone is having fun, then it isn’t wasted. In fact, I think it’s wonderful if you can enjoy something together! Regardless of where it might be!” Fluttershy pressed her hands to her chest, grinning.

“Another letter?” Pinkie asked, attention set on Sunset.

“Another letter.”

“Later!” Pinkie shouted. “Because as you five move into the throne room, you are ambushed by the one, the only, dark sorcerer!”

Five gasps filled the room. “Don’t worry girls, he’s going down!” Rainbow slammed her fist on the table.

“Aha! Nice of you to come with me!” Pinkie attempted to speak in a deep voice. “You all made it through my dungeons quite nicely! But your journey ends here!”

“Don’t hold yer head so high! We have a secret weapon!” Applejack shouted.

“Ah, my daughter. You’ve done well. Now...kill them!”

Sunset didn’t move, staring down Pinkie.

“Daughter! I said kill them!” Pinkie commanded.

“No. I’m going to take you down. What you’ve done is inexcusable!” Sunset yelled back.

“Hmph. You are no daughter of mine! So suffer with these fools!” Pinkie placed her figure on the board, in front of the five heroes. “Alright, Rarity, your turn!”

“Shield block, as usual.” Rarity rolled her die, seeing it turn until the number ten showed upwards.

“Shield block casted! Alright, Applejack?”

“Flurry of fists! As usual.” Applejack rolled her die as it landed on the number eight.

“You punch the sorcerer and he takes sixteen damage!”

The battle waged for almost ten minutes, repeated healing from Fluttershy kept them in fighting shape. They were close, they knew it and soon enough, it was Fluttershy’s turn once more.

“All heal!” Fluttershy pointed at her spell. As she prepared to roll her dice, she heard the faint evil laughter from the dungeon master.

“Ahaha! You have fallen into my trap! I use reaction spell to smite Fluttershy from the backlines!”

“O-oh my!” shouted, well, more of spoke, the cleric.

“What!?” Rarity shouted, looking through her spell list. “I...I can’t guard her!”

“Neither can I!” Rainbow screamed, panicking.

“We’re too far forward! We can’t lose now!”

Sunset scanned through her spell list, noticing one in particular she could use. “I use...sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? What’s—”

Sunset didn’t wait for Rarity to finish her question. She tossed her dice, watching the number twenty show upwards.

“Critical success, Sunset. You see the sorcerer’s daughter dive forward as the large orange thunderbolt strikes down. Barely reaching, Sunset takes the bolt to the chest and falls down, black smoke rising from her motionless form.”

Silence enveloped the heroes, none of them said anything as Sunset turned her figure to the side and placed her arms on the table as well, acting out her injury.

“Fluttershy! Heal her! Run to her!” Rainbow commanded.

“I...I run to her!” Fluttershy hugged Sunset.

“You see that she’s still alive, barely. But to heal her from critical condition would take three turns.”

“Three turns!? There ain’t no way we can live without Fluttershy!” Applejack knocked her finger on her skull. Her mind raced to think of an alternative solution but none came.

“J-just finish him…” a weak, shaky voice escaped Sunset’s lips. “Leave me…”

“...Heal her.” Rainbow readied her dice.

“Are you mad, Rainbow Dash!? If she heals her we’ll—”

“I said heal her!” blared the rogue. “We can survive! We won’t let one of us go down like this!” Sunset broke character for a moment, turning around to look at Rainbow with raised eyebrows. Only when she looked back did Sunset quickly return to her 'hurt' position.

“I...I try to heal her!” Fluttershy tossed her twenty-sided object forward, landing on a ten.

"Haha! Fools! I shall eliminate you three in the mean time!"

Rainbow gritted her teeth, fully immersed in the universe. "Bring it! Rarity, guard Fluttershy!"

"It will be done!" Rarity dragged her figure back. "That's all I can do for this turn."

"Ah stand one square in front of Rarity!" Applejack dragged her figurine to be just in front of the paladin.

"Likewise!" Rainbow shifted hers to beside AJ's.

Sunset smiled, stealthily looking at the lengths her friends were going to protect her. Risking hours of effort just to ensure she would stay in.

"Shadowbolt to the two heroes who would dare stand in my way!" Pinkie drew her hands upwards, tossing two dice, each one showing a frightening thirteen.

Rainbow growled, tossing her own die, which displayed a ten. "Some damage... But it's alright!"

Meanwhile, Applejack had rolled a nine. "It's fine. With Rarity's damage block, ah'm okay."

Pinkie let off a maniacal laugh. "Two damage to the rogue and three tp the brawler! Doomed, you're all doomed!"

Each round continued the same, with Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity taking small amounts of damage. The latter would guard Fluttershy from any spells that threatened to hit her.

"Almost, just hang on a bit more Sunset!" Fluttershy smiled. "We're almost there!"

"So close..." muttered Rainbow, looking down at the red die reading 'one'.

"I cast flare on all party members!"

"No! That's going to be it for me, unless we can find a way to interrupt it!"

"Ah ain't got nothing! No way ah can reach her in time!"

"Neither do I... I suppose Sunset will just have to avenge us."

"What!? No, there was to be another way..." Sunset closed her eyes to think, able to only come up with one solution. "Fluttershy, do you have any spell that can attack from this range?"

Fluttershy inspected her character sheet and nodded. "But if I interrupt the healing, you won't be at full strength."

"Doesn't matter. Cast it!"

"I cast... Gale!" Fluttershy flicked her dice, landing on an amazing twenty.

"I-Impossible!" Pinkie recoiled.

"You get interrupted!" Rainbow cheered.

"And I... I'm able to stand..." Sunset rose back up, her right hand pressed on the left side of her chest. "You... Are going down, father! I cast Light Strike!"

"A... a light spell!?" Pinkie shouted in disbelief. "I-Impossible!"

Sunset slammed the die on the table, letting it roll on its side as it landed on a twenty. "Critical success!"

"The spell causes a large light to fall onto the Dark Sorcerer! Incinerating the evil being where he stands! He screams in agony as the last trace of him vanishes in the light!" Pinkie tosses her hands to the left and right as she detailed the story, animating it as best she could. She had also thrown the hood of her cloak back, her puffy hair bouncing back up.

The others listened, anxious for any 'surprises' Pinkie might have planned.

"You exit the dungeon and feel the dark bad evil in the world disappear. The sky is once again blue and rainbows cover the sky!"

"Aw yeah! We did it!" Rainbow threw a fist in the air before getting shushed by Rarity.

"As you head back into town, the villiagers have prepared a party! They hail you all as heroes! You have defeated the evil this day!" Pinkie stared at Sunset with a smile. "All of you. Together. The end!"

"Wah hoo!" Applejack tossed her hat upwards. Rarity and Rainbow extended their arms, grabbing the other three into a hug.

"We did it girls!" Sunset exclaimed excitedly.

"Aw yeah we did!" Rainbow cheered.

"Yay!" Fluttershy hugged the others in celebration. Sunset looked back at Pinkie, who was smiling and packing her items.

"Pinkie, come on over!" Sunset gestured.

Pinkie blinked several times. "Me?"

"Of course! You made this all possible!" Sunset grabbed Pinkie's arm, pulling her into the embrace. The six girls hopped up and down, laughing at their momentous victory against the force of evil.

Sunset was sitting on her bed, the book on her lap as she continued to scribble in it. Dressed in fresh clothes and a towel hanging around her neck, she flipped to a fresh page to continue her writing.

“Your friend...Sunset...Shimmer!” spoke Sunset with each word she jotted on the page.

Just then, the door squeaked open and Applejack poked her head in. “Hey there, Sunset! Dinner’s almost ready!”

“Oh, great! Who made the food?” Sunset closed the tome, setting it down on her bed.

“Rainbow and I.” Applejack held the door open.

“Thank you.” Sunset strutted past the open door. “Wait, Rainbow? Isn’t she the one that—”

“Nearly gave the entire Canterlot High a bad tummy? Yup. That was her!” Applejack laughed. “Yer remember that?”

“Yeah. Luckily I skipped lunch that day. I knew something was off when I showed up to class and everyone was missing!” Sunset giggled. “T-that won’t happen to us, will it?”

Shaking her head, Applejack explained, “I supervised her. Made sure there ain’t no way Rainbow could make anything that dangerous...again. Plus, I did all the cooking. Didn’t let her fry a single apple!”

“That’s good. It’d be a waste of good apples!” She jokes, pulling up a chair.

“Alright girls! Ready for a meal like you’ve never tasted before?” Rainbow swung around from the kitchen, dressed in a blue apron, plate in each hand.

“I just hope I can taste any meal after this one!” Rarity’s wisecrack immediately set the others giggling.

“Hey! Look, that was just one time! I totally made great food this time around!” Rainbow set the plates down in front of everyone, a wonderful smelling apple pie being the centerpiece of the table. Sunset took a deep whiff, smiling wide.

“Yer did eh, Rainbow?” Applejack crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at the girl in question.

“Well...o-okay so I had a little help…” Rainbow scooped more plates containing stuff Sunset had never even seen before. Some were bright green and others were either baked or deep fried to a mouth-watering dark yellow. She didn’t know if it’d be good but with how the dishes smelled? She didn’t care.

“A little help?” Applejack continued her questions.

“Okay! So I cut the apples, but hey! The fact I didn’t cut myself or burn down this lodge, I’d say that’s pretty awesome of me already!” Rainbow undid her light blue apron and set it on the table.

“See, wearing an apron wasn’t so bad was it?” Rarity wiped her fork with her pocket napkin.

“It was pretty uncool.” The cook took her seat, lifting her utensils up.

“Well it was either that or your ‘cool’ clothes becoming a little more...oily.” The fashionista cringed at the thought.

“Enough talk!” Pinkie raised her fork and spoon high into the air. “Begin the assault on the food!” she shouted, cracking the crispy outer shell of the golden brown cobbler first.

“Ah knew it. Always the sweet treat first.” Applejack scooped a combination of the dishes in front of her onto her plate.

“Ah!” Fluttershy yelped, a sudden clap of thunder having startled her. Sunset turned to the large window, gazing at the slowing rain outside.

“What luck to have a lodge trip and have the last day and a half be nothing but rain.”

“Hey it makes the inside cosier! I’m not complaining!” Rainbow grabbed several leaves of fresh lettuce, stuffing them with all the toppings she could reach.

Sunset sighed and took a bite of her makeshift lettuce sandwich. At least the food and company’s good.

“What!? No way! Rainbow—” Sunset was on the verge of breaking down laughing on the bed. The others were gathered around her, three on each bed in room one as they told their own stories.

“Yeah!” Applejack confirmed.

“No I did not!” denied Rainbow. “Chess club is so uncool!”

“Then why did yer spend two hours in the chess club room?”

“What-!? I...I never...next story!” Rainbow turned her head to the side, her arms crossed sternly.

“Oh! I have one!” Pinkie frantically waved her right hand upwards. “There was this time we were having a slumber party. I went down to get a bottle of whipped cream for dessert…”

Well, another use for those bottles. Guess it explains why she has so many. Sunset thought.

“And…” Pinkie continued. “I turned around to see a monster with a green face groaning at me!”

The others gasped loudly. “It was Rarity,” explained Pinkie, pointing at her fashion loving friend.

“Bahahahaha!” Rainbow collapsed, hugging her belly.

“W-wha- Pinkie Pie!” Rarity scowled at her friend, cheeks blushing red. “I told you! It was a beauty mask!”

“Hehaha!” Sunset wiped a tear from her eye.

“What?” Pinkie turned to Rarity, giving a naive smile.

“Ugh, forget it.” Rarity hoped to move on to another topic. “Fluttershy, coming up with a new song?” she directed her question towards the shy girl who had taken up the furthest corner of her bed. Notebook in hand, she continued to scribble.

“Umm, yes. Maybe, no not really but…” Fluttershy buried her face deeper and deeper into the book. “I-it’s still a work in progress.”

“Aw come on Fluttershy. Knowing the other songs you wrote I bet it’s great already!” Applejack attempted to give the talented songwriter some much needed encouragement, but only received a very faint ‘thank you’ in return.

“So, any stories, Sunset?” inquired Pinkie.

“Not many that I’d want to tell. Other than spending most of my time here trying to sabotage you five…” Sunset spoke with remorse, looking away.

“Pfft, you’re going to need to forget that!” Rainbow swatted her right hand into the air.

“Yes, Rainbow is right! Plus, I’m almost certain everyone here hasn’t been the...perfect friend.” Rarity combed her hair as she stared into a hand mirror.

“Ah couldn’t agree more!” Applejack gave a confident nod.

Sunset looked around at the others, all nodding as well. “Really?”

“Yeah! Like that time I might have accidentally came to the animal shelter with party poppers…” Pinkie twiddled her fingers.

“Well that...doesn’t sound so bad.” Sunset tried to wrap her head around what could have been wrong.

“Well, it was pretty bad when it was a skunk exhibit we were having…” Fluttershy explained, giggling as she did.

“Sorry about that, Fluttershy!” Pinkie hugged her friend.

“It’s no worries, Pinkie.” Fluttershy patted Pinkie’s back, smiling.

“Or that time I begged Rainbow Dash to agree to try my dresses for the fall collection.” Rarity turned her head downwards, Sunset spotting a guilty smile underneath her hair.

“Rainbow and dresses?” Sunset remarked in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yes but that wasn’t even the worst part. I promised Rainbow here that it would only take up two hours of her time.” Rarity played with a strand of her purple locks.

“I also had a really important football game I wanted to watch live. Got tickets!” Rainbow remembered.

“However, me in my nervous state had taken up a little more than two hours.”

“Oh? How long?” Sunset was curious.

“Six!” Rainbow answered for her.

“Six hours!?” repeated Sunset Shimmer. “I’m guessing you didn’t make the game?”

“Nah.” Rainbow laid back lazily. “But hey, Rarity had one shot at this. I could watch the game any time I wanted.”

Rarity touched her chest, just where her heart would be. “Aw, Rainbow Dash. Thank you and I still truly am sorry.”

“Nah don’t worry about it!” dismissed Rainbow instantly.

“Wow. So this sort of thing happens quite a bit?” Sunset looked at the faces of each of them.

“Yup.” Applejack nodded.

“Totally.” Rainbow rubbed her nose.

“More times than I can count.” Rarity rolled her eyes as she agreed.

“Absolutely!” responded Pinkie, shaking her head up and down.

“Yes, but we don’t mind. It happens.” Fluttershy scribbled a few more words into her notebook.

“Huh… I... That’s definitely something I’m happy to learn.” Sunset paused for a moment, as if to file what she just heard into her mind.

“And know that we’ll do the same for you,” Applejack gave her a hug.

“Group hug!” Pinkie screamed and immediately, the others collapsed onto Sunset, hugging her tightly.

Sunset laughed heartily, her arms trapped from the hugs all around her. “Thanks girls. Glad to be a friend.”

Sitting down at the kitchen counter once more, Sunset read her book under the dim candlelight. This time it wasn’t because she was unable to sleep, but because she loved the feeling of just being alone with her thoughts, the soft patter of rain falling on the window and roof the only sounds in the usual noisy household. She turned another page, scanning through another of Princess Twilight’s replies.

“Whoa. You’re still up?” The raspy voice enabled Sunset to know who it was without even looking up from the words on the page.

“Yeah.” Sunset turned her attention towards Rainbow. “Just getting some alone time.”

“Heh, I know what that feels like.” Rainbow shuffled sleepily towards the fridge, pulling the door open and grabbing a carton of milk.

Rainbow’s reply caused Sunset a bit of confusion, not being able to imagine the usually loud, boisterous girl to know what it would be like. “You...you like alone time too?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow popped open the top of the milk carton. “I mean who doesn’t? Everyone needs to be alone sometime!” She lifted the opening to her lips, gulping down the ice-cold liquid.

“I...Yeah. Sorry, just didn’t think that—”

“A girl like me would require some quiet time?” Setting down the milk, she smiled to Sunset. “Don’t worry about it.”

Sunset looked down, guilt overcoming her. “I...I shouldn’t have assumed that, sorry.”

“Hey!” Rainbow playfully batted her shoulder. “I said don’t worry about it!” she gave an even larger grin.

Sunset rubbed her shoulder. She was certain Rainbow thought the hit was light, but it definitely didn’t feel like it. “Oh right. Princess Twilight says hello to you girls.”

“Oh, cool. Tell her I say hi too!” Rainbow cheerfully responded, picking up the carton of milk and chugging more down.

“Will do. In the morning anyway. So, do you usually grab a midnight snack?”

“Sometimes. Usually when I need a little pick-me-up so I can go back to sleep.” Rainbow continued to drink, this time sipping the beverage.

“I...I’m still amazed at how you five can be best friends despite how different you all are,” confessed Sunset, looking back down at her book.

Rainbow wiped the remnants of the milk clean from her mouth. “Well, we are best friends because of how different we are, Sunset. Not the opposite.”

“But Pinkie is so energetic and yet, Fluttershy is so timid. Applejack is so humble and you’re so...umm...” Sunset tried to find the right word, not wanting to accidentally insult her friend.

“Arrogant?” Rainbow completed her sentence, freezing and shocking Sunset in place.

“I-I was… I was going to say confident.” Sunset stammered.

“Yeah well, I know what people usually think. And it’s not like I’m ignoring it. I’ve been trying to work on it.” Rainbow stared down at the remaining milk at the bottom of the carton. “It’s just a little harder than most people might think.” She lifted the container and downed the last bit. “If anything that encounter with the Dazzlers made me work harder. Want to know what the real hard part is?” Dash asked her as she pointed to Sunset. “It’s trying to change what’s bad about you without changing yourself from what your friends love.”

Sunset simply stared at the girl across her. She wasn’t sure if this was the same Rainbow Dash she knew from only hours ago, or maybe if somepony had replaced her dear friend with an alien.

“Anyway,” Rainbow crushed the carton, tossing it through the air and watching it swish into the bin. “I better get back to bed. Keep what I said between us alright?” Sunset only nodded silently at the request. “Cool, thanks! I’ll see you tomorrow Sunset! Night!” she walked back towards the staircase and into the darkness.

Sunset could only wave, still stunned at what the conversation she just had.

"Good... Good night."

Chapter 3: Ray of Light

View Online

Sunset leaned back on the wooden lawn chair, hands clasped together softly. The soft smell of evaporating rain filled her nose. She never understood why she loved this smell so much. It definitely didn’t smell nice, but it smelled...pleasant. Her mind raced to pin it to something, to match it with another smell she knew. It smells like… like… Images, memories and thoughts raced through her mind’s eyes, flashing rapidly until it settled on an image that made her squirm in her seat. ...Equestria...

She gave her eyes a light rub. The measly few hours of sleep she had gotten was starting to take its toll on her. However, she refused to give in to exhaustion, knowing her favorite time of day was approaching. She gazed upon the shadowy mountains the lodge overlooked. Rain no longer fuzzied the view, but the darkness did no favors in making the mountains easier to see. Sunset kept her eyes locked on the wavy horizon, a smile creeping on her face as she saw the first signs of it.

Small rays of light rose over the hills, bathing the dark pink sky and transforming it into a vibrant magenta. The light also seemed to color the lifeless hills a lively green and the balcony that Sunset was on had the darkness purged from it. Sunset grinned wide, letting the warm light rise from her feet to her head in a matter of minutes. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling, her mind imaging the sun waking countless ponies all across the town.

“So that’s where you’re at.” A southern tang shot Sunset’s eyes awake. She turned to her left, watching the farm girl lay in the chair next to her. “Ah woke up and saw that you weren’t in your bed. Had me worried for a second.”

“S-sorry Applejack.” Sunset bowed her head.

“Heh, ain’t no apology needed. Sometimes we all just need time to ourselves,” Applejack smiled, her attention locked onto the rising sun. “What’s going through you mind, sugercube?”

Sunset paused, turning her attention upwards as well. Her mind was in fact filled with thoughts. The sunrise always awed her. It resembled perfectly the one in Equestria, and even when she was young, the sun rising over the horizon was a scenery she related closely with. She never understood, or questioned, why. She just...enjoyed it. However, on Earth, the sunrise reminded her of so many memories. Some good, some bad and many terrible.

“N-nothing.” Sunset hung her head once more.

“Now Sunset, I know you ain’t stupid. But are you honestly trying to lie to the Element of Honesty here?” Applejack turned her head towards her friend, a frown on her face.

Sunset bit her lip and for a moment, there was complete silence. “I… I guess I just don’t know how to put my thoughts into words.”

“Can’t hurt to try,” Applejack replied in an instant.

Sunset gave a few seconds to attempt to organize the thoughts in her head before speaking once more. “I loved Sunrises ever since I was a filly. They made me feel… safe.” she watched her fingers dance around one another. “I’d catch as many as I could and I would and always think about Princess Celestia. Raising the sun. Starting the day. Making something so— so beautiful. I always wanted to be like her.”

Applejack swung her body into a sitting position, facing Sunset and giving her her full attention.

“But then I made a mistake.” Sunset took a deep breath. “I—I got… I did something that I knew I would regret for a long time,” she continued, “and honestly? After I made that mistake, I hated sunrises. They brought me nothing but tears, anger and… and bad memories.” Sunset finally gazed at Applejack’s concerned expression. “I guess I really did know I made a big mistake. That is until Twilight came along and, well, you know the rest. But ever since then, I found that I loved sunrises again. Guess it reminded me of a happier time. One I lost due to my decisions.” Sunset lifted her right hand and wiped a tear from her face. “I-I guess I’m scared that I’ll make another like the one in Equestria.”

“Sunset…” Applejack stood up and wrapped her arms around her. “You made some bad decisions. But that ain’t no reason to be scared to make choices in the future!” She broke the hug and met the yellow haired girl eye-to-eye. “Gonna let you in on a little secret. All your friends here? We’ve all made really odd choices before.”

Sunset sniffed, managing to stumble out a “Really?”

“For example, Rainbow Dash? She stole a guitar when she was younger caused she wanted to play it. Learnt it by herself too.” Applejack nodded with a smile.

“Actually, Applejack. I don’t find that hard to believe.” Sunset gave a broken chuckle.

“Hold your horses, I haven’t finished.. She thought she did good getting away with it, but found out that her parents paid for the guitar behind her back. Why, young Rainbow was so torn up that she took on jobs to earn back the money!” Applejack laughed.

“H-how young was she? Jobs? Who hired her?” Sunset turned her body a full 180, staring through the glass wall and into the darkened lodge.

“She didn’t work for much. Had to work weekends as well for a year to get back the money she needed.” Applejack helped wipe away two stray tears on Sunset’s face.

“Rainbow...did all that?” Sunset stared down at her hands in disbelief.

Applejack nodded. “Rainbow might not seem like the nicest girl. But she ain’t bad. Just like you and me, she made some decisions she regretted. Honestly she said she was glad she made that mistake.” She stood up, dusting herself off.

“Glad? How...why?” Sunset’s perplexed expression made Applejack giggle softly.

“Well, it taught her a lesson and made her into who she was! If it wasn’t for that mistake, she wouldn’t have known what real hard work is!” Applejack gave her a small smile. “So what’re you worried about? We’ve all done it!”

“...I-I guess I’m afraid that I’ll do it again.” Sunset admitted, rubbing her arm with her other hand.

“Then we’ll be right behind you if you do. We’re friends now, sugercube. We ain’t gonna leave you just because you made errors in your life!” Applejack opened her arms, signalling a hug to which Sunset swiftly obliged.

“T-thank you, Applejack. It really does mean a lot to have all of you stand by me.”

Applejack broke the small embrace, nodding. “Well, try to get some rest. Knowing Pinkie, she has some sorta crazy activity planned for us. Trust me, you don’t want to be sleepy doing whatever she wants you to do.”

“G-got it.” Sunset replied after giggling, knowing full well what Applejack meant. Both girls gave each other a knowing gaze as Applejack entered back into the lodge and Sunset remained on the balcony, laying back on her chair as exhaustion finally took over her.

Sunset blinked her eyes several times, watching her vision focus. Sitting up, she noticed that her arms were wrapped tightly around herself. Chills ran through her body, causing it to shiver uncontrollably while each exhale was accompanied by a cloud of smoke.

“W-what in Equestria…” Sunset spoke through chattering teeth, feeling too chilly to even notice her non-human exclamation. Summoning her strength, she twisted her body and forced her legs on the floor. Taking one step on the cold teak floor after another, she made her way into the lodge as quickly as she could.

“Whoa, hey, Sunset. What’s….what’s wrong?” Rainbow moved forward, squinting at the shivering girl.

“C-cold...s-so cold…” Sunset clattered out. Fluttershy had already ran to fill a glass with warm water while Pinkie had started up the fire. Rainbow escorted her to the couch, tossing a blanket that Rarity had retrieved over her.

“You slept in the rain?” Fluttershy asked, passing her the glass.

Sunset took several sips, feeling the jitters stop and her body returning to normal, before speaking, “there was no rain. Rain stopped at around four in the morning. But the chill outside… it’s like winter.”

“Darling, winter isn’t until two more weeks!” Rarity chuckled. “Maybe you just had a bad case of the shivers.”

“Or maybe she got a disease that will wreck havoc on her body! Transforming her into a half mutant and half zombie hybrid!” Pinkie ranted off, her arms high in the air, face inches from Sunset’s. However, a quick sneeze turned Pinkie’s large smile into a worried frown. “Wow, you really aren’t feeling so good, huh?”

Sunset shook her head lightly as Applejack and Rainbow led her to the seats near the fireplace. “I’ll prepare some cocoa.” Rarity rushed off to the kitchen.

“It’s f-f-freezing out there!” Sunset spoke through clattering teeth.

“I sure hope another storm isn’t on it’s way. We’ve been stuck in here long enough!” Fluttershy wrapped a white blanket around Sunset, hoping to return some warmth to her.

Sunset heard a loud series of clanking metal echoing from the kitchen. She turned her head towards the racket, watching Rarity frantically make several cups of hot chocolate. After placing the cups on the tray, she returned to the group, smiling. “Cups of hot cocoa is her—” Her jaw dropped open and her eyes grew wide.

“R-Rarity, hot cocoa. P-please…” Sunset managed to stutter out before sneezing once more. Another 2 seconds of silence from her prompted the others to turn around to the balcony window and, just like Rarity, their faces were frozen in awe.

Through the glass they could see white flakes of snow descending gracefully down from the sky. The dots of white were almost like magic to the girls, who were entranced by its movements. A layer of snow had begun to envelop the balcony. However, a quick sneeze from Sunset quickly snapped her friends out of their hypnotic gazes and occupied thoughts.

“S-sorry dear. You weren’t kidding...i-it’s snowing!” Rarity beamed, passing a cup to Sunset. She didn’t waste any time in sipping the hot liquid in the mug. It hurt a little, but the warmth it brought was more than worth it.

“We’re totally having snowball fights later!” Rainbow Dash screamed with elation. A big smirk was plastered on her face and her eyes were set on Applejack.

“Want a rematch from last year eh, Dash?” Applejack winked, a similar cocky smile on her lips as well.

Pinkie downed the scalding drink in one gulp. “Well,” she spoke, staring at the now empty cup before setting it aside. “I’m gonna build snowmen!”

“Aw shoot!” Applejack slammed her fist against her palm. “I just realized something! We ain’t got any winter clothes. How’re we supposed to go out there without freezing to death?”

The rest gave a heavy sigh. That is, except for Rarity. She snapped her fingers and her eyes glimmered. “I completely forgot! I’ll be right down!”

Sunset watched as, in a flash, Rarity ascended up to their rooms and returned with thick coats in hand. The fashionista tossed Sunset a light green coat with black accents. It complimented her skin and hair well. That is, maybe a little too well. “Y-you had all this made already? D-did you know?” she asked between sniffles.

“Oh heavens no! But a lady must always be prepared for any circumstances!” Rarity handed the remaining coats to the rest of her friends, each one slipping it on almost immediately.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Rainbow shouted, racing to the front door first. Applejack followed suit, shouting as well.

“Rainbow! Don’t you dare make snowballs while I’m not there! No cheating!”

Sunset gave a soft sigh. “Y-you guys go ahead. I’m gonna stay here and warm myself up a little while longer.”

Rarity calmly moved out, ensuring that her coat was adjusted perfectly and it wasn’t even an inch out of place. Behind her was Pinkie, who bounced and hopped outside with glee. She quickly turned around, noticing that Fluttershy had not stood up from beside Sunset. “You coming Fluttershy? The snowmen and snowbunnies aren’t going to build themselves!”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m a little too cold. You carry on!”

A thumbs up was Pinkie’s answer as she exited the lodge and closed the door behind her. Fluttershy returned her attention back to Sunset, who had her head hung low, eyes glued to the fire and arms still wrapped around herself.

“You don’t have to stay with me you know.” Sunset’s tone was harsh, though it didn’t seem to phase Fluttershy even a little.

“I know. I want to.” Fluttershy’s smile was petite, but it seemed to carry as much weight as Pinkie Pie’s biggest grin.

“Why? Because you pity me?” Her tone had gotten sharper and darker. Though, yet again, Fluttershy didn’t waver.

“Nope. It just looks like you need it.”

The words shocked Sunset into silence. Her mind recalled the last two sentences she had just said. The anger and spite in the words she spoke were bad enough memories. However, combined with the fact that she directed it to her kindest and most caring friend struck daggers into her heart.

“I-I’m so sorry, Fluttershy. I… I guess I’m just not used to having someone care for me just because they...actually care.” Sunset turned her head to face her friend, who was still smiling.

“It’s okay. I know that feeling. The only people that cared for me for the longest time were my parents and my friends.” A loud shout echoed from outside the lodge, followed by a playful scream that both girls quickly identified as Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy lifted her hand to her mouth as she laughed. “I bet Rainbow Dash is losing again. She has never beaten Applejack in a snowball fight.”

“You should join them.” Sunset said without missing a beat. This time, her hostile tone had been replaced with one that was much more warm.

Fluttershy simply shook her head. “And leave you here alone? It’s fine. All I do is make snowbunnies and get accidentally hit by Applejack and Rainbow’s snowballs anyway.”

Sunset chuckled. “Doesn’t sound like it’s an accident.”

“It isn’t,” Fluttershy giggled with her.

“And snowbunnies?” Sunset inquired with a curious look.

“Mmhm! Snowbunnies! To make sure the snowmen don’t get lonely.” Fluttershy laughed once more. “It was Pinkie’s idea.”

“Of course it was.” The reply came with a roll of her eyes.

Suddenly, the squeak of the front door sounded, prompting the two to glance at the entrance. Applejack and the rest had started to move in, settling themselves beside Fluttershy and Sunset.

"That was... fast." Sunset gave a confused look towards Rainbow.

"Well, Applejack was getting totally rocked by me-"

"Uh huh." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Besides Rainbow telling lies, it just didn't felt right leaving you two here alone."

"And the snowmen were all lonely without Fluttershy's bunnies!" Pinkie draped herself over the back of the couch.

"It just didn't felt right." Rarity lifted a finger to her lips, frowning.

Sunset could only sit in stunned silence. Tears started to well in her eyes as she grabbed her friends into a large hug. The others hugged back instantly with large smiles on their faces. Nobody said anything, but nobody needed to. And for all Sunset cared, this had become the most perfect vacation.

“Great, what now?” Rainbow collapsed on the couch around the fireplace, flicking through the channels on the TV.

“Rainbow, you’ve been flicking through the same nine channels for the past ten minutes! Settle on something already!” Applejack gave an annoyed groan.

“There’s nothing to settle on! News, weather, news, weather, sappy soap opera, news!” Rainbow rapidly pressed the channel change on her remote.

“Excuse me!” Rarity gave a dramatic gasp and pressed her fingers to her chest. “The One Who Ran is not some ‘sappy soap opera’! It revolutionized the drama shows!” Rainbow gave a disinterested ‘uh huh’ before continuing her channel surfing.

“Well, I didn’t want to bring this out because I thought we should play together, but seeing how Sunset’s a little sick and we can’t go out in the snow-—” Pinkie had a playful smirk on her face as she spoke.

“Yeah, sorry about that girls.” Sunset bowed her head in guilt, but a hug from Fluttershy quickly brought the smile back to her face.

“Tada!” Pinkie shouted, lifting up her game console.

“You brought it!?” Dash leapt up in excitement. “Aww yeah! Time to destroy you girls in Battle for the Animal Kingdom 3!” She swiped the console and, in a whizz of wires and switches, connected it to the TV. “Who wants their butt whooped first?”

“Mm, I say you.” Applejack lightly grasped the controller from Pinkie’s waiting hands, while Rainbow confidently spun hers on her finger.

“Oh, so confident huh?” She sat on the couch, the game starting up with a wondrous display of colors.

“Right, you girls were playing this at Pinkie’s slumber party.” Sunset reminisced.

“Tried it before, Sunset?” Pinkie asked enthusiastically, laying upside down on the seat.

Sunset shook her head, sighing. “Never had the opportunity. I had no friends, no one wanted to play with me.”

“Well, maybe Applejack or Rainbow Dash could teach you!” Fluttershy chirped, her eyes glued as Rainbow selected her character; the quick-moving dragon, Bolt. Applejack, meanwhile, chose the hard-as-nails bovine, Amber. “When they’re done beating each other up.”

The others froze in stun before simultaneously turning their heads to stare at Fluttershy. “...What’d I say?”

The announcer’s voice boomed through the lodge. “Round One! Fight!”

Bolt flew up in the air, descending upon Applejack’s fighter with a flurry of kicks. The bovine attempted to dodge the barrage of blows, but found itself unable to and kicked towards the corner. Applejack tapped several buttons and got her character back up. Rainbow dashed in once more, but this time, Amber spun around and slammed her hoof right into the dragon’s face.

“What!? No fair!” Rainbow screamed. She shifted herself closer to the edge of the couch and leaned forward, her eyebrows furrowed.

The tapping of buttons echoed through the lodge along with screams of ‘ooo’ and ‘ow’ from the spectators. The first round went to Rainbow Dash, her speed and pressure just too much for Applejack’s slow-moving Amber to keep up with.

“Round two, start!”

Rainbow leapt up in the air, pumping her fist high. “Winner!” She took several bows. “Thank you, thank you!”

Applejack rolled her eyes with a smirk, handing the controller to Sunset.

“Wait, what!?” Sunset’s eyes grew wide. “I can’t play this! I don’t even know what any of these buttons do!”

“It’s easy!” Applejack positioned Sunset’s right thumb over one of the colored buttons. “This is punch and this is kick!”

“And the other six buttons?”

“You’ll just get lost if I try to explain it, so just punch and kick!”

Sunset scrolled through the eight characters available for her to pick. She scrolled past a fun-loving llama and a tired looking tortoise. Eventually, she settled on a snow-casting reindeer named Frost. “It’s the season I guess.”

“Go Sunset!” Pinkie cheered.

“You can do this!” Fluttershy shouted. Or at least, what she would call shouting. Anyone else would merely call it whispering.

The two characters loaded in, and the announcer once again bellowed out. “Round One! Fight!”

Rainbow dropped her controller in disbelief. “I...I lost.”

“Whoa, you’re a natural Sunset!” Applejack praised, high-fiving her.

“The move where she ballet out a snowstorm was just wonderful, darling!” Rarity too, was awestruck at Sunset’s ability. The girl in question could only give a humble chuckle.

“Beginner’s luck I guess!” Sunset passed the controller onto Fluttershy, who grabbed it in confusion.

“Me? You want me to play?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Yeah, what’s wrong, Fluttershy?” Applejack inquired.

“But they’re cute animals! I can’t make them fight! They’re so innocent and sweet. Why can’t they just have tea?” The timid girl shivered.

“Wait, you’re not okay with making the animals fight, but watching us duke it out—”

“Oh I have no problems with that, but I myself can’t make these cuddly critters hit each other!”

The room fell silent, Rainbow even raising her eyebrow in utter confusion. “Seriously? That doesn’t make any sen— ow!” She yelped and scowled at AJ, who was retracting her arm.

Pinkie grabbed the controller. “I’m ready! Who am I fighting?”

“Come on Fluttershy.” Sunset tried to coax her. “It’s really fun!”

“Oh, I don’t know…”

“You can pick a ninja bunny named Blade.” Rainbow gave a devilish smirk. Fluttershy readied herself and grasped the controller tightly. Her eyes lit up with fiery determination and her tone had gotten an unusual low.

“They shall all fall to ninja bunny Blade.”

“Double Perfect!”

“Yay!” Fluttershy softly cheered. The others sat in stunned silence. Each of their jaws had dropped open and their eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and fear. Fluttershy glanced at everyone’s expression. “Umm… sorry?”

“Sorry?” Pinkie dropped her controller and gripped her head. “You just double perfected me! I… I’m so…” Fluttershy shrunk herself down, holding the controller up to her face. Pinkie was going to scream at her! Oh how she hated it when her friends would shou- “Amazed Fluttershy! That was amazing!” Pinkie giggled.

“That was insane, Fluttershy! You totally trashed Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow stood up and hugged Fluttershy, whose cheeks blushed a neon red.

“O-oh, well, thank you.”

“Next time a super evil magical so-and-so is bent on world domination from Equestria, we should just ask Fluttershy to play this with them!” Applejack winked at Sunset, who responded with a coy smirk and a wink as well.

“Darling, remind me not to mess with you ever!”

“Well, who's next?” Fluttershy innocently asked. Rainbow snapped her fingers and Pinkie sat the controller in her palm.

“Me. I’m calling not getting double perfected by you a win!” Rainbow fell onto the cushioned seat, getting ready to play.

“Double perfect!”

Fluttershy once again noticed the glazed expressions of her friends. “Deja vu.” She whispered under her breath.

“You lost.” Rarity spoke matter-of-factly.

“Well,” Rainbow dropped her controller to the floor. “I quit.”

“You can’t quit!” Fluttershy gasped in shock. “What if I never played again? You can’t stop Rainbow Dash! You look so happy playing!”

Rainbow burst out into a loud chortle. “I’m kidding, Fluttershy! Heh, but you have to teach me alright?” To which she replied with a small nod.

“Well, I hate to end this ‘losing to Fluttershy’ event, but we’ll have to leave soon. I suggest we start packing!” Rarity moved to the kitchen.

“I’ll keep the console!” Pinkie zipped up to the TV and in a whirlwind of movements had disconnected all the wires. “Someone mind helping me with the controllers?”

“Sure, Pinkie.” Sunset scooped them from the floor and followed behind the chirpy girl. They entered her room, which had been decorated with streamers of every color. Even balloons stood in the corner. “Umm, you set all of this up?”

Pinkie opened her suitcase, dumping the large console inside. Sunset was going to question if it was enough space, but somehow it sunk into the bag, disappearing from sight. She raised her finger, but quickly dismissed it.

“Uh huh! Don’t you think it makes the place so much happier?” Pinkie tossed the controllers in the same bag. Once again, they disappeared from Sunset’s view. “This was such an awesome trip!” she chirped.”It was almost like my family’s Christmas vacations! Was yours this fun filled?”

Sunset sat on the bed, playing with her fingers. “I… I wouldn’t know. My family and I weren’t close, and then after what I did…”

Pinkie tossed her hand over Sunset’s shoulder. “Then let this be your first family vacation!”

“Family vacation?” Sunset gave a puzzled look to Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah family vacation! While you’re here we’ll be your family!”

Sunset hadn't considered that before. Her friends as… family? She gave it some thought, smiling wide the longer it stayed in her mind. “You sure the others would be alright with that?”

“Pssh, we already are family! That wasn’t a question, Sunset!” Pinkie confidently said, giving one of her signature large grins.

Sunset laughed and stood up. “I… I better get packing. Don’t wanna be late and all.”

“Oki doki loki!”

Sunset scooped up her bags from the room, letting out a soft sigh as she exited. In the living room stood all her friends, except for Rarity. Each of them had their bags swung over their shoulders or gripped in their hands. Slowly, she made her way down the steps.

“I did not leave you hanging!” Rainbow stomped her foot angrily, causing the rest to laugh louder.

“Sure you didn’t Rainbow.” Applejack scoffed.

“You literally left Rarity hanging from the monkey bars!” Pinkie snickered.

“I was busy!” Rainbow shouted, prompting a snicker from Sunset as she approached from behind.

“Wow Rainbow, you sure you’re the element of loyalty?” Sunset nudged her friend, smirking.

“I— Gah! You girls wouldn’t understand how important those tickets were!” Rainbow threw her arms in the air. “They were front row tickets to the Skywind Air Show! Speed! Rock! Amazing stunts!”

“I understand…” Fluttershy raised a finger.

“Thank you! Somebody that’s on my side!” Rainbow threw her arm around the shy girl and pulled her in close.

“We didn’t even mention about the ketchup bottle incident!” Pinkie chortled.

At the very mention of those words, Rainbow’s face turned a ghostly white. “Urr...w-we better see if Rarity’s done!” she released her hug on Fluttershy, moving towards the main door at a swift pace.

“Wait, what ketchu—” Sunset attempted to inquire.

“Nothing! Nothing. It’s nothing. Totally nothing. Come on girls! Move it!” Rainbow tapped her fingers on the door with one hand and pulled Applejack by her wrist with her other.

“Whoa! Slow down Dash!”

“Eep, coming! Please don’t pull me!” Fluttershy begged, exiting the door at light speed.

“I’ll tell you another time, promise!” Pinkie winked towards Sunset as both of them left the lodge, shutting the door behind them.

Snow had stopped falling, though the thick white blanket over the entire mountain lodge showed just how heavy it had fallen hours ago. The five friends zipped up their winter jackets and shuffled towards the road. Sunset glanced at the others around, watching the residents play in the snow. Some had made snowmen while others had begun to toss snowballs around. Families trudged through the white ice together, laughing and filling the air with joy. Somehow, she couldn’t help but smile as well.

“There you all are!” Rarity waved to them. They quickly caught up to the fashionista, who was checking her planner. “Keys returned. Checked out and my parents should be here any minute now.”

“Rarity, I just wanted to thank you for inviting me up here.” Sunset gave a sheepish grin and a soft blush.

“No thanks needed, darling!” Rarity gave Sunset a soft hug.

“I guess I never really thought you five would include me for such a big gathering.”

“Of course we would! After all, without you, we wouldn’t have been able to stop those nasty sirens from taking over CHS!” Rainbow swung her arm around Sunset as well, grinning.

Several loud honks caught their attention and as they turned, they noticed a familiar car waiting for them.

“That’s our ride! Let’s get out of this cold!” Rarity opened the door, entering the passenger seat. One by one, they all got into the vehicle, all except Sunset. She stared at one group of friends in particular, who were all seated outside and sharing a hot meal. Her hand raised to her heart, feeling an unusual warmth overcome her. One she hadn’t felt since her time with Celestia. As she entered the vehicle, only one thought crossed her mind.

Lucky me.

"Thanks for the ride!" Sunset waved to Hondo.

"Stay safe!" Rarity grinned back to her.

"And awesome!" Rainbow gave a thumbs up.

"Don't forget! We're still on this Sunday!" Pinkie yelled.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good. It wouldn't be the same without ya!" Applejack tipped her hat.

"Bye!" Fluttershy's soft voice was barely audible from the roar of the engine.

Sunset continued waving to her friends as the car sped off. Once they had gone out of sight, she swung around and walked slowly to her apartment. She climbed the steps to the second floor, waving to the neighbours she passed. The elderly couple nodded in acknowledgement, eyes fixed on Sunset as she entered the room labelled '#02-03'.

Her space wasn't anything special. It had a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom with a bathroom. It was simple, but it was all Sunset could afford. She pulled up the squeaky metal chair and set her bag down on the table. Unzipping the top, she pulled out the familiar book that had her cutie mark emblazoned on the front. However, now it buzzed softly, making a faint ringing noise. A quick flip to the most recent page and Sunset was greeted to a glowing paragraph.

'Dear Sunset,
How's the trip going? Good I hope. Sorry I haven't been replying to your texts. It's been a hectic few days, can't wait to tell it to you in more detail when we meet! So? Anything interesting happened recently?
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle.'

Sunset smiled wide and clicked the pen in her palm.

'Dear Twilight,
The getaway was amazing. I learnt things about my friends I never knew about. And the fact that they're telling me such secrets makes me feel like they're finally accepting me. We joked, laughed and cried. We also argued, but most importantly, our friendship got stronger. Not only that, but it's winter now! Snowmen! Snowball fights!

I'm meeting them again this Saturday to hang out at Pinkie's. I'll tell you more when that crazy girl tells me the details. I honestly didn't expect to learn anything this trip, but I did learn something very important.

I learnt that your friends have stories too. Each of them have done things that they regretted, and things that they are proud of! They've learnt morales throughout their life that has shaped them into being the person, or pony, they are today. And it's the fact that we're different that makes our friendship stronger than usual.

Even though the trip is over, I know that the memories will never be.

Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer.'

The Sun Sets in the East

by Deathscar

Prologue

Chapter 1: Dark Clouds

Chapter 2: Board Games & Warlocks

Chapter 3: Ray of Light