In the Midst of Stars
Sunset gripped the balcony tightly as she stared out to the neighbourhood streets. Houses lined the area across her, blocking the view she craved for so badly. She was tempted to push herself up to attempt to get a good look, but deep down she knew that, unless she were to grow wings, the moon would still be out of view. She sighed, allowing her thoughts to wander. But when she appeared in her mind, Sunset quickly leashed her thoughts back into control, putting her hands over her eyes.
Let it go. Just… just let it go, Sunset. She gave her eyes a light rub, pushing a tear away. But no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts and her heart was still locked onto her.
“Hey, you okay there?” A raspy voice called out from behind her. Sunset jumped, turning her head and spotting the rainbow-haired girl walking towards her. “You don’t look too good.”
“Pssh, I’m fine.” Sunset waved her hand, attempting to toss her thoughts along with the wind. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Rainbow’s comforting smile turned to one of concern. Her eyebrows furrowed as she asked, “is that a trick question?”
“No, really Dash. I’m as fine as two apples… in a barn. Or however AJ would express it.” She forced a smile, hoping that her words would serve as a sufficient distraction. But if anything, it only made the silence between her friend worse.
“Uh… uh huh…” Rainbow leaned forward over the balcony, staring at the empty streets below. “You know, usually when people get up at 3am, it’s to get water. Not...stare over the balcony.”
Sunset glanced at her hands and rubbed them lightly together. Should I tell her? She felt her whole body shiver with nervous energy. She...she’ll just make fun of me. Her teeth caught her bottom lip, as if to lock the voice in her throat, preventing it from escaping. But what if…
“It’s…” Sunset begun, but stopped almost immediately. She noticed that her voice had caught Rainbow’s undivided attention, which made the silence all the more agonising. “It’s about...T-Twilight.” And the moment the words left her lips, her heart filled with regret. I need to take that back. Or maybe an excuse?
“Heh, I figured.” Rainbow gave a small, prideful smirk.
Wait… Sunset froze. “Y-you...figured?”
“I may not have the eye for detail like Rarity, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind.” Rainbow grinned. “I notice things too, you know?”
The blush that grew on Sunset’s face was neon red. She covered her cheeks and eyes with her hands, almost on the verge of tears.
“Hey, hey.” Rainbow grasped Sunset’s wrists, pulling the hands down. She pulled the fiery girl into a hug while whispering, “it’s alright. No one else knows. Relax.”
Sunset took several deep breaths, a technique she had gotten all too good at, ever since she started having these panic attacks. After several minutes, she managed to calm down enough to not break down entirely.
Rainbow broke the hug, guiding her friend to the balcony chair and taking a seat right beside her. “How long?”
“...E-ever since the Friendship Games,” Sunset sighed, hugging herself.
“Whoa, that long huh?” Rainbow recoiled a little. “And I’m gonna guess the… recent events haven’t been helping?”
A crushing sadness welled up in Sunset’s heart. She grasped her chest, hoping to squeeze the pain right out. It had never worked before. But maybe the hundredth time’s the charm?
Rainbow swiftly grabbed Sunset’s wrist once again, holding her hand. “Whoa, Sunset. D-don’t hurt yourself.” Sunset stared oddly at Rainbow, as both the caring tone and the stutter was something she had never heard in Rainbow’s voice before.
“I-I’m sorry. Y-you’re right. The recent events haven’t helped at all.” Sunset wiped a tear from her eye. “In fact, it’s only been making things worse.”
“Well, talk to me about it. I have been told I’m a pretty good listener.” Rainbow bragged, pointing to herself.
Should I? Is...is it worth it?
Sunset tapped her fingers on the armrest, eyes fixated on the floor. “Well, a few weeks after the friendship games ended…”
----------
“And if you multiply the top fraction…” Sunset pointed to the paper that sat in front of Twilight. She grasped the pen, circling a few numbers on the papers. “See? It’s the same fraction!”
Twilight nodded, grasping her head with both hands. “Right. That means for the next equation…” After several quick scribbles, she turned up to Sunset. “There. Is that right?”
Sunset stared at Twilight with a wide smile. “T-that’s right. You...you grasped that really quickly.” Her heart thumped quickly against her chest, and her eyes were fixated on Twilight’s.
“W-well,” Twilight turned away, noticing Sunset’s long silence. She played with a stray strand of hair as she spoke, “I...have a good teacher.”
“Pssh, yeah. As if.” Sunset laughed, lightly nudging her friend with her shoulder. “Admit it, you’re just smart.” Twilight returned the comment with a sheepish giggle of her own.
Noticing what she was doing, Sunset glanced up and scanned the library. Thankfully, the other students were too focused on their own work to see her actions. She quickly shook her head, hoping to wake her conscious mind from it’s slumber. Come on, Sunset. Control yourself.
“Hm? Oh hey, Flash. What’s up?”
The words caught Sunset off guard. She turned her head upwards, noticing the blue-haired boy approaching them.
“Hey!” His loud call was quickly followed with a chorus of ‘shhh!’, causing Flash to jump from the sudden noise. Both girls laughed as softly as they could, watching a blush form on Flash’s face.
“Hey Flash, can we help you?” Sunset asked, still recovering from her giggle.
“Actually, Twilight can help me.” Flash pointed to her with his palm facing the ceiling.
“M-me?” Twilight stuttered, reeling a little in her seat. Sunset’s smile vanished from her face in an instant, her eyes locking onto the two people in her view.
“Yeah, mind if I see you for a second?” Flash muttered, darting his gaze to every place except Twilight’s eyes. “In private?”
“Uh, sure?” Twilight stood from her seat, following Flash to a corner in the room. Sunset stared at the two as they walked out of sight. Her mind was racing and fear was quickly building in her heart.
I wonder what they’re talking about? Could...could Flash be telling Twilight about what I did at the Fall Formal? Sunset lightly smacked the top of her head with her palm. No, no Flash isn’t that kind of guy. They’re probably just talking about...homework. Right, homework. She ran the same thought many times through her mind, trying to convince herself that it was just that simple.
But she knew it was not true.
A few minutes later, Sunset spotted Twilight returning with a smile plastered on her face. Flash meanwhile, moved towards the exit. She strained to see his face, to see what expression he was making, but she could only see the back of his black jacket as the door closed behind him.
Once Twilight took her seat, Sunset swore she could feel the joy radiating from her. She gulped. Ask Twilight. Before you jump to any conclusions.
“What was that about?” She forced a smirk, bringing out her playful tone.
“Oh nothing.” She twirled a bundle of hair with her finger. “Nothing at all.” The worry begun to build rapidly. Sunset knew that Twilight only did the twirling of her hair on only one of two occasions: when she’s extremely happy. Or when she’s extremely nervous. And judging from her smile…
“Come on, Twilight. You can trust me!” Sunset raised her voice a little, granting a few stray glances from the people around her.
“Well.” Twilight lowered her voice to a soft whisper. “Flash...invited me to dinner tonight.”
Sunset’s heart sunk.
She was sure if it was audible, she would have been kicked out of the library immediately. However, she forced the smirk into a grin. She tried to think of something to say, but her thoughts had left her alone. And her composure was soon to follow.
“R-really? That’s...great, Twilight! I mean, is it a special dinner?” She winked, hoping to unveil that the invite was just a reward for Twilight helping Flash with some homework. Or maybe it’s with a group! Yeah, a group!
Twilight bit her finger. “I...don’t know. But he says it’s going to be nice. It’s at this great cafe, with just the two of us. It honestly sounds pretty, you know, nice.” She blushed, noticing Sunset still smiling at her. “Well, I mean it might not be anything. Or it might. How can one be sure, right?” A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. It’s honestly all speculation and—”
Sunset placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, halting her rattling. In her mind, there was only one question to ask. Don’t do it. Every fibre in her body told her not to open her mouth and speak, as the answer that followed might shatter her spirit. “Well, do you want it to be?”
At first, there was no answer. Twilight fell silent and still, even her breathing grew tiny and soft. Her eyes darted straight down to her hands. They ran over each other in an endless loop for a few seconds, which felt like minutes to Sunset.
“I really don’t know, Sunset.” Twilight took a deep breath. “But I guess we’ll see, right?” She looked back up, smiling, though it was much softer this time.
“R-right.” Sunset’s smirk wavered, and soon fell completely. She tried to force it back, but to no avail. “Hey, Twilight? I need to get back home. C-call me as usual?” As quickly as she could, she picked up her books and hugged them tight against her chest, hoping to force some of her emotions onto them.
“Mhm, of course. Though I might be a little later this time. You know, dinner and all.” Twilight still kept the joy on her face.
“Right… the dinner...” Sunset’s hands begun to shake, and she knew she needed to get to a place she could be alone. “Talk to you tonight, Twilight!” She bolted out of the room, shutting her eyes tight as she sprinted down the halls.
----------
“Ouch, that must’ve hurt.” Rainbow sat on the edge of her seat, staring at Sunset, who laid back, eyes locked onto the stars above.
Sunset nodded in reply. “It did. Though really who can I blame? Myself, because I didn’t tell her how I felt. And—”
“Whoa hold up.” Rainbow interrupted. “You can’t blame yourself for this, Sunset. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I was too slow, Rainbow. Maybe if I was a bit faster, maybe if I told her, things would be different.”
“Sunset, take it from me, it doesn’t matter how quickly you tell someone you like them. If they don’t have feelings for you, then they don’t.” Rainbow’s brash and confident tone quickly faded. She huddled her legs to her chest, hugging them with her arms. “And nothing changes that. No matter how hard you try…”
Sunset was lost for words at what she was seeing. The young and proud Rainbow Dash was showing vulnerability, something she rarely considered her to have. Each word Dash spoke weighed heavy in the air. Sunset sat back up, eyes watching her friend’s movements. “Sounds like you’ve gone through it before.”
Rainbow did not reply. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, before letting her legs drop back to the floor. “That’s a story for another day.” The speed at which the spirit returned to her voice startled Sunset. It was so clear that one would never suspect she was down just a moment ago.
Rainbow’s good at recovering. Or maybe she’s just good at hiding.
“So, tell me about the phone call that night.”
---------
Sunset stared at the phone that sat on her bed, drumming her fingers on the workbook on her lap. She took a quick glance down, noting that only one out of the twenty questions on the current page had been answered. ...That can wait.
Suddenly, the phone rang and Sunset swiped it, pressing it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Oh hey, Sunset.” Twilight’s voice chimed in from the other side.
“How was it?” Only after the words left her mouth, did she realize how quick she jumped to the topic at hand. She would have slapped her forehead, but knew that the sound would go through the speakers.
“It was...nice.” The happiness in her voice only made Sunset’s heart sink lower.
“Really? What was it like?” She bit her lip, twirling the pen in her hand.
“Well, we talked about a few things. The usual. School and all that.”
“Yeah, yeah? And?” Sunset, once again, realized just how rude she must’ve sounded. Calm down! She reprimanded herself in her mind.
“We did talk about...feelings for each other.” Twilight continued, though at a much quieter tone.
Sunset’s body froze solid. The pen dropped to the mattress and for a few seconds, even her breathing paused. It probably went terrible. They never want to see each other ever again. Maybe he spilled food onto her dress.
“Sunset?” The voice snapped the fiery girl back to Earth. She gasped for a breath of air before speaking.
“Sorry, dropped my notepad. Well, don’t stop there! You know how much I hate cliffhangers.” She chuckled, but it was dripping with fear.
“...We’re going to try it out.”
Sunset allowed her eyes to close shut. The sudden despair was unlike anything she had ever felt before. A lump formed in her throat, restricting her breaths like a vice, while the hand holding the phone shook like it had been covered in ice and snow.
“That’s… g-great to hear, Twilight.” She tried to stop her quivering voice, but it was no use. “R-r-really happy for you.”
“Thanks, Sunset.” A quiet giggle followed her words. “And can I tell you something?”
“Of-of course.” Sunset stammered, placing her workbook and pen on her nightstand.
“Flash is pretty nice. He’s a little dorky and he’s clumsy but he’s surprisingly, well, smart.” Each word Twilight spoke carved slashes into Sunset’s heart. “I mean he’s not smart like you, of course, but he’s smart in the topics he really likes. He told me all about skateboarding and playing guitar. And, and I’m rambling again aren’t I? Sorry Sunset.”
Sunset raised her hand to wipe a tear that flowed from her left eye. Come on, Sunset. Pull yourself together. “I-it’s fine, Twilight. I know what you’re talking about.” Memories of her time with Flash flooded Sunset’s memories. Memories she had tried to forget as it was linked to her terrible past. She remembered just how nice he was, how understanding and popular he had gotten with the school. All the while she was being nothing but mean and demanding. Even now she was shocked just how long Flash stayed with her. If it was the other way around, Sunset would have dumped Flash in a day or two.
In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how possible it was for Flash and Twilight to be together, though she resisted every single attempt to accept that fact. Digging desperately for all the flaws she could think of.
“Oh, right. You two were together at one point right?”
“Yeah but, it didn’t work out.” Sunset’s voice trailed off. “He was just too...busy. He never had enough time for me.” Sunset’s thoughts quickly screamed at her. You know that’s not true! He wasn’t the problem in the relationship!
“Oh? Well, that’s something we’ll have to work through together.” Twilight’s assurance quickly turned the sadness into Sunset’s heart into bitter anger.
“He’s also pretty stubborn, he rarely takes advice from others.”
“Well, I mean, I don’t think it’s that bad.” Twilight attempted to speak, but her words her quickly drowned out by Sunset’s.
“And sometimes he’s also pretty mean. He does nothing but—” Sunset noticed the silence on the other line and processed what she had been saying. The words she had spoken had finally echoed in her mind. She forced her teeth sharply down on her lip to lock the rest of the lies in her. She remembered the last time she was this mean. Where she told lies to belittle others to make herself feel better. She had promised herself she would never go back to being her again.
This was why her relationship failed.
Tears welled up in her eyes, she did not know what to say to Twilight. Sorry seemed insufficient, neither did any other words she could muster. Maybe it’s best that we aren’t together. She covered her eyes with her free hand, making sure to pull the phone away as she sniffed. “Twilight?”
“...Y-yes? Sunset, you alright?” The caring tone did nothing but stir the complex cocktail of emotions in Sunset’s heart and mind. Her mind was occupied with so many thoughts. Of her past, of Flash and of Twilight. Her focus was shattered and she felt as if the walls of her room were closing it, threatening to crush her completely. Lost in her thoughts, she sniffled once into the mic.
And that was all it took.
“A-are you crying!?” Twilight’s voice raised into a shout. “Sunset, hey! Sunset! What’s going on?”
Sunset grasped her head with her hand, trying to drown out the voices. All the thoughts. “I’m...I’m fine, Twilight.”
“No, you’re not!” Twilight spoke in such a commanding tone, it startled Sunset. “Sunset—”
“Twilight, I’m tired.” She spoke through sniffs and uneven breaths. “I’ll tell you everything another- another time alright? I just...want to get to bed.”
“Sunset, are you sure?” The joy and mirth had all but faded from Twilight’s tone. There you go again, taking away what makes everyone happy. “I can come visit and-”
“No.” Sunset gathered as much composure as she could with a single breath before speaking again. “I promise I’ll tell you, but not right now. Good night Twilight.”
“...Alright. If you promise, Sunset. You’re still coming to Pinkie Pie’s slumber party right?”
A soft ‘mmhm’ was Twilight’s only reply.
“Great. Well, good night.”
Sunset hung up the call, shoving the phone off her bed and onto the carpet below. She hugged her knees to her chest, feeling her thoughts devour her, leaving her no room to think. But one thought seemed louder than all the others.
Have I really changed?
----------
Sunset was now in a tight hug with Rainbow. The retelling had reduced the girl to tears, though she made a conscious effort to stifle her sobs.
“Hey, we don’t wanna wake the others up now, do we?” Rainbow patted Sunset’s back.
Sunset buried her head in Rainbow’s shoulder. For the first time in her life, she had a shoulder to cry on. Though she would not have ever believed that it was Rainbow who would be offering it.
It took several minutes for her to calm back down into a state at which she could speak. Once Sunset pulled her face away from Dash’s pajama shirt, she saw that her tears had damped the entire left sleeve.
“Rainbow, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Sunset apologized.
“It’s fine.” Rainbow waved the worry away, still maintaining her faultless demeanour. “Not like I’m gonna be in it for much longer anyway. Plus, you should see my shirt after I play sports. People keep asking me if I got caught in the rain!”
Sunset could not help but giggle. It was a small laugh, but one that chased away the terrible thoughts and memories, providing her some room to think. “I...I didn’t think I changed. Not after what I said.”
“Well, let me state what I know is true. You’ve changed. A lot.” Rainbow assured her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“How can you be so sure?”
“If I tell you to destroy Applebloom’s friendship with Scootaloo by planting false evidence would you—”
“No!” Sunset practically shouted, shocking even herself at the volume she spoke at.
“See? Past you would have been all up for it. You were being overwhelmed and got a little mean, so what? All of us get a little angry from time to time and say things we regret later.” Rainbow reclined into her chair, looking at the crescent moon that hung in the sky. “And if Twilight still cared about you, then there’s nothing to worry about. If anything, she probably understands what it’s like to let your emotions get the better of you. With the whole Friendship Games incident and all…”
How can you just say that so calmly? Sunset felt a little anger at how Rainbow would just bring up such a horrible incident like that, but knew that what she said was right. She would have been happy to stop here, but something in her convinced her to keep going. “Well, thing is… I didn’t just stop at that.”
“Really? Well, spill it out! What else did you say?”
“Not so much say. More of...do.”
----------
Sunset lifted her hand to the door, her knuckles inches away from the wood. You can still turn back. Her mind reminded her, but she knew this was something she wanted to do. She had made the effort to travel all the way out here, and the next bus was not scheduled for at least another hour. Summoning her courage, she knocked on the door and immediately heard footsteps approaching. You can still run! She took a step backwards, ready to take off, but her other foot stood rooted to the ‘Welcome!’ carpet under her feet.
The door swung open, and a startled voice called out to her.
“Sunset?”
“Hey Flash.” Sunset greeted. “I...need to talk to you about something.”
“At this time of night? Is something wrong?”
“No, not at all. Sorry, is it too late? Want me to come back another time?”
“Oh no, no. Come on in.” Flash stepped aside, allowing Sunset through. Closing the door behind him, Flash led her to the kitchen. As she sat down, he poured a glass of water, placing it in front of her.
“Thanks.” Sunset cupped the glass in her hands, staring at the contents of the cup.
“So… you said you wanted to talk to me about something?” Flash prodded the girl. Sunset nodded, trying to find her voice.
She sipped a little bit of water, wondering just how this seemed like a good idea when she was at home. “I wanted to talk to you about Twilight.”
Flash sighed in relief. “Oh that’s all? Good. I was worried I made some mistake in school again and Principal Celestia sent you to find me.”
Sunset placed the glass back down onto the table. “Flash, do you...really like Twilight?”
Flash recoiled a little at the question, tapping his chin. “Well, I mean yeah. No doubt about it. Why’d you ask?”
“After that dinner you had with her yesterday, I just wanted to make sure that…”
Flash waited, but Sunset did not continue. “...That? What? Did Twilight say something bad about me?”
Do I even want to tell him? What if he doesn’t know?
“No, Twilight said nothing but good things about you. But...when did you start to like Twilight?”
“Well, hmm, it was back when I met her during the Friendship Games.” Flash started. “She...didn’t really talk to me during the games, but immediately after what happened with the...magic, I spoke to the Crystal Prep students about her.”
“And they told you?”
“Yeah, and being in the same class as her for science and math, she seemed more than willing to lend me a helping hand. That’s how we got to know each other better.” Flash smiled.
Sunset traced her finger in small circles on the wood. “So you know that this Twilight…”
“Isn’t the same as the Twilight from the band competition?” Flash sighed. “I know. It wasn’t that hard to tell, and she made that clear to me after we met. Apparently, there were some rumors going around school that—”
“And you’re still in love with her? Are you sure?” Sunset’s harsh tone caused Flash to furrow his eyebrows in a mixture of confusion and anger.
“Yes. I’m sure. Why are you so concerned with us?” Flash begun to tap his foot impatiently.
“Because I know how much you liked the other Twilight. It’s just, getting together with Crystal Prep Twilight isn’t the same you know? I don’t want you to hurt her.”
Flash scoffed, standing up. “Don’t you think I know that, Sunset? I wouldn’t even think of asking Twilight out for dinner if I didn’t think we could work! And yes, they aren’t the same, but getting with the other Twilight wasn’t an option! She came by once every few months!”
Sunset stood up as well, lightly stomping her foot. “Why are you raising your voice at me? I just wanted to make sure Twilight was in a good relationship!”
“And who are you to judge that?” Flash belted out, his back leaning against the marble kitchen counter.
“I’m her friend!” Sunset shouted back.
“But it’s us that went on that dinner! It’s her choice, Sunset, not yours! This isn’t your relationship anymore!”
“I just don’t want to see her hurt! I don’t want her to feel what I did!” Sunset gritted her teeth, having not realized what she had just said.
Flash had a whole argument ready, but the words Sunset screamed caught him off guard. He stood there, hands grasping the edge of the marble counter. “Like… you did? With...with me?”
The words had finally caught up to her. All courage and emotion drained away from Sunset’s face. Her eyes scanned the ground and her mind fell silent. “N-no. Not with you… I mean... “ Sunset wanted to use this opportunity to take what Flash said and use it as a scapegoat. Maybe it would be better if Flash thought this was about him. But she knew that it would not make things any better. How could she say what she meant? All the words she knew evaporated from her mind. And it would only ruin the friendship Twilight and I have.
“F-forget it. Coming here was a mistake.” Sunset rushed to the door, using her hair to hide her face. “I’m sorry Flash. I’m so sorry.” Were the only words she muttered before bolting out the door. Flash attempted to give chase, but stopped at the entrance of his home. He merely watched as Sunset ran into the darkness of night, disappearing from view.
----------
“What were you hoping to do there?” Rainbow focused her attention on Sunset.
“I don’t know.” Sunset admitted. “I was hoping Flash didn’t know about this Twilight being different, or that maybe he wasn’t genuine.”
“Sunset…”
Sunset shook her head. “I was hoping I’d get a second chance at Twilight. But all I did was almost ruin our friendship.”
“Did she ever find out?”
“...No.” Sunset stated. “I don’t think Flash ever told her.”
“Well, props where it’s due. That’s pretty good of Flash to do.” Rainbow stared back up at the stars.
Sunset twirled her thumbs around each other. “Rainbow?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s...one other thing I need to tell you.”
“Sure!” Rainbow stretched herself out on the chair. “Go right ahead.”
“This happened, well...just a few hours ago.”
----------
“And kaboom! Game, set and match!” Rainbow spoke with an arrogant grin. Applejack threw her hands up in the air.
“Yer nothing but a lousy cheater!” AJ pointed her finger at her.
“Don’t have to insult the winner, AJ. Just give up and admit I’m better than you at Animal Brawl.” Rainbow spun the controller on one finger.
“Ain’t gonna happen. Ah’m gonna beat you even if it takes me all night.” Applejack grabbed the controller from the floor.
“You hear that girls? We’re gonna be up all night!” Rainbow chuckled loudly, focusing on the screen once again.
“Has anyone seen Sunset?” Twilight walked into the living room.
“Nope!” Pinkie chirped as she spun an empty bottle, watching anxiously if it was going to land on Rarity or Fluttershy.
“I think she’s in the kitchen.” Fluttershy spoke in her usual hushed tone.
Twilight nodded and moved through the door at the other end of the living room. “Sunset?”
“Huh?” Sunset was seated at the kitchen counter, a hand placed upon her forehead. While in front of her sat a cup of hot cocoa. “Oh, Twilight. Hey.”
“What’s going on?” Twilight took a seat beside her friend, matching Sunset’s frown.
“Nothing. Nothing’s going on.” Sunset knew that Twilight could see through the lie for she had put in no effort to mask it up.
Twilight lightly tossed her arm over Sunset’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Come on, Sunset. Aren’t we best friends?”
“We are.” Sunset sighed heavily, letting her hands fall onto the marble counter. “But this...this is something that might ruin that.”
Twilight stared curiously at Sunset, her mind racing to think of a list of things that could break their friendship. But it came up empty. “Test me.”
Yeah as if. Sunset opened her mouth to find another excuse, to change the subject, but the only thing that came out was silence. She looked around, making sure no friends were close by. I...I really shouldn’t. The secret she had locked in for so long felt like it was punching in her chest. Screaming to be let free.
“Come on, Sunset. We’ll always be best friends, no matter what.”
Sunset felt her hands and feet grow numb. With each passing second, her limbs quivered more. How would I even say it? She shut her eyes, as the war in her mind raged on. Once more, it felt suffocating. Her emotions threatened to consume her, and this time, Sunset was not sure if she could escape.
“Plus you did promise me.”
That was the last straw. Sunset opened her mouth, whispering softly, “I like you.”
Twilight heard words, but it was not clear enough for her to make them out. “Sorry, I didn’t hear that. You said…”
“I like you.” Sunset darted her head up as she spoke, staring at Twilight’s eyes. And just as she expected, Twilight was silent. Her eyes grew wide and her body was still. She stared back at Sunset, speechless. “I knew this was a mistake.” Sunset stood up from her chair in tears, threatening to move away. But a swift grab of her wrist prevented her from leaving.
“Sunset, y-you mean that?” Twilight moved up to the crying girl, passing her a tissue. Sunset merely nodded as she wiped away her eyes.
“How long?”
“Since the Friendship Games,” she muttered.
“Well, thank you.” The words caught Sunset’s attention and her bewildered expression was plain to see. “Thank you for being brave enough to tell me, Sunset, and I’m flattered” Twilight grabbed her hands, smiling.
“But, I don’t feel the same way.”
Sunset dropped her head in defeat. However, it did not hurt nearly as much as Sunset thought it would. And even though it still stung quite a bit, it came with a minute bit of relief.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but I promise you that this does nothing to our friendship.” Twilight used a finger to lift Sunset’s head. “We’re still best friends, and nothing’s going to change that."
The words had an almost magical effect on the fierce storm raging in Sunset. It quelled the furious mix swirling within her, and for the first time in three days, those words had finally allowed Sunset to smile.
“There we go.” Twilight giggled. “That’s the Sunset I know.”
Sunset pulled Twilight into a tight hug, letting the remaining tears flow down onto Twilight’s pajamas. Twilight hugged back, speaking into Sunset’s ear. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Not right now.” Sunset admitted, feeling the sting in her chest. “But I will be. Thank you.” Twilight did not say another word, shutting her eyes and smiling.
“I’m so glad to have you back.”
----------
Rainbow leaned against the balcony, smiling at Sunset. “You’re pretty brave, you know that?”
Sunset pushed herself off the chair, moving forward to stare at the empty streets below. “Doesn’t make it hurt less.”
“Nothing makes it hurt less, Sunset.” Rainbow’s tone was heavy once again. “Only thing that does is time. A lot of time.”
Sunset retreated back into her mind, thinking about what she could say or do to make the situation easier on herself. “I need to apologize to Flash, directly.”
Rainbow scoffed lightly, grinning.
“And what’s so funny?” Sunset tapped her foot.
“Just a few moments ago, you said you felt like you haven’t changed. Do you think old you would have done that?”
Sunset thought for a moment before answering. “No, no she wouldn’t.”
“You’re strong, smart and pretty. Yes, you struck out this time, but I’m sure someone’s out there waiting for you.” Rainbow moved to the balcony door.
“Was that a...compliment? From Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah, and it’s the only one you’re getting for a while so really treasure it.” Rainbow snickered, holding the doorknob.
“Well, whoever told you you’re a good listener is right. You really are, Rainbow. Thank you.” Sunset stood beside her friend as she opened the door.
“You’ll be fine, Sunset. It’s gonna be a tough few months, but just be sure to be there for Twilight. Stay best friends alright? So I can get two smart girls to help me with my homework?”
Sunset nodded with a laugh. “I promise.” Staring into the pitch black bedroom, she turned to Rainbow, sighing with a frown. “I guess not all stories have happy endings.” She stepped into the room, disappearing into the darkness.
Rainbow turned her head up to the stars, watching them twinkle and glimmer in a beautiful display of light. She ran a finger over the orange locket that sat around her neck. Softly, she muttered under her breath,
“Who said this was the end of yours?”
----------
The End