> Sadness
>  by Zael
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Or how the Rainbooms yielded their hearts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They did bucking WHAT?!"

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, most faithful student of Princess Celestia, shouted that last word so loud that Spike arrived running and ready to fight whatever could've startled Twilght so much. Instead, he found her in a furious rage, fire in her eyes, smoke out of her ears and the angriest expression a pony could have. She grabbed her journal and her travel bag with her magic, while finally Spike asked, with probably the worst timing ever:

"What happened? Are we going somewhere?"

Almost mechanically, Twilight slowly turned her head to face her helper, and with magic she opened the journal at the last page with something written on it. Spike quickly went through the words, almost in disbelief of what he was reading, only to shout, after finishing:

"WHAT IN TARTARUS?"

"I'm going through the portal, and have a nice, little chat with those backstabbers. Can you stay here and watch if Sunset arrives? As the last entry says, she's clearly here, and we missed her because we were in Canterlot. Then again, if I had actually my journal while in Canterlot, I would've gone there  to fix this bucking mess. Oh right, wait a second."

She levitated a quill and wrote on the journal, right after Sunset's last entry, which basically announced her return in Equestria:

Sorry if I didn't read your messages before, but it's a long story. I'm going back through the portal to buck some sense into your so-called ex-friends's heads. If you decide to come back to the castle, I'll leave Spike there. See you soon.

Twilight

"It's a little short, but it'll do. See you when I get back, Spike."

The little dragon nodded while the purple alicorn bolted through her castle to get into the mirror room.  She was furious, and while she wasn't seething with hate, she was actually despising the Rainbooms. She passed through the mirror, hoping to find them all.


* * *


Sunset's diary buzzed, while the fiery looking amber unicorn was in the train from Ponyville to Manehattan. She always wanted to go into The Big Apple but while sneaking out of the castle in Canterlot was easy, to take a stroll into the city, taking the train was completely out of the question. She giggled: she was free now! While technically an exile and a criminal (even if Twilight reassured her that everything against her was null and void after her actions at the Battle of the Bands), there was almost zero chances this trip to Manehattan could go wrong.
With her magic, which she noted being now red and no more teal, another thing she had to discuss with Twilight after her re-discovery of Equestria, she took out the diary, to see what Twilight wrote about her sudden return.

"Oh, buck me…"

Sunset facehoofed hard. Twilight was going to give those five, and possibly the entire school, a literal hell. Sunset decided to not think too deeply about it, but, despite what did she say in the video, she cared for that world, because it became her new home, despite all the things that happened: the Fall Formal, the Battle of the Bands, the Anon-a-Miss thing…

"I just hope she doesn't kill anyone. Oh well, we're talking about Twilight, I don't think she's going to do much more than some furious shouting."

Said to herself the amber-maned unicorn, sipping a soda and looking outside of the window, to the green countryside of the world.


* * *


The video left a deep scar into CHS. The culprits were basically suspended until the end of the year, and they had to do tests and exams alone with either the Principal or the Vice-Principal, plus they had no more access to phones in the time being. Most of the student body was shocked to discover that three girls caused all that ruckus, while a handful of students said that they never believed Sunset to be Anon-a-Miss, backing that opinion with facts: why would she use her colors and her lineart for the MyStable avatar if she was actually the culprit? Why wouldn't she try to frame someone else? And most of all, they remember that while Sunset knew a lot of secrets about basically everyone, she never spread them, even when she threatened to do so, gaining favors through blackmail.

The most broken were the Rainbooms. While Applejack and Rarity were fooled by their own kin, and Rainbow Dash by her most favorite junior, and all three were quite furious and sad about that, Pinkie Pie still had her hair as flat as a plumb line, showing almost no interest in parties, sweets or even in actually living; but Fluttershy was the most shaken: she had her doubts about Sunset being Anon-a-Miss, but she followed the other four, betraying herself and betraying Sunset. Even when Sunset kind of forgived her in the video, she literally saw her world crumbling apart: probably the red and yellow haired teen didn't mean to do that damage, and probably Fluttershy knew that was sincere forgiveness, but she shut herself in her home during the holidays, and cried all the tears she could cry. The way Sunset forgave her and not the others, instead of letting her feel better, had the opposite effect, throwing the pink haired teen in a spiral of self deprecation.

The five girls decided to hang out at the Sugarcube Corner after the lessons ended that day, Sunset being the argoment of the discussion: they had to find a way to atone.  


* * *


In a flash of light, Princess Twilight Sparkle arrived on the other side of the portal. She ran inside the school, for two reasons: outside was freaking cold and the portal didn't provide her with a sweater or a coat, and she already was people getting outside the school gates. She stormed the halls almost blind in rage, running to Principal Celestia's office. When she got there, she hears the two sisters discussing about the recent Anon-a-Miss chaos and Sunset's video. Entering without permission and without knocking, in a cold but angry tone said:

"Tell me what the hell is going on here."

Both sisters were shocked to see the Princess, usually so friendly and well-spoken, so furious. While Luna was about to start, Twilight added:

"I know the short story, but I want to know the whole thing. Right. Now."

Defeated, Celestia showed Twilight the video sent by Sunset, and after that, she spoke:

"We couldn't stop Sunset returning to Equestria. And while we were thinking from the beginning this was a frame job, we couldn't expose ourselves, or we would've risked a revolt. We thought about bringing the police in this but Sunset figured it out before we could do anything."

"You could've done something, for buck's sake!"

Celestia sighed, while Luna replied:

"We couldn't, and we are very much sorry for that. Unfortunately we don't have control over the internet, and I'm guessing this shit would've continued until either Sunset transferred or retired from school, or the culprit was found. And we sure are glad that was the latter, even if we lost a precious student. Though if she ever wants to come back, let her know that me and my sister would welcome her with open arms."

"When we'll talk, I'll mention her that. But, skipping the pleasantries, I need to know if you know where the Rainbooms are. I need to talk to them."

The sisters sighed, saying that they didn't know, but told also Twilight to go easy on them: all the situation broke them more than Sunset did the first time she crossed worlds. Then they assumed some locations, mentioning the Crystal Empire Mall, the Sugarcube Corner and some other places. Twilight nodded and, after borrowing a spare coat from the school, stormed off.
Luna watched Celestia, and said:

"I think this mess just opened our personal Pandora's Box."

"I just hope she goes easy on them. I really don't want to explain to their families that their daughters got fried, imprisoned or banished to another world by a magical pony princess because reasons."


* * *


Out of CHS gate, Twilight looked around and saw five familiar heads inside the Sugarcube Corner. Inside her heart there as a tornado of emotions: rage, for what the girls did to Sunset Shimmer; sadness, because she mistook them for her five friends in Equestria and ruined every chance Sunset had to discover real friendship; disbelief, caused by the video of Sunset and how she painted them; and, last, most surprisingly, hate, a deep hate for the whole situation.
She slowly walked to the Sugarcube Corner, making sure they didn't see her coming. When she arrived and entered, she heard the voice of Rainbow Dash saying:

"If only the Princess was here, she could tell us what can we do to fix this whole mess…"

"Well, to put it simply, you can't."

The five girls turned around and saw Princess Twilight, displaying a terrifying expression of sadness and rage on her face, and gulped. The newcomer took a chair and sit at their table, with an awkward silence between all the girls. Twilight took out the journal and started reading the last two messages sent by Sunset, seeing self-hatred and sadness gripping the souls of the Rainbooms as they listened to both entries. When she finished, Twilight started talking, after touching the journal with her quill:

"You know, you're all lucky."

The five girls watched her with questioning looks.

"You're too damn lucky WE'RE NOT IN BUCKING EQUESTRIA!"

Said the Princess, slamming a fist on the table and making the five girls cower in fear.

"I should banish you all in the deepest cells of Tartarus for this. I guess you treated Sunset like a burden I gave you after saving your sorry asses at the Fall Formal. If I knew what would you all do to Sunset, I would have taken her back to Equestria right after the Battle of the Bands! You betrayed my trust in you, because I believed you were the exact counterparts of my five friends back in Equestria, and I saw wrong. But this doesn't excuse your actions towards Sunset! She bared her heart to me, and I read how much happy she was to finally have friends! AND YOU ALL FUCKED THIS UP, BECAUSE OF AN OBVIOUS FRAME JOB! Do you even have brains in those head of yours? ANSWER ME!"

The five girls stayed silent, not knowing how to put an answer that didn't anger Twilight more than she already was. After some minutes of impatiently waiting for someone to speak up, she talked again, in a much colder tone.

"All right, time's up. Now you will tell me everything. One by one. And I swear by Celestia I will slam your faces to the wall if you stay silent again."

To prove her point, she slammed again her fist on the table in a very violent vay. She then pointed at Fluttershy, making the quiet and crying girl sob.

"I… I at first believed Sunset to be the villain. But I thought… I thought she was innocent not long before this mess started. I remember how much I was bullied by Sunset, and I remember how I felt. And I saw Sunset as an exact… copy of myself. Then I knew she couldn't be Anon-a-Miss. I tried to stop the others, but lost hope almost instantly. I have… no excuses, and I couldn't bear to hear Sunset still kind to me in that video. I… I…"

Fluttershy exploded in a loud sob, crying her heart out. Twilight was almost unfazed, but now she know why Sunset tried to forgive at least her. Then she pointed at Pinkie Pie, the flat haired girl answering with a monotone voice:

"I should bring laughter to everyone, instead I took that from Sunset, leaving only sadness and tears. And while I can't know how Sunset felt, I think that probably I'm going to feel like her. Having friends is not a great thing, if you can't keep them and make them happy. And I'm truly sorry I let Sunset through all this alone… I didn't believe she would really consider us friends, and probably even I, deep inside, didn't consider her my friend. And I feel like I could fall into the deepest level of Hell for that."

Twilight remained silent, pointing first at Rarity, then to Rainbow Dash and lastly to Applejack; the fashionista sighed and started.

"I know that I have no excuses, and I'm partially to blame, since my sister was one of the culprits. I just don't know what came to me. I remembered how Sunset acted and how she knew secrets but never spread them. It was a logical thought that she could spread them when she wanted, even if I couldn't find a motive behind this. I thought her cries for help were all part of the façade. My logic was wrong, and I admit it. Sunset must know that I am really disappointed in myself for having wronged her in such a way. A lady should know better than point fingers without proof, yet I did just that, and while I know I don't deserve anything from Sunset, I hope that she has a bigger heart than mine, to find even a little place for forgiveness."

The rainbow haired girl started right after Rarity.

"I fucked up. I fucked up really bad. I let our past with Sunset cloud my judgement, and the bad feelings for her that I bottled up in three years exploded like gas from a leak near a flame. I was one of the most active bitches in blaming her, I don't deny it, and I regret it so much. I was too blinded by my own wrong sense of rightfulness to see Sunset not as the one who ruled our school for three years, but as the girl who was in tears at the Fall Formal, at the girl who did everything to redeem herself, at the girl which mostly contributed to defeating the Sirens… and as the girl who most of all knew how bad was being alone without no-one to help. I fucked up and left her alone. I'm the one who should pay most for this… such loyal friend I am…"

"Ah think ah should be one of tha most sorry about this mess. Mah own kin started this, and Ah was too blind too see it. It was strange: Ah told Sunset mah old nickname, and it got posted like that, and Ah didn't even try to listen to her. Ah was honestly mad about it, and all tha fingers pointed to Sunset. So Ah didn't think and just threw mahself against her. Ah know Big Mac and Granny Smith believed it was strange, seeing how tha girl helped at tha farm when she had time, but Ah didn't listen. Ah honestly believed she was tha villain, again. And Ah know that Ah don't deserve to be called tha honest one, 'cause Ah fell into tha worst lie possible, and Sunset paid for it."

Twilight didn't move an inch, while all the girls watched her, hoping at least that she could do something for them.

"Sunset, did you hear everything?"

From the journal, like from a phone, the voice of Sunset was heard.

"Well, to be fair, this function of the journal you discovered is much more useful than writing, but probably it has limitations. And answering to your question… yes. I heard everything those traitors said. And no, at the moment I don't have any little flash of forgiveness in me. I'll probably stay here in Equestria for a while, it's better like this. I don't want to be the bad girl anymore, Twilight. I don't want to return at the me pre-Fall Formal, but they need to know how much I suffered. And at least one of you, maybe two, even, are almost at that point. I'm not saying you need to arrive at the point where you just want to end it all, but I need you to know how much did you hurt me."

Sunset sighed, almost as if she was crying when talking through the journal, only to continue:

"I still have my phone here. I can make it work with magic. I will not answer to any message, call or anything else. But I will read them all, and I'm going to judge you all, aided by Twilight. Only when I will be sure about you all being on the verge of desperation, I will answer. Only then. And I will know if they are fake, just a piece of advice. Sunset out."

Twilight put away the quill and the journal. She watched the Rainbooms, almost frozen in place at the sound of Sunset's words.

"That girl is too forgiving, and it's probably my fault. But I intend to make this right. You were lucky enough to be given a second chance, like I did with her. She passed my judgement, you didn't. Now you have switched places with her, and Celestia only knows how much pain she was through. You heard her tearful and cracked tone. She wasn't ready, yet she tried, because she really want to be your friend. It's all up to you now. She was graceful enough to give you this golden opportunity, which I wouldn't have given you even after a millenium. Try to meet her expectation, this time. Try to be her friends for real, if deep inside you, you consider her to be your friend or if you want to really try to be. Because sure as Tartarus, you didn't even try the first time. You're too lucky. Goodbye. And I really hope I don't have to come here again, if not for Equestria-related problems."

With that, she left. The Rainbooms sat there, astonished by Sunset's words and by Twilight's warning. They quickly got up and went home, all thinking about that. They could try for real, but it would be hard. They hoped they could try this "befriend-Sunset" thing for real.


 * * *


In her hotel room in Manehattan, Sunset was about to close her journal, but a written message from Twilight appeared. Curious about what the Princess had to say, she waited to read, before going to explore the city.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

you are too good for your own good, but that proves my point: anyone and anypony, if it tries enough, can discover the magic of friendship. You said that right now you don't have any forgiveness for them, but I know that you would probably forgive Fluttershy and maybe Pinkie in a whim. You want them to learn this lesson, that friendship can endure even through the hardest challenges, and I'm really proud of it. I'm proud of you.
I'm not saying I will release you from being my friendship student, but just know that you are really close to that. And I hope we can soon meet in pony form.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle