Of Feelings and a Promise
In the otherwise empty cafeteria of Canterlot High School sat a young man with orange hair, green eyes, freckles, a red jacket with a brown collar, a white shirt, blue jeans with a brown belt, and shoes that matched his jacket and shirt. He looked around at the barren tables and seats that were recently cleaned. Not a sound could be heard, except for the footsteps of students as they walked passed the doors in the hallway beyond. It was impossible to tell that teenagers had made a hunger-inspired mess of the place a couple of days before. The man's face quietly expressed a strange combination of sadness and hope, his smile adding a layer of confidence to the mix. He enjoyed the quiet for a moment or two before he reached behind him with his right hand and pulled a banjo off of his back by its neck. He was sitting at one of the tables, specifically the one where his youngest sister would often eat lunch with him at. With memories of times both hopeful and harsh flowing through his mind, he carefully positioned the banjo in his hands, and with deftly timed strums to keep a slow consistent rhythm going, began to sing in a deep baritone voice that rang throughout the cafeteria;
Gather 'round Wondercolts and hear this story Ah'm tellin',
Of folks who nearly missed what their hearts were showin'.
When the chaos died down, oh, what they had felt,
Was a cruel stubborn hurt and it was named: guilt...
Canterlot High School Library, in the afternoon
It was the first day of Spring Break for Canterlot High School. A time of relaxation, fun, and peace for those who were quite tired of the hard work, drama, and strict schedule of the high school life. Yet, unlike in past years' breaks when the doors to CHS were closed to all but its staff, the school was still open to visiting students on this day as well. This change was, from an outsider's perspective, an oddity, but not outright bizarre. Perhaps some students, they would think, had accidentally left a few personal items behind in their rush to head home when the final bell had rung? Perhaps some of them had to speak with a teacher or the Principal about their grades or academic future? Simply put, the doors of the school being left open on this day, of all days, would seem strange but not worth more than a passing thought to outsiders.
But, to the Wondercolts of CHS, the doors were open for a reason that was both important and painful in equal measure: to set things right with one of their own. A former bully, who had grown into a wonderful caring young lady, was wronged by her peers quite recently. When the dust had settled and everyone realized what had happened, such a travesty would not be ignored or pushed aside by anyone in the school...
"Oh man, Sunset. I'm so very sorry..."
If Sunset Shimmer had a dollar for every heartfelt variation of the phrase 'I'm sorry' being told truthfully to her on this day alone, she would have had enough spending money to buy a new electric guitar with a fancy carrying bag to go with it. Not that she felt any desire to complain, of course. After working tirelessly for years to make amends for the numerous misdeeds she had committed at the expense of the school, she could not help but feel that receiving apologies from people in the school instead of giving such things to them was more than a little refreshing. This was especially true, given that this had happened to her once before. As tempting as it was to let the smug side of her come out of hiding, she kept it hidden behind her genuine friendly smile as she happily accepted Flash Sentry's apology and promptly forgave him. He was not the type of guy she could stay mad at for long. After giving him a hug and a fist bump that reaffirmed their friendship while they shared a joke or two to relieve the remaining tension, she ushered him out of the school library before returning to her seat at one of the larger desks. There, she waited ever so patiently for the next Wondercolt to come around with an honest apology of their own. Deep down in the darkest part of her mind, she felt the rage of the Old Sunset simmer, rattle, and seethe. It came from an understandable source and she accepted that. But, in her core, she knew that this was not the time or place for rage. The Old Sunset wanted to bring out her closed fist. Today's Sunset needed to be better than that, for the Wondercolts needed to see her opened hand. After all, everyone in that building needed to move on from what happened two days ago. She needed to move on.
"Has it really been two days since the Memory Stone Incident?", Sunset asked herself softly whilst she reclined on her chair. She was the only person in the library at the time, save for the ever-attentive Cheerilee who sat behind her desk while keeping a watchful eye for any trouble-making. The former bad girl could never forget what had happened when the Memory Stone was unleashed upon the school. The lost memories, the confusion, the panic, the anger, and most of all, the heartache.
"Sunset Shimmer? Askin' to be in our Best Friends picture? Heh, now Ah've heard it all!"
"The only joke is whatever this is you're playing on us, acting all nice like you are our friend."
"And it's not funny."
"Because you AREN'T nice!"
"And we ain't friends!"
It would be at least a few weeks before she could get those horrible words, and many more besides, out of her head, of that she was certain. She was also certain of another issue;
"I can imagine the girls must be devastated right now," Sunset thought to herself with a somber expression. She then promised herself to show them tons of love when she saw them next. She would gladly share a cold soda with Rainbow Dash, assist Twilight with one of her experiments, and help Applejack get work done around the farm. She wondered if she could also help Pinkie make a friendship cake for everybo-.
Those traitors SHOULD be devastated!
She knew that particular inner voice perfectly well, much to her dismay. It was the product of an old life, one that she went right to work on silencing by closing her eyes, focusing in on her breathing. and having her mind gravitate away from the past and towards the present moment. Before that dread voice could speak further, she mentally uttered her personal mantra while imagining herself watching the sun rise from a grassy hilltop;
"Let the past be what it is..."
She inhaled and held her breath for a moment or two before exhaling while finishing the mantra, her imagination helping to guide her away from her frustration;
"Not today..."
Her mind feeling more settled after a good minute's worth of internalized course correcting, she opened her eyes and looked around the room with calmness all over her neutral expression while thinking to herself;
"Be present in the moment... in this room."
She switched her gaze from one aspect of the library to the next. The bookshelves, the nearby tables and chairs, Cheerilee's desk, the ladder leading to the upper level, the library computers, if it was in that room, she looked at it. All in the name of granting her weary mind some measure of peace. So far, her efforts were successful. That was, until she gazed at the yearbook she had placed before her on the table earlier.
"You're about to see how mean I can get!"
Are you really going to let that petty brat get away with what she did?!
Sunset shoved the yearbook off to her left side with enough force to slide it off of the table and onto the floor with a resounding thud, rendering it out of her sight. She then promptly face-planted the table forehead-first with an audible groan.
"Come on, Sunset," she told herself in a soft voice as she raised her head back up while holding her stinging forehead;
"You've overcome the worst part of yourself before, you can do it again."
But then, what if they betray you again?
She sharply squinted shut her eyes again while holding on to both sides of her head for dear life;
"That will never happen!" she exclaimed in her mind with surety and willpower.
Will it... Sunny?
Before she could start screaming in an attempt to drown out the familiar horror in her head, she heard a loud knocking from behind the library's door, which got her undivided attention instantly. Any distraction, at that point, was a welcome blessing to Sunset. A second or two after the knocking stopped, the door opened, revealing a sight that she was both thrilled and saddened to see; Applejack, looking a bit more stoic than usual as she walked over to her table. She had already taken off her Stetson hat to hold it against her chest, which was a tell-tale sign that she was going to tell a truth that she was not happy about. Never one to let anything that was troubling her friends be left alone, Sunset quickly centered herself and leaped right into trying to help her out. A friendly greeting was usually a good start;
"Hey there, AJ! I would hand you a cider, but this isn't the cafeteria," she said with an honest grin that was as warm as the welcoming voice she used. Applejack grinned right back as she sat down on the chair facing Sunset while placing her hat on a spot between them on the table, only her grin was small and there for barely a moment before turning back into that stoic expression that was hard to read at best. Silence crept into the library as the two friends sat together. They kept their eyes fixed on each other as Sunset showed pure concern in her eyes. She knew this was coming, but seeing this still stung her heart like a knife to flesh. What added to that sting was what she had seen when the door opened again. Rarity walked in and took a seat to the right of Applejack. The bacon-haired girl did not know what was more painful to handle: her silence, her miserable expression, or the ruined eyeliner staining her face. All of this gave Sunset a clear hint in regards to Rarity's deeply rooted sorrow. The smell of chocolate coming from her breath was another hint that anyone who knew the tailor could catch. Sunset couldn't help but notice Applejack absentmindedly placing her right hand on Rarity's left hand in a most gentle fashion, a gesture that the fashionista accepted, possibly without even noticing. Oh, if only Sunset had tissues for Rarity's ruined make up! She knew her make up loving friend would appreciate that. Before Sunset could say anything to comfort her beautiful friend, the door flew open again. It didn't take long for her to recognize who had entered the library: a clearly disheveled Rainbow Dash, who walked over to the table and sat down on the seat to Applejack's left. She then reclined on the chair's backrest while crossing her arms and giving her Equestrian friend a most intense glare. She was also rocking the messiest prismatic hair Sunset had ever seen on her head and she had seen her bed-hair during more than a few sleepovers! Given the shadows under the star athlete's eyes, it was clear to her that Rainbow hadn't gotten a good night's sleep as of late. Before she could come up with a pep talk for Rainbow Dash, however, she heard the door open again.
This time, three more of her friends arrived at the table. Sitting at Sunset's immediate right was Twilight Sparkle (also known as Sci-Twi), who carried her backpack on her back. Her messy hair and baggy eyes were a dead giveaway that, like Rainbow, she hadn't slept as much as she should have recently. The moment Sunset had looked over at her, the forlorn bookworm turned her head away, clearly too ashamed to look her in the eye. Sci-Twi felt an amber hand on her left shoulder, which eased her tension slightly. Sitting at Rainbow's left side was an obviously distraught Fluttershy, who could barely hold back her tears as she whimpered while holding on to her old friend's left arm for comfort. Standing next to Rarity's left side was Pinkie Pie. Her hair had lost some of its famous poofiness and saturation, while her face expressed a regretful frown with pure sadness in her eyes, a far cry from the bubbly happiness that she was known for. She silently refused to sit on the chair in front of her. The sorrowful sight that Sunset was seeing before her was both painful and familiar to her heart...
"I'm so sorry... I didn't know there was another way!"
She would not abide by this despair.
Acting out of pure impulse, she sat up off of her chair, walked over to each Rainboom, and hugged them tightly, as if she was trying to squeeze the sadness right out of them. No pep talks, no lectures regarding the magic of friendship, just quiet hugs born from the heart. Their apologies could wait, for all she cared! Her friends were startled for a moment before quietly embracing the hugs they were being given. Of course, they also hugged her back, especially Pinkie and Sci-Twi. After everything that had happened to them all, anything less would have been unacceptable to them. Once the hug-fest had ended, Sunset returned to her seat and looked at each of her friends. Their moods had improved a bit, since they looked slightly less miserable than they did before, even though Sci-Twi still refused to look directly at Sunset. Sensing the need to speak her mind, she made ready to do exactly that when Rarity interrupted her as politely as she could;
"Sunset... Darling..." she began with a truly remorseful tone of voice that somehow lost none of its feminine charm. Once she had gotten her friend's attention, she went on with all of the dignity she could pull through her sorrow while looking her in the eye;
"While we are quite certain that whatever it is you are going to say is beautiful, helpful, and true... Could you be a dear and hear us out first, please?"
It was a simple request, one that Sunset was more than happy to fulfill for the girls who had done so much for her. With a loving smile aimed at all of them, she nodded in agreement. This prompted Applejack to speak up in a clear, yet softer take on her southern drawl;
"Ah'll start us off, then, if ya'll don't mind."
The girls nodded in silent understanding, thus giving the farmhand the go-ahead to speak with the level of candor that her friends respected her for while keeping her eyes locked on Sunset's;
"Let's get somethin' straight first, sugarcube: Since the Memory Stone was used to take from us our good memories of ya', we could use that as an excuse for our foolhardy behavior and most people would buy it."
She clenched her left hand into a tight fist, her face filled with as much frustration as her rising voice had expressed;
"But we wouldn't buy it none, 'cause it ain't no good excuse! Ya' wanna know why?"
She pounded the table with her left fist with enough force to make Sunset wince a little before exclaiming, her eyes filled with sadness;
"Dangnabit, we chose to not listen to ya'! We chose to turn our backs on ya'! We chose to hurt ya'!"
With a remorseful sigh, Applejack took her hat, placed it on her head, tilted it down to hide much of her face, and leaned back into her chair with her arms crossed before declaring with a soft voice that was riddled with regret;
"That ain't right, Ah tells ya'."
Silence filled the room as Sunset saw something that she had only seen once before: A single teardrop sliding down Applejack's face from her right eye, which to anyone who knew her, was the same as a waterfall of tears. Before Sunset could react, however, Rainbow Dash shot up from her seat with enough force to nearly topple it over on its back and a loud groan that made her frustration absolutely apparent;
"You got that right, AJ! I mean..."
She looked right at Sunset, who could hear the pained anger in her friend's voice as she went on;
"You know my part of Shine Like Rainbows, right?!"
She then performed a rendition of said part that was quick and laced with barely contained anger;
"Friends, you are in my life and you can count on me to be there by your side!"
With both hands, she pointed at each of the other Rainbooms sitting at the table and angrily declared;
"Well, I was by their side!"
She pointed at Sunset, her face contorting to express her agitation and regret as vividly as her yelling did;
"But, I wasn't by yours!"
Sunset looked on with understanding and sadness in her heart as Rainbow Dash repositioned her chair, which was moved back a bit by her standing up earlier, and sat back down. She then grasped her blue geode with her right hand and closed her eyes while declaring in a soft, remorseful tone that was rarely heard from the typically proud and boastful athlete;
"Some loyal friend I turned out to be."
She then released her grip on the geode, crossed her arms, and looked away from Sunset with a grumpy expression on her face. As badly as she wanted to comfort each and every one of her friends, the girl with the fiery hair knew that they were not done yet. So, she waited and listened quietly as Fluttershy ran right over to her and wrapped her up in one of her warm and snugly hugs, much to her surprise. The sorrowful tears shed by the caretaker of all things living and furry quickly stained her friend's trusty black jacket as she told her with a remorseful stuttering voice that was barely above a whisper;
"Oh, Su-Sunset! I was so m-mean to you..."
The poor girl couldn't hold herself together anymore. She sobbed continuously in her soft voice while clutching onto her friend as tightly as she could without hurting her. Sunset had already started hugging her back, but when the sobbing picked up, she tightened her hold on her just a little bit. Rainbow was quick to join in by holding Fluttershy close from behind. If there was one thing she could never stand more than anything else, it was seeing her shy friend cry. This was a feeling shared by the other Rainbooms, who all joined the group hug for the sake of their weeping friend. After being released from the group hug, Fluttershy wiped her tears with her right index finger as the other girls returned to their places. With a few miserable sniffs, she told a clearly worried Sunset;
"I should have been kind to you from the start of that horrible day..."
Unable to speak further for the moment, she sat back down on her chair, with Rainbow holding her right hand to comfort her some more after it rested on the table. Rarity took the silence as a chance to speak her peace as well while keeping herself calm as best as she could, despite the growing desire to bawl;
"You, of all people, deserve the generosity of friendship's warm hand, Sunset," she told her while keeping her eyes locked on hers. It was getting more and more difficult for her to hold back her tears as she added with shaky audible breathing;
"We didn't give that to you at the beach... I didn't give that to you..."
At that moment, the dam broke with a sorrowful burst. Rarity closed her eyes, raised her head to the ceiling, and exclaimed in a dramatic fashion that was both heartfelt and heart wrenching;
"Your friendship was not an a-a-a-aaaaaaact!"
The girls waited patiently for Rarity to let it all out, ready to give her emergency hugs if she needed them. Applejack held her left hand, this time consciously, in an attempt to ease her suffering. They all looked at her with warmth in the eyes, hoping that her seeing them would calm her down. That was, if she could find the strength to open her eyes and look around. But first, she had multiple apologies to dish out to Sunset between her loud unrelenting sobs, her eyeliner somehow becoming more ruined by the second. The poor girl didn't even notice Applejack's hand on hers. As this was going on, Sunset took a second or two to look over at Cheerliee in the hopes that all of this noise was not inciting her wrath. Thankfully, she was focused on taking care of some paperwork. But, she did notice a quick thumbs up the librarian gave her with her right hand before she brought it back to her work. The young lady's concerns eased, she returned her attention to Rarity. It took several minutes of weeping that the showrunners behind her favorite soap opera would be proud of, but she was finally able to calm down enough to straighten up her head. Upon seeing the warmth being fired upon her by the eyes of her friends, she graciously allowed that warmth inside her heart as she took several deep breaths to center herself while mentally counting herself lucky to have such wonderful ladies in her life. As she did so, Pinkie Pie declared with a whimper that got the girls' attention;
"We took your smile from you, SunShim..."
Sunset looked directly at Pinkie, who gave her the kind of expression that a little girl would give over disappointing her mother, oversized tear-ridden eyes and all. With a sorrowful sniff to keep her tears at bay, she reached into her pink hair with her right hand, rummaged around in it for a moment, and pulled out a single photo. She then placed it down on the table for all of the girls to see.
The effect the photo had on them just by them looking at it was as clear as day. Twilight quickly turned her head away to face the floor out of deep visible shame. Rarity turned her whole body away from the table, as if she had glanced at something truly horrendous. Applejack kept her face aimed at the photo, but lowered the front of her stetson to save herself the pain of looking at the blasted thing. Rainbow bravely kept her eyes locked on it with a grimace, as if challenging herself to face down a terrible monster that was shaking her to her core. Fluttershy covered her face on Rainbow's left arm again, too terrified and hurt to give the object of her sorrows the time of day. Sunset did not even need to look at the photo to know what it depicted, but she glared at it anyway. If even an act as small as this could help her friends work through their pain, then she would be one happy girl. Pinkie Pie, with another sniff, pointed at a certain part of the photo with her right index finger and asked Sunset in a somewhat pleading fashion;
"Do you see that?"
The scene the photo revealed seemed simple: Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow sitting together outside. The setting was just outside of the main building at CHS during a bright sunny day that gave warmth and life to the grass they sat upon. They posed together in front of the camera with genuine smiles all around. All of this was the makings of a beautiful picture of good friends sharing a memory together. But, the part that Pinkie's finger was pointing out to Sunset was one that tore the beauty apart, especially for her and her friends. She knew preciously what she was seeing and, frankly, she wished to never see it again. A few more sniffs and Pinkie asked in a loud voice that nearly cracked with emotional pain;
"Is that a smile?!"
Sunset shook her head in solemn silence. The part of the photo that made it so hard for most of her friends to look at showed her standing behind a window in the school while expressing a look that the tear-stricken party planner described better that anyone ever could in a miserable voice that only added to the weight of her words;
"That's a frown! A terrible, no good, very bad frown filled with sadness and loneliness, mixed with six yucky scoops of betrayal!"
Sunset looked back up at Pinkie, only to find that, to her dismay, her pink friend's hair had lost its poofiness entirely. Now, it was hanging down the right side of her face, which was stained by a constant stream of tears as she whimpered to her friend;
"No one deserves to have their smile taken from them..."
At this point, Sunset was about ready to say buck it and do everything in her power to take her friends' agony away and burn it to ash. Hugs, speeches, a song number pulled right from the heart, she was willing to try anything to help them! But, before she could act on impulse again, Twilight finally spoke in a soft somber voice riddled with regret;
"I should have realized that something was wrong."
She spoke her comment in a matter-of-fact fashion, as if what she had said was the most obvious thing in the universe. Even now, she could not bare to look in the general direction of Sunset, preferring instead to gaze at the floor as she spoke. The rest of the girls turned their attention on Sci-Twi, with Pinkie wiping her tears with her right sleeve. The amber girl looked right at her nerdy friend, ready to wrap her up in a vice grip filled with friendship, before Twilight interrupted her with a more detailed explanation;
"To be clear: some part of me suspected that there was more to the situation than what we thought was going on. But..."
With hesitation, she turned her body to face Sunset after adjusting her posture for comfort. The one thing more stained by her tears than her face's cheeks were the lens of her glasses. With a regretful sigh, she explained;
"All I remembered of you that day was you lashing out at me during the Friendship Games, so I was afraid... and not just of that happening again..."
Twilight had the other girls' undivided attention, in spite of their own tears, as she declared after carefully taking off her glasses and looking Sunset dead in the eye with sorrow all over her being;
"I was also afraid of losing my friends."
The regretful Twientist looked at each of the girls with love and appreciation, their presence, attention, and silent support easing her troubled mind a bit. Without further ado, she went on;
"You girls are the first real friends I've ever had outside of my family. You proved to me that I don't have to be alone to thrive in my life, that I'm in charge of my life."
Right then and there, a chuckle that was as soft as it was tiny came out from her mouth before she added through the tears;
"You shared with me what friendship could be. For all of that..."
A small smile, as real as the air in the room, crept up her face as she declared with pure sweetness in her voice, even as she kept on crying;
"I love you all so much!"
This beautiful showing of friendship blew away a sizable chunk of the girls' emotional agony like a gentle wind flowing through their minds and hearts. The slight re-poofening of Pinkie's hair, combined with the loving smiles shown by the girls, was proof of this. Before that wind could take their agony away completely, however, Sci-Twi brought them back down to reality with a renewed frown;
"So, when you all treated Sunset like the bully we thought she was... I towed the line... instead of running the risk of losing you all by making even the smallest suggestion that we could be wrong about her."
She glared at Sunset with the most apologetic expression she could muster before noting;
"Your anger-induced attempt at taking my selfie-bot away did not help matters much, to be fair. But, I get it: you were desperate to get us back, to prove that you were not a bully anymore..."
By this point, the tears had stopped falling down her face, but she was still hurting terribly as she told her simply and truthfully;
"I should have spoken up about my suspicions! I should have listened to you from the beginning! Oh, Sunset, I'm so sorry!"
"I'm sorry too, girls..." said Spike, his voice muffled from within his owner's backpack, yet it was loud enough to get the group's attention and concern. With care, Sci-Twi grabbed the backpack, which was next to her chair, and placed it on her lap. She slowly unzipped it open, allowing Spike's furry head to slowly rise from his confines while looking at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could produce to express his own regret. He then turned around to show those eyes to each of his friends, who could not help but feel bad for the little fella. Before they could say anything back, he elaborated;
"I should have said something, anything, to get you girls to at least consider Sunset's words. But, I didn't..."
He looked down at floor to his right before finishing with a dog's sad whimper;
"I stayed silent and allowed a dear friend to suffer."
In spite of the wild waves of negative emotions flowing within them, none of the girls would stand for Spike's sorrow, but Rarity was the first to do something about it. With eyeliner trailing her cheeks along with her tears, she stood up, walked over to Spike, gently grabbed him with both hands, and raised him up out of the backpack while giving him a look of pure affection that a pet owner would happily give to their furry friend. Spike looked back at her in surprise for half-a-second before she brought him into a warm gentle hug. She gushed lovingly while stroking his head as she did this, some of her natural dignity having returned;
"Oh, our dearest little Spikey-Wikey! You are most certainly forgiven."
The pup continued to whimper, although the hug and head strokes were helping him feel better, much to his appreciation. The other girls were quick to give him head pats and ear scratches, their troubles temporarily pushed aside for his sake. Sunset, however, took it a step further. After Fluttershy gave him one of her patented Flutterhugs while cooing over how sweet and caring he was being, Sunset reached over to him with both hands, prompting the animal lover to give him to her. She then placed him on her lap with all the care in the world and, with a smile filled with love and understanding, asked him;
"Do you want a belly rub, little guy?"
Spike didn't need to be asked twice, although a part of him felt he didn't deserve such a wonderful gift. He rolled onto his back to show his belly, ready for the rubbing to come. Without hesitation, Sunset rubbed his belly with both hands and friendly gusto. His tail was wagging within two seconds and his tongue poked out from his mouth within four. By the fifth second, his right hind leg was bouncing due to how great he was feeling, his little barks making the source of his comfort as well as his owner gush a little. The other girls looked on in relief, glad to see Spike's mood improving, with Fluttershy's joyful smile over the sheer adorableness of the puppy cutting through her sadness.
It wasn't long before the girls went back to either sitting down or standing in silence, with Spike taking a nap in his owner's opened backpack. He didn't snore like he was wont to do when napping, as if his entire body sought to be considerate of the girls around him. Their shared sorrow was not quite as strong as it was earlier, so no more tears were shed. Sunset, even now, could hear the old hurtful voice in her head as it attempted to sway her over to its side, her side;
Oh, they'll be apologetic for a while, but make no mistake: they'll screw up again and again until you find the guts to drop them!
All that voice did, however, was make her want to defy it out of spite as she looked at her friends with quiet understanding and patience in her heart, while they looked back at her with regret painted on their faces. Sci-Twi, in particular, kept her eyes on her amber-colored friend with a new-found determination to not turn away again. Applejack spoke up with renewed calmness mixed with surety while keeping her gaze locked on Sunset;
"Simply put, sugarcube: we done messed up big time with ya' and we wanna make things right."
A large grin, filled with the friendly honesty that only an Apple could express with and without words, grew on her face, her green eyes sparkling with hope and friendship. The old voice in Sunset's mind was angered by this;
She lies, Sunny!
Yet, Applejack's words had struck a cord with each of the girls. Rarity, after wiping the eyeliner trails off of her face with tissue that was helpfully provided by Applejack, gave Sunset a warm glare that could melt a frozen heart as she calmly declared, her dignity and grace back in full force;
"We do not deserve your friendship, darling. But, you can be certain that we will not take for granted the generosity you have shown to us by staying with us in the end."
She'll take your HEART for granted!
Rainbow Dash, her pride restored as evidenced by her confident smirk and chest bump with her right fist, boasted to Sunset with gusto;
"That's right! We'll be loyal to each other and to you, 'cause we're awesome like that!"
She-she'll betray you again!
Fluttershy, with a gentle smile that could soothe even the most rabid animal, told her with a soft voice;
"Friends don't abandon friends and we won't abandon you again."
She won't be kind enough to stand by you...
Pinkie, with repeated standing hops and giggles fueled by her own brand of exuberance, happily exclaimed while grinning from ear to ear, her fully revitalized poofy hair bouncing with her;
"We'll fill our friendship with smiles and laughter every day! No more betrayals for us!"
No... She'll take your smile away again!
With each reaffirmation of friendship delivered by the girls, Sunset's sadness and the strength of that old hurtful voice were significantly weakened. It was Twilight's words that finished off the former, which she uttered truthfully and with friendly affection aimed squarely at her friend;
"We'll be the friends you deserve, Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset's sadness vanished, allowing happiness and hope to flow through her being like a soothing wave of rainbow light. The pride she felt for her friends at that moment could not be accurately described with words alone. A warm smile filled with appreciation and unconditional love would have to be enough. As the wondrously positive vibes silently generated from the Rainbooms filled the library, the old voice, although she was weakened to the point of near silence, would not give up just yet. With a hateful growl, she nearly roared another lie from within Sunset's mind, only for another voice to echo more loudly, silencing the deceiver. Sunset, with internal relief, tuned into this voice without hesitation. Why would she hesitate? This was the voice of the very first friend she had ever made! It was this voice that reminded her of a saying: A lesson she had learned from that friend during their many long-distance talks. This lesson served as her guiding light during The Memory Stone Incident.
Sunset decided in her now clear mind that she would pass this light on to the friends who mattered so much to her.
Breaking the silence, she stood up from her seat at the table, walked a few steps to her left, and bent down to grab the yearbook that rested on the floor during that whole conversation. She then rose back up, returned to the table, placed the book on top of the photo, completely hiding it from view, and sat back down. The other girls looked at the book with curiosity and a hint of shame on their faces as Sunset opened it up and flipped through its pages at a brisk pace. After about of a second or two of flipping, she stopped and pointed at a page on the right side of the book while looking at each of her friends, her warm smile from earlier refusing to leave her face. She then asked them sweetly;
"Do you see this?"
One by one, the girls moved to look over at what Sunset was referring to. It was a picture, one that, in spite of what had transpired prior to its taking, they were all glad they had made together. The part of the picture that she was pointing at specifically was an especially strong point of pride for them, doubly so for Pinkie. As if hammering the point home, Sunset asked them;
"Is that a frown?"
With happiness growing in their hearts, they shook their heads. What the picture depicted was a scene that was as simple as it was beautiful: seven wonderful friends sharing a memory together. The part that Sunset was pointing out depicted her expressing something that she described with heartfelt accuracy;
"That is a smile. A beautiful, awesome smile that's as real as the sun and the moon in two worlds."
The girls looked up at Sunset with even more happiness on their faces than before, with Pinkie about ready to burst with joy. Their dear friend went on while closing her eyes and gently grasping her geode necklace with her right hand;
"I'm reminded of one of the toughest lessons the Princess had to learn... Friendship can be hard..."
The memories of the entire incident popped up in her mind one at a time in rapid succession. It hurt her to face them, but she knew she could take the sting. With a sigh, she finished her sentence with certainty;
"But it's worth fighting for."
Her friends were moved by her words, as evidenced by their loving smiles and newly formed happy tears that they had no problems with shedding gracefully. But, Sunset was not done yet, for she went on to ask while tightening her grip on the geode;
"I had to fight for our friendship, and what did you do in return?"
As a flood of happy memories flowed through Sunset's mind, she declared with soft joy;
"You all stood up for me at a moment when I needed you the most. That's a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life."
She opened her eyes to look at each of her friends with a never-ending abundance of affection and sweetness before finishing truthfully;
"Thank you girls..."
A few happy tears flowed out from her eyes that she gently wiped with her right index finger after releasing her grip on her geode. She then performed her signature sideways smirk and reiterated;
"Thank you."
For a whole minute of silence, all was right in the minds of the Sonic Rainbooms as they gazed at each other with fondness in their eyes and hope in their hearts. No lie, half-truth, or nightmare could touch them. It was a minute of peace that they all needed and appreciated. Once it had passed, however, Applejack felt a slight nagging sensation in her head, which prompted her to sigh before noting in resignation;
"Now, while The Memory Stone Incident did have a happy endin', Ah get the feelin' there's somethin' we're missin' 'ere."
Sunset sat up off of her seat again while responding clearly;
"Which brings me to two issues that I want us to tackle, actually."
She then looked at the girls and asked them politely;
"If I may?"
"Of course, darling," replied a patient Rarity with a nod. The others followed suit in silence, which gave Sunset clearance to walk over to Cheerilee's desk as the girls watched on out of curiosity. The librarian took a moment away from her work to look up at her with a knowing smile for a brief second before pulling the desk drawer out in front of her to grab something out from it with both hands. That something was a single large black tablet device that she handed over to Sunset, who took it with a look of gratitude before returning to the table. The girls recognized that tablet as soon as she placed it on the table before sitting back down, with Sci-Twi exclaiming;
"That was from my Selfie-Bot!"
"The same tablet you gave me after the incident went down, Twi.", Sunset added with a friendly smile aimed at her to prevent any tension from creeping up. With a chuckle, she explained;
"It's a great gift and I appreciate it. But, I'm curious about something..."
She looked over at each of her friends before asking seriously, her smile changing into a frown;
"Did any of you look at its recently recorded footage before Twi gave it to me? Particularly the footage from two days ago?"
They all looked down at either the table or the floor before shaking their heads. Fluttershy gave voice to what they were feeling at that moment;
"It's... too painful to look at."
With understanding in her eyes, Sunset laid the truth out to them gently;
"I feel the way that you do too. But, we have to face all of what happened if we want to move forward, and there's some parts of it that you need to see."
Each girl, moved by their friend's words, slowly looked back up at Sunset and nodded affirmatively. With a sigh, she activated the tablet, logged into it, swiped her way to a single video that she tapped on to start up. But, before it could even play, she paused it and began swiping left and right to find the part she wanted to show. Once she did, she stopped swiping, turned up the volume just enough for the girls to hear it, and pressed play. The scene being depicted made Sunset's friends react in noticeable ways. Rarity took several deep breaths to maintain her lady-like composure. Fluttershy tried to hide behind her long pink hair out of reflex. Applejack and Rainbow Dash crossed their arms while paying close attention, with the latter trying her best to keep the urge to yell in check. Pinkie, who's smile she was holding on to ever since Sunset's heartfelt show of thanks, looked like she was trying much harder than usual to keep that smile alive, her pink hair losing a tiny hint of its saturation for a split-second before returning to its full glory. What they saw on that tablet was a green-haired girl with freckles and a despondent disposition right as she began to sing to Sunset and Trixie in the yearbook room;
You don't see me fitting in.
I'm sitting here alone.
Right beside my shadow.
Always on my own.
Once the song ended, Sunset paused the video to see how her friends reacted to it. Fluttershy held both of her hands up to her chin while trying very hard to not weep again. Rarity looked positively mortified by what she had heard. Rainbow looked both shocked and terribly concerned, even as she kept her arms crossed. Pinkie's eyes were as wide as can be, her irises and schlera having shrunken down to the size of pinpricks whilst her hair rapidly switched between poofiness and non-poofiness, her breathing somehow slow and steady. Sci-Twi gently hugged herself as she tried to reign in a flurry of old painful memories to keep herself calm. Applejack had placed her hat back on her head as the footage played, shot up off of her seat, walked away from the table, and turned her back towards it. Her face, thus far, was unreadable: a sign that what she was feeling she experienced on the inside, as per usual. She did, however, allowed a truth to slip passed her battle-tested defenses;
"Won't be long before Ah'm gone..." she uttered in a voice that was barely above a whisper. She took her hat off again with both hands, lowered it down to her chest, and held it there while she turned back around to face the girls and lowered her defenses. Her face, once stoic, now revealed a veritable cocktail of emotions:
Sadness, regret, anger, and, most of all, concern.
"Ah think we can all guess as to what that line means for that girl!" she exclaimed.
They all knew exactly what she meant. It had different interpretations for some of the girls, but they all shared the same dreadful meaning. Pinkie's hair nearly completely deflated at the mere thought of it as sadness filled her eyes. The others looked about as upset over it. Sci-Twi voiced her take on the matter with seriousness and worry in every word;
"Everyone here is thinking it, so I'll say it: Wallflower was having dark thoughts."
"The lamest kind there is," Rainbow added in an uncharacteristically somber tone.
"But, is she still plagued by them?" asked a deeply worried Rarity. All eyes turned towards Sunset, who kept watch as the girls reacted in the way they did. She was relieved that they responded so well, compared to what she imagined in her head. But, there was still plenty of baggage to sort out. So, she answered calmly;
"She's fighting back against those thoughts and she's not alone in that fight."
Relief flooded the room as the other girls relaxed while thinking well of the three new friends in Wallflower's life. Pinkie's hair regained its poofiness yet again as her face exploded with glee. Fluttershy, with a small smile, softly declared with confidence;
"Then she's in good hands."
They all gave Sunset warm knowing grins at that moment. They knew for sure that she was one of the three friends helping Wallflower out and, much to the Human-Pony's joy, they had no problems with it. That joy faded as soon as it arrived, however, as Sunset grabbed the tablet to mess with the video some more while explaining;
"There's still one more part of the video left to show."
She stopped swiping to see the part she wanted to find, took a breath, and solemnly warned them as she placed the tablet back down on the table;
"None of us will like this one..."
With the girls' attention on the footage, she pressed play one more time. The scene depicted Sunset exclaiming angrily to Wallflower while slowly walking up to her and giving her a glare that was absolutely menacing;
"You're about to see how mean I can get!"
The angry voice alone reminded Sci-Twi of the Friendship Games, which made the wounds from that experience sting a bit. As for her five other friends, seeing Sunset act this way opened up a much older wound, one that they shared. The glare, the slow walk that was filled with ill intent, and the yelling all conspired to remind them of a side of their friend that, as much as they hated to admit, they could never deny.
For them, it was as if they had witnessed the second coming of an all-too-real nightmare.
The five friends found themselves standing up straight, not willing to move an inch away from their positions at the table. With Sci-Twi looking on in concern, Sunset followed suit while giving them a knowing saddened expression. Those five friends showed to her shock, horror, and sadness in silence. She understood what was going on with them, but she had to be absolutely sure of her suspicions. With a breath, she asked them;
"You're still hurting... over who I used to be?"
No doubts, no denial, no lies. Just simple, yet emphatic nods from each of the five clearly troubled young ladies who stood before Sunset. This confirmation threatened to break her heart, but it was too strong to be broken by the past or the pain born from it. Before she could respond, Applejack asked Sunset with worry deeply rooted in her voice;
"Are ya' still hurtin' over that too?"
Sunset watched as that worry spread like wild fire to the other girls. She was sorely tempted to hide the truth from them, to save them the trouble of worrying about her. But, she thought of something important:
Her beloved friends, Spike included, had been absolutely real with her. How could she sleep at night if she wasn't real with them in return?!
As if mimicking the five ladies before her, she nodded emphatically with pure sadness in her eyes. She looked at each of them again while feeling an irrational fear of them judging her. But, there was no judgement in their eyes. No anger. Not even a sliver of animosity. Just pure understanding and quiet support. That fear got burned to ashes within seconds as Sci-Twi stood up in solidarity, determined to help her friends however she could. Not one word was said between the Sonic Rainbooms for a full five minutes as they slowly and carefully walked over to each other and embraced without hesitation, the pain of their invisible wounds being eased by the strength of their friendship as their quiet tears stained the library floor below them like rain. Cheerliee, ever the attentive educator, recognized what was going on, and watched in silent support of CHS's beloved band of students.
The girls returned to their positions at the table, all of them having determined looks on their faces as they discussed their next steps. Rainbow was the first to speak up with self-annoyance flowing out from her mouth;
"Oh man, it's no wonder we've been pulling that whole 'No Offense' joke on Sunset, we never got over the whole she-demon thing, the whole bullying thing too, and we definitely weren't doing a good job at helping her get over all of that either!"
She looked off to her right side while keeping her arms crossed before adding with a combo of guilt and annoyance;
"Not early on at least..."
Applejack, her hat back on its proper place upon her head, chimed in with regret in her eyes;
"Consarnit, we even aimed that dern joke at Twi as well right after the Friendship Games! Ah'll give ya'll two guesses as to where that came from!"
She looked at Sunset and Sci-Twi with sadness in her eyes before declaring;
"Ah'm mighty sorry, sugarcubes."
"We all are," said an equally regretful Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity followed suit with apologies of their own, much to Sci-Twi's and Sunset's appreciation. Three seconds later, however, Rarity gave her own take on the subject at hand;
"This is utterly absurd!" Rarity exclaimed in politely restrained frustration while flicking the curly end of her hair. With a breath, she elaborated;
"I mean, given all that we have gone through together, the tribulations, mistakes, and triumphs, one would think that our hearts would have healed up by now. That we could look back on Sunset's past boo-boos, and Twilight's for that matter, without feeling a twinge of internal pain over them."
She looked at each of her friends with concern in her eyes. She did not like the shame that was being quietly shared by them. Not skipping a beat, she added sweetly;
"Oh, I am not saying all this to give us cruel judgement, loves. We have made great strides in terms of self-recovery ever since the Fall Formal and the Friendship Games."
When she said all this, she gave each of her friends a warm loving smile to ease their worries, with special attention given to Sunset and Sci-Twi. They all smiled back at her out of relief and appreciation as she noted with a dignified 'humph';
"But, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack have eluded to, our emotional wounds are more stubborn than we thought!"
"Invisible scars can be like that," noted Sunset with a short mirthless chuckle, which prompted Sci-Twi to look right at her and chime in with a raised right eyebrow;
"Invisible scars... a fascinating way to describe the residual internalized hurting we all carry, Sunset."
The amber-skined girl turned to face her nerdy friend and told her calmly with seriousness all over her face and a voice just loud enough for the rest of the girls to hear her words;
"It's also accurate, Twi. Scars like ours can't be seen with the naked eye..."
She placed her right hand on her heart as she finished;
"But, they are felt by those who carry them."
Her words gave the purple intellectual much to think about, but she had put such things aside as Rarity noted while looking at Sunset with concern all over her face;
"Indeed, and your scars were inflamed by The Memory Stone Incident so intensely that..."
She clutched her chest with her right hand and dramatically gasped at the mere thought of what she was about to say before finishing with deep worry being carried by her voice, her eyes still locked on the girl she was terribly concerned about;
"Oh, darling, you were regressing back to the Sunset of old!"
Without a second though, Rarity declared to her in a loving dignified fashion;
"No one here is judging you for that, and if you need any help with making sure that never happens again, you need only speak with us."
Sunset looked at each of the girls, only to find friendly smiles filled with love and support from each of them, with Rainbow Dash adding a chest bump with her right fist for good measure. She happily thought of a beautiful truth as she looked back at them with that same love;
"These are the friends I know, not the rip-offs my demon makes them out to be!"
A familiar pulling sensation from deep within her heart quietly called to her. It was during this moment that she felt seriously tempted to let herself follow that pull, to sink inward and put aside the outside world. She knew her friends would understand and letting go, at that time, felt so easy. Easier than it had ever been before...
"With just one breath, I could... No."
She willed herself to mentally turn away from the pull;
"Not yet. There's still more to do before I make that journey."
As if recognizing her choice, the pull went away. Sunset was not too concerned about this. She knew, deep down, that it would return again. For now, however, she had much to say to the girls that meant so much to her. A show of gratitude was a good way to start;
"Thank you girls," she told them with sweetness in every word and a beaming smile to match. Just the sight of this warmed their hearts and eased their troubles, even if only a little. She added before anyone else could react;
"I'll do what I can to make sure I don't regress again."
Her sideways smirk returned with gusto as she declared jokingly;
"I'd rather not be zapped by a Rainbow Laser a second time."
She added a playful wink as she said this. All of the girls couldn't help but laugh much of their tension away at Sunset's joke. Once the laughter died down, she went right into addressing a certain old elephant in the room with a polite yet serious expression focused on each girl present;
"Now, upon retrospect, I really should have recognized that running joke as a sign of trouble, that you weren't really getting over the old me. But, and I believe I talked to you all about this before, the reason why I took the joke over and over again was because, frankly, I needed to make sure I could take criticism."
She sighed while thinking back to every single instance of the joke being thrown at her before adding;
"How could I say that I've changed for the better if I couldn't take the other students criticizing me, not to mention you criticizing me, without flying off the handle or letting myself fall into a pit of self-pity?"
Her confident smirk came back with a vengeance as she declared proudly;
"So, I toughened up, took every Wondercolt's anger, and your jokes, on the chin, all while putting in the work to be better than who I used to be."
Without warning, Sunset laughed with her eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them back up to reveal;
"Wild how it took The Dazzlings to make me see what I had to do!"
The other girls appeared to have taken that last comment well, if their supportive expressions aimed at Sunset were any indication. Rarity, in particular, smiled sweetly before responding in a heartfelt manner that had a dash of sophistication that she was always quick to sprinkle into her words whenever possible;
"Oh, and you did such a marvelous job, darling."
Rainbow, ever quick to inspire others, gave Sunset some enthusiastically delivered props;
"Yeah! You got so awesome at being nice, the whole school forgave you!"
"They even apologized to you for being such big meanies over your mistakes!" exclaimed a bubbly Pinkie Pie as she bounced in place while wearing a dopey smile for good measure.
Applejack added with a grin of her own, a playful wink, and goodwill in her eyes for the friend the girls shared;
"Yeah, they had to take a good hard look at themselves after bein' saved by 'the bad girl they loved to hate' and her sometimes foolish friends from a lifetime of servitude to even badder girls."
That remark got another, larger, laugh from Sunset, which the other girls joined in on for about five seconds before calming down enough for her to talk some more with a smile;
"You see? I can take jokes like that to the face now because I know how much I've grown. Heck, I've even joined in on the jokes from time to time."
That smile faded to make room for a sad frown that took the happy wind out of Pinkie's sails;
"But..." Sunset hesitated for a moment to think of the words before finishing with her head tilted down to face the table;
"In spite of all of my efforts to grow... I'm still hurting over the old me, and I just showed you all proof of that."
Her head remained firmly in place as the other girls listened closely with seriousness painted on their faces as Sunset declared with a soft voice that added to the regret she was expressing;
"You saw the footage on the tablet. You saw what I almost did to Wallflower out of anger."
She raised her head to look at each of her friends in the eye, her face oozing with sorrow that she was allowing herself to feel with a level of grace that allowed her to maintain self-control. Without a moment's pause, she added;
"It's a truth that I had recognized during the Friendship Games, and yet I thought it had stopped applying to me soon after that."
She inhaled deeply, held her breath, and released softly before declaring a terrible fact;
"The Old Sunset Shimmer never died, girls: she's sleeping... and the hurting I caused as her still remains."
There it was, the truth. For Sunset and the five girls she had managed to befriend long ago, it all made sense: What had been the driving force behind her outbursts, the running joke, their choice to betray her, and several other troubling moments was their surviving issues with the demon they shared.
From that moment on, for them, Sunset's and Sci-Twi's past was no laughing matter. A fact that was made perfectly clear by a visibly agitated Rainbow Dash;
"So, your past is still today, SunShim...", she said with an annoyed grumble that was laced with worry for her friend. Sunset's response was simple and truthful, her annoyance being just as strong as she crossed her arms in thought;
"No, but it's trying to be that way... for all of us."
As for the scientist herself, who listened closely to what her friends had to say, she decided to make a point while they stared at each other in silent contemplation;
"I get it, Sunset," she said solemnly.
The girls looked over at her to see what she was getting at. It didn't long for her to get the point across, her solemness refusing to leave her voice;
"Your invisible scars are represented by your anger issues."
She looked down at the floor to her right before adding with no small amount of shame;
"My scars are represented by my fear, which is made quite clear by my nervousness and anxiety."
Rarity, at this point, had had about enough of watching a dear friend suffer such shame. She gently coaxed Sci-Twi out of her saddened disposition with her caring voice;
"Oh, come now, Twilight darling!"
The scientist sharply looked up at the fashionista, who looked back at her with a soothing glare filled with understanding and support. Sci-Twi knew better than to not give Rarity Belle her undivided attention whenever she had put strong emphasis on one of her favorite things to call someone close to her. Rarity, seeing the opportunity, explained sweetly;
"Our faults, mistakes, and feelings, whatever they may be, should not be causes for shame, but reasons to grow!"
She switched her gaze between each member of the group as she went on confidently;
"Yes, we have made foolish mistakes. Yes, we have powerful negative feelings over past incidents. Yes, we have our faults. But, dearest Sunset here has the right of it."
She motioned to Sunset with her opened right hand while giving her a loving glare before continuing;
"Instead of wallowing in self-pity that would render us frozen in place, let us take the necessary steps to learn and grow from the past and that which relates to it, so that we may all move forward with our lives as better people."
Sci-Twi felt hope and relief in her heart, thanks to her most fashionable friend's touching words. With a deep chuckle, Applejack tipped her hat to Rarity while declaring with pride;
"Ah'd drink to that, if Ah had me some cider."
Fluttershy, while thrilled to see the growing smiles on her friends' faces, knew that there was another outstanding issue to address. With a breath, she tried to get their attention;
"Um, wait a moment..." she said in a voice too soft for them to hear. The girls around her were still busy encouraging each other, which drove Fluttershy to add a teeny-tiny bit of volume to her voice;
"Wait."
Unfortunately, that teeny-tiny bit was still too small of an increase to be of any help to her. With a fearful whimper, she bumped up her vocal volume to something akin to an indoor voice;
"Wait!"
Still not loud enough! There was nothing else for it in Fluttershy's mind: she had to take drastic measures;
"WAIT!", she yelled out so loudly, that her voice carried throughout the library, hitting the ears of every other Rainboom around the table. Cheerliee nearly dropped the papers that were in her hands out of shock upon hearing this. She honestly did not expect that girl, of all students, to yell at all! The rest of the girls stopped their conversation out of surprise for a moment before diverting their attention over to Fluttershy, who looked more than a little nervous and apologetic over having raised her voice to such an intense level. Her friends had looked about as apologetic, with Rarity apologizing to her on their behalf;
"Our sincerest apologies, darling! We got a little too caught up in our conversation for our own good, you see."
The animal-lover's soothing smile was proof enough to them that all was forgiven. So, Applejack asked politely;
"Okay, Flutters, what did ya' wanna say?"
Deeply hesitant, but utterly determined to get this issue handled, Fluttershy explained in her uniquely soft voice;
"Um, I know Sunset, Derpy, and Roseluck are helping Wallflower out..."
Just hearing the name of the one who's foolish actions incited this meeting in the first place made the other girls, save for Sunset herself, visibly tense up. Still, they all kept their attention on Fluttershy, their friendship encouraging them to do so as she went on;
"And... I know we all have mixed feelings about her, but..."
Seeing her friends suddenly look so tense over her own words made the sweet young lady want to retreat into herself and whimper in terror. But, before that could happen, she felt a gentle hand rest on her right hand. She looked to find that it was cyan;
"Take your time, pal. You got this!" Rainbow Dash told Fluttershy with one of her more encouraging grins that fired out an invisible wave of confidence that filled the latter's heart. With renewed courage strengthened further by her friends giving her supportive glares, she continued while looking directly at Sunset;
"I need to know. We need to know."
She sighed before asking the former bully;
"Is Wallflower repentant?"
The other Rainbooms, Fluttershy included, were not happy with that girl's actions. Heck, most of them had their own opinions on the notion of her being repentant. But, they also knew that Sunset was the one who knew the fact of the matter. They all looked over at her expectantly, curious as to what her answer would be. She glared back at Fluttershy and the others, her expression equally serious and calm. All was silent for three seconds before Sunset told them simply and truthfully with a hint of sadness in her words;
"She is."
The girls nodded back at her without entertaining a sliver of doubt. They knew better than to think of Sunset Shimmer as a liar, especially when it came to matters of redemption. Speaking of Sunset, after a few more seconds of silence, she shot up off of her chair again, walked over to stand in front of the bookshelf that stood far to the left of the table, her back facing the table, and took a deep breath. She knew in her heart, at that moment, that something had to give for her sake and her friends' sake. After exhaling, she declared in a soft indoor voice with determination oozing from her words, her right fist clenched tightly after being raised up to her chest;
"I will make a promise..."
The other girls watched her walk and, when she made that declaration, raised their eyebrows in surprise, especially Pinkie Pie, who had stopped bouncing at that moment to look at her with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. She knew what was coming, but goodness, she couldn't help but be shocked by it! Sunset turned right around on her right boot heel, stood in place while keeping that fist of hers at her chest, and announced with fierce conviction and fire in her eyes;
"A Pinkie Promise: to help heal the scars left behind by the past, as well as help Wallflower redeem herself as Twilight and I once did!"
To say that the girls were stunned by this would be a mighty understatement! Like Pinkie, their mouths were wide open. But, more than that, they were moved by Sunset's decision to make such a weighty promise. She was about ready to make it official when Rainbow quickly left the table to stand by her right side. With her confident smile being as large as her ego, she told her friend;
"I'll join in on this awesomeness!"
Rarity stepped up as well, choosing to stand by Sunset's left side while noting politely;
"It would be unfair of us to not give Wallflower the same help we gave you, darling. Besides..."
Once she was fully positioned, she looked over at her with a hopeful grin and added with conviction and grace;
"Those scars of ours, invisible or not, must not be allowed to fester any longer."
Sci-Twi was the next Rainboom to join in, albeit with some hesitancy at first. She learned early on from Pinkie herself of the importance of a Pinkie Promise, as well as the terrible consequences of breaking one. Still, she would not let herself deny herself this chance at personal healing. Not just for Sunset, but also for herself. Once she was standing to Rarity's right side, she declared with surety as the quiet echo of a certain cruel voice laughed maniacally in her head;
"I can't spend the rest of my life living in fear of losing what I cherish and now that I think about it..."
She looked over at Sunset with a grimace that contrasted with the conviction in her eyes before stating;
"There's another old wound I have that may not have fully healed yet and it is made of crystal."
The other Rainbooms knew what she meant by that and they were proud of her for wanting to go the extra mile. Fluttershy quietly joined the others at the bookshelf with clenched fists, determination etched on her face. Now, only two remained at the table. Applejack gave the growing group of promise-makers a once-over before standing up. But, she didn't take a single step away from the table. Instead, she told the girls honestly;
"Ah would like to suggest somethin' about that there Pinkie Promise: helpin' Wallflower redeem herself will mean helpin' her find it in her heart to face her mistakes with courage."
She shook her head while looking down at the floor as she added;
"Ah'll be honest with ya'll: makin' light of Sunset and Twi's mistakes did not help them face their mistakes none. Heck, we probably made their problems worse for a bit."
She looked back up at the group in front of her and at Pinkie Pie. Sunset and Sci-Twi showed understanding in their eyes, while the rest of the girls showed both regret and understanding in theirs. Applejack's was not far off in that regard as she finished;
"Sunset bein' in on the joke aside, we were hangin' her past and Twi's over their heads over and over again like storm clouds ragin' above an orchard, even after they cleaned up their acts. So, let's not do that with Wallflower over hers, ya' hear?"
No Rainboom disagreed with that idea. Applejack solidified its place in the Pinkie Promise as she walked over to stand with the others;
"We'll find better ways to help that troubled girl face down the past, ones more helpful than bad jokes."
Sunset, looking to comfort her friends a little, decided to comment with her arms crossed;
"Well, bad jokes can be funny."
"Yeah, well, not that one," noted Applejack with stubborn finality. All eyes turned towards Pinkie Pie, who sat as still as a statue while holding her chin with her right hand in deep thought. After two-to-three seconds of silent thinking, she told the girls standing before her in an uncharacteristically serious voice;
"I've got..."
Her pink hair lost a bit of its vibrancy for a split-second before getting it back as she continued speaking;
"Feelings over Wallflower Blush... Feelings over the Old Sunset..."
Before any of the girls could feel a hint of worry for their normally peppy friend, Pinkie's famous ear-to-ear smile came roaring back. With a skip and a hop, she joined the group whilst happily declaring with a giggle;
"I'll work through them all, because no one should lose their smile over the past when I can help them laugh!"
Just then, right when Pinkie finished positioning herself at the far-right side of the group, something wild happened that could only happen to her. The party planner spontaneously started to bounce in place at a pace so incredibly rapid, it was amazing she was able to keep her balance! The other girls looked over at her to see what was going on with their friend. Most of them were surprised, but not at all concerned. Sci-Twi, however, was both concerned and confused at the same time. While looking at Pinkie and the girls interchangeably, she asked them;
"What in the world is going on with her? Is this a severely inflamed physical reflex or something?"
Sunset, recognizing her friend's confusion, called out to Sci-Twi with a smirk;
"Twi, you've heard about her Pinkie Sense, right?"
The scientist turned to face her friend and nodded while responding;
"Ah yes, Rarity told me about the strange concept a while back."
Within moments, she connected the dots in her head, quickly turned back to look at the bouncing Pinkie, and asked Sunset;
"So then, what does her bouncing wildly in place mean?"
Pinkie, in spite of her current situation, managed to answer her question before Sunset could say a word;
"It me-e-eans tha-a-a-at a-a-a d-o-o-o-o-zy is c-o-o-o-mi-i-i-ing!"
That got a raised right eyebrow from Sci-Twi, who inquired further with worry in her voice;
"A doozy? Are you sure it is not the sign of a bad health condition?"
"Far from it, Twi!" Sunset told her with a friendly chuckle. Sci-Twi looked back at her and listened closely as she explained;
"A doozy means that something really important is about to happen, something that's usually life-changing for someone."
"Y-e-p-p-p-pero-o-o-ni-i-i-is!" exclaimed Pinkie, her bouncing making it quite difficult to speak clearly. Rainbow Dash, understanding exactly what was going on, laughed a bit before clarifying further;
"Yeah, and what we're about to do is soooo important, soooo incredibly awesome, that it's flaring up Pinks' Pinkie Sense!"
That explanation would have been enough for most people, but given that Sci-Twi's mind was one that loathed not knowing things, she was half-tempted to investigate this bizarre matter further. But, she learned early on in her friendship with these wonderful ladies she was proudly standing with that it was best to not question the harmless antics of Pinkie Pie too much. With a sigh, she decided to leave the matter be for now. Sensing the opportunity, Sunset asked the girls jokingly;
"Last chance to back out."
Rarity, with a knowing chuckle, looked over at her and told her with certainty in her voice;
"Worry not, darling, for we will never give up on you."
Sunset had no idea how much she longed to hear one of those ladies say a phrase like that until she heard her say it! Happy to see how moved her friend was by her words, the fashionista looked straight ahead with a smile beaming with hope and courage. The rest of the girls followed suit, with Sci-Twi adding more weight to Rarity words by declaring with utter surety;
"Never again."
Without further ado, they positioned their arms to ready themselves for what was to come, with Pinkie finding it a little bit more difficult to do so whilst she kept on bouncing. After a two second pause, the Sonic Rainbooms performed the motions while clearly uttering the oath in nigh-perfect unison;
"Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes!"
The motions were done, the oath was uttered, and thus, the promise was made and sealed, which caused Pinkie to stop bouncing instantly, much to her relief. The seven friends who stood together in renewed harmony knew in their hearts that they would keep their promise. They would set the past free for good. No half-measures or foolhardiness this time!
Of course, there was the matter of how they would do this that had to be addressed first! Once they returned to the table, Rainbow asked Sunset excitedly;
"So, what's the plan? How do we give those scars some awesome healing?"
Her sideways smirk on point, the former she-demon of CHS explained to her friends;
"I had a good chat with Wallflower alongside her friends yesterday. She truly wants to face her past mistakes, to face us! But..."
She sighed solemnly before continuing one with a more serious expression;
"She doesn't feel ready to face us yet."
With an understanding grin and a nod, Applejack noted gently;
"She needs time then, just as ya' did long ago."
"Exactly, AJ," Sunset affirmed with a nod of her own. Her smirk returned as she suggested;
"Which is why I think we should pull a card from those early days after the Fall Formal Incident. Only this time..."
She looked at each of her attentive friends, their shared excitement evident on their faces, and finished with a hint with hope in her eyes;
"We call in some help from a few friends of ours."
That got a smirk from Sci-Twi, who happily insisted while adjusting her glasses;
"Elaborate."