Rainbow Dash finds someone about to make a terrible choice, and steps in to help.
Rainbow Dash, on her way out from school, notices that one person didn't come out yet, despite the time since the bell rang. Perhaps against her better judgement, she goes back in to keep Sunset Shimmer from making a horrible mistake. Tensions rise, loyalty is tested, and perhaps, a broken soul can be fixed.
Content warning-- --Several profanities("Fuck" is used in a couple of cases) --Repeated mentions of suicide
"Do you ever feel that sometimes, you should leave well enough alone?"
Fluttershy paused, turning back to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was staring back at the school, one hand on her backpack straps, after all the other students had gone.
All of them but one.
"Um, sometimes," Fluttershy agreed.
"Yeah, sometimes," Rainbow said in an odd tone. "Sometimes it's time to just mind your own business, and walk the other way, and don't ever, eeeever look back."
Fluttershy stared at her for a long minute of silence.
Rainbow sighed. "See you tomorrow," she told Fluttershy in a resigned tone, before heading back into the school.
It wasn't too hard to duck around the faculty, or even sneak to the back of the school, where a doorway to the roof was located.
A doorway that was supposed to be locked.
Rainbow climbed a few steps, knowing full well that she could get into serious trouble for being up here. Not that the other girl on the roof seemed to mind. She was, in fact, standing at the very edge, one foot on the railing, with her arms folded across that knee.
She was swaying just ever so slightly, backwards, then forwards, backwards...
"I don't think that's a good idea," Rainbow intoned.
Sunset Shimmer jumped, nearly lost her balance, but caught herself, planting both feet firmly on the ground. She sucked in a deep breath, then turned and shot a furious look at Rainbow Dash. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that getting introduced to the sidewalk at high velocity is a wonderfully stupid idea," Rainbow said slowly, "and Fluttershy's right there."
Sunset scoffed, turning back to the edge. She froze, for a second or so, then took a few steps away from it.
Rainbow was content to let the matter sit for a moment—luckily, it didn't seem that Sunset wanted to die, at least, not fully.
That made Rainbow's job a lot easier.
"You know," Sunset said, "a lot of the students would be mad about what you just did."
"To hell with them. I don't exactly like you, but you'd have to be a helluva lot worse than you are now for me to want to see you dead," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Besides, you could always get better."
"It doesn't matter now, anyway. You've missed your chance," Sunset replied haughtily. She turned away from the edge, then strode past Rainbow Dash, and down the stairwell.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, then closed the door behind herself on her way down.
"Yeah, you're welcome," she muttered.
Just outside the stairwell, Sunset paused. "Thanks," she said quietly.
Rainbow flinched, catching up to her, but couldn't really think of anything to say. Instead, she elected to follow Sunset's leave and head towards the school's exit.
Neither of them had gotten more than a few feet when they heard an casual voice say, "You should really be heading home at this point."
Both of them turned to see Vice Principal Luna standing there, a mug of coffee in one hand that she swished around half-heartedly, staring at it in a bored fashion
"Oh! Uh—yeah, guess I just...lost track of time," Rainbow chuckled. The worst part was, she wouldn't even be able to say that Sunset had gotten her into trouble this time—she'd brought it all on herself.
Luna paused at a light creaking sound, slowly flicking her eyes to the door that lead up the stairwell that Rainbow had just come down from, as Rainbow realized she'd only closed the top door behind herself.
Luna's eyes flickered with surprise, staring at the door, as Sunset shot a glare at Rainbow Dash that could have set paper on fire, before Luna turned towards them with a glare even worse.
"Oh, there you are!"
The tension suddenly snapped as Fluttershy bounded over, to Rainbow Dash and Sunset, holding up the brooch that normally sat in her hair. "Hey, Rainbow, Sunset, thanks for helping me look for my brooch, but I found it, so we can go now!"
"Oh," Sunset said quickly. "That's great. I was kinda devolving into that thing where you check the same three places over and over again, you know?"
"Yeah, I was also checking the same three," Rainbow said lamely. She cringed at it, while Sunset closed her eyes and waited for Luna to stack a million years of detention on the two of them.
Luna stepped calmly over, and closed the door. "Did either of you see who went up there, as you've apparently been marching past this door for the past ten minutes?"
"Uh, no? Maybe one of the other faculty?" Sunset asked. "I'm guessing they were up there earlier today, and just didn't shut it properly."
"And the door swung open on its own?"
Sunset thumbed to Rainbow Dash. "This girl lumbers like a giant. Her footsteps could shake squirrels from their trees."
"And have," Fluttershy put in.
Rainbow glared at them.
Luna stopped to lock the door, then nodded to them. "Well, then, you'd best be off."
Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rainbow began a quick march before Luna could change her mind.
"Oh, and by the way?"
They froze, turning to look at Luna with fear in their eyes.
"Coincidences seldom happen twice," Luna said sternly, before turning around and walking off.
Sunset let out a sigh of relief. "The one time I'm not trying to land anyone in detention, too," she muttered angrily.
"Hey, we're both free and clear," Rainbow replied, giving her a sharp elbow. "Thanks to Fluttershy. Good job, girl!"
"Oh, it was nothing," Fluttershy said, putting her butterfly brooch back in her hair. "I was so nervous there..."
"You ever considered taking acting lessons?" Sunset asked. "You were a little nervous, but otherwise, I think you nailed it."
As they stepped out the front doors, Fluttershy considered it. "Well, I mean, I'm not exactly the best person to be on a stage..."
Sunset chuckled. "In a way, is it really 'you' on the stage? No one sees 'Fluttershy', the meek, the timid, but, rather, they see the role you are playing." She twirled ahead of them, turning to face them while thrusting her arms wide, raising them partly to the sky. She smiled. "That's how I view it, anyway." She let her arms fall to her side as she stopped to lean against the Wondercolt statue, eyes closing and her normal, confident smirk appearing on her face. It faded, though, and she opened her eyes and looked sadly to one side. "Hey...Rainbow...you went to help me. What...you said...did you mean it?"
"Yeah," Rainbow said without hesitation. "You're kind of a jerk, but otherwise, you're not so bad."
"Do you...think..." She hesitated. "Do you think it's too late for me to change?" she whispered.
Rainbow did have a reply for that, but Sunset continued before she could say anything.
"I...all my life, I've been struggling to be this image of 'the best'. The perfect. This image of...of royalty." She blinked, then wiped away the tear off her cheek with an annoyed grimace. "I believed it was my destiny, but...everything I've done...it's not put me any higher. It...hell, it almost made me jump from a roof. Have...have I been going about this wrong?"
"I don't think it's too late for you to change, so long as you want to," Rainbow said with a shrug. She stepped over, putting a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "And so we're clear...yes. If 'perfection' is what you're after, then you've sure as hell been going about it wrong."
Sunset chuckled. "Yeah, I figured that out when Flash dumped me," she said quietly.
Fluttershy reached into her backpack, then pulled out a fluffy bunny rabbit. She stepped over close to Sunset, holding out the bunny. "Hold this," she ordered.
Sunset blinked in surprise, taking the bunny before she could really even think about it.
The bunny's nose wiggled. Sunset chuckled. "Um, what am I doing here?" she asked awkwardly.
"Feeling better, hopefully," Fluttershy said. "Is it working?"
"Um—yes? Somehow?" She shrugged. "I normally don't even like small, fuzzy animals," she muttered.
The bunny curled up her hands, blinking up at her with its wide eyes.
"Aw," Sunset cooed.
A car pulled to a stop by the curb, causing all three of them to look up.
The window rolled down. Luna sat with one hand on the steering wheel, saying, "Hop in, I'll give you a ride home."
Rainbow looked at the sun—getting quite low in the sky—then back to the vice principal. "Sure, thanks," she said.
"Oh, that would be wonderful," Fluttershy agreed.
"I'll just walk," Sunset said, before Rainbow seized her arm. "Come on," she said.
Sunset begrudgingly let herself be shoved into the backseat of Luna's car, between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
Luna began the drive, staying silent. Sunset stayed silent, as well, and Rainbow Dash could only take so much.
"So," she said. "Sunset. You play any games?"
"A few. Not many for very long, though."
"We could hang out at my place," Rainbow offered tentatively.
Sunset remained quiet for a long moment. A small part of Rainbow Dash feared that even after their conversation, Sunset would say no.
Another part hoped she would.
"Sure," Sunset said.
"You wanna come to, Fluttershy?" Rainbow offered.
"Oh, I don't know," Flutteshy answered. "I have animals to feed, work to do..."
"That's cool," Sunset said. "Everyone has things they need to do sometimes."
"Then here we are," Luna said, pulling to a stop. "Your home, Miss Shy."
"Oh, thank you Luna," Fluttershy said, opening the door. Sunset handed the bunny back, and Fluttershy opened the backpack up. The bunny hopped into it, curling up with several other animals, and Fluttershy zipped it back up.
"Wait!"
Fluttershy paused as, face red, Sunset dug through her purse. "I, uh, feel like I should give this back." She handed Fluttershy a small collection of loose change.
Fluttershy stared at it, then smiled. She took half of it, but then pushed the rest firmly into Sunset's hand. She shook her head, wordlessly, and shut the door, marching off to the very large house her parents owned.
"Huh?" Sunset said with a dumbfounded expression.
"Don't question it," Rainbow said. "When Fluttershy decides she is going to do something, no one can stop her."
Luna chuckled, starting the car moving again. "Though don't think that the gesture was unappreciated, Sunset. I'm certain she was very glad for it."
"Ugh," Sunset groaned, leaning back against the sofa. "If you say so."
The car bounced along in silence for a minute. "So," Rainbow said. "Nice weather?"
"Er, yeah," Sunset said.
Another moment of awkward silence passed before the car slowly rolled to a stop. Rainbow had her hand on the door handle before she noticed that it wasn't her house.
"You could always invite Miss Dash over to your house, Sunset," Luna suggested.
"Is that your house?" Rainbow looked at it, then let out a whistle. "Houses that big are never gonna get old for me."
Sunset stared at Luna in a mix of abject horror, confusion, and betrayal.
"Are...are you okay?" Rainbow asked. "Wait, why are you taking people's lunch money if you're frikkin' loaded? What's the point?"
"Power, Rainbow," Sunset said with a sigh. "It was because I could."
"Oh. Yikes." Bad thing to ask.
"Just come along," Sunset said, sliding out her door. Rainbow slipped out her door, and as she passed Luna, said, "Thanks for the ride, Miss Luna."
Luna opened her door as she slipped out of the driver's seat. "'Twas my pleasure," she said simply. Rainbow blinked as Luna walked past where Sunset had stopped, boldly up to the door of Sunset's house.
"Um," Rainbow said. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Care to fill me in?"
"You'll see in just a minute," Sunset said with a sigh. She marched along behind Luna, leaving Rainbow to catch up.
The path up to the front door was lined on either side with bushes. Sunflowers lined one sides of the path, and thick, thorned rosebushes lined the other. The house itself looked to be on the small side for a large mansion, decorated with a sun motif on one side and a moon on the other, with the walls painted in such a way to vaguely resemble...what was it called? 'Yin-yang'?
"So, uh," Rainbow said. "Flowers look nice."
"Glad you like them. They were hard to grow like that," Luna said, pulling out a set of keys as she pushed on the door. It opened before she unlocked it, and she grimaced. "No matter how many times I tell her not to leave the door unlocked for me," she muttered. Rainbow didn't catch the rest as she stormed inside.
Rainbow Dash stepped into the house, right behind Sunset. She heard a light humming coming from what she assumed was the kitchen. Luna waved them in, adding, "I'll let Tia know that we have a guest for dinner. Make yourself at home, Miss Dash."
"Thanks," Rainbow said awkwardly. "You know, I felt it was a little weird, she's never asked if I wanted a ride home before..."
"Please," Sunset said quietly. "You wanna play video games? Let's go play some goddamn video games." She stopped, took a deep breath, then said, "Sorry."
"No worries, I'd be embarrassed, too," Rainbow said. "And you're much newer to 'friendship' than I am, so I don't blame ya."
Sunset stared at her. "Are we friends?" she asked suddenly.
Rainbow shrugged. "Close enough, am I right?"
Sunset chuckled. "Alright, my room's up here." She walked past a door, saying, "That's the bathroom—one of 'em, anyway. If you need anything, just ask one of us."
Rainbow paused, looking at a massive, pink teddy bear in an army helmet standing besides the staircase.
"That is Sargent Home Guard, and we do not make fun of him in this household," Sunset said in a warning tone.
"...Right," Rainbow said. She herself had her fuzzy tortoise slippers, and did understood the keeping of a few things that were less cool than her other things.
Sunset pushed open the door to her room, blatantly ignoring the stop sign mounted to the front of the door. "Okay, uh, here we are."
Her room was actually cleaned up nicely. A few miscellaneous portraits hung up on the walls, the bedsheets were made, and not a single random undergarment was strewn across the floor. No, all her dirty laundry was stuffed neatly into a hamper at the side of the room.
Otherwise, a small desk was set up with a laptop and a camera, as well as another stuffed animal—a massive dragon plushie, head hanging off the top bunk, and long, pink tongue stretching to the ground.
With a nonchalant gesture, Sunset slung her jacket onto the bed. "Um," she said, "I don't know what I'm doing. I've never done much multiplayer, 'cept in Aunt Luna's room."
"Do you two play together often?" Rainbow asked.
"Not...anymore." Sunset paused, standing over the computer. "She stopped inviting me over once I enrolled at CHS."
"Aw, sounds rough," Rainbow said.
"It was her way of telling me she thought I wasn't making the best choices," Sunset said, clicking a few buttons on her computer. "She knew I'd dodge the accusations if she went and talked to me, so...it was the only option she really had."
"Well, I think her goal was to make you get your act together," Rainbow said.
"I got that," Sunset snapped. "A lot of people told me I was a horrible person, Dash. I...just ignored them." Sunset closed the computer, then stepped over and sat on her bed. She hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the wall.
Rainbow sat on the bed next to her. "Well," she said, "are you listening to them now?"
Sunset hesitated. "I think?"
"Then better late than never," Rainbow pronounced. "Come on. You even gave Fluttershy her lunch money back. In front of Luna, no less. You're making huge progress already. So quit worrying and beating yourself up about it! Last thing I want to do is go and fetch you from the roof again."
Sunset chuckled. "Don't worry, that's not happening any time soon. Not on purpose, anyway."
"Well, that's good to hear," Rainbow said, picking up a controller from where it sat. "So, whaddya wanna play?"
Sunset reopened the computer, allowing Rainbow Dash a brief glimpse of a program called, "VRoid Studio" before she opened up a folder with all her games. "I've played most of these at least once each," Sunset said. "I have some co-op on here, if that's your preference."
"If I play with Fluttershy, it's normally co-op," Rainbow admitted. "Let's see...Them's Fighting Herds was kinda neat. Sombra's Door? Hmm...oh! Daring Quest! That one's great!"
"Really? I always thought it kind of relied on you having too much knowledge of the books," Sunset said, opening the game up.
"Well, I mean, it is a game about Daring Do," Rainbow scoffed. "It's not like you're here for any reason but Daring Do."
"I was here for a ruins-diving, puzzle-based platformer," Sunset said casually. "I got a little ways in, but it just wasn't that fun."
"Wait...do...did you read any of the Daring Do books?"
"Not a one." Sunset raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you?"
"All of 'em! Several times!" Rainbow burst out. She paused. "What, are you surprised that I like them?"
"I'm surprised you know how to read," Sunset replied as the game booted up. "You can be Daring Do, if you want."
"Hey!" Rainbow Dash burst out, clicking the buttons on her controller.
"What? Are you gonna argue?"
"A...a little," Rainbow Dash countered. "Well, I'm surprised you know how to be nice, so there!"
There was a moment's awkward silence.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Sunset said, smiling.
"Oh, ha ha," Rainbow muttered. "Let's shut up and play, alright?"
There was a moment's pause.
"Rainbow, the multiplayer option doesn't come in until you reach the town," Sunset reminded her. "So...like...get a move on?"
"Riiiight," Rainbow Dash said. "I never played this one in multiplayer."
"Me, neither," Sunset admitted. "It was after I stopped playing with Aunt Luna."
Rainbow Dash paused to give her a raised eyebrow, before jumping over an over-dramatic pit trap with flaming spikes at the bottom.
"I stream them," Sunset admitted slowly.
"Really?" Rainbow Dash said, chuckling. "That's cool, actually. You stream under your real name? Maybe I'll stick around to watch one sometime."
"I...was gonna actually skip this Saturday," Sunset admitted. "I do it every once in a while, no one will think twice about it. And..."
"You wanna break?"
"You saw me earlier today, Dash," Sunset said with a sour chuckle. "Whaddya think?"
"Everyone needs breaks, every once in a while," Rainbow replied. "Even me! I actually just came back from a vacation in viva Las Pegasus with some buddies on mine. Here we are, you're up!"
"Yeah, nice to get away from the royal bitch queen of CHS, eh?" Sunset began testing the buttons on her controller, making sure they were all in working order.
"I never said that!"
Sunset raised an eyebrow, her little character doing a jump.
"Okay, so I might have done so once or twice," Rainbow admitted. "How'd you know?"
"It was more popular amongst the fouler-language crowd at CHS than 'Biggest Meanie'," Sunset said. "It says something that I can look at you, and by your dress sense alone, tell that you say 'fuck' at least once a week."
Rainbow scoffed. "Yeah, only once a--" The Daring Do sprite leapt into the air, clutching the foot that had landed directly on top of the spikes. "Fuck."
Sunset grinned, making the same jump without hitting the spikes. Her grin faltered. "Hey, is there no crouch button?"
"Nope."
"Damn." Sunset looked over to stare at her for a second, then added, "Do you...want to try hanging out again sometime?"
"If you're up for it," Rainbow replied. "Maybe Fluttershy will come over next time, too."
"Do you think she would? I mean..."
"Sunset, please. I get that you are a bitch. Please, understand that I can also be a bitch sometimes. Everyone is a bitch sometimes. The fact that you keep saying it every five seconds does not make you more of a bitch, it just means you're depressed." Rainbow set down the controller, reaching over and hugging Sunset. "And that's what friends are for, right?"
"You have them. You tell me," Sunset chuckled.
"You have some, too, now."
A knock came at the door, causing them both to jump. "Dinner's ready," Luna's voice chimed in.
"Be right there," Sunset said. "Please tell me my face isn't streaked with tears," she said.
"Uh...a few." Sunset hurriedly wiped them off her face. "Ugh, last thing I want to do is cry in front of those two right now."
Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, crying in front of parents never ends well," she admitted. "But it does feel nice to have people you can talk to about it."
"I suppose," Sunset admitted.
Rainbow Dash stood up. "Now, I'm hungry, so let's go eat."
Sunset nodded. "Hope you like vegetarian. Mom doesn't eat meat at all, I don't eat pork or beef, and it's Mom's turn to cook anyway."
"Fluttershy only eats the vege, too," Rainbow said. "It's not my favorite, but I can pack it down just as well as meat."
"Please don't 'pack anything down'. You are a person, not a barbarian."
"Um—wouldn't barbarians be people, too?" Rainbow asked hesitantly.
Sunset shrugged. "Depends on your definition, I suppose." She marched for the door, seemingly intent on leaving her jacket on the bed like it belonged there.
Ignoring her previous statement, Rainbow Dash knocked on the dragon plushie's head. "Does this one have a name, too?"
Sunset turned, looking at it. "It's kinda funny, but I never asked. It was there when they gave me the room, and I didn't think twice about it." Without further ado, and like she hadn't just dropped a miniature bombshell on Rainbow Dash, she strode from the room.
Of course, she didn't exactly look like Celestia or Luna, so hearing her mention—or, almost mention, anyway—that she was an orphan wasn't the biggest surprise.
Or shouldn't have been, anyway.
With one last look at the dragon plush, Rainbow left the room.
"Alright, what's for dinner?" Sunset asked with a semi-fake smile on her face as she stepped into the dining room.
"Lasagna," Luna said.
"Ooh. Her lasagna is great," Sunset told Rainbow. "Lucky us, huh?"
"Hey, I'm an athlete, and a teenager," Rainbow said. "Any food is good food."
"Well spoken," Luna agreed with a light nod. "As a vice principal, and an adult, I concur with your hypothesis."
Rainbow grinned. "While I've never been much for science--"
"So your teachers have noticed," Luna said with a smile.
Rainbow glared at her, joke forgotten. "Hey! My grades are getting better, so you know."
"I do know." Luna smiled at her. "I was impressed."
Rainbow stammered, then blinked. "Thanks?"
"How was school, anyway?" Celestia asked, setting the pan of lasgna on the table. "Anything interesting happen?"
"Not really," Sunset said, shrugging. She picked up her spoon, staring idly into its reflection.
"Oh? Forgive me, but this is the first time you've brought a friend over," Celestia said. "You don't even bring Flash over."
"Bringing boyfriends and bringing regular friends over to meet my parent are two entirely different things," Sunset argued.
If Sunset hadn't told them that she'd broken up with Flash, Rainbow decided she wasn't going to be the person to do so.
"We just met, chat a bit, and decided to hang out," Rainbow said. "The Vice Principal is actually the one who, uh, suggested hangin' out at your place."
"It seemed prudent at the time," Luna said, helping herself to a serving of the lasagna. Celestia glared at her, handing Rainbow a plate.
"Wait for your turn," she said firmly, which Luna seemingly ignored. To the kids, she added, "Well, was it at least a 'good' boring day?"
Sunset chuckled. "I got hit by an epiphany today," she said quietly. "I realised...that I'm not exactly the nicest person to be around."
"It's never too late to change," Celestia said, eyeing Sunset.
"That's what Rainbow said," the fire-haired girl chuckled.
Rainbow nodded. "I mean, like...I once had someone ask if I thought that even the worst person could change. That anyone could be a good person if they just tried."
"Sunset and I both played Undertale, Miss Dash," Luna commented dryly.
Rainbow winced. "Okay, so maybe I get my only good philosophy quotes from video games," Rainbow admitted. "But I think it's a neat question, and I think the answer is yes. Or at least, you could easily go from 'high-school bully' to 'really nice person'." She shrugged.
"I would agree with that," Celestia said.
"There's gotta be a turning point somewhere," Sunset muttered. "A line of no return..."
"Dude, you haven't even caught sight of that one yet," Rainbow snorted. "Please. Take lunch money, then feel bad about it and give it back? Come on. How is that 'irredeemable'?"
"If we were only talking about that, then I wouldn't have been about to jump off the roof earlier," Sunset snapped. She twisted the spoon into a knot, then paused. "I...I almost jumped off the roof."
There was a very long silence in the room.
"Good God..." Sunset whispered, tears filling her eyes. "I-I almost...I can't..." She broke down, crying, before Rainbow Dash and Celestia both leapt across the room to wrap her in a hug. Rainbow looked across, to see Celestia's eyes full of worry, but also searching deep into Rainbow Dash.
After a minute, she calmed down, the sobs abating. "I'm okay," she whispered. "I'm...okay now."
Rainbow Dash hesitantly let go, saying, "I think you will be."
If Sunset had been fully okay, she'd have shot her a glare of some kind. Instead, she just nodded numbly.
"We're going to talk about this, Sunset," Celestia said quietly. "But for now, how about you continue talking with your friend?" She gave an encouraging smile.
"My...friend." Sunset looked to Rainbow Dash. "Are we friends? And don't just say yes because you're worried I'll jump off a building! That ship has sailed! Just...answer truthfully, okay?"
Rainbow opened her mouth, then considered her response carefully. "I think so," she said. "We've got some things in common, and...well, uh...I dunno. You do seem to be fun to hang out with when you're not trying to become the school's queen bee." Rainbow shrugged. "I'd totally love to hang with you more, Shimmer. And I'm rootin' for ya, just so you know."
Sunset nodded. "Thanks. I—Mom? Can...can you let go now? Your food is going to get cold."
"Better it than you," Celestia said, but she acquiesced, returning to her own seat with her plate.
Sunset stared at her a moment, then let out a groan, her face slamming into the table. "So much for not crying in front of my parent," she muttered.
"Hey, happens to the best of us, too," Rainbow said, ribbing her. "Dammit, the lasagna's cold."
After a short, very quiet meal, Sunset and Rainbow Dash retreated back to the former's room, where Sunset promptly curled up on her bed with legs up against her chest, and let out a groan.
"Next time...do you think you can stop me before I go to the roof?" she muttered.
Rainbow sat down next to her. "If I catch it," Rainbow chuckled. "But I did expect them to raise more hell over this."
"While my friend is over?" Sunset scoffed. "No, as soon as you leave, I'm in for it, Dash."
"Well, um...I'm only here for about another thirty minutes. Head's up, heh heh."
"Damn you."
Rainbow chuckled. "Sorry. You, uh, I...ugh." She rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know what to do here. This is a first for me."
"You did everything you need to," Sunset said. "Thanks...I owe you a big one."
"If you...ever want advice or to just vent, you can call me up," Rainbow said. "Hey, wait, here." She pulled out her phone. "Give me your phone."
Sunset complied, watching her mess with the device. "There we go," Rainbow said, handing it back. "Now you have my number." She gave her a grin.
Sunset smiled back, taking her phone and wiping her eyes. "I'm such a mess today...we should hang out sometime when I'm cool, eh?"
"Eh. That doesn't matter so much to me," Rainbow said with a shrug. "When I decide someone's a friend, they're cool in all the ways that matter."
"And...that's me?" Sunset said, cocking her head as she gave Rainbow a look-over.
"Yeeeeesssss...and no. I'm not sure yet." She shrugged. "I have high hopes."
Sunset raised an eyebrow.
Rainbow flinched. "Okay, it just--I just--it sounded...ugh. Sorry."
Sunset chuckled. "It's fine. It's a common expression. Let's just keep playing."
Rainbow smiled at her. "Sure."
Rainbow Dash woke up the next morning, slipping out of bed with a few things on her mind.
She had made friends with Sunset Shimmer.
If someone had told her that she'd make friends with Sunset Shimmer, she'd have laughed at them. Knowing that made her begrudgingly accept her next task.
Pouring some milk on her cereal one-handed, she whipped out her phone, calling one of her closest friends.
"Yeah...?" the groggy, gruff voice of Gilda answered.
"Hey, uh," Rainbow began. "So I made a new friend yesterday."
"Uh-huh. And this requires calling me at..." A slight pause. "...seven AM?"
"Because she's...she used to be bad, and now...is trying her hand at being good," Rainbow said slowly. She stirred the milk and cereal absently. "I trust all you guys, but...some of them might not like it, just forewarning"
"I'll pass the word around later," Gilda said, yawning. "Gee, Dash...this really didn't require me getting up at seven, y'know that?"
"I wanted to make sure it got done, and you're better organized than I am," Rainbow said slowly. "She's...having a rough time of it. The last thing she needs is for me to introduce her to a friend of mine only for said friend to be a real jerk about it."
"Okay, okay," Gilda said, yawning. "Alright, now let me sit in bed another ten minutes and pretend it's not a school day."
"Alright, seeya later."
"Laters."
Gilda hung up, and Rainbow Dash put her phone down on the table next to her with a sigh. Truthfully, Gilda caused her the most concern out of all her friends when it came to bringing in her depressed new friend. She wasn't called 'Gilda Gruff' as a joke.
Okay, so it was her name, but still.
Rainbow began chowing down her breakfast, shaking off the doubts. No time to doubt, that was how she lived. Make a decision, live with it afterwards, never second guess.
Rules to live by.
She met Sunset just outside the school, where the girl was leaning against the Wondercolt statue and ignoring the looks people gave her.
"Hey," Rainbow said, earning a few looks herself by doing the unthinkable and talking to Sunset. "How ya doing?"
"They set me up with a frikkin' therapist," Sunset growled.
"Aw, shows they care," Rainbow said with a cheeky grin.
Sunset gave her a sour grin back. "Yeah, that it does," she said. She climbed to her feet, dusting off her skirt. "You gonna set me up with a therapist, too, or do I not have to worry about that?"
"Hey, I'm you're friend. I'm the next best thing." Rainbow grinned confidently.
"We'll see," Sunset said, turning and striding up to the school doors. Rainbow hesitated—something about that tone gave her the impression that Sunset wasn't entirely joking.
It would suck if, after all the work they'd both gone through, Sunset decided friendship wasn't worth it.
Well, she needed more friends. Then she'd see.
Rainbow didn't get to see much of Sunset during classes, but she took this as some time to get her thoughts in order. Luckily, her crew of friends shared most of her classes, leaving her with plenty of time to tell each of them to meet her at lunch so she could introduce her new friend.
Rainbow neglected to mention who, exactly, the new friend was. She figured she'd cross that bridge when she got them all together.
Of course, said time was rapidly approaching. Between classes, Rainbow texted Sunset to meet up with her during lunch(Sunset replied during the next class), and then met up with Gilda again just as the bell rang.
"Yo," Gilda said, raising a hand. Perhaps just to spite anyone who disliked 'punk' style, she wore a brown leather jacket, tight jeans, gold-colored gloves and boots, and a skin-tight tank top that left little to imagination. Her pale white hair was combed back to one side of her face, and she gave Rainbow a lazy grin. "So, where's this new friend of yours?"
"She'll meet us in the cafeteria," Rainbow said slowly. "Where's the rest of the gang?"
"Also meeting you in the cafeteria," Spitfire said from Rainbow's left.
Rainbow turned to grin at her. "That's a relief. I was half-worried you guys would just ignore me and leave."
"Whaaat? Who do you think I am, Applejack?" Spitfire scoffed. "Please. Trixie isn't the easiest of people to get along with, I know, but you didn't have to go through all this fanfare."
Rainbow blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Yeah, we figured it out," Spitfire said. "All of us but Soarin, whom had to be told."
"I'm still not sure you're right," Soarin said, eyeing Rainbow Dash. He and Thunderlane stepped up, ending besides Gilda. "I mean, Rainbow wouldn't make this big whole fuss about an egotistical wannabe-magician."
"Um...Soarin's right?" Rainbow shrugged. "I guess Trixie would make more sense, though."
"Hah!" Soarin pointed a finger at Spitfire. "Told you. You owe me a pudding cup."
Spitfire grumbled, folding her arms over her chest.
"Well, now I'm real curious," Gilda said dryly. "Who is it?"
"Well, uh, just hear me out, okay? She's not the nicest of people, but she's trying, so I'm giving her a chance."
"Please, Dash, just spill it," Gilda groaned. "Look, I'm pretty much willing to give anyone but Sunset Shimmer a chance if you vouch for 'em."
"Hear, hear," Soarin said, nodding.
Rainbow Dash, for lack of a proper response, began tapping her index fingers together. "Weeeell..."
Gilda's face fell. "You're joshing me," she said.
At that moment, Sunset Shimmer stepped into view, frowning at her phone, then looked up. She paused, taking stock of everyone in front of her.
"Everyone, meet my new friend, uh..." Rainbow gave an awkward chuckle. "Sunset Shimmer."
Everyone was silent for thirty seconds--at least, by Rainbow's count. No one said anything, or even moved, the entire time.
Finally, Soarin chuckled, then Spitfire, then everyone started laughing. Sunset even gave an awkward chuckle, looking around in complete confusion, giving Rainbow a, "What the hell is going on?" look.
"That was bloody perfect," Soarin said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"A-plus timing, there," Thunderlane agreed. "So, uh...nice to meet you, Shimmer." He extended a hand. Sunset hesitantly took it, shaking it.
"Nice to meet you, too...formally, at least."
Spitfire stepped forward next, sizing Sunset up. Then she grinned. "You know, Dash's word carried a lot of weight. Just enough, I think." She reached out a hand.
Sunset took it, shaking it. "It's...Spitfire, right?" she asked. "I don't really know most of your names, sorry."
"Don't sweat it," Spitfire said, "we mostly just use 'hey, you' or 'bitchface' anyway."
Sunset's grin turned a little more genuine. "I think I'm going to like you," she said slowly. She turned, eyeing Gilda. "And you are...?"
Gilda put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "A word?"
Rainbow winced. She'd been watching Gilda's face the whole time, and 'stoically silent' was not something she'd normally use to describe her friend. "We'll be right back, don't eat the new girl," Rainbow told her friends.
Sunset blinked, eyes going wide as the other three turned to look at her.
Gilda took Rainbow a short distance away, then put her hands together, taking a deep breath. "Dash," she began.
"Hey, I know that she's...not the best of people, but she's trying to turn her life around. I think she deserves a second chance," Rainbow said.
"Dash, you know she's just fucking with you," Gilda said. "She's gonna act all sweetly, be nice and all, but she'sjust gonna turn right round and stab you in the back. You're just setting yourself up to be Applejacked again."
"And if Applejack came over and genuinely apologized, I'd accept it, too," Rainbow said, folding her arms over her chest. "Look, G, she's...having a rough time of it."
"So? She's horrible! What do I care?"
Rainbow glared at her. "When I found her, she was about to jump off a roof, Gilda."
"You should have let her."
Rainbow blinked. "Come again?"
"She's a horrible, two-faced, lying whore with a god complex," Gilda snorted. "Everyone would have been a lot happier if you'd let her jump."
"You—you can't be serious," Rainbow said.
"I'm perfectly serious, R.D," Gilda said, jabbing a finger at Rainbow's chest. "No one would miss her, and you did this whole school a disservice."
"Do—do you hear yourself right now?" Rainbow shouted. "Are you honest-to-God proposing the death penalty for...for being a jerk? The fuck is wrong with you?"
"A jerk? Is that all she is?" Gilda pointed at Sunset. "She's not a jerk, she's downright evil! Listen to me! She's not your friend, and even affilliating yourself with her is gonna make you an outcast!"
"Do you know how many people said the same about you?" Rainbow shouted.
Gilda stepped back, eyes going wide as a silence fell. It took Rainbow a second to process that Sunset and the rest of her friends were all staring at them, too.
Gilda scoffed, closing her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Be that way. Don't come crying back to me when I turn out to be right." She spun on her heel, striding off.
Rainbow awkwardly stepped back over to the group. "Well, that didn't go over well," she muttered.
"Rainbow," Sunset began, but Spitfire cut her off before Rainbow Dash could
"Look, Sunny-side, let me be honest a sec, okay?" She waited for Sunset to nod, then continued. "You're not exactly my favorite person, either. Rainbow's word carries a lot of weight, but not all of it. Enough to make me give you a chance, but you better not blow it. Regardless--" She glared in the direction Gilda retreated to. "—That was way the hell out of line."
"No shit," Soarin said. "'Should have let her'...honestly."
Rainbow winced. "Um, how much did you guys hear?"
"The whole damn thing," Sunset said stiffly. "Especially after you told her about, you know... a certain moment on the school's roof." She glared at Rainbow.
"Um—look, I—it was—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"
Sunset put a hand on her shoulder. "First, let's be honest: I'm the last one who was a right to complain about someone else blabbing about my secrets, okay? At the same time, I'm still pissed."
"I know, I'll make it up to you--"
"You kinda have already," Sunset said, shaking her head. "Just, uh...give me a minute to get my anger in check. I'm not exactly the calmest of people."
"Just come sit down with us in the cafeteria," Soarin put in. "We should get moving if we actually want lunch."
Sunset looked over her shoulder, then sighed. "Hey, Dash?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks...for...everything. And...sorry about Gilda."
"Sunset, if Gilda chooses to be a jerk, that's on her," Rainbow said, taking Sunset's hand. "I meant what I said. I choose who my friends are, and there's nobody alive that can stop me."
Sunset almost smiled, but then frowned.
"Hey, chin up. You ain't responsible for me losing friends. Now, come on—let's go get lunch."
"Aren't...you upset?"
"Uh..." She winced. "Yeah, kinda. Gilda's an old friend of mine. We go way back. But this is hardly the first time we've had a huge fight. It'll blow over in a week or so." She reached over, pulling Sunset into a half-hug. "Don't sweat it."
Something still seemed to be bothering her, but Rainbow decided to let her work whatever it was out on her own.
All too soon, it seemed, classes were over, and Rainbow had a choice to make. Not much of a choice, but it still felt hard.
"Hey. Want to hang out again today?"
A few feet away, Sunset paused, looking up from her locker. Then she grinned. "Sure. My place or--"
A light popping sound came up between the two of them, followed by a voluminous cloud of smoke. "You have gone too far this time, Shimmer!"
Coughing, Rainbow Dash blinked tears out of her eyes to see Trixie standing between them, glaring with a righteous fury at Sunset.
"Trixie will not allow your villainy to stand up any longer! Your lying, scheming ways are numbered, vile fiend!"
"Um—" Rainbow put a hand on Trixie's shoulder, then roughly shoved her aside. "First--" She coughed "Ugh. Quit it with the smoke bombs, Trix. No one finds them endearing. Second....erm, Sunset, did you do anything to Trixie recently?"
"No? Not that I can remember, anyway," Sunset said, tapping her chin. "Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. I'm certain we can talk this out--"
"Talk it out? Talk it out? You owe Gilda the MOTHER OF ALL APOLOGIES, SHIMMER!"
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Oh, is this about Gilda, then?"
"Yes! Sunset has made it look like Gilda said a series of horrific, vile things online! Things that are unquestionably irredeemable to even associate with another person! You will--"
Rainbow Dash spun her around, glaring into her face. "Whatever it is she said, she chose to say," Rainbow pointed out.
"Wha...what?"
"Yeah. I was there when she told her to jump off a roof. This isn't on Sunset."
Trixie blinked, staring at Rainbow Dash. "Give...give Trixie one moment."
Rainbow Dash released her, and, in front of the audience that had gathered, Trixie pulled out her phone. After a second, she frowned, then tapped away a second more. "She...hold on. This...this post is her, right?" She showed the phone to Rainbow Dash, displaying a post on one of the school's most popular online hangouts, a cheery site called 'MyStable'.
The newest post was unquestionably not cheery.
"Yes, that's Gilda."
Trixie stared at the phone, silent. "She really said that? She told a suicidal person to jump off a building?"
Rainbow Dash growled. "I'm certain she's getting what's coming to her, one way or another."
Trixie took off her hat, holding it over her chest. "I...I..." She turned back to Sunset. "I'm...I do owe you an apology, it seems..."
"Hey. Everyone here knows that I'm a bitch, me included." Sunset gave a grin. "I don't particularly blame you, and I'm not going to make you apologize. Not when I probably owe you several, either."
"Trixie...I...I need to think about this," Trixie muttered, turning away. She walked off quickly, pushing through the crowd.
Sunset examined the watchers, then shook her head. "So, my place or yours?" she asked.
"Yours, maybe?" Rainbow said. "Continue where we left off?"
"Sure." Sunset's eyes flickered back around to the people staring at them, frowning. "What are you guys still doing here?" she demanded.
The crowd, slowly, began to disperse. Sunset cleared out her throat. "So..."
"Uh, I'll catch up in a bit," Rainbow said, patting Sunset on the shoulder. "Promise."
"Oh. Uh, okay. I'll--"
Rainbow slipped past her, then took off at a light sprint. She ran along the corridors, slipping past throngs of people, some of whom stared at her.
The mild scene earlier seemed to have been passed around, and she saw several people looking at their phones in disgust as they looked at the MyStable post Trixie had found.
"Hey, Dash," Soarin said, stopping her. "So, I was thinking..."
"Sorry, Soarin, I'm kind of booked for this evening," Rainbow replied hastily. "In a bit of a rush, too."
Soarin laughed. "Since when are you not?" he asked, stepping aside. Rainbow moved past, continuing her sprint.
Eventually, she found what she was looking for. Regularly, at CHS, certain people ended up being considered 'outcasts' for one reason or another—in the past, that was usually Sunset's doing, but this girl had dug her own grave, and was doing her best to take a nap in it.
"Hey, Gilda!"
Gilda looked up at the sound of her name being called. "Dash? What, did you--"
Rainbow stepped forward, then punched her in the face.
If her self-imposed exile from Equestria had taught her anything at all, it was that Sunset Shimmer was not a patient woman.
She had ridden home with Luna—at her adoptive aunt's insistence—and then set up her room to enjoy spending some more time with the only friend she'd ever made.
The silence as she stared at the front door from the living room couch was deafening.
A light clinking sound caught her attention. She turned, seeing Luna set down a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.
"Thanks," Sunset said quietly, turning back to the door without touching it.
"Sunset, not everyone treats casual promises as binding," Luna said. "Something may have come up, and she simply forgot about it."
"Yeah, I guess," Sunset said.
Luna sighed, sitting on the couch besides Sunset. "Sunset. Does it change anything if she misses one hang-out?"
"That's...not what I'm worried about."
Luna raised an eyebrow.
Sunset faced forwards, leaving her back to the door, and held her hands together. "You...heard about the scuffle with Gilda, right?"
"Yes. I do believe everyone knows about everything that was said, at this point."
Sunset grimaced, trying to ignore the fact that most of the school now knew that she almost committed suicide.
"You were saying?" Luna asked, prompting her to continue.
"Well...I heard Rainbow say that...she'd forgive even Applejack, if she was properly repentant."
"And you're worried that she's reconnecting with an old friend?" Luna chuckled. "Sunset, you should try to be less clingy. You're—"
"That's not it, either," Sunset said. "I'm...I'm the reason she hasn't talked to Applejack in a while."
Luna stared at her in silence.
"The five of them...I saw them as the biggest threat to my power. So...I faked some texts, faked some messages, and...I split them up. I faked a message from Applejack, saying that she'd moved the date of the bake sale, and...and they both showed up at different days, when the other wasn't there." Sunset gulped. "Stars...I...how could I do something that cruel? And how...could she forgive me? She's going and talking to Applejack, and...she'll learn..."
"Sunset," Luna chided. "You think that after all she's said, she simply wouldn't forgive you?"
Sunset hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "She doesn't strike me as that type, but...maybe I don't deserve to be for--"
Luna grabbed her cheek, pulling her closer. "Never...say that," Luna said quietly. "That leads down a very painful road, Sunset."
Sunset stared at Luna, who sighed. "I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I entertained similar thoughts for a time. I know what it's like to regret your decisions, but I also know that if Rainbow is anyone worth knowing, she can forgive you. I know that if she did find out about what you did from Applejack, then she'd most certainly come here to confront you about it, not ghost you."
Sunset nodded. "She's...not subtle, is she? But...how do I know she will forgive me about it?"
"To an extent, you can't ever know," Luna answered. "It's a leap of faith."
Sunset stared at her. "You did not just say that to me."
"Hmm, perhaps I did," Luna said with a smile.
"Leap of faith...you're a bitch, Aunt Luna."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
The door swung open. Sunset jumped up, only to see Celestia step into the room, her long legs making short work of the space between the living room and kitchen.
Just behind her was Rainbow Dash.
Sunset let out a sigh of relief. "I almost thought you weren't going to show up, Rainbow—oh my God, you look like hell."
Rainbow rubbed her bruised jaw, and black eye. "Yeah, I haven't gotten access to a mirror yet, but I can imagine."
"What—what did you do?"
"So, uh, I might have went over, and, um, punched Gilda. And, um, forgot that she took most of those martial-arts classes with me."
"And also forgot the basic principle of not engaging in fist fights with her fellow students," Celestia said icily.
"Hey, this is normal for us," Rainbow snapped defensively. "Like, every few months or so, just normally not at school. Anyway, uh, sorry I'm late."
"It's...no problem, I just..."
"What, I'm not gonna ditch you at this point," Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Ow," she added, rubbing her jaw.
Luna cleared her throat, then made firm eye contact with Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset winced. "Yeah, alright, fine," she muttered. "Hey, Rainbow...there's...there's something I need to say. To...confess."
Luna got up, giving the two of them privacy. Rainbow Dash stepped around the edge of the couch, sitting besides Sunset. "I mean it when I say I'm not gonna ditch you," Rainbow said. "I can't promise I won't be mad, but I won't just ditch you."
Sunset leaned forward, then took a deep breath. Leap of faith, right?
Rainbow Dash pressed her palms together, leaning forward.
Sunset's heart hammered in her chest, as she waited for Rainbow to reply.
"I'm such an idiot," Rainbow finally said. "I could have just...gone and talked to her at any point, and...we'd have made up just like that?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, I--"
"Don't. If anything, I'm more pissed at myself than you."
Sunset blinked. "What?"
"Serious," Rainbow said. "If I had just given up my stupid pride, I could have gone and made friends with Applejack again...ugh." She rubbed her face. "We all could have been hangin' out and havin' fun, if any of us had just decided to communicate. Dammit, I've been boycotting Apple Family Cider for nothing?"
"You're...you don't...hate me?"
"Sunset, I'mma be real. I have kind of accepted at this point that you have done lots of horrible things, and I'm...trying my best to see you past them. But everything I do, I mean. I didn't want to let you make that mistake, and I wanted to see you get better as a person." She grinned. "For a couple of reasons that I don't think I even need to say."
Sunset burst into a laugh. "Okay, fair point. Community service, right?"
"Uh...something like. Can I have a minute, though? I'd like about two minutes before we play."
"You...still want to..."
"Daring Do's not going to fight off a hoard of jungle cats on her own," Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Well, she could, if she were real."
Sunset chuckled. "Okay...I'm just...I need a moment, too."
"Okay. Like, want a soda or something?"
"I need to sit down and calm my nerves," Sunset said slowly, "or I'll throw up."
"Ah." Rainbow stepped away, into the kitchen, and Sunset heard her and Luna chatting in low tones.
Low tones were good. But she felt that if Rainbow Dash were going to end their friendship, she wouldn't be subtle about it. Not in the least.
Sunset flopped over, resting her head against the arm of the chair. It was a relief to find that she hadn't killed her friendship with Rainbow Dash. Even if Rainbow was angry, she said she just needed a moment, right?
Sunset smiled to herself. "I think I'm finally doing alright, Princess," she whispered to herself.
One night and an aggressive morning yoga routine later, Rainbow Dash stepped off the bus and made her way towards the coffee shop's doors, and checked the text she'd sent last night.
"So, I know it's been a while since we last talked, but I recently heard something, and I think we need to talk. The 'face-to-face' kind of talk. You can choose the time and place, but this is important. It's about that bake sale."
Applejack's reply had been simple.
"4:00. Cold Brew's Coffee. I will leave if you're not there by 4:30."
It was 3:58, so she was actually early.
Applejack was actually not there yet, so Rainbow took a seat at one of the tables. "I'm waiting on a friend," she told Cold Brew. "I'll place my order when she gets--"
The door opened, and Rainbow Dash looked up to see a girl step in. Brown jacket that matched her cowgirl hat, and also blue jeans, with her long blonde hair in a pony tail that came down to her waist.
"Oh, there she is," Rainbow said. "Uh, you can order--"
"You got here first, and I was still doubtin' you'd show up at all," Applejack said with a shrug. "You order first." She hesitated, examining Rainbow's bruised face with a frown.
"Um...one large caramel-pecan swirl frappe with whipped cream, and one of those breakfast bagels you have."
"A'right. And you?"
"Large black coffee, and one of th' apple fritters."
Rainbow grinned, chuckling to herself. "Yeah, I felt that that was why you chose this place."
Applejack didn't reply, and Cold Brew just nodded. "Your drinks will be here shortly," he said.
Applejack sat down across from Rainbow, taking off her hat and putting it in the seat besides her.
"So...uh..." Rainbow scratched her head awkwardly. "I'm trying to figure out where to start here."
Applejack stayed silent.
"Ah, fuck it. You know that bake sale? That...well, I guess the one I didn't show up to?"
"Eeyup."
Rainbow winced. "Okay, so, um, the reason I didn't show up is because I got a message saying the date had been moved."
"Who toldya that? I never moved the date."
"Well, the message was supposedly from you, which is why I accepted the last-minute rescheduling," Rainbow said. "But, um, I heard that the message was faked, and not really from you."
"Heard from who?"
"The horse's mouth, so-to-speak," Rainbow said.
"Don't tell me—Shimmer?"
Rainbow's mouth twitched into a light grimace, but she held her tone. "Yes, she fessed up," Rainbow said stiffly.
Applejack stared at her, then nodded. "I heard about yer fight with Gilda."
"We've fought our differences out before," Rainbow said with a shrug. "It's just what happens when you have to hot-headed idiots with anger issues together for a long time."
Applejack frowned, but shrugged. "I've gotten into a fist-fight or two with Macintosh, I s'pose. Back to the point, though. You didn't mean to bail on me?"
"Nope. I was pissed because it looked like you'd bailed on me. I spent a good chunk of last night laughin' at myself."
Applejack chuckled, then leaned forward, rubbing her forehead with her elbow on the table. "This is ridiculous. We coulda just talked it out at any point, yer sayin'?"
"Eeyup," Rainbow said.
They stared at each other a moment, then both burst out laughing in unison.
"We look like such idiots," Rainbow said, wiping tears from her eyes. "My God, next time I piss you off, come talk to me about it, for fuck's sake."
"You, too, idiot," Applejack laughed back, leaning back in her seat. "Wait, did she do the same fer the rest of 'em?"
"Yeah. I...haven't talked to any of them, yet."
"Well, we can do that together. If there's anything that'll make sure they believe it, it'll be the two of us, together." She grinned, but stuttered. "And, uh, maybe Sunset? I dunno how I feel 'bout her yet."
"She's cool, and awesome, and..." Rainbow let out an aggravated sigh, letting her head fall on the table as the store's bell rang behind them. "God dammit, she's killin' me."
Cold Brew set their coffees and pastries on the table, then retreated back, to give them their privacy.
"Somethin' eating you up?"
"A bit...I told her I wasn't that mad about this whole shitshow, but...I'm really pissed, but if I tell her that, she might...she..." Rainbow let out a frustrated sound, throwing up her hands.
"I don't think tryin' to hide this is any better," Applejack said simply. "If you don't tell her, we both know she'll find out."
"No she won't," Rainbow said stubbornly, folding her arms over her chest.
"Dash," Applejack said bluntly. "This is Sunset Shimmer. If there's one thing everyone in school can agree on, it's that she's good at findin' out things she's not supposed to."
Rainbow hesitated. "Point made," she relented. "I guess I should just tell her. Unless..."
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Unless I'm not mad anymore," Rainbow said. "Hear me out. If next time I see her, then we've all made up again, then I won't have to say that I'm mad, because I won't be mad!" She clapped her hands together. "Easy!"
"Rainbow, I'm not sure we can hit every one of their houses in a single day," Applejack said. "And I'm also pretty sure it don't work like that--" She looked behind Rainbow, frowning.
"It sure as hell as does! Come on, AJ!"
Despite Applejack's continued complaining, Rainbow jumped up, almost running directly into another customer.
"Oh, sorry, didn't--" Rainbow paused, looking up into a familiar pair of green eyes. "—See you there. Um, hi, Sunset. How long have you been there?"
Sunset smiled sweetly. "Just walked in, but I'd have heard enough if I wasn't a practiced eavesdropper."
Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Uh, okay, um--"
"Shut up a minute."
Rainbow shut up. Sunset took in a deep breath with her eyes closed, then opened them. "I was so worried, when I went to confess what I'd done. I was worried I was gonna lose you as a friend."
"Never going to happen," Rainbow said firmly, folding her arms over her chest.
Sunset stepped closer, glaring into Rainbow's face. "I was so relieved when you said you weren't mad. I thought...hell, I thought you'd at least be honest with me. I thought we could be honest with each other. If you're not going to tell me anything I don't want to hear, then I've not really made any progress, have I?" She jabbed a finger in Rainbow's face, finishing with, "Are we really friends, Rainbow Dash?"
"Yes! Of course we are! I just--" Rainbow threw up her hands. "I'm an idiot, okay? I go with the first plan that comes to mind, and I don't give it a second thought! Like I shouldn't have punched Gilda, no matter how much she deserved it, but I did it anyway! And...I should have been honest with you! I'm sorry...I...I worry about you."
"I told you already—you missed your chance," Sunset said. She gave a smile, adding, "I'm not going anywhere, Rainbow." She held out a hand. "Friends, still?"
Rainbow took the hand, then pulled Sunset into a deep hug. "Friends," she said.
Sunset stiffened, not expecting the hug, but, after a moment's deliberation, hugged Rainbow back.
"Eh..."
They broke apart, turning to Cold Brew. "May I take your order?" he asked tiredly.
Sunset hesitated, then followed Rainbow Dash, sitting at her side. "Hi, Applejack. I assume...you've already had the big talk?"
"Eeyup," Applejack said. "I'm not sure how I feel about ya, but I'm willin' to give you a chance, Sunset."
"Thanks," Sunset said with a smile. "I'm just...glad I didn't ruin your friendship forever, y'know?"
"Someone would have called us out on it eventually," Applejack said with a shrug. "Or we'd just randomly meet up and it would just come up naturally."
"Meet up in college, think you dislike each other, but gradually realize you're still the friends you once were, no matter what came between you two?" Sunset suggested.
"Er...somethin' like that, maybe," Applejack said, raising an eyebrow.
"I watch soap operas," Sunset explained. "So, what were you two going to do next?"
"Probably talk to the rest of our friends," Rainbow answered as Cold Brew set the coffee in front of Sunset. "I still think the sooner we talk to them, the better."
"Do we have time?" Applejack said. "It's four-thirty."
"If you hurry, you could probably manage," Sunset said.
"Why not you come with us?" Rainbow suggested.
Sunset hesitated. "I don't know, Rainbow Dash. That could get awkward."
"If they're not gonna accept you as my friend, might as well hear about it now," Rainbow said with a shrug.
"It would be good of ya to join us," Applejack said, "but I understand that ya might be, uh...concerned about it."
Sunset sighed, thinking it over. "Okay, fine," she said. "But please, Rainbow...don't punch any of them, okay?"
"Har de har," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.
"That wasn't an answer," Sunset said.
"Yeah, I caught that, too," Applejack said.
"What? Okay, fine--I promise I won't punch anyone," Rainbow said, throwing up her hands. "I wasn't going to anyway, you know."
"No, I really don't," Applejack replied, taking a bite of her apple fritter.
Rainbow glared at her. "You're lucky I just promised not to punch you," she muttered.
Per Sunset's request, they arrived at Rarity's house first. Sunset climbed the steps up to the door, ringing the bell once.
Rarity's house was startlingly small, to anyone who knew her. Of course, if you knew her really well, and had met her parents, you'd see past the 'big city girl' charade she put on.
The door slowly opened, and a strikingly beautiful young woman looked outside. "Hello! May I help--" She hesitated, looking into Sunset's face, then back behind her to Rainbow and Applejack. "You?" she finished.
"Um, actually," Sunset said. "I came here partly to apologize...for the Spring Fling. Here lately I've been...reflecting on my life until now, and...well, I'm just gonna say it. I've been a royal bitch for most of it. Since we were coming over here anyway, I thought this would be a great time to apologize to you for...for everything."
Rarity stared at her, eyes narrowed. Then, she slowly flicked her gaze back to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Alright," she said. "Thank you. I...appreciate it. Now, what is this 'other' reason you're here? Actually...it looks like it'll take a minute. Why not come inside to talk?"
"That would be wonderful," Sunset said. "This would be a really awkward position to have this conversation in."
"I can tell," Rarity said with a smile.
Rarity had them seated in her living room, and listened in silence as Sunset explained her actions, with Rainbow and Applejack putting in a few words.
Finally, Rarity sat there, hands folded against each other, as she took it all in. "So, those emails from Pinkamena...were really from you?"
"Y-yeah. I'm sorry...I..."
"Hold on just a moment, darling, I'm still processing this," Rarity said, leaning back in her seat. "This...this must have been eating you up, hasn't it, darling?"
Sunset opened her mouth, then shut it. Instead of saying anything, she just nodded.
"Thank you," Rarity said. "I know this must have been quite hard for you...especially after I heard about what Gilda said. You've had it quite rough, haven't you?"
"Well...yeah, but it's all my fault, so I don't really have any right to complain about it."
"Oh, pfft-tch-k!" Rarity said, impossibly stringing several consonants together in a way that shouldn't have worked. "Fault hardly matters where hardship is concerned," she said. "It doesn't matter if it's your own fault if you still went through it."
"I guess," Sunset said, running a hand through her hair.
"Have you talked to Pinkie or Fluttershy yet?" Rarity asked. "Are we going to meet up tomorrow?"
"I'd like to meet up at lunch," Rainbow put in, "but we haven't talked to them yet."
"That sounds wonderful," Rarity said. "How about I find you then, hmm?"
"That sounds great," Applejack said, pulling out her phone. "But, Dash, we ought to consider headin' on towards Pinkie's now."
"Do send her my regards," Rarity said. She hesitated. "If I just call her, maybe I can see if she needs help with the Fall Formal prep."
"It would probably be best to just talk to her tomorrow," Sunset said. "If you wanted, you could sign up to run, too. I was going to take my name off the ballot, so--"
"You were what?" Rainbow demanded.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "We both know no one's going to legitimately vote for me," she said, "and I have no interest in another fake trophy."
"I can understand that," Rarity said, "but I'd be thrilled if I could have another contestant to make it more authentic."
"Heck, give me five minutes and a phone call and I could get Trixie in the running," Rainbow said, tossing up one hand.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Sure you could," she said.
Rainbow whipped out her phone, but Applejack cut her off. "Just give her a wave tomorrow, alright, RD?"
"Ugh, fine," Rainbow relented. "So, Rarity, want to head with us to Pinkie's?"
"Gaaaah..." Rarity looked up to the clock on the wall. "I don't know, Rainbow. It is a little late, and I do have work to do designing dresses for several other students."
"We understand, and I think she will, too," Rainbow replied. "Come on, girls! We still got to more houses to hit before full dark."
The Pie family lived in a massive concrete structure that had been built as a bomb shelter during World War II, and then repurposed and used as a house. Of course, only if you were fine using 'repurpose' loosely, as virtually no effort had been made to make the house look like something other than a bomb shelter.
Applejack reached up, giving the door a few solid knocks.
"This is Pinkie Pie's house?" Sunset asked, staring at the imposing concrete structure. "It looks more like a burial mound."
"Nah, that's the next house over," Rainbow said, nodding to the prim, fancy house down the road.
The door opened before Sunset could come up with a reply, and they were met with a deadpan pair of eyes that observed them emotionlessly. And wordlessly.
"Hi, Maud," Applejack said. "Is Pinkie home? We were kinda hopin' to have a minute to talk to her."
"She's home," Maud said. Her gaze passed over to Rainbow Dash, and she added, "I didn't know you were talking to each other again."
"Well, since today, and that's what we were hoping to talk to your sister about," Rainbow said. "Applejack and I have made up, and we're getting the band back together!"
"Oh. That's wonderful," Maud said without raising her voice in the slightest. "Come on in. She'll be ecstatic to hear it."
She waved Applejack and Rainbow inside, but put her hand on Sunset's shoulder.
Rainbow spun around, eyes narrowing, and Sunset froze, looking into Maud's eyes. "I heard about what Gilda said," she said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said, relif flowing into her. "Thanks for asking."
"It's a big-sister thing," Maud said. "Come on in. And don't worry--the burial mound is in the backyard." Sunset hesitated, freezing in place on the doorstep.
"That was a joke," Maud said in the same tone she'd been using.
Sunset gave a nervous chuckle, clearly trying to figure out how Maud had even heard that comment, but went inside before she could overthink it.
Maud stepped through the house, calling out, "Pinkie, your cousin's here to see you."
"COMING!" Pinkie shouted from somewhere deep within the house. A second later, a whitish figure stepped out of a sideroom, two eyes peering from beneath a thick layer of flour. "Hi, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Sunset Shimmer!" She paused, then frowned. "Wait a minute--" Pinkie shook herself, sending flour scattering...somewhere. Rainbow couldn't quite figure out where it went, as it didn't coat anything she could see.
Pinkie let out one of her trademarked gasps. "Applejack, are you friends with Rainbow Dash again?"
"Eeyup," Applejack said. "If you can sit down a moment, we can tell ya all about it."
Pinkie's gaze drifted over to Sunset. Sunset gave a nervous chuckle, giving a small wave. "Hey, Pinkie."
"Hi...Sunset," Pinkie said hesitantly. She leaned over to Applejack, asking in a tone that wasn't as quiet as she seemed to think, "Is she with you?"
Applejack nodded.
"Well, then it's great to see you!" Pinkie shouted, zooming over and seizing Sunset's hand. She shook her hand aggressively, setting Sunset's eyes crossed.
Rainbow smiled at Pinkie's antics, but Sunset didn't seem to be enjoying them as much. As Pinkie zoomed back over to fetch drinks from the fridge, Sunset rubbed her hand, wincing.
"It took me some time to get used to all her...Pinkie-ness, too," Rainbow told her. "It's fine to be a little annoyed, but she means well."
Sunset stared at the baker. "This...just flick me if I start being a bitch. Her antics have always gotten on my nerves."
"Got it," Rainbow said with a salute. Sunset moved to follow Applejack, who had followed Pinkie into a kitchen...of sorts. It at least seemed more decorated than the rest of the house, aside from Pinkie's room. The modern appliances almost looked strange in comparison to the lightly painted walls, but the oven was the weirdest, being a massive, thousand-dollar appliance without a speck of soot on it. It stretched to almost four feet across, with more dials than Rainbow could finger-count, and a built in timer. The cleanness of the oven was a stark contrast to the massive, doughy mess that was the counter next to it, and Rainbow felt some pity for the handle sticking out of the mass of dough.
"Uh, sorry," Pinkie apologized. "This cake did not come out like it was supposed to."
Sunset laughed. "Yeah, I think we can all see that. Can't all be winners, right?"
"Nope! But it is still delicious!" Pinkie Pie spooned off some dough--destroying the metal spoon produced out of the aether in the process--and took a bite of the raw dough.
Sunset gagged, eyes going wide and jaw dropping.
Pinkie gagged as well. "Nope. Not still delicious," she admitted. "Drinks, anyone?"
"I'll take one," Rainbow said. Pinke set down several apple ciders on kitchen table, then sat down and popped one open.
Sunset hesitantly sat down after Applejack, and Rainbow sat down and immediately snatched up a cider. "Oh, man, I've missed this," she said, chugging the cider. She sighed contentedly, grinning. "You have no idea how hard it was boycotting your cider, AJ," Rainbow said. "The rest of the team is going to be thrilled to hear we made up."
"Uh...thanks?" Applejack said, clearly not sure how to take it.
"So," Pinkie said, leaning over the side of the table--despite the baking catastrophe on her countertop, she herself seemed startlingly clean. "What brings you girls here?" She gave a wide, inviting grin.
"So..." Sunset ran a hand through her hair. "I have something to confess, actually. About...well...you see..." She winced. "Okay. The thing is--"
"You're actually a magical unicorn from another dimension who tutored under the immortal goddess of the sun but your learning wasn't as fast as you'd have liked so you ran away through a magic mirror and ended up here but still weren't getting what you wanted but now you realise that maybe you don't want it as much as you thought you did and you're regretting your choices and also realising you've been a teensy bit of a jerk to everyone and you're sincerely hoping to make up for your past mistakes?" Pinkie interrupted.
Sunset's jaw dropped.
Applejack chuckled. "Nnnope," she said. Elbowing Sunset, she told the fire-haired girl, "Pinkie likes to throw out random guesses like that. Don't mind 'em too much if they're wrong."
"They're usually not," Pinkie said with a shrug. "I call it my Pinkie Sense."
"R--Right," Sunset said, clearly shaken. "Um--okay. Where was I?"
"So, you see that Applejack and I are friends again?" Rainbow asked.
Pinkie nodded.
Rainbow launched into the explanation, waiting for Sunset to interject, but the former bully remained silent. She looked from side to side, but her eyes kept returning to Pinkie. Several times she almost said something, but seemingly thought better of it. She didn't even touch her fizzy apple cider...nor did she say anything when Rainbow took it and began drinking it.
"So, to sum up," Rainbow finished, examining Pinkie's 'thoughtful' expression, "Sunset broke us apart but felt really bad so she admitted to it after I became her friend, and now I'm getting the gang back together."
Pinkie stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright! Hold on just one second!" She whipped out a giant phone, then quickly began dialing.
"Uh, what is she doing?" Sunset said. "Aren't we in the middle of a--"
Pinkie made a hushing motion, then her face split into a wide grin. "Hey, Rarity! Yeah, Rainbow, AJ, and Sun-Shim are here!"
"Sun-shim?" Sunset said, eyes narrowing.
Rainbow flicked her forehead, prompting a glare from the other as Pinkie continued.
"I was just wanting to let you know that there is still some party prep to be done before the Fall Formal, and if you still wanted to help, I'd really appreciate it!"
Rarity made a reply that Rainbow couldn't hear, despite her best efforts.
"Aw, thanks!" Pinkie said, with a grin. "Come by tomorrow! If you want, there's still time to set you running for Princess, too! Oh, just a hunch, is all. Great! Glad to hear it! Uh-huh...well, see you then! Gotta get back to my guests."
No amount of phone interference could blot out the indignance in Rarity's voice. "Well, I wanted to talk to you as fast as possible. Uh-huh. Understood! Bye!" She hung up. "She said I should get back to talking to you."
"I see," Sunset said slowly.
"Do you gals need more drinks?"
"I'm good," Sunset said.
"You sure?" Rainbow said, waving the empty apple cider bottle. "This stuff is great!"
Sunset gagged, tongue lolling out of her mouth. "Ugh, no thanks," she said. "I can't stomach it. I find it disgusting."
Rainbow flicked her again.
"Ow! What did I do that time?" Sunset snapped.
Wordlessly, Rainbow pointed the empty cider bottle at Applejack.
Sunset's eyes trailed over to the cowgirl, then to the cider, then she stiffened. "Oh! I'm sorry, I--"
"Yer tastes are yer own, and you can't change that no matter how hard you try," Applejack said with a shrug. "So however wrong you are ain't yer fault."
Sunset almost shot back a retort, but paused. "Sorry," she said instead.
"Ain't nothing to apologize for," Applejack said.
"It's getting kinda late," Pinkie said, staring out the window. "Have you talked to Fluttershy yet?"
"Nope, we were gonna do that when we were done here," Rainbow said.
"Then you should probably leave soon," Maud intoned. "Being out after dark can be rough."
Sunset hissed through her teeth. "Yeah, I should call my mom and head home," she muttered. "I live pretty far from here."
"But only a street or two down from where Fluttershy lives," Rainbow said. "Come on!"
She jumped to her feet, chair sliding away from the table as she moved.
"Was great to see ya, Pinkie," Applejack said. "We'll try and have all of us meet up tomorrow, a'right?"
"Yes-sir!" Pinkie said, saluting. "We can all meet up in the gym! Rarity and I were going to be going over the decor for the Fall Formal there anyway, so that'll be a great place to meet up!"
"About the Fall Formal..." Sunset said. "Can you take my name out of the running?"
Pinkie blinked. "Why would you want me to?"
"I don't want another fake trophy. Heck, I'm not sure I'd want a real trophy either, at this point," Sunset said with a shrug. "I don't care about that anymore."
Pinkie leaned in really close, looking Sunset right in the eyes. "I think you do care about it still," she said.
Sunset stared back at her in shock.
"Ask me tomorrow, at school," Pinkie said, then split her mouth in a wide grin. "You should really hurry if you want to get to Fluttershy's house before dark."
"Alright! Seeya, Pinkie!" Rainbow said, waving as she stepped out the door. Sunset hesitantly stepped out behind her, casting worried glances behing her.
"Everything alright?" Rainbow asked her.
"Yeah, just...tired, I guess," Sunset said. "Um...how often does Pinkie make random predictions like that?"
"Eh, pretty often. Unless they turn out to be right, though, don't pay 'em any mind. Still, that unicorn thing was pretty outlandish, even for her, eh?" Rainbow laughed.
Sunset fumbled over a response, running a hand through her hair.
Rainbow blinked, freezing by Pinkie's fence as Applejack stepped out of the house behind them. "Uh, Sunset?"
"We...can talk about that later," Sunset muttered, not making direct eye contact.
Rainbow stared at her, then breathed out two words. "Fuckin' awesome."
"Rainbow, please, we can talk about this later, I just--"
"This is so awesome!" Rainbow said, grinning ear to ear.
Sunset winced, watching Applejack slow down as she neared the two. "Please just calm down a moment--"
"You're a frikkin' unicorn! How--how does that even work?" Rainbow took a step back, eyeing Sunset head to toe. "You don't look like one. Were you turned into a human, like in The Last Unicorn?"
"No! Well...kinda...please just calm down before you blurt that out to the entire neighborhood, rather than just Applejack," Sunset said exasperatedly.
Rainbow paused, then turned to Applejack.
"Sugarcube, are you feelin' alright?" Applejack asked, looking at Sunset with concern in her eyes.
"I'll explain later," Sunset sighed, waving it off. "But seriously...how did she do that? There's no way she could know."
"Pinkie just guesses things right sometimes," Rainbow said with a shrug.
"Uh," Applejack drawled slowly. "Am I...am I hearing this right?"
"I'll. Explain. Later," Sunset said through gritted teeth. "Ugh...why'd I have to go and be honest? Dammit."
"So...you're a unicorn?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset glared at her.
"You don't have to explain!" Rainbow said, holding up her hands. "Just like...yes or no. Are you or are you not a magical unicorn who tutored under the goddess of the sun?"
Sunset sighed, eyes closed. "Yes," she admitted.
"Awesome!" Rainbow said, punching her fists into the air. "Do you have magic? Can you show me? Can you glow in the dark?"
"No, I can't--well, kinda?" Sunset admitted. "But I can't do any magic over here. I'm not a unicorn on this side of the M--portal."
"You...believe me?" Sunset asked slowly, staring at Rainbow skeptically.
"You're not that kind of crazy," Rainbow said with a shrug. "We should probably keep walking if we want to reach Fluttershy's any time soon, by the way."
Sunset started walking, saying, "I'm not crazy."
"Sunset, no one who's wholly sane tries jumping off a building," Rainbow said flatly.
"Well, I--" Sunset winced. "I don't actually have a counter-argument for that right this minute, so I'll get back to you later."
"Uh-huh. Sure you will," Rainbow said. "I don't think you're hallucinating magical pony worlds, though. Anyone who talks to you could tell that."
Applejack reached over, putting a hand on Sunset's forehead. "She don't feel feverish," she said slowly.
Rainbow slapped her hand away, saying, "My point is, you don't sound crazy, and I don't believe you're lying or pranking me for an instant."
"'Once you rule out the impossible, whatever is left must be the truth'," Sunset quoted slowly.
Rainbow blinked then nodded. "Well, yeah, that," she said. "To be honest, it doesn't even sound that unbelievable. Like, sure, magic is kinda hard to explain, but if you're from another world, that world might have magic."
"A lot of it," Sunset agreed. She turned, looking at Applejack. "And you?"
Applejack shrugged. "I dunno? It's really hard to wrap my head around, but there's a lot of things I can't really explain. Maybe it is, maybe it ain't."
"Hmm," Sunset mused. "Somehow, I think Mom and Aunt would accept this a lot less easily."
"Eh..." Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "You...they don't know?"
Sunset hesitated. "I never felt like telling them," she said. "I was pretty much just using them for free room and board. Abusing their charity."
"But you do love them," Rainbow pressed.
"Yeah, despite my best efforts," Sunset chuckled. "I..." She paused. "We're almost at Fluttershy's, and...I don't want to talk about this right now."
"Okay. You don't have to talk about it all, really," Rainbow said. "I'm really curious, but you don't have to if you don't want to."
"Thanks for understanding," Sunset said. "And...can I ask you not to bring it up in front of Fluttershy?"
"Absolutely," Rainbow said, miming the action of zipping her lips.
"Thanks," Sunset said again. She reached up, knocking on the door to Fluttershy's house.
The door opened, and Fluttershy peaked out. "Oh, hi girls," she said, then paused. "Rainbow Dash, are you with Applejack?"
"Yup," Rainbow said. "Do you have a minute? There's something we need to talk about."
"Is it...a bad kind of talk?"
"Good kind."
"Oh, that's great. Come on in," Fluttershy said, moving aside.
"Is, uh..." Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Please tell me Zephyr is out."
"He's out," Fluttershy said, making Rainbow Dash sigh in relief. "Thank God," she said.
"What? You saying you don't actually like him?" Sunset snickered.
"Yes," Rainbow said emphatically. "Good God, yes, I despise that man."
"Now, Rainbow," Fluttershy admonished. "He's got a good heart, even if he is...abrasive."
"I don't think she understands that she is also abrasive," Applejack pointed out.
"Hey!" Rainbow said, glaring at her.
Fluttershy giggled. "You two really are friends again, huh? How did that happen?" She gasped. "Oh! Sunset, did you help them make up?"
"Not...exactly," Sunset admitted. "Let's sit down, and I'll...explain."
Fluttershy lead them past various animals to the living room, where Sunset explained one final time what had happened.
Fluttershy didn't say anything until Sunset was done, when she let out a long breath. "So," she said, "you're...gathering up all our old friends?"
"We were going to meet up tomorrow," Rainbow said. "It's gonna be awesome!"
"O-kay..." Fluttershy said slowly. "Are you...sure? Some of them might still be mad about it, and...there were some mean words said that Sunset had nothing to do with..."
"Well, nothing that mean," Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "Applejack and I tend to have the shortest tempers, and if we made up just fine, shouldn't the rest of you get along swimmingly?"
"I guess," Fluttershy admitted. "I'm just...nervous. What if we don't get along still?"
"It's a leap of faith," Sunset said with a sigh.
Fluttershy looked at her in confusion.
"You have no idea how many times I've been told that in the past week," Sunset said, holding a hand to her head. "People seem to think it's funny."
"We haven't really talked since...last Monday?" Fluttershy frowned, thinking. "I'm sorry, I should have stopped by to say hi."
"No worries," Sunset said, holding up a hand. "I"m sure you've been busy, and you don't even know where I live."
"How are you doing, anyway?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sunset said. "I've just had my life turned upside down several times over since that moment on the roof. I'm just a little frazzled, is all."
"I think anyone would be," Applejack said. "While I can't say I know how you feel, everyone has times when they..."
"Realize that they're borderline suicidal?" Sunset said with a smile.
"I was gonna say 'need a hand'," Applejack intoned.
"I suppose that works, too," Sunset said, still grinning.
"Mah point is," Applejack said, her accent momentarily growing thicker with her annoyance, "if you ever need a hand with the stuff that's bothering you, we're all here for you, Sunset."
"I thought you didn't know how to feel about me."
"Well...uh...you seem nice enough, and yer going through some hard things, so..." Applejack shrugged.
"Thanks. The offer is sincerely appreciated, Apple--" Sunset's phone buzzed, and she winced. "Sorry, le'me--" Her eyes widened upon opening it. "Whoops. Sorry, I gotta take this," she said, hurriedly answering. "Hi, Mom, every--everything's fine. I'm with Rainbow Dash, hanging out at Fluttershy's."
Rainbow heard the voice she distinctly recognized as Celestia's, speaking in concerned tones.
"No, no--everything is fine," Sunset said with painfully forced cheer. "I just lost track of time, that's all. No, you don't need to come and get me--ugh. Rainbow, can you say hi so she knows I'm not making this shit up?"
"Hi, Miss Celestia," Rainbow said into the phone. "Everything is fine. We can bring her over."
"No, that's not necessary," Celestia said. "Just...call us next time you're staying with a friend this late, okay?"
Rainbow looked outside, at the evening sky, and then interrupted Sunset's response with, "She could stay over tonight."
"What?" Sunset exclaimed.
"Look, here me out," Rainbow said. "It's late, and none of us want to be out after dark, in a car or otherwise. What if we had a sleepover at Fluttershy's?"
"Would your parents be fine with that?" Applejack asked, turning to her.
"I mean...they're out at the moment, but they wouldn't really mind," Fluttershy said.
"Granny Smith would be fine, but...Rainbow, ain't this mite 'spur of the moment'?"
"That's how I live!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Didn't you just have trouble with that this mornin'?" Applejack asked. "What about when you punched Gilda?"
"I mean--I--look, doesn't this one sound like a good idea? Sunset?"
Sunset closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. The tension in the room was palpable, as Sunset sat there without answering for a long moment.
"It does sound appealing," she admitted.
"Alright," Celestia said. "I'll drive over with your sleep supplies. Where are you?"
"Fluttershy's house," Sunset said. "Thanks, Mom."
"Don't mention it. I'll be right over. Love you, see in a minute."
"Love you, too," Sunset said, before Celestia hung up. Sunset let out an exasperated sigh, falling back onto her chair. "I think you're the one killing me, Rainbow Dash. Don't you ever slow down?"
"Why would I do that?" Rainbow said with a shrug.
Sunset let out an aggravated sigh.
"You should probably both call your families," Fluttershy said, looking to Rainbow and Applejack. "Just so they know."
Applejack pulled out her phone, and Rainbow turned slowly to Sunset. "So, uh..."
"Just--call your folks," Sunset said, waving her off. "I'm just going to be lying here, questioning my life choices, so...you know. Nothing new."
Rainbow chuckled. "You're not mad or anything, right?"
"Not mad, just tired."
"Okay...I'll, uh, go call my parents. Let them know I'm staying over."
Rainbow left the room, and with Applejack in the corner, talking to her grandmother, Sunset was left alone with Fluttershy.
"Would you like some tea?" Fluttershy said. "I was just about to brew my own evening cup, I can make enough for you, too."
"That would be lovely," Sunset said.
Fluttershy started to rise, but Sunset looked up, meeting her eyes. "Why did you not take that money back?" Sunset asked. "I don't understand."
Fluttershy stared at her for a second. "It just felt right," she said. "I didn't need it, and it's good to give to others."
"That's it? There was no grand reason or anything?" Sunset asked.
"No. Does there have to be?"
Sunset opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked to the side, thinking, then replied, "No. I guess not."
Shortly afterwards, the door rang, and Rainbow rushed down to open it.
Luna stood in the doorway with a patient smile. "Good evening, Miss Dash," she said. "I hope you are well?"
"Eeyup," Rainbow said. "Had a fairly productive day, reunited with my old gang."
Luna stepped inside, carrying a backpack with Sunset's yin-yang sun icon on it. "And my niece? She is well?"
"Well enough, given how her life has been," Rainbow said slowly. "She's definitely getting better, though."
"I do believe you've helped as much as her therapist has," Luna said with a chuckle.
"I'm her friend--as I told her, I'm the next best thing."
"I'd argue that you're better."
Rainbow frowned. "Uh, how so?"
"You don't cost me five-hundred dollars a month," Luna chuckled.
Rainbow grinned. "Well, that's true," she said.
Luna stepped into the living room with Rainbow, just in time for a loud buzzer sound effect to trigger.
"The fuck?" Sunset gasped. "How--what--I don't--"
"Wow, that was close," Fluttershy said. "Want to play again? You're really fun to play against."
"You bet I wanna play again. Kick my ass twice in a row...I'll show you!" Sunset pointed a finger dramatically at Fluttershy. "I'll beat you this time!"
"Before that, though, perhaps you'd like to retrieve your bag?" Luna asked.
Sunset looked up in surprise. "Hi, Aunt Luna. I thought it was Mom coming over?"
Luna's mouth twitched up in a grin. "Is that how it is, then?"
"Yeah, kind of," Sunset said with a cheeky grin.
"She's not an evening person, and it's well past her bed time. I sent her to bed and brought your things over myself." Luna passed the backpack off to Sunset, adding, "Though I am obligated to pass along the usual 'mom' warnings as well."
"Of course," Sunset said with a sigh. "I should have known I wouldn't get out of it."
"No drugs, sex, or insider trading," Luna said casually. "Behave yourself. Have fun. Remember that we love you."
"Love you two, too," Sunset said with an eye-roll.
"'Insider trading'?" Rainbow said slowly. "How is that one of the 'usual mom warnings'?"
"You didn't raise her," Luna said tiredly.
Sunset muttered something under her breath, but all she said aloud was, "Thanks for bringing my stuff over, Aunt Luna. I'm going to go change into my pajamas."
"Alright. Love you." Luna turned around, striding back to the front of the house with little fanfare. Sunset, for her part, pulled her pajamas out of the backpack, then through it onto the nearest couch before heading into the bathroom.
"How often did you get into trouble for insider trading?" Rainbow asked slowly.
"It was one time! And I didn't even get in trouble for it because it was an accident!" Sunset snapped. "I was twelve, give me a break!"
"Heh. I've done dumber...somehow," Rainbow said, plopping down on the couch. She wore a set of borrowed pajamas, as did Applejack. The cowgirl's bust size and muscle mass made it a slightly less comfortable fit, but thankfully, all three of them were around the same size.
Come to think of it, Rarity and Pinkie and Sunset were also around the same size...
Before she could think too much on this, Sunset's backpack flopped over, and with a loud thud, a thick, ancient-looking book hit the ground.
"What was that?" Sunset called out.
"Some old book fell out of your backpack," Rainbow answered, moving to pick it up. "Uh...kinda looks like a diary?" She flipped it up. On the front cover was the picture of Sunset's trademark sun insignia.
"I don't keep a diary," Sunset answered slowly.
Rainbow flipped open the first page, then blinked. The pages looked to be full of writing. What it said was a mystery, however, as the letters were completely indecipherable to Rainbow Dash. There was one that vaguely looked like an 'A', and there was one that vaguely looked like an 'E', but everything else was foreign to her. It also appeared to be some form of cursive, which certainly wasn't lending the text any more legibility. Flipping to the last page with letters, she noted that it was all the same.
"Rainbow Dash!" Sunset squawked. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, uh, sorry," Rainbow said, hastily closing the book and dropping it on the backpack. "In my defense, you said it wasn't your diary."
"Don't act like that woulda stopped ya," Applejack called from the opposite side of the room.
Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry," she said.
"It's fine," Sunset said. "It's not like I have any rights to complain about not respecting other people's privacy, anyway."
"Don't say that! Just because you did some mean things doesn't make you any less of a person! You still have a right to privacy!"
Sunset gave a smile, and said, in her venomously sweet tone, "Oh, okay. Then how about you not rifle through my shit?"
Rainbow winced. "Heh, walked right into that one. Um, sorry."
Sunset chuckled. "It's fine. What even..." She picked it up, frowning. "Huh. Forgot I still had this."
"What is it?" Rainbow asked.
"It's an old memento from my first home."
"First home?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, uh...before Principal Celestia adopted me," Sunset said awkwardly, taking in Fluttershy's and Applejack's looks. She sat down, holding the book in her lap, running a hand across the cover. "I've...never really talked about this."
"Even with Flash?"
"Flash was a boost to my popularity, and I didn't see him as anything more than that," Sunset said. "I ought to apologize at some point. Anyhow...I never even knew my birth parents, and was adopted by...someone of upper class. But things...weren't going how I wanted them to, and...I ran away. To here." She opened the book to the first pages, seemingly reading the text. She stared at it for a long moment, flipping through a few pages at a time. A wistful expression crossed her face, and she let out a sigh. "God, my horn writing was awful," she muttered with a smile..
"Horn writing?" Fluttershy asked, confused.
"Um..." Sunset shook herself, slamming the book shut and focusing on Fluttershy. "Sorry, I just...um...got sidetracked. Misspoke."
"Oh...I suppose that makes sense." Fluttershy looked to where Rainbow Dash sat, seeing the athlete trying her hardest not to look like she was hiding something.
Rainbow was well aware that subtlety had never been a strong suit of hers, but thankfully, Fluttershy didn't ask.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Fluttershy asked Sunset instead.
"Way too much I'd have to get into," Sunset said, looking to the side with a nervous look on her face. "A whole lot of it I don't want to explain tonight, so how about instead, we just go at it for round three?" She picked up her controller, shaking it at Fluttershy with a grin.
Fluttershy grinned back. "O-kay," she said. "I just hope you don't mind losing again..."
"Hah! Not gonna happen, Flutter-Wonder!" Sunset said confidently.
Rainbow smiled. Fluttershy had been her gaming partner for many years, and had actually gotten quite good at it...better than Rainbow herself was, actually. Rainbow didn't foresee Sunset winning any time soon.
She looked once more to Sunset's strange book...from the pony-world, judging by what Sunset said. Truthfully, she was very curious about it, but elected to ignore it for now.
Instead, she leaned over to Applejack, saying, "I was right."
Applejack blinked, turning and frowning at her. "Pardon?"
"I'm not mad anymore," Rainbow said. "So, I was right."
"N-no! You went and told her the truth! I was right!" Applejack said, thumping her chest with a fist. "You defused everything, and that's why yer not mad!"
"No, I think it was my thing," Rainbow said, more forcefully. "Like, think about it a moment."
"I am. More than you seem to be, anyhow."
Rainbow opened her mouth, but Sunset cut in by loudly clearing her throat.
"Would you two please knock it off?" she said as Fluttershy giggled.
"Uh, sorry," Rainbow Dash said. She and Applejack chuckled, as Fluttershy and Sunset went back to their game.
"I guess that everythin' turned out alright regardless," Applejack said.
"Yeah." Rainbow smiled. "I guess things did."
The annoying sound of someone's phone vibrating woke Rainbow up. She wearily reached over, grabbing her own phone, to see that that wasn't it. Rainbow sat upright, yawning, then looked around. The vibrating was coming from elsewhere in the house, it sounded like...and Fluttershy and Applejack didn't seem to be hearing it, either.
And Sunset wasn't in her sleeping bag.
Rainbow got up slowly, doing her best not to wake up her friends, then crept through the house. Sunset wasn't in any of the rooms she passed, nor was she where the phone was.
Rainbow stepped into Fluttershy's living room, looking at the pink light from across the room. She stepped closer, frowning, then her jaw dropped.
It wasn't a phone; it was a book. Sunset's book with her insignia on it sat on a table, glowing bright pink and vibrating.
Rainbow reached over, flipping it open to the most recent page.
There, beneath the text she'd seen earlier, was a a fresh block of text, written in fresh ink, with a pink ball-point pen right next to the book. Beneath that was another bit of text that seemed to be writing itself.
As in, the text was flat out appearing out of nothing. Rainbow stared as line after line wrote itself into existence, twisting swirls and sharp angles and what looked to be hieroglyphs.
Then it stopped, suddenly. After a second, what looked to be one word, or perhaps two, appeared, followed by a question mark.
"Gah," Rainbow muttered. "Why? Why couldn't it be proper English?" She rubbed her head, then sighed. Sunset seemed to be gone--she'd even checked the bathrooms. Someone was making the words appear, she reasoned, and they were wanting a reply.
Rainbow drew a small version of Sunset's mark, and followed it with a question mark.
After a brief pause, the other person drew a symbol. A sun, but not Sunset's, with several rays coming off the sides.
Rainbow growled. "Oh, come on," she muttered. "Sunset, where'd you go? I don't know how to work your stupid magic book!"
Another symbol appeared, a blank circle, followed by a question mark. Rainbow stared at it a moment, trying to figure out what it meant, before it clicked.
After a second, she drew the cloud with a lightning bolt emblazoned on it that she wore on her normal tank top. Then she drew it next to Sunset's, and, after giving it a pause, scribbled out Sunset's.
Then she drew another one of Sunset's symbols, following it with another question mark.
There was a slight pause as the recipient seemed to digest that. But then they sent a reply.
???
Which meant that they either didn't know where she was, or had no idea what Rainbow was asking, which was far more likely.
Rainbow gave up, stepping away from the book. Well, there were two other places she knew to check, and she doubted Sunset would have randomly decided to head to her house.
Rainbow had briefly debated putting on proper clothes, but figured this was important enough to risk the run into town in her pajamas.
Still, it took her a worrying length of time to get to Canterlot High School.
Rainbow charged across the grass, passing the horse statue, before seeing Sunset sitting on the school's steps. She bolted over to her just as Sunset looked up at her.
"Ack! Rainbow?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out--"
Rainbow threw her arms around her in a hug. "Don't," she said.
"What?" Sunset said.
"Don't...do it," Rainbow said, voice cracking. "I won't let you. I didn't let you do it then, and I won't let you do it now. I--"
Sunset pushed her away, looking into Rainbow's eyes with a light twinkle in her own. "I think you're mistaken," she said with a smile. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm not going anywhere."
Rainbow wiped tears from her eyes. "So...you weren't heading back up to the roof?"
"No. Not at all."
"Thank God," Rainbow said. "I thought I'd be too late. Not fast enough...but...if that wasn't it..." She slapped Sunset, hard, across the face. "Then what the bloody hell are you doing, sneaking out of the house in the middle of the fucking night?" she shouted. "You had me worried so sick, Sunset!"
"Ow!" Sunset said, rubbing her jaw. "Rainbow--"
"No, no, no! Stop right there!" Rainbow shouted, ignoring the tears streaking across her face. "I wake up, you're gone, and you're weird book thing is glowing and vibrating! I don't know where you went, you didn't leave a note! You didn't take your things, left your phone! I was so scared I'd come up to find a bloody red smear across the pavement, Sunset!"
Sunset sat back, stunned. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," she said slowly. "I...I just...wanted some fresh air and didn't want to wake you." She rubbed her jaw. "Was that necessary?"
"You scared the fuck out of me, Sunny," Rainbow growled, rather than admitting fault. "Why the hell would you take a stroll in your PJs at one in the morning?"
"Because...that book...it contains all the letters between me and....my mother," Sunset confessed. "I got nostalgic, and...sent her one. It's a magic book."
"I got that when I saw it glowing and spawning text blocks," Rainbow said with an eye-roll.
"Wait--she replied?" Sunset said. "Shit, I didn't mean to wake her in the dead of night! Wait, she replied! What did she say? Does she forgive me? Does she hate me? Does she not want anything to do with me anymore?"
"I haven't the foggiest," Rainbow said, throwing up one hand. "The text might as well be manji, Sunset. The most either of us got out of that exchange was that the other was not you."
"Oh, right," Sunset said, holding a hand to her head. "Well...I'm guessing you didn't bring the book with you?"
"Uh, no. I'd have had to find a backpack and it didn't seem important."
Sunset shook her head with a sigh. "Well, it just makes this part harder."
"What part?"
Sunset gestured to the moon. "Well, if I timed it right..."
The moon sparkled, just slightly. Ahead of them, the statue glowed, and the flat wall of stone shimmered, reflecting Rainbow's face briefly like a mirror.
"...the portal back home is open again," Sunset said. "Only problem is I don't know if that was the Princess saying she'd love to see me again, or saying I'd be executed if I set foot in her castle again."
"She wouldn't do that," Rainbow said confidently. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "Right?"
"Probably not," Sunset agreed. "Still, no idea whether or not she'll forgive me." She grinned lopsidedly at Rainbow. "Leap of faith, right?"
Rainbow stared at her, then let her gaze pass over to the 'portal'. "Yeah. I guess it is."
Between the two of them and Rainbow's phone, they had enough foresight to send a text message to Fluttershy letting them both know that Sunset was fine and they were both just out for a walk.
Which wasn't fully honest, but Rainbow Dash ignored that thought. She had more important things to worry about.
Rainbow stood up, stretching out her hooves. "Oh my God," she said. "I'm a horse."
"Pony," Sunset corrected. She seemed to be adjusting to the sudden change much better, and was actually walking around, examining the room she was in.
"Where are my clothes?" Rainbow said, looking back at her naked self...and the tattoo that had suddenly appeared on her ass.
"Uh...anyone's guess, really," Sunset said. She grimaced, moving to examine another wall.
"Okay...up we go," Rainbow muttered, standing up. She wobbled uncertainly, stretching out her wings for balance.
She paused, looking back at the feathery appendages with disbelief. "I thought I'd be a unicorn," she said.
"Eh? No, you look like a Pegasus. I figured you'd be one." She peeked into a nearby crate, face turning contemplative. "Hey, Rainbow?"
"Yeah?" Rainbow gave her wings a few experimental flaps, rising just off the ground far easier than she'd expected. With a cry, she rushed across the room, slammed into a wall, and collapsed onto her back.
Sunset glared at her. "Stop that! I'm trying to tell you, we're not in Canterlot!"
"Yeah, we're in the magical pony world," Rainbow said. "I know that, Sun-Shim."
"Ugh...no! The capital city is called Canterlot! It's where my Mom lives! But if we're not there, then this mirror was moved! To someplace I don't know about! And it's positively frigid in here, too." She shivered. "Rainbow, we need to head back."
"No, way!" Rainbow said, spinning onto her hooves. She tottered, fluttering her wings to keep her balance, before finishing her proclamation.
"You came here to reunite with your mother, and dammit, that is what you are going to do!" Rainbow stamped one hoof, for dramatic effect.
"Rainbow, she's probably on the opposite side of the world," Sunset said. "And besides, if she had any desire to speak with me, she wouldn't have sent the mirror away like this! We need to go before whatever ruler is here finds us and decides to throw us in a dungeon like the thieves we look like!"
"Calm down," Rainbow said. "If so, we can just hop on back and send another message to your mom, right? Easy."
Sunset took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. You're right. We'll just—"
The door to the room they were in opened, and a bright pink winged unicorn stepped into the room. She looked across the room, then her gaze settled on Sunset. Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh...hi," Sunset chuckled awkwardly, waving with one hoof. "Hey, Cadie. Long time, no see?"
"Not nearly long enough," 'Cadie' muttered. "I should never have agreed to bringing that mirror down here."
"Look...I..." Sunset ran a hoof through her hair, then set it down with a sigh. "I'm sorry."
The pink pony paused, then frowned.
"I...I've done a lot of thinking about myself here lately," Sunset said. "I realized I'm not a good person...pony. And thinking back...I was really horrible to you. I was cruel, and vain...and I'm sorry." She wiped tears from her eyes, adding in a cracked voice, "I really am...I..."
"It's okay," Cadie said. She stepped over, folding one wing over Sunset in what Rainbow assumed was a hug. "I forgive you, Sunset."
"R-really?" Sunset asked.
"Of course. If you're really sorry, that is," Cadie chuckled. "And also...hold still for just a second." She stepped away from Sunset, and her horn lit up, bright blue. Sunset frowned, but said nothing, as Cadie lowered the horn, tapping it against Sunset's forehead.
"You are not a changeling," Cadie confirmed.
Sunset laughed. "Oh, I see how it is. You really had to check, huh?"
"Well...yeah. Sorry, just have some trauma about that," Cadie said with a lighthearted chuckle. She turned to look at Rainbow, saying, "And your friend here is..." She trailed off.
"Rainbow Dash, the one and only," Rainbow said, stretching out one wing and holding it front of her chest...or...what was probably her chest. Over her heart, anyway. "A friend of hers from the other world."
"Ah. Hold still a moment?"
Rainbow frowned, looking to Sunset, who chuckled. "I guess she knows this world's version of you," she informed Rainbow Dash.
"Right," Rainbow said, as Cadie tapped her forehead with her horn. "Should I be concerned about these, uh, changeling things?"
"Not usually," Cadie said, "but I know for a fact that you were sleeping upstairs less than five minutes ago, and I had the urge to double check. I'm Princess Cadence, Princess of the Crystal Empire. Nice to meet you." She gave a half-bow.
"Er..." Rainbow tried to bow back, but had to frantically flap her wings to keep from falling on her face. "Nice to meet you, too, Your Highness," she said, hoping to recover her lost pride.
Sunset laughed.
"Hey, I'm not used to being four-legged, give me a break," Rainbow snapped.
"Sure, sure," Sunset chuckled.
"So, what were you doing back here?" Cadence said slowly, looking between the two of them and ignoring Rainbow's comment.
"I was...wanting to apologize to Mom," Sunset said slowly. "Is she...here? In..." She hesitated. "...The Crystal Empire?"
"It's new," Cadence said. "And yes. I can take you right to her, if you want?"
Sunset took in a deep breath, then nodded. "So, uh...you've got your own kingdom now."
"Yeah," Cadence said. "Helped protect it from an evil tyrant who was going to enslave them."
"And what happened to him?" Sunset asked. "Reformed or something?"
"Uh, vaporized," Cadence said. "He wasn't exactly the 'listening' type."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rainbow said. "Vaporized? As in, dead?"
"Well, yes," Cadence said. "Most of us normally go for the less violent route, but some ponies...never listen."
"I almost became that," Sunset mused. She butted her shoulder into Rainbow's, adding, "Thanks, really. For everything."
"Hey, don't be like that. I'm sure you'd—" Rainbow hesitated. "Maybe. I dunno. I suppose there's no use worrying about it, though."
"You're right there," Sunset said.
Cadence reached up, knocking on a large, ornate door.
It opened almost immediately, with a massive, pale white horse peaking out. Like Cadence, she had wings and a horn, but her mane and tail flowed out behind her majestically. She looked past Cadence, looking at Sunset.
Sunset shrank back, wilting immediately. "Hi, Mom," she squeaked.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, then used one of her wings to push Sunset forward. "Maybe speak up so she can hear you?" she said.
Sunset shot her a glare, but her gaze shot back to the 'goddess' immediately. "I...I'm sorry," she said.
The princess leaned forward, wrapping her wings around Sunset in a hug before Sunset could say further. "I missed you," she whispered. "I was always hoping you'd come back—"
"Oh my God, you sound just like Principal Celestia," Rainbow burst out.
Two piercing eyes met Rainbow's. She winced. "Um, sorry," she muttered. "I—"
"You happen to look like somepony I know, too" the princess mused. "You were the one messaging me from Sunset's journal?"
"Uh...yeah? I think?" Rainbow tried to shrug, and narrowly avoided landed on her face. Again. "Nice to meet you."
"It's my pleasure," she said. "Princess Celestia."
"Rainbow...Dash," Rainbow said slowly. "The one and only, uh..."
Celestia's mouth twitched in what was probably a grin. "Come on in," she said, turning around, heading back into her room.
"I'll be off," Cadence said. "I need sleep. See you tomorrow?"
"Probably not, actually," Sunset said. "Access to the portal is finnicky on my side, so I'm not sure I'll be able to make another trip." She smiled. "Kinda makes me glad we ran into you. I would have felt bad if hadn't been able to apologize to you, too."
"Thank you. I'm glad we met again...and you were nice this time around."
"Believe me, I think we're both glad that I'm nice this time around," Sunset said. "My original plan for returning was...ah..." She chuckled. "Different."
"I can imagine," Cadence said. "I won't keep you any longer—go talk to Auntie." She left, trotting off at a brisk pace.
Rainbow shivered from the cold as she walked behind Sunset into a bedroom with massive piles of books and documents scattered about.
"Still working from bed, eh?" Sunset said.
"Well, I do have a lot of work to do," Celestia said. "Princess Summits don't plan themselves."
"Princess Summits? Is that a new name for 'tea with Cadence' or—"
"There's been quite a few changes since you were last here," Celestia said. To Rainbow's astonishment, a teapot floated over on its own, surrounded by a pleasant yellow glow, and poured itself into three cups, which moved over to sit in front of each of the three ponies in the room.
"Magic," Sunset said, bumping her with a...horse...elbow...thing.
"Right," Rainbow said, determined not to give it too much thought. She was about to take a sip of the tea, when she realized she had no idea how to properly pick up the cup.
"Uh..."
Sunset's own cup lifted up in a green glow, matching the glow of her horn, and she took a sip, letting out a sigh. Then she looked over to Rainbow Dash, and then to the athlete's tea cup.
"Well, don't look at me," she said. "I've never picked one up without using magic, even back when I lived here."
"I'm not really a tea person anyway," Rainbow admitted, chuckling.
"Sorry," the Princess apologized. "Here." A stool levitated over, and the cup was set on top if it.
"Thanks," Rainbow said. She leaned over, sipping from the tea.
"So," Celestia said, "You plan on heading back?"
"Yeah...I've set up a few too many roots to just abandon them," Sunset said. "I...hell, I actually have people who care about me." She paused to think about it.
"I would never ask you to abandon them," Celestia said quietly, "though I will miss you, and I want you to know that you're always welcome here."
"Thank you," Sunset whispered. "I...I would love to come back, but the portal situation...on my side, it's kind of on public property, and I wouldn't want to terrify people by materializing out of thin air." She took a sip of her tea.
"It could probably be opened further," Celestia murmured. "Twilight is gifted in that field. Perhaps she could find a way."
"You're student?" Sunset asked.
Celestia raised an eyebrow.
Sunset immediately squirmed, fidgeting. "So, uh, I might have bribed a guard or so roughly thirty moons ago, to figure out what all had gone down during my absence."
"This 'original plan' you mentioned to Cadence?" Celestia said with a smile.
Sunset nodded. "Heh. Sorry."
"No need to apologize for something you didn't do."
Rainbow's mind immediately wanted to fill in, "What about homework?", but she held her tongue. Instead, she said, "Well, the important thing is, you're nice now."
Sunset nodded again. "I guess so."
"You've been well, I hope?" Celestia asked, sipping her own tea.
"Mostly. Got a taste of being a tyrant at the school in that world. Don't think I liked it, however much it suits me." She smiled bitterly. "Almost jumped off a roof."
Immediately, a massive white wing stretched forward, pulling Sunset into a hug. Sunset rolled her eyes, sipping her tea. "Saw that one coming," she muttered.
"Sunset..."
"I'm fine, now," Sunset said.
"Mostly fine," Rainbow corrected.
Sunset whipped her with her tail, glaring at her. "Fully fine," she reinforced.
Rainbow chuckled, rubbing her side with a hoof. "Okay, okay," she relented.
"I've had some trouble, took some hard knocks," Sunset said, leaning into the hug. "But I think I'm on the path you wanted me on."
"It would seem like it," Celestia said. She pressed her head against Sunset's in an affectionate way. "But I'd love to hear about it, while you're here."
Sunset grinned.
Three days later...
Rainbow Dash hesitated, coming to a full stop right in front of Sunset Shimmer, and Gilda, in the middle of talking. She ducked back, letting them continue while she eavesdropped from a comfortable distance.
"I mean, like, I still don't like you," Gilda was saying, "but yeah, I thought about it, and realized I did....do...kinda owe you an apology." She ran a hand through her hair, awkwardly. "I might have stepped a little bit out of line."
Sunset chuckled. "I don't particularly like you either, and also owe you an apology for everything I've done, so..." She shrugged. "I dunno. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too," Gilda said. She hesitantly stretched out a hand, and Sunset shook it.
There was a moment's pause.
"Do you..." Sunset hesitated. "You know what? Who says we have to like each other? Especially right now? Let's just...not talk to each other. We can try and make friends later, but..."
"I think that's a good idea," Gilda said, holding her hands above her head. "I could care less about making friends right now."
"Well...do you want me to tell Rainbow Dash you apologized, or...are you gonna do that yourself?"
"She's just around that corner, listening in," Gilda replied easily.
"Fuck..." Rainbow winced, then called out louder, "No she's not!"
"Anyway...not-see-you later, Sunny."
"Heh—'not-see-you-either', later," Sunset replied. Rainbow listened as Gilda walked off, and Sunset peaked around the corner, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, I didn't want to interrupt," Rainbow muttered.
"Come on," Sunset said with a chuckle. "I don't want to miss the Princess announcement." She took Rainbow by the hand, bringing her back to the school's gym.
"You excited?"
"Kind of," Sunset said. "Which is weird, isn't it? I'm not even in the running, and yet...there's this suspense. Who actually wins the nomination?"
"It's gonna be down to Rarity or Trixie," Rainbow noted. "One or two other people put their names up in time, but those two are the big ones."
"I know that, but still! It's kind of exciting!" Sunset gave a girlish giggle.
"So, uh...how did the Principal take it?"
"Well, the magic book certainly helped convince them," Sunset said, annoyed at the topic change. "They didn't believe as readily as you and AJ, but I think they're convinced now."
"That's a relief," Rainbow said. "I don't think asylums have visiting rights, either, so that would have made friendship between us difficult."
"Eh. I'd have probably just gone back to Equestria, but then we'd have the same issue," Sunset muttered. "Things turned out like they did, and I just had to hope for the best outcome."
She grinned as Pinkie Pie's shrill voice called out, "RAINBOW DASH! SUNSET SHIMMER! WE'RE OVER HERE!"
"Leap of faith?" Rainbow said.
"Yeah. People keep saying that to me, and I'll just get it on a T-shirt. Bet Aunt Luna would laugh."
"Yeah, she would," Rainbow agreed, as they reached the rest of their friends. The band exitted the stage, giving the floor to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.
"We played together last night," Sunset said, smiling as the Principal started her speech.
"As in..."
"Elden Ring. Got to the first boss before Mom called in my curfew."
"Oof. Did you beat it?"
"Not even close," Sunset replied. With a smile, she added, "But I have hopes to do so tomorrow night."
"Quiet down! I need to hear this!" Rarity whispered to them.
"...The winner of this year's Fall Formal is..." Celestia gave a dramatic pause as she slowly pulled out a card, before reading out the name of the winner.
"Trixie Luluamoon!"
A massive smokecloud enveloped the stage, sending a chorus of laughs throughout the audience.
"Darn it," Rarity muttered.
"There's always the next Spring Fling," Sunset said.
"Well, yes," Rarity muttered. "I suppose so."
"You gave it a good shot, and in the end, that's what matters," Sunset said. "Maybe you'll win next time. Maybe you don't." She shrugged, pulling Rarity into a half-hug. "Life's always like that. Win or lose...I suppose what matters is that you keep playing." Sunset looked to Rainbow Dash, and smiled. "You never know what comes next. But if you play long enough, you'll win eventually."
"...We're not talking about a six-inch plastic circlet anymore, are we?" Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.