Realization
Sunset Shimmer sat under the starry night sky, bundled up in her warmest clothes. A small campfire crackled at her feet, contained only by a small ring of rocks. She probably reeked of smoke, but she couldn't care less, not that it mattered since her nose had long since gone blind to the smell. In her hands she idly twiddled with her pocket knife, flipping the blade open and closed, enjoying the familiar weight and satisfying clicks.
She'd lost count of how many hours had passed since the tent had been set up, sleeping bags had been rolled out, and delicious camp food had been cooked and eaten. It seemed as if the campfire burned through time as well as wood.
Camping had been a brilliant idea, even if it was a bit cold for it. The perks far outweighed simple low temperatures, there were fewer other campers, fires felt better, sleeping bags were cozier, and best of all there were no annoying bugs. Plus the campsite had been a brilliant find, a big open field on a quiet hill overlooking the city, surrounded by pastures of grazing farm animals.
"Hey, Sunset?" A voice snapped her out of her trance, and she shook her head slightly to clear the fog.
"Huh? Yeah, sorry, spaced out there for a second." The knife snapped closed in her hand.
Twilight gave a gentle laugh. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"
"Nothing, just spacing out, looking at the stars... It's so beautiful out here. This was a great idea, I'm glad we did this."
"I'm glad I was able to get away from Princess duties long enough to be here for it." Another soft laugh came from Twilight that Sunset joined in on.
A pop came from the fire, and Twilight very precisely placed another log on top. Sunset watched her friend tend to the flames, a small smile on her face. However, when Twilight turned back to look at her, concern flashed across her features.
"Sunset, what's wrong?!"
"Huh? What do..." Sunset felt a warm tear on her cheek, and reached up to wipe it away with a stifled gasp. "I-I'm crying..."
"What happened? Why are you crying?" Twilight was quick to grab her friend's shoulder and look her in the eye, twisting in her chair to face the teary eyed girl.
A sniffle escaped Sunset that she dismissed as the cold making her nose run. "I uhm. I-I'm not sure. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time and i-it just..."
Twilight grabbed her in a tight hug, gingerly rubbing her back to try and console Sunset from whatever had happened. It didn't matter what had made her cry, what mattered was helping her feel better. The cries Sunset had unknowingly been holding back immediately broke free when she felt the warm embrace.
It felt like forever to Sunset before the tears stopped, but in reality it couldn't have been more than a minute or two. She had to take some deep breaths and sniffled a few times before she found her voice. "I'm okay, I'm good now Twi. Sorry about that."
"Are you sure?" Twilight kept rubbing her back even as they pulled apart. "What's troubling you?"
Instead of a sad sob, or depressing tale, Sunset gave a laugh. "That's the thing, Twilight, nothing is wrong. They were happy tears." Both tears and a smile adorned her face as she spoke.
"Huh?"
Sunset threw her head back and looked up to the stars. "I feel okay, I feel like everything is going to be okay, that everything is going to work out. It's been so long I can't even remember the last time I felt like this. Meeting you changed my whole life for the better, you and the girls." She took a deep breath to steady her shaky voice before continuing.
"Before I met you I was so scared of what the future held. I was terrified that everything would go horribly, that nothing would work out the way I hoped. B-but you've changed that for me, Twilight. I feel okay with things again, now when I look at the future I'm not scared! The way I feel now, I feel like no matter what happens everything will work out okay! Not because bad stuff won't happen, of course it will, but because you and the girls are in my life it doesn't matter." Sunset paused and took another breath, another stay tear rolling down her cheek.
Twilight watched Sunset pop out of her chair and twirl around with arms outstretched, her head thrown back to look at the moon as she spun. "I have friends by my side now, and the feeling that gives me? I can't even describe how happy it makes me!"
A small laugh escaped Twilight while she watched, a smile back on her face. She stood up and walked towards Sunset as her spin slowed to a stop. “I'm glad to hear that, and I'm incredibly happy to be one of the friends you can rely on.”
“I'm so glad you stopped me at the Fall Formal, even with that power I didn't feel this... Fulfilled? I didn't have the power for very long, but I know that even for that short time I had it, I still felt empty. I felt that way for a long time before the night of the Fall Formal, even before I came to this world. Now though? Now I'm happy. I'm happy, and I feel safe and... and loved.”
Without saying anything, Twilight stepped forward and gave Sunset a hug even Pinkie Pie would've been proud of.
Her body tensed for a brief moment at the unexpected hug, but Sunset returned it with equal enthusiasm. “Thank you, Twilight. For everything.”
“Anytime Sunset, I'm happy to be here for you, and hearing you say that you're happy is the best thing I could hope for.”
They separated with a sigh from Sunset. “Sorry about that, got all emotional on you out of nowhere.” She shoved her hands into her jacket pocket, and gave an apologetic smile.
Twilight just smiled and playfully bumped hips with Sunset while they stood in the field, gazing up at the moon.