The day was coming to a close, and the students of Canterlot High were going about their business of packing away their things, ready to head on home. There was the usual hustle and bustle of the teens and preteens moving about the hallways, lockers slamming shut and just general chatter amongst each other, but outside one locker in particular, there was far less noise than anywhere else. A young girl, who at first glance would seem like any other at that school, was quietly getting her books away properly before getting ready to leave. Sunset Shimmer, formerly of the world of Equestria, and formerly a unicorn, had come a long way since she first entered these hallways. And as she finally closed the door of her locker, a small smile crept on her face as she dwelt on where she was in her life.
When she'd first come to this world, it had been for one reason, to get away from her former mentor, Princess Celestia. During her self-imposed exile in this place, she had grown increasingly bitter and resentful, and that had caused her to do terrible things to the students here, lashing out at them and even breaking apart friendships. That had all come to a head when Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's newest student, had thwarted her plans to return to Equestria and conquer it. That had, however, not been the end of it, at least not for Sunset. She had seen the error of her ways, but it took a long time for others to truly accept her. Twilight's friends had helped her greatly, but others? They were not as willing to let her into their lives.
Now though, things had changed. As she looked around her, Sunset could see other students walking about, and those who caught a glimpse of her all smiled at her, which she promptly returned. There was a time they would have just glared at her angrily, and not without good reason. But now, they thought of her as one of them, and in her mind, there was no greater relief than that. She had a life now. She had friends. She had a future. And while there would always be a part of her that hated herself for the mistakes she made, she knew that the good in her life more than outweighed that feeling. Smiling, she knelt down to pick up her school-bag, ready to depart and head on home. But it was here that her attention was diverted to something behind her, as the unmistakeable sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard.
Turning, Sunset's eyes widened as she looked upon a boy her age, with a distinctive black leather jacket and spikey blue hair. Flash Sentry, her former boyfriend. He was looking at her with a somewhat nervous expression, and it was not long before she followed suit with her own. While the two had been an item at one point, in truth it had only ever been a means for Sunset to become more popular in the school, and she had freely admitted that to her friends. They had parted ways a long time ago, but even so, it had not been on the best of terms, and to her, it was just another in the long list of things she wasn't proud of having done. Still, she knew he wouldn't be here without reason, and so made the first move by speaking up.
"Hi."
Flash responded to that with a somewhat nervous smile before replying.
"Hi."
To say things were awkward between them would have been a great understatement, and those few students who were still around took one look at this reunion and decided, rather wisely, to make haste in leaving the school. The silence was becoming rather unbearable between them though, and so Flash began to speak up.
"Sunset...I was wondering if...I could ask your help with something?"
The girl raised an eyebrow at that, clearly taken aback.
"You want my help?"
Her expression then softened a little before she spoke again.
"Flash...I can't really understand why you'd want anything to do with me. Not after..."
But she was stopped from speaking as Flash spoke up.
"If you're talking about the formal, don't worry about it. Everyone forgave you for that already. I know I have."
In spite of herself, Sunset couldn't help but blush a little. Given the way she'd treated this boy during their relationship, though she felt the term needed to be used in it's loosest possible sense, she'd never have expected him to say anything as kind as that. But in spite of that, the look she gave to him made it clear that she appreciated his words to her, to which he responded with his own smile. That smile faded a little as he looked down at the ground.
"I know that..."us"...was kind of a...well, it never really worked out, did it?"
Sunset looked away a little, almost embarrassed to be talking about this, even though she knew he had every right to say what he was saying. Even so, she soon looked right back at him and nodded silently, which prompted him to keep on talking.
"But...I'd still like to be friends. After everything you done to help me, my friends, all of us...it's the least I can do."
In her time in this world, there were precious few moments when she truly felt at ease, felt that weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This was one such time, and she couldn't help but give her former boyfriend an affectionate smile in response to what he was saying. It was a feeling reflected in her tone of voice as she spoke to him.
"I...I'd like that."
The two merely smiled at each other in this moment. They both knew that there had been a lot of baggage with each other in the past, and even those who didn't know them personally wouldn't have called their relationship anything happy at the time. However, with this one exchange, Sunset felt as though all of those bad moments between them had been washed away, and she could not express how thankful she was. Instead, she simply put her hands on her hips and let out a sigh as she looked up at the boy.
"So then. What was this help you wanted?"
Although he’d seemed nothing but warm and happy during the last few moments, with Sunset's utterance of that question, Flash suddenly reverted back to the same nervous guy he always seemed to be when he was together with her. Clearly what he was planning on asking her was something he didn't think she wanted to hear. So, with an eyebrow raised once more, Sunset watched as the boy began to fumble his words, as he so often did.
"Well, uh...I was wondering...you know...how you managed to, er...contact Twilight?"
Suddenly, things started to become clearer to Sunset. The awkward way he was carrying himself. His nervous expression and voice. It was all due to Twilight. It was no secret, even to her, that he and the young Princess had become rather close during their brief time together. And while Sunset did not hold any illusions about reclaiming the boy for herself, the fact that he was actually talking about him and Twilight, regardless of the context, was something that she couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed with. Still, she got over that feeling pretty quickly and instead let out a dry chuckle, which was followed by a somewhat mischievous smirk on her face as she regarded the youth in front of her.
"So...wanna make a call to your girlfriend, eh?"
Flash's face erupted into a fierce bluish, which Sunset couldn't help but laugh a little at, before he began to compose himself.
"No, it..."
The blush faded greatly in this moment, instead replaced by an expression that seemed stern by comparison. Sunset's smile vanished as she regarded him. There was something on his mind. Something serious. And while she did not know what it was, she knew that making fun in this moment probably wasn't the best thing to do. As she listened, it soon became apparent why Flash was here.
"...it's just...I need to say I'm sorry...for what happened."
Sunset regarded him, her expression making it clear that she didn't understand what he was talking about. However, as he began to look away from her, Sunset's memories began to call forth something that had occurred during Twilight's last visit. And in that moment, she understood. The Dazzlings, a group of girls who, like Sunset, were secretly exiles from Equestria, had used their magical ability to bring strife and chaos to the school, fostering rivalries between those who had previously been friends, especially those competing in the then-upcoming battle of the bands. When Twilight became part of their friends' group, the Rainbooms, Flash had turned against her because of that magical influence, nearly breaking her heart in the process. And while things between them had recovered after the Dazzlings had been defeated, it was clearly a sore spot for him.
"Flash...it wasn't your fault."
The boy looked at her, seeing the genuine look on her face as she said that. He knew she was trying to make him feel better, to make him realise that it was the fault of Adagio, Sonata and Aria. But even so, it was clear that the boy had allowed himself to shoulder the blame of this himself.
"Thank you for saying so, Sunset. But I still need to do this."
If there was one thing Sunset prided herself on, it was her ability to read people. She knew that nothing she said or did was going to dissuade Flash from this path. So, knowing this, she turned around and opened up her locker once more. Reaching inside, she pulled out her old tome, the magical book that allowed two-way communication between this world and Equestria. It was the only thing she'd kept from her old life, and was more precious than she could say. Facing Flash once more, she offered it to him, to which he responded with some hesitance before taking it. She didn't blame him for the reaction. After all, most of his experiences with magic had thus far been bad ones. Still, he seemed to take to it fairly swiftly, and began opening the book, flipping through the pages until he finally came across a blank one.
Sunset offered him a pen, which he took from her with a smile, before standing back and watching as he began to write, speaking aloud as he did so.
"Twilight? It's me, Flash. I know you probably weren't expecting to hear from me...but there's something I need to say to you."
He took a deep breath, making it clear to Sunset that he was still upset at himself.
"I just wanted to say...I'm sorry. When the battle of the bands was happening I...I said some things. Terrible things. Things I never wanted to say to you. I was a jerk, plain and simple. You deserved better than to be treated that way. I mean, you were my..."
Flash stopped a little, glancing up at Sunset briefly with a slight blush on his face before continuing.
"...my friend. I know what you probably want to say. Sunset already said the same thing. That I wasn't myself. That the magic of the Sirens affected me like everyone else. And I know that. But even so...I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least TRY and apologize to you. I let myself be influenced by them. I should have been stronger. I failed, and I let myself think of you as my opponent, my enemy. I never wanted that, not towards you, not ever. I just..."
The boy began to grip the pen tightly in his hand, a saddened look on his eyes forming quickly. Sunset felt like comforting him, but decided that it would probably be for the best if he handled this himself. Taking another calming breath, he finished writing his message.
"...I just hope...you can forgive me."
As he stopped writing, he closed the book and paused for a moment. Sunset took this opportunity to step forward and place a hand on his shoulder, offering him a comforting smile. The boy did his best to return it, but it was obvious that there was still some pain in him because of what he'd been influenced to do. So, he simply handed Sunset the book carefully, and as she took it back from him, he smiled at her, this time more genuinely, before starting to walk away. Sunset knew that this was something he had to do, even though she did not think he bore any blame for his actions. Still, seeing him that saddened by this was not a pleasant experience to say the least. He needed time, that much was certain, and she was sure to give it to him.
Turning, she was about to place the book back in her locker, until the next time she needed to send a message to Twilight. However, before she placed it inside, it began to glow brightly in her hand. Her eyes widening, Sunset withdrew the book out again and opened it. Looking upon the next blank page, Sunset saw that new words were magically appearing, a message from the book on the other side of the mirror. As she read it, a look of surprise crossed her face. It was a message from Twilight. There were only three words, but Sunset knew what it was. The Princess had responded to Flash's message, and as the former student of Celestia turned, looking upon the boy as he left the school, a smile formed on her face as she quietly spoke the words she knew he wanted to hear.
"...I already have."
