The Pain I Won't Forget

by MrAskAPirate

Rating: teen
Tags: Equestria Girls, Aria Blaze, Sunset Shimmer, Slice of Life, Sad, Drama
Length: 5554

Having vanquished the demons of her past, Sunset Shimmer now finds herself haunted by the ghosts of her present.

Having vanquished the demons of her past, Sunset Shimmer now finds herself haunted by the ghosts of her present.

(Reading the The Friend I Couldn't Be first is highly recommended.)

Pre-read by and cover art courtesy of the incredible (but not-so edible) MelloReflections.

Published 2015-09-26 06:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-26 06:00:02 UTC

Fixing up the Firebird

~You’re never gonna bring me down!~
~You’re never gonna break this part of me!~

Sunset felt the energy flow through her as she sang; a pulsing warmth swelling in her chest as the music cascaded over her friends, revitalizing and reenergizing their battered bodies. High above, the astral projections of the the Dazzlings’ true siren forms circled ominously, still certain of their victory and unaware of the true power that was brewing amidst the Rainbooms. As Twilight stood and their voices joined together as one, Sunset couldn’t help but smile.

Then it all went wrong.

The power; the magic building inside of her changed. Sunset squeezed her eyes shut against the pain as what was once warm and comforting became a raging inferno that burned and tore at her insides like nothing she had ever felt before.

No… she had felt it before.

“Sunset?” she heard Twilight’s voice. “Sunset! What’s wr-!”

Sunset could only scream in reply as the pain redoubled; pale green energy surging forth from her body and knocking the Rainbooms off their feet once again. She felt herself rise into the air as the magic continued to pour from some dark place deep inside her, warping and twisting her body as it coursed through every fiber. She lurched forward as the leathery wings sprouted from her shoulderblades; cringed as the wicked, barbed tail burst from the base of her spine. Pain stabbed through the tips of her fingers as sharp claws grew where her nails once were. She bit her own tongue in an attempt to stifle the pain and tasted blood as her newly-formed jagged teeth did their job too well. She tried to scream again, but this time all that came forth was the mad cackle of the demon that had haunted her since the Fall Formal.

“S-Sunset… no…”

She turned her head to regard the mewling voice and accompanying gasps of shock and disbelief, noting the delicious horror in her former friends’ eyes. She grinned as they flinched away from her wicked smile and the hate brimming in her black eyes.

“Ah, so good to see you again, girls!” the demon spoke, her voice augmented by an otherworldly dissonance, “Hold that thought; I’ll deal with you in a moment... after I’ve taken care of them.”

She turned her attention now to the sirens, who similarly looked on in stunned silence as Sunset rose into the air on powerful wingbeats. The astral hippocampi swooped down to attack, only to evaporate before a searing blast of magical power that swept right through them and sped on toward the terrified trio on stage. The Dazzlings screamed as they were thrown from their feet, their membranous wings and ears burned away as their pendants shattered into a million particles of shimmering dust.

Coughing and clutching a throat seared from the magical backlash, Adagio struggled to push herself up with her other hand, her eyes going wide as they focused on the unnervingly still forms of Aria and Sonata. She opened her mouth to call out to them, but only a strained whine came forth. She struggled to get to her feet, but her blood froze in her veins as a massive, winged shadow fell over her.

Adagio turned slowly, her heart pounding in her chest, just as a red hand locked around her neck with an iron grip. Sharp claws drew blood as she was hauled to her feet like a ragdoll and brought face-to-terrifying face with Sunset Shimmer.

“Little fishy in a great big pond,” Sunset crooned as the siren kicked her dangling feet and clutched pitifully at the hand that was crushing her windpipe. “I told you that you wouldn’t get away with this, now didn’t I?”

Adagio attempted to mouth something, but a sputtering choke was the best she could manage as her eyes started to roll up into their sockets.

“What’s the matter? Nothing to say with that pretty voice of yours?” Sunset chuckled. “That’s okay. I was done talking anyway.”

She raised her other hand, blood-red claws glinting in the stage light, and heard a distant scream as she thrust it straight toward Adagio’s heart...

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes opened slowly, fluttering as she awoke to find herself staring a familiar ceiling that was not her own. She did so calmly despite the sensation of her racing heart drumming against the inside of her ribcage, the sick feeling in her stomach, and sudden need for air as if she had been holding her breath for far too long.

She reached up with both hands, instinctively wiping the sides of her face to rid herself of the tears that had been cried while she slept, and took several long, slow breaths until her heartbeat resumed a more normal rhythm. She’d repeated this exact process so many times recently that it was actually starting to annoy her more than anything else.

Her eyes began to idly take in the room around her. Even with the shades down, the late afternoon light filtering through the windows left the sirens’ living room reasonably well-lit. It was all rather... normal, oddly enough; furnished just as any other living room might be. In addition to the couch she was on and the matching loveseat, there was an entertainment center in one corner with a medium-sized television, a low coffee table and a pair of nondescript end tables on either side of the couch. The bland beige carpet bore the occasional stain from only Celestia-knew-what, and the plain white walls held little in the way of decoration aside from a few landscape painting prints that Sunset was certain could be found anywhere. A small, noisy space heater in the corner droned away obnoxiously on its lowest setting. Winter was only just beginning to give way to spring, but Sunset was already looking forward to the day when she could sleep at a comfortable temperature without that annoying, rattling buzz all night long. All in all, it was hardly the opulent lair of a trio of magical, mind-controlling, millennia-old sea creatures that she had been expecting when she’d first laid eyes on it two months ago.

Two months, Sunset mused. Has it really only been two months?

Her time spent living with the two remaining sirens stretched out in her memory, and she had to think for a moment to remember the last time she had woken up in her own apartment and not here on their couch. Her other friends, the Rainbooms, had all stopped by frequently to check in on them, or to drop off any homework Sunset had missed at school. Principal Celestia had been incredibly understanding about the whole situation, going to great lengths to allow Sunset to take a leave of absence from classes to care for the remaining Dazzlings, provided that she kept up with her regular assignments and any additional work her teachers saw fit to give her. Mr. Doodle in particular hadn’t held back in that regard, but she didn’t really mind. If nothing else, focusing on Precalculus from time to time gave her brain and emotions a much-needed break from… well, everything else.

In fact, a good distraction was something she really could have used right now.

Almost reluctantly, Sunset turned her head to look at the small loveseat and smiled weakly at the sight of Sonata sitting like she usually did, her legs crossed beneath her and bundled up in a fluffy comforter--a gift from Fluttershy she had taken an instant liking to--so that only her head stuck out. She lay back and off to one side, dozing contentedly with her mouth slightly open as she drew slow, steady breaths. The blanket shifted, falling open a bit and causing the sleeping siren to murmur and stir as cold air intruded on her snuggly sanctuary.

Sunset smiled a little and shook her head as she pushed aside her own blankets, intent on tucking Sonata back in, but a single blink of her eyelids later the comforter was folded and draped over the back of the chair, exactly as she herself had left it, and the loveseat was cold and empty. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she continued to stare, her vision unfocused and a tightness rising in her throat.

“Dammit,” she whispered, sinking back onto the couch and covering her face with her hands as uneven breaths shuddered in and out of her lungs. “Not again…”

Yesterday, Rainbow and Applejack had stopped by to drop off one of the latter’s signature pies. Rainbow’s colored locks had been hidden beneath her Wondercolts beanie, and at first glance Sunset’s grief-riddled mind had mistaken the athlete, with her similar skin and eye colors, for Sonata. It had taken both of her friends the better part of an hour to console her.

“It’s only been three days,” Sunset spoke into the empty air, forcing a deep, fortifying breath. “I’ll feel better after the funeral.”

Until it’s Aria’s turn.

“Ugh!” Sunset massaged her temples as the stray afterthought brought her right back to the verge of tears. Why is this so hard? I just want it to be over!

As if providence heard her silent plea, the space heater flicked off at that exact moment, leaving Sunset in blissful silence. She sighed, grateful for small favors, and focused on enjoying the peace and quiet.

Too quiet.

She sat bolt upright, her eyes wide as she considered the implications of the absolute lack of sound from the rest of the house.

“Aria?” she called out, throwing the blankets off and taking quick strides out of the room and down the hall. “Aria, are you there?” She knocked once on the siren’s door, finding it slightly ajar. She pushed it the rest of the way open to reveal a cluttered but otherwise empty room.

“Aria, where are you?” Sunset called again, panic rising in her voice as she quickly searched the rest of the house. Living room, kitchen, bathroom, front entryway, bedrooms: no sign of her. Did she go out without telling me? Would she even do that?

Sunset was passing by the kitchen window, debating whether or not to call her friends and organize some kind of search for her missing housemate, when she spotted a soft yellow light coming from the old separated garage in the back yard. She tilted her head, brow furrowed, then turned and made a beeline for the front hall where she slipped on her boots and jacket. She made her way around the side of the house and into the yard, where grassy ground made muddy from the melting snow squelched beneath her feet. The side door to the garage was unlocked.

“Aria?” Sunset stuck her head inside and took a moment to breath a heartfelt sigh of relief. “There you are.” She stepped into the garage and pulled the door shut behind her.

Inside she was greeted by the expected smells of oil and gasoline, but also the musty odor of sawdust. True to form, one side of the garage held a sizeable, well-organized workbench and pegboard supporting a wide assortment of common tools ranging from hammers to saws to socket wrenches. The back wall had a number of boxes stacked along it, while the remaining wall featured the door she had just entered through and was devoid of any clutter, providing a clear path to the back of the garage.

The centerpiece of the space, in every sense of the word, was a beautiful, jet-black 1974 Ponytiac Firebird Trans Am with a glorious red and gold namesake painted across its hood, the front end of which was currently held up by a pair of jacks just behind the wheel wells on either side. ‘Pristine’ was a word that did not do the car’s condition justice, as Sunset could practically see herself in the lacquered surface even from several feet away. Standing in the presence of such a meticulously maintained machine, she was suddenly thankful that she had picked up an appreciation for classic cars from listening to Flash go on and on about them back when they were dating, even if she had been less than interested at the time.

What really drew her attention however, were the set of legs clad in telltale purple jeans sticking out from underneath the car’s front end and the scattered tools surrounding them.

“Wow, that’s a really sweet car,” Sunset said as she stepped up to take a closer look at the hood detail. “I knew you were kind of a gearhead but I had no idea you were keeping something like this out here.” The sound of a ratcheting socket wrench was the only response she received. “Aria?”

Sunset knelt down and reached out, hesitating only a moment before gently tapping Aria on the shin. She nearly fell over backwards when Aria’s whole frame convulsed, accompanied by a sudden gasp and a loud bang that reverberated right through the car.

Then the swearing started.

“Sorry, sorry!” Sunset grimaced and held her hands out plaintively as Aria rolled out from under the car on a flat, four-wheeled dolly. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you!”

Aria levered herself up into a sitting position, wincing as one grease-stained hand gingerly rubbed part of her forehead while the other yanked free a set of earbuds. The indistinct, tinny sounds of some punk-metal rock ballad reached Sunset’s ears.

“Well that explains why you didn’t hear me calling you,” Sunset said sourly. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll live,” Aria shot her a dark glare as she switched off the MP3 player hooked to her belt. “Oh wait... no I won’t.”

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat for a moment as her expression fell. “I… let me get you some ice.”

“There’s some in the cooler,” Aria tilted her head, and Sunset turned to spot a large red plastic ice chest near the door. “Actually better yet, just bring me a beer.” Sunset did as requested, retrieving and handing one of the dark glass bottles over to Aria, who popped off the top with a nearby wrench and took a long swig before holding the cold container up to her injured forehead and leaning back against the car’s grill with a sigh. “That’s the stuff.”

A familiar sick feeling in the pit of Sunset’s stomach returned, much the way it did whenever she'd taken the time to really look at one of the former sirens. Like Adagio and Sonata before her, Aria had lost substantial weight, giving her already thin frame a sickly appearance. The dark circles under her eyes didn’t seem as apparent as they had on her sisters, but that might’ve simply been due to her skin tone, or maybe the various smudges of grease and dirt from the car that patterned her face, arms and hands. Unlike the others, Aria had opted to shave her entire head down to the scalp rather than watch as her hair slowly turned grey and fell out of its own volition. It had been a bit of a shock when she had first strode through the living room with a smooth pate, but the fact that she had since taken to keeping her head warm with Adagio’s mauve knit hat was not lost on Sunset.

“I know that look; what’s got your panties in a bunch now?” Aria’s voice broke Sunset from her reverie.

“I was just thinking about you and your sisters,” Sunset admitted, narrowing her eyes a moment later. “Although come to think of it, for all the time you spent making fun of Sonata for eating food even though it wouldn’t do her any good, you sure seem to like drinking. Kinda hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“Yup, it sure is,” Aria took another drink and drawing an eyeroll from Sunset as she crossed her arms. “You come out here for a reason?”

Sunset hesitated. “I… I fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up I couldn’t find you at first. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, that’s all.”

A devious smirk crossed Aria’s face as she set her beer down on the concrete floor and slid back under the car. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll kick the bucket soon enough and then we’ll be out of each others’ hair forever.” She paused. “Metaphorically speaking.”

“Aria, that’s a horrible thing to say,” Sunset frowned, her grip on her own arms tightening a bit. “That’s not how I feel and you know it.”

“Give me a break,” Aria laughed alongside the sound of a wrench ratcheting. “You can’t stand there and tell me that you don’t wish I’d died first and that Adagio and Sonata hung on for longer.”

Sunset's shoulders sagged further. “... That’s not fair.”

“Of course it is. Everything in life is fair, most people just don’t live long enough to see how it all evens out,” Aria said plainly. “Eternity takes up all the slack.”

“Is that how you justify treating everyone like garbage?” Sunset countered tersely, an unexpected heat rising within her. “Nothing matters in the end, so why bother being nice?”

Even though her shoulders were well out of sight, Sunset could perfectly envision Aria shrugging under the car. “Sure; why not?”

Sunset scoffed and shook her head. “I really can’t believe you sometimes. How could you spend your entire life attached at the hip to Adagio and Sonata, seeing and doing all the same things they did, and yet end up so completely different?”

“Don’t act like you know--knew us,” Aria shot back.

“Well that shouldn’t be hard,” Sunset’s hands moved to her hips. “Even after living with you for weeks and listening to your whole life story I feel like we’re still basically strangers.”

“Good. That’s the way I like it.”

“Is it really?”

“YES! Yes, it is!” Aria’s sudden yell made Sunset jump. The siren abruptly slid out from under the car again and stood, rage burning behind her violet eyes as she slowly advanced on the other girl. “You wanna know what happens when you get close to someone, Sunset Shimmer? What always happens in the end?”

Sunset, her eyes wide, retreated until her back met the garage's closed overhead door, leaving her with nowhere to go as Aria shouted and thrust an accusing finger right under her nose.

“Somebody gets hurt. Someone leaves, dies, betrays you, all of the above; whatever! Either they do it to you or you do it to them, but one day whatever bond you have with somebody is going to break, and when it does it’s going to tear your heart right out of your fucking chest!” Breathing heavily, the fire in Aria’s eyes suddenly dimmed. She took a single step back, her hand clenching into a fist as she lowered it from Sunset’s stunned face. “Every single time… even the ones that were supposed to last forever.”

“I'm…" A choked sob escaped Sunset's lips as she watched Aria return to her car through tear-filled eyes. "Aria, I’m-”

“If you say you’re sorry one more goddamn time, I swear I will come back as a ghost and haunt you for the rest of your life!” Aria snapped, spinning to fix Sunset with another intense glare. They fell silent save for a quiet sniffle, and for a moment the two simply stared at one another before Sunset could no longer hold her gaze, letting her eyes fall to the floor. Aria turned away with a shake of her head, laying back down on the dolly and rolling under the car once again.

Thick silence, broken only by the sounds of Aria’s tools, filled the garage until Sunset spoke again, albeit softly.

“You already do.”

“The Hell’s that supposed to mean?” Aria grumbled from beneath the vehicle.

Sunset took a deep breath. “I’ve… lately I’ve been having the same dream. The same nightmare, over and over again.” She paused briefly, wiping her face with her sleeve as she walked to the workbench so she could sit down on the edge. “I’m back at the Battle of the Bands, singing with the Rainbooms, but this time instead of channeling the Magic of Friendship I’m… well, you remember hearing about what happened when I tried to steal Princess Twilight’s crown, right?”

“That flying demon thing? Yeah, that sounded pretty badass.”

Sunset gave a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah, well, it was pretty bad and I did make an ass out of myself…” Aria went rigid and stopped working, rolling out from under the car to fix Sunset with a penetrating, blank stare. “What?”

“That was horrible,” Aria deadpanned. “Like, worse than Sonata’s jokes.”

“It’s one of Pinkie’s,” Sunset eyerolled.

“That explains it.”

“Anyway,” Sunset continued as Aria resumed her tinkering, “in my nightmare I turn into that monster again, and instead of just breaking your pendants, I…”

“You kill us.” Sunset nodded, silently thankful that Aria had finished the sentence for her. “Well, sounds like you’re pretty messed up, Shimmer. Even Sonata didn’t get that bent out of shape the first time she had to knife somebody.”

Sunset frowned and crossed her arms. “Gee, thanks.”

She almost missed the quiet sigh that came from under the car. “Look, what do you want? Advice? Shit happens. Sometimes it happens to you, and sometimes you’re the one that makes it happen. Make like that stupid Disneigh movie and ‘let it go’. Carrying around emotional baggage doesn’t do you any good.”

“I can’t just forget what I did, Aria,” Sunset shook her head. “It was bad enough before when I attacked Twilight and the others, but this time... I killed you.” Sunset couldn’t help but wince as she spoke. “I’m responsible for actually killing three people, and I just... no matter how hard I try I just don’t understand how I'm supposed to get over something like this.”

“That's because it's never gonna happen, stupid,” Aria spoke a little louder so she could be heard over the sounds she and her tools continued to make. “Whether you meant it or not, when you kill somebody it doesn't just up and go away someday. Time goes on and people will try to tell you that it’s okay, or that they've forgiven you, or some other bullshit like that. That's more about them than you.” The ratcheting of another bolt stopped, and Sunset got the impression that Aria had turned her full attention in her direction. “That weight on your shoulders right now? That sick feeling in your chest that’s always lurking just behind every happy thought you try to have? That’s never going away. You’re gonna carry it to your grave... trust me, I know.” Aria resumed her work a moment later.

“Didn’t you just get done telling me to leave the past behind?”

Aria chuckled. “Yeah, well… I guess I’m better at giving advice than I am at taking it.”

Sunset bit her lip and bowed her head as the siren’s wisdom sank in. Another heavy silence draped over them as Aria focused on the underside of the engine. It felt like ages before Sunset worked up the courage to speak again.

“Who was it?”

There was a loud clank as a tool clattered to the ground, accompanied by a hushed curse, but no actual response. Sunset had just begun to think that Aria hadn’t heard her when she finally spoke up.

“It was a lot of people. You know our story; you know how many people died because of the stuff we did. After a while it just sort of… piles up, y’know?”

“Aria,” Sunset steeled her voice, “who was it?”

Sunset heard Aria set whatever tool she was using back on the ground before slowly rolling herself out from under the car. She propped up her legs, laying her arms over her knees and leaned back against the grill as she took a long, slow drink of her beer. She stared at the bottle with unfocused eyes for a long moment.

“I don’t know. I never found out,” she began softly. “It was maybe a decade or two after we were banished to this world. We were feeding in a little town in Prance--at least I think it was Prance; friggin’ countries changed borders so many times,” she groused, drawing a tiny smile from Sunset. “Anyway, things got… well, we told you what happens if we aren’t careful with our song.”

Sunset's eyes widened. "You pushed someone so hard that they became violent?"

"Back then we hadn't really figured out how to tell when we were going overboard yet," Aria nodded. "A fight broke out; got out of hand fast--way too fast. Before we knew what was happening a scuffle turned into a barfight turned into a full-blown riot. We bolted, trying to get out before we got caught up in it, but we ended up getting separated. I… it was terrifying.” Aria hesitated, the distant look in her eyes now fully focused on somewhere many centuries past. “Somehow a fire got started and it spread to pretty much the whole town. Smoke was so thick I could barely breathe... people were screaming and crying, I couldn’t find my sisters anywhere, and I… dammit, I was just…” her voice trembled, “I was just so fucking scared.”

“I’m sorry,” Sunset spoke up. “If this is too hard you don’t need to-”

“Shut up and let me finish,” Aria cut her off. “I hid in between a cart and some hay bales, and I had this little knife I kept tucked into my belt. I was ready to cut anybody that came too close, and then somebody grabbed my arm from behind and I just… I just spun and stabbed without thinking.” Aria shook her head. “It was just a kid. A little boy, maybe seven or eight. He wasn’t trying to attack me, he was just as frightened as I was and reaching out. He probably thought I would help him or something, and I…” Aria trailed off, her fingers subconsciously picking at the label on her beer.

“Was that the first time you’d...?” Sunset asked after a moment.

“Sorta?” Aria offered with a slight sniff. “We’d charmed people into killing each other, or into sacrificing themselves to save our skin before, but this… this was the first time I’d ever done it.” She looked down at her grime-covered hands, tracing some invisible outline along the back of one with the fingers of the other. “I still remember it. I can still picture exactly how my hands looked with that kid’s blood all over them.”

Sunset started to shake her head. “It was-”

“It was an accident,” Aria finished her thought yet again. “Yeah, I know. You of all people should know how little comfort that is.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve killed a lot of people since then, some of them even more up close and personal, but…” She gave a tiny chuckle. “What’s that saying? ‘You never forget your first time’?”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s quite what the saying means,” Sunset smiled wryly.

“S’true, though,” Aria stated. “You don’t ever forget. A thousand years later and sometimes I still see that little brat’s face when I close my eyes.”

Sunset nodded slowly in the wake of Aria’s admission. Whenever I close my eyes...

“… Good.”

For the first time since beginning her tale, Aria turned to look at Sunset, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“I’m… I’m glad that you’ve never forgotten,” Sunset explained. “I think it means that you’re not the monster you try to make yourself out to be, and in a way, I sorta hope the same thing happens to me.” She locked eyes with Aria. “I never want to forget you. Any of you; even if it means I have to deal with this guilt the rest of my life. When I think of it that way…” She smirked wistfully. “I dunno, it just doesn’t hurt quite so much anymore.”

Aria just stared at Sunset for an uncomfortable moment before letting her gaze fall back to the floor, creating an equally uncomfortable silence.

“Anyway, I’ll, um... I’ll let you get back to work.” Sunset eased herself off the workbench and closed the distance to the side door in a few strides.

“Shimmer.”

Sunset froze, hand halfway to the doorknob.

“She… she forgave you.”

“What?” Sunset turned back around. “Who?”

“Adagio.” Aria said the name almost reverently. “When she was… at the end, one of the last things she asked us to do was tell you that she’d forgiven you. Sonata was all kinds of out of it, so I don’t think she remembered, but… there it is.”

Sunset’s breath hitched as her heart rose into her throat, a single tear escaping down her cheek. Somehow, she managed a weak smile. “I thought you said forgiveness wasn’t all it was cracked up to be?”

“I said it’s more about the person doing the forgiving, but it’s not all about them,” Aria scoffed, but her expression and tone softened. “You helped Adagio find peace, and made Sonata’s last days happy ones. You deserved to know.”

Sunset smiled. “Thank you, Aria.” She then hesitated, unsure if she might be pushing her luck. “What about you?”

Aria leaned her head back against the grill of the car, staring up at the ceiling, and breathed a deep sigh. “Yeah... what about me?” She stayed like that for several seconds before finally frowning and shaking her head. “Nope. Can’t do it,” she announced. “No way in Hell I’m forgiving you, or the Rainbloomers. You killed my sisters, and I’m always going to hate you for it.”

The cold feeling returned to Sunset’s stomach. She nodded slowly in resignation. “I underst-”

“Shut up, I’m not finished.” Aria set her mostly empty beer aside and rose to her feet, her weakened frame wobbling only a little. “I may not forgive you, but that’s my problem; not yours. The only forgiveness you need is your own, and just between you and me, I think you deserve that too."

"Y-you do?" Sunset felt her lower lip quivering. "Why?"

"Because," Aria said as she closed the remaining distance between them. Despite the apparent lack of hostility, Sunset still felt herself tense up as the siren drew near. “In the end, you were the one that brought us back together. I got the chance to let Adagio and Sonata know how much they really meant to me… and for that, I owe you. Big time.”

Sunset gasped as Aria reached out and pulled her into a surprisingly gentle embrace. She went rigid, unable to process what was happening at first, but once she did she quickly returned the gesture, squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face in Aria's shoulder as her emotions poured forth unrestrained. With each shuddering breath, with each loud sob, she felt the weight holding her down crumble, tumbling from the cliffs of her shoulders into the sea of simple honesty in Aria’s words and actions.

For the first time since that fateful day in the coffee shop, Sunset Shimmer’s heart began to feel almost whole again.

How long the two of them stood there, Sunset had no idea, but eventually her shoulders stopped shaking and she managed to compose herself enough to speak. "Thank you, Aria. Thank you so much."

"Eh, don't mention it," Aria said lightly, her voice then sliding into a darker tone. “I'm serious; don't. If you tell a single soul that I said any of this or that I hugged you, I really will come back from the dead like that guy from The Crow and go ninja on your ass.”

Sunset laughed through her tears, releasing Aria’s shoulders and stepping back to arm’s length. “My lips are sealed.”

Her stomach, however, was not about to remain quiet, as it chose that exact moment to let loose a terrifying, impossibly loud growl in the otherwise quiet garage.

“Sorry,” a newly mortified Sunset blushed wildly. “Guess it’s been awhile since I’ve eaten anything.”

Aria scoffed and rolled her eyes as her usual, cold demeanor rapidly reasserted itself. “Gee, wonder what that feels like.” She turned back to her car, stooping low to pick up a socket set.

Sunset shuffled her feet for a moment, still halfway between embarrassed and uncertain. “I’m, uh, just gonna go and heat up some of that leftover pie. I’ll let you get back to work.” Aria, inspecting one of the socket heads through narrow eyes, made no response. “Um… thanks again. For talking to me.”

This at least drew an acknowledging grunt from the siren, but when it was clear that Sunset wouldn’t be getting more than that, she silently turned to leave.

“Hey,” Aria’s voice made her stop and glance over her shoulder to see the siren doing the same thing, but with a mischievous smirk on her face. “That pie any good?”

Sunset grinned, her happy, radiant smile the first one of its kind she’d worn in months.

“There’s enough for two if you want to find out.”

Author's Note

I was really happy with the way The Friend I Couldn't Be turned out, but I also felt like Sunny really needed some closure... so there ya go, :derpytongue2: