Sunset Shimmer, the most miserable and loneliest person in the world, sat on a park bench all by herself. There were lots of other people having fun and going about their day, but she paid them no mind. Right now, with the help of her ‘medicine’ provided by Zak, Sunset found herself in a blissful state of mind cut off from the reality around her. From her point of view, everything was bright and sunny, everyone around her looked like pony versions of themselves smiling and waving to her as they passed by. Even the sun itself literally smiled down at her from the sky. For a moment, she felt happy. But she knew it was only a matter of time before the ‘medicine’ wore off and all this went away returning her to the dark and harsh reality she truly lived in. As she sat by herself waiting for the effects to wear off, she saw something unexpected walking towards her. It looked like Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and her best friend and mentor, trotting up to her accompanied by her loyal dragon assistant, Spike.

“Sunset Shimmer?” the purple alicorn said in an echoey and concerned tone. “Sunset, it’s me, Twilight. Can you hear me?”

Suddenly, the effects wore off and Sunset saw that the pony standing in front of her was actually a human strongly resembling the pony she knew. No, she knew this human. After a moment of observing her, Sunset finally realized that it really was her dearest friend standing before her in her human form alongside her canine-looking companion.

“Twilight?” the surprised Sunset responded rubbing her bloodshot eyes. “Is it really you? You’re really here?”

“Yes Sunset,” the purple human-looking pony replied warmly. “I’m here.”

Sunset could barely contain herself. She practically leapt from the bench and wrapped her arms around the only person she considered her friend. Tears streamed from her tightly closed eyes as she embraced her. Twilight smiled warmly as she gently returned the embrace.

“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked releasing her from the embrace.

“Your frien–” she stopped a moment to clear her throat. “The girls told me everything.”

“Oh Twilight!” Sunset exclaimed taking a moment to let out a little sob before collecting herself enough to speak clearly. “I didn’t mean for you to get mixed up in all this. I know you have a lot of important duties as princess…”

“As Princess of Friendship, any issue involving friendship is my duty,” Twilight said. “And they don’t stop at the borders of our world. Sunset, please tell me everything and don’t leave out any details.”

Sunset reluctantly told Twilight everything that had happened to her from the Anon-a-Miss fiasco to the falling out with the Five. Twilight listened to all of it. Although she had heard it from the others, she wanted to hear it from Sunset to make sure she understood everything.

“Sunset, I’m so sorry all this happened to you,” Twilight sincerely apologized putting a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Her eyes were full of sympathy. “Sunset, we need to talk. But I need you to come with me back to Canterlot High.”

Hearing that made Sunset sweat with anxiety. “I… I can’t do that,” she nervously stuttered.

“Yes, you can,” Twilight urged. “You need to. We both know that.”

“I… I tried to be friendly and forgiving, but I just can’t –”

“I’m not asking you to forgive anyone. Right now, I’m having a hard time forgiving them for this whole mess. But I can’t let you destroy your life like this. You need help.”

“I…” Sunset was very conflicted. She knew there was some truth in Twilight’s words, but the thought of returning to that place frightened her. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. But it’s too late for me. You should just forget about you and return to Equestria with your friends. Nopony will hold it against you. You tried your best. My life was just beyond salvation.” Then she pulled a small syringe filled with a strange-looking liquid from her pocket. It didn’t take long for Twilight to realize that stuff was the drugs Zak was making her take. "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just need –” But before she could inject herself with the syringe, Twilight grabbed the hand holding it and firmly held it away from her body.

“Sunset!” Twilight said in a very serious tone and pleading eyes. “I gave you my trust when you needed it. May I please have yours?”

For a moment, Sunset stared into her friend’s desperate violet eyes trying to figure out what to do. After a while, she reluctantly conceded. “Alright.” Because Twilight was the only person who believed she was innocent during the Anon-a-Miss affair, Sunset felt she owed her.

Feeling Sunset’s grip loosen, Twilight gently pulled the syringe from her hand and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

“Thank you, Sunset,” Twilight said gratefully and embraced her. “We’d better get going. They’re waiting for us. I promise I’ll be by your side till the end, my friend.”

“I know.”

The two interdimensional girls and their little dog eventually made it back to the school. Sunset stared hesitantly at the building as a lot of terrible memories popped into her mind. But she felt Twilight take her hand and looked at her with a trusting and confident expression. Twilight led Sunset down the empty hallways of the school while Spike followed. Sunset nervously clung to Twilight’s arm like a nervous child clung to its parents for protection and to keep from getting separated. The deeper they traveled into the building, the more anxious Sunset became. Her anxiety became so great that she gently started pulling Twilight’s arm in the opposite direction when they came across the door to the auditorium.

“It’s okay, Sunset,” Twilight assured her in a comforting tone. “I’m right here.”

Sunset calmed down and reluctantly allowed Twilight to proceed. They walked through the doors to find the entire room filled with students and faculty members. Once the two girls entered the room, everyone turned their attention towards them. Sunset tighten her hold on Twilight’s arm when she saw all those people. Seeing Sunset trembling in fear while clinging to Twilight made some of the students feel like they were looking into a mirror. In the past, they all feared Sunset Shimmer’s wrath when she was the top bully of their school. But now it looked like the roles were reversed. Sunset looked like the frightened victim afraid that anyone of them would take the opportunity to harm her. After all she had done to them in the past you’d think some of them would find this satisfyingly cathartic, but given the circumstances it was actually the opposite. This was not satisfying at all. For the CMCs and the Five, it was gut-wrenching to see just how much their actions had traumatized Sunset.

“Sunset Shimmer,” Principal Celestia was the first to speak and approach Sunset with Vice Principal Luna by her side. “Allow me to explain what all this is about,” she sincerely explained. “When we told Twilight what was happening, she wasted no time in coming here and organizing this huge intervention on your behalf. We know you’ve been going through a very very difficult time and are unsure who to trust, but I assure you no one here blames you. Therefore, I would like to be the first to say I’m so very sorry for all the hardships you’ve endured. As principal of CHS, I am very ashamed of not being there for you when you needed me. But even though you are no longer a student at this school, I will do everything within my authority to help you. I know it may not mean anything since it is a little too late, but I hope that you will give me a chance to make amends for my failures.”

While touched by her former principal’s words, Sunset gave a silent and polite nod acknowledging Celestia’s apology and offer to help. Celestia and Luna then stood aside allowing the CMCs, the architects of the Anon-a-Miss fiasco and Sunset’s torment, to face her.

“I remember you all said that the reason you did this to me was because you were jealous of the attention I was getting from your sisters,” Sunset said to them in a sad and neutral tone. “I never meant for that to happen. Ever since the Fall Formal, I just wanted to atone for the things I did in the past. To start over and make friends.” She paused for a moment as a few small tears started forming in her eyes. “But I never imagined anyone would pull something like Anon-a-Miss. I never thought anyone would just forget all the effort I put in just like that.” Sunset’s eyes began to water as she spoke. “I just don’t understand. I did everything Twilight asked me to do and still nothing worked out in the end. I was still lonely and hated for the past I so desperately tried to wash away with good deeds. Sometimes I was so miserable that I actually thought about taking my own life.”

So many people in the room gasped in shock and horror when they heard this. So many members of CHS despised Sunset Shimmer for her past, but no one would ever wish for her death, not even during the Anon-a-Miss incident. The CMCs, the Five, and Twilight all looked the most disturbed by this. If their actions had pushed Sunset to suicide, the Five’s and the CMCs’ chances of atonement and forgiveness would be even slimmer than they already were.

“There is nothing any of us can say that will excuse what we’ve done to you,” Apple Bloom summed up enough courage to finally speak. Her eyes looked like they were ready to burst with tears.

“The bitterness you feel towards us is justified,” a tearful Sweetie Belle added.

“Everyone was so focused on antagonizing you for the things you did to them that they didn’t realize they were becoming the very demon they thought they were vilifying,” Scootaloo sadly said.

“Sunset, we’re so sorry for all the suffering we caused you,” Apple Bloom concluded. Tears were now dripping down her cheeks.

Sunset nodded and gave the three younger girls a warm and grateful smile before turning to face the Five, the former friends whose betrayal had hurt her the most. It was time for her to properly face her painful past.

“First off, I would like to say I understand,” Sunset calmly spoke to the Five. “I was a messed up person. I did things to you and other people for the smallest and most selfish reasons. I’m not proud of the person I used to be.” She paused as the tears in her eyes started dripping down her cheeks and her voice started to crack a little. “But I honestly tried so very hard to make up for the things I’ve done and be someone that no one would need to fear at this school anymore. I even helped you save this school. Surely you of all people, or at least one of you, must’ve known I was innocent and being setup.” At this point, Sunset couldn’t hold it back any longer. She let all her emotions pour out like a water pipe releasing all the backed up water after being unclogged. “Why? Please tell me, why?”

For a moment, the Five stared at her wondering what to say until Applejack was the first to finally stepped forward.

“Sunset Shimmer,” AJ addressed her former friend. “You made our lives at this school a living hell for three years.”

“That’s something no one gets over easily,” Rarity spoke next.

“When Twilight asked us to give you another chance, we were skeptical,” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“Making friends with an old enemy sounded weird,” Pinkie Pie said.

“But you were a lot different from the person you used to be,” Fluttershy spoke. “You seemed to truly regret your actions and wanted to be a better person. But even after the battle against the Sirens, we still felt a little fear for you.”

Sunset hung her head as she felt her heart sink. It would appear that her worst fear was realized. Even after all the few but undeniable good things she’d recently done, they were all for nothing. No one, not even her new friends, would ever see her as anything but the horrible bully she once was.

“Even after everything, you still feared I would do something bad to you?” she asked a soft and heartbroken tone.

“Actually, I think we were more afraid that you wouldn’t do something bad to us,” Rainbow corrected with a shameful look on her face. This caused the look of sadness on Sunset’s face to disappear as she looked up at them with a look of confusion now.

“Ya’ see, when someone makes your life miserable for that long,” AJ explained. “Ya’ learn ta’ easily vilify them.”

“To the point where you find it impossible to see them as anything else,” Rarity continued.

“You become so paranoid and obsessed that you’re always on the lookout, waiting for them to make a bad move,” Pinkie took her turn.

“To you, that person is wicked, untrustworthy, irredeemable and rotten to the core,” Rainbow said.

“Because if they weren’t, what would that make you?” Fluttershy concluded. Tears started forming in her eyes.

At that moment, the pain and confusion in Sunset’s eyes melted away as a look of understanding and realization formed on her face.

“What we’re saying is we were so blinded by our hatred for the person you used to be to see the person you were becoming,” Rainbow tearfully confessed.

“To see what we were becoming,” Rarity added. Tears were messing up her mascara.

For a long moment, Sunset stared at the Five. Not with a look of resentment or heartbroken sadness, but with a look of pity and understanding. All this time she saw them as reminders of her shameful past that could never truly forget or forgive and the Anon-a-Miss incident had all but proven that true. However, after hearing this, she now saw them as images of herself, people ashamed of the hurtful things they did and desperately trying to atone for their deeds.

“You’ve apologized for so many things you did to us,” Pinkie struggled to speak through her watery eyes. “But we can NEVER apologize enough for what we did to you!”

“We don’t expect ya’ ta’ forgive us,” a remorseful AJ spoke. “We completely understand if ya’ll never wanna be friends with us again. But ah’ want ya’ ta’ know that while you said many wrong and hurtful things to us in the past, there was one thing you were right about.” AJ’s voice started to crack as tears began leaking from her eyes. “I truly am a stupid country girl!”

Sunset was shocked and horrified hearing Applejack say that about herself. It brought back some shameful memories of some of the hurtful things she used to say to her. The red and yellow haired girl walked up to the teary-eyed country girl and gently wrapped her arms around her in warm embrace.

The moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping. Everyone turned to see Zak standing in the doorway and clapping his hands with a smug smile on his face. He was accompanied by Chunk and Scratch. The atmosphere suddenly changed, a feeling of hostility suddenly filled the room. Everyone, with the exception of a nervous Sunset Shimmer, all glared at the appearance of these unexpected, and unwanted, guests.

“Nice little speeches,” Zak commented the Five in a mocking tone. “Any of you ever thought of doing standup comedy?”

“Fuck you!” Derpy yelled at him in response.

“As much as I’d love to watch you bimbos fail at another pathetic fucking attempt at getting back your ‘friend’,” the gang leader said condescendingly. “Sunset and I need to go over to my place for a little party. Isn’t that right, babe?”

“Why don’t you leave her alone and pick on someone your own size, punk!” Cranky Doodle snapped at the gang leader.

“Like you, old man?!” Zak replied threateningly. “Come on, Sunset. Let’s get outta here.”

Sunset stared fearfully at Zak who was waiting with a malicious grin for her to comply. Her first impulse was to go with him, she how he got when she didn’t give in to what he wanted.

“Not so fast!” Twilight said stepping between Sunset and Zak. Everyone’s attention was now on her as she faced her friend’s abuser with a look of determination and disgust on her face.

“Who the hell are you?” Zak demanded.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the humanized alicorn introduced herself. “A friend of Sunset Shimmer.” Zak and his goons rolled their eyes when they heard this. Another annoying so-called friend trying to take away their property. “You must be Zak, Sunset’s new ‘boyfriend’.”

“You’ve heard of me,” Zak noticed with a smug grin. “I’m flattered. Funny, Sunset told about all her other so-called friends but she never mentioned you before.”

“I’m not always around.”

“Well that’s a damn shame,” Zak replied in a mocking tone. “Because I heard she really could’ve needed your help last holiday season. You heard what happened right?”

“Yes, I did. Sunset told me about even as she endured it.”

“So you knew your friend was in trouble and you still did nothing?!” Zak said letting out a mocking laugh. Chunk and Scratch joined in. “Then you’re just as much a heartless backstabbing (bleep) as those five.” He said pointing to the Five. So many people stared wide-eyed and jaw-dropped at what Zak just said. Even Chunk and Scratch looked shocked that their leader would stoop so low to use the foulest of curse words.

Sunset cringed as she listened to Zak’s vulgar slander. Most of the time, she kept quiet when he said things that weren’t true. But this was very hard for her to not talk back to him in this moment. She knew Twilight was nothing like that, she was the only person who believed in her innocence and remained her friend.

Despite the vulgar slander she received, Twilight remained unfazed. Then she chuckled much to everyone’s surprise. “My friends have told me a lot about you, Zak. But I prefer to meet the people they talk about and judge them myself,” Twilight said. “And I must say, you’re every bit as rotten as they said you were. But you’re also very pathetic.” Everyone gasped when they heard this. “You think you can intimidate me?! Break me?! Make me think I’m no better than you?! I’ve dealt with worse than you. You’re nothing but a cowardly bully, intimidating and breaking people with your aggressiveness and your hurtful but false words. I’ve read about guys like you, acting like big scary giants because they’re afraid everyone will find out how small their ‘shortcomings’ are!”

Everyone, including Sunset and Zak’s gang, was at a loss for words. Twilight, showing absolutely no fear or weakness, dared to speak to a vicious thug like him in such a way. Zak’s face was turning red at the fearless girl’s powerful words. No one ever speaks to him like that and gets away with it. Chunk and Scratch took a few steps back as they sensed their boss’s rage boil.

“You… little… bitch!” Zak managed to overcome his intense rage enough to say. “Where do you get off talking to me that way?!? Do you know what I can do to you?!?”

“You can’t even hold a candle to Sunset Shimmer back when she justified everyone’s dislike of her,” Twilight continued unchanged. Sunset was surprised to hear this. “Even though she made a lot of mistakes back then, there was one trait she had that I found quite admirable: she never let anyone push her around! While it’s important to treat others the way you want to be treated, it’s just as important to be able to stand up for yourself and not let anyone walk all over or take advantage of you.” Then she turned her attention to her friend. “Sunset, I know you’re trying so hard to be a better person, and you’re doing an amazing job. In fact, I think you may become a better person than me one day, but none of that will matter if you forget how to stand up for yourself and trust in those whom you know have your best interests. This guy, he doesn’t care what’s best for you. And you know it, don’t you?”

It was at this moment, Sunset Shimmer had an epiphany. Twilight was right. One of the things that attracted Snips, Snails, and possibly even Flash Sentry to her was her toughness. While it’s important to treat people the way you want to be treated, it’s also important to not let them walk all over you.

“Oh, give me a fucking break!” Zak angrily exclaimed. He was really getting sick and tired of this. “If you all hadn’t been such sucky-ass friends, Sunset wouldn’t had left you. Wait, let me correct myself. She didn’t leave you, you threw her out like holiday trash! An unwanted puppy! I took her in and gave her a place to belong. For the kindness and generosity I showed her, she remains grateful to me.”

“Kindness?!...” Sunset repeated in a quiet voice. The tone of her voice sounded slightly irritated much to everyone’s surprise. “Generosity?!” Sunset rolled up her left sleeve to reveal a big dark bruise on her arm much to everyone’s horror. “Is this what you call kindness?!”

“That was an accident, Sunset,” Zak replied in a threatening tone. “Remember?”

“No,” Sunset replied defiantly. “It was not.”

Everyone, including Zak and his goons, were speechless. This was the first time Sunset ever stood up to him.

“Sunset, babe,” Zak said in a much gentler tone. “You’re feeling well. Let’s go home and give you some medicine.”

“I don’t want your goddamn medicine!” Sunset shouted. Her words echoed a little in the room. There was a moment of stunned silence until Sunset lifted her head and faced her ‘boyfriend’ with watery eyes and a defiant glare. “After the Fall Formal, I realized all I ever wanted was to have friends. You are not my friend! You’re no one’s friend. I’m not going to let my fear give you power over me anymore.”

Sunset reached into her shirt and pulled out the golden necklace Zak had given her and dropped it on the floor. The shiny metal dented and the jewels cracked on impact. Micro Chips walked out of the crowd and picked up the broken jewelry. After examining it, he turned to Zak and his gang with a look of disgust on his face.

“Just as I thought,” the techie bitterly announced. “This was made from very cheap material.”

“Fake,” a disgusted Rarity said. “Just like his relationship with Sunset.”

“It’s over, Zak,” Sunset announced.

“What?!” he responded, he was barely holding back his rage.

“We’re… through!” Sunset answered bravely.

“Look you little…” Zak said furiously as he began to approach his now ex-girlfriend. But Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs all blocked his path and shot threatening glares at him which seemed to make him angrier. The urge to resort to violence was the first thing that came to mind, but then he looked around at everyone else. They were all giving him the exact same looks as the girls. It was apparent that there was nothing he could do to win this. After all this time, he had finally tasted a defeat. His face turned so red, his head looked like it was going to burst. “You’re on my shit list, bitch!” he said threateningly pointing to Twilight. “And you will pay for this!” he said to Sunset. Then he turned around and left the room with his two mooks.

Once Zak and his goons were gone, the entire room erupted into happy and victorious cheering.

Outside the school, the thuggish trio all hopped into their car. Scratch and Chunk were a little nervous about the emotional state of their boss.

“You okay, boss?” a concerned Chunk asked.

“Shut up and fucking drive!” Zak snapped. Chunk wasted no time in doing as he was told. “Hand me the fucking phone!” Scratch immediately handed Zak a cellphone. The livid gang leader dialed a number and listened to the ringing until it stopped to speak. “Bad news, old man! We’re going to have to do this the hard way!”

Back in the auditorium, almost everyone was celebrating. Sunset Shimmer was no longer going to hang out with Zak. The plan had worked. However, Twilight and the Five noticed Sunset wasn’t participating in the celebration. She wore a sad expression on her face. Soon everyone else took notice of this and stopped cheering.

“I did so many things in the past that I’m still so ashamed of,” Sunset said. “I thought that if I suffered enough, things would eventually get better.” Then she turned to Twilight, the Five, and the CMCs. “I understand why you all did what you did to me during the holidays. But it still doesn’t justify them.” The Five and the CMCs hung their heads in shame and agreement. However, Sunset soon gave them a warm smile. “That being said, I want to say how grateful I am to all of you here tonight. You finally made me realize that the relationship I had with Zak wasn’t the best solution to my problems and that I had to get away from him.”

“What will you do now, Sunset?” Twilight asked.

“If you don’t want to be our friend again, we completely understand, darling,” Rarity said supportively.

“After what we did, I wouldn’t want to be our friend either,” Rainbow added.

Sunset thought for a moment before answering. “Can I have a little time to think about it?”

“Sure,” Twilight answered warmly. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting.”

While it was a relief that Sunset was finally finished with Zak, the next issue would be figuring out and accepting what would be best for her. The thought of losing their friend was heartbreaking, but the Five knew they had to do what was best for Sunset Shimmer. Even if meant having to say good-bye.

Author's Note

I'M FINALLY BACK! Here's the long awaited next chapter! Sorry for the very, very long wait. I'm almost done now. However, Zak is not done yet. What does this scumbag have planned for Sunset now?