Chapter 4 - New Friend

Pain greeted Sunset in the form of an aching throat and a dull throb ricocheting through her limbs. She groaned as she sat up, the movement jostling her neck and shifting her bandages. “Celestia above, I feel awful.” Unfortunately, that meant both physically and mentally. Sunset, unsurprisingly, still wanted to die, and her failure to take the worn rope’s ancient age into account only made her feel worse. “Can’t even kill myself right...” Sunset heaved a sigh, cringing as her sore throat protested the action. She debated just going back to bed, but the gnawing hunger in her stomach compelled her to get up.

It was dusk outside Sunset’s window. She only just started to realize how cold she was. She hadn’t worn any real clothes since the aptly named “grocery incident.” Sunset felt as though her bones were made of ice and her heart was filled with snow. “I definitely need to get something warm on.” She glanced down at her filthy undergarments. “Ew, I should change these too.”

After discarding the grimy clothing into her laundry hamper, Sunset slipped on her warmest flannel pants and fluffiest sweatshirt. Now dressed, she made her way down to the kitchen, cringing slightly as each step tormented her mangled legs. Upon entering the kitchen she was shocked to find another person sitting at the tiny table in the corner of the room.

Trixie looked up and smiled softly. “Hey. Did you sleep well?” She said as Sunset cautiously walked farther into the kitchenette.

She hesitated for a second, then shrugged. “I knew I’d have to deal with her at some point, but I didn’t think she’d stay.” She got out a glass and filled it with water, snatching an apple on her way to sit down across from her guest. She took small sips and tiny bites, trying not to agitate her throat. Trixie glanced at Sunset, who was avoiding her eyes. Sunset attempted to clear her throat. She winced, but pushed through, managing to force a few words out in a croak. “Why are you still here?”

Now it was Trixie’s turn to avoid eye contact. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t… You know, try again,” she admitted.

Sunset halfheartedly glared at the girl across from her. “I don’t blame her for trying, but...” Sunset sighed. “I’ve made my choice. I know what I want and I won’t stop until I get it.” Sunset was filled with a grim certainty, knowing that the world would be better off without her “fucking everything up, as usual.”

“I- I wanted to tell you,” Trixie broke Sunset out of her dark musings. She looked up at, meeting honest purple eyes. “I know you aren’t Anon-a-miss.” Sunset blinked, mouth slightly agape. “I mean it’s pretty obvious that someone is trying to set you up because you were way smarter and more subtle about this kind of thing before the Fall Formal and there’s no way you’d do something so mean after all the work you put into making friends and-”

“Trixie,” Sunset’s hoarse voice cut off the babbling girl. “Thank you.” She gave a small, authentic smile, something that had recently become a rare sight to see.

Trixie responded with a grin. “So, this means we’re friends now,” Trixie declared. Her confidence and bravado had escaped her in light of the situation she walked into, but now it came back in full force.

Sunset opened her mouth to protest- “I’ll just drag you down with me”- but Trixie didn’t let her get the words out.

“Ah-ah-ah, no no no, it’s too late!” She tutted. “I’ve already made up my mind.” She gave Sunset her trademark smirk. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is now your friend!”

Sunset managed to keep a serious face for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, or as much as she could given the state her throat was in. Trixie melted into giggles soon after. They sat in companionable silence for a bit. Sunset finished her apple, tossing the core into the garbage can. She placed her glass in the sink and went to rejoin Trixie at the table.

“Welp!” The blue haired girl clapped her hands together. “What do you do for fun around here? I’m staying over tonight, by the way.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Probably still wants to keep an eye on me,” She thought. “Mostly just homework,” her gruff voice replied.

“Well that’s boring. Let’s watch a movie!” Sunset chuckled at her new friend’s bluntness. She got up and motioned for Trixie to follow her. They once again made the trip up the stairs, this time going straight to Sunset’s room. Sunset plopped down on her mattress, back against the wall and legs out in front of her. She grabbed her laptop from her backpack and patted the spot next to her, inviting Trixie to join her.

Sunset started up one of her favourite movies-“Lilo and Stitch, you never fail me.”- and moved her laptop so that one half rested on her own leg and the other lay across Trixie’s.

It was by no means one of Pinkie Pie’s notorious slumber parties, but maybe that just made it even better.

***

Luna paced the length of her room. “I need to tell Twilight, I have to tell her…” She repeated the thought to herself over and over, but that did nothing to calm her nerves. How exactly does one tell somepony that their close friend tried to kill herself? Luna shook her head, trying to clear her cluttered mind. Suicide was not a common thing in Equestria. They were a peaceful land, where nearly everypony was happy. Equestria had remedies for mental health problems that the human world did not. Mental illnesses could usually be treated magically; a spell to increase serotonin production in the brain, or a magic amulet enchanted to calm a pony during a panic attack, things of that nature.

“Lulu?” Luna’s head snapped up.

“Oh, my apologies sister, I did not hear you come in,” the Night Princess said, still distracted.

“Is this about Sunset?” Celestia asked. Luna had told her of her meeting with the former unicorn, and, needless to say, Celestia was worried out of her mind.

Luna sighed. “I just do not know how I am going to tell Twilight,” she explained, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “You know how she gets when she is concerned for a friend, I do not want her to…” Luna struggled to find the proper term.

“Freak out?” Celestia supplied.

“Yes, that.”

“I worry for the child, Tia.” Luna cast her gaze downwards. “She is in a very dark place and I fear she may not be able to pull herself out…” She trailed off. Celestia brought her younger sister in for a hug, wings encompassing the smaller body as both alicorns shed silent tears.

“I worry too, sister. But if I know one thing about Sunset Shimmer, it’s that she is very perseverant.”

***

The sleepover passed all too quickly for the girl’s liking, and the remaining days of break passed even faster. Trixie had taken to visiting Sunset every day, “just to be sure.” The two had become surprisingly close over the short time, finding a comfortable rhythm within each other’s personalities. They joked and jabbed, playing off each other in spirited harmony. Soon, it was the day before school started.

And Sunset was panicking.

She was terrified to go back and face the bullying she had dealt with before break, but she had never missed a day in her three-and-a-quarter years in highschool. If she stopped going to school, even for a little bit, people would start to notice. Having exchanged numbers the night of their slumber party, Sunset and Trixie had been texting back and forth on the matter. Trixie encouraged Sunset to take the first week off (though she still didn’t trust her to be alone for too long), but Sunset knew she couldn’t. The student body would probably take her absence as confirmation that she was Anon-a-miss.

Sunset’s phone buzzed.

Trixie > well if ur so insistent on being at school, i hope u know ill do everything i can to get ppl to back off :)

Sunset smiled at Trixie’s ridiculous way of texting. “Kinda ironic, considering how articulate she is in person.” She shot a quick thank-you text and leaned back against her mattress, eyes on the ceiling, planning for what lay ahead. If she had to go to school, she could at least be prepared for it. Sunset mentally scanned through her schedule, mapping out the least crowded hallways she could use and which classes she was safest in.

“I’ll have to wear some bulky sweatpants to hide the bandages on my legs, luckily the cold weather makes that appropriate.” Bruises still decorated her neck, but she had an old scarf she could wear. It would definitely garner some weird looks for being worn indoors; Sunset didn’t care though, as long as no one saw the grotesque purple and yellow marks on her around her throat. At least her speech had improve. It was still a little rough, but nothing too noticable.

She spent the rest of the night overthinking, as she usually did, but this time she had Trixie’s frequent texts and memes to keep her company and distract her from her horrible thoughts. When her alarm woke her up the next morning, she hadn’t even realized that she had fallen asleep.

Sunset sat up in her bed, frowning. She definitely was not looking forward to the day in front of her. “Uhg, no point in trying to avoid it.” Sunset thought as she got up and started to get dressed. She slipped on the preplanned sweatpants and baggy shirt, finishing the look with a sweatshirt and scarf. The rest of her morning preparations went by far too quickly, leaving Sunset with a flourishing sense of dread as she began her walk to school. She had chanced a glance at Mystable before she fell asleep the night prior, only to find that Anon-a-miss had been quite busy over break.

“Of course things wouldn’t work themselves out, that’d just be too easy,” the red-head thought bitterly as she approached Canterlot High. Already she was receiving dirty looks and callous remarks. She kept her head down as she stopped by her locker- “Oh joy, more vicious graffiti!”- and put away her things. She was just about to shut the door when she heard her name being shouted from across the hall.

“Hey, Sunset!” Trixie called as she met the shocked girl by her locker. The magician smiled and Sunset gave a small grin back. “So,” she said as she took Sunset’s arm in hers, walking her to her first period. “Do you want to hang out after school? You can come over to my house and we can make cookies,” Trixie suggested. Sunset had found out over break that the girl had a massive sweet tooth, discovered when she loudly complained about the lack of sweets in Sunset’s house.

Sunset laughed. “Sure Trix, sounds good.” Having arrived at Ms. Harshwhinny’s classroom, Trixie turned to leave, but Sunset grabbed her arm and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks, Trixie,” she said quietly. She could have sworn she saw a blush on Trixie’s face as she turned to leave, giving a small wave over her shoulder at the flustered girl.

For the first time since the Anon-a-miss debacle started, Sunset entered the classroom feeling less terrible than she usually did. She had a soft smile on her face as she sat down. The glares and whispers still hurt, but having a friend made things a little more bearable.

As the bell rang and class began, Sunset once again poured herself into the lesson. “The less time I have to think, the better,” she thought with a sigh. Trixie’s presence may have made the day a little bit better, but that gnawing despair still ate at Sunset’s heart. It felt like a shadow, haunting Sunset, following her in every step she took, every thought that passed through her mind. She gripped her pencil tighter. “Just stop thinking about it and focus, idiot.”

So, she did. Sunset diligently took notes and worked on the handout until the bell rang. In her study hall, she helped Ms. Cheerilee reshelf books and tidy up the vast library. She once again shoved her emotions down into the deepest pit she could find and tried desperately not to fall in after them.

When Sunset’s new least favourite class- lunch- came around, she was at a loss of what to do. “I can’t go to the cafeteria alone,” she insisted. Then she countered herself forlornly, “but I didn’t eat breakfast!” She was just about to start panicking again when a text interrupted her internal argument.

Trixie > hey nerd where r u, we can get lunch together and eat in the library if u want

Sunset stared at the text. She facepalmed. “I keep forgetting I actually have a friend now,” she thought as she tapped out a response.

Sunset > I’m in the library, I’ll meet you by the cafeteria entrance.

Trixie > yeet

Sunset chuckled and pocketed her phone, making her way to the cafeteria.

***

The next couple of days passed identically. Trixie would meet Sunset at her locker and walk her to her first class, then later the two would meet up for lunch. After school, they’d go to either Sunset or Trixie’s house and hang out. Sunset was quickly acquainted with Trixie’s parents, and they just as quickly became taken with Sunset. Supernova noticed Sunset’s gaunt figure and always made sure she ate something while she was over. Dewdrop was thrilled to find out that Sunset could keep up with his “science mumbo-jumbo,” as his wife affectionately called it. The family made sure Sunset knew their home was always open to her, and Sunset was extremely grateful. For Sunset, kindness was hard to come by these days, so the warm dynamic and loving treatment was like a breath of fresh air.

Trixie was still keeping Sunset closeby to make sure she didn’t attempt again, but Sunset found that she didn’t mind Trixie’s company. The two instantly bonded over their mutual love of Disney movies, and as they started talking more, Sunset realized they were a lot more similar than she initially thought. They both loved astronomy, sharing the class during sixth period. Trixie liked some of the same books as Sunset; they ended up recommending new series and borrowing each other’s books very frequently. The blue haired girl could keep up with Sunset’s intelligence and her weird music taste soon rubbed off on the red-head. The more Sunset found out about Trixie, the more she liked the girl; under her loud and boastful exterior, Trixie was a smart yet goofy girl with a big heart and bigger dreams.

“There’s no way she raises the sun!”

Sunset laughed at Trixie’s astounded expression. “It’s true! She and Luna are completely in charge of Equestria’s day and night cycle,” Sunset chuckled. Trixie had asked for a lesson in Equestrian history, and Sunset was happy to oblige. The two sat in a secluded booth at the back of Sugarcube Corner. For Sunset’s sake, they had gone later in the day, hoping to avoid the myriad of students that swarmed the little shoppe after school. The only other people in the small building were the Dazzlings, who had left a short time ago. Surprisingly, they had given Sunset tentative waves when she and Trixie initially walked in, and did the same when they exited the building.

“Damn, our principals really got the short end of the stick in terms of coolness,” Trixie snickered, taking a bite of her cupcake. “I mean, you’re pretty much telling me that their counterparts are gods,” She exclaimed, gesturing wildly with her hands. Sunset hadn’t smiled this much in a while. Not since…

Ding-ding!

The bell above the door announced another customer. Or rather, several customers. Sunset froze as the Rainbooms walked into the quiet café. Trixie’s elated expression dropped when she noticed Sunset’s sudden change in demeanor. She followed the girl’s eyes, shifting in her seat and noticing Sunset’s former friends sitting down at their usual table. She turned back to Sunset. “We can go, if you want,” she said quietly.

Sunset felt anxiety fill her chest. “I- I don’t know what to do, they’ll see me if we get up, but they’ll see me if we stay-”

“OH COME ON!” Rainbow Dash’s voice filled the establishment. Her eyes were ablaze, and she was looking directly at Sunset.

“... Too late,” Sunset muttered, sinking in her seat.

“I thought we made it clear that you are not welcome here,” Rarity added. Her features were cold and her icy stare bored into Sunset. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were silent, but both looked angry.

Fluttershy huffed uncharacteristically, and started to grumble. “Of course she’s here, ruining our spot-” Trixie stood abruptly, slamming her hand on the table. Fluttershy shut up with a quiet squeak.

“Last I checked, this was a public space. You don’t have any say over who can and can’t eat here.” Her voice was simmering with barely suppressed anger. “But luckily for you, we were just leaving,” Trixie grabbed Sunset’s hand and stormed out of the shoppe, ignoring the appalled faces of her ex-friends and the angry shouts of Rainbow Dash attempting to get the last word.

Still holding Sunset’s hand, Trixie led her away from Sugarcube Corner, stopping when they were several stores down the road. With her other hand she pulled out her phone, dialing her father’s number. “Hey Dad. Can you pick us up? We’re close to Sugarcube Corner. Everything’s fine, we just had a little run-in with some… bothersome people. Okay. Love you too.” Trixie ended the call and looked at Sunset, worry evident in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

Sunset looked back at her in amazement. Trixie had so fiercely stood up for her, without any hesitation. “Trixie,” she started, appreciation filling her voice. “... That was fucking badass.”

Trixie blinked. Sunset grinned. Soon they were both doubled over and howling with laughter. Trixie straightened herself up, brushing mirthful tears from her eyes. “Well I wasn’t just gonna sit there and let them tear into you like that,” Trixie nudged Sunset playfully. Sunset was still smiling, but the event had already done its damage. Though seeing someone come to her defense made her feel a tiny bit less useless, Sunset still felt like total garbage. She found herself longing for her knife. Trixie saw the misery in her eyes. “Hey,” she said gently. “Wanna sleep over tonight? We can watch Disney movies and make cookies or something.” Trixie gave Sunset a reassuring smile.

Sunset paused. “I need my knife, but…” she went back in forth in her head for a bit before finally making her choice. “Sure,” she said, and Trixie beamed.

Neither of the girls noticed that their hands were still comfortably clasped together.

Author's Note

Woo, another chapter! After this, I plan on keeping to a weekly update schedule, so hopefully there will be an update every Monday!

For anyone curious about Trixie's parents:
Supernova Lulamoon is a doctor at Canterlot General Hospital. She taught Trixie a little bit about first aid and medical procedures. She has a little bit of magic on her side of the family, and taught Trixie how to wield it.
Dewdrop Lulamoon is an environmental scientist. He also is a beekeeper, and will gladly babble about science to anyone that is willing to listen!

Also, I'd like to thank everyone for all the comments and support that I've been getting on this fic! It really makes me happy knowing that people are enjoying my writing

~Bitty Bug