Forgiveness Is Friendship
Forgiveness Is Friendship
It was a great day to spend time at the beach. The breeze was cool, the water was warm, and the sun shine brightly in the sky. However, things had not been completely warm and sunny for one Sunset Shimmer.
Somehow, someway, she had been magically erased from the memories of her friends, and subsequently kicked out of the Rainbooms.
After conducting an investigation to get to the bottom of the issue, Sunset’s search led her back to Equestria, and an artifact known as the memory stone. It was this stone, she found, that was sucking up all of her friends’ memories, and eliminating her from their lives.
Now, she had a way of convincing her friends that they were once close. With the stone in hand, and a number of photographs of happier times, Sunset rushed back to the beach to try and talk with her friends once more.
It was later in the day, but her friends were just where they had been when she left earlier. Looking to the photographs in her hand, she knew that this was the all or nothing shot. If this didn’t work, then nothing would. With the desire to keep her friends firmly in her mind, Sunset quickly approached them.
“Guys! Guys, over here!” Sunset called.
“Oh, great. It’s her again,” Dash groaned, holding the beach ball she had just caught.
The others all gathered around, when Sunset was near enough.
“Great news, guys! I figured it out,” Sunset said, “Someone’s erased your memory with Equestrian magic! You don’t remember, but we’re still friends!” She presented them with the magic in question. “This is the Memory Stone. Do you recognize it?”
The others all looked at the drawing of the stone, each one of them eying it carefully. They could tell that this girl was trying her hardest to convince them of something, but they couldn’t see anything at all familiar about the drawing.
“Ugh. Right. Guess not,” Sunset said, “But look. See? This is proof! We are friends!”
She then took out her phone and showed them the photos of her and all the others.
“Oh Please. You’re the same girl who made all of those fake photos of Twilight destroying the gym,” Rarity said.
“And is this supposed to be me making that ridiculous face?” PInkie said, grabbing Sunset’s phone to look at the picture.
“Well yes, sometimes you do to make people laugh. That’s what you do,” Sunset said, hoping that Pinkie would see reason and remember who she once was. Her heart sank when she saw Pinkie grimace at her.
“You know what? I’m not talking to you anymore!” Pinkie said.
“Pinkie!” Sunset tried to stop her, but was intercepted by Applejack.
“You leave us alone you bully!” She shouted.
“But-- Wait! Give me another chance!” Sunset begged, but to no avail.
The others all walked away. All but Fluttershy, who stood glaring.
“Fluttershy?” Sunset asked. Surely, of all the people she knew, kindhearted Fluttershy would hear her out.
“You don’t deserve another chance,” Fluttershy said.
“What…?”
“I’m sorry, but you threatened us. You disrespected us. Please, do us all a favor and leave us alone!”
“Fluttershy….”
Fluttershy turned and walked away. She didn’t even turn to look at Sunset as she walked off.
Her final plan had failed. For Sunset, there was nothing left for her to do but give up. With her head hung, she turned to walk away from the girls who were once her friends.
Taking refuge underneath the pier, Sunset sulked in the shadows. Tears streamed down her face, as she lamented the loss of everyone she cared about. Without them, her life would be as empty as it had been before.
Then, an idea came to her. It was a longshot that she doubted would work, but it was the only thing she had left. With a sigh, she wiped her tears away and walked back toward her friends.
“Wait a second,” she called to her friends.
Not one of the others turned to look.
“What is it now?” Rarity groaned.
“I know this is hard to believe but, can I tell you about all the events that happen in the past? The Battle Of The Bands. The Friendship Games. Camp Everfree.”
The Rainbooms still had their backs turned, but were listening intently. Until Twilight glanced over her shoulder.
A glimmer of hope kindled in Sunset’s mind, and she nearly smiled when Twilight turned around.
“Fine.” Twilight replied, “Start talking.”
Finally, Sunset had gotten through to them. She chose her words carefully and presented her phone again. “Yes, I admit I was a bully a long time ago. And all of you have every right to go against me. But what about the times we went through?” Sunset showed them another photo of the time when they attended Camp Everfree.
“Rarity: do you really think this geode around my neck is a cheap knockoff?”
“Yes!” Rarity asserted. “There’s no doubt you had it made so you could try to trick us!”
“If this is fake then how did you girls get those? Me and Twilight went to the Crystal Cave together and we found out that Gloriosa was behind all the problems.”
“I was by myself when that happened!” Twilight said.
“You’re right. But how did you solve it by yourself?”
Twilight simply glared at Sunset.
“I’m smart enough to invent a selfie-sensing drone,” Twilight said. “Figuring out who was behind the strange things at Camp Everfree wasn’t a challenge for me.”
“But even if you did succeed, you still wouldn’t be on that field trip.”
The others all slowly turned around, intrigued by what they heard.
“Rarity if you really know my photos were fake then how would I do that on my phone? It’s impossible,” Sunset said.
Rarity took a closer look at the photo. Everyone was smiling, as if they were having the happiest time of their lives.
“Alright. I’ll admit it does look like it’s real. I mean, I see your shadow on there, but you probably edited them on a computer and downloaded them onto your phone.”
“But look at the dates they were taken!” Sunset pointed at the screen.
“Give me your phone for a second.” Rainbow Dash demanded.
Sunset compiled and handed her phone to Rainbow Dash to see all the photos.
Dash scrolled through every picture on the phone, her face growing less and less skeptical with every passing second. After looking through all of them, the realization came to her. With her eyes wide, she passed the phone to her friends bringing them to the same understanding.
“What about the bands tournament?” Sunset asked. “Even if all of you needed to get along as a band, you still couldn’t beat the Sirens without me.”
“How do you know all of this?” Applejack asked.
“Because I’m always there with you, even in the Friendship Games. And during the whole time, where have I been? If you only remember me as a bully then you don’t know what I’ve been doing.”
Everyone but Twilight walks up to her with Rainbow giving her phone back. “Tell us what you feel about us.” Twilight said.
This was it. Sunset knew she had swayed them. Now, she needed to solidify their trust in her. And she knew exactly the way.
“Rainbow Dash,” she began, placing her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “At times you seem kind of self-centered.
Dash scoffed indignantly, but she and the others knew that Sunset had her pegged.
“But when it comes to your friends, you’re always the one that they can count on to be there.”
She then looked at Applejack to tell her about her feelings. “Applejack, I may be the one who said awful things about you, but that was before I learned what a valuable gift honesty is. You’re the only person who’s opinion I trust about anything.”
She was about to go talk Fluttershy but Fluttershy backed away from her. “No no. Don’t be scared.”
Fluttershy then tripped on her back on the sand. She was too scared to even stand back up, but felt her anxiety ease when Sunset Shimmer took her by the hand and carefully lifted her back up.
“First, I want to apologize for threatening you back then, but you shouldn’t bring yourself down. You’re really a sweet, caring girl. Without you, the world’s a much darker place.” She gently hugged Fluttershy to prove how deeply she felt about what she said.
Fluttershy smiled as she hugged Sunset back. Once they both broke the hug, Sunset turned her attention to Rarity.
“Rarity, you’re the only person I know who would stop every project she’s working on to offer what she has to a friend. And all at a cost to yourself.”
“I guess some of those dresses I made wouldn’t have happened without you. Tell me, did I make you a swimsuit you were just wearing an hour ago?”
“Yes. I know you couldn’t remember but you always know what my style is. Your mojo is the best thing about you.” Sunset said.
Rarity happily clasped her hands together after hearing those generous feelings from Sunset.
“And Pinkie Pie.” Sunset walked up to her. “Your not only the funniest, but also the best friend anyone could ever have.”
Pinkie Pie gasped with her hands covering her mouth. She immediately hugs her tightly. “Ohhh! That’s the greatest thing that anyone has ever told me!”
“Okay can you please let go of me!? You’re crushing me!” Sunset gagged.
Pinkie let go of her while Sunset caught her breath.
All she had left was Twilight, who still kept her distance.
Sunset walk up to her and reached out to take Twilight’s hands in her own.
“And you, Twilight. The whole reason why you transferred to Canterlot High was because of me.” She wrapped her arm around her shoulder. Twilight was scared since she still remembered Sunset yelling at her in the games. “I didn’t mean to yell at you at the games because we were in the wrong this whole time. I’m really sorry for being angry at you.”
Twilight smiled, silently accepting the apology, but she still had a question. “What do you feel about me?”
“I’m always there for you, like any best friend should be. That’s the reason why you’re here. I’m always there for you and you’re not afraid to embrace your magic.”
A sunny smile crossed onto Twilight’s face. “I guess without you, I wouldn’t be friends with the Rainbooms.” She said. She and Sunset hugged one another. A friendship had been rekindled, and this time, they wouldn’t let it end. “I forgive you Sunset Shimmer.”
“And so do I,” Rarity said.
“Me too,” Fluttershy added.
“We all do,” Pinkie said, initiating a group hug.
Sunset allowed a single happy tear to roll out of her eye. It seemed she had succeeded, but had to make sure. “So does this mean-”
“You’re our friend!” They all said together.
“You girls are the best. Thanks for forgiving me.” Sunset said, holding everyone closer.
They broke the hug and faced one another, never to part again..
“So the Memory Stone has all of our memories of you?” Applejack asked.
“Yes, but we will find it later,” Sunset said. At the moment, she took off her shirt and skirt, revealing the swimsuit Rarity had made for her earlier. “But, for right now: let’s enjoy ourselves on the beach.”
“Big time!” Rainbow shouted.
They all splashed into the water, enjoying their moments together. As for Sunset Shimmer, she had never been so happy that her friends forgave her. She now had a new lesson to report to Princess Twilight on what she learned that day. Forgiveness is Friendship.