Author's Note

Happy New Year, everyone!!! I hope this year is better than the last.

The Calm Before the Storm: Part 2

Twilight Sparkle was sitting on her bed with her photo album open in front of her. It was open to the fourth page, where there were several pictures of her and Sunset hanging out at Camp Everfree. She stared at them as the memories replayed in her mind. The trip there was the most fun she’d had since transferring schools, even if it had gotten bogged down by her worries about becoming her demon self again. Twilight touched her geode as she remembered how Sunset had helped her see that she wasn’t going to become Midnight Sparkle again. And that allowed her to embrace the magic inside. She turned the page and saw a photo of her standing next to Sunset, with the rest of the girls standing around them.

“How did I let things between Sunset and me get this bad?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

As Twilight sat there, staring at Sunset in the photo, she remembered some of the good times they had together. Images of them hanging out at Sugarcube Corner played through her head as she sat there. They faded into memories of all the times that they had gone to the library to study and play chess. The sound of Sunset’s laughter seemed to echo in the eerie silence of Twilight’s bedroom. As she turned the page again, there was a single photo of her and Sunset at Applejack’s farm, sitting next to each other. The photo was taken in the midst of them laughing at one of Pinkie Pie’s crazy antics.

Pulling the photo out of the protective sleeve, Twilight studied it further. Her eyes began to water as memories of Sunset flooded her. She now started to realize just how much she missed her. It was like a part of her was gone, and she couldn’t get it back. Holding the picture, Twilight wished that Sunset hadn’t hidden her past from her. But even more, she wished that she had given her the chance to explain why she had done it. She placed the photo back into the protective sleeve and closed the book. Twilight couldn’t stomach looking at it anymore, mostly since it was too painful to know that she pushed Sunset away by choice. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she pulled her knees to her chest.

“Sweetie, are you okay?” asked Mrs. Velvet.

The sound of her mother’s voice made Twilight Sparkle jump. “N-no, mom. I made a mistake.”

“Do you want to talk about it? Or no?” asked Mrs. Velvet as she sat next to her daughter.

“I told Sunset that I didn’t want her to talk to me or acknowledge me because she had hurt me. But, I miss her and regret saying that to her,” replied Twilight Sparkle. “She even admitted that she loved me.”

“Oh? And do you love Sunset?” Mrs. Velvet asked as she wrapped her arm around her daughter.

“Yes. I love Sunset so much that it hurts to see what she did to me,” said Twilight Sparkle.

“And what did Sunset do that made you push her away, sweetie?” Mrs. Velvet rubbed her daughter’s arm.

“Sunset hid her past from me, and then I found out that she wouldn’t have told me if it hadn’t been for the circumstances. And that was when I finally saw what she looked like in her…” Twilight Sparkle trailed off, realizing that she had just exposed Sunset’s situation to her mother.

“Her demon form?” asked Mrs. Velvet.

Twilight Sparkle nodded.

“Well, I don’t know much about Sunset, but what I do know is that she cares for you. I’m sorry that you’re hurting because of a mistake she made. Do you think you’d be willing to hear her out if she was willing to explain it to you?” asked Mrs. Velvet, letting go of her daughter’s shoulder.

“I think so, mom. I miss Sunset so much. I wish that I hadn’t pushed her away,” said Twilight Sparkle. “And I want to apologize for what I did to her.”

“I know you do. And when the time comes, you’ll get a chance to do that. Just remember, Sunset is your friend and that she cares about you. She probably didn’t mean to hurt you, but just made a bad decision.” Mrs. Velvet got up from Twilight’s bed. “Now, would you like some lavender tea?”

“Yes, please,” replied Twilight Sparkle.”And thank you, mom.”

Mrs. Velvet smiled. “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

*** *** *** ***

Sunset Shimmer shifted in her bed, the morning sun finally coming in through her window. Her room got lit up with an orangish glow as the dawn was beginning to approach. It often reminded Sunset of home back in Equestria and watching Princess Celestia raising the sun. Blinking, she sat up and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. As Sunset turned it on, she saw that she had gotten several text messages in her notifications. She unlocked it and checked the messages.

Pinkie: Sunset Shimmer, get over here!

Dash: Yeah, Pinkie is going insane as we wait for you. Besides, I got rudely awoken for this…

Pinkie: Dash, don’t you dare say what it is! You Pinkie Promised not to say anything.

Dash: I know, I know! Ugh, please get here ASAP!

Sunset Shimmer was confused by what was happening. Deciding that she wanted to find out what was going on, she quickly typed a response.

SunShim: What is going on, guys?

Dash: Something.

Pinkie: If you want to know what is going on, come to AJ’s farm. Now, get going!

SunShim: Um… okay.

Sunset sat up in her bed, her wings stretching out as she did that. It was still somewhat strange to feel them stretch, even now. Sure, she had them for almost half a month or more, but it was still hard to think that she had them. Once the leathery nuisances were resting on her back again, Sunset flung the covers off of her. Slipping her feet into her slippers, she walked down the stairs to her bathroom. Her tail occasionally twitched behind her, annoying her with its presence. She walked into her bathroom, turning on the light as she did. Sunset made her way to her mirror and stared at her reflection.

“Okay, so contacts or no contacts?” Sunset Shimmer picked up the vial, glancing back at her eyes.

Staring back at her reflection, Sunset Shimmer realized something. For the first time in about two weeks, she didn’t feel repulsed by looking back at herself. Her eyes, although still demonic-looking and a bit jarring, weren’t as bad to her anymore. If anything, Sunset found them to be kind of cool, like interesting Halloween contacts, only real. She no longer saw a monster in the mirror. All she saw was herself slowly beginning to embrace her demonic self. Smiling proudly, Sunset set the contact vial down.

“No contacts. I just hope that the girls and the kids won’t mind,” said Sunset Shimmer as she grabbed her hairbrush and her tail. “Now, to brush out this tangled mess of a tail.”

Starting from the bottom, Sunset worked her way up, brushing out all of the knots. It reminded her of when she used to do it every morning back in Equestria. Although as a pony, her hands, or rather her hooves, never got tired. She had magic back then. And right now, Sunset wished that she had her magic now too. Her arms and hands were beginning to kill her as she tried to untangle each knot. Eventually, after several minutes of tugging and cursing her tail for being so easy to tangle, she got it unknotted. Setting her hairbrush down, Sunset sighed, her aching arms finally getting the relief that they craved.

Looking at her phone, Sunset Shimmer said, “Well, I better hurry up and get to AJ’s before Rainbow Dash does something.”

Sunset Shimmer walked out of her bathroom, making sure to turn off the light. Making her way back upstairs, she decided that she was going to dress casually. As she got to the top of the stairs, she saw Ray’s tank. Sunset noticed that Ray got off his rock and walked up to the glass. She made her way over to him and pulled off the top, letting him crawl onto her hand. Now that Ray was sitting on her palm, she was careful not to injure him as she set him down on the bed.

“Did you sleep well, little guy?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she knelt in front of the little gecko.

Ray nodded in response.

“Good. Now, I have to get dressed,” said Sunset Shimmer, getting up and walking over to her closet.

Sunset opened her closet and grabbed her loosest shirt and her favorite pair of jeans. Pulling the shirt over her head, she knew that her wings were going to rip through it. Every other shirt that she had worn had inevitably gotten ripped because of them. As Sunset situated her t-shirt around her abdomen, the sound of fabric ripping came a few seconds later as the leathery appendages pushed through. After that, she slipped into her jeans and put on her shoes. She ran downstairs and grabbed her hoodie, which amazingly, was still intact. Sunset quickly put it on and grabbed her motorcycle keys along with her helmet.

“Did I forget anything?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she looked around her apartment. Patting her pockets, she realized that she still hadn’t put her gloves on. “Oh, right, my gloves.”

The redhead grabbed her gloves from her hoodie pocket and put them on. Taking one last look around her apartment, she saw that she had gotten everything. And Ray was sleeping comfortably on her pillow, blissfully unaware of her. With that, Sunset closed her front door and got onto her bike. The ride to Applejack’s farm was short, as she didn’t live too far from it. Driving up the Sweet Apple Acres driveway, she saw the barn ahead of her. And hanging from the doorway was a banner that read ‘Good Luck Fighting Springtrap!’ in bright yellow and red letters.

Pulling off her helmet, Sunset Shimmer looked at her friends. “What is going on?”

Rainbow Dash sped over to Sunset, making the redhead’s hair move as she came to a stop. “Pinkie Pie told us that Springtrap was at your apartment last night.”

“But how did Pinkie know? I haven’t said anything,” said Sunset Shimmer, looking at Pinkie Pie.

“Remember what I said yesterday at Sugarcube Corner? About how that one cake I baked was for something that was going to happen later?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah…” replied Sunset Shimmer, unsure of where the conversation was going.

“Well, that was because I knew that when you went home, Springtrap was going to be there,” continued Pinkie Pie.

“If you knew about that, why didn’t you think to warm me?” asked Sunset Shimmer, angered that Pinkie Pie knew about Springtrap being at her apartment. “Don’t you think it was essential that I knew?”

“Sorry… I didn’t think that you wanted to know because you said you had some homework to do,” replied Pinkie Pie, expression going from her usual cheerful one to a saddened one.

Sunset Shimmer saw the change. Sighing, she got off her bike and walked up to her party friend. Resting a hand on her shoulder, she said, “It’s okay, Pinkie. I know you meant well. But uh, next time you know something like that, tell me.”

Pinkie Pie’s smile returned as she met Sunset’s gaze. “Okay, I will. So, want to see the rest of the decorations?”

“Sure, Pinkie!” Sunset Shimmer set her helmet down on a hay bale near the door as she lowered her hood. “Who made the banner?”

Jeremy, who was hiding behind Gabriel at the moment, stepped out from behind his friend. “I did.”

Sunset Shimmer smiled, careful not to show much of her fangs. “That’s cool. I like it.”

“Thanks,” replied Jeremy, looking away, sheepishly. “I used the colors of your hair as I wasn’t sure what your favorite colors were.”

“It’s okay, Jeremy. It’s the thought and effort that counts. And you did a fantastic job.” Sunset Shimmer rested her hand on Jeremy’s robotic shoulder. Standing taller than her, it was an awkward stance, but she didn’t care.

Susie watched as the redhead occasionally adjusted her jeans. That made her realize that the redhead was still concealing most of her changes. And the result of that was making her feel uncomfortable. Walking past Rarity, Susie made her way to where Sunset was standing. She wasn’t going to allow her to continue to be embarrassed anymore. Grabbing the redhead’s arm, she pulled her away from Jeremy.

“Hey, are you okay?” asked Susie as she let go of Sunset’s arm. Her voice rang with concern.

“Yeah, I am fine,” said Sunset Shimmer, confused by why Susie was asking her that question.

“Really?” Susie pointed to where Sunset’s tail was. “Then why do you keep adjusting your jeans?”

Sighing, Sunset Shimmer gave in, not bothering to act like she was okay anymore. “Okay, fine. My tail is bothering me. I would take it out but-”

“Well then, take it out. We’re okay with the way you look,” said Susie, not letting the redhead finish her sentence.

Sunset Shimmer looked at the girls. They all nodded in agreement with what Susie said. She took a shaky breath and pulled her tail free from her jeans, letting it flick absentmindedly behind her. WIth it now free, she felt much better. However, that was soon overwhelmed by Sunset’s increasing embarrassment of having it out. Sure, she had ponied up and gained a hair extension, which was the equivalent of a pony’s tail many times before, but this was an actual tail. It felt weird to be in a human form and have a real tail. It wasn’t normal, but then again, neither was having wings. Speaking of which, Sunset felt them stretch against the fabric covering them.

Susie, being aware of her surroundings, noticed that. Grabbing the hoodie sleeve, she said, “This too. It’s okay; you don’t have to hide around us.”

“Are you sure?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she placed her hand on the zipper pull.

“Yep!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she popped up next to Sunset and pulled the zipper down, taking off her hoodie.

With the fabric finally gone, the redhead’s wings could stretch to their full size again. She looked down, hiding her blush as she struggled to ignore the stares she was getting. However, when she felt something touch the leathery appendage, she looked up. It was Susie, who was busy examining them. The touch felt weird, partly because it was a robotic hand that was touching her. Trying her best not to give away her nervousness, Sunset smiled.

“It feels good to stretch my wings out. They hate being in the hoodie,” Sunset Shimmer said, her voice sounding strained as she tried to fight against her nerves.

“I bet. Your wings are similar to bat wings. They aren’t meant to be cramped or pushed down for long,” said Susie as she examined the skin between the bony structure of Sunset’s wings.

Sunset Shimmer felt weird as she saw Susie examining every part of her wings. It was odd to be a specimen. Pushing past the weirdness, she asked, “How do you know that?”

Susie looked up from examining Sunset’s wing. “Oh, I uh, studied bats when I was alive. I found them to be fascinating animals.”

“Cool!” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah, but um, could you please stop looking at my wings? I am starting to feel kind of uncomfortable…” added Sunset Shimmer, rubbing the back of her neck.

Susie stopped and stepped back. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way, Sunset.”

Sunset Shimmer gave Susie a sympathetic smile. “It’s cool. I get that you were curious. To be honest, I was also curious when I first got them.”

Susie chuckled. “I bet.”

Gabriel shifted on the hay bale he was sitting on. Being one of the oldest kids, he was okay with seeing Sunset and her appearance. Well, everything except for her fangs and claws. To him, it made her look like some sort of demonic vampire. It also made Gabriel nervous about being around her, despite being inside of an animatronic body. But right now, his curiosity about what happened last night between Sunset and Springtrap was more potent than his fear. So getting up, Gabriel approached her.

“Um, Sunset?” Gabriel’s voice quivered, showing his nervousness at asking her his question.

Sunset Shimmer turned his attention to Gabriel, pulling her wings close to her body. “What is it, Gabriel?”

As the redhead spoke, Gabriel saw her fangs and had to keep from backing down. The sight was terrifying him, more than he would like to admit to himself. “Uh, I was wondering what happened between you and uh, Springtrap. But you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…”

Sunset Shimmer could see that Gabriel was scared, despite his efforts to hide it. Having seen several reactions to her appearance, the redhead had become good at recognizing when someone was frightened. Letting her wings wrap around her shoulders, similar to what Twilight would do when she was nervous, Sunset sat down on the hay bale behind her. She laid her hoodie down next to her. Removing her gloves, she saw Gabriel look away as if hiding his face.

“You’re scared, aren’t you, Gabriel?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she set her gloves on top of her hoodie. “You can tell me if you are.”

Gabriel gulped, which sounded like gears grinding in his robotic body. “Ho-How did you know that? I thought I hid it…”

“Oh, you did. But then you looked away when I removed my gloves, and I realized what was going on,” replied Sunset Shimmer, looking down at her hands, seeing the claws that had injured Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh…” Gabriel sat next to the redhead, prompting her to rest a hand on his arm. He looked at her, trying to control his urge to push her hand off of him. Being in a robotic body frankly sucked in moments like these.

“Gabriel, you know that I am still your friend, right?” asked Sunset Shimmer, the hurt at his fear showing as she spoke. Her voice quivered as she struggled to keep talking in a calm voice. “I would never harm you, despite my appearance.”

“Yeah, I know, Sunset,” replied Gabriel, who was now beginning to regret letting his fear get the better of him. The redhead was friendly and kind, and he had no reason to be afraid of her. “I didn’t mean to look away from you. I am sorry that I hurt you by being afraid of you.”

“I understand your fear. I hated and feared what I looked like for a while myself.” Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath as she continued. “But today, I looked in the mirror, and for once, I didn’t hate what I saw.”

“Wow, that is so cool. I am glad you were able to find the bright side of your situation,” said Gabriel.

“Yes, darling. That is an excellent thing,” added Rarity.

“Thanks,” said Sunset Shimmer as she glanced at Rarity. She turned her attention to Gabriel. “I suppose you still want an answer to your question about what happened, right?”

Gabriel nodded.

“Well, Springtrap made me agree that we would meet him at the soccer field tomorrow,” said Sunset Shimmer as she rubbed her neck where Springtrap had gripped her throat. “And he did that very forcibly.”

‘Wait, so you agreed to all of us meetin’ Springtrap there?” asked Applejack, unable to believe what she heard.

“Yeah… I kind of had to. Springtrap was choking me to death,” replied Sunset Shimmer.

“Why the hell didn’t you blast the fuck out of him?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Uh, maybe because I was busy trying to breathe, Dash,” retorted Sunset Shimmer, her fangs extending as she glared at the athlete.

“Oh, right…” mumbled Rainbow Dash, now regretted her question.

“So basically, we have to meet him because you had to make a deal?” asked Applejack as she felt Rarity grab her hand.

“Yeah…” said Sunset Shimmer, hoping her fangs would go back to their usual size before the girls noticed.

“Well, that’s a bummer… I won’t have enough cake for our party after we have defeated Springtrap,” said Pinkie Pie, her hair deflating as she spoke.

“How are you so sure we’re gonna win, Pinkie?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, I am terrified of what is going to happen… I just hope Springtrap doesn’t bring another army of himself again…” added Fluttershy, hiding behind her hair as she looked around nervously.

“Because we have defeated many enemies before like several she-demon people, a group of very mean sirens – whose singing was horrible – and we have already won a battle with Springtrap once before,” replied Pinkie Pie.

“We barely won that battle, Pinkie,” Applejack said, taking a sip of her apple cider.”Without Sunset coming in and saving our asses, we would’ve been dead.”

“True, but we can win if we have both Twilight and Sunset. With their demonic powers and now, knowing the doppelgangers’ weakness, it should be much easier to fight Springtrap,” Pinkie Pie said, not willing to let her friends think the worst.

“And we’ll come too. It’s us that Springtrap wants. And we are the reason you girls are in danger,” said Cassidy as she walked towards Pinkie Pie. “Besides, with our metal bodies, we can keep some of the doppelgangers off you girls.”

“See? Even Cassidy believes in us.” Pinkie Pie pointed to Cassidy. “So, what do you say? Shall we kick this dumb robotic bunny’s ass?”

“Uh, as someone currently trapped inside of an animatronic rabbit, I take some offense to that,” said Fritz.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Fritz. Shall we kick Springtrap’s ass?” asked Pinkie Pie, correcting her earlier question.

The girls all looked at each other, wondering what they should say. After a few glances, they all smiled. “Yes!” They all shouted in unison.

“I’m glad you girls agree. Now, let’s eat some cake!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she held up a knife.

*** *** *** ***

After an hour of eating cake and talking amongst themselves, the girls all moved some of the hay bales into a circle. Each of the girls set their empty plates on a table and took their seats in the ring of hay bales. Pinkie Pie had insisted they try a game that she had invented. None of them knew what the game was going to be. However, they all hoped it wasn’t anything ridiculous. As Pinkie Pie sat down in her seat, she smiled.

“Pinkie, what is this game you want us to play?” asked Sunset Shimmer.

“Okay, so the game is to name one happy moment in your life that you hold dear,” replied Pinkie Pie. “I spent all last night coming up with this game. I did this because I realized that Springtrap was going to be at your house last night. I thought it might help us beat him.”

“Cool!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “So, who wants to go first?”

Meanwhile, outside, Twilight Sparkle lowered her wings as she felt her feet touch the ground. Pulling them close to her body again, she walked towards the entrance. However, just as she was about to enter the barn, Twilight saw the redhead. Thankfully, her back was facing her, so she didn’t see her face. The sight of the redhead’s wings made her heart race. Although she wasn’t stretching them out entirely, they still reminded her of what happened that Monday night. And where the lacerations were from Sunset’s claws throbbed, reminding Twilight what the redhead had given to her. Gripping her arm, she hid behind the one door, still watching the group.

“I’ll go first,” said Applejack, setting her cup down. “My happiest moment was… getting to finally kiss my beautiful girlfriend.”

Rarity felt her cheeks heat up as she heard what the cowgirl said. “Aw, well, that was my happiest moment too.”

Rainbow Dash stifled her laugh as she heard their answers. Sure, she had expected them to say that. Yet, to her, it was still sappy. After all, she was more of a tomboy, and that cutesy romantic stuff wasn’t for her. Despite her laughter, Rainbow Dash was genuinely happy for her friends. And it was about time that they had gotten together. She was getting tired of all their brief side glances at each other.

“Well, my happiest moment is when we kicked the Dazzlings’ asses in the Battle of the Bands. It was so awesome, especially when the crazy unicorn thing appeared in the sky,” said Rainbow Dash, a big smile on her face as she remembered the day.

“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” added Sunset Shimmer. “That was the first time I ever ponied up too.”

“Hmm, my happiest moment was when we got minor roles in the Daring Do movie. It was so fun acting with all of you!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she took a bite of her cupcake.

“Oh, that was fun! I am still hoping to launch my acting career,” said Rarity as she brushed her hair off her shoulder.

“What about you, Fluttershy? What is your happiest moment?” asked Pinkie Pie, taking another bite of her cupcake, covering her chin with chocolate frosting.

Twilight Sparkle smiled as she heard what her friends’ responses were. A part of her wished that she could join in, but something was stopping her. Well, actually, it was more of someone. With Sunset Shimmer there, that meant she couldn’t join. She couldn’t really look at the redhead. Despite every attempt at trying to push through what happened between them, Twilight just couldn’t do it. It was too much for her to be in the same room as Sunset. To be close, especially when her arm still bore the scars she had caused.

The lacerations had mostly healed, but Twilight would still be wearing the bandage for another day. Just for caution’s sake. Besides, it was also an excuse to avoid looking at the scars caused by Sunset. She didn’t want to see them, not yet anyway. Although, as she sat there, Twilight found herself wondering what Sunset’s answer would be. She wanted to know if Sunset’s happiest moment involved her and if she still cared about her, despite what she had done. Deciding to stick around for a bit, she sat down on one of the hay bales outside as quietly as she could.

“My happiest moment was helping Sunset find Ray. I was so glad that she has a pet that she loves so much,” replied Fluttershy, meeting Sunset’s gaze. “How is he, by the way?”

“Ray is good. And he is still my ray of sunshine,” said Sunset Shimmer, not able to resist the pun on her gecko’s name.

“Okay, Shimmer, what is your happiest moment?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight Sparkle leaned in closer as she heard Rainbow Dash say Sunset’s name. She wanted to listen to what the redhead was going to say. As she sat there, her tail flicked behind her, nearly knocking over a metal bucket. Twilight levitated the bucket, moving it out of the way. She didn’t want to risk exposing herself to the girls. Not when Sunset was there.

“Well, my happiest moment would be…” Sunset Shimmer thought for a moment. “When I found Twilight the night that she had turned into Midnight Sparkle and told her about my past. Well, most of it, except for the… Fall Formal, obviously.”

“Wait. You told Twilight about the video you made of me?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah, I also showed Twilight the video,” replied Sunset Shimmer. “She was the one who helped me to delete it.”

“Wow, I am surprised that you still had it,” said Rarity.

“I kept it as a reminder of what I did to you. And as a reminder to myself that I had chosen to keep my past hidden from Twilight, even though I knew she had gone through a similar experience at the Friendship Games. I regret what I did to her, especially since now I believe that she would’ve stayed if she knew,” Sunset Shimmer said, a somber tone to her voice. “I can see that I waited too long to tell her.”

Twilight gasped, sitting back from the doorway. It was shocking to hear that Sunset, even at the very beginning, despite what she had said at the end of the Friendship Games, kept the details hidden from her. And that made Twilight realize Sunset was truly scared to let her see who she used to be. As she sat there, it dawned on her why Sunset hated getting called Demon Shimmer. It was similar to why she struggled to talk to her about feeling like she might become Midnight Sparkle again. However, Twilight also had a lot of questions. Questions that desperately needed answers to them. However, right now was not the time to be asking them. She sighed, waiting to see what the girls would do next.

“Well, there we go. That was the game. Although I guess it was more of a group activity,” said Pinkie Pie as she stood up and walked over to where the cake was. “Does anyone else want a piece of cake?”

“Not me. I have had enough cake to last me a year,” said Sunset Shimmer as she stood up from the hay bale, bits of straw falling off in the process.

Sunset Shimmer got up and walked over to where her hoodie was sitting. As she picked up her hoodie, she looked up, and that was when she spotted Twilight seated behind the door. She saw her meet her gaze with wide eyes. Figuring that she was scared, Sunset didn’t say anything. As they stared at each other, she wondered how long Twilight had been there. And how much she had heard her say. Judging by Twilight’s surprised expression, Sunset figured that she had heard it all. For a moment, she saw her go to say something. She wondered what she would say and if it had to deal with what she had said. Yet, instead of saying anything, Sunset just saw Twilight get up. She didn’t want her to leave, so she willed herself to walk towards her and grab her forearm.

“Twilight.” Sunset Shimmer let go of Twilight, feeling her tremble in her grasp. She didn’t want to frighten her. “Wait, please.”

Twilight Sparkle’s voice quivered as she said, “Wh-what is it, S-Sunset?”

“You don’t have to stay; I know that you won’t while I am here, even if the others asked you to. I just wanted to know what your happiest moment is before you leave,” replied Sunset Shimmer.

“My h-happiest moment…” Twilight Sparkle stepped closer to the redhead, trying to quell her fear of her, “is when y-you and the girls became my friends. For the f-first time, I didn’t feel alone anymore. And S-Sunset?”

“Yeah?” asked Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight Sparkle swallowed and wrapped her arms around the redhead, trying to keep herself from trembling. Her fear was still present as she placed her hands near the base of her wings. Twilight felt the tips of her claws as the redhead tentatively rested her arms around her waist before pulling away a few moments later. “You are the best part of that, Sunset. I-I’m so glad that I had you there to s-support me.”

“Thank you, Sparky. And I will always be there for you, no matter what.” Sunset Shimmer let her wings drape over her shoulders as she gently intertwined her fingers with Twilight’s soft ones. “Do you have to leave, Twilight? Can’t you stay for a little bit?”

“Sunset, I am still scared of you. And the thought of being around you, even now, is something I don’t want to do.” Twilight Sparkle pulled her hand away from Sunset’s grasp as she stepped away from her. “I just came here to see how you were doing, but I don’t want to stay. I can’t, not when you still look like…”

“Like Demon Shimmer? Twilight, despite my appearance, do you see that it is still me?” asked Sunset Shimmer, hoping that Twilight would say something different. “Or am I just a monster to you?”

Twilight Sparkle met Sunset’s pleading gaze, saying, “It was wrong of me to call you a monster, especially since it seems that it was me who was the monster. However, looking at you right now, it’s hard for me to see you, Sunset. It’s still a struggle for me to see past your changes.”

“Oh, okay,” said Sunset Shimmer, looking away from Twilight.

“Well, I better leave before the girls wonder where you are.” Twilight Sparkle walked up to the redhead, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry that I can’t stay, but it was nice to talk to you. I kind of forgot what it was like to hang out with you and how much fun it was.”

Sunset Shimmer nodded in agreement, fighting her urge to go after Twilight and stop her from leaving, as she watched her walk away and stretch out her wings. “Me too…”

Just as she was about to take off, Twilight Sparkle glanced back at Sunset. Her eyes still terrified her. And the sight of her claws made her arm hurt more as she felt the phantom pains of the lacerations getting formed again. It was too much for Twilight emotionally to stick around. As she gazed back at the redhead’s eyes, she could see the pain which emanated from them. It was evident that because of her avoidance and blatant anger at what had happened between them, she had caused some damage. That only worsened her guilt about what she had done. Yet, there was still a small part of Twilight that believed Sunset deserved to feel the pain she had felt when she realized her closest friend had lied to her.

Looking down, Twilight wiped away a tear that had fallen from the corner of her eye. Her wings pulled themselves closer to her body as she struggled to push the pain aside. She took one last glance at Sunset, watching her mouth ‘I’m sorry’ before she turned around. She slowly opened her wings, trying to fight the urge to stay. With them stretched to their full size, Twilight forced herself to take off. She didn’t want to leave the girls – especially Sunset – behind. However, she knew that to decide whether she could still be Sunset’s friend, she had to be alone.

Sunset Shimmer watched as Twilight disappeared, becoming a speck in the blue sky above her. Once she saw her disappear completely, she walked back inside and sat on the hay bale. Resting her elbows on her knees, she stared at the floor, a few tears streaming down her cheeks. Sunset’s wings wrapped themselves around her body as if comforting her. However, that did little to console her, especially when it reminded her that Twilight had become frightened of her when she saw them. She could still see the small glimmer of hatred that burned in Twilight’s eyes.

A hatred that got directed at Sunset because of what she had done to Twilight. And although she tried to hide it, it was still noticeable beneath the sadness and fear. It killed her to watch Twilight walk away and to see her look at her like she was a monster, despite what she said. And a part of her thought there was a possibility that Springtrap was right. Maybe she was just a monster who hurt the one closest to her. Suddenly, as Sunset began to spiral down into a dark place, a hand jolted her from her thoughts.

“Are you okay?” asked Cassidy as she and Gabriel sat down next to her. “You’ve been crying over here for a while.”

Sunset Shimmer looked at them and the girls. “It’s just Twilight.”

“Was she here?” asked Pinkie Pie as she looked around the barn. “Cause I don’t see her.”

“Twilight was here. She just left, but when she looked at me and talked to me, I could sense her fear of me.” Sunset Shimmer’s lips trembled as she spoke. “I hated seeing that… but then I saw her hatred of me. Twilight tried to hide it, though I could still see in her eyes. She hates me…”

Cassidy looked at Gabriel. “You know, I am sure that Twilight will eventually come around. She might hate you now, but that’ll change.”

“But what if that doesn’t happen? I lied to Twilight for a year. And I talked the girls into helping me with that.” Sunset Shimmer felt her fangs extend as she fought to keep herself from screaming. “Besides, Twilight is scared of the way I look now, which doesn’t make it easier to approach her. And I didn’t warn her about this, so that makes me worry how she’ll take to hearing about the events of the Fall Formal.”

Sunset Shimmer made a fist, causing a nearby hay bale to become enveloped in a red aura, similar to the bathroom mirror. As she squeezed her hand tighter, the bale also got compressed in response to her motion. And with every beat of her heart, the aura around the hay bale grew in brightness. The feeling of her claws against her palm made Sunset remember that she had grabbed Twilight’s arm. And that because of unwillingness to just let her leave, she had left a permanent mark on her. After a few seconds, the bale finally exploded under the increasing pressure, unleashing a rain of straw on the girls.

“Uh, Sunset? Would you mind not making the hay bales explode, please?” asked Applejack as she removed the straw off of her hat.

“S-sorry, AJ. I am just so angry at myself for lying to Twilight,” apologized Sunset Shimmer as she rubbed some of the straw off her jeans. “Twilight never deserved that, especially when she tried to tell me that she wouldn’t leave if she knew about my past.”

“Well, if Twilight cares for you and means what she says about staying, she’ll ask for the truth when she is ready. However, you have to be willing to tell her the truth. Do you think you can do that, Sunset?” asked Gabriel as he looked at the redhead, peering from beside Cassidy.

Sunset looked at Applejack and Rarity, who were holding hands. She remembered how she had finally dared to make a move to hold Twilight’s hand with her claws exposed. And how nice it felt to grasp it, how right it felt to her. Sunset missed that. She needed that more than she had realized until now. Now, standing on the cliff’s edge of losing Twilight, she could see what she was about to lose. Even the brief moment where she let her guard down and Twilight allowed her to make physical contact wasn’t enough to console her breaking heart. Yet, that was enough to strengthen her resolve not to lie anymore. Sunset wasn’t going to hide anything from her when it finally came time to tell her the truth.

“Yes, I am willing to Twilight the truth. I won’t lie to her anymore. I won’t keep my past from her. She deserves to know about it and that I trust her, even if I made the mistake of pushing her away,” replied Sunset Shimmer, standing up from her sitting position. “But right now, we need to prepare for the fight. My personal problems with Twilight are going to have to wait.”

“Agreed,” said Applejack as she rested her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “So, what do you need?”