In Your Corner

Chapters

1: The Test
2: The Aftermath
3: The Challenge
4: Verbal Sparring
5: Behind the Scenes
6: Locker Room Talk

1: The Test

Sunset Shimmer and her friends stood in the middle of the wide, grassy field that was Twilight Sparkle’s suburban backyard. Normally, this backyard was visible to curious passersby from any angle. However, Rarity had come up with the idea some time ago to place specifically-molded crystals, using her geode powers, around the backyard’s borders. The crystals reflected and refracted light from the innocuous surrounding area, making the backyard look empty, thus giving the girls some welcome privacy.

Said privacy was as needed as it was welcome, because standing in the backyard along with the girls was a table housing technological inventions, the likes of which the world had never before seen.

Nor was the world ready to see them, because these were actually magi-technological inventions.

And of the seven girls present in Twilight’s backyard right now, only one of them had full grasp of the inventions’ purposes. That girl, a bespectacled lavender scientist in a full-length white lab coat, tapped her headwear, and spoke to the rest gathered.

"I’d like to once again thank you all for taking time out of your weekends to support me in my endeavors," Twilight Sparkle said. "Rest assured that your assistance with these matters has been of the utmost help. Magic can be a fickle thing sometimes. Not that any of you need to be told that."

Fluttershy nodded. "Anything to help the poor innocent people and creatures who hardly deserve to get caught up in these powers without any knowledge of how to control them."

"Or being controlled by them," Pinkie Pie added. "Pony forms and magically-induced alter-egos? Talk about super-mega-crazy tough to handle—even for trained professionals like us!" she giggled, grabbing a cookie from her hair and chowing down.

"Heh, well said, both of you," Sunset said with a breathy chuckle, while pushing the word ‘fickle’ out of her mind. She knew what Twilight meant, after all. "Anyway, what Twi said goes double for me. The quicker we understand the magic to its fullest extent, the better things get for all of us—but I also know how big of a favor this is. So, thanks."

"Oh, darling, we’re absolutely willing to help," Rarity said, wrapping her hands around Sunset’s shoulder. "We’re here for you."

"You said it," Rainbow said, wrapping her arm around Sunset’s shoulders from the other side. "Besides, you made me more awesome than I already am! And that’s not easy to do. The least I can do is help return the favor."

Sunset blushed, warmth rippling through her. "Thanks, girls. Well, then, Twilight, I leave the floor to you and your scientific method."

Twilight beamed, visibly readying her Lecture Mode, and picking up a long pointer from… actually, Sunset had no idea where Twilight had gotten it, and the longer she thought about it, the less she wanted to know.

"Thank you, Sunset. This is the next in a set of tests to help us analyze the true nature of the energies—the magic—that our geodes appear to be concentrated with. The original containment device that I used during the Friendship Games merely classified them as EM wave anomalies, but over the course of the last several months, we’ve found they’re much more than that, to the point where we’ve barely scratched the surface of their potential. But I think we’re finally close.

"So far, I’ve done individual tests on each of your pony forms, and your geode powers. Through these tests, I’ve learned a fair bit more about the stones’ unique energies—which, until further notice, I’ve dubbed ‘Harmonic Frequencies’—and how it resonates with our distinct personality types."

Twilight paused, looking to Sunset, who gave an encouraging nod in return. She could see Twilight gathering her nerves, before launching into the final part of her briefing.

"Today, we’re running tests of all seven geodes at once. Which, in a way, is advantageous. All of us being here at the same time means that we can be at our most prepared if something unexpected happens—which is almost entirely guaranteed, since, in our experience, whenever all seven geodes are brought together, or at the very least, their energies are—"

"Something unexpected happens?" Applejack chimed in.

"It’s not so much ‘unexpected’ as it is a phenomenon unique to my world," Sunset said. "But yes, it qualifies as ‘unexpected’ here, because this world’s not used to magic."

Twilight nodded. "This is Magical Field Test Number Eight—utilizing all known and combined Harmonic Frequencies! Everyone, please present your geodes."

All other girls present did so, taking the small, multicolored stones out of the various fashion accessories which housed them, and holding them out in their hands. Twilight took a deep breath. "I won’t lie—it might be too soon to do this. Even with the previous seven tests, it’s hard to overstate just how big of a jump this is."

"Do you think we should call this off?" Sunset asked, doing her best to hide her uneasiness. Whenever Twilight worried, she did too. Not that that was the only reason: she’d been around for all of the previous tests, and while nothing had gone ‘wrong’ per se, she’d noticed odd, unique effects during every single one over the couple of hours of prolonged use the test sessions requested.

Palpitations from Rarity. An increase in adrenaline from Rainbow. Random as-of-yet unexplained urges to sob from Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie temporarily acting and speaking as if she had three espressos in her system instead of her usual one. (If Applejack had had anything happen, she’d kept it on the inside.)

After a moment’s hesitation, Twilight replied. "No. This is necessary. Without this analysis, we’re stuck in one place, unprepared for the future."

"Then I believe in you," Sunset said, pushing down all of worries, and giving Twilight her most reassuring smile.

After smiling back, Twilight walked over to the table, which contained a larger, solar-powered machine, and a small, chrome-lidded glass box. Twilight picked up the latter, showing her geode housed inside it. "As per the previous trials, I’ll be using my Harmonic Analyzer Mark I for all analysis. Today, my geode will be the conduit. Ready, everyone?"

Everyone gave sounds of approval.

"All right, then. Let’s pony up!"

Sunset smiled. In all honesty, she loved this part.

She closed her eyes, doing her best to concentrate on love—love she only recently, in the grand scheme of her life, knew she was capable of feeling.

Specifically, love for her friends. How she’d do anything for them, how she would, anytime, anywhere, listen to anything they might be feeling, do her best to understand, to help, to support, to empathize.

All for her friends, who made her life worth living…!

A familiar warm, rippling sense of joy coursed through her. She felt it burst—and opened her eyes to see herself resplendent in a full-length, sparkling, fiery dress and boots, matching her hair and skin, humanizing the burning phoenix she’d metaphorically once been. She mused, as she often did, on how she never felt it when her hair doubled its length and density—or for that matter, when she grew two extra pony-shaped ears on the spot.

She looked around to see the other six girls in their own sparkling dresses accessories—color-coded and personality-molded, as Twilight had suggested. At least, thematically, there was a reason the magic manifested such forms. While using their geode powers was one thing, their transformation into full-on equine-alikes, achieving a new plane of their personal being, could be brought about only when they embraced the best and most earnest parts of themselves.

For Sunset Shimmer, that meant caring, where she never knew she could care before, to an extent she never could have dreamed she could. It was almost too much sometimes, logically or emotionally.

But her friends were worth it. Her friends were everything. More than even herself.

The seven girls rose above the ground, and the box in Twilight’s hands which contained her geode glowed a bright violet. Twilight noticed, and after several more seconds of peering inside, said, "These readings are fantastic! We’re so much more when combined than apart… it’s like we’re magnified! It’ll take months for me just to plumb the depths of these results!"

The girls all made happy, cheering, congratulatory noises, toward each other and Twilight. Their victorious jubilation, however, was short-lived. "Erm, Twilight?" Applejack said.

"Yes, Applejack?" Twilight said, still concentrating on the device in her hands. "Also, could you speak up?"

"Probably be easier if y’all just came back down to us!" Applejack replied, pointing even further up.

Sunset and Twilight looked around each other, to see that Twilight was at twice the altitude as the others, and still rising. And several things were rising with her—blades of grass, the table and machine that once stood on the ground, tree branches, the lawn mower, even tools and lab supplies from the nearby shed. They all levitated, bathed in Twilight’s violet telekinetic aura, surrounding her, twirling around her, faster and faster in a lavender storm.

"Wh… what’s going on?" Twilight panicked. "I-I don’t know how… Sunset, help!"

The plea from Twilight instantly set off Sunset’s instincts—and at the same time, her own panic. She wanted nothing more than to be able to somehow reach through everything, every force in the known universe, to save her. But the storm was too strong, and kept pushing Sunset out with her every attempt to fly into it.

Damn it! Of all the powers to inherit, why did it have to be the power to read other people?

Wait, that was it! Other people! "Rainbow! AJ! Rarity!" Sunset said, thinking fast, and pointing to the center of the storm.

"You got it!" Rainbow said, responding at the same speed. She flew over to Applejack, who lifted Rainbow off of her center of balance with her super strength.

"And a-one, and a-two," Applejack chanted, swinging Rainbow one way with a firm hold, then the other, before twirling around completely and ending with, "and-a swing your partner, do-si-do!"

Applejack let loose, hurling Rainbow upward with storm-piercing force. From there, Rainbow used pieces of debris, lab equipment, and crystals from Rarity as split-second stepping stones.

She grabbed a wrench in the maelstrom, launched herself towards the still-floating device, and shattered it, freeing the geode, which lost its glow in moments.

Twilight was the last to land at ground level, and when she did so, Sunset made sure to catch her in her arms, and set her down gently on the grass.

Which was far more gently than Sunset’s heart was beating at the moment—because Twilight was barely moving.

"Is everyone all right?" Rarity said as she used all of her powers to keep things under control, out of harm’s way, and still hidden from the world. The others were no different: Pinkie evaporated stray airborne grass and falling branches with precise flicks of her fingers, while Fluttershy made sure to get any animals she saw—including a few bugs—to a safe distance. Applejack and Rainbow Dash handled yard cleanup duty.

And Sunset still cradled Twilight in her arms—a Twilight who still showed only the small movement of breathing, and even that was barely noticeable. Rainbow fetched a damp cloth, which Sunset placed on Twilight’s head.

The more Sunset looked at her friend in peril, the more her heart screamed.

I let this happen.

"Twilight, please," Sunset said, her voice soft and desperate. "Please wake up. Please talk to me."

Would she have to take Twilight to a hospital? Would all of their secrets be exposed? Most importantly, would Twilight survive the experience?

I could have stopped this ten minutes ago. I could have stopped all of it. Followed my gut. Given my veto.

Twilight still didn’t move. Ice crept over Sunset’s heart. Before long, with all of the self-defeating thoughts infecting her mind, all it would take was a single tap to shatter her.

I let everyone get hurt in some way, but now…!

However, just before Sunset could conclude the worst, before the chill could take over her heart completely, before she could burst into uncontrollable tears… she heard the softest of groans. "Ugh… add… 'energy loss'… to the list of side effects," Twilight weakly managed.

"Twilight?" Sunset lurched, her voice frantic. "Twilight, oh, thank goodness. Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay!"

"I’m… all right," Twilight murmured. "I’ll just be a second, I was just overtaxed. It felt like this massive surge of energy, bursting inside me, causing me to use my powers to an unprecedented extent. Fascinating, really." She struggled to sit up. "Did we get any data?"

"Doubtful." With Twilight sitting up, Sunset embraced her, fully and firmly. "We broke whatever device that was around your geode to save you. You were more important. You’re always…"

Sunset nearly choked on the words, her mind flashing back on so many times where she, her friends, and so many other people had been endangered by the very thing they were trying to analyze, to harness—and with about as much success as they’d had today. A full minute of emotional torture later, Sunset stood up, helping Twilight to her feet as well. "You’re always more important. So, I have a question. Do you still have your original energy container?"

Twilight blinked. "Yes, but why?"

A new chill crept over Sunset’s heart as she said her next words. A chill she knew well. A deeper chill, a deeper fear, which she always wrestled with, in public or by herself.

Fear that she would never be able to undo the mistakes she’d made, the ones she was making now.

"I think you should make a new version of that. One which can hold all of the geodes. We’re going to store them in there, and any other magic we come across."

"Interesting notion," Twilight said, adjusting her glasses. "What do we do then?"

Sunset looked at Twilight once more, then at all of her other friends, feeling as if the color were draining from her body the entire time.

Never again. Never this close, ever again.

Her eyes narrowed, her hands balling into fists. "Nothing."

Twilight’s brow furrowed. "I don’t follow."

"Trying to work with the magic, at least in this world, is proving too much of a risk," Sunset said, in the most definitive tone she could manage. "The individual tests were dangerous enough already, but this was just too close. Therefore, in my opinion as the most experienced of us in the field… I say we should stop. Any magic in this world, we find, we trap, we seal." She slammed her fist into her palm. "For good."

Dumbfounded looks greeted Sunset… then, slowly but surely, the other girls’ protests erupted in a chaotic chorus.

"Listen, Sunset," Twilight’s voice finally won out, "did you miss what we said earlier? What you said earlier? That the whole reason we’re doing these tests is so that we can understand the magic and help so many others?"

"Is that really the reason?" Sunset fired back. "Or is it because you’re still just hungry for knowledge?"

The others stopped, stunned into silence. Twilight stepped back. "Sunset…"

"We hold our geodes in the machine," Sunset said, with all the energy of a grim commander. "Maybe toss them into Equestria for safeguarding. Meanwhile, if anyone else is infected with magic, we’ll just suck it out of them and call it a day. Understanding people is one thing. But trying to ‘understand’ magic as its own force? I’m sorry, but this world is just too uncontrolled an environment to try."

"But you’ve seen what happens when you just try to ‘suck out’ magic from people," Rarity protested, waving jazz hands. "They get all… washed out. In serious need of a spa day afterwards. A spa month, even."

"Someone who has magic in them can’t just have it forcefully taken out of them!" Twilight agreed. "They lose a part of themselves!"

"Maybe." Sunset kept her voice, and her heart, hardened—the vision of Twilight’s arms still fresh, still stinging, as she held back tears. "But they still get to live."

"So that’s it, then?" Twilight said, stepping up to Sunset. "They either get to die, or live as a physiological shadow of themselves? Great, benevolent choice from our resident empath, here!"

"Now hold on just a minute," Applejack said, raising her hand. "I don’t know much of anything about this crazy magic, and only slightly more about Twi’s science, but what I do know is, not knowing about how the magic works has always had crazy results. Someone grows big and evil, weird teleports n’ portals happen, heck, we almost destroyed an entire dimension with us in it! Researchin’ this may come with its own dangers, but just goin’ off our experience, I think it’s worth it."

"You might have a point, Applejack," Sunset said, facing her.

"Shucks, was just speakin’ my mind, but thank you kindly."

Sunset’s glare turned pointed. "So, are you willing to put yourself in the line of fire next? Put your geode in Twilight’s happy box? Maybe you’ll demolish a house. Get it crashing down on top of you. Go on." Her eyes became slits as her voice approached baritone. "Punch someone a little too hard."

Applejack stayed quiet.

"Thought so. You’re right about one thing, AJ." Sunset stamped a foot. "You don’t know how the magic truly works. None of you know. Meanwhile, I know the most—enough to know that this whole time, we’ve been playing with it, like we play with fire, and we make happy noises while we watch it burn things!"

"And yet, if you knew so much, you wouldn’t be here, doing these experiments with us, would you?" Twilight said, finally, truly getting in Sunset’s face. "But you don’t. Because you left in the middle of your training back in Equestria. But that didn’t stop you from bringing magic here with you, from stealing it here!" Her voice rose, sure in her point, sure in her conviction. "Everyone’s lives who are affected by it, in this world, are on your shoulders!"

"And you think I don’t know that?" Sunset practically screamed, loud enough to get passersby to look, even as they couldn’t pinpoint any source of the noise.

Silence was Twilight's reply.

"I live knowing that every day," Sunset continued, in a quiet, shaken voice. "After everything I’ve tried, everything I’ve done, everything I’ve had to live with, I can’t believe it. You actually think I don't care about…" Her mind spun. "Wow. I can’t believe I almost believed. Believed in friends."

Pinkie walked up to Sunset, placing a hand on her. "We are your friends, Sunset," she said "We’re in this together."

"No," Sunset sighed. "We’re not. This was always Sunset Shimmer Damage Control. So I’ll just make it easier."

She took off her geode, and threw it on the ground, in the middle of the other girls.

"Do what you want," she said, walking off to her motorcycle. "I’m done."

The next sound the neighborhood heard was the roar of Sunset’s bike as it zoomed to parts unknown.

2: The Aftermath

Sunset sat on her bed in lonesome silence, head buried in her hands.

The lights of her bedroom were dimmed, not to the point of removing all illumination, but still containing enough darkness to welcome the lights of the street lamps outside, as well as the moon high in the sky.

None of these light sources went noticed, however, because Sunset’s eyes were closed as a single thought echoed through her mind, over and over:

I’m not wrong.

Back in the old days, before she’d found friendship, it was a thought, an assertion, a mantra, that she would force herself to repeat every day, to make sure she continued to believe it. However, now, in the days of friendship—

forsaken friendship

I don’t need them

It was a thought she was hanging onto for dear life.

Call me whatever names you want. Blame me for whatever you want.

Sunset hugged her knees in front of herself. It was a position she was familiar with, because save for food, going to the bathroom, and sleep, it was the position she’d been sitting in for the last whole day and night.

Ignore me as much as you want. I don’t care. For me, and for you, it’s better this way. It’s better for all of us, in the end… if people hate me.

Maybe the bad old days hadn’t been so bad after all. Sunset gripped the sheets around her, gritting her teeth.

Why did I bother with any of this, anyway?

Just as her sadness was about to reach the lowest depths she’d ever experienced, her phone chimed with her text message tone.

Damn it. She must have forgotten to put it on Do Not Disturb. Only extra evidence at this point that the others were still angry… or just didn’t care. May as well turn it on now. She picked up the phone, ready to activate the feature… and realized that that would involve looking at the screen, which meant seeing who was trying to reach her.

Sunset sighed. There was no avoiding it, she supposed. She looked at the screen. Predictably, it was Twilight who had sent the first message out of all of them.

"Sunset, I’m really sorry. Can we talk?"

Sunset, out of reflex, out of instinct, out of—she had to face it—sheer unavoidable desire, nearly swiped to answer, only managing not to do so at the last second by Celestial force of will.

I can’t. Not yet. Besides, they were silent to me for over 24 hours, what’s another few?

Gritting her teeth again, she instead swiped the message away with a flick of her thumb, then navigated towards the Do Not Disturb icon…

…and then another text thrust itself to the front of the screen.

"Damn it, Twilight," Sunset growled, moving to push that one away too—only to notice that it wasn’t Twilight.

It was Rainbow Dash.

"hey you doing anything? besides sulking that is"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "What would you know about sulking?"

Another text chimed.

"probably sitting in bed in the dark with sad music"

Briefly, Sunset froze, stunned. Why hadn’t she turned on sad music? It would have given her something else, something mildly enjoyable, to focus on. Still, she went for the Do Not disturb icon again—only to be hit with a flurry of new messages before she could get the chance:

"hey"
"come on"
"i know you’re home"
"just tell me you’re home"
"it’s not like i didn’t already pop over to check😁"

With a much louder growl this time, Sunset hit the Reply button. "fine, i’m home. what do you want?"

A few seconds passed before Rainbow’s next message.

"sweet, one sec"

One second, and a single turn of Sunset’s head, was all it took. The curtain lining Sunset’s open window audibly buckled, blown back by as it was hit by a sudden, swift breeze.

And in the literal blink of an eye, Sunset saw Rainbow Dash standing in front of her.

"Sup," she said, her toothy grin heralding her appearance.

Sunset, however, didn’t share Rainbow’s jubilation. "Rainbow, what the heck—"

Was as far as she got.

With no time to dodge or react—though Sunset certainly tried—in the time it took to blink again, she felt forces on her, around her, wind whipping against her face, her hair, and clothes.

She felt gravity abandon her, felt herself rise off of the ground, weightless. The world became a blur of colors and lights. She didn’t have time to get sick, it all happened too fast for her body to consider the notion.

In less than ten seconds, it was all over.

And Sunset was definitely no longer in her bedroom.

3: The Challenge

"—do you want?"

Sunset finished her question, but no one was around to hear it.

Also, nothing.

Whereas back in her bedroom Sunset could just barely make out her surroundings, wherever she was now, there was a total lack of light. She forced herself to stay still for fear of running, or falling, into something she didn’t want to—whatever that could have been.

Thankfully, her impaired vision only lasted a short time, as, with a loud, echoing click, fluorescent lightning flooded the room, forcing her to shield her eyes.

When they finally adjusted, she saw that she was wearing the same clothes she had when she was home, thank goodness. Still, small favors like that weren’t going to stop Rainbow from paying dearly for whatever she’d done.

As soon as she figured out wherever it was Rainbow had taken her. She looked around to see decor befitting… a gym? All around her were heavy bags, dumbbells, treadmills, stair climbers, mats and mirrors. Something nagged at the back of her mind about the whole scene, something she couldn’t quite place—but, no. For one thing, the color scheme was very unfamiliar. Completely brown-painted rooms were rare in her life, and with this much workout equipment around, and the faint smell of sweat, she already felt like she was pressing weights—

Wait a minute. Her head felt… unbalanced. Weighted. Her hands did, too. It wasn’t long before she realized that she had large, red, rounded gloves on her hands, and some kind of helmet on to boot.

Then she noticed the ropes all around her, complete with turnbuckles, including the one right behind her.

She was in a ring.

And standing on the other side of that ring, wearing her own headgear, t-shirt, shorts, and gloves, all hued in varying shades of black and blue, was Rainbow Dash. She laid back on the ropes, bouncing lazily off of them, arms stretched on both sides, seemingly oblivious to Sunset’s presence… until, suddenly, she wasn’t.

"Oh, hi," Rainbow said, looking at Sunset with an expression that was the pinnacle of mirth. "Didn’t see you there."

The sound of someone clearing their throat pierced the gymnasium. Sunset and Rainbow turned towards its source, to see a built beige woman approaching the ring from one of the side doors. With her short white hair, faded blue jeans, and fur-lined brown bomber jacket, even Sunset figured she should probably think twice about crossing her. Which was why she felt the tiniest bit nervous when, upon approaching the ring, the woman appeared to be sizing Sunset up—looking her up and down, and grunting in ways that Sunset couldn’t possibly decode.

Finally, the woman turned to Rainbow Dash. "This my new blood?" she asked.

"Maybe," Rainbow shrugged. "Entirely up to her, really."

"And definitely leaning towards ‘no’," Sunset said, "given that I don’t even know why I’m here, outside of the part where Rainbow kidnapped me."

The woman tilted her head. "Wait, hold up. She what?" She peered at Sunset again, then looked back to Rainbow… before shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Ugh, you freaking dweeb!" she said, her forehead descending into her palm. "You actually did it. Even after I told you how bad an idea it was, you still brought her here in the stupidest way possible!"

With a giggle and shrug, Rainbow said, "Awwww, G, don’t be like that."

"Don’t you ‘awwww, G’ me!" the woman growled, climbing into the ring and striding towards Rainbow. "This is my gym! I get to ‘be’ however I want, and that includes telling you how much of an idiot you are, when you are one! I should throw you out right now!"

Rainbow sighed. "Look, Gilda, didn’t I promise you I knew what I was doing?"

"Yeah, well, you’re off to a crap start at proving it. Cause, you see this?" Gilda gestured around the gym with a wide arm sweep, as she towered over Rainbow up close. "This is you, cashing in every favor you’ve ever racked up! You got one hour to make this kosher, Dash. Or I might call security." She punched her palm, her eyes and teeth giving off a menacing glint. "Which is closer than you might think."

"Yeesh. Always with the drama." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Sunset, meet Gilda. She runs this place. Everything she says in here, goes." She slumped, with a sheepish expression. "Even for me."

The corners of Gilda’s lips curled into a smile that was almost sinister. "Yeah, I never get tired of hearing you say that."

Rainbow matched it. "This is the only place it applies."

Okay, being kidnapped was one thing, being an outsider to an inside conversation was another. "Rainbow," Sunset said, doing her best to keep her voice level and almost succeeding, "Why. Am. I. Here? Actually, don’t even answer that. Take me home right now."

To Sunset’s mild surprise. Rainbow shook her head. "Nah."

"Wha—" Sunset did a double take. "Okay, whatever. I’ll just walk, then."

"I mean, you could? But, uh, this place is about twelve miles from the burbs. Bit of a hike."

Wait, twelve miles? Going in a certain direction, that would put this place in downtown Canterlot City. Sunset considered running outside to check, but as she did, a brand new click, just as loud as before, sounded through the gym. Sunset looked over to see Gilda locking the entrances and exits, via flicks of several wall-mounted red buttons.

"Also, there’s that," Rainbow added.

Sunset flashed a raised eyebrow towards Gilda. "And here I thought you were on my side."

"Oh, believe me, in about 55 minutes you might have a super hero team up on your hands against your girl there. But for now?" Gilda’s eyes inquisitively pierced Sunset’s. "Let’s just say I’m curious to see if you really live up to the hype."

"Fine." Sunset raised her boxing glove-clad fists and punched them together, gritting her teeth, feeling fire bubbling from within her—fire long dormant, that she forever fought to keep in check. "I will go through the both of you, or go down trying."

"Save your energy," Rainbow said, sauntering over to the middle of the ring. "Gilda has no magic, but she can bench press a truck. Meanwhile, I can outrun that truck ten times over, and you don’t have your geode on you. Not that it’d help you much."

Sunset gasped despite herself. Her geode! She’d forgotten all about it! Then again, given her grandstanding, necklace-tossing, exit-stage-left yesterday, it was little wonder. Rainbow was right, though—the power of heart wasn’t exactly going to avail her here. Ugh.

"Meaning, the only thing that’s gonna get you through this?" Rainbow assumed a runner’s stance for just a moment, before rushing headlong into Sunset’s personal space. "Is if you tell me what’s going on!"

A startled Sunset backed up. "What do you mean, ‘what’s going on?’"

"I mean yesterday, that’s what!" Rainbow said, getting in close, and throwing her first punch towards Sunset’s cheek. It was slow, almost uncharacteristically slow for Rainbow Dash, and Sunset easily dodged it. "What was all that dumb talk about you leaving us? Think you’re too good for us now? Is that it?"

"Wait, Sunset said, gasping for breath. "This is about yesterday? You’re mad at me, and trying to knock my block off, because I tried to protect you?"

"Call it whatever you want! I call it ‘cowarding out’. And the Sunset Shimmer I know? Doesn’t coward out!"

Rainbow aimed three more jabs, this time at Sunset’s chest, which Sunset just barely dodged with both gloves—not for lack of reflexes, but for trying, at the same time, to get rid of the stupid voices in her head which loved to come out whenever she tried to fend for herself, to have a real opinion.

She’s right, you know. You are a coward. That’s why you ran in the first place. And you’re no better now.

As usual, dodging the mental turned out to be far less successful than dodging the physical. She heard Rainbow snort, then saw more upward punches, long and straight, which Sunset danced around while she tried to think of a counter—

You know what everyone thinks of you. You were right to leave. To run. Like always. It really is better this way, though, isn’t it?

Without realizing it, Sunset had let Rainbow back her against the ropes. Groaning, she rested her back on them, and her forehead on her glove, in an effort to collect herself.

Get it together, Sunset. Come on, already!

"Heh, not too shabby with the dodges," Rainbow said, glaring at Sunset with narrowed, determined eyes. "But you still only have two choices tonight: dance and run until you drop—or talk to me, and maybe I’ll stop punching."

See? All the proof you need of how much, and how little, they value you, is right in front of—
SHUT UP!

Okay. This wasn’t going to work. To many voices vying for her attention.

It was time to focus.

And there was no way to do so while still being the ‘good girl’ she’d been trying to be for months. As desperately as she didn’t want to, she would have to call on the fire.

The fire of the old days. The fire she’d spent so long being ashamed of, when she learned she was capable of friendship instead.

She looked back at Rainbow, into her eyes, her lips curling into her own challenging stare. "All right, Dash. Since you asked so nicely… you got it. Under one condition."

Rainbow grinned back. "Heh. I’ll consider it. Try your luck." She threw another punch, this one straighter, faster, than the others—and again aimed directly at Sunset’s chest.

In short, it was a punch that, if it connected, would actually hurt.

It was time to focus, and Sunset did just that.

Embracing emotions and urges she’d denied herself for the longest, Sunset looked around again at her surrounding area for the first time…

…and everything clicked.

Memories from not very long ago slowly made their way into her mind. Memories of her having to fend for herself in a ring much like this one, against an old man who somehow moved faster than lightning.

Memories of it not going well. Painfully not well. For weeks.

Muscle memory joined emotional memory—and out of nowhere, she swiped Rainbow’s punch aside, stepped in, and launched into a flurry of practiced jabs which Rainbow, after a surprised yelp, just barely blocked while being pushed back. Sunset finished things off with a punch as intense as the one she’d deflected. A roar accompanied the energy she put into launching it, as she embraced her anger, her rage, her being just so pissed off at a world that never listened, damn it.

When it was over, Rainbow peered out from behind her gloves. "Whoa."

"So, third option. Stop sandbagging, because guess what? This isn’t my first time in a ring. You want me to ‘talk’? You earn it." Sunset’s challenging smirk and glint in her eyes rang true between the two friends-turned-fighters. "Unless those weak punches are really all you’ve got going for you?"

"There it is." Rainbow’s grin slowly widened to the size of the gym. "All right, then! Since you asked so nicely…"

The next punch thrown Sunset’s way contained exponentially more speed and force.

4: Verbal Sparring

Three minutes into their spar, Sunset finally felt herself sliding into a zen state.

Sort of.

Despite Sunset’s challenge to Rainbow, there was no getting around it—she was definitely rusty. She supposed that was what happened to anyone when they laid down their gloves for the better part of two years. And she’d dared Rainbow to not hold back on her, to boot.

Which meant Rainbow wasn’t, and Sunset was forced to move as fast as she could around the ring, react as fast as she could to Rainbow’s arm movements, block as much as she could, and try to read Rainbow’s ranges and next moves as accurately as she could. Maintaining any one of these objectives would be a challenge. Doing all four at the same time was impossible, and she felt it every time she failed to do so, via gloved impacts each time Rainbow sped her way into grasping the upper hand. Thankfully Rainbow didn't seem to be trying to actually hurt Sunset, any more than Sunset was trying to Rainbow—otherwise things would have gotten very painful very fast.

However, where Rainbow definitely had the edge on speed, Sunset soon learned that she herself had the slightest edge on both power and endurance. Simply not giving a damn how much Rainbow’s punches stung—and they stung quite a bit, both in intensity and frequency—helped. Her frustration allowed her to fight through the pain, and channel that frustration into striking with firmer, more focused blows—and even Rainbow Dash couldn’t dodge them all. It was a good thing Rainbow was fighting fair and not using her geode—mainly because trying to punch something that could approach Mach 1 would be yet another challenge Sunset just wasn’t up for right now.

Still, even as things currently stood, Sunset was… actually enjoying this. Even if part of her still wanted to send a real right hook across Rainbow’s jaw for carting her here without permission in the first place, the resulting match was… refreshing. Invigorating. She felt far better than she had in months, much less the last 36 hours. The same kind of ‘much better’ she’d felt way back then, when she’d first gotten the hang of boxing under the world’s most no-nonsense coach.

As invigorating as the fight was, however, the landed hits eventually took their toll, and even Sunset’s stamina wasn’t infinite. She took a step back, resting her gloves on her knees and gasping for breath.

"All right," Sunset said between deep breaths, "I’ll admit it. you’re pretty good. You’re definitely at home in a ring."

"Why do you think I set this up in the first place?" Rainbow tapped her gloves together. "I’ll go ahead and admit that you surprised me, though."

Sunset chuckled. "Yeah, I’ve been told I’m full of those."

"Heh. No lies detected. So, I earn a story out of you, yet?"

"Hmmm…" Sunset made a show of musing over the question, but she already felt her second wind coming on. "Nah."

With two quick steps, Sunset rushed in, alternately feinting and jabbing, catching even Rainbow off guard. Sunset pressed her newfound advantage, let her punches slowly get more and more powerful, leaning into them, pulling away with every dodge, pushing into every one of her and Rainbow’s blocks. Soon, Rainbow found herself pushed back to her ropes, as Sunset followed her mentor’s teachings, turning herself into a wall, which Rainbow would have to put in extra effort to breach.

It looked like Rainbow didn’t have that in her, however—at least not yet. Rainbow darted backwards, and it was her turn to gasp for breath.

"Okay, yeah… not… not bad. I’m not giving up, though…" Rainbow, even in temporary defeat, kept her expression fierce as she stared at Sunset. "And I’m not giving up on you."

Those words.

They… reached Sunset. They rang a bell. More than a bell, more like a chorus of chimes, really. Especially since, coming from Rainbow, they sounded so… so determined. So passionate.

So earnest.

I’m not giving up on you, Sunset. No matter how much it hurts either of us.

The first one to say those words to Sunset… had been Celestia. Not the Princess, but the Principal. Even when Sunset had been an utter monster, terrorizing the woman’s school, turning it into a place nobody wanted to attend, Celestia had been nice enough—

naive beyond words

to act as if Sunset Shimmer still had a place in Canterlot High School. To act as if Sunset Shimmer could learn how to become friends with fellow students.

To act as if Sunset Shimmer wasn’t totally beyond saving.

Those sentiments, along with a boatload of that trademark determination, were written all across Rainbow Dash’s face right now.

Rainbow… are you really trying to ‘save me’ right now, too? And if that’s the case…

Sunset teetered, the tiniest bit.

…just how far have I fallen?

Sunset stepped back, keeping up her guard casually, but mainly just keeping her eyes on Rainbow, sizing her up, making sure she didn’t try any sudden moves. Rainbow continued staring back, likely with the same sort of aims, but her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity when she saw Sunset not moving.

Okay. Even with the kidnapping (that was a word Sunset was going to keep using, it completely fit, and she was sticking to it, damn it), maybe Rainbow had earned something for her troubles. A little bit. Slowly, she lowered one glove.

"Listen close, Rainbow. Because everything I say, I’m only going to say once."

Rainbow didn’t answer—which, being it was Rainbow, definitely qualified as ‘listening’ as far as Sunset was concerned. She put her gloves up again, walking back into Rainbow’s space.

"I want you to imagine that you’re born with talent. Really, really awesome talent, and the drive to nurture it. Trouble is, you know it. Everyone knows it. Everyone says you’re ‘special’. You get the best teacher in the business. She tells you you’re ‘special’ too. Eventually, you even start believing it yourself."

Sunset threw a punch, slow and light, which Rainbow ducked, and the dance began again, the two shuffling back and forth, away and toward each other circling the area of the ring.

"Yeah, I might know what that’s like," Rainbow replied, still in that earnest voice which suggested to Sunset that maybe opening up to her hadn’t been the worst choice ever. "Maybe."

Not that Rainbow wasn’t still going to make Sunset work for that satisfaction. Sunset felt two rapid jabs to her body before she was able to block them with her gloves and arms, and push Rainbow off of her. Even if they didn’t sting, they nagged, reminding Sunset that Rainbow refused to not take everything 120% seriously.

Once Sunset did get her block up, Rainbow stayed where she was, not advancing. Instead, she gave a simple nod. Sunset nodded back, and continued her speech.

"So, you figure: why not use that talent? So you do. You learn about everything you can about magic, and totally excel. You know what you’ve got, you know where you’re going, and you know you’re already the best there is at what you do. On top of that, you know you’re being groomed to be the pride of an entire world." Sunset continued to pace around the ring, Rainbow following suit, allowing the two to keep their bodily distance while each one kept the other in view. "But then, one day, those people who said you were so special and so great, who gave you all the high marks, and said you should live your best self?"

Sunset made sure to meet Rainbow’s eyes directly.

"They start telling you to slow down."

Instantly, Sunset could see Rainbow doing her best job of pretending that last sentence hadn’t phased her—and honestly, Sunset knew that anyone but herself would have been utterly fooled. But a telltale faltering on Rainbow’s end told all. Sunset knew she’d touched a nerve.

And Sunset used that moment to rush in, landing a punch square on Rainbow’s shoulder.

"They say they can’t keep up with you," Sunset huffed, throwing another punch, and another, both landing, staggering Rainbow and sending her scrambling to block. "That the natural order of things can’t keep up. Before, they encouraged you to reach for the stars, but now they want to hold you back!"

More punches. Faster. Usually Sunset would lay off in order to maintain stamina, but for some reason, maintaining stamina and conserving energy were becoming the last thing on her mind. Her eyes burned, welled up behind their sockets, as she kept punching straight ahead, kept speaking her mind, stream of consciousness, willing her voice not to crack.

"'No problem,' you say. You’re proud of yourself, you believe in yourself, but then the person who freaking runs your country, who took it upon herself to groom you as her successor, tells you to shove off, cause she’s not ready to face the inevitable yet!" Her punches still did not stop, pushing her opponent ever closer towards the ropes. "How would that make you feel, Rainbow?"

Then, suddenly, with a prolonged grunt, Rainbow finally broke her own defenses, withstanding Sunset’s hits and even deflecting a couple, biting back with her own punches, some of which made it through to Sunset’s body and chin before Sunset could finally mount her own defense. It was now a war to see who could get in what shots—and how many.

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow blurted, her cool demeanor finally slipping, and her voice taking on an edge. "I’d be freaking pissed!"

"Right?" The fight increased in speed, with both girls hopping around each other, feeling each other out with occasional punches. "You have no idea how pissed I was!" Sunset added, half-yelling.

"Would probably," Rainbow said with a calmer voice between hops and punches, "also see if there was a reason for all of it, though."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing." Sunset gritted her teeth. "I needed to know why everyone turned on me so suddenly. So I looked around. I asked around. And I listened, when they knew I was around, or even better, when they didn’t." Sunset wound up and released, the next movement of her arm being more of a push than a punch, which Rainbow back. "And what I found out was that everypony was scared of me! Including the ones I was sure believed in me the most!

"So, I left. If people were going to be scared of me, I decided it was going to at least be on my terms." Sunset stopped where she was, keeping her position, not even trying to mount a defense, slowly breathing deep, exhaling long, digging into her reserves of courage.

Because she knew that everything she'd said up until now... had been the easy part.

"Sunset…" Rainbow trailed off, her movements slowing as well.

"So," Sunset said, "Here’s the thing. I made some mistakes. Really, really bad ones. I wish I could take them back, but I never can, and I own them and their consequences. All of them. Except for one.

"Because imagine that, at the tail end of making those mistakes, someone from that world that you're still absolutely positive fears you, hits you with a beam that scrambles your mind and heart. Which rewires everything which makes you... you, without your permission. Which makes you think of how everyone else feels first, with no thought for yourself, even though everyone. Else. Is scared of you.

"Imagine what that does to someone’s self-esteem. Imagine suddenly learning exactly how many people you were making sad, all at the same time, simply by existing, and then feeling all of their sadness at once. Imagine being forced to consider everyone else before yourself, without getting a choice in the matter. Imagine coming to the conclusion, after so much overwhelming emotion being fed into you at once, and forever afterward, that you never mattered in the end. Imagine that feeling like you ever mattered was a bad thing, the worst thing, even before you did your stupid stuff, but especially after!

"Imagine that caring about yourself is bad for everyone. Bad for you. But that’s okay, because this is your punishment. And believe me, it hurts like hell."

Rainbow said nothing. Not that it was expected. It was a lot even for Sunset to grasp, and she'd lived it. She sighed.

"Finally, imagine that you find a few people who accept you anyway. But you still don’t know why. All you can conclude is pity. There’s certainly nothing you bring to the table. You’re still learning what friendship is. What being a decent person is, instead of a monster. It was the only thing you didn’t learn while the world was praising you, before stabbing you in the back.

"But those six girls? Unlike you, they’re worth something. Because they stuck by you. Because they didn’t betray you. But you betrayed them, just by becoming their friend, because all the dangers around them now are your fault. So it’s up to you to protect them—and it’s a full-time job and then some."

Her hands at her sides, Sunset walked up to Rainbow Dash, her expression stoic and unmoving, her gaze never wavering.

"That’s what it’s like to be me."

There. There it was. She’d said her piece. Now it was time for Rainbow’s response—if she even had one. Honestly, Sunset had blown her own mind with that mountain of revelations just now. Had she ever examined herself to that extent before?

She already knew the answer, barely after she’d asked the question.

Of course not. I was too afraid of what I’d find.

She didn’t have long to wait for Rainbow’s answer, either. After a short bout of silence, Rainbow put up her gloves. Sunset put up hers in kind, ready for another round.

It never came.

Sunset only registered Rainbow’s shining blue aura for half a second, before she felt a geode-powered punch slam into her arms. It didn’t hurt—Rainbow definitely held back, making it more of a tap, a mild shock—but it still launched Sunset backwards, across the ring, into the ropes with pinpoint precision, sending her onto her butt afterwards.

Sunset looked up, her heart shattering as, coming off of feeling the last thing she expected, she then saw the last thing she expected. Rainbow Dash was directly above her, looking down at her with… disdain. Annoyance. The empathy, the connection from earlier was… it was gone.

In its place appeared to be pure contempt. The same contempt with which so many ponies had looked down on her.

"Little weird, don’t you think?" Rainbow said. "All your talk about self-worthlessness, but it sounds like you still found a way to make it all about you."

Sunset’s eyes widened, the words hitting her harder than any punch ever could, even one from Gilda, or, for that matter, her old coach.

She’s not wrong.

Her temperature shot up. Her heart raced, boiled, bubbled over.

how DARE she
she’s not wrong
i OPENED UP to her
she’s not wrong
she ASKED for ALL of this
she’s not wrong—
FUCK HER NOT BEING WRONG

"You know what? To hell with this! Fine! I have! I’ve made it all about me!"

Sunset leapt up and rushed in, punching as hard as she could, no longer trying in the slightest to hold back, but only managing glancing blows as Rainbow was now definitely using her geode to evade at close quarters. Even if Rainbow hadn’t been, though, in the back of her mind Sunset knew that her punches were more than sloppy enough to read, but it wouldn’t matter, all it would take was one good hit in the right place and this smug bitch goes down like all the rest who get in Sunset Shimmer’s way—

"I knew you wouldn’t understand!" Sunset cried, her words echoing through the gym.

"I understand perfectly!" Rainbow said, her tone equal parts dismissive and… earnest again? "I understand you haven’t learned a single thing this whole time! Cause we already know what you’ve got going on, and we’re here for you anyway, no matter how much of a screwup you are!"

"I know you are!" Sunset continued, near the top of her lungs, now lunging into every attempted punch, her whole world now a blend of hair and red and impacting flesh. "And it doesn’t matter! You think I haven’t tried to break out of this? I hate that I’ve made it all about me! I’ve tried to stop it so many times! But the stupid thing that stops me, every time, is the thought of you! How much I love you, even you, you fucking dumbass, and how, if anything were to ever happen to you, especially because of me and the magic I brought here…"

Energy failed Sunset for a brief moment, and she slumped—and that moment was all Rainbow needed to land a punch to Sunset’s chest, winding her. Instinct kicked in, instinct that implored every bone in Sunset’s body to rip Rainbow apart— but Sunset just barely managed to hold that instinct at bay, and she stood there, kneeling, lopsided, breathing loud and long.

I wouldn’t have any reason to not let every terrible, evil thought and impulse inside me take over again. I wouldn’t care about this world anymore, if any of you left it. The demon would be back. For good this time.

She looked up.

And her voice finally cracked.

"I’m not giving up on you."

An orange glow surrounded Sunset Shimmer as she glared daggers at Rainbow Dash. The glow intensified in hue and brightness, pulsing with the cadence of her voice.

"I don’t care how mean you are to me, Rainbow. You’re my center. All of you are. But I’m… I’m scared. Scared that no one else is, nothing else is."

Her voice cracked again, mixing with small, whimpering sounds. Her eyes burned. She punched the canvas, shaking tears loose. They dropped below, barely heard and completely unseen due to watery vision.

"So if I don’t make sure everything goes perfect, if I don’t always win, if I don’t make up for my mistakes every single minute of my life, if I don’t keep you all alive, if I don’t, at all times, remind myself that it’s all on me, all my fault—"

Sunset let herself think, for a split second, of how things might have been if Twilight, or any of them, hadn’t survived the accident yesterday.

A split second was all that was needed for the dam to burst, and for Sunset to break.

Orange aura turned burning red as Sunset screamed as loud and as hard as she could—red, the aura of her anger, her demonic self, her worst fear, from the loneliest and bleakest of her nightmares.

Of course it was still in her. As if she could ever be better than who she was.

Silently, still covered in crimson, feeling nothing save for the heat of her past-but-still-smoldering fury, Sunset stood to her feet… and stayed there, silent, hiccupping, and tearful.

This is it. This is really me. The monster who never deserved a first chance, let alone all the ones people gave me.

She stood there, lingering in despair, not wanting, not able, to move, to speak, to protest, to do anything but cry. Cry for anyone who would hear her, whether they cared or not.

Until she felt fingers swipe away at her tears.

With her vision clear, she saw Rainbow Dash smiling at her. Earnest. Reassuring. Serene.

Caring.

Softly, she took Sunset’s hand. Sunset twitched, not knowing what to think, but in the end, let it happen, and she looked back up at Rainbow again, her body trembling, inside and out, as Rainbow stepped closer.

"Finally," was Rainbow’s only word, almost hidden under her breath yet which Sunset heard, clear as day, as Rainbow took off Sunset’s headgear, wrapped her arms around Sunset’s neck…

…and pressed their lips together.

Sunset didn’t stop it. She could have if she wanted to. Instead, she closed her eyes.

And the world played itself back in monochrome.

5: Behind the Scenes

Group sleepovers weren’t a normal thing for Twilight Sparkle, but she hadn’t had much choice in the matter. After such a scary accident, the others had insisted, and taken the decision out of her hands.

Thus, all of the girls—save for Sunset—were seated in different areas in Twilight’s room. Pinkie tried her hardest to keep herself out of a large jar of gummy bears, and failed miserably. Applejack leaned against a wall nonchalantly, wondering if she should get involved in Pinkie’s plight, or hope she learned a valuable life lesson on her own. Fluttershy played with Spike on the carpet. Rainbow, Twilight and Rarity were on Twilight’s bed, with Rarity fiddling with Twilight’s ponytail, and Rainbow making faces at how Rarity tied, loosened, and then re-tied Twilight’s hair while extolling the virtues of short cuts—specifically, low maintenance and aerodynamics. Large thin square boxes were stacked on a nearby table, as, much like with the sleepover, it was decided that after the events of mere hours ago, comfort pizza was needed.

In the midst of the festivities, the girls eventually reached a mutual slow point—and as the chatter in the room reached a low hum, Applejack was the first to speak what was on everyone’s mind:

"Okay, so, just gettin’ formalities outta the way: we’re helpin’ her out, right? Sunset, I mean."

The other girls nodded. "Oh, of course we are, dear," Rarity said. "It would be absolutely uncouth not to."

"We owe her all so much," Fluttershy said, cuddling Spike close and ruffling his hair. "But… she thinks we’re not her friends. She thinks we were pretending all this time. Or maybe worse."

Rarity sighed through pursed lips. "And it didn’t even take an artifact from another world messing with our memories to make it happen this time around."

"Hrmm cmm she thmnk tht fter all’ve bmmm thrmmm tgtherm?" Pinkie said, with a mouthful of gummy bears.

"Pinkie," Applejack said.

"Mrrt," Pinkie said, swallowing. "We’ve been through so much together, though! We’ve made movies, we’ve saved dimensions, we’ve sorta-kinda traveled through time!" Pinkie spread her arms, spinning around. "Come on—time! What kind of non-friend does that, huh? I’ll tell you! Someone who’s not… not…" She intently watched her index fingers twirl around each other. "Not a not-friend, that’s who!"

"I…" Twilight said, tapping her own index fingers together. "I think I might know."

"Well, by all means," Rarity said, "don’t keep the rest of us in the dark."

Twilight rose from the bed. "I still remember, when I was Midnight Sparkle, I was filled with so much anger, and sadness… but it didn’t come from nowhere. I had shut myself out from the world for so long, because of how much I was sure the world hated me. Then the magic happened, and, well, you saw the rest.

"After the Friendship Games, I never wanted to feel the way I did when I was Midnight, ever again. I never wanted to hurt people, put them in danger the way I had back then." Twilight took a deep breath, putting her hand over her heart. "So… I became scared of myself. Because I now knew, deep down, what I was capable of.

"But Sunset taught me to embrace myself and my magic. Which meant embracing my entire emotional spectrum, including the emotions which…" Twilight hesitated, visibly searching for the right words. "Weren’t socially acceptable, or very positive. The emotions, the magic, or anything adjacent, which could bring out the Midnight in me. Sunset convinced me to be okay with the fact that I was my own person, with all that entailed—and, more importantly, that I deserved to be."

"That was after you got just a taste of magic, though," Fluttershy noted.

"Yeah," Applejack said. "Sunset’s a dang literal magical being! She’s full of the stuff!"

Twilight nodded. "She always has been. We’ve talked a lot. She puts on a strong exterior, but her heart… it’s always being eaten from the inside out. There’s so much she blames herself for… and so much she’s scared she could become. And if anything happened to us because of something she did, even by proxy…" She sat down on the bed, resting her hands on her thighs and looking down. "She’d rather destroy our friendship than get too close to herself, and risk that hurting one or all of us."

"So… we just have to convince her that we understand that," Rarity said, "and that we don’t care."

Twilight nodded. "She’s saved all of us… but she still feels so alone." All of the girls looked carpetward, with lidded eyes. A solemn silence followed.

Until Rainbow Dash broke it. "I’ll do it."

"Speaking of ‘uncouth’," Rarity said, with a sly grin and chuckle.

"What?" Rainbow protested. "I’m our best option for this! Pep talks and setting people straight are, like, my thing."

"I know you sure do love that second one," Applejack said.

Twilight perked up. "No, Rainbow, you’re totally right! Sunset and I just had an argument, meaning it might be hard for me to reach her right now. She's got a bit of a 'cooldown period', for lack of better nomenclature. But you hang out with her just as much, and… I’ve seen you together." She looked at Rainbow, her gaze almost reverent. "You two speak a language I could never learn."

"The language of joc—I mean, athleticism?" Rarity quipped.

Twilight smiled at Rainbow. "No. Something deeper."

Rainbow smiled back.

Sunset opened her eyes to several things—chief among them the view and feel of Rainbow’s lips, still pressed to hers, and the glowing warmth around the both of them.

It was a warmth that was different from minutes ago. It wasn’t unbridled, or raging—it was steady and calm. What was once a fire was now sunshine on a sandy beach, complete with the sound of rolling waves, all as soft and warm as Rainbow’s kiss.

It was a warmth that was visualized as well by the aura around her, which was no longer red, but Rainbow’s blue, which had overtaken them both.

Sunset slowly relaxed as Rainbow slid her hands down—from Sunset’s shoulders, along her arms, then squeezing her hands, just before letting go, and stepping back—allowing Sunset to see all of her—not just glowing blue, but with telltale pony ears.

"Rainbow…" Sunset gasped—then gasped again as Rainbow opened one hand to reveal Sunset’s geode, presenting it to her. Of course. That flashback had looked—and felt—awfully familiar.

"You’re so scared of us getting hurt," Rainbow said, her voice as peaceful and warm as the magic around both of them, "and it's really awesome to know how much you care about us. But… we’d die for you, Sunset. I would."

"But—" Sunset instantly tried to protest, but Rainbow pressing a finger to Sunset’s lips stopped her.

"That’s not a choice you get to make," continued Rainbow, still in a soft, level voice, "or put on yourself, either. It belongs to me, and the other girls, and only us—and we already talked it out. We’re all Team Shimmer. We’re in your corner until all of us lose the final round." She grinned out of the corner of her mouth. "No one’s in a hurry to die, of course. But we would. In a second. If helping you, if protecting you, meant paying the ultimate price... well, whatever. You get it."

Sunset could feel herself seconds away from bursting into tears again—from happiness or otherwise, she couldn’t say. "But why?" she managed to ask, instead.

"'Cause you gave us all a gift," Rainbow said with a shrug, as if it were the easiest answer in the world.

Sunset blinked, confused. "The magic?"

Rainbow’s eyes went wide… and then she laughed, loud. "You, you fucking dumbass! And you never asked us for anything in return!"

Sunset felt her throat become twice as big, instantly. "I-I mean," she croaked, looking around, "I don’t—I-I don’t know what I would even have asked for, and even if I did it’d be wrong to, and—" Sunset cut herself off with a low gasp as she felt Rainbow’s hands take hers again.

"Yeah, gonna need you to stop doing that ‘hating yourself’ thing," Rainbow said. "Gets old after a while. You said it yourself: you’ve broken every rule that two universes tried to put on you, and still came out ahead. Without you, I could only dream of being as awesome as I am now—and even being as awesome as I am now… Sunset, you’re incredible. You bring out the best in us, by understanding us, every time. Twilight wouldn't be here with us if not for you doing exactly that at the Friendship Games. Pinkie told us all about how the whole time loop concert thing turned out, and what you did for her during it. We couldn't have taken the Dazzlings without you, or Gaea Everfree... heck, do I even need to bring up how terrible we were when the Memory Stone hit us? Equestrian magic that you didn't bring here, by the way."

Sunset froze. She actually hadn't thought of that. Ever. Even after being there for the explanation. "I... I didn't, did I?"

"Nope." Rainbow shook her head. "You might have brought some magic here, but you also brought you. Which was great, because without you... we'd be totally lost. Not to mention we'd be out one amazing friend.

"And you’re always worth someone telling you that. Me, Twilight, whoever. But even more than us, you’re worth telling yourself that. You sacrifice so much of your time and drive, and we know you’d sacrifice yourself for us. So you don’t get to deny us the same."

Rainbow held out the geode again. "You’re always gonna be a part of us. Whether you like it or not. So, take this thing already. There’s only one girl it’s for, and it's not me."

Sunset looked at Rainbow’s smiling face, then back down to the geode. After some time, she finally touched Rainbow's hand to grasp it.

Slowly, from her feet to her hair, her orange aura returned.

And the world went black and white one more time.

Rainbow Dash stood in front of Twilight’s front door, looking outside at the starry evening while hopping up and down, as Twilight herself approached.

"Looks like you’re ready," Twilight said.

"Yep, been ready," Rainbow said… then put her fingers to her chin. "Actually. Hold on a minute?"

"What’s wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Mmmmmm, nothing really wrong," Rainbow said, "but… I don’t buy what you said earlier. About you not being able to reach Sunset, I mean. You say she and I have a connection, and…" Rainbow ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, you’re right. But you two have your own connection. A language I can’t speak, either. Too many science words." She stuck out her tongue.

Twilight giggled. "I can’t help it if I grew up in a lab. You could always join us there and learn some of those words."

"Let me know when you start working on a personal jetpack, and I might. But for now… I know you had a bit of a fight, but I still think you’re right up there with me as the best person to talk to her."

Twilight put her own fingers to her chin in thought. "Hmmm. I… I could text her, I suppose. Extend an olive branch, try to start a conversation?"

"Sure, give that a shot. But I just realized, when she has her geode on her, she’ll probably see that whole talk we all had, at some point. Maybe even what we’re saying now, too." She grinned. "Her powers seem to love zeroing in on the juicy stuff."

Twilight snapped her fingers. "That’s an excellent point! We could get a message through to her that way!"

"Bingo," Rainbow said. "Got something to say? Now’s the time."

"Oh! I, um, okay." Twilight nodded, gathered herself, closed her eyes, took a deep breath—then looked up to the stars herself. "Sunset. I don’t think I can begin to describe how special you are. Not just to us, not just to me, but… in general. In concept. And I also can’t begin to say how sorry I am. All this time, listening to you, already knowing how much you’re always hurting—but when the time really came to show what I’d learned…" She looked low and to the side. "I failed the test.

"I don’t know what Rainbow has in mind. I’m not going to ask. I trust her to do things her own way, a way you and she understand. But I’m told hearing me might help, too, so here I am. Please come back to us, Sunset. You… really do matter." She paused, then added, "More than m—"

"Stop." Rainbow put up a hand, cutting Twilight off, and rolled her eyes. "Ugh. I swear, you and her." Reaching over, she grabbed Twilight’s arms, spinning Twilight to face her. "Everyone on this team matters, Twilight. Everyone on this team is awesome. Even Applejack—no, sometimes, especially Applejack! I don’t know what it is about you and Sunset that keeps you from seeing that about yourselves, but…" She trailed off, sighed, and embraced Twilight with one arm, leaning in. "One day, I guess."

"Rainbow…" Twilight said, embracing Rainbow in kind—and gasping the tiniest bit when she felt Rainbow’s lips on her cheek.

Rainbow stepped away, breaking the connection. "We’ll bring her back. Together. Because you both matter. Okay?"

Her hand on the cheek that Rainbow had kissed, Twilight said softly, "Okay."

And in the next moment, Rainbow Dash was gone.

6: Locker Room Talk

The gym had a locker room that was kept spectacularly clean—including its showers. In retrospect, Sunset thought, she should have known, this place being up to Rainbow Dash standards and all.

Rainbow had also been 'courteous' enough to bring a fresh outfit from Sunset's house (and a brand new pair of briefs from a local store), so once Sunset finished showering, she quickly dressed in her own t-shirt and shorts. They felt loose and flowing, and after the workout that Rainbow had given her, it was more than welcome. Especially since some parts of her still ached.

An object flew her way out of the corner of her eye. On reflex and instinct, Sunset caught it, and saw a small cellophane package now in her hands—a brightly-labeled protein granola bar. She looked in the direction it had come, fully knowing who had tossed it already.

Speak of the devil.

Rainbow, also freshly showered and in her own clean t-shirt and shorts, walked up to the benches. She also had a bar in her hand, already unwrapped.

"Hey," Rainbow said, before biting in.

"Hey," Sunset said back, before unwrapping her own and trying it out. It was chewy and sweet, containing chocolate chips and nuts, and a just-as-sweet waxy outer coating. Oh, and there was also some granola in there. Somewhere. Sunset savored the flavor regardless. "Wow. We sure these aren't really just candy bars?"

"Haha, right?" Rainbow said, wolfing down hers at an increasingly faster pace. "Energy's real, though, so not complaining."

Sunset nodded, sitting on the bench, while Rainbow leaned against a nearby locker, both of them munching in silence for a short while.

Then, Rainbow, being the first to finish her bar, closed her eyes, and spoke.

"So, I was out jogging last Wednesday night," she said, in a voice which Sunset quickly detected to contain 20% less of Rainbow's trademark boisterousness than usual. "And I saw someone who looked like they were in some serious trouble. They were standing real close to a curb, and a car was totally about to hit them."

Sunset's eyes shot up as she turned to Rainbow. "What? That's awful!"

"Thought the same. So I do my thing, blink into action, zoom 'em out of there." She paused before continuing. "Turned out, they were just hailing a cab. Once I dropped them off three blocks away, they... begged me not to hurt them. I told them that that was crazy talk, and even offered to run them home, but they ran away."

Crimson eyes met cerulean. As usual, Rainbow was a master at hiding her emotions beneath a cheery, carefree exterior—and, as usual, it didn't work on Sunset in the least, as she easily saw the hurt she all too often saw when looking at herself in the mirror. She got up, walking over to, and leaning on, the lockers next to her best friend.

"Rainbow, I'm…" She placed a firm, reassuring hand on Rainbow's shoulder. "I'm really sorry you had to go through that."

Rainbow didn't move. "Before they ran, they said they've seen some of 'that magical stuff' on the internet. People are finally talking about it. Maybe they always were and we just never caught it. I don't know, I…" Rainbow sighed, slouching slightly. "I always liked the idea of being a cool magic superhero. Being able to help people, really help people, let 'em see how awesome they are, or how awesome they can become, just… speaks to me."

She turned to Sunset, her eyes wider than before. "But… there's stuff that comes with it, isn't there? Stuff no one ever thinks about. Stuff that's easy to screw up."

Sunset nodded. "Yeah."

Rainbow looked away, towards the locker room entrance doors. "I get why you're always so worried. I mean, I'm not from some whole other magical world. But even before getting my geode, it was always easy to have questions about what to do with what I have."

"I… I wish I had an answer." Sunset put her other hand on Rainbow's other shoulder, feeling the latter relax under the former's touch. "Maybe it's one we can find out together."

Rainbow looked back, the smallest of grins on her lips. "Oh. Changed your mind?"

Sunset grinned back. "Maybe. I mean, I am pretty well-equipped to help. Though, once we find the answer, someone's gonna have to guide the true-blue heroes of tomorrow." She squeezed Rainbow's shoulders. "Preferably someone with a pure heart, infinite energy, and who never, ever gives up on her friends…?"

Rainbow's grin widened to show teeth. "Yeah, sure, I'll take the job. Why not."

"Somehow, I figured you would," Sunset said, letting go of Rainbow.

Still smiling, Rainbow started jogging in place. "So, you said tonight wasn't your first time in a ring. I, uh, believe it. But how? You were a demon in there. No pun intended."

Sunset giggled. "None taken." She clasped her hands together, reminiscing. "It was right after Princess Twilight defeated me—with help from you guys, of course."

"No regrets," Rainbow said, still jogging without looking back.

Sunset outright laughed. "Oh, please, never regret that. "Queen-B Me deserved to get knocked down so many pegs. But after that, I'd never felt more alone in this world, including the times when I literally was alone. I wandered around Canterlot City on my own, and not really right in the head—thanks, Elements—until a woman downtown took me in. Her name was Zecora."

Rainbow stopped jogging, and turned around. "Whoa! The lady who runs the bar near here!"

"You've been?" Sunset asked, with raised eyebrows.

Rainbow shrugged. "Not often. Don't have much reason to, till she starts selling workout smoothies." Momentarily, her eyes sparkled in the light. "She's got great hair, though."

"Yeah, she does," Sunset agreed with another giggle. "She's got a great heart, too. She gave me a place to sleep, and even let me work there. She then noticed I would get angry at customers while on the job, because of course I would. But instead of firing me, she sent me to a gym, run by this old guy called Gruff. Everyone called him—"

"Grampa Gruff," Gilda said, entering the lockers at that moment. She still wore both her jacket and her sardonic sneer. "You jokers still here? I swear," she said, looking straight at Rainbow, "first I can't get you to show up without pulling teeth, and now I can't get you to leave so I can close up!"

"Love you too, G," Rainbow said, her expression the exact inverse of Gilda's.

"You knew Grampa Gruff?" Sunset asked.

"Know him? He's fucking unavoidable! If you're Clan Griffon, anyway. Otherwise he doesn't want anything to do with you," she said, peering at Sunset with those same lidded, curious eyes from an hour ago. "Usually. Anyway, he retired last year, and put me in charge."

"Clan Griffon…" Sunset gasped and snapped her fingers as the lightbulb went off in her head. "I thought this place felt familiar! This is Griffonstone Gym! It has to be!" She looked around. "Even if it looks different. Different color scheme, equipment…" She sniffed. "A lot cleaner."

"Was Griffonstone Gym. It's Gilda's Gym now." Rainbow walked up, offering Gilda a fistbump, which Gilda accepted.

"Yeah," Gilda said. "First thing I did was give this dump a makeover and up the cleaning budget. I may have a filthy mouth, but that doesn't mean I like my workout space that way."

"Wow," Sunset said. "Good job with the place. And I've got a lot to thank Grampa Gruff for, too." She looked to Rainbow. "Through his… very intense training, he taught me how to have an outlet for my anger. Instead of denying myself and my emotions, I was encouraged to embrace them and myself, to work through them by channeling them." She shrugged. "Okay, he never actually said those words—it was usually just a lot of punching and taunting. But I think that's what he was getting at."

Gilda's eyes widened. "Hold up. Gramps kept telling me about the only student fighter he ever had here who was worth a damn! Some crazy unstoppable chick with fire hair and…" Things finally clicked, and Gilda did a double-take. "Huh. Welcome back, I guess. The hell'd you leave for?"

Sunset looked up at Gilda's towering frame with a sheepish titter. "Would you believe… friendship?"

A lone grunt was Gilda's reply.

"No, really. Once I got friends, people actually willing to give me the time of day in spite of… well, everything, I swung in the other direction completely. I put them—" She met Rainbow's eyes again. "You, above everything—meanwhile pushing my own wants and needs down, and out of sight, and berating myself whenever I felt myself about to burst.

"Really, the only way I've been able to keep it together all this time, was to convince myself that whatever it was, whatever I felt, or wanted…" She looked to the ground. "I wasn't worth it."

Wordlessly, Rainbow slowly walked over to Sunset, took her hands… and fed her the same stony look Sunset had seen earlier in the ring. "And you never thought to ask us how we felt about you doing that?" she asked. "To let us know how you felt at all?"

"I…" Sunset looked away. "Had a pretty good idea of what you would say."

"Damn right you knew, and you wallowed in self-pity anyway instead of letting us set you straight!" She looked at Gilda, snickering and rolling her eyes. "This is what I have to deal with now," she said.

"Don't bring me into this," Gilda said. "You know how I feel about friendshippy mush."

Rainbow turned back to Sunset. "It's not just about us, Suns. It's about you, too. In a lot of ways, it's about you the most. I know you hate to hear that, but… you're kind of a big deal." A tiny bit of Rainbow's smile returned as she let go of Sunset's hands. "Sorry."

A blushing Sunset sighed. "I'll do my best to let that sink in. Really. But even past that, I really appreciate the listen tonight. I've never even told Twilight this stuff."

"You gonna?" Rainbow asked. "I can hold it till you do. But I think you should."

Sunset nodded. "Yeah. I'll round up the others soon."

"Cool. Just hope I helped." Rainbow undid the combination to her locker, fetching her blue outer vest. "Didn't know what else to do, really."

"Now, that's a first," Sunset said.

"What?" Rainbow said. "I'm not perfect. Still working my way up from 99.9 percent."

Sunset giggled. "Yeah, and I'm a 100 percent mess. But you've got it all together, Rainbow. You're great at listening, giving advice, being a great friend…" She looked over Rainbow, now wearing her vest, a lazy grin washing over her face. "…and being someone who wears a workout getup pretty darned well."

"Hah! Well, thanks," Rainbow said, returning the gesture. "You don't wear one so badly yourself."

"So I have heard from many, many hushed whispers in gym class." Sunset rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I won't tell Rarity. Last thing we need is to be models for an entire sports-fashion line." With a deep breath, Sunset made for the locker room doors, with Rainbow close beside. "Time to start work on my apology, I guess. This one's gonna be long."

"Ugh, don't even bother with that flowery shit," Gilda said, rolling her eyes. "Making it some big, begging speech just makes it dumb. Just cut down to the real stuff, your real feelings. Kill the noise. If they're really your friends, they'll get it. Then you can move on to backing up your words—you know, the shit that really matters?"

Sunset and Rainbow both stopped and turned to look at her, mouths agape in awe.

"...yeah, stop that right now," Gilda growled, her cheeks tinting as their stares persisted. "I mean it. Stop."

"Thank you, Gilda," Sunset said, and meant it. "That's actually really helpful."

"She does that," Rainbow said, her expression now the smuggest in the world.

"Ugh," Gilda said, walking towards, and pushing through, them both. "Fuckin' dweebs."

Outside of Gilda's Gym, Rainbow and Sunset walked the streets of downtown Canterlot City. It was still mid-evening, meaning the streetlamps were bright, the cars were still fairly plentiful, and while the people were sparse, the faint hum of their chatter persisted.

"Guess it's time to go home," Rainbow said, hands behind her head. "Time sure flies when you're having fun."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Sunset said, her eyes on her phone. "Hang on, though. Need to be sure of my destination."

The latest text message on her phone's screen was from herself: "I'm sorry too, Twi. Can I come over to talk?"

She'd sent it two full minutes ago and still hadn't gotten a response. Maybe Twilight was asleep? Or maybe she'd changed her mind and was still mad?

Just as her brain was about to explode with possible scenarios, none of which would have helped the butterflies in her stomach, her phone chimed with an answer:

"You are always welcome in my home, Sunset Shimmer."

With a heavy exhale, Sunset wiped her eyes for absolutely no reason whatsoever. "Rainbow? Can I say something? While I'm doing this newfound thing of revealing my feelings, and stuff."

Rainbow, who was just ahead of Sunset, slowed her walk. "Shoot."

"When I walked away yesterday, it was the scariest thing I ever did. And a few hours later, I realized… no one came after me. I thought for sure that I'd blown it with all of you, completely. That was pretty scary, too."

"Oh, right. That." Rainbow slowed more to let Sunset catch up, then wrapped an arm around Sunset's shoulder. "No one came after you, 'cause I stopped 'em."

Sunset did a double take. "Wait, you did?"

"You think you're the only one in this group who's ever blown up like you did?" Rainbow firmed her grip with a smile. "People like you and me, we need more time to cool off than most. So, uh, call me next time you feel like this. Or at least buy a punching bag? I really don't like kidnapping my friends. Makes me look like the bad guy."

"How charitable," Sunset snickered. "Thanks, though. I'll do everything I can to prevent this from happening again, promise. Starting with... sharing more."

"Cool. Anyway, Twi texted me, so grab on, I'll take you to her." Sunset climbed on Rainbow's back, holding on tight from behind, and Rainbow locked her arms around Sunset's legs. "Oh, and Sunset?"

"Yeah, Rainbow?"

Rainbow looked up to the stars, her expression earnest and carefree once more.

"I love you, too."

The two raced off into the night.

~fin~