Helping a Friend (Edited by Echo Breeze) (Updated 1/10/2023)
It had been a week since Sunset and her friends destroyed the Memory Stone and stopped Wallflower who accepted her defeat and their friendship. As great as it was that all the memories were released from the stone Sunset Shimmer hadn’t been doing well following the catastrophic events of the memory-erase crisis.
She started getting quieter and quieter around her friends during class and around her classmates. Fluttershy was especially surprised by this out of the rest of her friends, as she's normally the quiet one in their group.
Sunset was feeling down and sad, almost like she was in a depression and had started to worry about her friends, especially her best friend Twilight Sparkle.
She had been worrying a lot after the stone was destroyed and how Sunset was behaving around them. Something that was starting to bother her the most was how Sunset acted when she arrived at school the previous week.
When arriving at school that morning Sunset was wearing her old, tattered leather jacket she used to wear back when she was still a bully. And every time a bit of her arm was exposed she'd pull the sleeves back down, blocking them from anyone catching a glimpse underneath. This was something that Twilight thought was very suspicious of Sunset.
She knew right away she had to find out what Sunset was hiding from them before Sunset would do something that would terrify them all!
It was Thursday night around 5:30 p.m. at Sunset's apartment. She had just gotten home 2 hours prior after a hard day of school. After doing some homework she layed back on her couch sighing to herself over how worried she's made her friends feel the last week.
Ever since the Memory Stone was destroyed Sunset had been feeling a bit depressed, and lonely whenever she came home, despite her having her pet Ray for company.
But this is where she started to do something she hadn’t done since after the events of the Fall Formal. Cutting her skin open to feel pain, with a razor blade she had gotten years prior.
She stopped doing it twice during two rough moments she had experienced. First after the Battle of the Bands and then again during the Anon-A-Miss Incident which had reopened the wounds Sunset had from being alone, making her feel like no one cared about her.
As Sunset moved and began adjusting herself on her couch staring at her blank television she thought back to how she felt when she found out her memories from everyone she knew were erased.
She was heartbroken.
The Memory Stone has since been destroyed and her friends were back to normal, it was all she could think about the last week that she hadn’t told anyone about. Including her friends.
Since the night the stone was destroyed and the memories were set free Sunset had been having nightmares nonstop, mainly over her being alone and unable to stop Wallflower in time to get her friends' memories back. And every time she woke up she was sweating, panting, crying, or even in tears over the nightmares.
Finally, after suffering several nights of nonstop nightmares and having gotten little to no sleep Sunset had had enough! She wanted to tell her friends about the nightmares she's been having. But wasn’t sure if she'd want to go to them every time something was happening to her. They do care about her very much, but she could no longer take it, as she didn't want to put extra weight on their shoulders with her problems.
She was gonna end this once and for all! But before she does, she wanted to spend one last time with her best friend Twilight Sparkle.
Sunset grabbed her phone that was sitting on the coffee table before going over to her desk and began typing a message to Twilight.
Hey Twilight, it's Sunset. Are you free tonight by any chance?
…
I am Sunset. Is something up?
Yes. Um, you see... Is it alright if you come and spend the night with me? Please? I’ve been feeling a bit lonely at my apartment lately, even with Ray. I understand if you can't tonight, I just want some company, that's all.
...
Of course Sunset. I have been meaning to talk to you a bit lately about how you’ve been acting around me and our friends. It's been worrying me lately.
Thank you Twilight. It means a lot.
No problem Sunset. When should I arrive?
Is around 8 pm good? I want to have some dinner first and then perhaps take a quick shower before you arrive.
Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.
About 2 and a half hours later Twilight was on her way to Sunset’s apartment with her backpack in tow. Inside was her pajamas, a pair of slippers, her light blue jacket, her wallet, and a gift for Sunset she made for her.
Twilight knew something was up from the start since Sunset has never asked her to come over this late at night. Nor has she done it in the past. She still recalled how weird Sunset was acting the previous week just thinking about it as she made her way to Sunset's place.
Flashback
“Hey, girls sorry I’m late. I must have forgotten to set my alarm last night."
“No worries Sunset you're not late,” Twilight replied, giving Sunset a warm smile.
“We got another 10 minutes until classes start. So we thought we’d wait here for you Sugarcube,” Applejack added.
As relieved as they were to see Sunset, Rarity was curious about the jacket Sunset was wearing.
“Um, Sunset darling. Is there a reason you're wearing your old leather jacket over your vest? It's just bothering me. And it doesn’t match your outfit at all!” Rarity queried, looking at Sunset's appearance.
“Plus, summer starts in 2 weeks. So wouldn’t you'd not want to wear that?" Questioned Rainbow Dash.
“I uh, wanted to just wear it since I did? I can do what I want, even if this jacket might be starting to show its age," Sunset replied with a fake smile in response.
“Sunset are you ok? You've been very quiet lately. Even more than me," asked Fluttershy, a look of quiet concern on her face.
“Want a cupcake? Always makes me feel better,” Pinkie Pie asked, who grabbed one out of her hair. Sunset of course denied it before Pinkie ate it in 1 bite.
“Girls I’m fine. Just trying to wake me up still." Sunset replied with a fake giggle.
“Well if you need to talk to anyone of us I'm here for you Sunset," Twilight assured, placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder as Sunset smiled back.
Present day
“I hope Sunset is alright. She’s been like this since we stopped Wallflower and destroyed the Memory Stone," Twilight lamented with a sigh. "I hope whatever she's going through, I'll be able to help her. Because I love Sunset a lot.”
Twilight soon arrived at Sunset's apartment as the last of the daylight had vanished, with only the street lights to guide her way. She looked at her phone to see the time. 8:07 p.m.
She then knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before Sunset opened it to welcome her.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice Twilight,” Sunset said before she went ahead and began hugging her friend.
“No problem Sunset. I brought what I needed before leaving. So I'm good to go for the night,” Twilight replied with a smile after finishing their hug.
Soon they were sitting together on the couch in complete silence. Twilight had removed her hairpin, letting her hair down. As much as she enjoys having her hair in a ponytail she prefers it loose when not at school or just when she wants to. And to not get mixed up with her counterpart whose identity looks similar to her current look as many students at CHS still often confuse her as the princess from Equestria. But she's gotten used to it.
...
A few minutes went by and Sunset hadn’t spoken 1 bit. So Twilight decided to break the silence up a bit to give her friend something positive to think about.
“Sunset are you ok? You haven’t been acting strange since the Memory Stone was destroyed last week. Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked as she placed her right hand on Sunset’s shoulder.
“Um, no Twilight everything is fine. Perfectly fine. I’ve just been staying up late a lot playing video games, that's all. You know me and my addict for them." Sunset assured.
Twilight could tell something was up and she needed answers.
“Sunset if something is on your mind you can tell me. I'm not under a spell anymore. I'll listen to you because I care about you a lot."
Sunset just stayed silent while listening to her friend's kind words.
“Maybe we should head to bed early since you haven’t been sleeping well. Ok?"
Sunset knew that might be the right choice as her plan was going exactly as planned.
“Ok Twilight. If you say so." Sunset replied, feeling defeated.
“Good. Now, I’m gonna go and get changed in your bathroom and met you upstairs afterward. Alright?" Twilight said before getting up and heading over to the bathroom with her backpack in her hand.
“Ok," Sunset replied, as she headed over to her bedroom to get changed.
Soon both girls were in their pajamas and under the covers of Sunset’s bed.
Twilight set her backpack next to the nightstand so she could easily find it.
“Sunset, have you by any chance had any nightmares lately? Something tells me that you have." Twilight asked, a look of concern on her face as she turned to face Sunset.
“Twilight I’ve been fine. I’ve just been having trouble sleeping. I’ve mainly been taking sleeping pills or warm glasses of milk to help me feel tired. Which does work, 80% of the time."
“Well, whenever I had trouble sleeping my mom would sing me this song. Would it help if I do that?" Twilight queries.
“I guess it's worth a try,” Sunset replied.
“Ok then,” Twilight said with a nod.
She began to sing the song her mother sang to her as a child whenever she had trouble sleeping. Luckily, it seemed to be working. After a few minutes went by Sunset was soon fast asleep.
“Goodnight, Sunset, sleep tight."
Twilight soon removed her glasses and put them on the nightstand next to her before turning off the light on the nightstand. A few minutes later, she fell asleep next to her friend placing her left arm on her right shoulder.
An hour later Twilight was fast asleep as she snored quietly next to Sunset, who was sleeping quietly as well. But she wasn’t!
She faked it so Twilight would fall for it when helping her fall asleep. And she did!
Sunset soon got out of her bed as quietly as she could without making any sound possible.
She placed a note next to Twilight knowing that there was no turning back with the choice she was about to make.
“I’m sorry Twilight, but I don’t deserve to be your friend after all I’ve done. Especially how I acted to you at the Friendship Games. There’s nothing that can fix this. I'm sorry."
Sunset then went to the bathroom and stripped out her pajamas, changing into a tank top and pair of shorts, preparing herself to end it all!
But before she did, she brought her razor blade out and put a few new cuts into her arms. Sunset had gotten used to the feeling since she did it a lot after the events of the Fall Formal.
She had since stopped doing it when her friends started to spend more time with her as she truly felt cared for during the events of the Battle of the Bands. But when Anon-A-Miss hit she did it again since she couldn’t take it anymore and started doing it to herself when her friends thought she was behind Anon-A-Miss. Of course, things went back to normal after they found out who Anon-A-Miss was, but Sunset never fully had after that uneventful Christmas.
Sunset thought she won’t have to worry about this happening again after the new year began until it happened when she least expected it, all thanks to Wallflower Blush.
When she was finished cutting herself she placed the razor blade on the counter with the fresh blood dripping onto the sink.
Sunset made her way up to the roof of her apartment to do what she must.
She closed and opened the door as quietly as she could hoping no one would find out what she was about to do, as what she was about to do, would be very hard to survive.
Twilight shifted in her sleep when she awoke to the sounds of footsteps. She then noticed Sunset was missing with a note where her friend once was.
She gasped at first when she realized Sunset was gone and that the note was sitting where her friend was originally sleeping.
She then turned on the light and grabbed her glasses from the nightstand as she began reading Sunset's note.
Dear Twilight. If you're reading this, I’m dead. I can’t stop dreaming about losing you and our friends since the Memory Stone Incident occurred last week. I haven’t slept well since before this all started. I can’t seem to figure out how to move on from this and I can’t think of anything else to do but end it all. I’m sorry. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.
“I was right. Sunset was hiding something all along! That noise must have been her footsteps, and she must be on the roof. I need to stop her right now before she does what I think she’s going to do!!!"
Twilight jumped out of the bed as fast as she could before grabbing her jacket and slippers.
She ran to the roof at a pace that would make Rainbow Dash proud to hopefully stop Sunset from what she was about to do.
Sunset was on the roof of her apartment building as she looked her the surroundings she’s seen since coming to this world.
She loved it. But after suffering being alone after the two horrible incidents she went through she couldn’t take it anymore.
She had had enough.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, girls, I’m sorry for everything I've done. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I don’t deserve to be forgiven at all. All I am is a waste of time to you all. I will always be alone, no matter what happens. Goodbye, everyone. And I’m sorry for everything I’ve done."
Just as Sunset was about to take a step and end it all she heard the sound of a door slamming open.
“Sunset stop!!!"
Twilight had found out what Sunset was about to do and knew she needed to reason with her friend before it was too late.
“Go away Twilight. Please just go!" Sunset said, with tears streaming down her eyes.
“Sunset what you're doing is crazy. You can’t do this. What will everyone think when they learn-”
“What’s the point? I've been ignored twice by the friends I thought cared for me. First the Anon-A-Miss Incident and then the Memory Stone Incident. I simply just can’t take it anymore Twilight." A few tears fell down her face onto the ground below while Twilight continued to try and reason with her.
“Sunset you know I won’t let you do this. None of us will. Just please, take my hand and we can talk this over. You have friends who care for you. I've cared about you ever since we first met at the Friendship Games when you saved me!!! Sunset, the stone is destroyed. We don't hate you. We got over what you did as a bully. We won't leave you hanging on thin ice. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. But please just tell me what's bothering you. I want to help you!!”
Twilight then ran towards Sunset til she was just 3 feet away.
“If we talk about this it’ll help. There’s always a way to fix things!" Twilight said, in desperation as she let her hand out for Sunset.
“I’m sorry Twilight, but I don’t know what else to do. I’ve ruined all your lives because of what I've done. And now I know what I must do."
...
"Goodbye Twilight."
“Sunset no!!!"
Sunset then turned herself around as she stepped backward off the roof and slowly began to fall.
But Twilight didn’t want her to do this or lose her friend. And just a second later, she grabbed a hold of her friend, as she continued sweating hard and not letting go for dear life!
“Twilight, please let me go! I don’t deserve anything. After all, I’ve done!” Sunset said in a voice that lacked much emotion.
“Sunset, that’s not true. Sure you were a bully once and you did bad things. But that’s all in the past. You have friends who care so much about you and they wouldn’t want to lose you. Including me!"
“Yo-you do?"
“Yes, Sunset. You’ve helped me so much since we met and that is why I care for you so much."
"Twilight..."
When the coast felt clear Twilight proceed to pull Sunset back up to safety. And soon, Sunset was on solid ground once more.
Twilight then removed her jacket and wrapped it around Sunset, who was confused about why she was doing it.
Sunset looked up at her best friend as she wiped away a tear rolling down from her face.
“Why, Twilight. Why did you save me?" Sunset asked, with tears starting to fall more freely.
“Sunset, I just want you to explain to me what’s been going on through that head of yours. You've been hiding stuff from us since we destroyed the stone."
Twilight then looked down at Sunset's arms and was shocked when she saw several cuts on her friend's arm, causing her to gasp in surprise. "Sunset, what happened to your arms? Have you been hurting yourself?!"
Sunset’s arms were still bleeding a bit as Twilight let go of them.
“I’m sorry Twilight. I’m so sorry." Sunset said, the tears staining her cheeks.
“Come on, let’s go inside. It's freezing out here. Once we're inside, please explain to me why you did this. You promise?"
"Of course," Sunset replied as Twilight helped her back inside.
Once inside they went straight to the bathroom where Twilight sat Sunset down on the floor. She needed to find Sunset's emergency kit so she can clean off and bandage her up.
“Sit tight. I need to clean you up and get you bandaged up, those cuts look bad and need attention pronto."
As Twilight searched for the emergency kit Sunset stayed quiet as a mouse as she was sure Twilight was very upset at what just happened and how she almost committed suicide in front of her.
While searching the bathroom cabinets Twilight stumbled upon the razor blade Sunset used earlier. The moment she picked it up she was speechless.
When she realized that Sunset had been hurting herself with it she needed answers as to why she was doing this. And why it was covered with fresh blood.
“Sunset. How long have you been doing this?"
…
“HOW LONG?!?!"
“I’ve been doing it again since the night after the stone was destroyed."
Twilight didn’t know what to say for a minute until she had forgotten what she was doing in the first place.
After finding the emergency kit she sat down in front of Sunset to treat her injuries.
“Sunset can you please remove the jacket and your shirt so I can help you? You're hurt. I’m not just gonna ignore this with those cuts on your arms. I'm not gonna leave a friend of mine who's in dire need of help."
Sunset didn’t feel like arguing with her as she removed the jacket and then her shirt. As she did, more scars were shown on her body. Twilight was surprised her friend had been hiding this from her and constantly hurting herself and knew right away she needed to help her.
After a few minutes went by as Twilight cleaned up the dried-up blood Sunset decided to finally talk to her.
“Twilight, why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?”
“Because I care about you Sunset. You're my friend. You’ve helped me during tough times I was in and now it’s time I help you. I may have forgotten you when I was affected by the stone, but I still care about you a lot."
Twilight then came towards Sunset and hugs her crying, friend.
“Even after what I caused to happen to you?"
“Yes. Now come on, let’s get you changed and back to bed," replied Twilight as she grabbed Sunset's pajamas and helped her get changed, making sure to be careful with the bandages.
After Sunset was changed back into her pajamas, cleaned of dry blood, and bandaged up the two friends went back to bed.
The time was now 10:03 p.m. as Sunset sat next to Twilight in bed. She was still wearing Twilight's blue jacket over her pajamas which Twilight did to keep her extra warm as they went under the covers.
“Sunset, are you ok?"
“No Twilight. I’m not." Sunset said as a few tears went down her face.
Twilight then turned to face her and as she placed her left hand on her friend's shoulder.
“Talk to me. What’s been bothering you?"
“Ever since the stone was destroyed, I’ve been having nonstop nightmares that I couldn’t stop Wallflower in time. And my memories of you and the girls were gone forever," Sunset said as she started with a sniff.
"Every time I woke up I'd be sweating, panting, in tears, or crying. I feel like no matter what I do, I always end up being cast aside. From Anon-A-Miss to the Memory Stone. Since then, I have felt nothing but betrayal from those I care deeply for. I never told anyone this because I didn’t want to be alone again. And when you girls forgot me the day when we were gonna have fun at the beach and have our group photo, I-I-I”
Twilight immediately pulled Sunset up to her chest and started to cry on her shoulder.
“It's ok Sunset. Let it out. Let it all out.”
Sunset didn’t want to at first but she couldn’t hold it in as she let out a flood of tears.
“It’s ok Sunset. It’s ok I’ve got you.”
Twilight began to stroke her hair as Sunset finished off her crying.
After the tears were all gone and Sunset started to hiccup, Twilight knew she needed to talk to her friend about the situation she was just in.
“Sunset, I know you’ve had a troubled past, but you got friends who care for you now. They're pretty much your family. We wouldn’t mind if you explain it to us anytime you want. We understand what you’ve been through. We'll help you in any way we can, until the end of time. We care, a lot about you."
“I know. But, it's a hard thing for me to do."
Twilight now realized Sunset needed to hear this feeling she'd been keeping locked up inside her. She didn’t want to share it at first with her but figured it would help at a time like this for her best friend.
“Sunset, while we're on the topic of that, there’s something important I must tell you."
A minute goes by before Sunset speaks up. “What is it Twilight?"
“I have feelings for you Sunset. Romantic ones."
Sunset was speechless.
“What? But how? You already have feelings for someone else! You should love Timber Spruce, not me. What's so special about me over him?"
“I know. But we broke up not too long ago."
"You broke up!?!?"
"I was gonna tell you and the girls during our outing at the beach, but I forgot when the memory stone incident happened. But I do love you Sunset. I have. Ever since the Friendship Games."
“You're not just saying that to make me happy, are you?"
“No, it's the truth, Sunset. You helped me so much with my fear of magic that I’ve gotten these feelings for you. And that is why I don't want to lose you. I love you very much."
Sunset soon blushed after hearing those words and soon some new tears formed in her eyes.
“Well, I’m glad. Because I have feelings for you as well. I didn't want to tell you this at all. I didn’t want to ruin your relationship with Timber because of these feelings of mine."
“Well, you don’t have to worry anymore. Timber and I didn’t have that much of a romantic relationship with each other anyway, and we are fine just being friends. Just please promise me this. Don’t you ever try doing something like that ever again! Promise?"
“Ok, Twilight. I promise."
“And if you ever need to talk to someone over this I'll be here for you. No matter what time or day it is wherever we might be. I love you very much." Twilight replied as she kissed Sunset on her forehead.
“Thank you, Twilight. It's the best thing I've heard within the last week."
Silence soon took over Sunset's apartment except for the sound of Ray's lamp flickering until Twilight spoke to her friend once more.
“Hey Sunset, I know it's late, but there’s something I brought I wanted to give you."
“Really? What is it?"
Twilight soon got out of bed and grabbed the gift from inside her backpack. She then turned the lights back on as she placed the gift in front of Sunset.
“Go on open it."
Sunset soon did so as she opened it. She was in tears the moment she saw what was inside. It was a leather jacket, just like the very one she wore when she first met Twilight. It was almost identical to the one she already had, but this one had purple streaks on it.
“Di-did you make this?" Sunset asked in awe.
“Yes. My mom helped me. It took a while to make since it's leather, but the results turned out well. It’s a gift I wanted to give you to confess my love to you, and I'm glad you love it!" Twilight replied, a slight blush on her face.
“You did this for me?" Sunset asked in disbelief.
“Of course Sunset. Now go and try it on."
Sunset soon removes Twilight's blue jacket and she puts it on the jacket she made for her, all the while Twilight puts on her blue jacket to stay warm.
“Well? Do you like it?"
“I love it Twilight. It's just like the same one I wore when I first met you. But even better."
Sunset then proceeds to hug her friend, making Twilight blush in response. She now felt relieved she made her friend very happy, after the eventful week she's had with the nonstop nightmares.
"I-I don’t know what to say."
“Just promise me you’ll be more honest to me on anything that’s on your mind, alright?"
“Ok Twilight."
They soon looked at the clock which read 10:30 p.m.
“Come on. Let’s get some sleep. It's getting late. We got a 3-day weekend coming up and I think you need someone to be with you. And that person is me Sunset."
“Thank you Twilight.”
After snuggling back into the covers, Twilight turned the lights off and put her glasses back on the nightstand.
But as she started to fall asleep Sunset needed one last thing before their night would conclude.
“Twilight?"
“Yes, Sunset?"
“Is it ok if we snuggle? Please?"
“Of course. Come here."
Sunset came closer to Twilight as her face came just as close to her collarbone.
“If you ever need to do this, just ask Sunset, I love a good snuggle."
“You got it Twi."
"Tomorrow, let's go have some fun. We could go to the beach. Go shopping. Maybe see a movie?"
"I'd love that."
The two girls soon knew what they both wanted to say right now after their very rough night together.
"I love you Twilight."
"I love you Sunset."
They then looked into each other's eyes before going in for a kiss.
They then kissed again a few seconds later, blushing afterward.
“My life belongs to you Sunset. Has been and always will be. I don't ever want to give up on you."
“Neither will I Twilight. I want to stay with you until the end."
“Same here Sunset. Now come on, it's time to get some rest."
After a few minutes of silence went by Sunset then spoke one last thing to her girlfriend as she started to feel tired.
“I love you Twilight."
“I love you too Sunset."
Twilight then kisses Sunset on the top of her forehead again just as her eyelids were beginning to feel heavy.
"I’m glad to have you as my girlfriend."
"I am to Sun-"
But before Twilight realized it, Sunset had already fallen fast asleep. And this time it was for real.
She smiled as she kissed Sunset one final time before adjusting the covers and turning on her right to face Sunset.
“Sleep tight Sunset. I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning. I'll always be here for you."
Twilight wipes away another tear away off from Sunset's face before she fell fast asleep.
The two girls dreamt about their new future ahead of them while they slept silently together.
Twilight had made her friend and now girlfriend very very happy and had made Sunset's problem disappear with the power of her love for her.
Author's Note
References
Sunset's jacket is the one from "Sunset's Backstage pass"/what she wore at the Starswirl Festival.
I hope you all enjoyed this and I'd like to give a shoutout to my friend Echo Breeze who helped me with this. Btw if you're wondering what the jacket looks like Sci Twi is wearing it's the same one from the series seen in Friendship Games, Legend of Everfree, and 2 shorts.
Anyway, if this story does well I'll do more in the future if I got the time cause of college and my future but if this story does well I'll possibly write more. Til then I'm SciSetShimmerEvan and I'll see you all down the line. I'm a big train fan so that's why I said it. Anyway bye.
