"Remember, Octavia and Sandalwood are still at each other's throats," Rarity warned Pinkie, "so be sure to keep them miles apart at the table." The Rainbooms sat in a commons room during their free period, going over the guest list to Sunset's surprise birthday.
Pinkie jotted down Rarity's instructions enthusiastically. "OK-Dokie."
"Did you remember Steven and Zecora?" Rainbow asked Pinkie.
"Yepperoni," the pink skinned girl sang, holding up her massive list of the people being invited. "Seeing them there, along with everyone else us, will make Sunset so, so happy!"
"Because when they're there, it will remind Sunset she's done so much good for others, and not just in Canterlot High," Fluttershy enthused.
"That's the most important thing," Applejack stressed, "we have to remind her she feel's welcome and that we're not just keeping her around because we have to."
"Is Princess Twilight invited?" Rarity asked.
"Yep and yep," Pinkie Pie said. "I wonder if we're missing anyone else." Pinkie Pie's chin fell into her hand, before another happy smile formed on her face. "We forgot about Sunset's family."
Rainbow frowned. "Wait, does Sunset even have a family?" The Rainbooms fell into a pensive silence.
"I'm sure she's mentioned them...once," Rarity mused in deep thought.
"Who are they?" Fluttershy asked Rarity. The fashionista's face became more contemplative.
"No, she hasn't really talked about them at all," Rarity muttered aloud.
Applejack frowned seriously. "Why?"
"I think I can shed some light." The Rainbooms turned around and saw Twinkle coming into the room with a smile, holding a package in his left arm.
"Hey Twinky-Winky," Pinkie greeted. Twinkle smiled, long used to Pinkie's charming immaturity. "What'ya got there?"
"Just dropping off some props for the theater club, thought I'd stop by," Twinkle said with a shrug.
"So you know about Sunset's family?" Applejack asked the red-skinned athlete.
"Well, not exactly," Twinkle said. "A week ago, I talked about my family, and I asked about hers."
"And?" Applejack pressed. An uncomfortable frown formed on the track runner's face.
"So enough about me. What was your family in Equestria like?" Twinkle asked. The athlete took Sunset to a salad joint, thinking the vegetarian girl would love it. Sunset looked down at her plate of salad uncomfortably. "Sunset is-"
"I...wasn't really close with any of my relatives," Sunset said with a serious frown. "I cared more about...my studies...then them."
"What about your mom and dad?" Twinkle asked her.
"My dad...died when I was five years old," Sunset muttered.
Twinkle put a kind hand on Sunset's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"My mom...I was a horrible brat," Sunset said, her eyes wet. "I was mean to my mom, no matter what nice thing she did." Her eyes darted back and forth. "And...I ignored her like everyone else once I became Celestia's student."
"Sunset listen to me." Twinkle's voice was both strong and comforting. "I know you did bad things in the past. But you've changed for the better. If your mom was still here-,"
"She'd find out I bullied everyone, became a demon, blew up the school, was given community service twice, and got a poor girl paralyzed," Sunset replied.
"Sunset-,"
"Quick still hates me for what I did," Sunset muttered. It wasn't a question. Twinkle frowned, not even bothering to deny it. "If he hates me, she'll hate me."
"That's Quick," Twinkle muttered angrily. "But you've also volunteered around school, defeated the sirens, worked hard to make it up to-,"
"I blew it with her," Sunset muttered with depressed certainty. "That's how it is." Sunset felt her eyes water some more.
"So how's the sushi thing going?" Twinkle said with a smile. "I bet you'll be employee of the month." Sunset smiled at Twinkle, grateful that he changed the subject so smoothly.
"That explains a lot," Applejack muttered.
Rainbow looked at the apple farmer. "What do you mean, AJ?"
"Remember that talk I had with Sunset after the Formal," Applejack wondered. Rainbow nodded. "Sunset was mostly truthful, but there was something she didn't talk about."
"What?"
"Why she was so willing to leave her family behind for a whole new world she knew nothin' about," Applejack muttered. "I didn't press her about it, because I didn't really care at the time. I was wondering whether or not she was a jerk or not." Her eyes widened. "But yeah. How bad was their relationship that Sunset would ditch her without a second thought?"
Fluttershy looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Poor Sunset. She hated herself so much, she didn't think her mom would care." Everyone else felt upset at that revelation.
Pinkie was so upset her hair dropped downward. But in a fraction of a second, her hair puffed up again, and her trademark smile returned. "I just thought of the best idea ever!" Pinkie punctuated this with a blast of confetti from behind her.
Rainbow looked at Pinkie. "What's that?"
"Why don't we go to Equestria, find her mom, tell her about all the good things Sunset did, and bring her to her party," Pinkie chirped happily. "Bringing Sunset and her mom back together would be the best gift ever!"
Everyone smiled at the thought.
"That's...actually a pretty good idea," Applejack said with a smile. Twinkle and the other Rainbooms were also in agreement.
"Alright then," Rainbow said with a smile, "it is settled. We'll all go through the portal after school, talk to Princess Twilight about it, find Sunset's mom, talk to her, and invite her to the party."
"When Sunset sees that her mom still loves her, she'll be so happy," Fluttershy gushed with glowing eyes.
Pinkie got her pink pen. "I'll put on her on as 'Sunset's Mom'." She wrote the name on the list.
Twinkle marveled at the size of the list. "That's a lot of people." He snatched it from Pinkie Pie.
"Sunset's needs to remember she has a lot of friends," Pinkie Pie said.
Twinkle frowned as he looked over the list. "There's one more person you forgot to add."
Pinkie Pie looked aghast at the idea of someone being left out. "Who?"
"Quick." Everyone, except Rainbow and Pinkie Pie turned to glare at him.
"Quick?!" Rarity hissed at him.
"Yeah, he's coming back to school in a few-,"
"NO!" Applejack screamed forcefully.
"Absolutely not!" Rarity muttered.
"But-,"
Fluttershy said nothing, but let out a whimper.
"OK sure," Pinkie Pie said, adding his name to the list, much to the chagrin of three of the Rainbooms.
"Are you crazy!" Applejack bellowed. "Do you remember what that varmint-,"
"He hurt me and I forgave him," Twinkle said forcefully, "I don't see why-,"
Rarity scowled furiously. "He terrorized the school and attacked Luna."
Fluttershy looked scared. "He got Sandalwood in trouble."
"Well, Sunset was a big meanie-weenie for a long time," Pinkie said to her friends with an edge to her voice. "And we forgave her, and she became nice. So why can't we do the same for Quick?"
"Pinkie's right," Rainbow said with a serious look. "What he did was shitty, and I get why you hate him. But," she frowned guiltily, "Twink and I...weren't much better."
Twinkle looked down shamefully, remembering how he treated Sunset after the Fall Formal. "Yeah, if you want to blame anyone, blame us for the bad example we set." He let out a shrug. "Sure, what he did was worse, but we were the same key played higher."
"Also, Sunset said with have to let go of our grudges," said in a serious tone. "I did that with Gilda, and know we're friends again. So, shouldn't we let go of our grudge with Quick?" Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity frowned furiously.
"And...in his own messed up way," Twinkle said uncomfortably, "he was trying to help Muharib out." Everyone frowned, still upset over what had happened to that poor girl.
"Princess Twilight said that Harmony applies to everyone, not just when we want it too," Rainbow said with an unusually sage like voice. "So if we can't give Quick a chance, how can we really call ourselves the Elements of Harmony?" A thoughtful silence came over the room.
"Well, let me ask ya'll this," Applejack said, the iron returning to his voice. "How has Q-Quick," she stammered, still uncomfortable with mentioning his name, "been behaving?" She stared at Rainbow and Twinkle, the only two people in the room who have had any contact with the short track runner since his suspension.
"He's done his community service," Twinkle said proudly, "he's gone to his meetings with Officer Garda, he's gotten back into Celestia's good graces."
"He's been cool so far," Rainbow said casually, "and he's regretted everything he did."
Rarity glared at the blue skin girl. "How does he feel about Sunset?" Rainbow and Twinkle looked uncomfortable.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "We...haven't really talked about it."
Rarity looked exasperated. "You haven't discussed it?!"
"Because...he talks about Muharib," Twinkle said, "and how she's doing. It doesn't seem to be-,"
"Well you have to talk about it with him!" Applejack stressed. "Because if he isn't calm, and he's in the same school with Sunset, he might explode again." Applejack shivered, still remembering his attack on her. Rarity put a comforting hand on Applejack, which calmed her down a bit.
"He's not going to explode," Rainbow argued. "He hasn't done anything like that."
"Because he hasn't been with Sunset," Fluttershy uttered in a serious tone. "What do you think he'll do when you put him next to Sunset?" Pinkie, Rainbow, and Twinkle frowned at that, not considering the possibility he could go nuts again.
"Here's the deal darling," Rarity said in a more sympathetic tone. "We'll give Quick a chance, but only if he can forgive Sunset."
"Which means ya'll have to bring it up him," Applejack stressed. "We can't have those two together if he's still red hot mad." She frowned furiously. "Ya'll have to be sure he's not mad, or he could end up ruining Sunset's birthday."
"I get why he's angry at Sunset," Fluttershy said in soft, understanding tone. "If Sunset did the same thing to Zephyr," Fluttershy balled up her fists and turned red, the thought of anyone hurting Zephyr like that being too awful to articulate. She took a deep breath and calmed down. "But if he wants to be our friend, he can't keep acting angry around Sunset." Fluttershy's tone indicated that this was not negotiable.
Twinkle and Rainbow frowned, but than nodded in agreement. "Alright that's fair. We're gonna meet with him tomorrow anyways."
"And Quick tells me Muharib's been making progress," Twinkle said with an optimistic smile. "So maybe there is a good chance he could be in a better mood to forgive Sunset."
"If he can let go of his anger fine," Applejack said in a serious tone. "If he can't, he has to stay away from us and her birthday party."
"Alright," Twinkle said in a melancholy, but understanding, tone. The bell rang, signaling that it was time for the next class.
"Alright so we're all in agreement," Applejack said as she got up from her chair. "We'll go through the portal, and ask Twilight about finding Sunset's mom. Deal?"
"Sure," everyone cheered. They smiled as they left the commons room, hopeful they could rebuild the relationship between Sunset and her mom, and make Sunset more secure about being at CHS.
