Diary of the Dead

The next two days were slow for Sunset. It seemed rather cyclical. She’d wake up, eat breakfast, watch some television, and then flip open Fluttershy’s diary. The daily reading would last for a couple of hours, during which she learned so much about her deceased friend. She felt like she understood Fluttershy on a whole new level after reading so much. Chuckles left her lips at the funny parts, and tears fell at the sad ones. A sense of vicarious living began coursing through her body as she read further and further. Indeed, she felt as if she were inhabiting Fluttershy’s body, dealing with fear, failure, joy, and even a little romance.

But the parts that were the hardest to get through were the ones regarding herself. The early entries were all the same: “Sunset Shimmer hit me today,” or, “Sunset Shimmer spat at me today.” It tore her soul apart to see just what a horrific bully she’d been to the poor girl. These were the moments when tears fell, but she forged ahead, wanting desperately to know more. As she went along, she found the descriptions getting worse and worse. She knew what was coming, and she gulped in anticipation. It was the first time she’d ever been kicked out of school, yet she did not learn her lesson.

“Here we go,” she said as she turned the page, “…the worst moment of my life.”

“Monday, March 3rd,

Dear Diary,

Today…Sunset did something that I’ll never forgive her for. She’s thrown my books on the ground and told me that I’ll never amount to anything. I’ve had to go to school in her shadow for all this time. But that PALES in comparison to the awful thing she did today. She slammed me up against my locker and began assaulting me. She twisted my arm so badly that the doctors were shocked it wasn’t broken more than it was. I’m having to write this with my other hand, so please excuse the bad handwriting. Anyway, then, she punched me in the face! She’s never done that before. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t see straight. But she wasn’t through yet. She slammed me on the ground and drove both knees into my chest. Two of my ribs are broken!

I’m writing this in severe pain from a hospital bed…and I hope to God she gets her comeuppance! I may be a kind girl, but even I have limits. What Sunset did was uncalled for and I hope she rots! I HOPE SHE ROTS!

The entry ended there, but the stains from Sunset’s tears did not. She could still recall Fluttershy’s bones crunching under her grasp. Worse, still, she recalled how much she’d enjoyed it. In her eyes, Fluttershy had been a weak pawn in a game of social chess. She’d been the queen, and she’d thoroughly loved it when she got to beat down someone weaker. Now that Fluttershy was gone…Sunset knew she’d never be truly forgiven for something so careless and violent. She held the open book to her chest and cried severely, apologizing over and over again for her actions.

It was at this moment that Twilight arrived with the stack of daily schoolwork required of Sunset. She found her best friend in a heap on the floor, sobbing as if life depended on it. Dropping to a knee, she gathered Sunset into a hug. For a moment, she just stroked the yellow girl’s hair, allowing her to cry as she needed to. It was obvious just how much emotion was spiking itself inside Sunset’s veins, and Twilight wanted to ensure that she didn’t try and commit suicide again.

“She never forgave me, Twilight,” Sunset said in a barely audible and severely cracked voice, “…she never did.”

“That’s not true, Sunset,” Twilight responded, “and you’ve got to quit believing that.”

“Oh, would you just read the damn entry?!” Sunset asked in a sudden rage, “here! Read it! Then, you’ll see just why I’m in the state that I’m in!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as Sunset’s earlier attack was made known. Each word seemed to fly off the page in a spite filled assault on Sunset’s person. Twilight was absolutely floored by every single description. The broken arm, the punch to the face, the ribs…everything. She shook as she read, and when she finished, a part of her felt like being physical with Sunset. Anger pulsed through her body, but she couldn’t help it. After all, Fluttershy being hurt was as bad as attacking a defenseless dog or cat. It was abusive, cruel, and Twilight felt a need to show Sunset everything she’d done to Fluttershy.

“HOW COULD YOU?!” Twilight screamed when she finally found words.

“I was such a bully to her, Twilight,” Sunset said as tears and remorse painted her face, “I did so many horrible things to her-“

“Yeah, I know, but…you…I…didn’t you go to jail?!”

“Fluttershy was scared of me…scared of what I’d do if she did anything. So…she didn’t press any charges. I got suspended from school for a long time, but when I came back, I was meaner than ever. She was my target. Twilight, I planned to do something horrible to her.”

“As if you hadn’t done enough already?!” Twilight yelled, her face red and flush with rage.

“I…wanted to hurt her more than anyone, because I was weak,” Sunset confessed, “so I planned to harm some of her pets.”

“WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Twilight screeched.

By this point, she couldn’t take anymore and she lunged at Sunset. Much to her surprise, the yellow girl didn’t fight back. She just lay there. Twilight balled up her fist and tried to strike her, to pay her back for all the terrible things she’d done to Fluttershy. But she quickly realized that this would only breed more unhappiness and discontent, and that was the last thing anyone needed now. Sunset was still her friend, after all, and the past needed to remain in the past. While she was angry over Sunset’s behavior, she also knew the kind, gentle, and warm girl that Sunset had become.

“I…I’m sorry,” she said, “I shouldn’t have erupted like that.”

“No, you should have,” Sunset said, wiping her tears away, “everything I did to Fluttershy was meant to send a message to the school. ‘Mess with the bull, you get the horns.’ But I wasn’t mighty or incorruptibly strong. I…was weak. I’d failed in Equestria, so I took it out on this world.”

“But that’s all in the past,” Twilight said as she and Sunset nestled close to each other, “and I have to remember that. You aren’t that way anymore. You…aren’t a monster. You’re my best friend.”

“…and you’re mine, Twilight,” Sunset responded.

“We’ll get through this, but only if we do it together,” Twilight said.

“We may get through it,” Sunset quipped, “but…I don’t know if things will ever be the same again.”