Sleepover at Sunset's place. Suggested by the bacon haired girl herself, they had just went through another busy week at school, homework, band practice, after school activities and so on. A sleepover should help blow off some steam and to keep a cool head to be more prepaired for another busy week.
It's already past 6 PM and 10 minutes before 7 PM, the girls are doing fun stuff inside Sunset's house, despite the interior being a bit small, they still manage have fun on their own while the Pizza Sunset ordered, are still on the way.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash are playing Uno cards on Sunset's bed, betting real money suggested by Rainbow Dash, only to end up losing the game and some of her money to AJ. Rarity was sewing while Twilight was helping Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie with their homeworks a bit before the Pizzas arrived, and lastly, we have Sunset Shimmer, who was playing video games.
She was playing her third favorite, Red Dead Redemption 2 where her character, John Marston riding around his horse at New Austin, mass murdering people, cops and bounty hunters. Sunset was rapidly pressing random controls as her character was being chase by another army of angry bounter hunters, she was sweating, her attention was on this game, unfortunately, as her character was looking back, firing back at the bounty hunters, she wasn't paying attention where her character and horse were going and then the horse in the game fell off a cliff and eventually died resulting it a game over.
"Are you kidding me?!" Sunset cried, getting attention from her friends. "How do I supposed to know I'm going straight to a cliff?!"
"Maybe you should have not killed those poor people to begin with and have an angry army coming after you for your crimes..." Fluttershy meekly told her.
Sunset sigh and rubbed her head. "I know, but it's only a game, Fluttershy," She replied. "Just trying to have some fun,"
"I know that is only game, dear, that video games are not a cup of tea in my book, except when we're playing Among Us," Rarity said, focusing on her work. "But mass murdering those human beings is no fun."
"Yeah!" Pinkie chimed in. "May I strongler remind you of how you used to be a big meanie?"
Sunset sighs at that feedback, "Yes, but unlike those other school bullies at our school, I intend to harass anyone but assaulting is the least of my intentions. But I want to drop this topic now."
"Okay, darling," Rarity replied back, continuing her work.
After awhile, the doorbell ring, signaling them the pizzas arrived, Sunset was first to open the door and speak the delivery man and pay for the pizzas, while the rest are waiting, Rainbow Dash losed some of her other money to Applejack.
"Not so 100 IQ pro at Uno now, huh Rainbow Dash?" Applejack asked with a smug on her face.
"Wait, wait!" Rainbow halt. "Just one more game!"
"Ah' dunno," AJ dejected. "Pizzas already here."
"But we'll go back playing this game after we eat pizza!" Rainbow suggested.
"But yah' ran outta money to bet," AJ reminded her. "And yer' also the one who suggested we should bet real money."
Rainbow quickly glance around for more valuables," Well, umm...." she quickly glance something under the bed and half of the paper visible saying 15,000 Equestria Bits, so she quickly picked it up from under the bed without paying more attention to the context of the paper. "How bout this? A paper that saids 15, 000 Equestria bits? I'm betting it."
"Wait, hold on a second," AJ halt. "15, 000 Equestria Bits??" She asked confused.
"Yeah, what else?" She then notice something more on the paper. "Wait. There's something else in this thing," She take a look and couldn't believe it. "This ain't just a paper that said that amount of bits, it's a wanted poster! Of Sunset!"
Applejack was shock by this. "May ah' see it?" She asked, then Rainbow hand her over the poster so Applejack take a look. And she's right, it is a wanted poster of their friend. "This one came from Equestria. Shall we ask Sunset about this?"
Rainbow turns to see Sunset talking to the pizza guy by the door while her friends were still chatting. She turned back to AJ and replied. "We'll tell our friends first and then ask Sunset."
So then, Rainbow Dash grabbed the poster out of her hands and scale downstairs to her friends, "Hey guys, checked this out." She showed the wanted poster to her friends and it result them to be stunned. Twilight was the first one to grab the poster and study it.
"I do knew that Sunset used to be a bad person based on from what you girls told me but I never taught she would come off as a criminal." Twilight said.
"Oh, neither do I," Rarity replied. "It seems there's more of her past than what Sunset had told us before."
"Hmm, from the looks of this poster, it's pretty old than our current time like now," Twilight replied. "It may have suggest that Sunset had this before she went to this dimension."
"Then, why don't we ask her if we're gonna find out more?" Fluttershy asked.
"That's what we're about to do now." Rainbow answered.
Back to Sunset, she just paid for the pizzas and wave goodbye at the Pizza guy and he closed the door and be on his way. She walk over to the small table and place the pizzas there and saw her friends staring at her, and those stares made her feel like something's wrong.
"Girls, what's wrong?" Sunset asked.
The girls said nothing for a moment until Rarity spoke, "Darling, there's something we need to ask you," she grabbed the poster from Twilight's hands and show it to Sunset. "About this."
The sights of her old wanted poster brings Sunset back to the terrible things she had done at other places in Equestria behind Princess Celestia's back. Sunset frowned at those old memories.
"Oh..." She started to say. "That old wanted poster.... of me.... back at....Equestria...."
Seeing their friend saddened by this reminder, Twilight quickly gave her a hug and comfort her.
"Sunset, it's okay," She told her. "You may have done bad things in the past but you paid for it and turned into a good person."
"Besides," Pinkie Pie added. "I'm sure those other ponies might be forgiven and let bygones be bygones just like us!"
"But if I go back to any of those areas where I was wanted, they'll remember soon enough." Sunset told her as Twilight stopped hugging her. She took a seat beside Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Soo.... what exactly did you do there?" Rainbow asked her.
So yep, It was time for Sunset to tell the girls of what she hadn't told them yet. So she sighs and started explaining, "Well, while I'm pretty mad with power and ambition, I even asked Princess Celestia for a few personal trips, she reluctantly agreed to allow me to. The reason why I wanted to go those places just to practice more and more magic elsewhere and even showed everyone why I am a perfict fit to rule Equestria," She frown again when she's about to go the next part after that.
"But unfortunately, I was so lustful, greedy and so ambitious that I went overboard with all my magic that I had caused mayhem and total destruction. I tried it again to two other places, only to end up the same result so I decided to come back after a few days just to show them that I still got it. But as soon as I got back to those places, next thing I knew, I saw wanted posters of me and they said they're looking for me for what I had done, so I quickly stayed away and decided to practice magic back at the castle. And they didn't even know I was former student of a former ruler of Equestria. So I took one of those in hopes Princess Celestia never finds out, but can't bring myself to go to the next locations since it was being heavily patrolled."
After hearing her story, AJ asked her, "Soo... like Princess Celestia never knew about it?"
Sunset nodded. "Since it's been so long since that happened, I completely forgot about it. But now, I remember it. And since Princess Twilight was now the new ruler of the whole nation, might as well tell her about this before I find my old mentor."
"So, what does the poster said about the things you did back there?" Fluttershy asked her.
Twilight give another look to the poster and read, "It says that Sunset Shimmer is Wanted Dead or Alive, 15,000 Equestria bits. Multiple counts of injuries, abuse of magic, and massive destruction."
"Bounty Hunters had patrols all over Rockville, Western Equestria, and Manehattan," Sunset continued. "Those are the places where I was wanted."
"Well, it's been a few years or since that," Rainbow said. "It should be over by now."
"They're not stopping until they get their job done, finding and hunting the bounties, and I happened to be one of them who they were looking for."
"How can we tell if they're still breathing down on yer' neck?" Applejack asked her. "It's been a few years since that mess you made, they shoulda get over it by now."
Sunset shrugged. "Maybe it's because I still have a price on my head?"
"Look, even if those bounty hunters at Equestria are still looking for Sunset, how about, we let this slide since it's been a few years since that, and Sunset is now living in a different world, with us?" Rainbow suggested.
"I don't feel like we need to put that aside, Rainbow Dash," Sunset denied. "It seems there's still some mistakes I need to atone. And it's back at Equestria."
"Then how do you suggest that?" Rainbow asked her. "You may have plenty of mistakes but you fixed all of them and you became someone who I loved and cared for, my friend, and I'm not letting some bounty hunting ponies or whatever they called themselves to harm my friend even more."
Sunset smiled at her friend's undying loyalty. "That's so loyal of you Dash but I may have to tell Princess Twilight about it and see if she can help."
So she brings out her journal and write to Princess Twilight about her situation.
A day after that, Princess Twilight replies and tells Sunset to come and visit her. When she visit, they come up with a plan for Sunset to make it up to everyone at those 3 places, so they sent a message to the bounter hunters to meet at Everfree Forest.
When the two arrived, they found bounty hunters waiting, and boy, it's like 10-30 bounty hunters. Sunset gulped at the sight of many hunters who had formed to hunt her down for what happened but with the new princess of Equestria on her side, Sunset slowly calms down.
"Hey, look!" One hunter called, pointing at the two mares coming to them. "And one of em is Princess Twilight!"
"Hey, wait a minute," One hunter said, taking his eyes on Sunset, he seems to remember her by face. "That other mare is Sunset Shimmer!"
"Bounty hunters," The princess greeted them. "So wonderful to take my message seriously that my friend here has come in peace."
Sunset gulped and very reluctantly stepped towards them, her being in their sights makes them very, very angry now that they had seen her after all the things she did at Rockville, Manehattan and Western Equestria.
"Sunset Shimmer," One bounty spat, eyes filled with nothing but anger and resentment. "Words alone don't speak louder to justify of what you did over there. 15,000 Equestria bits on your head alone, your wanted at 3 areas Shimmer."
"I know, Know," Sunset replied, still scared but tried to remain confident. "I understand but I have something to make it up you all," she then used her horn to levitate a big bag and place right in front of them. "Here, have this, all of you."
"What's in the bag, Shimmer?" Another bounty hunter asked.
"It's a bag filled with lots of Equestria bits that's very high than how much I'm worth to capture," Sunset answered. "And it's also my apology gift to all of you. This is what me and Twilight could think of to show you how sorry I am."
The bounty hunters checked the bag filled with gold, diamonds, and gems, etc. They closed the bag and their expressions soften.
"You know what?" Another asked her, and he's smiling. "I have to say, I'm touched by this. Despite what you have done, you just gave us something that shows us that you're a different pony than what the poster says while we're looking for you. And for that, I forgive you Sunset Shimmer."
The others agreed too and took the bag with them and leave but not before saying their goodbyes to the two mares as they wave back. It may be much than how much was her bounty, but it is also enough for all of them to get paid and it showed them how different and nice Sunset was. And finally, her bounty was now lifted and was free to revist those three areas without worrying about getting harm.
The End
