A lesson well learnt.
Written by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler
It had been a year since Sunset Shimmer had started writing stories. Her friends had supported her, so three months after starting she had made accounts on story sites, where she gained lots of fans.
It was hard for her to pay attention to both her studies and her stories, but Sunset would not give up writing. People liked what she wrote, and that was enough to make her have to energy and will for both. And she enjoyed writing stories. It was a good way to express your feelings.
Her friends, Apple Jack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy had decided to try writing stories of their own. When she had heard that, the fiery haired girl had told them that she couldn't wait to read their stories.
That had been two weeks ago. Just as she was about to eat her breakfast, Sunset heard the doorbell ring. Opening it, she saw the post girl, Derpy Hooves, or as some called her, Ditzy Doo.
"Hello Derpy." began Sunset.
"Hi Sunset. Here's your mail." Derpy gave her the envelopes, and left. Sunset shut her door and went back to her breakfast. She decided to read the letters while eating.
The first one was from Apple Jack. Sunset read, To Sunset Shimmer.
Hi Sunset, I hope you've been doing well. Ah've just finished writing mah story. Could ya read it and tell me how it is?
- Apple Jack.
Sunset took the second piece of paper out of the envelope, and started reading Apple Jack's story.
The girl and the apple.
Written by Apple Jack.
Once upon a time, there was a girl. Her name was Isabelle. One day she went for a walk. After walking for a while, Isabelle became tired. So she sat down somewhere. Then she saw it. A nice delicious, red apple. Isabelle picked the apple up and bit it.
She licked her lips and ate the whole apple. She wanted more apples, so she decided that she would dedicate her life to growing them. Isabelle spent the rest of her life growing apples.
The end.
Sunset thought, Well this is...um...okay. Not good, not great, and it's not terrible either. Just okay. Apple Jack needs to add more into the story, such as where Isabelle lived, where she made her apple farm, and where she found the apple. Like, where did she sit? But if I tell Apple Jack that, she might be discouraged to try writing again. So it looks like I'll have to pretend it's great. Now it's time for the next letter. She put AJ's story aside, and started reading the next letter, which was from Rainbow Dash.
Hey Sunset. I've finished writing the story I told you about. After you read it, tell me how it is. Sunset hoped that Rainbow's story would be better than AJ's. She read,
The race
Written by Rainbow Dash.
Are you ready to read the most awesome story ever? If you are, then get yourself ready to read the best story ever! Let's get started!
Once upon a time there was a girl. Her name was Elise, and she was different from everyone else. Instead of being slow like them, she was fast. She was so fast that she reached the classroom before the teacher did!
However, I'm not telling you how she managed to get super speed. This story is about a race.
There was a boy in Elise's class who was jealous of her. As he watched her zip past him, he would think to himself, 'I bet I could be faster than her.'
So, he challenged Elise to a race. The winner would be able to make the loser do what ever they wanted. Elise agreed, and the day of the race came by.
The boy had prepared himself well, and so had Elise.
But the winner was Elise.
The end.
The fiery haired girl put the paper down. Alright. That was worse than Apple Jack's. Rainbow should've given the boy's name, and a lot more things that she skipped. I can't tell Rainbow that it's terrible; that would offend her. So I guess I'll have to tell her that it's awesome. Now onto the next.
Sunset opened the next envelope, and read the letter, which was from Rarity. Hello, Darling Sunset. I've just finished writing that story that I told you about two weeks ago, and I hope that you'll like it.
The princess and her hero.
Written by Rarity.
A long time ago, in a land not so far away, lived a princess.
Her name was Princess Amore, and she spread love and joy throughout the land.
Everyone loved her, apart from one. There was a person who hated how everyone loved the princess.
He wanted them to love him! So one day, he came up with a plan.
When night struck, he snuck into the castle, skillfully defeating the guards, and those that stood in his way.
It didn't take long for him to reach the princess' room. He opened the door, and closed the door. He proceeded to walk to her bed as quietly as he could.
He stood there, holding a knife above her throat, and was about to kill her when suddenly the door burst open, and he froze in shock.
Didn't he deal with all the guards? The man in front of him took advantage of his shock, and pulled the knife out of his hand and stabbed the evil person with it.
The princess awoke and asked what had happened. Her hero explained, and she rewarded him by making him a prince.
They lived happily ever after in their castle.
The end.
Sunset put it down. That was better than both AJ's and Rainbow's, but I think it was a bit fast-paced. And it needs more details! Like there should be something at the end like, 'the hero removed the slain man's mask and gasped. It was the prince who had done such a thing!' And we should know who the hero was. Like he should have a name. I'll just have to pretend that it's great. I hope the next story is better. But I think I'll have a break before reading it.
Her break now finished, Sunset took the next letter and saw that it was from Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Hey there, my Sunny Bunny! I know that you'll just love my story!
Hi Sunset. I hope that you're doing well. Me and Pinkie wrote a story together. I hope you like it.
Sunset hoped that she did.
Happily ever after.
Written by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.
Once upon a time, there was a lady named Cheery Gold.
Cheery was the type of person who was always happy, and couldn't bear to see a soul unhappy. She was kind, and always helped everyone in any way that she could.
She was just waiting for her cake to bake, because that's what she likes to do, when she felt something.
You see, Cheery had a Cheery Sense, which let her know if someone was unhappy.
After washing her hands, Cheery ran to where the person was. She saw a boy who couldn't have been older than six or seven.
"Hello?" she asked. The boy looked at her, and Cheery introduced herself. "My name is Cheery Gold. What's yours?"
The boy replied, "My name is Jim."
"That's a nice name. Why are you sad, Jim?"
Jim sighed as he said, "I'm sad because no one ever pays attention to me. In class, the teacher never picks me, even though I know all the answers. At home, my parents are too busy with my brother to pay attention to me. On my birthday, I don't get any presents. I was thinking of ending it all, because no one would even notice. It's not like they would care either."
Hearing his sad story, Cheery began to cry. She hugged Jim and told him, "Then you can live with me. I'll always pay attention to you and give you presents on your birthdays. Do you want to live with me?"
"I would love to. I heard that you're a very nice person." smiled Jim.
"Then let's go."
Cheery then took Jim to her house, and they lived happily ever after.
The end.
Sunset smiled; this was great, she didn't have to pretend that she liked it.
Now it was time to send replies to all of her friends. Here's what she wrote:
Your story was great, Apple Jack! I can't wait for you to write more!
Wow, Rainbow! Your story was awesome! Tell me when you write more!
OMG, Rarity! That was just wonderful! You must write more, you must!
Pinkie, Fluttershy, I loved your story! It was so sweet! When you write more, you absolutely must send me them!
One month later...
Sunset received more stories from her friends. She sorted them into a pile and started reading...
"AARGH! This is TERRIBLE! Just terrible!" Sunset screamed as she threw the stories everywhere. The only stories that weren't thrown were the ones written by Fluttershy and Pinkie. They were good. "What should I do?! I never thought that it would get this bad after a month!"
The fiery haired girl hated herself. Why didn't she tell them what she really thought? And now what would she do? I know, she thought. I'll go to Equestria and ask Twilight.
So that's what she did. After packing a bag with all the stories inside, Sunset went through the portal. She felt the feeling of being stretched, and then she found herself in Twilight's throne room. She almost fell as she was standing on her hind legs.
Once she had gotten used to her hooves again, Sunset decided to find Twilight. Where would she be? Knowing her love of books, probably the library.
Sunset kept her thoughts focused on Twilight's library, and teleported there. It had been a while since she had last done that. Just as she thought, the alicorn was there.
"Hi, Twilight." Sunset started.
Twilight put her book down and hugged Sunset. "Sunset?! It's so good to see you again!" Once she let go of the other mare, the alicorn asked, "What happened? Is anything wrong?"
"It's good to see you too. And to answer your question, yes, there is a problem. While it's not world threatening or anything like that, it might change my friendship with the girls forever," Sunset replied. She explained, "You know I've been writing stories?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes, you wrote to me about that."
Sunset continued, "My friends decided to try writing stories, and when they sent them to me...They weren't what you could call great. The only ones that didn't give me a headache were the ones that Pinkie and Fluttershy wrote."
"And?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know what I should do. If I tell them what I really thought about it, they might be..." Sunset trailed off.
Twilight asked, "You think they might be discouraged to try writing again?"
"Yeah, that." Levitating the papers out of her saddle bag, the unicorn passed it to the alicorn. "You read these, and tell me what I should do."
Twilight took them. "Ok."
Sunset's right, thought Twilight. These are terrible. She turned the next page and then..."Ugh! I just can't read anymore of this! I just can't!" she screamed, magically throwing the papers on the wall.
"That's exactly how I felt. It's missing so much," the fiery maned unicorn said.
The mares said together, "It needs more details, and there's so many plot holes!"
They laughed together and then Sunset asked, "So, what should I do? Keep telling my friends that their stories are great and wonderful and that I would love for them to write more, or tell them my actual feelings?"
Twilight thought for a long time before answering, "...How about lets ask my friends to help with this one?"
"Listen sugarcube." Applejack started. "It might hurt your friends when they hear the truth, but telling them the truth is better than lying to them forever."
"They asked you to tell them what you really thought. They didn't say that you have to like it. And anyways, telling them what you actually think would help to make their stories awesome!" Rainbow Dash added.
"Tell them how to make it better." Rarity said.
"Tell them in a nice way; take it slow and easy." Fluttershy said while hiding behind her mane.
"And then when they become great at writing stories, throw them a party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"I guess all of you are right. Thanks for your help, girls." Sunset smiled.
"Bye Sunset; we hope to see you again," Twilight waved.
"I hope to see you all again too." The mares had a group hug and then Sunset went through the portal.
"So Sunset, whyda' call us all here for? Is it for a party?!" Pinkie asked.
"I hope it's not anything bad..." Fluttershy whispered.
"Are you going to tell us how awesome our stories were?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I for one, simply cannot wait to hear what you have to say," said Rarity.
"Be honest with us." Apple Jack told Sunset.
Sunset took a deep breath, closed her eyes, opened them, and then exhaled. She calmly said, "It's not for a party, or anything bad. But it is about your stories." Sunset paused before continuing, "You know when you all sent me your stories and asked me to tell you how they were?" Everyone nodded. "I...wasn't all that honest with you."
Looks of confusion followed that, and Apple Jack asked, "What do you mean, sugarcube?"
"I don't mean to discourage you or anything...What I meant to say is that...When I told you that your stories were great, they weren't that great. The ones that Pinkie and Fluttershy wrote were the best. But the rest..." Sunset trailed off before saying, "I just couldn't even get to the end! I had to stop halfway! Your stories aren't terrible, but they're not great either. You need to put some more work on them; add more details. Like if I wrote a story that was: 'Once upon a time there was a girl. The girl's name was Windy. Windy loved the wind. That's why she was named Windy. The end.' What would the first thought that entered the reader's mind be?"
"That it was boring."
"That it was too short."
"That it needed more of a plot to it."
"That it was as bad as having your cookie supply run out."
"I don't mean to be rude...But they would think that you didn't even put any effort into writing that."
Sunset waited for each of her friends to answer before saying, "Yes. They would think that. I've made a few edits to your stories if you want to see them..."
"That looked much more awesome than what I had originally written." confessed Rainbow Dash.
"Your edits did make my story look better." said Rarity.
"Ta' be honest, that does look a whole lot better than what ah wrote." commented Apple Jack. "Ah'm glad that you were honest with us, sugarcube."
"Does this mean that it's time for a party now?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Sunset chuckled. "Sure, let's have a party."
"Yay!"
It was evening, and Sunset Shimmer was sitting at her desk. She began typing,
A lesson well learnt.
Written by Sunset Shimmer.
Hello everyone. Today I want to share something with you. Was there ever a time where you felt like you had to tell someone that something was nice just because they were your best friend or someone close to you?
I'm sure that you've all been in a situation like that. That's happened to me. My best friends decided to try writing stories, and asked me to tell them what I thought.
I started reading the stories with much enthusiasm, but that was quickly lost when I was halfway through. The stories were...not that great.
I didn't want to hurt my friends' feelings by telling them that their stories were terrible, so I lied that they were great, and that I couldn't wait for more.
A month later, I received more stories from them, and started reading. But I was unable to reach the end. Why? They were too bad for me to be able to finish.
They needed more details, a plot, and a whole lot of other things. I didn't know what to do. Should I tell them the truth, or continue lying?
I wasn't sure, so I went to Equestria to ask Twilight for help. Her friends told me to be honest and gentle about it, so keeping that in my head, I went back.
And then I told my friends. Luckily, they weren't angry about it, and they weren't sad either. I showed them the edits that I had made, and they agreed that it looked better.
I promised that I would be honest with them, and then Pinkie threw us all a party. The lesson that I learnt from this is: Always be honest with your friends.
When I look back on this, I'll call it 'A lesson well learnt.' I hope that you all learnt the lesson too, and until next time it's me, Sunset. Stay safe and well.
The End.
After that, Sunset clicked the publish button, and signed out of all the sites. And then she decided to call it a night and go to sleep. Hopefully she wouldn't have nightmares about story monsters like every other night.
The End.
Author's Note
Hey everypony! I hope you enjoyed this story! It seemed like the perfect one to post upon reaching 50 followers on FIMfiction. What led to this story?
One evening I was thinking: What if my friends decided to try writing stories? And then I thought of making an EqG fic with Sunset being me. and the main five being my friends. I know that my friends wouldn't write that bad...But still, this was fun to write. If you enjoyed this, don't forget to like and comment. And share with your friends! Bye!
