Unfamiliar Languagesby RobynJSwiftChaptersConnection (Extra)InteractionConnectionIntentionPerceptionConnection (Extra)Sunset knew something had changed over the last week. She was experiencing an emotion she hadn’t before, and she had a theory on it, but wasn’t sure if she was right. She had to wait until the next school morning where she and Fluttershy would usually arrive early. Even sitting next to her however, she couldn’t really settle. The feeling left her on her feet, somewhat nervous to bring it up. She hadn’t understood the feeling of butterflies in ages, but it returned to her with ease. Fluttershy seemed to catch on that something was going on as she looked at her, but she waited, something she was really good about gauging with Sunset. Sunset knew that Fluttershy wanted her to say it, it felt as though it stuck in her arms and wouldn’t leave her mouth. She took a deep breath as though trying to pull it out of herself, doing so as discreetly as she could. She looked away a bit and then quietly asked, “Is it possible to crave a hug?” She was a little stunned when Fluttershy started with a small giggle and managed to work her way up to a laugh. Sunset flushed with embarrassment, kind of but not fully regretting her choices. Fluttershy however then stood up, taking a couple breaths to come down off her laughter, “It is, sorry. It’s not what I was expecting, is all. Perfectly reasonable question.” Sunset’s lingering curiosity made her ask again, coming down off her own embarrassment as she processed, “So craving hugs is a thing?” Fluttershy nodded rhythmically, “Of course, why do you think Pinkie gets suddenly touchy or goes overboard with affection sometimes?” That question clicked an answer so fast that she had to blink a few times to process it, Sunset then whispered out, “That explains a fair bit.” Fluttershy hummed an agreement before softly asking, “So, did you want a hug from me, or do you want to wait for Pinkie?” Sunset still hadn’t tried with anyone but Pinkie yet, but Fluttershy had seen it. She knew Fluttershy was gentle enough, she was a perfect next person to go for. With a short shrug, she spoke, “We could try?” Fluttershy simply smiled, and let Sunset take the lead on the hug. Once again putting her arms under the other person’s, shortly loose from hesitation, then more snug. It felt a little familiar, a little not, but also surprisingly right. InteractionSunset felt immensely out of place, she had known that the girls who had allied with Twilight to take her down were going to keep her company. But she had also assumed it would be more parole officers or teachers, not a casual hangout of some sort. She was terribly unfamiliar with these things, she hadn’t really spent any time around others for casual purposeless interactions since before she became Celestia’s student, and even that much was sparse. She was able to get away with being quiet during lunch, there were enough of them all she had to do was answer a roundtable question once or twice a day. There were usually a whole five of them she had to be around, but right now it was only her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They were sitting in the Rainbow’s room, in a semicircle with Sunset in the center. She didn’t quite know how to approach interaction with them. It seemed like they were having trouble as well, given they stopped before they even started an activity. Her assumption was quickly shut down when Applejack asked, “I can’t imagine all the hobbies here are the same as in yer homeland. Rainbow and I had been trying to think of common ground before you got here but realized we really dunno much about over there.” Sunset took a deep breath before speaking, still not used to the casual nature of it all, “Magic studies, mostly. That’s what I did on Equus at least. Spells and artifacts, other regal skills - although that was more for visualizing a goal than of personal interest. Can’t really do those over here, most I ever did on Earth was music and art, maybe a little coding as well.” She noticed they seemed pretty active in their listening, it made her uncomfortable, as it lacked any familiar intentions. There was a short moment before Rainbow’s mind grasped something, she perked up and quickly spoke, “So you’ve never seen the Daring Do movies?” Applejack gave a quiet, “Oh no, here we go.” Sunset blinked twice, “The what? Why would I have seen any movies?” Rainbow jumped up from her seat, rushing behind herself to one of her shelves filled with disc cases, comics and figures, and without even skimming grabbed one of the disc cases from standing eye-level. Sunset immediately assumed the placement was intentional, that she perhaps valued it more than most of the other things on the shelves. She then immediately had to stop herself from trying to put that into her mental bank dedicated to information to abuse later for some sort of manipulation, something she was starting to get used to. Her vision was somewhat covered by Rainbow holding out the case, which Sunset slowly took as she listened, “It’s only the best, most awesome action movie series there is, Daring Do is an adventuring historian interested in various artifacts, trying to secure them away from the clutches of those who want to find it for money or from large monsters, or even just trying to verify their existence by going through the most risky temples one could ever dare to enter! It has nearly twenty books by now, and only five movies - but they’re coming out with another one next year!” Sunset wanted to be interested, if only to better deal with her own growing disinterest. Although she guessed the unappeal was more about the social pressure of matching Dash’s enthusiasm than the actual series itself. She stopped herself from saying anything that would crush the current social environment, “Any other options? Like maybe something that isn’t just potentially pseudo-historical adventure?” Rainbow then took the case back, looking toward the ceiling at the thought, “It’s mostly just adventures and sports, which I guess sometimes has some drama to it, like Rocky, maybe some comedy to it like Sandlot.” Sunset then gave up trying to find something to be interested in and decided to simply subject herself to whatever there was. Recalling her reaction, she looked at Applejack before saying, “Whatever Applejack chooses, we can watch.” That got Applejack to smirk a little, Rainbow giving a slightly whiny “Aw, maaan.” The country girl made her way to the shelf - plucking the case from Rainbow’s hands to return it while she looked. Sunset would have questioned if she made the right choice, if it was the right feeling to want to smirk at Rainbow’s abstract defeat, but Applejack’s own response was enough permission to revel in the choice lightly herself. Applejack then spoke, “Twilight had said somethin’ about you pony folk having control over yer weather, right?” Sunset hummed an affirmation to let her continue, “Then a real people versus nature film will be fascinatin’ from that angle at least, and I dunno about meteorology much but hopefully that bit will tickle the nerd in you a bit too.” She stood near Sunset with a disc case, holding it out for her. Sunset was slightly surprised she was even showing it to her, she had given her the go ahead regardless of the choice. The front of the case read “Twister”, having such a simple title in itself slightly fascinated her, and Applejack's spiel about it sold her pretty well compared to anything else. Rainbow took a peek and then seemed to remember something as she smirked largely at Applejack, “You don’t want to put on some country romance or something?” Sunset was caught off guard by that and looked to a now flushed AJ, who quickly stuttered out with a bit more volume, “Th- N- I wasn’t even considerin’ that, don’t say stuff that’ll make me wanna air my lungs, Dash!” Rainbow retorted, smugly, “You totally would pick one though, just to show off when you win the movie choice.” Sunset couldn’t help but mirror Rainbow’s expression as Applejack tilted the rim of her hat to cover her face, and yet still slightly turned away, “I ain’t picked that stuff in years. Could we move on?” She quickly stepped her way back to her spot, lightly hitting Dash on the back of the head to get a ‘Hey!’ as she went there. She took a deep breath and regained her natural color before slightly facing them again. It was weird for Sunset, it felt like she was sitting in something timeless, something not meant for her. It was positive, unusual, definitely something she was out of practice on being around, and out of place in. She then handed Rainbow the case as she spoke, “Guess it’s Twister time, then.” Sunset - despite all given up expectation - found herself enjoying the movie once she understood the heart of the goal of the film. But that felt like a lot in itself, the pair had actually been pretty quiet throughout the whole thing, outside of some rooting for or scolding characters here and there. She dared not mention how Rainbow let out a tear or two at some point, Applejack near such herself such that she tilted her hat a short moment. Sunset was surprised by their responses and tried to ignore the feeling it left in her own chest, like something was out of place again. She was relieved when they called it afterward, as she really wasn’t used to any of this. Sunset was surprised when Rainbow had actually pulled her aside as they left lunch, asking to hang out again. She was nervous about what task - or activity rather - they were going to do. She was hesitant to accept, but did, in hopes of simply avoiding the feeling of isolation. She wondered what else there was to connect over. At least that’s what she assumed Applejack and Rainbow were trying to teach her last time, she wasn’t sure if she was reading into it. The ride to Rainbow’s place was quiet, as though she didn’t quite know how to start off. Sunset more appreciated the silence. It was broken as they entered her room, Rainbow starting, “I had an idea of something to try, to see if you like it.” Rainbow pulled a box out from under the television, running a couple cords to the back of the screen before some controller was connected to what Sunset now assumed was a console. She had vague knowledge about video games, but never really looked into them. One of Sunset’s eyebrows escaped her, trying to figure out how Rainbow thought this was suited to her, “What did you have in mind?” The athlete spoke while she turned on the device, “I thought that maybe you’d like the chance to play some games,” she then grabbed a few cases from a totally different shelf than the movies, “sounded like Equestria didn’t have any, and you seem to like things that have goals - even if none of it’s sports. So I thought maybe this could work for you.” Sunset was surprised by the amount of thought that Rainbow seemed to put into this. And then Rainbow smirked a little, “Also seemed like a good chance to get my turn to introduce you to some of my favorite games.” That made Sunset shortly wonder about if she actually should have judged Daring Do so fast, but it was quickly put on the backburner at the shock of seeing a historically villainously acclaimed centaur on one of the disc cases that were put down. She quickly gravitated toward it, grabbing it. It wasn’t until she saw Sunset that Rainbow continued, “Rise of Tirek, a tactical role playing game about trying to dethrone a power-sucking centaur before he can conquer the land. Figured it would suit your more strategic brain - plus there’s actually a sidekick shortly into the story that can be used as a second commander.” Sunset was stunned, and slowly accepted the idea that was in front of her. She was surprised he even made any sort of appearance in this world. As she glanced over both the front and back of it, nothing about it stood out in the face of any other game in this world, outside of the very clearly familiar depicted figure. A smirk came over her as her curiosity rose, “Sounds like it could work, let's go for it.” ConnectionSunset couldn’t help but avoid Pinkie Pie. It wasn’t easy to be around that much energy, she tolerated it in the whole group. But when it was just them, Pinkie tried to hug her, and just as Sunset was about to be trapped in it, she ran. Pinkie caught up to her pretty fast and apologized, and Sunset wasn’t mad about it long, she was just immensely wary afterward. She knew the other girls had their own levels of interaction, she just couldn’t bring herself to share it. Pinkie however seemed to be the top initiator in those types of things, so Sunset simply tried to dodge the chances. To her surprise, Fluttershy asked, “Are you avoiding Pinkie?” That was the very first thing she said, they usually spent this time sitting at the school entrance quietly, maybe on homework at most. Sunset was surprised she just pulled this out of nowhere. She let out an amused breath at the idea despite the reality, “What gave you that idea?” Fluttershy gave a seemingly knowing, sad smile, “Pinkie can get kind of timid about particular things, like thinking her friends left her or upsetting others. While she’s sometimes oblivious to it or pushes past it,” she paused before positing, “it seems like she might have upset you and caught on. Since you wouldn’t really be able to avoid her otherwise.” Sunset scoffed, “Well I’m glad she caught on, it would be kind of a lot to deal with if she didn’t.” “I figure she’d probably be a lot for you to deal with regardless as long as she isn’t in her more mellow mode.” The kind girl seemed to pause before asking like she had to, “But this doesn’t seem to be that, what did she do?” Sunset didn’t want to answer, the way Fluttershy was looking at her felt like it was prodding at her. It wasn’t quite a glare, but it still felt firm, as though there was only one choice in response and it was to comply with her want in this situation. It registered to Sunset as a caretaker skill, which she felt compelled to look away from despite how curiously eye-catching it was. To hopefully get it to go away, she complied after a sigh, “She crossed a boundary, I don’t do physical contact.” She dared not to say that aspect of Pinkie has always kind of intimidated her. Sunset also felt kind of guilty when she glanced to see if the gaze went away, but Fluttershy appeared very understanding now instead. A small part of Sunset was relieved, but largely felt this uncomfortable pressure, maybe guilt, like something was wrong despite her honesty. She quickly ignored it, hoping the relief was enough of a good sign. Fluttershy spoke, “You don’t need to be so wary, Pinkie will get it if you tell her. She does kind of seem like she already has gotten it.” Sunset’s shoulders tensed and she quietly admitted, “Pinkie already apologized, she knows.” A silence held before Fluttershy questioned, “Do you have some reason you don’t like physical contact?” She quickly held back this impulse to lie about it, she’d been doing good. This much was good enough to her, she then quickly stood, “Uhh, I gotta go, actually.” Fluttershy seemed to speak in response but Sunset didn’t register it, simply swinging her backpack over her shoulder and speed walking into the building. Sunset should have known that wouldn’t work, or rather she should have thought a little harder about it, she just didn’t think this would be the result. As now Fluttershy had her due for a sleepover with her and Pinkie, and she used whatever that firm gaze was again. Because of that look Sunset momentarily thought she should study it given it lacked the typical intimidation, but she quickly disregarded it. Fluttershy had assured her it would be more mellow, that Pinkie tended to tune it down around her. Sunset wasn’t sure what that even looked like, as she doesn’t think she’s seen it before. After a while she knew Fluttershy was right, Pinkie had been more relaxed. Sunset almost felt like she was normal now, which in itself kind of freaked her out but she preferred it to her higher energy state. Fluttershy had carried the entire physical contact conversation after Sunset seemed unable to herself, and they moved on pretty fast. They’d all made dinner which was pretty smooth despite Sunset being unable to really help. After was a movie, an animal movie that got both other people to shed some tears, and once again left Sunset feeling off. She ignored the feeling as they’d started to teach Sunset various card games, which actually helped her feel comfortable all over again. It was weird to her that something as simple as these little sheets with symbols was enough to make being in others' company feel okay, like she finally wasn’t missing out on something or out of place for a moment. Fluttershy however kept glancing at her, the conversation about the movie having died down in the face of playing Old Maid. Sunset knew Pinkie had it based on her response when she’d gotten it. She knew Fluttershy wanted her to initiate some sort of conversation, she assumed about the physical contact thing. Sunset didn’t really know where to go with that, she didn’t know why it was being made into such a big deal. When she found herself having to pick a card from Pinkie’s side, she knew she wouldn’t be able to read her. But as she reached for the leftmost card, she let out a few words to test the waters, “Sorry I’ve been avoiding you.” She was surprised when Pinkie blinked a few times, and then Sunset glanced at Fluttershy to check if she did something wrong. Fluttershy was smiling, so she assumed it was fine. Pinkie seemed to smile even wider when she looked back at her. She was wary still, and leaned back a bit, disguising it as sorting her cards before dropping a pair into the pile. Pinkie then answered, “It’s okay, Sunset. I thought you needed time, I just already think of you as a friend so I forgot to check the steps to getting there for a moment.” Her hair seemed to lose some bounce as she added, “It was my bad anyway, we did hurt you, I should have known to take it slower.” Sunset was a little stunned, wondering if Pinkie somehow knew about the aftereffects of the transformation. She quickly waved a hand sideways in dismissal, figuring there was no way the girls would know how that was for her. She oddly wanted to reassure her somehow, she didn’t know how, “No, I mean- you caught on. You all didn’t hurt me. It’s okay, I think. I did worse. So,” Sunset didn’t know how to move forward. Pinkie held out a hand, before taking it back, as though she wanted to shake her hand but quickly noticed the mistake. She then started, “We could just start over, from scratch.” Sunset realized how excessive that level of wariness was, that she’d easily manage a handshake, she wasn’t so brittle. She took a deep breath, and held out her own hand instead, smirking to try and cover her nerves, “Sure, Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you.” Pinkie’s hair seemed to spring up as her posture straightened, she hesitated to even grab the hand. When she succeeded, without Sunset flinching, she responded with a large smile, “Pinkamena Diane Pie, Pinkie Pie for short, it’s nice to meet you too.” After a couple mutually firm shakes, they released hands. Sunset felt right, weirdly, like she was finally tethered to this world. The oddness of all of it brought her to cover her mouth a little as she chuckled, her smirk momentarily a smile before it dropped. Passively continuing the card game, Pinkie then asked, “So are only handshakes okay, or are high fives also good?” Sunset gave a nod, “Distant things are fine, so fist bumps probably as well. As long as I expect them.” Fluttershy then gently asked, “Nothing else?” Pinkie shrugged and added, “Those are the normal ones, unless you’d prefer ghost high fives.” Sunset looked confused but the pair quickly exampled a no-contact high five, which only confused her more, “Doesn’t that defeat part of the point? I thought Pinkie was an oxytocin addict.” Fluttershy looked a little more timid suddenly, “Sometimes I get a little startled if they’re loud. Pinkie has perfected them with some people so they can be pretty suddenly intense.” Pinkie looked proud at the statement and a silence came over them while the pink girl giggled a little to herself as she mulled over the compliment. Sunset felt unusually safe, like maybe she could actually voice her thoughts. It was weird, but given she’d already pushed and just mended her interactions with Pinkie, and Fluttershy seemed to be pretty gentle about all of it, she was tempted to risk it. She started off with an external question to test the waters, “So when you both have something nice, like a hug, what does that normally feel like for you?” Pinkie answered easily, “Taking bites out of an infinite cupcake.” Sunset was tempted to roll her eyes with how much she felt like she should have predicted that answer - one addiction was easily comparable to another. Fluttershy answered quickly enough to stop her, “Some combination of belonging and wanted, maybe cared for, definitely warm and safe.” The odd-one-out feeling returned, like she’d been picking at a scab and finally got it off cleanly, but the blood it released seemed to lessen. It was confusing. Fluttershy gently asked, “What about you, Sunset, if you’re alright sharing.” Sunset took in a deep breath, that if the blood was flowing already she hoped she wouldn’t make it worse. She wondered if sharing this sort of thing was a type of emotional handshake. Letting out the breath, she started, “Not- It feels wrong, somehow.” She paused to think it through for a moment before continuing, “Maybe kind of angry, I think, it’s hard to describe. The best description I have is that it’s like getting too much warmth while having frostbite.” She avoided mentioning the shame she felt for inexperience with these things, and the guilt for feeling like she didn’t deserve it, any of this really. Hesitant to look at the others, she glanced to find a stunned Pinkie and a thinking Fluttershy. Sunset didn’t have stage fright but she imagined it felt a little like she currently did. The feeling lingered as Fluttershy spoke, “That must make it hard to let others treat you well.” Sunset was uncomfortable with the idea that she was understood, and lightly scratched the back of her own neck, “It’s not a big deal.” She watched Pinkie drop a pair into the pile, she tried to press the feeling down, but a few words spilled out, “I don’t need to be fixed, I’ll live without it.” There was silence, as though she’d cut into the conversation somehow. Pinkie solemnly broke it after a long moment, “That sounds kind of lonely.” Sunset wanted to snap at that but didn’t have the words to do so, so she held back, Fluttershy spoke, “It’s okay if that’s what you want, not everyone needs physical contact. But it doesn’t sound to me like you don’t want it. It’s not that we want to fix you, that’s not what we want to do. It’s just that it sounds a little like there’s some pain there for you.” She paused to set her cards aside even though it’s her turn to lose one, “We want you to feel better. If this counts as an absence of love, as a way you’ve been damaged, then the presence of it should heal it.” Sunset was quiet before she tried to fight, nearly mumbling out, “Hugs aren’t a basic need.” She didn’t fully believe herself, neither did they seem to. Fluttershy just continued, as though Sunset hadn’t said anything, “We won’t push it, but if there’s ever a time you want to try, we’re both here to help you figure out or try out the next step. We’ll even keep it just between us, so you won’t feel pressured about trying. But I’ll let the other girls know not to touch you.” Sunset wanted to pick at this again, to fight both of them. Or at least that’s what her responses were leaning toward, she didn’t really want this, they were being nice. She silently dropped her cards and made her way to the bathroom. The frustration had no words to escape by, she wouldn’t let it. Sunset was wildly tired the next morning. She was given some breaks from interacting by the other two as they understood she was still getting used to all of it. More than anything, she was surprised she was okay with waking up away from her apartment after how long it took her to fall asleep. That and she usually felt touchy after being frustrated as she tried to sleep, but this time she wasn’t. She had wracked her brain for a while last night, trying to find some other way to approach the situation that seemed to keep cropping up. But the only answer she ever seemed to find was to accept the offer she was given. She should have assumed that the very bearers of the Elements of Harmony - and of course two from the more healing half of the elements - would have some idea on how to approach these things. At this point, in her exhaustion at having this all drug up, she was basically ready to give it a shot just to silence it all. The thought lingered, unsure how to even start it. She didn’t want to make herself too uncomfortable before she could reasonably leave, so she held the thought at the back of her mind for a while longer. She saved it for after Pinkie’s pancakes, and after a lap around the immensely close park, and after they menially watched a little cartoons while drinking cocoa as they started to wrap up. Pinkie and Sunset had both packed all their things, and Sunset still had to figure out when to leave as she’d never done this before. Everything within her wanted her to completely dismiss the idea and simply leave. But it started to itch, like the flesh under the scab was still raw, that even without blood it felt tickled under the breeze. Fluttershy was off in the bathroom, and it left her only with Pinkie. Sunset knew she may have preferred to attempt with Fluttershy, but she once again kicked off with a more external starter. She didn’t want to lose this chance if she could, so she quietly asked, “If I were to try getting used to physical contact, what would that look like?” Pinkie perked up a little, Sunset unsure if that was over the topic or the fact she spoke at all. The party girl gave a more directed smile, “We would try out whatever you want to start with, the scale is pretty different for everyone. And there’s a few different ways to do different ones, like there’s a few versions of hugs you could try - and since it’d be with me or Fluttershy we’d be able to adjust the firmness for you too. Casual and frequent hugs are typically the end goal, I think. Which later down the line if you tell the girls I’m sure they’d be alright leaving when those happen in your hands so you aren’t uncomfortable.” Sunset felt heavy by how much she had to push herself past nerves to try this, but she slowly stood from the couch, “Alright. So- The- How would we try, if we did?.” Pinkie stood up quickly to match her before thinking, then prefacing, “Okay, I won’t touch you yet. But how to try a hug?” Sunset gave a short nod, so she continued, “There’s a few options, you can usually guess the type of hug based on the approaching arms.” She then raised her arms outward, “Like if I approach this way, there’s top, middle and bottom spots while looking at each other, you’d just pick one that’s not what they’re doing.” She thought a moment before moving her arms in opposite directions, “diagonal-hugs tend to be Dashie's and AJ’s preference, where they’re both just the opposite on each side, more common in guys or sports though since they tend to be quick-release.” Pinkie then moved to face the same way beside Sunset, “We could also just both go around the back with one arm for a side-hug, those are more free. All your choice, I’d match your strength and choice.” Sunset felt a little relieved to have some better idea now on how they could go, even before testing. She glanced at Pinkie’s eyes, having avoided them for a bit, and she expected some intimidating pressure of anticipation or something to be staring at her. It surprised her when she saw that Pinkie was happily waiting but seemed like she would accept any choice - she was used to seeing her as an unstoppable force which was terrifying to a no-longer-immovable object. She decided to risk it, watching her own arm to slowly put it around Pinkie’s mid-back. The pink girl had raised her arm to let her pass, and put it around Sunset’s own back at a similar angle, neither touching yet. Pinkie giggled, Sunset raised an eyebrow and she quickly stopped, speaking, “Sorry, being slow kind of made it feel like we’re playing Twister.” She cleared her throat, “Serious now.” Sunset disregarded the statement, not knowing what it meant to ‘play’ a meteorological event, and used her hand to hang her arm around Pinkie’s back, finally making contact. Pinkie matched her both in hesitance and hold, Sunset’s lungs jumping as her back was supported. She was nearly startled when Pinkie softly asked, “Any frostbite?” It was uncomfortable, but nowhere near as much as she expected. At this point it felt more like unfamiliarity or inexperience. She didn’t feel like she needed to run, just get used to it, really. She barely answered, “I don’t think so.” She didn’t understand it herself, but after a few seconds it felt like a dam broke. She quickly pulled away for a moment to try and figure it out. Sunset was tempted to look over her own body as though it would give her any answers, but just stood there for a moment to try and figure it out in her mind. It felt similar to having not eaten a whole day and finally getting to the first bite of a meal. She was surprised at how smoothly she offered, as though she wanted it, “Could I try one of the both arms options?” Pinkie nodded and they both turned, Sunset kept her arms open lower and approached with a little less hesitation. The party girl quickly stood on her toes and followed her lead, arms going around Sunset’s shoulders to support her upper back, head beside Pinkie’s. The hold was loose for a moment as Sunset tried to register where and how everything was. She was confused but pleased by the security of the arms around her back, and found herself slowly making her own hold more snug. Pinkie mimicked with an expected delay but perfect strength imitation. Sunset felt like she was recharging a battery she didn’t even know she had, and was tempted to just not let go. After a moment, she managed to convince herself it was a bad idea to stay there too long, that maybe oxytocin addiction was an unseen social plague she had to avoid to some degree. Pinkie let go just as easily, but seemed far more energized, rocking on her feet, smiling wide in that I-got-everything-I-could-ever-ask-for way that she usually does. She quickly spoke in a strained way, “There’s not enough room,” and dismissed herself out the front door, closing it behind her. Sunset was confused, she trailed the leaving Pinkie with her eyes, and realized Fluttershy had come out of the hall who-knows-when. Sunset knew she saw by the way she was making eye contact and flushed immediately as Pinkie yelled from outside, insufficiently muffled by the wall, “I finally did it! Wooooo!” She glanced at the pink girl only to catch her jumping and then running a couple steps into doing a cartwheel. Sunset then looked toward Fluttershy again, suddenly aware of the pink on her own cheeks as she then hid it with the edge of her shirt as she partly looked away. Fluttershy just giggled before softly saying, “Good job.” Sunset nodded once, unsure how else to respond. IntentionSunset was unsure how Pinkie decided that she was the right person to drag to Rarity’s place, while she quickly deduced Rainbow and Applejack weren’t better options she figured Fluttershy would be better at least. But now Sunset was stuck dealing with clothes that were far outside her personal sense of style, subjected to various pieces she would never have thought to wear herself. Her politeness battery was starting to run dry as their fake compliments made her persistently uncomfortable. She was used to brushing them aside, but they were kind of a lot at such a frequent rate. If she were counting the number would have probably been a couple dozen by this point, and she was getting quite sick of it. She started to undress again from probably the twelfth outfit, she lost track after five. Unimpeded by the curtain, she spoke, “Could we try something more in my style?” Rarity responded pretty quickly, “I was wondering when you would feel done with what I wanted.” Sunset blinked a few times at that, peeking out of the sheet, failing to hide a glare under a curious eyebrow, “Was this a test of some sort?” Sapphire eyes looked at her in a lightly bashful expression, “No, I simply got a little carried away, darling. Sorry about that.” Retreating back behind the curtain, she sighed, “It’s fine, I should have said something sooner.” Sunset felt a bit like a fool, Rarity would have known her style quite clearly. Rarity then asked, “So, not a fan of lighter or cooler colors?” Sunset easily responded, “Basically, I’m too many warm colors to really be comfortable with that almost ever - my only real shot with cooler colors is hue-matching my eyes. Warm colors that trend toward mediums, darks or brights, plus some blacks work out far better. Or I should say it's easier to get together, at least.” Sunset mentally skimmed over the outfits they went through before questioning, “Were you even trying to color match my palette?” The fashionista chuckled, “I was experimenting since you have a more limiting bright palette, so somewhat, I believe you’re right about the hues at least. You were just very compliant so I figured it was a good time to check myself.” Another set of clothes hung over the pole as the prior set disappeared. The moment she saw some black she was a little more sold than all the prior ones. Getting a little of her energy back, she soon realized there wasn’t all that much black that would be showing, but at least her typical magenta and orange were draped all over it. Taking yet another deep breath to prepare herself for whatever nonsense they said, she made her way out from behind the curtain and back toward Rarity’s mirror walls. Collar button-up shirt in black under a magenta long sleeve v-neck sweater, orange skirt with a black underlayer, magenta mary jane platform shoes. She definitely approved of the color far more, but as she looked she couldn’t help but think, “this is quite a bit more preppy than my type of clothes.” Rarity then questioned, “Have you no appreciation for the cuteness of preppy outfits?” Sunset smirked, “Being intellectual should be a skill, not some hoity-toity aesthetic.” She adjusted the sleeves and collar a bit to try and make it more smooth, it really changed nothing, “For me at least, there’s no power in this attire’s impression, money maybe, but I’ve never cared to look money.” Rarity then corrected, “Maybe in Equestria it’d be pretentious, but here it’s pretty typical attire. I even tried to darken it for you a little, the button-up was going to be white.” Pinkie came back from upstairs, now holding her own cup refilled with cocoa. She looked over Sunset, smile widening, “Ooo, I like this one too. Sunset, this one’s really cute on you - especially with how your hair swoops.” Rarity moved a hand to gesture to her pink friend’s words. Sunset however rolled her eyes, half not even understanding the party girl outside of it being some sort of compliment. “Still wouldn’t wear it outside of this context, makes me feel like I have to sit in on a meeting about whatever unintelligible issue the high class came up with to try and skim more government money - really not my crowd,” she stopped herself from whispering gratitude to a particular monarch that never made her wear this sort of thing outside of dresses for designated events. A moment too late to prevent her expression from dropping a little at the thought, Rarity gently dismissed her back into the dressing room, “Alright, I’ll go get something that’s more just another version of your typical attire. Go ahead and get out of that.” Sunset felt out of place for a moment, trying to ignore it as she undressed for the whatever-teenth time. The next outfit came pretty quickly, once again similar but this time more visibly black, and one aspect much to her enjoyment. It didn’t take her long to exit the dressing room again, less worried about compliments, she actually wanted to look in the mirror this time. Fitted magenta shirt, studded black leather jacket with a more angular lapel than her old tattered one, orange skirt with a magenta and yellow streak across the side that curved toward the front, and black knee-high boots with magenta over the shoe portion that flowed up with a border akin to a fleur-de-lis icon’s head. She stroked her own fingers through the waves of her hair to remove the slight frizz given by changing. She awed at how close it was to her typical attire, yet with pieces just different enough to draw her in. Sunset smirked to try and cover a smile, half-failing to do so as she was slightly checking herself out, “Rarity, you are not going to be able to top this, I assure you.” Sunset looked at her, expecting the fashionista to look challenged by that, but instead found something more smug that shifted into a sort of grateful awe. Realizing she accidentally complimented her skills, she flushed a little before looking away, only to be caught by mirrors that definitely made the action pointless. She unwillingly watched Rarity’s expression become happier behind her, “No need to fluster so fast, darling. I was saving the best for last after all.” Sunset took a second to settle, enjoying the outfit for the moment while it lasted. After a moment of settling, she relinquished her excitement, knowing she couldn’t dare to afford the outfit on her current budget. After a while of socializing, mostly listening to Pinkie and Rarity while her mind wandered. She eventually decided she had to leave, being around others was still a bit much and she’d already basically been drained by all the outfits after the excitement-high died from that last one. She was about to leave the room, only for Rarity to quickly walk toward her, Pinkie following. Sunset paused as Rarity was holding a couple boxes toward her. She was confused, “What’s this?” Rarity gave a short nod to the boxes before answering, “Some gifts, you get to keep these.” Sunset quickly found herself glaring at the boxes, stepping away from the fashionista, hands up in surrender to act as a wall, “Nuh-uh, those are yours. I’m not paying for those.” An eyebrow raised in response, “You know gifts are free, right?” The fiery-haired girl sighed, trying to ignore the minor shaking in her hands, tone roughening as she tried to maintain her breath, “Look, I don’t know what you want from me, I’m not taking them.” Pinkie then asked, looking at Rarity in confusion, “Did we want something from her?” Rarity clarified, “No, this was mostly off the cuff, like normal.” Pinkie spoke again, now looking toward Sunset in concern, “Does getting gifts feel like frostbite, too?” Sunset flushed, remembering the vulnerability of that analogy. Anger still present, her words came before her mind could catch up, “What?! No, of course not, it-.” As she spoke, Pinkie’s question felt fairly reasonable. Rarity then gently offered, “Why don’t you sit down a moment, darling, so we can figure this out.” Sunset complied, unsure what else to do, while the fashionista turned toward Pinkie, “Frostbite?” Pinkie then clarified, “About her-,” Sunset glared at her to avoid the fear of it being spilled in detail, so the girl corrected her course, “a private situation, she said that certain nice things feel like being warmed too quickly while having frostbite. Kinda seemed like that while we complimented her too.” Sunset was relieved by Pinkie’s vagueness but somewhat bothered since she didn’t feel like she’d reached such a point of progress with Rarity, that now she was obligated to be a bit more honest than she wanted to be. She looked less than amused toward both of them. Rarity spoke gently, “Thanks for letting me know, Pinkie,” she glanced at Sunset, “Maybe ask Sunset next time if she can share that sort of thing.” Pinkie quickly spoke, head tilted up with her eyes closed, deeply avoiding Sunset’s gaze, “Sorry, I know you probably would have told me not to but we stopped the frostbite once and I’m hoping you can again.” Rarity put a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder before gently asking, “Go ahead and sit as well, we’ll talk through it.” Pinkie went ahead and sat at a bit of a distance, the other side of the bench. Rarity then continued, “Alright, let's move this into a hypothetical. Sunset, if I offer you a gift, something I know you would value, what’s your first thought?” Sunset scoffed, failing to hide her irritation as she really hadn’t wanted to confront this, “I already told you, I want to know what you want from me.” That only made the fashionista return to her confusion, “What makes you think I want something from you? Gifts aren’t supposed to be from self-benefit, Sunset.” The fiery-haired girl knew what she was hearing, but it still felt incorrect, “That’s usually how this sort of thing goes. You’re sure you don’t want anything? Tutoring, me to do your schoolwork, to abuse my manipulation skills, maybe to embarrass me later with something I don’t know about them?” She looked up at the ceiling in thought as an avenue had changed, “It can’t be about reputation anymore, at least.” Pinkie quickly answered, “We just want to take care of you because we want you to be happy, not that we expect you to be, but if it even possibly gets you just an eensy weensy bit closer then that’s enough.” Rarity nodded, giving a two-part hum in agreement, “The value isn’t in what I could get from you, the most value an item can ever have in a moment is to be gifted freely without expectation or debt or catch. That’s all we want - in this case all I want is you to be happy to look in the mirror, just as you were earlier. That outfit was always meant for you, darling, I put it together with you in mind.” Sunset took a moment to rest her elbows on her knees before pressing her face against one hand as she pinched just below her eyebrows. Thinking that maybe with how genuine the statements and sentiments seemed to be, this was just one of those things that differed between her experience and the friendship she was supposed to be learning about. Pinkie’s side comment stuck with her. Sunset then spoke, “Okay, I’ll accept them, I expect you to keep your word. But what about the compliments, or just positive statements about me in general?” Rarity questioned, “What about them, are you not used to them? We could tone them down for you if they make you uncomfortable.” Sunset’s shoulders tensed as she lifted her head again, “I mean do you actually mean them?” Pinkie quickly answered, “Of course we do, you’ve been a lot cuter recently since you’ve been less grumpy.” Rarity giggled, an ineffective hand-wall short of basically side-barring with Pinkie, “Very true, although I think the gap between grumpy or withdrawn and excited or embarrassed really brings that cuteness out.” Pinkie frantically agreed, Sunset looked away again shortly just to make sure she wasn’t giving that same flushed response at this moment. The fashionista refocused, “But aside from that, yes. We do mean it, Sunset. Have you ever been complimented before?” Sunset composed herself as she tried to recall things from her past, going through a long list of figures in her mind. She found answers, a younger relative, and her old mentor, “Only a couple ponies, I think. But- well, usually when I earned it. There’s been more, but the lot of it wasn’t genuine.” Pinkie chimed in just before sipping her cocoa, “Don’t forget Flash, he meant it too.” Sunset blinked a few times before cringing, suddenly flowing half-sarcasm, “Thanks, Pinkie. Totally didn’t catch that.” Rarity questioned, “Didn’t catch it?” Dreading the explanation, she moved her hand to follow her own words with gestures, “Kinda, I knew he meant some of it. I assumed most of it was just a dating courtesy he’d give anyone.” Rarity then quickly answered, “Well if you didn’t realize he meant all of it, there’s many chances there was more you read wrong from others. Whatever environment reinforced that mindset doesn’t have to be held anymore, false compliments aren’t commonplace at Canterlot High outside of a few choice social circles. Ours isn’t artificial.” Sunset got quiet as she processed that information, knowing that at this rate Rarity was likely right, especially since many now had the moral fodder to lean toward others doing the opposite of complimenting her. She wasn’t even sure how to respond, there were so many moments long past that she either had to ignore or sort through with this new lens. She couldn’t help wondering when and where the mindset might have surpassed its stay. Rarity caught her attention by kneeling in front of her, “Feel free to stay here for a bit if you’re tired, I know you’d like to go.” She got the boxes again and set them next to Sunset, “But these are yours, because I decided they were meant to be. You’ll likely think about this a fair bit. Just remember we want a different type of relationship with you than we had before the formal, and unlike whatever happened in your time prior to our first meeting.” She patted the boxes lightly, “Take your time, let me know if you need anything. And let me know if that frostbite eases, so that I know I can compliment you more frequently - I’m not sorry to say that you aren’t going to stop me from giving you things.” Sunset watched Rarity walk away, Pinkie following her with a small wave that was hesitantly reciprocated. She felt warm all over again, from this new idea she was struggling to keep from slipping through her fingers in the face of all the past experiences. She slowly moved the boxes onto her lap to try and keep it there, before slowly looking into each box at the familiar articles draped in her favorite clothing palette. PerceptionSunset hated to admit that each of the times before now the way her “friends” interfered with her wants generally were to her benefit in her relationship with them. The term friend still felt odd, but right now it was the closest thing she had to describe how things were going - invasive acquaintances felt a bit rude at this point with how accommodating and patient they’ve been. Her thoughts of them potentially being more parole officers or teachers seemed so flimsy now. It felt pointless in this moment, as the group had somehow got her to surrender to their demand of letting one of them visit Sunset’s apartment to tell them how her lifestyle has been. She had no idea what significance this even had, Sunset had very well assumed that living quarters had absolutely nothing to do with friendship. Sunset only relinquished when they all accepted Fluttershy alone to go, as she hoped she would be willing to cover up a fair bit of it when talking to the others. Sunset approached her apartment door, Fluttershy tailing behind her. She paused before turning the knob open after unlocking it. She tried not to portray any vulnerability, and knew she probably looked a little dead-end annoyed instead as she looked at her friend, tone neutral, “I wasn’t ready for company.” Fluttershy gave a gentle smile like she’s destined for sunbeams to illuminate her like an angel at any moment, “If you need a little bit to put away a few private things, I can wait.” With a deep breath, Sunset figured she may as well rip off the plaster, not like she could do much to make a difference in a respectable waiting time. She turned and pushed, not even entering her own apartment, “Doubt that’d do much. Go ahead.” Her lifestyle, it didn’t really bug her usually. It was meant to be private, truly, ignored by the outside world - often ignored by herself as well. She hated how it felt like letting Fluttershy walk into her very flesh, as not even Sunset knew quite how it looked to an outsider's eyes. Slowly making her way into the room herself, she was curious about Fluttershy’s reaction. Fluttershy’s hands were crossed, not in the polite open way, but the nervous interlaced-fingers way. Her expression was dripping with concern, but when she glanced at Sunset she quickly went back to her gentle default despite being clearly a little less composed. Sunset would have been a bit proud if she wasn’t so embarrassed. Her eyes skimmed her place, two-seat couch, coffee table, a laptop, small kitchen, paths to the bedroom and bathroom from the back and front of the couch. And lastly the part she knew summoned the expression hidden by Fluttershy, trash was everywhere - the path between the coffee table and the wall alongside most of the table’s surface, the corner beside the door to the bedroom, the end of the short kitchen and most of the counters, a small innocuous layer on most things that weren’t just where the door was since there was a pile behind the door as well that moved back and forth with use. Some clothes were around as well, sweatpants and t-shirts mostly, her indoor attire so she could preserve her public attire in designated clean - or rather more clean - spots. Dust layered most everything, carpet stains and some sticky spots on some surfaces she had long forgotten the origins of. The only things in the place with any semblance of cleanliness were the laptop and the couch seats - and the latter was still debatable even then as the mess was covered by some oversized black t-shirts. She wasn’t sure how to respond, pushing down her embarrassment as best she could, and found herself putting on a tryhard smile, “Impressive, right?” Fluttershy went to bend down to grab something and Sunset was surprised by herself when on instinct she grasped her shoulder to stop her, “No- that, don’t-” Teal eyes looked at her, busy with what she assumed was pity under concern as she stood straight again. Sunset was stunned when Fluttershy kept her hand on her shoulder by laying her own hand over it, “I don’t even know how to interpret this, Sunset. Just that it- I want to help.” Sunset couldn’t hold back the glare, trying to hide how her hands were starting to feel shaky. She made sure to put effort into holding her tone steady, “You don’t need to worry about it. I don’t want you to clean it - it’s a lot. But it’s not a big deal, don’t- don’t make it a thing, please.” Fluttershy’s expression softened to hold more warmth, before a small guilt surfaced, “The girls asked me to tell them how it was, we were all worried, Sunset. I don’t think I could keep something this big to myself.” Sunset dropped her head a little, using her free hand to prod at the forming tension in her temple as she paused. She knew that this was something she was going to have to let go of her death grip on. She sighed, just wanting the best she could tolerate from this, “Please, Fluttershy. Not all of them, I couldn’t handle so many of them - it’s kind of why I brought it down to just you.” She let Sunset’s hand free, a freedom she quickly accepted. Fluttershy gave a far quieter sigh before speaking softly, “I won’t tell all of them. But the first one that asks, I’m telling.” Sunset suddenly realized just how much of a gamble that was, but at this moment, when it felt like a lot, even a gamble sounded potentially manageable. She nodded before quietly responding, feeling a bit defeated, “Eeyeah, alright. That’s the most I could ask for.” In the wait of a few days, Fluttershy put a small pressure on Sunset by buying her a couple cleaning bottles. Sunset couldn’t fully blame her, she didn’t have cleaning products, but it only made the stress of the pending explosion linger a little more actively. She was confused when Applejack was carrying a second backpack with her and approached her, “Heya, Sunset, how’s it goin’?” Sunset’s confusion didn’t leave her, she dismissed the answer quickly, “Fine. What’s with the second bag?” Applejack hesitated to put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, but when she didn’t flinch away she let it rest there, before looking at her with determined emerald eyes, “I asked Fluttershy ‘bout yer place since she was bein’ a lil’ topic avoidant. Had to ask Granny where a couple supplies were - turns out she brought ‘em to school.” Sunset felt herself tense as she realized just what was being said, and just what was being offered again. She spoke in a whisper, treating it like a secret, “There’s no way you’re cleaning all that, Applejack. Bring that back home, it’s not your chore.” Applejack however smirked a little, which unnerved Sunset as she didn’t often do that unless she knew she was getting what she wanted, “Well I got an offer I doubt you’d want to refuse, Sunset. Would really clear up your problem here.” The fiery-haired girl mirrored the expression she was seeing habitually, trying to hide whatever embarrassment or other vulnerability wanted to crop up, “Yeah, what’s that?” Her friend’s smirk faded as it became a smile, “Fluttershy and I are gonna clean, so that way when everyone else gets curious you don’t gotta worry about it anymore. Helps yer doesn’t-gotta-be secret stay a secret - since that’s what you seem to want. Ain’t a fan of secrets but I’d prefer it be clean over sharin’ this sorta thing. No need to do a thing, the stress of adjustin’ would probably be enough as is. Could even turn it into a sleepover if that’d help - don’t seem the type though.” Sunset dragged a hand down her own face, smirk fading into some irritation. She groaned, “I don’t see why this even matters, why do you all want to do this so badly? It’s my place, I can do whatever with it.” Applejack blinked a couple times in silence before answering, “Yer right, sure, you can do what you want - don’t mean you should. But on our part, because we care, first off. You probably mean elsewise though, Fluttershy’s always got this instinct to take care of things that you’d probably have to ask her about to know more if there is any.” With a deep breath she continued a bit more seriously, “On my part, always kinda worried about you bein’ alone. Like I’d been settin’ up to offer you to move to the farm if you’d want - no pressure on that, it’s an ongoin’ offer. Ah just know how hard it is to feel like yer living alone - not actually alone, but feelin’ like it.” She paused shortly, as though composing a couple thoughts before continuing, “In short, I was with relatives for a lil’ bit while I was figurin’ myself out - couldn’t bring myself to clean a lick a anything ah’d been already well-raised to do. Starts to get embarrassin’ real fast, and knowin’ you so far I figured the same could be happenin’. But I also know you like yer space - which is why I wouldn’t be miffed at all if you shut down the living together idea. Just knowin’ yer livin’ cleanly will ease everyone’s mind.” Sunset’s face felt warm, embarrassment winning over the anger mask. Once again they were knocking on doors she intended to leave closed. She’d tensed her own mouth shut, just trying to process how she was once again understood in ways she was still trying to figure out how to grapple with herself. She threw the moving offer out of her mind, focusing on the moment. It didn’t really feel as though there was another option, she’d be alright rejecting something nice if it was just about another person. The fact that she’d also benefit from it made rejection feel logically impossible. She released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, speaking quickly as she did, “Alright, fine, but I won’t help.” Applejack smiled, “Not a worry, I’d clean the whole thing myself if Fluttershy wasn’t so insistent.” Sunset was surprised when Applejack waved over Fluttershy from behind her, as though she’d been waiting for her to handle the whole conversation herself. She really wanted a break from interacting, and anticipated her upcoming ability to just get some alone time after letting them in the apartment. Sunset was slowly walking toward her apartment, down the hall, not sure what to even expect. It had been a few hours since they entered, she’d tried to settle down however she could about the fact everything was going to be different, but she wasn’t really able to. She’d been on the phone with Pinkie for about a half hour now, with a couple plastic bags in her hand. She asked quietly, “You’re sure this is right? How do you even remember this sort of thing?” An overly happy giggle came through the device, “I have notes for everyone, just in case! But it just comes naturally after a while of paying attention. You don’t need to worry about that, feel free to call me again if you have another idea.” Sunset spoke a short thanks and farewell, and received one, before hanging up. Sliding her phone into her pocket, she heard the two talking as she approached the door, slightly open with a couple well filled trash bags sitting in the hall. Expecting to hear some sort of gossip about her habits, she slowly noticed she only heard them trying to coordinate how they were cleaning. Stopping near the doorway, she took a deep breath. The faint creak of her opening her door a little more to enter betrayed her presence. The pair looked at her for a moment, and Applejack quickly spoke, “Heya, Sunset,” while Fluttershy gave a, “Welcome back.” It was hard to talk, she wasn’t used to any of this. Every ounce of it felt fresh, her floor being much more walkable and clothes all in a pile on the couch while the trash was being sorted out of it, people being here, her wanting to give them anything. She had budgeted a bit recently to try and save up, but dipped into that pretty quickly for this. She barely managed to get out the words, a bit irritated at her own nerves but all that came out was hesitant fragments, “Ther- I brought some food - it’s about dinnertime.” She wanted to smack the back of her own head for missing words over something so simple. She tried to move on, losing a little volume, “I’d asked Pinkie what y’all’d like.” The feeling continued, she got all the words but not how she’d typically articulate them. Sunset couldn’t look either of them in the face, unsure if her own was flushed or downcast, but was surprised when both of them approached her. The bags were separated, so she peeked into one for a moment before giving them to their respective recipients. She waited silently as she heard them opening the boxes. Nerves festering, wondering if she even did a simple purchase right after how long she knew they’d been looking at her doing things wrong. She barely kept herself from jumping when Applejack broke through the quiet, “Thanks a bunch, Sunset, this was really thoughtful of you.” Fluttershy quickly following up, “Yes, thank you. You had great timing, we might’ve missed dinner without noticing if you hadn’t done this.” Sunset gave a nod before taking a deep breath to suppress a sigh, going to make her way out the door. Fluttershy quickly spoke, “Wait, Sunset.” She glanced back habitually against her nerves to see those understanding teal eyes as she softly spoke, “Are you alright?” The embarrassment bounced back toward irritation that jumped into her tone before she could stop it, but managed to redirect it such that it shouldn’t cause damage, “Yeah, I’m just having every ounce of my cleaning incompetency archived in your minds to embarrass me at every moment it surfaces.” She avoided bringing up the fact she slightly felt like she was back inside that massive crater at the formal. Applejack then responded, “We ain’t here to judge you over it, Sunset. Anyone could get like this in the right circumstances.” Sunset felt her body pulse with heat, “Well this isn’t just some right circumstances, no one has ever cared how it’s all looked before - it was always ignored or dealt with by someone else - somepony impersonal that was hired for it. I don’t-,” she didn’t want to say anything more, she had just said more than she wanted to about her past. Taking a deep breath, she whispered out, sounding strained, “Excuse me, before I make this worse.” She turned away, shoulders raising, wanting to hide as she routed herself toward the door. Fluttershy’s voice carried, “We could teach you if you’d want.” Sunset felt hooked, stunned, vulnerable. It was already like they were under her very flesh. She stopped her own momentum with a hand on the doorframe. Thinking, pushing away as much as she could about how much this meant personally. She couldn’t push it away though, no one had offered this lesson before, and she couldn’t lower herself enough to ask for such a basic thing, even when she felt so far under ground level already. Applejack then added, “It would help you prevent this sorta thing in the future, and wouldn’t be any trouble for us. You don’t gotta disappear over this sorta thing, we’re already here after all - if that wasn’t proof enough we’re ready to help. Ain’t no use in scoldin’ you, if that’s somethin’ yer worried about, we know you earnestly have been tryin’ to do better.” A part of Sunset wanted to run still, but she also felt like she was already here. As though accepting the offer wasn’t such a distant idea, but like it was right in front of her. She tried to ignore the fact she probably looked vulnerable as she turned her head toward both of them just to check their gazes. Hopeful, intentional, open, waiting for her with the things a growing part of her started to want to grasp for. With a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, and a leap of faith, she gave a nod, whispering out, “Alright,” that despite its volume felt like it shattered something. Applejack sounded much happier, Fluttershy’s expression matching as her friend spoke, “I’ll teach you how to sort between types of garbage, it’d be a good first step.” Sunset started to take a couple steps toward her. She agreed with a small double-nod and a short hum in agreement, only to pause her travel when the hum cracked. Her face felt immensely warm, but not with anger, not really embarrassment either, it was hard to figure out. She wanted to hide but had already dedicated herself to staying, her eyes started to sting and she instinctively looked downward with her shoulders raising to hide however she could. Her mind spilt a few habitual Equestrian expletives, voice betraying her by being unable to follow suit, as tears betrayed her attempts to blink them away. A pair of yellow arms entered her ever-blurring vision, and after a moment of processing them in the midst of whatever was growing, she pushed herself into the hold slowly. She found herself anchored in grasping someone in her arms, hiding her face at her shoulder. Her back was supported in a way that was slowly becoming familiar, Fluttershy whispered, “We’re here for you, Sunset.” Hearing those words, she dared to think maybe they actually meant something.
Connection (Extra)Sunset knew something had changed over the last week. She was experiencing an emotion she hadn’t before, and she had a theory on it, but wasn’t sure if she was right. She had to wait until the next school morning where she and Fluttershy would usually arrive early. Even sitting next to her however, she couldn’t really settle. The feeling left her on her feet, somewhat nervous to bring it up. She hadn’t understood the feeling of butterflies in ages, but it returned to her with ease. Fluttershy seemed to catch on that something was going on as she looked at her, but she waited, something she was really good about gauging with Sunset. Sunset knew that Fluttershy wanted her to say it, it felt as though it stuck in her arms and wouldn’t leave her mouth. She took a deep breath as though trying to pull it out of herself, doing so as discreetly as she could. She looked away a bit and then quietly asked, “Is it possible to crave a hug?” She was a little stunned when Fluttershy started with a small giggle and managed to work her way up to a laugh. Sunset flushed with embarrassment, kind of but not fully regretting her choices. Fluttershy however then stood up, taking a couple breaths to come down off her laughter, “It is, sorry. It’s not what I was expecting, is all. Perfectly reasonable question.” Sunset’s lingering curiosity made her ask again, coming down off her own embarrassment as she processed, “So craving hugs is a thing?” Fluttershy nodded rhythmically, “Of course, why do you think Pinkie gets suddenly touchy or goes overboard with affection sometimes?” That question clicked an answer so fast that she had to blink a few times to process it, Sunset then whispered out, “That explains a fair bit.” Fluttershy hummed an agreement before softly asking, “So, did you want a hug from me, or do you want to wait for Pinkie?” Sunset still hadn’t tried with anyone but Pinkie yet, but Fluttershy had seen it. She knew Fluttershy was gentle enough, she was a perfect next person to go for. With a short shrug, she spoke, “We could try?” Fluttershy simply smiled, and let Sunset take the lead on the hug. Once again putting her arms under the other person’s, shortly loose from hesitation, then more snug. It felt a little familiar, a little not, but also surprisingly right.
InteractionSunset felt immensely out of place, she had known that the girls who had allied with Twilight to take her down were going to keep her company. But she had also assumed it would be more parole officers or teachers, not a casual hangout of some sort. She was terribly unfamiliar with these things, she hadn’t really spent any time around others for casual purposeless interactions since before she became Celestia’s student, and even that much was sparse. She was able to get away with being quiet during lunch, there were enough of them all she had to do was answer a roundtable question once or twice a day. There were usually a whole five of them she had to be around, but right now it was only her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They were sitting in the Rainbow’s room, in a semicircle with Sunset in the center. She didn’t quite know how to approach interaction with them. It seemed like they were having trouble as well, given they stopped before they even started an activity. Her assumption was quickly shut down when Applejack asked, “I can’t imagine all the hobbies here are the same as in yer homeland. Rainbow and I had been trying to think of common ground before you got here but realized we really dunno much about over there.” Sunset took a deep breath before speaking, still not used to the casual nature of it all, “Magic studies, mostly. That’s what I did on Equus at least. Spells and artifacts, other regal skills - although that was more for visualizing a goal than of personal interest. Can’t really do those over here, most I ever did on Earth was music and art, maybe a little coding as well.” She noticed they seemed pretty active in their listening, it made her uncomfortable, as it lacked any familiar intentions. There was a short moment before Rainbow’s mind grasped something, she perked up and quickly spoke, “So you’ve never seen the Daring Do movies?” Applejack gave a quiet, “Oh no, here we go.” Sunset blinked twice, “The what? Why would I have seen any movies?” Rainbow jumped up from her seat, rushing behind herself to one of her shelves filled with disc cases, comics and figures, and without even skimming grabbed one of the disc cases from standing eye-level. Sunset immediately assumed the placement was intentional, that she perhaps valued it more than most of the other things on the shelves. She then immediately had to stop herself from trying to put that into her mental bank dedicated to information to abuse later for some sort of manipulation, something she was starting to get used to. Her vision was somewhat covered by Rainbow holding out the case, which Sunset slowly took as she listened, “It’s only the best, most awesome action movie series there is, Daring Do is an adventuring historian interested in various artifacts, trying to secure them away from the clutches of those who want to find it for money or from large monsters, or even just trying to verify their existence by going through the most risky temples one could ever dare to enter! It has nearly twenty books by now, and only five movies - but they’re coming out with another one next year!” Sunset wanted to be interested, if only to better deal with her own growing disinterest. Although she guessed the unappeal was more about the social pressure of matching Dash’s enthusiasm than the actual series itself. She stopped herself from saying anything that would crush the current social environment, “Any other options? Like maybe something that isn’t just potentially pseudo-historical adventure?” Rainbow then took the case back, looking toward the ceiling at the thought, “It’s mostly just adventures and sports, which I guess sometimes has some drama to it, like Rocky, maybe some comedy to it like Sandlot.” Sunset then gave up trying to find something to be interested in and decided to simply subject herself to whatever there was. Recalling her reaction, she looked at Applejack before saying, “Whatever Applejack chooses, we can watch.” That got Applejack to smirk a little, Rainbow giving a slightly whiny “Aw, maaan.” The country girl made her way to the shelf - plucking the case from Rainbow’s hands to return it while she looked. Sunset would have questioned if she made the right choice, if it was the right feeling to want to smirk at Rainbow’s abstract defeat, but Applejack’s own response was enough permission to revel in the choice lightly herself. Applejack then spoke, “Twilight had said somethin’ about you pony folk having control over yer weather, right?” Sunset hummed an affirmation to let her continue, “Then a real people versus nature film will be fascinatin’ from that angle at least, and I dunno about meteorology much but hopefully that bit will tickle the nerd in you a bit too.” She stood near Sunset with a disc case, holding it out for her. Sunset was slightly surprised she was even showing it to her, she had given her the go ahead regardless of the choice. The front of the case read “Twister”, having such a simple title in itself slightly fascinated her, and Applejack's spiel about it sold her pretty well compared to anything else. Rainbow took a peek and then seemed to remember something as she smirked largely at Applejack, “You don’t want to put on some country romance or something?” Sunset was caught off guard by that and looked to a now flushed AJ, who quickly stuttered out with a bit more volume, “Th- N- I wasn’t even considerin’ that, don’t say stuff that’ll make me wanna air my lungs, Dash!” Rainbow retorted, smugly, “You totally would pick one though, just to show off when you win the movie choice.” Sunset couldn’t help but mirror Rainbow’s expression as Applejack tilted the rim of her hat to cover her face, and yet still slightly turned away, “I ain’t picked that stuff in years. Could we move on?” She quickly stepped her way back to her spot, lightly hitting Dash on the back of the head to get a ‘Hey!’ as she went there. She took a deep breath and regained her natural color before slightly facing them again. It was weird for Sunset, it felt like she was sitting in something timeless, something not meant for her. It was positive, unusual, definitely something she was out of practice on being around, and out of place in. She then handed Rainbow the case as she spoke, “Guess it’s Twister time, then.” Sunset - despite all given up expectation - found herself enjoying the movie once she understood the heart of the goal of the film. But that felt like a lot in itself, the pair had actually been pretty quiet throughout the whole thing, outside of some rooting for or scolding characters here and there. She dared not mention how Rainbow let out a tear or two at some point, Applejack near such herself such that she tilted her hat a short moment. Sunset was surprised by their responses and tried to ignore the feeling it left in her own chest, like something was out of place again. She was relieved when they called it afterward, as she really wasn’t used to any of this. Sunset was surprised when Rainbow had actually pulled her aside as they left lunch, asking to hang out again. She was nervous about what task - or activity rather - they were going to do. She was hesitant to accept, but did, in hopes of simply avoiding the feeling of isolation. She wondered what else there was to connect over. At least that’s what she assumed Applejack and Rainbow were trying to teach her last time, she wasn’t sure if she was reading into it. The ride to Rainbow’s place was quiet, as though she didn’t quite know how to start off. Sunset more appreciated the silence. It was broken as they entered her room, Rainbow starting, “I had an idea of something to try, to see if you like it.” Rainbow pulled a box out from under the television, running a couple cords to the back of the screen before some controller was connected to what Sunset now assumed was a console. She had vague knowledge about video games, but never really looked into them. One of Sunset’s eyebrows escaped her, trying to figure out how Rainbow thought this was suited to her, “What did you have in mind?” The athlete spoke while she turned on the device, “I thought that maybe you’d like the chance to play some games,” she then grabbed a few cases from a totally different shelf than the movies, “sounded like Equestria didn’t have any, and you seem to like things that have goals - even if none of it’s sports. So I thought maybe this could work for you.” Sunset was surprised by the amount of thought that Rainbow seemed to put into this. And then Rainbow smirked a little, “Also seemed like a good chance to get my turn to introduce you to some of my favorite games.” That made Sunset shortly wonder about if she actually should have judged Daring Do so fast, but it was quickly put on the backburner at the shock of seeing a historically villainously acclaimed centaur on one of the disc cases that were put down. She quickly gravitated toward it, grabbing it. It wasn’t until she saw Sunset that Rainbow continued, “Rise of Tirek, a tactical role playing game about trying to dethrone a power-sucking centaur before he can conquer the land. Figured it would suit your more strategic brain - plus there’s actually a sidekick shortly into the story that can be used as a second commander.” Sunset was stunned, and slowly accepted the idea that was in front of her. She was surprised he even made any sort of appearance in this world. As she glanced over both the front and back of it, nothing about it stood out in the face of any other game in this world, outside of the very clearly familiar depicted figure. A smirk came over her as her curiosity rose, “Sounds like it could work, let's go for it.”
ConnectionSunset couldn’t help but avoid Pinkie Pie. It wasn’t easy to be around that much energy, she tolerated it in the whole group. But when it was just them, Pinkie tried to hug her, and just as Sunset was about to be trapped in it, she ran. Pinkie caught up to her pretty fast and apologized, and Sunset wasn’t mad about it long, she was just immensely wary afterward. She knew the other girls had their own levels of interaction, she just couldn’t bring herself to share it. Pinkie however seemed to be the top initiator in those types of things, so Sunset simply tried to dodge the chances. To her surprise, Fluttershy asked, “Are you avoiding Pinkie?” That was the very first thing she said, they usually spent this time sitting at the school entrance quietly, maybe on homework at most. Sunset was surprised she just pulled this out of nowhere. She let out an amused breath at the idea despite the reality, “What gave you that idea?” Fluttershy gave a seemingly knowing, sad smile, “Pinkie can get kind of timid about particular things, like thinking her friends left her or upsetting others. While she’s sometimes oblivious to it or pushes past it,” she paused before positing, “it seems like she might have upset you and caught on. Since you wouldn’t really be able to avoid her otherwise.” Sunset scoffed, “Well I’m glad she caught on, it would be kind of a lot to deal with if she didn’t.” “I figure she’d probably be a lot for you to deal with regardless as long as she isn’t in her more mellow mode.” The kind girl seemed to pause before asking like she had to, “But this doesn’t seem to be that, what did she do?” Sunset didn’t want to answer, the way Fluttershy was looking at her felt like it was prodding at her. It wasn’t quite a glare, but it still felt firm, as though there was only one choice in response and it was to comply with her want in this situation. It registered to Sunset as a caretaker skill, which she felt compelled to look away from despite how curiously eye-catching it was. To hopefully get it to go away, she complied after a sigh, “She crossed a boundary, I don’t do physical contact.” She dared not to say that aspect of Pinkie has always kind of intimidated her. Sunset also felt kind of guilty when she glanced to see if the gaze went away, but Fluttershy appeared very understanding now instead. A small part of Sunset was relieved, but largely felt this uncomfortable pressure, maybe guilt, like something was wrong despite her honesty. She quickly ignored it, hoping the relief was enough of a good sign. Fluttershy spoke, “You don’t need to be so wary, Pinkie will get it if you tell her. She does kind of seem like she already has gotten it.” Sunset’s shoulders tensed and she quietly admitted, “Pinkie already apologized, she knows.” A silence held before Fluttershy questioned, “Do you have some reason you don’t like physical contact?” She quickly held back this impulse to lie about it, she’d been doing good. This much was good enough to her, she then quickly stood, “Uhh, I gotta go, actually.” Fluttershy seemed to speak in response but Sunset didn’t register it, simply swinging her backpack over her shoulder and speed walking into the building. Sunset should have known that wouldn’t work, or rather she should have thought a little harder about it, she just didn’t think this would be the result. As now Fluttershy had her due for a sleepover with her and Pinkie, and she used whatever that firm gaze was again. Because of that look Sunset momentarily thought she should study it given it lacked the typical intimidation, but she quickly disregarded it. Fluttershy had assured her it would be more mellow, that Pinkie tended to tune it down around her. Sunset wasn’t sure what that even looked like, as she doesn’t think she’s seen it before. After a while she knew Fluttershy was right, Pinkie had been more relaxed. Sunset almost felt like she was normal now, which in itself kind of freaked her out but she preferred it to her higher energy state. Fluttershy had carried the entire physical contact conversation after Sunset seemed unable to herself, and they moved on pretty fast. They’d all made dinner which was pretty smooth despite Sunset being unable to really help. After was a movie, an animal movie that got both other people to shed some tears, and once again left Sunset feeling off. She ignored the feeling as they’d started to teach Sunset various card games, which actually helped her feel comfortable all over again. It was weird to her that something as simple as these little sheets with symbols was enough to make being in others' company feel okay, like she finally wasn’t missing out on something or out of place for a moment. Fluttershy however kept glancing at her, the conversation about the movie having died down in the face of playing Old Maid. Sunset knew Pinkie had it based on her response when she’d gotten it. She knew Fluttershy wanted her to initiate some sort of conversation, she assumed about the physical contact thing. Sunset didn’t really know where to go with that, she didn’t know why it was being made into such a big deal. When she found herself having to pick a card from Pinkie’s side, she knew she wouldn’t be able to read her. But as she reached for the leftmost card, she let out a few words to test the waters, “Sorry I’ve been avoiding you.” She was surprised when Pinkie blinked a few times, and then Sunset glanced at Fluttershy to check if she did something wrong. Fluttershy was smiling, so she assumed it was fine. Pinkie seemed to smile even wider when she looked back at her. She was wary still, and leaned back a bit, disguising it as sorting her cards before dropping a pair into the pile. Pinkie then answered, “It’s okay, Sunset. I thought you needed time, I just already think of you as a friend so I forgot to check the steps to getting there for a moment.” Her hair seemed to lose some bounce as she added, “It was my bad anyway, we did hurt you, I should have known to take it slower.” Sunset was a little stunned, wondering if Pinkie somehow knew about the aftereffects of the transformation. She quickly waved a hand sideways in dismissal, figuring there was no way the girls would know how that was for her. She oddly wanted to reassure her somehow, she didn’t know how, “No, I mean- you caught on. You all didn’t hurt me. It’s okay, I think. I did worse. So,” Sunset didn’t know how to move forward. Pinkie held out a hand, before taking it back, as though she wanted to shake her hand but quickly noticed the mistake. She then started, “We could just start over, from scratch.” Sunset realized how excessive that level of wariness was, that she’d easily manage a handshake, she wasn’t so brittle. She took a deep breath, and held out her own hand instead, smirking to try and cover her nerves, “Sure, Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you.” Pinkie’s hair seemed to spring up as her posture straightened, she hesitated to even grab the hand. When she succeeded, without Sunset flinching, she responded with a large smile, “Pinkamena Diane Pie, Pinkie Pie for short, it’s nice to meet you too.” After a couple mutually firm shakes, they released hands. Sunset felt right, weirdly, like she was finally tethered to this world. The oddness of all of it brought her to cover her mouth a little as she chuckled, her smirk momentarily a smile before it dropped. Passively continuing the card game, Pinkie then asked, “So are only handshakes okay, or are high fives also good?” Sunset gave a nod, “Distant things are fine, so fist bumps probably as well. As long as I expect them.” Fluttershy then gently asked, “Nothing else?” Pinkie shrugged and added, “Those are the normal ones, unless you’d prefer ghost high fives.” Sunset looked confused but the pair quickly exampled a no-contact high five, which only confused her more, “Doesn’t that defeat part of the point? I thought Pinkie was an oxytocin addict.” Fluttershy looked a little more timid suddenly, “Sometimes I get a little startled if they’re loud. Pinkie has perfected them with some people so they can be pretty suddenly intense.” Pinkie looked proud at the statement and a silence came over them while the pink girl giggled a little to herself as she mulled over the compliment. Sunset felt unusually safe, like maybe she could actually voice her thoughts. It was weird, but given she’d already pushed and just mended her interactions with Pinkie, and Fluttershy seemed to be pretty gentle about all of it, she was tempted to risk it. She started off with an external question to test the waters, “So when you both have something nice, like a hug, what does that normally feel like for you?” Pinkie answered easily, “Taking bites out of an infinite cupcake.” Sunset was tempted to roll her eyes with how much she felt like she should have predicted that answer - one addiction was easily comparable to another. Fluttershy answered quickly enough to stop her, “Some combination of belonging and wanted, maybe cared for, definitely warm and safe.” The odd-one-out feeling returned, like she’d been picking at a scab and finally got it off cleanly, but the blood it released seemed to lessen. It was confusing. Fluttershy gently asked, “What about you, Sunset, if you’re alright sharing.” Sunset took in a deep breath, that if the blood was flowing already she hoped she wouldn’t make it worse. She wondered if sharing this sort of thing was a type of emotional handshake. Letting out the breath, she started, “Not- It feels wrong, somehow.” She paused to think it through for a moment before continuing, “Maybe kind of angry, I think, it’s hard to describe. The best description I have is that it’s like getting too much warmth while having frostbite.” She avoided mentioning the shame she felt for inexperience with these things, and the guilt for feeling like she didn’t deserve it, any of this really. Hesitant to look at the others, she glanced to find a stunned Pinkie and a thinking Fluttershy. Sunset didn’t have stage fright but she imagined it felt a little like she currently did. The feeling lingered as Fluttershy spoke, “That must make it hard to let others treat you well.” Sunset was uncomfortable with the idea that she was understood, and lightly scratched the back of her own neck, “It’s not a big deal.” She watched Pinkie drop a pair into the pile, she tried to press the feeling down, but a few words spilled out, “I don’t need to be fixed, I’ll live without it.” There was silence, as though she’d cut into the conversation somehow. Pinkie solemnly broke it after a long moment, “That sounds kind of lonely.” Sunset wanted to snap at that but didn’t have the words to do so, so she held back, Fluttershy spoke, “It’s okay if that’s what you want, not everyone needs physical contact. But it doesn’t sound to me like you don’t want it. It’s not that we want to fix you, that’s not what we want to do. It’s just that it sounds a little like there’s some pain there for you.” She paused to set her cards aside even though it’s her turn to lose one, “We want you to feel better. If this counts as an absence of love, as a way you’ve been damaged, then the presence of it should heal it.” Sunset was quiet before she tried to fight, nearly mumbling out, “Hugs aren’t a basic need.” She didn’t fully believe herself, neither did they seem to. Fluttershy just continued, as though Sunset hadn’t said anything, “We won’t push it, but if there’s ever a time you want to try, we’re both here to help you figure out or try out the next step. We’ll even keep it just between us, so you won’t feel pressured about trying. But I’ll let the other girls know not to touch you.” Sunset wanted to pick at this again, to fight both of them. Or at least that’s what her responses were leaning toward, she didn’t really want this, they were being nice. She silently dropped her cards and made her way to the bathroom. The frustration had no words to escape by, she wouldn’t let it. Sunset was wildly tired the next morning. She was given some breaks from interacting by the other two as they understood she was still getting used to all of it. More than anything, she was surprised she was okay with waking up away from her apartment after how long it took her to fall asleep. That and she usually felt touchy after being frustrated as she tried to sleep, but this time she wasn’t. She had wracked her brain for a while last night, trying to find some other way to approach the situation that seemed to keep cropping up. But the only answer she ever seemed to find was to accept the offer she was given. She should have assumed that the very bearers of the Elements of Harmony - and of course two from the more healing half of the elements - would have some idea on how to approach these things. At this point, in her exhaustion at having this all drug up, she was basically ready to give it a shot just to silence it all. The thought lingered, unsure how to even start it. She didn’t want to make herself too uncomfortable before she could reasonably leave, so she held the thought at the back of her mind for a while longer. She saved it for after Pinkie’s pancakes, and after a lap around the immensely close park, and after they menially watched a little cartoons while drinking cocoa as they started to wrap up. Pinkie and Sunset had both packed all their things, and Sunset still had to figure out when to leave as she’d never done this before. Everything within her wanted her to completely dismiss the idea and simply leave. But it started to itch, like the flesh under the scab was still raw, that even without blood it felt tickled under the breeze. Fluttershy was off in the bathroom, and it left her only with Pinkie. Sunset knew she may have preferred to attempt with Fluttershy, but she once again kicked off with a more external starter. She didn’t want to lose this chance if she could, so she quietly asked, “If I were to try getting used to physical contact, what would that look like?” Pinkie perked up a little, Sunset unsure if that was over the topic or the fact she spoke at all. The party girl gave a more directed smile, “We would try out whatever you want to start with, the scale is pretty different for everyone. And there’s a few different ways to do different ones, like there’s a few versions of hugs you could try - and since it’d be with me or Fluttershy we’d be able to adjust the firmness for you too. Casual and frequent hugs are typically the end goal, I think. Which later down the line if you tell the girls I’m sure they’d be alright leaving when those happen in your hands so you aren’t uncomfortable.” Sunset felt heavy by how much she had to push herself past nerves to try this, but she slowly stood from the couch, “Alright. So- The- How would we try, if we did?.” Pinkie stood up quickly to match her before thinking, then prefacing, “Okay, I won’t touch you yet. But how to try a hug?” Sunset gave a short nod, so she continued, “There’s a few options, you can usually guess the type of hug based on the approaching arms.” She then raised her arms outward, “Like if I approach this way, there’s top, middle and bottom spots while looking at each other, you’d just pick one that’s not what they’re doing.” She thought a moment before moving her arms in opposite directions, “diagonal-hugs tend to be Dashie's and AJ’s preference, where they’re both just the opposite on each side, more common in guys or sports though since they tend to be quick-release.” Pinkie then moved to face the same way beside Sunset, “We could also just both go around the back with one arm for a side-hug, those are more free. All your choice, I’d match your strength and choice.” Sunset felt a little relieved to have some better idea now on how they could go, even before testing. She glanced at Pinkie’s eyes, having avoided them for a bit, and she expected some intimidating pressure of anticipation or something to be staring at her. It surprised her when she saw that Pinkie was happily waiting but seemed like she would accept any choice - she was used to seeing her as an unstoppable force which was terrifying to a no-longer-immovable object. She decided to risk it, watching her own arm to slowly put it around Pinkie’s mid-back. The pink girl had raised her arm to let her pass, and put it around Sunset’s own back at a similar angle, neither touching yet. Pinkie giggled, Sunset raised an eyebrow and she quickly stopped, speaking, “Sorry, being slow kind of made it feel like we’re playing Twister.” She cleared her throat, “Serious now.” Sunset disregarded the statement, not knowing what it meant to ‘play’ a meteorological event, and used her hand to hang her arm around Pinkie’s back, finally making contact. Pinkie matched her both in hesitance and hold, Sunset’s lungs jumping as her back was supported. She was nearly startled when Pinkie softly asked, “Any frostbite?” It was uncomfortable, but nowhere near as much as she expected. At this point it felt more like unfamiliarity or inexperience. She didn’t feel like she needed to run, just get used to it, really. She barely answered, “I don’t think so.” She didn’t understand it herself, but after a few seconds it felt like a dam broke. She quickly pulled away for a moment to try and figure it out. Sunset was tempted to look over her own body as though it would give her any answers, but just stood there for a moment to try and figure it out in her mind. It felt similar to having not eaten a whole day and finally getting to the first bite of a meal. She was surprised at how smoothly she offered, as though she wanted it, “Could I try one of the both arms options?” Pinkie nodded and they both turned, Sunset kept her arms open lower and approached with a little less hesitation. The party girl quickly stood on her toes and followed her lead, arms going around Sunset’s shoulders to support her upper back, head beside Pinkie’s. The hold was loose for a moment as Sunset tried to register where and how everything was. She was confused but pleased by the security of the arms around her back, and found herself slowly making her own hold more snug. Pinkie mimicked with an expected delay but perfect strength imitation. Sunset felt like she was recharging a battery she didn’t even know she had, and was tempted to just not let go. After a moment, she managed to convince herself it was a bad idea to stay there too long, that maybe oxytocin addiction was an unseen social plague she had to avoid to some degree. Pinkie let go just as easily, but seemed far more energized, rocking on her feet, smiling wide in that I-got-everything-I-could-ever-ask-for way that she usually does. She quickly spoke in a strained way, “There’s not enough room,” and dismissed herself out the front door, closing it behind her. Sunset was confused, she trailed the leaving Pinkie with her eyes, and realized Fluttershy had come out of the hall who-knows-when. Sunset knew she saw by the way she was making eye contact and flushed immediately as Pinkie yelled from outside, insufficiently muffled by the wall, “I finally did it! Wooooo!” She glanced at the pink girl only to catch her jumping and then running a couple steps into doing a cartwheel. Sunset then looked toward Fluttershy again, suddenly aware of the pink on her own cheeks as she then hid it with the edge of her shirt as she partly looked away. Fluttershy just giggled before softly saying, “Good job.” Sunset nodded once, unsure how else to respond.
IntentionSunset was unsure how Pinkie decided that she was the right person to drag to Rarity’s place, while she quickly deduced Rainbow and Applejack weren’t better options she figured Fluttershy would be better at least. But now Sunset was stuck dealing with clothes that were far outside her personal sense of style, subjected to various pieces she would never have thought to wear herself. Her politeness battery was starting to run dry as their fake compliments made her persistently uncomfortable. She was used to brushing them aside, but they were kind of a lot at such a frequent rate. If she were counting the number would have probably been a couple dozen by this point, and she was getting quite sick of it. She started to undress again from probably the twelfth outfit, she lost track after five. Unimpeded by the curtain, she spoke, “Could we try something more in my style?” Rarity responded pretty quickly, “I was wondering when you would feel done with what I wanted.” Sunset blinked a few times at that, peeking out of the sheet, failing to hide a glare under a curious eyebrow, “Was this a test of some sort?” Sapphire eyes looked at her in a lightly bashful expression, “No, I simply got a little carried away, darling. Sorry about that.” Retreating back behind the curtain, she sighed, “It’s fine, I should have said something sooner.” Sunset felt a bit like a fool, Rarity would have known her style quite clearly. Rarity then asked, “So, not a fan of lighter or cooler colors?” Sunset easily responded, “Basically, I’m too many warm colors to really be comfortable with that almost ever - my only real shot with cooler colors is hue-matching my eyes. Warm colors that trend toward mediums, darks or brights, plus some blacks work out far better. Or I should say it's easier to get together, at least.” Sunset mentally skimmed over the outfits they went through before questioning, “Were you even trying to color match my palette?” The fashionista chuckled, “I was experimenting since you have a more limiting bright palette, so somewhat, I believe you’re right about the hues at least. You were just very compliant so I figured it was a good time to check myself.” Another set of clothes hung over the pole as the prior set disappeared. The moment she saw some black she was a little more sold than all the prior ones. Getting a little of her energy back, she soon realized there wasn’t all that much black that would be showing, but at least her typical magenta and orange were draped all over it. Taking yet another deep breath to prepare herself for whatever nonsense they said, she made her way out from behind the curtain and back toward Rarity’s mirror walls. Collar button-up shirt in black under a magenta long sleeve v-neck sweater, orange skirt with a black underlayer, magenta mary jane platform shoes. She definitely approved of the color far more, but as she looked she couldn’t help but think, “this is quite a bit more preppy than my type of clothes.” Rarity then questioned, “Have you no appreciation for the cuteness of preppy outfits?” Sunset smirked, “Being intellectual should be a skill, not some hoity-toity aesthetic.” She adjusted the sleeves and collar a bit to try and make it more smooth, it really changed nothing, “For me at least, there’s no power in this attire’s impression, money maybe, but I’ve never cared to look money.” Rarity then corrected, “Maybe in Equestria it’d be pretentious, but here it’s pretty typical attire. I even tried to darken it for you a little, the button-up was going to be white.” Pinkie came back from upstairs, now holding her own cup refilled with cocoa. She looked over Sunset, smile widening, “Ooo, I like this one too. Sunset, this one’s really cute on you - especially with how your hair swoops.” Rarity moved a hand to gesture to her pink friend’s words. Sunset however rolled her eyes, half not even understanding the party girl outside of it being some sort of compliment. “Still wouldn’t wear it outside of this context, makes me feel like I have to sit in on a meeting about whatever unintelligible issue the high class came up with to try and skim more government money - really not my crowd,” she stopped herself from whispering gratitude to a particular monarch that never made her wear this sort of thing outside of dresses for designated events. A moment too late to prevent her expression from dropping a little at the thought, Rarity gently dismissed her back into the dressing room, “Alright, I’ll go get something that’s more just another version of your typical attire. Go ahead and get out of that.” Sunset felt out of place for a moment, trying to ignore it as she undressed for the whatever-teenth time. The next outfit came pretty quickly, once again similar but this time more visibly black, and one aspect much to her enjoyment. It didn’t take her long to exit the dressing room again, less worried about compliments, she actually wanted to look in the mirror this time. Fitted magenta shirt, studded black leather jacket with a more angular lapel than her old tattered one, orange skirt with a magenta and yellow streak across the side that curved toward the front, and black knee-high boots with magenta over the shoe portion that flowed up with a border akin to a fleur-de-lis icon’s head. She stroked her own fingers through the waves of her hair to remove the slight frizz given by changing. She awed at how close it was to her typical attire, yet with pieces just different enough to draw her in. Sunset smirked to try and cover a smile, half-failing to do so as she was slightly checking herself out, “Rarity, you are not going to be able to top this, I assure you.” Sunset looked at her, expecting the fashionista to look challenged by that, but instead found something more smug that shifted into a sort of grateful awe. Realizing she accidentally complimented her skills, she flushed a little before looking away, only to be caught by mirrors that definitely made the action pointless. She unwillingly watched Rarity’s expression become happier behind her, “No need to fluster so fast, darling. I was saving the best for last after all.” Sunset took a second to settle, enjoying the outfit for the moment while it lasted. After a moment of settling, she relinquished her excitement, knowing she couldn’t dare to afford the outfit on her current budget. After a while of socializing, mostly listening to Pinkie and Rarity while her mind wandered. She eventually decided she had to leave, being around others was still a bit much and she’d already basically been drained by all the outfits after the excitement-high died from that last one. She was about to leave the room, only for Rarity to quickly walk toward her, Pinkie following. Sunset paused as Rarity was holding a couple boxes toward her. She was confused, “What’s this?” Rarity gave a short nod to the boxes before answering, “Some gifts, you get to keep these.” Sunset quickly found herself glaring at the boxes, stepping away from the fashionista, hands up in surrender to act as a wall, “Nuh-uh, those are yours. I’m not paying for those.” An eyebrow raised in response, “You know gifts are free, right?” The fiery-haired girl sighed, trying to ignore the minor shaking in her hands, tone roughening as she tried to maintain her breath, “Look, I don’t know what you want from me, I’m not taking them.” Pinkie then asked, looking at Rarity in confusion, “Did we want something from her?” Rarity clarified, “No, this was mostly off the cuff, like normal.” Pinkie spoke again, now looking toward Sunset in concern, “Does getting gifts feel like frostbite, too?” Sunset flushed, remembering the vulnerability of that analogy. Anger still present, her words came before her mind could catch up, “What?! No, of course not, it-.” As she spoke, Pinkie’s question felt fairly reasonable. Rarity then gently offered, “Why don’t you sit down a moment, darling, so we can figure this out.” Sunset complied, unsure what else to do, while the fashionista turned toward Pinkie, “Frostbite?” Pinkie then clarified, “About her-,” Sunset glared at her to avoid the fear of it being spilled in detail, so the girl corrected her course, “a private situation, she said that certain nice things feel like being warmed too quickly while having frostbite. Kinda seemed like that while we complimented her too.” Sunset was relieved by Pinkie’s vagueness but somewhat bothered since she didn’t feel like she’d reached such a point of progress with Rarity, that now she was obligated to be a bit more honest than she wanted to be. She looked less than amused toward both of them. Rarity spoke gently, “Thanks for letting me know, Pinkie,” she glanced at Sunset, “Maybe ask Sunset next time if she can share that sort of thing.” Pinkie quickly spoke, head tilted up with her eyes closed, deeply avoiding Sunset’s gaze, “Sorry, I know you probably would have told me not to but we stopped the frostbite once and I’m hoping you can again.” Rarity put a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder before gently asking, “Go ahead and sit as well, we’ll talk through it.” Pinkie went ahead and sat at a bit of a distance, the other side of the bench. Rarity then continued, “Alright, let's move this into a hypothetical. Sunset, if I offer you a gift, something I know you would value, what’s your first thought?” Sunset scoffed, failing to hide her irritation as she really hadn’t wanted to confront this, “I already told you, I want to know what you want from me.” That only made the fashionista return to her confusion, “What makes you think I want something from you? Gifts aren’t supposed to be from self-benefit, Sunset.” The fiery-haired girl knew what she was hearing, but it still felt incorrect, “That’s usually how this sort of thing goes. You’re sure you don’t want anything? Tutoring, me to do your schoolwork, to abuse my manipulation skills, maybe to embarrass me later with something I don’t know about them?” She looked up at the ceiling in thought as an avenue had changed, “It can’t be about reputation anymore, at least.” Pinkie quickly answered, “We just want to take care of you because we want you to be happy, not that we expect you to be, but if it even possibly gets you just an eensy weensy bit closer then that’s enough.” Rarity nodded, giving a two-part hum in agreement, “The value isn’t in what I could get from you, the most value an item can ever have in a moment is to be gifted freely without expectation or debt or catch. That’s all we want - in this case all I want is you to be happy to look in the mirror, just as you were earlier. That outfit was always meant for you, darling, I put it together with you in mind.” Sunset took a moment to rest her elbows on her knees before pressing her face against one hand as she pinched just below her eyebrows. Thinking that maybe with how genuine the statements and sentiments seemed to be, this was just one of those things that differed between her experience and the friendship she was supposed to be learning about. Pinkie’s side comment stuck with her. Sunset then spoke, “Okay, I’ll accept them, I expect you to keep your word. But what about the compliments, or just positive statements about me in general?” Rarity questioned, “What about them, are you not used to them? We could tone them down for you if they make you uncomfortable.” Sunset’s shoulders tensed as she lifted her head again, “I mean do you actually mean them?” Pinkie quickly answered, “Of course we do, you’ve been a lot cuter recently since you’ve been less grumpy.” Rarity giggled, an ineffective hand-wall short of basically side-barring with Pinkie, “Very true, although I think the gap between grumpy or withdrawn and excited or embarrassed really brings that cuteness out.” Pinkie frantically agreed, Sunset looked away again shortly just to make sure she wasn’t giving that same flushed response at this moment. The fashionista refocused, “But aside from that, yes. We do mean it, Sunset. Have you ever been complimented before?” Sunset composed herself as she tried to recall things from her past, going through a long list of figures in her mind. She found answers, a younger relative, and her old mentor, “Only a couple ponies, I think. But- well, usually when I earned it. There’s been more, but the lot of it wasn’t genuine.” Pinkie chimed in just before sipping her cocoa, “Don’t forget Flash, he meant it too.” Sunset blinked a few times before cringing, suddenly flowing half-sarcasm, “Thanks, Pinkie. Totally didn’t catch that.” Rarity questioned, “Didn’t catch it?” Dreading the explanation, she moved her hand to follow her own words with gestures, “Kinda, I knew he meant some of it. I assumed most of it was just a dating courtesy he’d give anyone.” Rarity then quickly answered, “Well if you didn’t realize he meant all of it, there’s many chances there was more you read wrong from others. Whatever environment reinforced that mindset doesn’t have to be held anymore, false compliments aren’t commonplace at Canterlot High outside of a few choice social circles. Ours isn’t artificial.” Sunset got quiet as she processed that information, knowing that at this rate Rarity was likely right, especially since many now had the moral fodder to lean toward others doing the opposite of complimenting her. She wasn’t even sure how to respond, there were so many moments long past that she either had to ignore or sort through with this new lens. She couldn’t help wondering when and where the mindset might have surpassed its stay. Rarity caught her attention by kneeling in front of her, “Feel free to stay here for a bit if you’re tired, I know you’d like to go.” She got the boxes again and set them next to Sunset, “But these are yours, because I decided they were meant to be. You’ll likely think about this a fair bit. Just remember we want a different type of relationship with you than we had before the formal, and unlike whatever happened in your time prior to our first meeting.” She patted the boxes lightly, “Take your time, let me know if you need anything. And let me know if that frostbite eases, so that I know I can compliment you more frequently - I’m not sorry to say that you aren’t going to stop me from giving you things.” Sunset watched Rarity walk away, Pinkie following her with a small wave that was hesitantly reciprocated. She felt warm all over again, from this new idea she was struggling to keep from slipping through her fingers in the face of all the past experiences. She slowly moved the boxes onto her lap to try and keep it there, before slowly looking into each box at the familiar articles draped in her favorite clothing palette.
PerceptionSunset hated to admit that each of the times before now the way her “friends” interfered with her wants generally were to her benefit in her relationship with them. The term friend still felt odd, but right now it was the closest thing she had to describe how things were going - invasive acquaintances felt a bit rude at this point with how accommodating and patient they’ve been. Her thoughts of them potentially being more parole officers or teachers seemed so flimsy now. It felt pointless in this moment, as the group had somehow got her to surrender to their demand of letting one of them visit Sunset’s apartment to tell them how her lifestyle has been. She had no idea what significance this even had, Sunset had very well assumed that living quarters had absolutely nothing to do with friendship. Sunset only relinquished when they all accepted Fluttershy alone to go, as she hoped she would be willing to cover up a fair bit of it when talking to the others. Sunset approached her apartment door, Fluttershy tailing behind her. She paused before turning the knob open after unlocking it. She tried not to portray any vulnerability, and knew she probably looked a little dead-end annoyed instead as she looked at her friend, tone neutral, “I wasn’t ready for company.” Fluttershy gave a gentle smile like she’s destined for sunbeams to illuminate her like an angel at any moment, “If you need a little bit to put away a few private things, I can wait.” With a deep breath, Sunset figured she may as well rip off the plaster, not like she could do much to make a difference in a respectable waiting time. She turned and pushed, not even entering her own apartment, “Doubt that’d do much. Go ahead.” Her lifestyle, it didn’t really bug her usually. It was meant to be private, truly, ignored by the outside world - often ignored by herself as well. She hated how it felt like letting Fluttershy walk into her very flesh, as not even Sunset knew quite how it looked to an outsider's eyes. Slowly making her way into the room herself, she was curious about Fluttershy’s reaction. Fluttershy’s hands were crossed, not in the polite open way, but the nervous interlaced-fingers way. Her expression was dripping with concern, but when she glanced at Sunset she quickly went back to her gentle default despite being clearly a little less composed. Sunset would have been a bit proud if she wasn’t so embarrassed. Her eyes skimmed her place, two-seat couch, coffee table, a laptop, small kitchen, paths to the bedroom and bathroom from the back and front of the couch. And lastly the part she knew summoned the expression hidden by Fluttershy, trash was everywhere - the path between the coffee table and the wall alongside most of the table’s surface, the corner beside the door to the bedroom, the end of the short kitchen and most of the counters, a small innocuous layer on most things that weren’t just where the door was since there was a pile behind the door as well that moved back and forth with use. Some clothes were around as well, sweatpants and t-shirts mostly, her indoor attire so she could preserve her public attire in designated clean - or rather more clean - spots. Dust layered most everything, carpet stains and some sticky spots on some surfaces she had long forgotten the origins of. The only things in the place with any semblance of cleanliness were the laptop and the couch seats - and the latter was still debatable even then as the mess was covered by some oversized black t-shirts. She wasn’t sure how to respond, pushing down her embarrassment as best she could, and found herself putting on a tryhard smile, “Impressive, right?” Fluttershy went to bend down to grab something and Sunset was surprised by herself when on instinct she grasped her shoulder to stop her, “No- that, don’t-” Teal eyes looked at her, busy with what she assumed was pity under concern as she stood straight again. Sunset was stunned when Fluttershy kept her hand on her shoulder by laying her own hand over it, “I don’t even know how to interpret this, Sunset. Just that it- I want to help.” Sunset couldn’t hold back the glare, trying to hide how her hands were starting to feel shaky. She made sure to put effort into holding her tone steady, “You don’t need to worry about it. I don’t want you to clean it - it’s a lot. But it’s not a big deal, don’t- don’t make it a thing, please.” Fluttershy’s expression softened to hold more warmth, before a small guilt surfaced, “The girls asked me to tell them how it was, we were all worried, Sunset. I don’t think I could keep something this big to myself.” Sunset dropped her head a little, using her free hand to prod at the forming tension in her temple as she paused. She knew that this was something she was going to have to let go of her death grip on. She sighed, just wanting the best she could tolerate from this, “Please, Fluttershy. Not all of them, I couldn’t handle so many of them - it’s kind of why I brought it down to just you.” She let Sunset’s hand free, a freedom she quickly accepted. Fluttershy gave a far quieter sigh before speaking softly, “I won’t tell all of them. But the first one that asks, I’m telling.” Sunset suddenly realized just how much of a gamble that was, but at this moment, when it felt like a lot, even a gamble sounded potentially manageable. She nodded before quietly responding, feeling a bit defeated, “Eeyeah, alright. That’s the most I could ask for.” In the wait of a few days, Fluttershy put a small pressure on Sunset by buying her a couple cleaning bottles. Sunset couldn’t fully blame her, she didn’t have cleaning products, but it only made the stress of the pending explosion linger a little more actively. She was confused when Applejack was carrying a second backpack with her and approached her, “Heya, Sunset, how’s it goin’?” Sunset’s confusion didn’t leave her, she dismissed the answer quickly, “Fine. What’s with the second bag?” Applejack hesitated to put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder, but when she didn’t flinch away she let it rest there, before looking at her with determined emerald eyes, “I asked Fluttershy ‘bout yer place since she was bein’ a lil’ topic avoidant. Had to ask Granny where a couple supplies were - turns out she brought ‘em to school.” Sunset felt herself tense as she realized just what was being said, and just what was being offered again. She spoke in a whisper, treating it like a secret, “There’s no way you’re cleaning all that, Applejack. Bring that back home, it’s not your chore.” Applejack however smirked a little, which unnerved Sunset as she didn’t often do that unless she knew she was getting what she wanted, “Well I got an offer I doubt you’d want to refuse, Sunset. Would really clear up your problem here.” The fiery-haired girl mirrored the expression she was seeing habitually, trying to hide whatever embarrassment or other vulnerability wanted to crop up, “Yeah, what’s that?” Her friend’s smirk faded as it became a smile, “Fluttershy and I are gonna clean, so that way when everyone else gets curious you don’t gotta worry about it anymore. Helps yer doesn’t-gotta-be secret stay a secret - since that’s what you seem to want. Ain’t a fan of secrets but I’d prefer it be clean over sharin’ this sorta thing. No need to do a thing, the stress of adjustin’ would probably be enough as is. Could even turn it into a sleepover if that’d help - don’t seem the type though.” Sunset dragged a hand down her own face, smirk fading into some irritation. She groaned, “I don’t see why this even matters, why do you all want to do this so badly? It’s my place, I can do whatever with it.” Applejack blinked a couple times in silence before answering, “Yer right, sure, you can do what you want - don’t mean you should. But on our part, because we care, first off. You probably mean elsewise though, Fluttershy’s always got this instinct to take care of things that you’d probably have to ask her about to know more if there is any.” With a deep breath she continued a bit more seriously, “On my part, always kinda worried about you bein’ alone. Like I’d been settin’ up to offer you to move to the farm if you’d want - no pressure on that, it’s an ongoin’ offer. Ah just know how hard it is to feel like yer living alone - not actually alone, but feelin’ like it.” She paused shortly, as though composing a couple thoughts before continuing, “In short, I was with relatives for a lil’ bit while I was figurin’ myself out - couldn’t bring myself to clean a lick a anything ah’d been already well-raised to do. Starts to get embarrassin’ real fast, and knowin’ you so far I figured the same could be happenin’. But I also know you like yer space - which is why I wouldn’t be miffed at all if you shut down the living together idea. Just knowin’ yer livin’ cleanly will ease everyone’s mind.” Sunset’s face felt warm, embarrassment winning over the anger mask. Once again they were knocking on doors she intended to leave closed. She’d tensed her own mouth shut, just trying to process how she was once again understood in ways she was still trying to figure out how to grapple with herself. She threw the moving offer out of her mind, focusing on the moment. It didn’t really feel as though there was another option, she’d be alright rejecting something nice if it was just about another person. The fact that she’d also benefit from it made rejection feel logically impossible. She released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, speaking quickly as she did, “Alright, fine, but I won’t help.” Applejack smiled, “Not a worry, I’d clean the whole thing myself if Fluttershy wasn’t so insistent.” Sunset was surprised when Applejack waved over Fluttershy from behind her, as though she’d been waiting for her to handle the whole conversation herself. She really wanted a break from interacting, and anticipated her upcoming ability to just get some alone time after letting them in the apartment. Sunset was slowly walking toward her apartment, down the hall, not sure what to even expect. It had been a few hours since they entered, she’d tried to settle down however she could about the fact everything was going to be different, but she wasn’t really able to. She’d been on the phone with Pinkie for about a half hour now, with a couple plastic bags in her hand. She asked quietly, “You’re sure this is right? How do you even remember this sort of thing?” An overly happy giggle came through the device, “I have notes for everyone, just in case! But it just comes naturally after a while of paying attention. You don’t need to worry about that, feel free to call me again if you have another idea.” Sunset spoke a short thanks and farewell, and received one, before hanging up. Sliding her phone into her pocket, she heard the two talking as she approached the door, slightly open with a couple well filled trash bags sitting in the hall. Expecting to hear some sort of gossip about her habits, she slowly noticed she only heard them trying to coordinate how they were cleaning. Stopping near the doorway, she took a deep breath. The faint creak of her opening her door a little more to enter betrayed her presence. The pair looked at her for a moment, and Applejack quickly spoke, “Heya, Sunset,” while Fluttershy gave a, “Welcome back.” It was hard to talk, she wasn’t used to any of this. Every ounce of it felt fresh, her floor being much more walkable and clothes all in a pile on the couch while the trash was being sorted out of it, people being here, her wanting to give them anything. She had budgeted a bit recently to try and save up, but dipped into that pretty quickly for this. She barely managed to get out the words, a bit irritated at her own nerves but all that came out was hesitant fragments, “Ther- I brought some food - it’s about dinnertime.” She wanted to smack the back of her own head for missing words over something so simple. She tried to move on, losing a little volume, “I’d asked Pinkie what y’all’d like.” The feeling continued, she got all the words but not how she’d typically articulate them. Sunset couldn’t look either of them in the face, unsure if her own was flushed or downcast, but was surprised when both of them approached her. The bags were separated, so she peeked into one for a moment before giving them to their respective recipients. She waited silently as she heard them opening the boxes. Nerves festering, wondering if she even did a simple purchase right after how long she knew they’d been looking at her doing things wrong. She barely kept herself from jumping when Applejack broke through the quiet, “Thanks a bunch, Sunset, this was really thoughtful of you.” Fluttershy quickly following up, “Yes, thank you. You had great timing, we might’ve missed dinner without noticing if you hadn’t done this.” Sunset gave a nod before taking a deep breath to suppress a sigh, going to make her way out the door. Fluttershy quickly spoke, “Wait, Sunset.” She glanced back habitually against her nerves to see those understanding teal eyes as she softly spoke, “Are you alright?” The embarrassment bounced back toward irritation that jumped into her tone before she could stop it, but managed to redirect it such that it shouldn’t cause damage, “Yeah, I’m just having every ounce of my cleaning incompetency archived in your minds to embarrass me at every moment it surfaces.” She avoided bringing up the fact she slightly felt like she was back inside that massive crater at the formal. Applejack then responded, “We ain’t here to judge you over it, Sunset. Anyone could get like this in the right circumstances.” Sunset felt her body pulse with heat, “Well this isn’t just some right circumstances, no one has ever cared how it’s all looked before - it was always ignored or dealt with by someone else - somepony impersonal that was hired for it. I don’t-,” she didn’t want to say anything more, she had just said more than she wanted to about her past. Taking a deep breath, she whispered out, sounding strained, “Excuse me, before I make this worse.” She turned away, shoulders raising, wanting to hide as she routed herself toward the door. Fluttershy’s voice carried, “We could teach you if you’d want.” Sunset felt hooked, stunned, vulnerable. It was already like they were under her very flesh. She stopped her own momentum with a hand on the doorframe. Thinking, pushing away as much as she could about how much this meant personally. She couldn’t push it away though, no one had offered this lesson before, and she couldn’t lower herself enough to ask for such a basic thing, even when she felt so far under ground level already. Applejack then added, “It would help you prevent this sorta thing in the future, and wouldn’t be any trouble for us. You don’t gotta disappear over this sorta thing, we’re already here after all - if that wasn’t proof enough we’re ready to help. Ain’t no use in scoldin’ you, if that’s somethin’ yer worried about, we know you earnestly have been tryin’ to do better.” A part of Sunset wanted to run still, but she also felt like she was already here. As though accepting the offer wasn’t such a distant idea, but like it was right in front of her. She tried to ignore the fact she probably looked vulnerable as she turned her head toward both of them just to check their gazes. Hopeful, intentional, open, waiting for her with the things a growing part of her started to want to grasp for. With a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, and a leap of faith, she gave a nod, whispering out, “Alright,” that despite its volume felt like it shattered something. Applejack sounded much happier, Fluttershy’s expression matching as her friend spoke, “I’ll teach you how to sort between types of garbage, it’d be a good first step.” Sunset started to take a couple steps toward her. She agreed with a small double-nod and a short hum in agreement, only to pause her travel when the hum cracked. Her face felt immensely warm, but not with anger, not really embarrassment either, it was hard to figure out. She wanted to hide but had already dedicated herself to staying, her eyes started to sting and she instinctively looked downward with her shoulders raising to hide however she could. Her mind spilt a few habitual Equestrian expletives, voice betraying her by being unable to follow suit, as tears betrayed her attempts to blink them away. A pair of yellow arms entered her ever-blurring vision, and after a moment of processing them in the midst of whatever was growing, she pushed herself into the hold slowly. She found herself anchored in grasping someone in her arms, hiding her face at her shoulder. Her back was supported in a way that was slowly becoming familiar, Fluttershy whispered, “We’re here for you, Sunset.” Hearing those words, she dared to think maybe they actually meant something.
