Pikatwig: *runs in* Okay! We've got big news! According to McCarthy, the time between the two Equestria Girls movies is six moons, which is a rough five or six months.
KKD: *rushes over* Yosha~ *slides across the floor* WHOA! *crashes into the wall*
Pikatwig: *gasps, seeing the wall KKD bumped into had a shelf, and what was on it was about to fall* The Christmas Tree Star!
Dash: I got it! *however, somepony else zooms over and catches it just before it could fall.* Lightning Dust? What are you doin' here?
Lightning: I'm in this chapter.
Pikatwig: Hey, you okay aibou?
KKD: Sorry… been running all over the place. *stumbles over, dizzy, looking at the two ponies.* Oh, hey Lightning Dust. What're you doing here?
Dash: Uh… I'm Rainbow Dash.
KKD: Then why's Dash to your left?
Lightning: I'm Lightning Dust.
KKD: Oh… *shakes his head* Sorry.
Pikatwig: Did you know that Lightning was actually going to be redeemed in Wonderbolt Academy? The scene was cut for time, sadly.
Lightning Dust: Don't remind me…
Pikatwig: Sorry…
Lightning: Kinda wish it was in there.
Pikatwig: Yea… anyhow… you're in this chapter. Fun fact, this chapter actually had two plans. But… one plan got vetoed as we're typing this chapter.
KKD: Okay, I guess. Well then… uh… can we start the chapter?
Pikatwig: Yep. *walks off and gets the disclaimers, handing them to KKD* Also, I'm baking pie.
KKD: Okay. *Sets Disclaimers up*
DISCLAIMERS: Neither Pika nor KKD own MLP, their related characters, or any other franchises within. They belong to Hasbro, Lauren Faust, and their respective owners.
I had dozed off as I was waiting for Fluttershy so I could thank her… and I was wishing that I didn't fall asleep.
I was all alone… lost in the dark… I just… was scared and all alone. Suddenly, something came at me and attacked… nobody turned an eye to help me…
When I looked… the attacker was… Twilight? She said something about her Element of Harmony…
That stupid item… it had plagued my dreams and nightmares for I don't know how long anymore… I don't care about it anymore. But ever since the night of the Fall Formal… the stupid crown has plagued my nightmares… I looked to see that I was back in the crater left from my defeat…
"You don't deserve my attention…" Twilight spoke… the moment in question being a sort of recreation of when I wanted to change... "You don't deserve any forgiveness… just stay there… and rot away…"
"Wait… please…" I begged, when suddenly, my arms were held back by chains, "PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! FORGIVE ME!"
"Wake up… please…" Fluttershy's voice said softly, seeing me squirm in pain.
"Huh? Fluttershy?" I asked in confusion, trying to remember what I was doing. Oh right… I came to her house to thank her, but I dozed off.
"Are you okay?" she asked. I honestly didn't know how to respond as I struggled to say a word, "Well… are we still going to do something? You said you would."
Oh right… that was my other reason for being here, to do something with Fluttershy.
"Hey… thanks for helping me with that front door thing…" I told her.
"You thanked me earlier, silly," Fluttershy reminded me.
Oh yea… I did. Guess one 'thank you' ain't enough.
After that, Fluttershy showed me something called a video game… I honestly couldn't even begin to try and explain what it is. After that, I thanked Fluttershy for letting me stay over, and I left.
Over the next few days, I saw Fluttershy trying to be sociable to me… but I was too scared to go over to her, given the mean looks almost everyone, including some of her friends, gave me. I'm not sure why she was acting so kind, so selfless…
"The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria, it's everywhere," Princess Twilight's words echoed in my mind… I wonder if that's true… because I'm starting to feel it right now, "You can seek it out, or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours…"
Those words echoed in my mind constantly… but I was so scared. Nobody talked to me… not even people who were supposed to be helpful! I tried to talk to counselors and Vice-Principal Luna… but I was just turned down. And yet, Fluttershy talked to me. But… I couldn't get a chance to talk to her.
"Hey Fluttershy," I said, trying to get her attention later that day, when suddenly, Pinkie Pie walked up and glared at me.
"I don't know what you want to do to our friend, but leave her alone! Nobody likes you!" Pinkie shouted, the normally hyper-happy girl awfully angry, which felt out of character for me.
I backed up, tears starting to form… nobody did like me. I ran off, despite the fact I heard Principal Celestia screaming at me to stop, school not being over yet and all that jazz. But… I had to get away… I just had to run. I had to go somewhere… just away from all these angry people.
I arrived by the pier, simply looking around. I saw some people talking about various things, but… Pinkie's words didn't leave my head. Nobody likes me… was Twilight wrong? Was there no friendship destined for me?
I just walked up to part of the railing… not sure why this pier is wooden… but it is. I looked down to the water below… and I just sighed. I would half expect everyone in school to tell me to jump over the rails… being perfectly honest with you.
…
…
…
Don't give me that look! I'm not thinking of killing myself! I'm not! ...okay, the thought entered my mind once. But I ignored it! I mean it! …But it was admittedly tough to do so. I even admitted that just disappearing would be simplier. I leaned forward in thought, when suddenly, I heard a crack… I looked over and noticed it was part of the board supporting the pier.
...oh crud. Before I could run, the board snapped, the rails crumbling as I fell backwards.
...was this it?
...is this the end for me?
...is this my place to die?
…
…
…
…
…
...
"I gotcha!" I heard a voice shout when I was suddenly grabbed by a teal hand. I looked up and saw a girl with yellow hair, and she tried to pull me up, "You should really watch where you step. It's not safe to lean on the rails. They really need to put a sign up…"
The girl helped me back up, and I just sat down.
"You okay?" the girl asked me.
"...I suppose. It's been a rough few weeks for me…" I told her, though, it was not like I expected her to listen to me.
"Eh. I've been through worse," she told me, making me raise an eyebrow, "Tell me what happened."
"...well… I was forced to help repair some damage to my school, and no one who was supposed to help me would help me, and… someone did help. But… I've been given nothing but dirty looks and people hating me…"
"And did you think letting yourself die would be your way out?" the girl asked me.
"...Eh? W-Well… I only thought of it… I didn't want to, but… the board just gave out," I countered.
"I was just asking was all… I can relate to that thought. I was saved by someone kind… just know this, no matter what, you're never alone. Even if the whole world is against you… there's always someone who will hear you and your problems out," the girl told me.
"Thank you… I needed to hear that. I'm Sunset Shimmer."
"Lightning Dust," she introduced herself, "If you need any help, just ask."
I had returned to school the next day, and thankfully, Principal Celestia wasn't too angry with me, Fluttershy having explained what caused me to run off. Still… the dirty looks didn't stop… but… I kept Lightning's words in my mind.
"Hey Fluttershy…" I waved, trying to get her attention.
"Oh? Hi Sunset," Fluttershy waved to me, having heard me, "Where'd you go? I was worried about you."
"Pinke told me to leave you alone…" I told her.
"She did? Oh, right… she's still not convinced you want to change…" Fluttershy recalled, "Well… she's just a bit of a tough nut to crack…"
"I can see that. But I'd imagine your other friends aren't so keen either," I shrugged.
"Eh… Rarity and Applejack both want to give you another chance, but Rainbow's just a bit unsure… because of the way you used to bully me…" Fluttershy informed, making me sigh.
I always thought of Fluttershy as this sweet and kind girl… but that was kind of like what I was when I was little… so I guess the anger of being tormented by the guards sort of just… poured out.
"You wanna do something again?" Fluttershy offered me with a smile.
"Sure," I nodded, as we walked to her house.
On the way over, Fluttershy had asked me about the animals of my world, or… sekai, I think she said originally… I honestly don't remember… I told her that most of the animals were the same, and when I told her about there not being humans, but ponies instead, her expression was really nice and adorable. She said that among many… many… many animals, horses rank in her top… uh… go-jyu, whatever that means…
So, we arrived at her house, and I just watched as she booted up one of her games and began to play with a joyful smile. She seemed especially happy about this one, but all I could get from the screen of this game was it's title… 'Super Mario Galaxy'? She tried to explain the plot, but it just flew over my head.
"And I'm getting close to the number of Stars needed to travel to the center of the universe, and rescue Peach," Fluttershy concluded, being the only part of her explanation that I remembered.
"Uh… cool," I said, trying to sound like I was interested, but really, I was still confused.
Alot of these games didn't make much sense. And this is coming from the girl who was once a unicorn living in a world where magic and mythological creatures exist, and was once the student of someone who was close to a goddess in my world.
"Well… I know this may not be… interesting to you, but I don't really share my love of games with my friends… just because… but I feel like I can trust you with this secret," Fluttershy told me, making me a bit flustered at the fact Fluttershy trusted me that much. She then walked off and looked to a bit of an older looking system, before placing in a disk and getting ready to play. The game was clearly in Neghiponese… er… Japanese, because I couldn't read the title for the life of me.
"So… what's this one supposed to be?" I asked.
"My very first game… Sonic the Hedgehog CD, or more properly known as 'Sonic CD'."
"Sonic… See… Dee?" I asked in confusion.
"...a CD is like a disk of more modern games…" Fluttershy tried to explain showing me the difference between the round flat circular things and the blockier items she called "cartridges". "I think SEGA, the company who made the Sonic games, was the first company to use disks for games."
I nodded, actually understanding this much. She looked like she was having the time of her life playing the game, before I just looked at the controller for a moment.
"Can uh… I… try a game?" I asked nervously.
"Well… I don't know if you'd catch on well with this game in particular, but I do have an idea of what you can play," Fluttershy told me, setting up another console with a different controller before inserting another disc, I (sorta) recognized Sonic, and then I saw two other characters with him, and I heard a bit of a tune begin to play as the game loaded.
"What game is this?" I asked her.
"It's called Sonic Heroes. It's a fun game, with multiple teams and gameplay styles, but to start, I recommend you start with Team Rose," Fluttershy instructed, as I selected the pink hedgehog I saw from Fluttershy's other game.
"Wow… this is fun," I giggled, "I really like that rabbit… sorry… I'm not good with names…"
"It's okay. I assume you're talking about Cream, right?"
"Yea, the rabbit in Team Rose."
"Yea. She's cute. She and Amy Rose, the pink hedgehog, have a sister like bond, sorta like me and Rainbow Dash."
"Oh…" I blinked. I recalled that the five stopped being friends due to… me.
"Are you still in pain about that?" Fluttershy asked.
"To mess with someone like you… I regret it, a lot. But… what did happen to you five after that anyhow? I mean, I still saw you and Dash talking in the halls on occasion, as well as Applejack and Pinkie,"
"Oh. Not all of us were no longer friends. Thankfully, some of us stayed together somehow," she informed, as I had turned back to the game, but began to panic a bit, due to the… uh… boss rush… Fluttershy called it, I think? I accidentally bounced myself off of the ledge, and groaned in annoyance, "Oh. Don't worry, I have trouble on the Casino Park boss,"
"...sorry… I'm just not quick with my reactions. I mean… well… I'm not so quick…" I sighed, as Fluttershy had simply shrugged.
"It's okay," she assured, as she took over the game and beat the boss with ease. We stopped the game and simply began to talk.
After that, I had headed out, but the weather had started to get cold, and I was freezing, not having had other clothes at the time still. Eventually, I collapsed to the ground, when I saw someone in a white jacket approach me, this girl with light gray, nearly white, skin, violet curled hair, blue eyes.
"Oh… hi Rarity," I said, trying to smile.
"Darling, what are you doing out here in the cold? You'll freeze to death out here," she told me, clearly seeing past my smile and noticing how I was shivering, "Why don't you come on over to my house for the night?"
Pikatwig: Sorry for another cliffhanger…
KKD: How many of these are we going to have?
Pikatwig: *shrugs* Anyway… for the curious about the other concept for the chapter. In it, the Kamen Riders would've been real, though here, they're made up. And the person who would save Sunset would not have been Lighting Dust, but rather… *walks off, and the song 'Point of No Return' from Kamen Rider Gaim begins to play*
KKD: Oh. You mean… a certain grape-head?
Pikatwig: Yea. But this would've been the only chapter he appeared in, so it wouldn't have counted as a crossover. Anyway, favorite parts?
KKD: Hmm… not sure to be honest. ...No. Seriously, I can't think of any at the moment. My minds a jumbled mess thanks to Pokemon.
Pikatwig: ...oi. Anyway, my favorite part is Fluttershy and Sunset bonding over videogames, and the one game Sunset played is an important Sonic game to you.
KKD: Oh! *smacks face* Oh right! I forgot. That was actually my first Sonic game ever, Sonic Heroes for the PS2. I guess that could be considered my favorite now. *chuckles nervously*
Pikatwig: Okay.
Rainbow: So… if we were a Sonic Heroes team, who would be speed, power and flight, out of me and the rest of the Mane 6?
KKD: Well, Dash and Pinkie would sure be the speedsters of their teams, Fluttershy most likely being the flight for hers, and AJ definitely Power for her team. Twi and Rarity, though… um… I have no idea.
Pikatwig: *shrugs* Anyhow… I actually read that, SEGA only had plans to release the game for the Gamecube and Xbox, but Sony came to them and said 'if you don't release it for the Playstation 2, you'll never be able to have another Sonic game on it ever again'. And remember, over here in America, even after the last PS2 Sonic game was released in Japan, many, many, MANY, more Sonic games were ported to the PS2, the final one in America being the PS2 version of Unleashed.
KKD: Yea, and the PS2 lasted way WAY long after its competitors.
Dash: Eh. It could've been a bit cooler… just sayin'.
Pikatwig: *shrugs yet again, before hearing a timer ding.* Oh! Pies are done! *walks off and gets a pie out of an oven* Man… that's good pie… I gotta thank AJ for helping me make it. Just Live More.
KKD: Oh well. Off to prep for Thanksgiving for me. Jaa ne. *walks off to Grocery Store*