//------------------------------//
// BONUS CHAPTER: The Original Dark Sunset 
// Story: Dark Sunset 
// by pabrony 
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It was a beautiful spring day in Canterlot City. The birds were singing as they tried teaching their babies to fly. The honey bees were buzzing about; going from flower to flower so that they could bring pollen back to the hive. The even the sky seemed cheerful. A stray cloud here and there as the sun bathed in the bright baby blue sky.

Sunset Shimmer walked past the Wondercolt statue as she reluctantly made her way toward the front doors of the school. It was such a shame to have to waste this day by sitting inside listening to teachers drone on about things she already knew.

She held the door open for a couple of her classmates before she continued to her locker. Something seemed a little off today besides the perfect weather. Her classmates seemed to be ignoring her for some reason. There wasn't anything scandalous going on that she could recall nor was there any other possible reason for everyone to be acting this way.

Then she arrived at her locker.

There were notes and pictures all over the outside of it. Most of them praising how great a person she was. A few of the notes had wrinkled circles on them as if they were wet.

What's all this for? she wondered. Maybe the girls will know what's going on. 

She entered the combination on the lock and opened the locker. However as soon as it opened, Sunset was buried under a wave of pictures and paper.

That's a lot of fan mail, she thought as she grabbed her books and tried scooping everything up off the floor. She closed the locker and headed to the music room where she and her friends would always meet before classes would begin. 

As she continued to walk down the hall, she started getting confused as she thought about the events of today. There were a ton of notes, pictures, etc. in and on her locker but yet everyone was completely ignoring her as she greeted everyone that she passed by.

Perhaps I should go back and read a couple of the notes. That might shed some light on all this, Sunset thought as she paused in the middle of the hallway. No, the girls are expecting me and I'm already running late as it is. 

As she approached the music room, a somber, almost sad melody could be heard coming from inside. Sure Fluttershy had written a couple slow songs but it seemed odd to Sunset none of them had never written or played anything that depressing. She grabbed the door handle and paused just as she began to pull the door open.

Is that Fluttershy crying? Sunset thought.

Sure enough, as Sunset pulled the door open, she saw her pink haired friend sitting against the wall with her head buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Rarity sat next to her and attempted to cradle Fluttershy in her arms.

"I-I can't... *sniff* ...I can't believe she... *sniff* ...she left," Fluttershy said between sobs. "For... for good."

"I know, dear," Rarity said as she rubbed Fluttershy's back. "But hopefully she's doing better now than she was."

"What's wrong with Fluttershy?" Sunset asked the others. Her question only floated through the air with no response. They, her friends, didn't even look up at her.

Did I do something wrong? Sunset wondered as she stood in silence as the soft, slow, sad melody continued to play beside her. They've never acted this way toward me before.

She slowly made her way over to Applejack. Representing the Equestrian Element of Honesty, surely she would tell her what happened. She placed her left hand Applejack's right shoulder in an attempt to gain her attention, but to no avail.

"Was the scene as gruesome the Internet made it out to be, though?" Rainbow asked as she paused her strumming.

Fluttershy's sobbing turned into a loud wail at that point, confusing Sunset further.

Sunset took in the scene for another couple minutes before noticing that the final member of the group was missing. It was odd because Twilight was never late for their pre-class meeting. Heck, Sunset couldn't ever remember anyone being later than her.

"So where is Twilight?" asked Sunset as she continued to be ignored. "Nothing happened to her, did it?"

“But what do you think caused her to do that?” Pinkie Pie asked as she lightly tapped a slow beat on one of the snare drums.

“Personally Ah think it had a lot ta do with what happened ta Twilight,” said Applejack as she set her bass down. “They were like two apples on th’ same branch.”

What happened to Twilight? Sunset still wanted to know. I really hope nothing bad happened to her. I'd be devastated. 

Suddenly, memories of the past few days began flooding into Sunset's mind.





”Are you sure you don't want me to drive?” Twilight asked before letting out a big yawn.

“Yes, Twilight. Look at you. You're barely able to walk because of how sleepy you are,” Sunset remarked as she slung Twilight's arm over her shoulder and helped her to the car.

“How was I supposed to know the movie was that boring?” Twilight asked sarcastically.

“Ugh… let's just get you home.”





“Wha-? What happened?” Sunset said groggily as she began to regain consciousness.

“Sunset! You're awake!” Fluttershy said excitedly.

"Um, yeah? Can someone please tell me what it the world is going on?" Sunset as her head tried making sense of her surroundings. 

"Yer in th' hospital, sugarcube," Applejack said, a noticeable sadness in her voice.

"Why?" asked Sunset as she got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Darling, you... you were hit by... by a drunk driver after your date with Twilight," Rarity choked out.

Sunset couldn't remember the accident, possibly because her brain blocking the memory to protect her psyche. The only thing she could remember prior to waking up was helping Twilight back to the car after a boring two and a half hour movie about cars that change into robots.

"So how's Twilight doing?" Sunset asked shakily.

The others nervously looked at each other as if to decide who should answer her question.

"This isn't funny. What happened to her? Tell me. Please," Sunset begged frantically.

Applejack let out a big sigh and delivered the news. "Sunset... Twi-Twilight didn't make it. Ah'm so sorry."





Two weeks later, Sunset entered her apartment, her depression continuing to spiral out of control. As she had done every day since returning home after the accident, she removed the foam neck brace, changed into her pajamas, picked up the same photo of her and Twilight, pulled it as tight as she could between her broken arm and ribs and wept uncontrollably. She hadn't taken an actual bath since that fateful day. Her hair was unkempt and matted. The only food she had eaten was a couple pieces of toast every couple days.

"Why??" she shouted through her bawling. "I never told her that I love her. It's not fair! I'm so sorry Twilight." She moved the photo back from her chest momentarily and gently kissed her purple-skinned friend before clutching it tightly to herself again. "Please tell me this is a bad dream..."

Her most recent meltdown was interrupted by a light tapping on the door.

"Be... be right there!" shouted Sunset, trying to compose herself. She set the photo on the end table, wiped her face, put the neck brace back on and opened the door.

"Hi, Sunset," Fluttershy said softly. "The others wanted me to check on you. You seemed really distant the last couple days."

"I'm okay," Sunset lied as she let her friend inside. "I just miss her."

"We all do but we're worried about you. You haven't sat with us at lunch since you left the hospital. Your guitar hasn't moved in the music room. Heck, you even moved to the back corner of the classrooms."

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to deal with this the best I can."

After looking at the photo on the end table, Fluttershy scooted closer, put her arm around Sunset and gently touched her forehead to Sunset's temple. "You've been crying, haven't you?"

"No. I just was rubbing my eyes from how sleepy I've been."

"Sunset, you have tear stains on your cheeks and on your favorite picture," Fluttershy whispered softly. "It's okay to cry. I do it all the time."

Sunset couldn't hold back anymore. Her emotions flooded out of her. She turned and held Fluttershy almost as tight as she was holding the photograph earlier. "I didn't get to say goodbye the way I wanted. She never knew how much I loved her. It's all my fault, Fluttershy," she cried into Fluttershy's shoulder.

"How is it your fault? You didn't know someone was going to hit your car that night."

"It was my fault. I insisted on driving home that night. She would still be alive if I let her drive," Sunset continued.

"But then it might have been you that died," said Fluttershy, stroking Sunset's back while holding her head.

"But she would still be alive, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy held her guilt-ridden friend as she just continued to cry into her own shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay, Sunset. I promise. Okay?"

Sunset barely nodded as her crying slowly stopped. A few minuted later Sunset went limp, signaling to Fluttershy that her friend had cried herself to sleep. She gently shifted Sunset's body so that she could be laid down on the couch. Fluttershy covered her up with a blanket and sent out a text to Rainbow Dash requesting that she could bring a change of clothes to Sunset's apartment for her.





Over the next month, Fluttershy stayed off and on at Sunset's place helping her get back to her former self the best she could. Sunset had learned how to put up a good front at school and around Fluttershy when she stayed over but the days she was alone, she still went into her post-accident routine of crying while clutching the photograph of her and Twilight. 

"I can't take this any longer, Twilight," Sunset wept. "It's time for us to be together again."

She set the photo on the kitchen counter as she looked through the drawers for her hobby knife. Once she had found the knife, she picked up the photo and went into her bedroom where she laid on her bed, in tears, holding the photo.

"I'm sorry girls. I have to do this."

Sunset gripped the razor-sharp knife in her right hand and pulled it along the vein in her left arm before repeating the process on the other arm that she just had the cast removed from days earlier. Her blood pulsed out of the six-inch cuts at the same rhythm as her heartbeat. It covered her and the photo as she held it close to her heart for the final time.





"So I'm dead...?" Sunset said aloud to herself as she suddenly noticed the long scars on her arms.

She slowly turned around and left the music room. She returned to her locker to look at the notes and pictures that made up what she now realized was a memorial. She looked closer at a couple of the notes which read:



Sunset, words cannot describe how you much you will be missed.





 Always in our hearts. 





While I'm sad you left, I hope you're finally at peace.



Then she looked at the photo in the center with tears in her eyes. It was a photo of all seven members of the Rainbooms. Sunset and Twilight were sitting in front of the others. Someone had drawn a heart around the two of them and underneath the heart wrote the following: 



SS + TS: Together Forever