Sure Sunrise had enjoyed the morning very much, having a warm place to stay and food to fill her stomach after a long week was something she deeply appreciated. Still, she couldn’t help letting the doubt slowly seep back in despite all of Celestia’s reassurances. She still had trouble believing that Celestia truly cared as much as she appeared to, not after everything that happened with the pony version. There were so many differences though; enough to truly set the woman apart from her pony version, but Sunrise was having trouble seeing that. Sure her head knew it mentally, but deep in her heart there were doubts that was hard to banish.

If her doubts about being with Celestia as the woman’s adopted daughter wasn’t enough to mess with her somewhat fragile feelings at the moment…there was the fact that she couldn’t fully accept that she deserved it. She had hurt so many people since coming to this world, despite actually managing to overcome the darkness that had a grip on her heart enough to do some good things. While she didn’t overtly do it so that they would know she was doing it, Sunrise had made sure that two girls at Canterlot High was left alone by bullies such as Gilda and Lightning Dust.

One of the girls was this world’s version of another of Celestia’s students, another unicorn who was wronged by the Princess when Twilight Sparkle came along. She knew what many guards believed, that Sunrise had been a jealous filly who didn’t want to share her time with the Princess with others. That was so far from the truth as she enjoyed sharing the time with the filly who shared a similar past of being an orphan. The two were even excited when they were told that a third student would be coming to stay with them at the castle.

Only…they were told that they couldn’t meet the new filly yet. They weren’t allowed to hang around with the pony because of some made up excuses that neither filly believed, sure that no filly could be powerful enough to have an uncontrollable magic burst that hatched a dragon and threatened destroying over half of Canterlot. If only Sunrise knew then what she knew now…

Even in the human world, the alter version of the other filly was boastful and had a powerful ego. Yet, they were so similar to the point that Sunrise often found herself missing her sister in all but blood. Missing Trixie and kicking herself for not bringing the filly with her. Then again, she wouldn’t want to make her Trixie go through the pain she herself had. If only Sunrise listened to Trixie’s warning about looking into the dark magic that had opened a door to Sunrise’s possession.

The other girl that Sunrise extended protection over was something that was a mystery to herself. She had bullied the girl herself, yet got angry if anyone else even looked at her wrong. It almost felt as if she was possessive of the girl, but that was stupid as humans just did not own other humans, so why feel possessive? Did she really want someone to push around that no others were allowed to touch? She really didn’t believe that since the few times when her mind and heart seemed to be clearer than usual, she ended up doing small things that was…nice. Such as finding the runaway bunny and making sure it ended up back in Fluttershy’s arms while making it sound like it was a bother. She even threatened the girl that if it happened again, then something bad would happen to the bunny.

The funny thing about that, Fluttershy had given her a shy smile as looking past the tough front and into Sunrise’s soul. Since then Sunrise stopped bullying her, though she didn’t go out of her way to help the girl either beyond making sure to keep bullies off her back. It was something that she kept a secret from everyone except Sunrise herself.

Even with those few acts of kindness, she wasn’t really sure she deserved another chance. She had been so cruel and mean, a very bad person. It wasn’t long ago she was thinking of killing herself, and a part of her kept wondering if she would be better off doing just that. She would remove the hassle that she knew she was going to be to Celestia. She was also sure that no one would really miss her, except maybe Celestia, but the woman would probably get over it quick enough despite what the annoying voice in her head kept telling her. She had to wonder why she was arguing with herself so much lately, had the elements left some kind of conscience inside herself?

Sighing as she rubbed her sore feet, she tore her thoughts away from her past and self loathing. She still couldn’t help wondering if Celestia was stupid or naïve, leaving Sunrise with seven hundred dollars to buy clothes at the mall while the woman when to do a few errands. Sunrise could have easily taken her chances and took the money and got a bus away from this place. It would have been so easy, easier than staying and trying to continue on here. She could have a real second chance where not a single person knew her.

She couldn’t bring herself to do it though, instead she bought a duplicate of her favorite outfit first and changed into it, leather jacket included thanks to the sale on it. She then proceeded to blow through most of the money until she had maybe forty or fifty dollars left. Bags were littered around her and the bench she was sitting on as she rubbed her feet. Maybe it would have been better to have kept her old, torn boots instead of buying heels to shop in. Yeah she bought a few other pairs of shoes and boots, but for some reason she felt like a change. A change that was now killing her feet when she had maybe a half hour to an hour before Celestia was supposed to come meet her for lunch.

A noise caught her attention, looking up to see Fluttershy on her knees gathering up fliers which were probably for the animal shelter. The girl was trying not to cry as three other girls surrounded her, laughing at her. She wasn’t sure why she did it, or even realize that she was doing it, but in an instant Sunrise had Gilda by the collar and shaking her.

“Are you stupid? What have I told you about this?” Sunrise growled out, ignoring the shocked look Fluttershy was giving her from the ground. She shook the girl roughly by the collar before pushing her back and away from Fluttershy and herself. “Don’t ever let me catch you bothering her again, got it?”

“Y-Yeah…just please don’t hurt me.” Gilda whimpered in fear after realizing just who was standing there. Like many of the students, they still feared the girl even while many of them have been growing bolder talking about how they wanted to make Sunrise suffer just as much as she made them. Taking an aggressive step forward Gilda and her two friends turned and ran away as fast as they could.

“Y-You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Fluttershy said quietly as Sunrise kneeled down next to her gathering the papers up, wiping the dust and dirt off them while straightening them up.

“I wanted to.” Sunrise shrugged, sparing a quick glance at the still scared, yet curious girl. It hurt to look into those eyes to see how much kindness and love she held in them. It also made Sunrise uncomfortable as she noticed how pretty they really were. How beautiful Fluttershy looked as her hair cascaded down her face and around her shoulders. “A-Are you okay?”

“Y-Y-Y-Yes…th-thank you.” Fluttershy stuttered, a blush on her face as Sunrise handed the stack of papers to her and getting up. She offered a hand which Fluttershy accepted to help the girl up. “Are you…o-okay?”

“I’m fine.” Sunrise said, waving the concern off while wondering if she was feeling okay. She had so many emotions boiling over inside, and now new ones were being added to the mix as Sunrise looked at Fluttershy a few more moments before turning her gaze, her face heating up a little. She couldn’t help feeling like she was lying when she said she was okay. The longer she stood there, the more she was starting to feel overwhelmed with regret and guilt over everything she had done to this sweet, beautiful, kind, loving girl.

‘Get a room.’ The voice in Sunrise’s head giggled, a teasing manner in the voice.

“Thank you again for…helping me.” Fluttershy said, her own face lighting up as she fidgeted nervously. “You look…g-good…I mean n-nice…I mean pretty…”

“Th-thank you.” Sunrise said, her voice catching a little while being unsure how exactly to take the comment. “Celestia…mom gave me money to come shopping…I mean…please don’t tell anyone!”

“I-I won’t.” Fluttershy squeaked out as she took a step back at Sunrise’s sudden outburst and panicked expression.

“Celestia is adopting me, but I don’t want anyone to find out. Not yet anyways.” Sunrise sighed; looking back over her shoulder to make sure nobody was messing with her bags.

“That’s great!” Fluttershy said, giving Sunrise her best thousand watt smile. “D-don’t worry though, I won’t mention it to anyone.”

“Th-thanks.” Sunrise said, for some reason feeling as nervous and shy as Fluttershy herself seemed to be feeling.

“Get away from her!” An annoying voice snapped out before Sunrise found herself stumbling back away from Fluttershy after being shoved. Looking up at the figure standing protectively in front of Fluttershy, Sunrise found a glaring Rainbow Dash punching the palm of one hand.

“R-R-Rainbow! St-stop it!” Fluttershy pleaded, her voice quiet as usual. Sunrise clearly heard it though she wasn’t sure if Rainbow dash had, or if the girl even cared if she did hear it. It took every once of self restraint for Sunrise not to just hit the rainbow haired girl who stood there looking down on Sunrise as if she was nothing.

“What’s your problem?” Sunrise asked, crossing her arms while taking a nonchalant pose and looking at Rainbow Dash in annoyance.

“My problem is that some worthless trash is picking on my best friend! See Fluttershy, I told you she was nothing but trouble.” Rainbow Dash growled out, not even trying to hear an explanation. Not that Sunrise wanted to give her one at the moment as she was fighting to control her emotions. What Rainbow Dash had called her really hurt, making her wish that she never even bothered coming to the mall despite getting the all new wardrobe.

“I-I wasn’t picking on her, I was shopping!” Sunrise finally snapped out, swallowing a lump in her throat as she indicated the pile of bags on the bench close behind her.

“Yeah, someone eating out of the trash is obviously going to afford all of that. Who did you jack to get the money for that?” Rainbow Dash snarled, taking an angry step forward as if she was about to attack. Fluttershy grabbing the rainbow haired girl’s wrist stopped the girl. The damage had been done though as Sunrise felt a dampness forming on her cheeks as she spun around.

“Don’t worry! I won’t bother anyone ever again!” Sunrise snapped out, her voice sounding a little shaky, but didn’t care. She also didn’t care about the quiet argument going on behind her as she gathered up her bags. She couldn’t help wondering why she was bothering, wondering if all of this was a stupid mistake. The loud smacking sound startled Sunrise, making her look back to see Rainbow Dash holding her cheek while looking on in shock at Fluttershy. Fluttershy herself had managed to come to Sunrise’s side and was gathering a few of the bags.

“L-Let me help.” Fluttershy said, giving Sunrise a small smile. Sunrise couldn’t help returning a watery smile to the girl, her momentarily bad thoughts…very bad thoughts being banished in the light of the smile the pink haired girl was giving.

“Y-you don’t h-have to.” Sunrise said, wiping the tears away the best she could.

“I want to…it’s what friends are for…right?” Fluttershy asked as Sunrise started walking away from the bench with the pink haired girl matching pace.

“I’m not worth it.” Sunrise sighed, hanging her head as she tried not to let what Rainbow Dash said bother her. It was hard though, she may not have eaten out of the trash…but to anyone who may have seen it, it most likely looked like she did. While it was gross to her, she knew it was how some people who didn’t have a choice and she couldn’t bring herself to look down on any of them. They did what was needed to survive.

“You are worth it.” Fluttershy said, shifting her bags in one hand to reach out and grab Sunrise’s wrist. Sunrise couldn’t help looking up to meet a pair or warm, sincere eyes staring at her. It seemed to lift Sunrise’s spirits a lot by just being able to look into them. “You helped me…and…that’s what friends do. Right? Be there for each other and help each other when needed.”

“Fluttershy, you don’t have to do this because of Sparkle.” Sunrise sighed, wondering if this was all it was. If the only reason Fluttershy was being like this was to keep a promise to the princess who had recently led the charge in bring Sunset down, only for her to be reborn as Sunrise.

“No, that’s not it at all.” Fluttershy gasped out, shaking her head in denial. “I know Sunset…I know that you used to protect me from Gilda. I always wanted to be friends with you, but every time I tried something took over. It clouded your eyes and made you…bully me.”

“What do you mean?” Sunrise asked, her jaw dropping in shock at the revelation.

“Nobody ever believed me, said I was seeing things. After the fall formal, I know I was right. That demon wasn’t you…you were possessed by it, weren’t you?” Fluttershy asked, looking a little scared at the thought. Sunrise couldn’t blame her, she was a little scared about the thought of being controlled for so long.

“Y-yeah…I tried using some black magic back when I was in the other world. Something went wrong and it…filled me with a darkness. I can’t really explain it, but what you and the others did to me freed me from it.” Sunrise sighed as they finally stepped out of the doors and into the sunlight, momentarily basking in its warm glow. Today was actually kind of nice, probably one of the last few days before the snow comes. If only the rest of the week had been just as nice.

“I can see it…in your eyes and when you just rescued me from Gilda. I know you are different than what you were and…I want to get to know this Sunset Shimmer…the real Sunset Shimmer and be friends with her.”

“Thanks.” Sunrise smiled as she dropped into the bench under the bus pick up canopy that was made from shaded glass with a few posters hung up on it advertising. “Please call me Sunrise…it’s my name now.”

“It suits you, very pretty.” Fluttershy said as she joined Sunrise on the bench, both girls sporting a blush at that. “I mean…ah…it’s just a pretty name, you know?”

“Fluttershy…did you really slap her?” Sunrise asked as she tried to change the subject.

“I’m sorry, she just said some…things about you that I can’t repeat. I love Rainbow Dash, we’ve been friends since we were little and still lived in Cloudsdale.” Fluttershy explained, leaning back in the bench and resting her head on Sunrise’s shoulder. “She…was only trying to protect me.”

“She was probably right about it, I did a lot of bad things. I’ve hurt a lot of people.” Sunrise sighed, looking up at the clouds off in the distance as she tried to come to grips with her emotions and what they meant. She had never felt so many emotions at once, but the newest one was the strongest at the moment. She felt the urge just to hold Fluttershy to her and protect her. “I’m not a good person…not in the least…but I want to be. I want to be a good person, Fluttershy. I hurt so many people for no reason…I hurt you.”

“And you weren’t in control, were you?” Fluttershy asked, shaking her head a little as she sat up straighter. “Even if you were behind all of it, you have changed, and that’s what matters to me. Let me help you be a better person…and maybe…you can help me be a stronger person.”

“I’ll try.” Sunrise sighed, hugging Fluttershy for a moment making both of them blush again before pulling apart. They didn’t move away from each other though, even if they were very close.

“Sunse…Sunrise…what did Rainbow mean about you eating from the trash. And…what did you mean by you won’t bother anyone again?” Fluttershy asked softly, her eyes gaining a pleading quality to them.

“I didn’t eat from the trash, please don’t make me talk about it right now though.” Sunrise sighed, brushing a bang from her eyes. “The other part was…nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Please don’t lie to me. It only keeps worse if you deny it…I should know.” Fluttershy admitted as she seemed to shrink in on herself to some extent.

“Y-You?” Sunrise asked in shock, not wanting to believe it. Then again, after everything Sunrise did to her, maybe the girl wanted to escape the pain.

“Tell me the truth, then I’ll tell you.” Fluttershy said so softly it was hard to make out, but Sunrise finally nodded in agreement.

“I did mean what it sounded like at the time…I still kind of feel like I want to end it all. It’s going to be so hard to go on…but…maybe it won’t be as hard as I feared with friends like you.” Sunrise explained, giving what she hoped was an encouraging smile to the other girl.

“I’m so sorry, Sunrise. Please don’t think that you are alone, I promise I will be here for you.” Fluttershy said. “I’ve seen a therapist ever since I was little…ever since I was kidnapped. They thought they could get a lot of money from my parents, but they didn’t know that our money is just sitting in a bank. A lot of it is investments that would take time liquidating to get enough to pay the ransom. They never molested me like my parents think, but they would get mad while they had me locked in the attic. They would give me a meal a day and if I said anything…they would hit me. My therapist helps me a lot with it, but I can’t help being scared that it will happen again.”

“I see her at least once a week, usually Sundays. I know that they usually don’t work then, but my parents pay extra and she sees me. I’d like if you came with me and…maybe talk to her. I’m sure some of the stuff that you’ve been through can’t have been easy.” Fluttershy says, giving Sunrise her best puppy dog pout.

“I…I don’t know…” Sunrise sighed, not really wanting to see a stupid shrink. She didn’t think she needed one, but the intensity of the look seemed to grow making the girl give in. “Fine, I’ll come with you tomorrow if you want.”

“Thank you!” Fluttershy cries out softly in excitement as she wrapped the girl in a hug.

“Sorry I’m late.” Celestia said as she scared the two girls and made them pull back in shock. The two girls looked away in embarrassment at being caught like that while Celestia giggled, a mischievous look spreading across her features. “Would you like to join us for lunch, Fluttershy?”

After looking over to see a small nod and smile from Sunrise, Fluttershy smiled herself before saying, “I
I’d love to.”