Sunset finally calmed down enough to talk about her nightmare. "Well, I was in bed, and Princess Twilight was there." As Sunset finished her sentence, a nearby photo caught her eye. The photo was of Cheerilee and her former fiance Musical Skies. "A-And Twilight said she'd...hurt me if I didn't get up." Sunset thought about Musical Skies, thought about where she herself was, and thought about her current situation. "And she took me to school, and everyone hated me, and...and..." Sunset sighed, unable to think about anything but the photo, and with resolve, Sunset decided that it was time to come clean. It was time to tell Cheerilee why she left.

Sniffing hard, Sunset looked at Cheerilee and said, “Ms. Cheerilee, Musical Skies's death was...was my fault. I killed him. I couldn't bear to look you in the eye anymore, so I ran away. I didn't deserve your hospitality. Not after what I did.”

At first, Cheerilee said nothing, too shocked to say anything. Sunset, for her part, started to slowly rock back and forth on her couch. Finally, Cheerilee gulped, saying, “Sunset, you didn't kill Musical Skies. He was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland. He was--"

“Yes, I did, Ms. Cheerilee! It's my fault. I killed him, and I killed everyone with him! It was all. My! FAULT!"

After her confession, Sunset buried her head in her arms and sobbed miserably.

Gently sitting down next to and pulling the distraught teen into her shoulder, Ms. Cheerilee soothingly said, “Sunset, dear, why do you think you are responsible for his death?”

“Because I am. I caused his death and the deaths of all those at Saddle Ville.”

Cheerilee gently helped Sunset off the couch, saying softly, “Let me take you into the kitchen. I’ll get you a cup of tea and help clean your wound. Then, you can tell me about it.”

Sunset blinked a couple of times, unsure as to why Cheerilee was being so kind to her. She let herself be led into the kitchen and allowed Cheerilee to sit her down at the table. A few moments went by as Cheerilee placed a teapot and two cups down in front of herself and Sunset. Sunset looked at the cups, then said, “It began with tea and with a walk to the crystal caverns under Canterlot.” Sunset took a sip from her tea, then set the cup down as she continued, "Musical Skies made me some tea before we left for Cantorlot City. He gave me a map showing how to get there from Saddle Ville." She turned away, wiping away some tears. "That is how I was able to get there after what happened at Saddle Ville."

Cheerilee said nothing, motioning for Sunset to take the cup of warm tea into her hands, which Sunset did without question. The tea felt good as it soothed her sore throat and helped relax her mind and muscles. Setting the cup down, Sunset watched as Cheerilee headed back to the counter, returning a few seconds later with a first-aid kit. Cheerilee said gently, “Now, this might sting a bit, but it's better that it hurts now rather than letting your cut get infected.”

Sunset turned to the left, allowing Cheerilee to take a bottle of alcohol and a towel to use for cleaning the wound on her head. Gently pressing the towel against Sunset's head, Cheerilee was a bit surprised that Sunset didn’t flinch at all.

As Cheerilee set down the alcohol-dampened rag and began to get a bandage for Sunset's head, Sunset said, “We were headed into the mountains to leave for Canterlot. I remember I was happy and so excited. I wanted to see everything, I heard the caverns under the city housed some of the most breathtaking crystalline structures in all of Equestria. Even though I had never been to them while I lived with Princess Celestia in her home of Cantorlot City I still wanted to go. Even if it meant seeing her again. To this day I can't forgive her for what happened between the two of us or what she did to me. If only I had insisted that we stay home, then Musical Skies would still be alive today. I would never have come here to this world. I would never have stolen Twilight's crown!”

Cheerilee, seeing that Sunset was on the verge of crying again, quickly knelt down in front of her, taking Sunset's hands into her own. “Sunset, listen to me. You may have made mistakes in the past, but that is over now. You have family and frie--”

“No, I don’t! They all hate me!” Sunset spat back, pulling her hands out of Cheerilee's. Getting up, Sunset headed back into the living room. Looking out the window while holding herself, she continued, “I don’t blame them, either. I can’t blame them. I'm just a....monster. I don’t deserve to live, and I don't deserve to treated so kindly by you or anyone else.” Sunset took a seat on the couch while Cheerilee sat down next to her.

“Now listen here, Sunset you do deserve to be treated with love and kindness,” Cheerilee retorted with slight anger in her voice. Not trying to scare her young guest away, she lowered her voice as she continued, “I know you feel that you are to blame for Musical Skies's death, but blaming yourself won’t do at all. Please, let us help you.”

Sunset got up off the couch and headed for the front door. Just as she was opening it, she stopped when she felt something soft and warm wrap around her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Cheerilee was hugging her warmly. Sunset lowered her head in defeat. She shut the door and continued to say, “I will never forget those eyes. They were as yellow as the sun. I’ll never forget what happened, either.”

“Please, Sunset, come back to the couch and talk with me. There's no need to keep this in anymore. I won’t judge you at all. I promise.”

“A-Alright, I’ll talk.”

Cheerilee led Sunset back over to the couch, sat her down, and pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over her young house guest. Sunset snuggled up into the warmth of the blanket as Cheerilee held her in her arms. Sunset laid her head against Cheerilee’s chest, listening to her teacher's heartbeat. The thumping of her heartbeat sounded soothing and relaxing.

“Here in this world, you have creatures that most would consider myth or legend. The same is true in Equestria. We had tales of two types of Timberwolves--think wolves, but huge and made of lumber. One was said to be black as night, the other as white as snow.” Sunset snuggled deeply into the blanket, pulling it over herself, trying to get warm. Cheerilee saw this and took the blanket from Sunset, placing it back over her and tucking her in gently. “I just dismissed those stories as tall tales told to frighten little ponies into obeying their elders.” Sunset scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “'Watch out,' the elders of Saddle Vile would tell me, 'or the Charred Timberwolf will get you and drag you into Tartarus forever.'”

“Sounds like a horrible thing to say to a child.”

Sitting up, Sunset looked down as she continued, “I thought the same thing. Imagine my surprise when I found out that both the Charred Timberwolf and that Timber, the white Timberwolf, is." Sunset paused before continuing, "The Charred Timberwolf attacked us while I was with Musical Skies it was a week before my fifteenth birthday that this happened.” Sunset laid back down, and Cheerilee gently ran her hands through the teen's hair as she continued, “When it attacked us, Musical Skies fired his magic at it, but he only grazed the side of its face rather than strike the front. The blast caused a large, deep gash to appear on the Timberwolf's face. I'm sure the scar is still there.”

“I see. What happened next?”

Sunset let out a soft sigh as she answered, “I tried to fight them off, but I wasn’t able to. I fired my magic at the Charred Timberwolf, only to miss completely. When I missed, I hit the church bell in Saddle Ville, which was made of highly polished silver and quartz crystal. My magic ricocheted off the bell back towards the mountainside.”

Cheerilee pulled Sunset in closer, saying softly to her as she held the nearly sobbing teen in her arms, “Sunset, it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known that a monster like that was going to show up and attack you or Musical Skies.”

“My magic hit the mountain, causing an avalanche. Before the rocks and broken trees came crashing down on top of me, Musical Skies used his magic to throw me into a nearby cave. I tried to get him to let me go, but he wouldn’t. The last thing I remember was seeing a white wolf the size of two small city buses stacked on top of each other fighting with the Charred Timberwolf.”

“How did you get out from the cave if an avalanche happened?”

“Timber dug me out, then left, chasing after the Charred Timberwolf's pack. I don’t know how many were killed in the avalanche, but I do know that Timber would have quickly ended the lives of those still around. The town of Saddle Ville, which had a population of forty--it was more of a hamlet, I suppose--was completely destroyed. Most of the ponies living there didn’t survive. The ones that did blamed me for what happened.”

“And did my, uh, counterpart, blame you, as well.”

“Yes. She was the worst, and I don’t blame her at all. She had just lost the one she loved very much. I could tell she would've had a hard time taking care of me from then on. So, I left. And after having not one but both caretakers end up hating me, can you blame me for holding my cards close to my chest?” Sniffing hard, Sunset continued, “I just want to be with a family that loves me and will take care of me. I want all this pain to end. Is that so much ask for? To be loved and nurtured?” Sunset choked back a sob. "It was her that chased me away from Saddle Ville. She angrily blamed me for what happened, and I knew it was my fault, so I ran."

Cheerilee pulled Sunset in closer allowing the teen to feel the warmth of her body against her own. Sunset closed her eyes taking in Cheerilee's heart beating within her chest. The soothing sound helped to relax Sunsets broken mind.

"When I saw your picture and you told me who it was that was standing next to you, I freaked. I thought you where going to blame me for his death, the same as your counterpart did. So, like before, I ran away rather than face my problems like I should've done."

“Oh, Sunset, dear,” Cheerilee said, gently picking her up against Sunset's soft protest. Cheerilee smiled warmly as she held Sunset close to her, and the teen threw an arm over her teacher's shoulder while Cheerilee carried her. “You are loved, and you do have a family that loves you very much.”

Cheerilee gently carried the exhausted teen back to her guest bedroom, placed her onto the soft bed, then tucked Sunset in. Sunset tried to fight off sleep, not wanting to go through another nightmare, but her body and her mind won out. As she fell asleep, Cheerilee pulled the covers over her and gently removed a lock of hair from Sunset's face, tucking it behind her right ear.

Cheerilee leaned closer and whispered, “Sleep well, Sunset, and always remember, we do love you very much.”

Heading back into the her own room, Cheerilee snarled to herself as she caught sight of herself in her bedroom mirror, “My counterpart has much to answer for. How could she take that sweet, young girl in and treat her so badly. It wasn’t Sunset's fault her fiance died. Maybe if my counterpart had done a better job at raising that beautiful girl, she wouldn't have lost her like this.”

Like Sunset, Cheerilee soon found herself needing sleep. Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she saw it was two in the morning. Hoping nothing else would go on, she climbed into bed, quickly falling asleep herself.

Sunset slept the rest of the night. Her dreams were of family and friends sharing Hearth's Warming Eve together. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she slept, remembering her life before she met Celestia and stole Twilight's crown.

Next Chapter: A Sign (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 15 Hours, 19 Minutes