The afternoon was cold. Chilly, but not so cold that one would freeze to death outside. Rainbow had called Sunset earlier in the day and invited her to spend the day with her at Canterlot City Mall. Sunset wasn’t particularly into shopping but had wanted to get out of her home for a while, and spending the day with Rainbow seemed like the best choice. After picking a place to meet with Rainbow, Sunset found herself standing next to the sign beside the school, waiting for Rainbow’s mother to pick her up.

She didn’t need to wait long, though. Rainbow’s mother pulled up in a blue SRT Hellcat Charger twenty minutes after she had gotten off the phone with Rainbow. Sunset whistled when she saw the car. It had black and blue trim on the front of it and rainbow designs on the sides. The car roared like a lion when Rainbow's mother put her foot on the accelerator.

Sunset was about to get in when Rainbow's mother stopped her, saying, “Hold on, Sunset. I would like to talk with you for a minute, if I may.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sunset looked at Rainbow for a quick second. “Rainbow, I’ll be back in just a second.”

Rainbow looked from her mother, then back to Sunset.

“Mom, please don’t make a scene. She's my friend, and I'm trying to give her a second chance. I don’t need you to throw a fit just because you, well...don’t think she's cool.”

Rainbow's mother looked from Sunset then to her daughter, replying, “I won’t make a scene, honey, but I do need to speak with Sunset before you spend time with her.”

With that said, Rainbow's mother shut off the car, got out, and led Sunset down the street away from her daughter. Looking at Sunset dead in the eyes, she grimly said to her, “I want you to fully understand that while my daughter may have forgiven you for all that you did to her over the past two years, I have not. If you hurt my daughter, Sunset, I will make your life a living hell. Do we understand each other?”

Sunset swallowed hard. She knew that Rainbow's mother was but one of many that she was trying to make amends to for how she treated Rainbow and her friends.

“Yes, Miss Dash, I fully understand you. I understand clear as crystal.”

“Good. Now that we got that out of the way, where are you and my daughter going today so that I might be able to keep an eye on you and her as well?” Rainbow's mother replied grimly.

“We had, as far as I know, planned on shopping at the Canterlot City Mall today. Although if you would rather I spend the day with her in your home, then that is more than alright with me.”

Folding her arms over her chest, Rainbow's mother glared at Sunset. The look on her face caused the redhead to recoil slightly in fright.

“I would rather you didn’t spend any time with my daughter at all, Sunset. But, you are my daughter's friend, and I am willing to give some leeway here. And I do fully mean some leeway. However, if you screw up and hurt her again, you’ll have more to worry about than sitting in the principal's office getting a stern lecture. You'll have a lawsuit on your hands. Understand?”

“Miss Dash, I am trying to prove to you, to everyone at CHS, and to those that I hurt the most that I have indeed changed and that I am indeed a different person. I really don’t understand why you can’t accept that I've changed.”

“Because, Sunset, I have heard it all before!" Rainbow's mother snarled out in anger, her eyes brimming with rage. Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she continued, "Now, let's go before we make Rainbow wonder why we are taking so long.”

Rainbow's mother headed back to the car, leaving Sunset to breathe in deeply as she thought to herself, “Just calm down. There's no need to get angry with her. This is all a part of redeeming yourself. It's only been, after all, four months since the Battle of the Bands. And only six months since they all took you in after the Fall Formal.”

Sunset walked back towards the car. As she approached the car, she heard Rainbow say to her mother, “Mom, I don’t need you worrying about me. Sunset is a good person now! Besides, I want to spend the day with her at the mall, not at home where you would be hovering over everything she and I do with each other.”

“Rainbow Dash--”

“No, Mom, enough is more than enough! Sunset has been there for us when the Dazzlings tried to take over the school. She has proven herself to me, and I'm sick of you saying stuff about her, so just get over it and let us enjoy our day together.”

Before her mother could reply, Rainbow got out of the car, slammed the door shut, took Sunset by her arm, and led her away from the car. Rainbow's mother got out of the car to chase after her daughter, only to stop when her daughter turned around and yelled back to her, “You know, just because Dad left you with me doesn’t mean I'm going to turn out like him. Sunset's my friend, and I trust her, so just...just leave us alone.”

Rainbow's mother looked away, clearly hurt by what her daughter said. She let out a angry scoff, got back into her car, and drove off, leaving Sunset standing next to Rainbow a bit bewildered. Rainbow looked to her right, saw that a city bus was coming down the street, and quickly grabbed onto Sunset, leading her towards the bus stop.

The bus stopped, and Rainbow and Sunset both got on. Sunset took a seat, and Rainbow paid for both of them. As Rainbow came up to Sunset to sit down next to her, she took out her phone and promptly shut it off. Looking to Sunset, who was looking out the window next to her, she said grimly, “I’m sorry my mom had to act like that, Sunset. I want you to know that I do fully trust you and that I do want to spend today with you. So, how about we forget this ever happened and enjoy our time together? We should be at the mall in about fifteen minutes...I think.”

Sunset closed her eyes, letting out soft sigh, and nodded to Rainbow. Fifteen minutes later, the two of them got off in front of the mall and entered it. Sunset smiled when she saw how beautifully decorated the mall was. There were lights and wreaths all over the place. Sunset looked up and down the main entryway of the mall. Her eyes beamed with anticipation of the fun she was about to have with Rainbow. Rainbow took Sunset by her hand, causing the redhead to let out a half-stuttering gasp, something that Rainbow picked up on.
Letting go of her hand, Rainbow looked at Sunset as she said to her, “Are you alright, Sunset? You look a bit upset. Is this because of everything my mother said?”

“What? No, I just… Look, can we just enjoy this time together without worrying about what was said or done today, please.”

“Sure thing, Sunset.” Rainbow turned looked down the main entryway of the mall and smiled brightly. “Hey, I know the best way to get rid of your holiday blues, Sunset.”

“Really? How?”

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

Rainbow took Sunset by her hand and led her to the amusement park of the mall. Getting there about ten minutes later, Sunset suddenly found herself riding a carousel, laughing hard. Rainbow was laughing just as much as Sunset was, and the two of them ended up riding the carousel three times. Each time they got back on, they each picked the same bench to ride on. Rainbow would, during each time, place her hand onto Sunset's. Sunset was beginning to wonder, while they rode the carousel for the third time, if Rainbow was trying to tell her something.

Getting off, Rainbow smiled and pointed to a nearby bookstore. She knew that Sunset liked books and said to her while walking towards the store, “How about you go into that store? I’ll meet you here in, oh, about ten minutes, and we can go see what else there is to do around here.”

“Uh, okay, Rainbow. I guess that would be alright.” Sunset headed inside. Stopping just before the checkout lines, she turned around to say something, but was surprised when Rainbow was gone. “Huh, I guess I’ll have to speak to her about her actions on the carousel when she gets back,” she said to herself.

Rainbow had taken off towards a sports store just around the corner. She had been to the mall many times and knew where the best stores were. Or, at least, the ones she liked to go into. Getting into the store, she let out a quick sigh as she muttered to herself while poking through the sports memorabilia, “I really can’t tell her that I think she's, like, so super cute, not to mention hot as heck! She’ll just laugh at me and think I'm a total dork.”

“Muttering to yourself, are we, Rainbow? Hmm,” a voice behind Rainbow said warmly.

Rainbow turned around to see Sunny Heart standing behind her. She had a pleasant smile on her face and was wearing one of the shop's top-selling jerseys. She had her hair tied behind her head and was wearing another of the shop's top-selling items: a baseball cap with the Shadowbolts' emblem on it. Rainbow grinned to her as she lightly blushed.

“Caught some of that, did you, Sunny Heart?”

“Well, I'm glad to you see you finally learned you can’t slip anything by me, Rainbow. Yes, I heard you. Listen, if you like this girl so much, why not just tell her?”

“B-Because I can’t!" Rainbow eyes slowly went wide with fear. "She’ll think I'm, like, totally not cool or some--”

“Really, Rainbow. You really think that girl--” Sunny Heart laid both hands onto Rainbows shoulders. “What’s her name?”

“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer,” Rainbow replied, blushing hard, her face turning beet red.

“You really do believe in your heart that Sunset Shimmer would think of you like that? I saw you two today in the amusement park while I was eating lunch on the second level. You both looked so happy to be with each other. Heck, one might even have said you both were already dating.”

“What? No, I--”

“Go to her, Rainbow. Tell her how you feel. Don’t wait. Don’t make the same mistake that I made. You have a chance at something really special here, so get out of my shop and go to her.”

Rainbow looked to the opening of the shop, then back at Sunny Heart. Rainbow had seen the pain on Sunny Heart's face the day she had told her friend Shadowflare how she had felt but had waited too long. Rainbow promised herself she wouldn’t go through the same thing that her friend Sunny Heart went through. Smiling, Rainbow nodded to Sunny Heart and headed out of the sports shop back to the bookstore where she left Sunset.

Getting there, she looked around the store yet couldn’t find Sunset anywhere. Approaching a clerk, who was looking pretty anxious, she asked, “Excuse me. Have you seen girl around here with red and yellow hair?”

“Yes. She's in the restroom. I think she might be having a panic attack.”

Rainbow's eyes went wide when she heard this. She quickly said, “Which way is the restroom from here?”

“Just go down the aisle you're in now and turn to your right. I was about to call security to see if they can help her.”

“No, don’t do that. Please, I can help her. Just let me try. Please.”

The clerk gave Rainbow a stern look, but nodded. Rainbow headed to the restroom. Once she got there, she could hear through the closed door Sunset talking to herself.

“You're a good person, Sunset,” Rainbow heard Sunset say to herself. “Rainbow isn’t trying to use you. Your f-friends love you.”

Entering the restroom, Sunset could be seen with her back facing Rainbow. As Rainbow approached her, she heard Sunset say out loud, “Rainbow cares about you, Sunset.” Sunset turned the water on in the sink, cupped her hands under the water, and splashed her face. Looking into the bowl of the sink, she continued, “Oh, who am I kidding! She’ll never love me. Not after all that I did at the Fall Formal and before that. And I can’t tell her that I love her; she’ll just think of me as a freak.”

“Sunset, are you...are you alright?”

Sunset’s eyes went wide when she heard Rainbow's voice from behind her. Quickly grabbing some paper towels, she wiped her face off and turned to leave the bathroom. She walked past Rainbow, clearly showing signs that she was anything but alright.

Rainbow was left alone in the bathroom thinking to herself, “Sunset...loves me!?”

Taking out her phone, she turned it back on to see what the time was, only to see that she had eighteen missed texts from Scootaloo. Closing her eyes tightly, she turned and left the bathroom, calling out to Sunset, who was just leaving the shop, "Sunset, wait up."

Sunset stopped in front of a large pretzel vendor and ordered herself a pretzel with butter and cheese. Once Sunset got her snack, she looked at Rainbow, who was breathing heavily.

As Rainbow came up to her, Sunset heard her exclaim, “Shit, I forgot about Scootaloo's swim meet today!”

Next Chapter: You Forgot! (Edited by Icreammac) Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 52 Minutes