When Sunny came too, she found herself floating in the middle of some black void that had pretty stars sprinkled throughout it. She looked at herself and saw she was back in human form, wearing her Crystal Prep uniform.

"Where am I?" Sunny said.

"The Dreamscape," a voice said. "Where the Realm of Dreams intersects with the mortal plane." Sunny turned to her right and saw Principal Luna floating in some fancy dark blue dress. "You look like a human because that is how you imagine yourself."

"Vice Principal Luna?" Sunny asked the woman.

"No Ms. Flare," the voice said, "I am not the vice principal. I have taken this form to make you feel comfortable."

"OK," Sunny said, "what do we do?"

"I not only wish to explore your mind to see how a human mind reacts to Equestrian magic," Princess Luna said, "but to search for an answer to your dilemma."

"Dilemma?" Sunny asked.

"Help you understand why you became so cruel to someone who had done nothing to hurt you," Princess Luna said. Sunny felt a morose frown form on her face. "Can you tell me?"

"I don't know," Sunny said, looking down, "because I was...a jerk and Twilight was a nerd."

"I think it is more complicated than that," Princess Luna said with a smirk, extending her hand, "will you grant me permission to enter your mind and find out why?" Sunny looked down shamefully. "If you don't wish to let me explore your mind, that is your choice. But if you don't take this step, you can never learn from your mistakes, and you can never become the friend your Twilight needs." Sunny pushed aside her anxiety and took Luna's outstretched hand with fierce resolve.

"Let's go," Sunny said sternly. Suddenly a screen appeared, showing a time from long ago.

"I'm gonna get you," Suri said playfully, holding a water pistol and chasing after Sunny in the shallow water. A ten year old Suri and Sunny were enjoying their stay at Camp Everfree, playing along the banks of the Everfree River. The temperature was not too warm, the sky was blue and clear, and the water was not too cold. Both of them wore one piece bathing suits.

Sunny screamed as the water struck her skin. "Suri stop it," Sunny said playfully.

"I am Diamond Princess," Suri said enormous intensity, "and you're the Evil Queen who needs to be destroyed!" A horn blasted in the distance, signaling their free time was over and they had to go back to camp.

"Aww," the two said with disappointment. Suri was about to leave the water when she accidentally tripped over some rocks. She dropped her water pistol, which flowed away from her and into the flowing river. Sunny saw she was closer and made a dive for it.

"Don't worry Suri," Sunny said, "I got it."

"Uh Sunny", Suri warned, "aren't you going to far-," Suri's mouth dropped in horror when she saw Sunny being carried away in the flow of the river.

"Help me!" Sunny said, as she was carried down the river. Suri ran along the banks to keep up with Suri.

"DON'T PANIC!" Suri said. To her frustration, Sunny wasn't heeding her advice, thrashing around in a panic. Her head was only barely above water. Suri looked around trying to find an adult who could help her. Her friend drowning pushed Suri into action. Taking a deep breath, the pink-skinned girl leapt into the water after her.

"Don't worry, Sunny," Suri said, swimming up to her drowning friend, "I got you."

----

"So Suri saved your life," Luna asked the Crystal Prep student.

"Well her and Ms. Daisy," Sunny said with a small smile, "it was because of her I didn't drown."

"And so you fell...into her debt," Luna said, observing more of Sunny's memories.

----

"Can I have your last donut," Suri asked Sunny. The two were at Sugarcube Corner, enjoying some delicious donuts from the Cake family.

"Suri?" Sunny said with some annoyance.

"Come on," Suri said, "I did save your life. Isn't that was friends do for each other?"

"You're right," Sunny said. She handed the donut over to Suri with a grateful smile.

----

"C'mon," Suri said with a crazy smile. The pink-skinned girl was carrying a bunch of toilet paper, "those Wondercolts need to learn who's top dog."

"I promised Father Cross I would help him clean the church up," Sunny said.

"Who's your friend: some crusty old priest, or the girl who saved your life," Suri argued, an edge in her voice.

"No, no. you're right," Sunny said with a forced smile, "let's go

----

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Sunny asked Suri. The two were standing near Trenderhoof's locker. They were preparing to put a fake love letter in his locker for fun.

"Why," Suri said, "that dork needs a kick in the pants." A sliver of doubt formed on Sunny's face.

"But is hurting him really the answer," Sunny said with a frown.

"Sunny," Suri said a fierce glare, "I thought we were friends."

"But-,"

"Didn't I save your life," Suri said with a nasty glare. Sunny, after some hesitation, put the fake love letter in the locker and walked away. Suri began snickering. Sunny forced a smile onto her face.

----

"So you went along with Suri's increasingly bad behavior for so long because she was your savior," Luna said.

"Well," Sunny said uneasily, "I was just trying to be...a good friend to the girl who saved my life. Wouldn't you do the same?"

"There is a difference between being a good friend and enabling one's bad behavior," Luna asked with fierce eyes. "Would a good friend do this?" In the screen above, one of the worst nights of Sunny's life appeared.

The night Twilight got a bucket of paint on her head. Sunny looked with anger and shame at what Suri had done, and how she had gone along with it. How she laughed at some girl who just wanted to have fun and make friends.

"I still can't believe that I went along that," Sunny said with shame.

"I can understand why," Luna said, "you were so devoted to your friend, you didn't see what she becoming or how her behavior impacted others. Many people make that mistake: seeing friendship is an excuse to cover up for their friend's bad behavior. And Suri was keen to exploit that."

"So it is kind of my fault Suri became so horrible," Sunny said with some regret.

"Her actions are her own," Luna said firmly. "You are at fault for encouraging them, and for going along with them, but you did learn that loyalty to someone does not give them a right to act out. And my hope is you can maintain that lesson."

"I will". Sunny said, Twilight cries motivating her to make sure no one under her watch ended up like that again.

A young Sugarcoat walked into her house with a sad sigh. She tried to walk slowly into the room to avoid her.

"Sugarcoat," a woman yelled. With a frustrated frown, Sugarcoat walked into the room.

"Stop stomping," the woman barked in an angry voice, "only savages stomp." She had long white hair that flowed down around her like a beautiful curtain, grey skin, she was covered in a luxurious lavender robe, and sat in a velvet couch while enjoying ice cream from a bowl. Her face was twisted into one of utter contempt.

"Yes mother."

"And straighten your skirt out," the woman said with a snarl, "you look like a refugee."

"Refugees don't wear designer skirts."

"What did you say," the woman shrieked. "How dare you talk to me that way! I cook your food and work hard to ensure you live well."

"You inherited money from daddy," Sugarcoat muttered. "And you have your maids work while you watch daytime television." The woman took the bowl and threw it against the wall near her.

----

"So you had a mother like that," Luna said. Sugarcoat's normally stoic face was twisted into one of anger.

"She was a gold digger," Sugarcoat said with some anger. "She let herself get pregnant so that my dad would marry her and support her. That's all I was to her: a way for her to get money. She got everything when my dad died when I was eight in a skiing accident. I sometimes think she killed him," a smirk formed onto Sugarcoat's face, "but then I remember she was probably too stupid to think about that."

"Is that why you picked up your habit of being blunt?"

"It was the only way to get under her skin," Sugarcoat said. "But then I went too far, and well-,"

----

Sugarcoat was dragged across the room by her hair.

"You will show me respect young lady!" Sugarcoat's mom growled as she tugged at her daughter's hair.

"Tugging at hair is a corporal punishment associated with control and not discipline." Sugarcoat uttered. With a snarl, the woman furiously threw her down the stairs.

----

Sugarcoat felt tears flow down her eyes. Luna pulled the crying girl into a hug.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Luna said.

"It's OK," Sugarcoat said, "I was able to escape from that woman."

"How?"

"One of my mom's servants had a heart," Sugarcoat said, "she recorded what my mom did, and sent it to my dad's sister. When I was 12 years old, I moved in with her, and never saw that woman again. She still kept her money, but she can take a hike."

"It appears you had a traumatic experience," Princess Luna surmised. "And it left deep marks on you."

"What are you talking about?" Sugarcoat said. "I have straight A's and friends. How could it affect me?"

Another memory appeared.
----

Twilight walked up to Sugarcoat with a smile. She was sitting at the lab table.

"Hey Sugarcoat," Twilight said with a smile, "want to do work on the lab-,"

"Your tangents are annoying," Sugarcoat uttered. "You have no ability to carry a conversation or understand when to cease the strange noises that come out of your mouth. So no. Begone." Twilight frowned and walked away.

----

"Your mother put you down and belittled you for your flaws," Princess Luna surmised with a stern frown, "and so you learned to put others down as well." Sugarcoat felt abashed, especially when she saw Twilight walked away with a tear running down her eye.

"So, I basically became like my mo-like her," Sugarcoat said, more tears falling down her eyes. "That woman drove me from dad's house, and I drove Twilight from Crystal Prep." She started crying more when she saw how miserable Twilight was at Crystal Prep. "I'm a monster like her."

"Many abused people do end adopting the habits of their abusers," Luna said, "however, you can't allow your past to justify bad behavior. Being hurt does not give us the right to hurt others. You have to better than the people who abused you." She then pulled the ashamed girl into a hug. "Will you do better than your so-called mother?"

"I will Princess," the crying girl said, melting into the Night Princess' warm hug, "I will for her."

"Hey, its Sour Shriek!"

A young Sour was eating her baloney sandwich alone when some bullies approached her.

"Leave me alone," the young girl said, "please, I can't control-" the poking and the prodding started.

"Come on, Sour, yell like you always do."

It happened like it always did. The poking and the prodding would come. Then the voices. The scary voices that made her want to do terrible things. That made her want to hurt everyone around. Then-

"STOP IT!" Sour yelled, throwing her food on the floor. She then felt to the floor and started punching it with her fists.
"STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!"

Everyone started laughing at her, happy that they once again got her to yell and cry like the lunatic she was.

----

"They made fun of you for your disability," Luna said, a tinge of anger in her voice.

"Yeah," Sour said with a whimper. "After that, my parents got me medication," tears fell down her eyes, "but I still have my mood swings. And I'm still scared that people notice...and I'll become Sour Shriek again".

"Fear of being accepted is something I know all too well," Princess Luna said. "I also know about fear of losing yourself to your demons. That is why we all need friends to be there for us." Luna said.

"Yeah," Sour Sweet said, "I love my friends. And I'm happy they're there for them."

"Why could you do the same for Twilight?" Sour paused. A memory started playing.
----

"I think Twilight's some retard," Upper Crust said. Sour and Upper stood outside, watching Twilight reading some massive science textbook like it was comic strip.

"Yeah," Sour said, trying to suppress her annoyance. This girl clearly didn't know when to shut her mouth, but she wasn't fond of Upper Crust's use of the word.

"I think we should avoid her," Upper Crust said, "we don't need her retard rubbing off on her." Sour frowned at the use of the word, until she saw the olive-colored girl's glare.

"You're right," Sour said with a small frown. "WE SHOULDN'T!"

----

"You avoided Twilight because you were afraid if you hung out with her," Luna said, "you would be labeled Sour Shriek."

"Yeah," Sour said uneasily.

"So out of fear of ridicule, you treated her the way you had been treated, and you made her mental problems worse," Luna surmised. Sour felt tears flow down her eyes as she saw how furiously she berated Twilight during ACADECA. So obsessed she was with victory, she didn't notice how scared and frustrated the girl was.

"I'm sorry," Sour said, breaking into tears. "I wish I could tell her I'm sorry."

"If you do the right things," Luna said, putting a warm shoulder on Sour's hand, "you will have that chance."

Principal Cinch looked with severe disappointment at Indigo Zap. The two sat in her office, or the Lion's Den, as Indigo's classmates labeled it.

"What is this," Principal Cinch said with a growl, holding up a test.

"A paper," Indigo said, not catching the question was rhetorical.

"A 'D'," the woman said. "Is this the kind of work I expect of a Crystal Prep?"

"Principal Cinch," Indigo Zap protested, "I was trying my best. Besides, I want to become a physical therapist. I don't need to know calculus-,"

"You are a Crystal Prep student," the woman mercilessly growled. "Not some wretch from public school. Do you wish for everyone to think you're an utter failure! Do you want your parents to treat you like some savage!"

"No," Indigo said with a tired frown.

"Then I suggest you apply yourself," the woman said with a nasty sneer, "I wish you were more like Twilight. She is what all children should aspire to be. Not some imbecile who only things in terms of sports."

Indigo stormed out of the room with a frown.

----
"So that woman belittled you for not being a good student," Princess Luna said.

"Yeah," Indigo said, "and Twilight was always showing off how smart she was, and it always made us look bad in front of the teachers. She even made fun of me."

"Really?" Luna asked.
----

"Hey Indigo," Twilight said with a smile as she approached Indigo in gym.

"What do you want Sparkle?" Indigo said with annoyance.

"I heard about how you failed the chemistry test," Twilight said with a sympathetic frown. "But don't worry," she said, pulling out some paper, "I made a cheat sheet for you-,"

"Beat it egghead," Indigo said, storming away from the confused prodigy. "I don't need no charity from Cinch's pet."

----

"She was trying to help me," Indigo said with some shame, "and I instead I made fun of her and pushed her away."

"Because you were so insecure about failing," Princess Luna said, "and so angry about how Cinch abused you, you took it out on an easy target." Indigo whimpered at the memory of a game of dodgeball. She flinched over how she and her friends loved to throw dodgeballs at Twilight, even when she lost and was benched.

Indigo's face fell into her hands, and soon she started weeping. Princess Luna hugged her from behind.

Lemon was excited as her parents dropped her off. She was finally going to be invited to a party. She managed to impress Svengallop into thinking she wasn't a loser. As she came out, she ran up to the building.

Only to discover there wasn't a house at the address. There was just a cemetary.

----
"You were unpopular at your old school," Princess Luna said.

"Yeah," Lemon Zest said with some shame, "and the thing is, I don't know why. And I avoided Twilight because I didn't want to be unpopular. And because I was so afraid, I became just as bad as Svengallop."

"You figured that out pretty quickly," Luna said with some surprise.

"I never really hated Twilight," Lemon Zest said with a sigh, "I just thought she was too much of a square."

"Perhaps," Princess Luna said, "but excluding her isn't exactly helping her open up or be less of a square."

"Which is why I'm already planning a return party for her when we bring her home," Lemon said with a smile ,"to help her make friends and open up." A frown formed on her face. "If she decides to even want to come back to Crystal Prep."

"All you can do is be better in the future," Princess Luna. "And as long as you prove you can show her empathy, then there is a good chance she will come back to you."

"You're pretty chill for a 1000 year old lady," Lemon Zest said with a smile.

"How does a creature who dwells in the Dreamscape need to worry about climate?" Princess Luna asked in confusion. Lemon Zest snickered.