Sunset was tapping her knees nervously as they traveled to Sugarcube Corner. She took a glance at Sunshine, noticing that the woman was still looking out the window. She had remained completely silent since they last talked, Sunset even had to tell Steer where to go.

“I fucked up. I fucked up royally!” Sunset thought as she took her phone out of her pocket before sending a quick message to Pinkie Pie.

“Hey Pinkie, we will be there in a few minutes, is everything ready?”

As expected from Pinkie, the response was almost instant.

“Of course, silly! I’ve been preparing everything since this morning. Is something wrong?”

“We just got out of meeting Fluttershy. It didn’t go well.”

“Is she level three grumpy?”

Sunset didn’t want to take her chances.

“Level cero.”

“I’ll be prepared.”

Sunset could imagine Pinkie saluting as she sent the message, which put a smile on her face. That smile died horribly when she noticed Sunshine was staring right at her, neutral disappointment clear in her face.
“Pinkie just wanted to check if we were coming. She has a surprise for you.”
Sunshine’s expression didn’t change, and she just went back to stare out the window, her absolute silence starting to make Sunset feel nauseous.

“We’ve arrived,” Steer announced.

“What?! I thought we had a little bit more time!” Sunset was about to make an excuse to delay the meeting, but Sunshine was already out of the car. Steer didn’t give his usual 'good luck', as if he knew exactly how his employer was feeling.

They quickly entered the small business and found zero customers sitting at the tables. Instead, the place was filled with balloons, confetti, streamers and a big paper sign with “Hi new friend! And thank you for being an awesome person!” written on it.

Sunset felt a wave of relief as she saw Sunshine genuinely smile at the decorations, joy coming back to her features. “I knew Pinkie could do it,” She thought, feeling her body relax. “Quite a surprise, isn’t it?”

Sunset’s question murdered Sunshine’s smile in cold blood. Her face turned back into a neutral expression that somehow showed less emotion than Maud on a bad day.

“Welcome back!” Pinkie shouted springing out of nowhere, quickly offering her hand to the woman. “I’m Pinkie Pie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Sunshine responded with a tone of apathy like she was dealing with a customer five minutes before the closing hour.

Despite this, Pinkie maintained her cheery attitude and invited her over to take a seat in one of the tables where a menu was placed. “What can I serve you before we talk?”

“I already had some coffee with Sunset,” Sunshine answered with the same apathy as before, but Pinkie didn’t give up.

“But a coffee is never enough without a good desert!” she went to the fridge behind the counter, leaving Sunshine with a confused look as the menu was forgotten on the table.

Sunset offered a nervous smile of awkward innocence at her friend’s antics, even if she really didn’t know what Pinkie had planned in such a short time.

The pink girl came back with a tray covered with a metal dome which she placed in front of the woman with a big smile.

Sunshine slowly pulled the dome off, revealing a simple yet absolutely delicious-looking chocolate sundae. She looked at the pink girl suspiciously before moving her eyes towards Sunset. Sunshine quickly tasted a spoonful of the desert, her eyes opening wide before narrowing in anger.
She turned towards Sunset, staring at the teen like she wanted to explode her in flames. “That was very low of you!”

“Wh– what? I just–” Sunset stuttered, confused and terrified.

“You saw my memories with my mother, only you could know how to make it taste like if it was made by her!” Sunshine was gripping the spoon with such strength her knuckles were turning white.

“I– I didn’t tell her anything! She just does these kinds of things. She gifted me an exact replica of the cakes I used to eat with Celestia back in Equestria for my birthday!” Sunset moved her hand forward, offering her palm. “I can show it to you.”

Sunshine looked at Sunset’s hand, and after letting out a long sigh, her anger was drained away. “It’s okay, I believe you.” she then looked at the baker standing in front of her, and surprisingly still held a positive look. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand,” Pinkie said sitting at the table. “It’s been years since your parents left, you probably have missed it a lot.” Sunshine simply nodded before taking another spoonful of the desert. “You thought Sunset was trying to rig our meeting so you would like me.” Again, the woman nodded, a bit of shame in her eyes.

“I… can’t blame you for thinking that,” Sunset said, sharing that bit of shame. “I shouldn’t have lied to you and tried to… ‘fix it’.”

Sunshine looked at her younger doppelganger. “Sunset, what worries me is that I will end up hurting you.”

“Hurting me?” Sunset asked confused.

“Like I did with your parents. When I saw how distraught you felt after my fight with Fluttershy, I couldn’t get the thought of you slowly abandoning your friends because I don’t like them out of my mind.”

“I would never do that!” Sunset exclaimed. “And I know they wouldn’t either, our friendship means more than that.”

“I guess I didn’t see that before.” Sunshine finished her desert and licked the spoon clean. “Rarity told me that I could make mistakes without you judging me. I didn’t want to test her theory so soon.”

“You also care a lot about this deal you proposed,” Pinkie said with a smile.

Sunshine chuckled. “More than I thought apparently.” The words had an instant effect on Sunset, washing away the weight she had felt on her shoulders and heart, letting her breathe calmly.

“Then I will prepare a bigger party when you two make it official! With all the new friends you have made and will keep making today.” the Pinkie girl declared, confetti flying form somewhere behind her.

Sunshine let out a hearty laugh. “I would love that.” She then looked at Sunset, who was also smiling, much more relaxed than even before starting the day. “Who should we visit next?”

Sunset thought for a moment, a smile never leaving her lips. “I think you’re ready for Wallflower.”