It's been a couple of weeks since the talk I had with Soarin and Caramel, and true to my words, I have kept silent about believing to be in love with Octavia, but it is getting harder to do. The more she and I spend time together after school playing music and writing stories or have movie dates or hanging out with Vinyl and the rest of the E.M.R., the more I feel sure that I love her. I'm even convinced that she loves me back based on the way she smiles at me, encourages me, and appreciates me watching her play her cello. I might be getting my hopes up, but I like to believe it says a lot.

It wasn't long before I was able to let Caramel and Soarin in on the E.M.R. Octavia and I took them to Vinyl's house where we broke it to them what we've been doing and what really happened after the Dazzlings escaped. Obviously, they were upset that I lied them and everything, but Rainbow Dash was there too to help them understand that we didn't want to hide this from them and that both of us personally requested that we let them in our secret group in case a magical being attacks the school again. Eventually, they both forgave us and agreed to join the E.M.R., and the group welcomed the two of them with open arms.

Though I feel like we should keep an eye on Lyra and Bon Bon. They are continually checking out Caramel and nicknamed him "Caramel Bear." I hope they aren't going to fight over him like Rainbow Dash suggested.

Sonata has unfortunately been sent back to juvenile hall like Vinyl said. Thankfully Vinyl's parents' lawyer was able to apply for an appeal and because Sonata gave the police information about Adagio and Aria (magical stuff aside) and because of her good behavior at juvenile hall, it looks likely that she'll get the appeal and have the Apple family look after her. We've been visiting her whenever we can, but since they only allow two people to visit at a time, we've been taking turns, and today it's my and Octavia's turn to visit her.

The school bell rang, announcing the end of school for the day, and I immediately put my stuff into my backpack and head to the front entrance of the school to meet up with Octavia. I exit from the front entrance to find Octavia waiting for me at the bottom of the steps.

"Hello darling, how was school today?" Octavia asks after greeting me with a kiss.

"It was about the same," I answer. "Though I do like that, I haven't been getting any detention recently. It looks like you're becoming a good influence for me not to get in trouble from Ms. Harshwinny."

"Yes, you have been receiving less of her wrath since after we met," Octavia said with a pleased smile. "So, are you ready to meet Sonata?"

I took a moment to think about it before I answer. "Mostly. I fell nervous, given that I was the one who tased her."

"I'm sure she understands, Rough Draft," Octavia says. "Besides, she wants to change her ways, so it's working out for the best."

"Yeah, I guess," I say.

Before Octavia can say anything else, she feels her phone vibrating inside her skirt pocket. She picks it up and grumbles when she finds out who the receiver is.

"What?" I ask.

"It's my mother," she answers, annoyed. "Wait here. I'll be over in the corner."

She walks away and answers the phone. I look at her and watch her get into the phone call. I wonder what her mother is calling her for when suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to see Sunset Shimmer standing behind me with a nervous smile. My face immediately went sour as I look at her, and she flinches at my reaction, but then I remember how Octavia wants me to change my attitude, so I try to soften my sour mood.

We stand there facing each other before she finally spoke.

"Hi."

"Hey," I say with little charisma.

"I heard that you and Octavia are about to visit Sonata," she says.

"Yeah, that's right," I say.

"Are you nervous about seeing her?" she asks.

"A little," I answer. "But Octavia assures me Sonata won't make a thing about me tasting her."

"I'm sure she won't," Sunset says. "I mean, she didn't exactly show me any venom when I visited her with Fluttershy a week ago, and we were kind of mortal enemies during the Battle of the Bands, so you'll be fine."

"Right," I say.

Again awkward silence fills the air for a few seconds before Sunset Shimmer clears her throat.

"Listen," she began. "I know we're still not in the best of terms, and I know that you're only trying to be less angry with me just because Octavia wants you to. And I get that by the way. It's pretty much your job as her boyfriend to make her happy, so no judgment."

"Well, I'm glad we can stop beating on the around the bush with that," I say.

She gave me a small smirk before she continues.

"But with that said, I really would like us to be on better terms. I know you're not going to forgive me anytime soon, but I'd like to give you something to show that I'm being sincere. Call it an olive branch."

She takes her backpack out, opens it, and pulls out a tattered green notebook. I stand there stunned as she hands it over to me, and I take it at it at a loss of words.

This is the notebook she took from me during the Spring Fling.

"Y- you kept it," I finally say after a minute. "I thought you threw it away after you scanned all my stories and turned me into a laughing stock."

"Well part of me wanted to, but then I decided I wanted it as a part of my collection of 'past accomplishments' or something of that nature," Sunset Shimmer admits.

"Oh really, there's a whole collection?" I ask half-amused.

"Well...not exactly," Sunset Shimmer says reluctantly. "You see, this is the only item in the collection. I never had anything else, just this."

"Oh, so I was your only big accomplishment, huh?" I retort. Sunset Shimmer winces at my comment, and I instantly regret it. "Sorry, force of -"

"No, no, I led you into that one," Sunset Shimmer interrupts. "But in all honesty, I don't know why your notebook was my only trophy."

I raise my eyebrow her and she waves her hands defensively and says, "I'm serious. Despite everything I did before the Fall Formal, this was the only thing I kept as a memento. I guess what I'm trying to say is deep down not everything that happened between us was a lie. It may have been an act, but I've accepted that not all of the memories I made with you were fake," I keep my eyebrow raised. "Oh come on, Rough Draft. I may have been evil, but even I could have genuinely enjoyed the time that we went to get ice cream and a lot of it melted and got all over your pants. Good or evil, that moment when we had a good laugh about that was real."
I continue to glare at her before I eventually give in. "You're right." I reluctantly admit. "Some of it was pretty good, and I do kind of miss those days."

Sunset Shimmer smiles kindly. "It's moments like that where I wish I could go back in time and do it all over again except make it all real." She says. "Maybe we could have become really good friends if I hadn't used you like that." Our smiles turn into frowns as we look away from each other uncomfortably for a minute before I spoke again.

"So... did you tell the Rainbooms about what I did at the Spring Fling?"

Sunset Shimmer chuckles nervously as she scratches the back of her head before she uncomfortably says, "Yeah, I did."

"How did they take it?"

"They were pretty shocked to learn that you were behind the whole thing with me except for Applejack, who said she found out that night, but she already told you off back then. The rest of them are not pleased, but they understand that you regret it and it's all in the past... Well, most of them."

"Let me guess, Rarity?" I say unsurprisingly.

"Yeah, I would stay clear of her for a while if I were you."

"That pissed off, huh?" I remark.

"She may be debating on whether she should poison you or drown you."

I stare at her a little scared before she quickly says, "Kidding!"

I sighed in relief before I say, "Don't scare me like that. I know she is obsessed with fashion and all, but I would never have dreamed of her making that much of a deal over a dress."

"Well, fashion is her passion," Sunset Shimmer says. "She worked hard on that dress, and we kind of broke her heart pretty darn good when we ruined it."

My frown returns.

"Yeah, we did."

Sunset Shimmer grew worried at my reaction.

"Are you still guilty about the Spring Fling?" She asks.

"Not as much as I used to be," I answer. "It haunted me during the remainder of the school year and most of the summer, but thankfully Soarin and Caramel were there to help me cheer up. It doesn't make me feel any less ashamed that I did it, though."

Sunset Shimmer replies with a sympathetic smile before she asks, "What about Octavia and everyone else that the E.M.R.?"

"About the same. They're not thrilled about what I did, but they understand that I know that I made a mistake, and I regret it. Plus, Octavia wanted to cheer me up after I told her."

Sunset Shimmer gave a small smile before it grew to a face of concern.

"Speaking of Octavia, how are things going between you two?"

"Oh, they're going very well," I say with a smile. "She's been a great girlfriend, and I'm happy to be together with her."

Sunset Shimmer's concerning face doesn't change.

"Are you sure about that?" she asks. "Because, to be honest, I'm surprised that you two got together after she laughed at you at Sugarcube Corner."

I raise my eyebrow at her again.

"Spying on us, were you?" I ask suspiciously.

"No, you were a little loud when you spat out 'I write Star Wars fan fiction,'" She answers plainly. "But seriously, I am surprised you two made up. I could see from the service counter how much she hurt you when she laughed."

"Well, it did hurt, but she apologized for what she did. In fact, she has been supporting me to start writing original content as opposed to Star Wars fan fiction."

"Wow. Really?" Sunset Shimmer asks, surprised. "That's awesome. She must care about you a lot."

A small smile escapes my face.

"Yeah, she does."

Sunset Shimmer notices my smile and smirks.

"And clearly, you reallylike her too, don't you?"

My smile disappears, and Sunset Shimmer quickly notices.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Nothing," I say, but she isn't buying it.

"Rough Draft, we used to hang out all the time, remember?" she says. "I can tell when something is up with you. I know you don't like me, but you can't hide what you're feeling from me. Maybe I can help you with your problem."

I sigh and reluctantly answer, "Okay, the thing is I think I'm actually falling in love with Octavia, but Soarin and Caramel told me to wait until I'm sure that she feels the same way, and yet the more I'm with her, the more I just want to walk over to her and say 'I love you,' but at the same time she might not feel the same. So...yeah, basically, I'm stuck with trying to figure out my feelings. "

For a moment, Sunset Shimmer doesn't say anything. She looks at me with concern, unable to think of a way to respond. Then she places her hand on my shoulder and says, "I think you're doing the right thing by waiting."

I give her an unamused look.

"Gee, you're really a supportive person who wants to be in good terms with me," I say sarcastically.

"Sorry, but it's true," She says sympathetically. "Hate to break it to you, Rough Draft, but you're the biggest hopeless romantic I've ever meet here or in Equestria, and you have proven to be the kind of person who can jump into thinking you're in love when a girl appears to be interested in you. I'm not saying what you think you have with Octavia isn't there, but believing yourself to be in love can lead you to do inconsiderate things if you're not careful. That's part of why I made you a part of my plan for the Spring Fling, and that's what made it easy for me to manipulate you to do whatever I wanted. Heck, at least with me you had three months of spending time with me working against you, making it even easier for you to believe that ...well..."

"That you loved me," I say, finishing her sentence.

"Yeah," Sunset Shimmer says - regret filling her voice. "Now, I know what you have with Octavia is not the same as what happened between us as it's clear she is a caring and devoted girlfriend, but maybe you should give her a little more time."

"But how much longer do I need to give her? Should I wait until it's been at least three months or something?"

Sunset Shimmer doesn't say anything right away. She looks at me, unable to answer my question. Then she sighs and says, "I don't know Rough Draft. I don't know everything about your relationship with her, and I don't know everything about how she feels about you. It's just something the two of you are gonna have to figure out yourselves."

I sigh disappointedly with her answer.

"I guess you're right."

We don't say anything for a minute until Sunset Shimmer clears her throat.

"So...about that olive branch..." She says nervously. "Can we make peace?"

I look at her skeptically.

"Before I can give you a full answer, I gotta know. Why do you care if I'm nicer to you?" Sunset Shimmer winces at my question. She looks away as if everything else is more interesting than me before I continue. "Is it because you don't want anyone to hate you anymore, and you want everyone to be your friend or- I don't know. I know I'm pretty much the last person who doesn't believe you, but -"

"I miss my friend," Sunset Shimmer spits out. I look at her taken aback before she continues. "Please understand Rough Draft; I never knew what it's like to have friends before the Fall Formal. Before I was spending time with you, the only thing that came close was the time I spent with my mentor back in Equestria. I know I was tricking you into thinking I was in love with you, but now..." She sighs before she continues. "Now I've spent these past several weeks accepting that deep down you were the first friend I ever had, and I miss the fun we had. I miss the laughs, the memories, you reading your stories to me even though they were really corny (sorry but it's true), those were all great times with the first person I befriended, and I didn't even realize it much less called you that until it was too late. Now that I understand how important friendship is, it hurts me that of all the people to still do not trust me, it's you. It breaks my heart that I hurt you so badly that even after I changed, you of all people still look at me with hate, publicly accuse me of wrongdoing, and believe that I'm still the conniving girl who used you to win a crown made of plastic. I know I took too long to realize it, and I don't know how else I can make you see it, but I want you to know that I miss my friend, and I really want to start again with him."

Nothing was said for a couple of minutes. I stared at her, surprised at her words. As much as I want to deny it, I can see pain and sorrow in her eyes. It makes me want to say that I forgive her for real, and we can become friends again. But then I suddenly remember how those same eyes once changed from sweet and friendly to nothing but loathing, pride, and a lust for power, and it makes me wince as bad memories flood in my mind. Then my mind came back to Soarin's warning before the Spring Fling, how she takes her time before she strikes, which makes me want to say no. But then I look at the notebook that she stole from me. She could have set it on fire and leave it to burn in an empty trash can after she disposed of me, but she kept it. I flipped the pages to make sure that not a single page was damaged or torn out. Then her words start to echo in my mind "You were the first friend I ever had." I thought hard about that, and in a twisted way, I guess that was true for me too. Like I said to Octavia, I never had a real friend before I moved from Applelosa, and I never really hung out with anyone until Sunset Shimmer came to me asking to go the movies with her. I thought I was falling in love, but even then, she was the closest thing I ever had to a real friend. Funny how both of us were the closest thing to having a friend while she was deceiving me.

I take a deep breath before I give her my decision.

"I can...try to be sincerely nicer to you. I cannot say I'm ready to trust you again; it's going to take more than this to do that much less be friends. That being said, I can't deny that I am surprised that you kept this for so long, and I appreciate that you gave it back. Granted, I technically still have them on MyStable since you posted everything, but I appreciate the thought. I'm trying to be less mean either way for Octavia's sake, but even so, I think this has earned you a real chance to prove yourself."

"That's all I ask for," Sunset Shimmer says with a hopeful smile before I continue.

"But I'm warning you Sunset Shimmer; I can't guarantee that there's a chance that we can be friends again. Even if you prove to me that you changed, too much damage has been done, and much has happened since the Spring Fling. I'm with Octavia, and while you're embracing magic with the Rainbooms, I'm in a group where people are afraid of magic like me. I don't know how things are going to turn out between the Rainbooms and the E.M.R., but I think I can say things probably will never be the way they were before."

"Understood," she says. I smile politely before she adds with a smirk, "At least we can have a less awkward conversation than the one Octavia made us have the day after the trial."

I snicker at that last comment.

"Yeah, that was pretty uncomfortable. I appreciate that she's trying to help us make up and all, but what did she hope to accomplish by doing that on the spot? It's as awkward as...as..."

"Forcing two dogs who are fighting to apologize by licking each other in the muzzle."

We look at each other for a moment before we burst into laughter.

"H-how in the world did you come up with that? " I manage to say in mid-laughter.

"I saw a little girl do that once to her two dogs at the park, " Sunset Simmer explains while holding her gut. "The dogs were fighting, and she just grabbed them by the muzzles, forced them to be so close together that they were touching noses and said 'apologize!' and the dogs had to lick each other so she would let them go reluctantly. It's was the weirdest yet cutest thing I've ever seen."

Again we roar with laughter until tears start to come out of my eyes. Eventually, the laughter died down, and we sigh in relief.

"Well, I'm glad we can have this talk," Sunset Shimmer says.

"Yeah, I guess I am too," I say. "Though I imagine Octavia would not be a fan of making fun of my forced apology."

"I most certainly am not."

I freeze for a moment before I reluctantly turn my head to see Octavia standing behind me with her arms crossed and her face looking unamused.

"Uh... hi, deary," I say nervously. "How long have you been done with calling your mom?"

"Long enough to know how you feel about me helping you apologize to Sunset Shimmer," She says bluntly.

"Uh...did you hear the part where I said I appreciate what you're doing?" I ask with an uneasy chuckle.

"I think I might have missed that part out." She replies. I turn and look at Sunset Shimmer, who is covering her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Little help?" I ask.

Sunset Shimmer scratches her chin, pretending she's thinking before she responds, "You know what? I don't think I'm going to interfere. This is a boyfriend and girlfriend dispute, and - oh, what do you know? We're not even friends, so I'm not really obligated to help."

"What?!" I exclaim. "You back me up here righ - ow! Ow! owie! Owie! ow!"

Octavia grabs me by both of my ears before she announces, "Come, darling, we're leaving," before she twists them and drags me away as I whimper in pain. I take one last look at Sunset Shimmer, who is still trying hard not to laugh.

"I'll get you for this Sunset Nicole Shimmer!" I exclaim while shaking my fist in the air.

"I'm sure I will Rough Muriel Draft," Sunset Shimmer replies while snickering.

"Hey, you promised (ow!) you would never speak of my middle name!"

"Well, I was evil back then, and I might have crossed my fingers, so it didn't count!"

"Oh man, you have (ow!) so much much to answer for Sunset (ow, stop pulling!) Shimmer!"

Octavia continues to yank me by both of my ears until we are a couple of blocks away from the school. She lets go of my ears, and I start rubbing them, trying to soften the pain.

"You know I mean it when I say I appreciate you're trying to help me be a better guy," I retort.

"I know," she says. "But I also don't like to be compared to a little girl playing with her dogs."

"Fair enough," I say.

We walk for a couple of minutes before Octavia speaks again.

"What's with the notebook?" She asks.

"Oh yeah, Sunset Shimmer gave it to me. It's the one that she took after the Spring Fling," I answer.

"Wait, the one she used to make you a laughing stock at you? I didn't know she kept it around," Octavia says.

"Neither did I," I say. "She said she kept it as a memento, and she considers me her first friend even though she didn't act like it back then."

Octavia smiles.

"See, darling? She's not the same girl you knew back then," she says.

"Well, I'm not ready to go that far completely," I say. "but this is a good start."

"Well, I'm glad you're becoming more comfortable to talk to her - making fun of me put aside," Octavia says pleased. "Plus, I would like to see what stories you wrote back then."

"Uh, yeah, that's not gonna happen," I state. "I'd rather not show you stories that are corny and overly simple like the one I showed you before we started dating."

"Aw, come on, Rough Draft. Don't deny your girlfriend her wish to see your work. I promise I won't laugh this time."

"You will try, but you probably won't succeed."

Octavia huffs before an idea comes to her mind, and she whispers in my ear, "We can make out later."

I blush at her words before I take a deep breath and say, "Against my better judgment, no."

Octavia groans.

"Very well then, I shall have to put this into practice," She says.

"Put what in -" I begin to say before she grabs my arm tightly and gives me an adorable puppy eye pout. Just like with Pinkie Pie, I clutch at my chest, feeling a sad pain in my heart. My knees wobble, and I lost my footing, but she still holds on to my arm. I manage to say, "O-Octavia, dearie, let's talk about this." But my attempt was met with a sad whimper which - like before, made it worse.

"Alright, alright! You win! You win! You win!" I finally shout, and Octavia's pout turns to a pleased smile while still hugging my arm.

"Thank you, darling," she says innocently.

"Yeah, yeah yeah," I grumble. "Seriously though you can do that too? I thought that was something only Pinkie Pie or Applejack's sister and her friends can do."

"Really? I didn't know Pinkie Pie can do it," Octavia says. "It's just something I picked up from my mother. She pulls it on my father all the time."

"She gives him a sad pout to practically force him to her way?" I ask, bewildered.

"That's basically how she told him to marry her... at least I assume it is without having asked them yet," Octavia says. "The point is she taught me how to use it, and now I can do the same to you."

"Wow. You're kinda cruel today," I say.

"Oh hush, you like me way too much to do anything about it," She says while still hugging my arm.

I make an uneasy chuckle in response. She's right that I can't bring myself to do anything about it, but I can't help but feel sure I more than like her. I hate to admit that Sunset Shimmer made a strong point about how quick I am to judge about love, but it's hard to be patient.

"So..." Octavia began suddenly snapping me out of my thoughts. "Your middle name is Muriel, huh?"

I frown at her question before I grumble, "It's a family name, and that's all I'm going to say."

Octavia laughs at my response.

"Oh, my darling Rough Draft," She says before she gives me a sympathetic kiss on the cheek, and I smile at her appreciatively before we continue walking to visit Sonata in silence.