Boss Stage (Sunset)

 

The girls all winced at the frustrated cry and looked between each other. Fluttershy ducked her head and looked toward the exit. “...maybe we should just let her­—”

 

A harsh crash echoed from inside Sunset’s apartment, eliciting another wince from the girls. “Definitely don’t sound like things are going well in there,” Applejack said as she tentatively took her hand off of the knob.

 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “She could’ve at least answered her phone. We were supposed to meet at the mall hours ago.”

 

Twilight let out a tired sigh. “You know how it gets when a new game like this comes out… though I don’t think it’s ever been this bad.”

 

Another ferocious growl emanated through the door, followed by a series of grunts and words that would be better off not repeated. 

 

“Well, I think someone ought to snap her out of it before it gets too… out of hand?” Rarity said. “Wouldn’t you say, Pinkie. Uh, Pinkie?” she asked, having to give her a few waves to break those blue eyes out of their trance.

 

“Huh? What are we doing?”

 

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Seeing if Sunset’s alright?”

 

“Oh, I thought we came over to practice our war cries. Sunset’s already doing great!”

 

Rainbow shook her head before shoving her way through the door. “Ugh, let’s just go in already.”

 

The door opened and the girls apprehensively piled in just in time for Sunset to let out another mighty roar of frustration. “That stupid spear attack! I swear if you just stopped for half a—”

 

“Hey, we texted you like a—” Rainbow started.

 

“WHAT!?” Sunset shouted back with a glare that shot the fear of eternity straight through Rainbow, freezing her in her tracks and making her take a step back like she might get attacked. Sunset blinked a few times before realizing she wasn’t facing another enemy. “Oh… sorry girls,” she said as she laid the controller down. “Didn’t see you come in.”

 

“Yeah, y’all seem pretty into this one,” Applejack said, giving an amused glance around the chaos that built up around Sunset’s chair. The furniture was all moved slightly from a previous frustrated force, snacks and drinks were strewn haphazardly around the floor, and there was a controller near the TV that was in way more pieces than it needed to be to function.

 

“I’ll say,” Twilight started “You’ve been at this since we got off for the weekend! You said you were close to beating the game on Thursday.”

 

Sunset cocked her head with confusion. “What do you mean? It’s only been a few hours.”

 

Rarity pulled back one of Sunset’s massive curtains. “Darling, it’s Saturday evening.”

 

All Sunset could do in response was blink. “Oh… [i]oh.[/i]“ She collapsed back on the couch, suddenly realizing how tired she actually was. “It’s this stupid boss. I’m so close to beating the game and I know if I can just dodge this stupid attack,” she said, picking up the controller again.

 

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Did you ask for help online again only for someone to tell you that you sucked, and now you’re obsessively trying to win out of spite?”

 

Sunset blinked, then looked away. “...no.”

 

Rainbow giggled at her phone. “Her stream is on. The title for this one is ‘Proving I can beat the final boss easily’ and the easily is in all caps,” she said as she passed the phone to Applejack to share the chuckle.

 

“Ugh, okay fine, yes. But I can totally do it! I’ve gotten to the last stage like 20 times and messed up right at the end. If I can just…” Sunset started, gripping her fists together and closing her eyes tightly as she tried to channel her rage.

 

Pinkie slinked over the back of the couch upside down beside Sunset. “You know, video games are supposed to be fun! I’m not sure you’re still having fun with this one. Why not play something else?”

 

“Pinkie, you don’t understand. This isn’t about fun anymore.” Sunset narrowed her eyes. “This is about [i]victory.[/i]”

 

“And proving internet strangers wrong?” Twilight asked.

 

Sunset nodded. “And proving internet strangers wrong. Look, I know I can do it. Just a few more attempts.”

 

Twilight took a seat beside her friend and adopted a hopeful smile. “Well, why don’t we try to help? Surely it’d be easier if we’re all looking for solutions,” she said as she reached her back pocket to pull out a notepad, flipping it open with one hand and giving an eager click of her pen with the other.

 

Sunset let out a weak laugh. “At this point, I’d be open to anything.”

 

Rainbow put on a cocky grin and grabbed the controller for herself. “Alright, alright. I’ll show you guys how it’s done. Watch and learn.” Rainbow plopped herself down on the floor and started the game back up, sticking her tongue out with her usual determination.

 

“This oughta be good,” Applejack said as she sat down in a nearby chair.

 

“See, the trick with these games is that you just have to be faster than the enemies can keep up with. They can’t hit what they can’t catch and before they know it, BAM! they’re dead. Watch.” Rainbow confidently clicks on the controller, guiding the character right up to the boss before haphazardly wailing on him with as many different button presses as possible, then as the boss goes to counter, Rainbow dodges out of the way only to run right back up afterwards to start the same process.

 

“I told you, all you have to—” With two slashes, the game over screen painted the TV, leaving Rainbow’s mouth agape and Applejack chuckling.

 

“Bam, looks like you’re dead,” Applejack shot back. “Give it here,” she said with a casual hand wave. Rainbow shook her head and tossed her friend the controller.

 

“He got lucky! I didn’t have time to dodge!” Rainbow said, throwing her arms ahead of her and looking back to the girls. “It totally worked at first.”

 

Sunset rubbed her eyes. “Everything works at first. There are four stages to this boss battle and it has to keep working the whole time through every different attack,” she said, the frustration building up in her voice again. Twilight looked between the screen and her notepad before going back to scribbling again.

 

Applejack just shook her head. “See, y’all are nothing but a bull in a china shop. No thinking, no strategy, just rushing in blind. What you gotta do is time your attacks. Wait for your moment then hit ‘em with your best stuff. Let me show [i]you [/i]how it’s done”

 

The character started off towards the boss yet again, this time staying back and waiting as the attacks started coming in. Applejack took a few hits, but took her time and then finally when she found an opening, hit the boss with the heaviest attack she could. Everyone’s face lit up when they saw the boss crumple for a moment as his health bar went down. The excitement on Applejack’s face pushed her into another heavy attack, expecting the stun to lead her to victory, only to be met with a counter-attack and another swift death. 

 

“Oh, consarnit.”

 

“Ha! See? Your way didn’t work either,” Rainbow declared triumphantly.

 

Fluttershy leaned forward from her position on the couch. “Um, she did last longer and do more damage.”

 

Rainbow crossed her arms in a huff. “Whatever.”

 

A demure hand extended over to Applejack, leading up to Rarity’s expecting face. Applejack handed the controller over before starting her own indignant stare.

 

“They say fighting is little more than a dance. The winner will always be the one with the most grace and poise within their moves. A practiced elegance in proper rhythm will always win out over brute strength in these dances, and I have taken enough dance classes to know.”

 

“Oh! Have you ever been to any fighting classes?” Pinkie asked, turning over from her position on the couch.

 

“Well, no,” Rarity said with a wave of her hand.

 

“Oh, have you ever been in any fighting dance classes?”

 

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I don’t think there’s even such a thing.”

 

“Oh, well, have you ever been in a fight?” Pinkie asked, slowly deflating.

 

“Oh, heavens no. A lady does not debase herself to such dreadful quarrels.”

 

“Wait, then how do you know it’d work?” Pinkie asked, her perplexed expression shared by Sunset and Fluttershy.

 

Rarity shook her head. “These kinds of talents transfer to a great many things, darling. Let me show you.”

 

Instead of the usual start, Rarity made her way through the menu to look through all the moves and pick out the ones she thought would be most graceful. Once her character was prepared, she set the controller down on her lap and closed her eyes.

 

“What the heck are you doing?” Rainbow cut in. “You’re supposed to be playing a game, remember?”

 

“I am finding my center, dear. It is an integral part of overcoming any challenge. First, you must breathe deeply to calm the mind, then, you must visualize your success and reaffirm your confidence. I am a lioness on the hunt, and nothing will stand in my way to victory.”

 

Applejack couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “What a load of malarky. In all that time you could’a just been playing the game y’know.”

 

“Do not doubt my methods,” Rarity said, accentuated by putting a finger up. “You need only witness the results.”

 

Finally, Rarity made her way into battle. With her aforementioned elegance and poise, she did a great many flips and strikes, timing deflections and counterattacks with precision and grace, making it past the first stage to the surprise of everyone. As she went back in to continue her strategy, the boss broke out his power moves, going right through Rarity’s attempts to block and quickly ending her elegant dance.

 

Rarity couldn’t help but blink in surprise. “B-but that’s not fair. There shouldn’t be attacks you can’t block!”

 

Sunset slumped down in her seat, relating to Rarity’s defeated expression considering the countless amount of times she shared the experience. “Each stage introduces a bunch of new attacks and a lot of them you can’t even dodge. You have to do the special counters, but if you hit them you can get in a lot more damage.”

 

“Ugh, what kind of game rewards such brutish strength?” Rarity said, passing the controller over to Twilight who just passed it along again to Sunset before going back to her notes.

 

“Most of ‘em, I reckon,” Applejack said with an amused grin.

 

“Well then most of them are doing it wrong,” Rarity replied, turning her nose up.

 

Sunset let out a tired sigh. “Want to try Fluttershy?”

 

“Oh, I don’t think I’d be any good. I don’t want to mess up your progress or anything,” she said, settling her hands between her knees and looking away.

 

Sunset let out a laugh. “Fluttershy, I think I’ve died over a thousand times at this point. It’s not gonna hurt anything to try one more time.”

 

Her yellow hands tentatively grasped the controller. “Well, I guess I could give it a shot. Usually with these kinds of games I just run and wait for the problem to go away.’

 

Rainbow Dash raised an amused eyebrow. “Uh, you know you actually have to fight in these games, right?”

 

Sunset held up a hand to Rainbow, remembering how scarily good Fluttershy was at the stealth games they tried. “Why don’t we just try it your way and see? You never know, right?”

 

Fluttershy gave a timid nod before going into the menu herself and looking through all the skills and tools. After some consideration, she equipped a fancy metal shield and made her way into battle.

 

“Huh, I forgot I had that thing,” Sunset said, perking up in her seat.

 

Fluttershy smiled. “When things get too hard or you don’t think you can handle something, it’s always nice to fall back on something that can give you some breathing room.”

 

Sunset watched intently as Fluttershy made her way into battle. The boss started with his usual intensity of attacks, but instead of doing her best to meet them, Fluttershy fled the scene until she didn’t have to worry about the worst of it any longer, rushing back in for a quick attack in the final moments after a slash. To everyone’s surprise, the hit-and-run tactics took Fluttershy through the first phase, and then again through the second, all the while the timid girl would yelp and whimper every time she thought she might get hit as she ran away. Any time Fluttershy knew she couldn’t get away from a powerful attack she pressed the button for the shield for dear life, surprisingly avoiding the worst of the damage with a resounding clang before going back to her strategy.

 

Everyone watched with bated breath as the third phase started. Attacks rained down on Fluttershy but she continued to weather the storm, but unfortunately for her, with every clang of the shield, her uses of it dwindled until finally she couldn’t use it anymore. With the boss having greater speed and agility with each stage, it wasn’t long until Fluttershy got chased down and her attempt ended with a sickening slash and the boss repeating its triumphant line yet again.

 

Fluttershy pursed her lips and looked toward the ground. “I told you I wouldn’t be any good,” she said in a defeated tone.

 

Sunset couldn’t help but stare in bewilderment. “What do you mean? You did the best out of everyone!”

 

“I guess so, but I don’t think I could get to the end like this.”

 

Twilight clicked her pen. “Even though her strategy so far has the best results at three stages and seven minutes and twenty-six seconds of survival time, the given uses for the shield aren’t sufficient to last through more than nine minutes if used optimally, and damage couldn’t be inflicted fast enough to keep that pace.”

 

Pinkie plucked the controller out of Fluttershy’s hands, standing up to full height and triumphantly holding it out in front of her. “I’ve got it! The best method!”

 

Twilight cocked her head. “You do?”

 

“Yes, miss smarty pants,” she said with a giggle and a boop of Twilight’s nose. “We just have to reach the next level!”

 

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie… you have to beat the boss to make progress in the game.”

 

“No no no. I don’t mean in the game, silly! I mean [i]here[/i],” she said, getting uncomfortably close to Sunset and pressing her finger to her forehead. “With three bottles of hot sauce, nine buffalo wing cupcakes, and about fifty energy drinks, you reach the next level of brain power and can basically do anything.”

 

Twilight’s gaze hardened as she blinked in surprise. “F-fifty…? Pinkie, that’s a lethal dose of caffeine! No one should be drinking even a fraction of that!”

 

“Oh, really? I had twelve on the way over here and feel fine.”

 

Rarity looks over with a surprised gaze. “Now that certainly explains a lot.”

 

“Your organs are going to start deteriorating! You shouldn’t even be drinking one of those a day let alone twelve!” Twilight started, getting more and more exasperated with each word.

 

“Relax, Twilight. I only get into [i]the next level…” [/i]she punctuated by placing her finger on Sunset’s forehead in the exact same uncomfortable position before snapping right back. “...once a month at most. Besides, I only have…”  The gang watched in awe as Pinkie pulled a full-sized bowl, a mixing spoon, three energy drink shots, two cupcakes topped with chicken wings, and a bottle of hot sauce out of her hair “...this much on me right now.”

 

Twilight was almost in a panic as she watched every ingredient plop down into the bowl. “Pinkie, please. Do not put any of that into your body,” she begged as Pinkie proceeded to mix everything together into a foul, puke-colored sludge that made everyone looking lean back in disgust or gag.

 

With no other thoughts behind her blue eyes, Pinkie downed the whole mixture like she was chugging a soda, then wiped her mouth of the orange mush and sat back down, much to Twilight’s dismay. She grabbed the controller off the couch then leaned forward with newfound determination and Sunset could have sworn she was vibrating slightly and radiating heat like an overworked engine.

 

“Also, the most important part of playing any game is having fun!” Pinkie said, her words coming out faster with every one. She then proceeded to try anything and everything possible in the game at breakneck speeds, jumping off of walls, doing random attacks, trying random tools, and running around in circles at speeds Sunset didn’t even think was possible within the game. After a staggeringly short amount of time of trying literally everything the game had to offer with its moves, Pinkie rushed into the boss fight and proceeded to do the most incomprehensible set of combos and moves Sunset had seen in any game.

 

“See? You just have to have fun!”

 

Pinkie focused on the moves that had the flashiest explosions or most enjoyable flips, tapping the buttons at speeds the game couldn’t even keep up with. As Sunset watched the insane display, she leaned back and waited for it to inevitably end in disaster, but instead of a quick defeat, Pinkie sped through the first three stages like the boss was a common enemy, never even leaving him enough time to get his attacks off before Pinkie started her onslaught yet again. Before anyone could properly comprehend what was going on, Pinkie was on the final stage of the boss and the girls all finally witnessed the most powerful attacks he had in store. Pinkie deftly handled all of them, but not without getting grazed one too many times, leaving her at a sliver of health as the boss finally got worn down to the same.

 

“Just one more…” Sunset whispered, her entire body tense as she yearned to see that final blow.

 

Four shots exploded across the screen, hitting Pinkie and prompting yet another game over screen.

 

“Wait, what?!” Rainbow shouted at the screen. “Isn’t this like a sword fighting game? Why does he have a gun?!”

 

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Yeah… a weapon of that capacity wouldn’t be invented for another one hundred and fifty years, and wouldn’t be available on that scale practically for another one hundred and fifty after that.”

 

“Believe me, I know. It was just as unfair when it killed me the first time too,” Sunset said, staring at the final boss with ire in her eyes. The displeasure quickly shifted to excitement as she looked at the fading health bar though. “But you almost got to the end, Pinkie. If you gave it one more shot you could—”

 

Quiet snoring emanated from Pinkie’s mouth as she slowly sank into the couch, completely oblivious to Sunset’s hand on her arm or any of the noise around her. “Uh, Pinkie?” Sunset asked, giving her friend a shake. Despite the movement, Pinkie remained firmly unconscious.

 

Twilight got up from her seat with a worried expression. “Should we… call an ambulance?”

 

Fluttershy leaned over with a nearby blanket in hand. “She’ll be okay. This is a pretty normal Saturday night for her.” The rest of the girls nodded, leaving Twilight to apprehensively sit back down.

 

Sunset let out a defeated sigh. “We were this close…” she said, shaking her head.

 

Twilight leaned over and picked up the controller this time. “Well, I’m not great at video games, but I have been taking extensive notes. I’ve categorized each attack and determined the best counterattack for each. Now that I’ve seen each phase I can accurately predict both the safest and most effective methods for getting through each. I’ll need more time with the recording for exact frame data for each move, but I think I’ve got an accurate enough approximation for our needs. What do you think, Sunset?” she asked, handing her notebook over. The endless pages of calculations, lists, scattered notes, and diagrams did little more than make Sunset’s fatigued brain pop and fizzle as she tried to make sense of it.

 

“Uh, looks great. Focusing on the attack patterns and most efficient moves is probably a good idea.”

 

“Now, let's put it into practice. Alright, he starts with attack one b, then typically follows with pattern 9. If I can just…”

 

Twilight slowly and methodically dodged and attacked around every pattern, doing her best to inflict damage and use all her tools at the best opportunities. The gameplay was admittedly, rather boring to watch, but after she got past the second stage Sunset had to say it was surprisingly effective. Each attack and counter typically came in at the right times, but Sunset couldn’t help but grind her teeth and clench her fists as she watched Twilight’s lackluster reaction time and lack of nerve after each hit get her health lower and lower. Finally, after getting to the last stage, Twilight’s healing items ran out and her deflection came a second too late to save her.

 

“Oh… but I did everything right!” Twilight said, pursing her lips in frustration.

 

Sunset put a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You did really good, Twi. You might just have to practice a few other things outside of taking notes for this one.”

 

Twilight lifted the controller back over. “Well, you know this fight better than all of us. Maybe you just needed a break before everything finally came together.”

 

“You know what? I think you’re right.” Sunset grabbed the controller and leaned towards the screen, determination overtaking her tired eyes. “Let's do this!”

 

Sunset ran her character back up towards the boss, putting every ounce of effort she had into beating him this time.

 

“C’mon! Speed’ll get him!” Rainbow shouted.

 

“No, wait for an opening and go all in!” Applejack replied.

 

“Grace and poise is all you need.”

 

“Um, you might want to jump away from that, if you want…” Fluttershy suggested.

 

“Wait, that’s attack pattern 3, variation 2, for that one you have to block the third strike.”

 

All her friends did their best to put in their input, and with each stage Sunset’s confidence grew, but at the same time her healing items dwindled until finally another game over screen, and then another, and another. Each time she made a little more progress, and then messed up sooner on the next attempt. In her desperation she even looked over to Pinkie’s bowl, considering scraping some of the sludge off of the sides just in case it did actually work. Sunset lost count after the twelfth death and stood up off of the couch with yet another frustrated groan. She did her best to keep the worst of her frustration at bay, but the lack of sleep and the constant defeat wore her down until she couldn’t help but toss her controller back at the couch and storm to the other side of the room.

 

“Why am I still playing this game?! Agh!” She yelled.

 

Twilight put on her best supportive expression. “Hey, you got this far, right? As long as you memorize all of these patterns and study my diagrams, you can do this.”

 

“Ugh, that’s just gonna mess her up even more,” Rainbow interjected. “If you think too much about this kind of thing you’ll screw everything up.”

 

Applejack crossed her arms. “Like you did when you tried?”

 

Rarity waved them both off. “You both had no class in your attempts. If she wants to win she’ll have to treat it like a dance.”

 

“Um, you did get hit a lot, Rarity,” Fluttershy cut in.

 

“No more applesauce!” Pinkie interjected with an ear-piercing cry before immediately passing out again.

 

“Girls, we just have to break it down into recognizable patterns with optimal responses, all it’s going to take is a few more hours of study.”

 

Sunset rubbed her temples as her friends argued for the best strategy. Her heart sank as she watched them go at it with each other, wishing she’d forgotten about the game and just gone to the mall with them or something. As the frustration faded and regret took its place, Pinkie’s words popped up in her mind. She stopped having fun a long time ago, and looking at all the angered expressions on her friends’ faces, it looks like they did too.

 

“Hey, guys?” Sunset’s defeated tone broke through the argument, bringing an end to the bickering as everyone looked over to her. “Maybe we should just play another game. I think I’m over trying to beat this one. I’d rather us just have fun.”

 

“What are you talking about, this has been a ton of fun,” Rainbow said with a newfound smile on her face. “Way better than watching Rarity and Fluttershy try on clothes at the mall.’”

 

“You can say that again,” Applejack added, earning a snooty huff from Rarity. “And besides. Y’all can’t quit now, you almost had him last time.”

 

“So, you guys arent frustrated or angry or anything? Doesn't seem like we're having a good time anymore," Sunset said, a bit perplexed.

 

Fluttershy nodded. “As long as we’re together it usually doesn’t matter what we do. The time we share is what's special."

 

“I wouldn’t say it doesn’t matter, some of the activities picked by present parties have been, well, less than ideal for keeping the mud off of our dresses,” Rarity said, shooting a glance at Applejack. “But this is far from the worst, dear.”

 

Applejack walked over to Sunset and put an arm around her. “Come on. Y’all can’t quit now. We gotta see you beat this guy using [i]my[/i] strategy.”

 

Twilight groaned as the pair sat back down. “If we’re going to be picking strategies based on performance, we shouldn’t be picking the ones that underperformed.”

 

“Well, maybe slow, steady, and heavy just needed a few more tries. Got that hypothesis in your notes, Twi?” Applejack shot back.

 

“Guys!” Sunset shot a glare at both of them, doing her best to keep her frustration at bay while her internal thought process tried to sort through what really was the best strategy. She sat for a moment, looking down at the controller as she thought over everything she saw tonight. “Maybe… maybe you’re all right?”

 

All the girls turned to Sunset in confusion this time. Rarity let her hand flow back to rest on her chest to break the silence. “Darling, I don’t know that our methods are particularly compatible.”

 

“Maybe not all at once, but everyone had something that worked, even if it was for a little while. Maybe if I…”

 

Applejack settled into her chair. “Well, let's see it, Sunset. I figure whatever you got cooking up now might be onto something.”

 

Sunset took in a deep breath, doing her best to calm the frustration in her tired mind. A few more calming breaths in and she finally whispered “I am a lioness on the hunt.”

 

Rarity gave the rest of the girls a triumphant smile before looking back to see Sunset rushing in as fast as she could, dashing right up to the boss and getting in as many attacks as she could on his back in the opening window. Twilight and Fluttershy looked on nervously, but before the first attack could land, Sunset deftly deflected it and every following attack, waiting for the perfect opening before finally landing a heavy combo to tear down the boss’ health bar. Instead of the usual frustration, a smile crept onto Sunset’s face as she dodged out of the way of another attack and went in to use a move she’d been enjoying the whole game but was too scared to use now.

 

The stress left Sunset’s shoulders as she relaxed into her pose. In her mind she finally let go of the need to beat the game here and now, deciding to have fun even if she failed. The smile on her lips didn’t stop her from keeping an eye on every move the boss made though. She carefully studied the flashes of the blades, remembering the attack patterns from Twilight’s notes and dashing over to inflict the most damage with the optimal response. With the transition to the last phase, the worst of the attacks came pouring in. Sunset took several hits, eliciting nervous glances from her friends and making her stomach sink as another game over drew near. Instead of getting frustrated, she took another deep breath and pressed the button for her shield, ensuring the blow that might’ve been the end of her didn’t hit its mark. She deftly escaped for another heal before going back into land her blows gracefully and deliberately when the opportunity arose.

 

The boss' final health bar dwindled, but Sunset was just as on the ropes. They traded their heaviest blows with each other and all the girls looked on with bated breath and tense expressions that worsened with each clang of the swords. With the final slivers of health deciding the victor, the boss flew into the air to unleash one of his most powerful attacks. All the girls gasped as it looked like Sunset had missed the window to throw that power right back at him, but with a quick leap and a special move, Sunset dodged out of the way and swung back to land the final blow into the special animation that sent the boss to his knees, giving Sunset the well-deserved win.

 

The girls all shot up out of their seats and jumped for joy as they cheered at the victory. Every fiber of Sunset’s being screamed into her apartment a war cry of epic proportions that undoubtedly would have the neighbors sending complaints tomorrow, but she didn’t care. All those hours paid off and she could finally say she bested the hardest challenge she’d ever faced.

 

“Take that, Haterpro4662!” she shouted into the headset microphone sitting on the floor before shutting off her stream and going right back to cheering. The girls slowly transitioned to laughing at the display between telling Sunset how well she did.

 

“That, was pretty awesome,” Rainbow Dash said.

 

Rarity smiled. “I do have to admit, the display was very… ‘radical’ as they say.”

 

“I’ll say!” Pinkie said as she raised herself from the dead and stretched her arms around the girls. “Come on, bring it in.”

 

They all settled into a group hug, save for Pinkie who slumped down to the floor the second her brain realized it’d basically been temporarily jumpstarted by the celebration and went back to being unconscious.

 

Sunset squeezed her friends tightly. “I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thank you.” Her heart warmed up and her gut filled with those wonderful fuzzy feelings. She reveled in the sensation of her friends tightening their hug around her too. The entirety of the frustration and anger of the day melted away as she snuggled into the sweetest victory of her whole life. Better than being the prom queen, better than stealing the crown out of Equestria, and better than taking down all the nasty villains they ever fought. Sunset’s smile grew from ear to ear as she realized the greatest win of her life was currently bundled up in her arms and figured more than twenty-four hours without sleep and a few broken controllers were worth that lovely reminder. Though of course as soon as those fuzzy feelings dropped from their high, another feeling demanded some immediate attention.

 

“What a night,” Twilight said through her own massive grin. “So, what should we do now?”

 

The girls slowly released their hug, resulting in a dull thud on the rug they all jumped from. They all looked down to see Sunset collapsing to take her place beside Pinkie like someone had just hit her over the head with a blunt object. The two girls snored softly on the carpet, one of which getting some much-needed rest.

 

Rarity looked between her still-conscious friends.  “I suppose that means a slumber party,” she said, earning a giggle from the rest of the girls as they moved to settle in together for the rest of the night. Despite Sunset’s unconscious state, she couldn’t help but keep a residual smile on her face as she snuggled into the blanket her friends put on her.