How the Sunset Sparkles

by Scipio Smith

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Comedy
Length: 85799

Sunset Shimmer moves to Ponyville under the supervision of Twilight Sparkle, and begins to develop feelings for the new princess. Can love triumph over distrust, wrath, ambition and Sunset's past?

Fearing the consequences of her actions in the bipedal world, Sunset Shimmer returns to Equestria and moves to Ponyville where Twilight Sparkle can keep an eye on her. Sunset Shimmer, bored and beaten, casts about for something to distract her, but soon the feelings growing inside her for Ponyville's princess can no longer be ignored. Nervously, with a little help and encouragement, Sunset begins to open her long-frozen heart to Twilight Sparkle, but when the shadows of Sunset's past threaten to destroy any chance of her happiness in the present, Sunset and Twilight may have to risk everything they have and defy cosmic forces older than Equestria in order to seize their fragile chance at happiness.

Cover art by Wadusher0

Many thanks to pre-reader The Albinocorn, but don't blame him for any errors you might find in the first chapter, because he only became pre-reader after I posted chapter 1

Published 2013-12-25 16:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-11 20:41:29 UTC

Childish Things

Chapter 2

Childish Things

Sunset Shimmer walked home from the library, her head full of plans. Her new ambitions would take a lot of work, no doubt, but she was equal to the task.

I arrived at Canterlot High with nothing and for thirty moons I dominated that place. My wits and energy are sufficient to conquer any challenge.

She was so enthused and energised by her new goal, it was almost enough to make her forget that she was going home to an empty house and another lonely evening.

As she walked down the street, Sunset vaguely noticed Applejack putting up posters for an Taylor Swiftwing concert. She didn't pay it much mind, Sunset had never been a big fan of country music.

Sunset also passed the newspaper stand, and having nothing better to do she stopped and perused what they had. She bought a paper, and then saw that they had some comics on one of the lower shelves.

"Power Ponies? That takes me back, I used to love these," Sunset murmured, levitating one of the issues off the shelf ─ seconds before Pipsqueak could grab it ─ and opening it up.

"Fili-Second's name is Windy West now?" Sunset murmured, reading the character biographies on the first page. "What the hay happened to Mare-y Allen?"

"She died more than a year ago, miss," Pipsqueak said helpfully. "You sound like you've missed out on a lot."

"Yeah, it looks that way," Sunset growled, feeling rather miffed that her Fili-Second had been gotten rid of to make way for this interloper. An interloper who, a few cursory glances through the story revealed, was absolutely nothing like Fili-Second. The real Fili-Second wasn't zany or hyperactive, she was an inspiration to superheroes across Equestria. Why did they have to get rid of her like that?

A little put out that one of her childhood shibboleths had been so cavalierly cast aside in favour of a decided change for the worse, Sunset Shimmer kept reading. She scowled when she realised that Humdrum had been replaced as well and was now a goofy idiot instead of the quick thinking rock of the team that she remembered.

Are they dumbing down for fillies and colts or something? Don't they realise that children can handle mature, competent storytelling; that they want it? I bet there are fillies and colts who don't even realise Humdrum was ever anything but an idiot.

And then she read something that really made her blood boil.

"MASKED MATTERHORN WAS REALLY A CLONE OF THIS JOKER THE ENTIRE TIME? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

Meanwhile, in the library, Twilight Sparkle looked up as an explosion of pure rage rattled the windows.

"Ah, it seems that she found out about the Clone Saga," she murmured, having had to endure Spike's reaction when that particular plot point first came to light already.

"Do you think we should do something?" Spike asked. "What if she hurts somepony?"

"Oh, I don't think she's gone bad again, she just sounds a little angry," Twilight said. "Remember how you reacted to One Mare Day?"

"Don't remind me," Spike said.

Sunset Shimmer's horn glowed with a blue aura as she incinerated the offending issue.

"THIS COMIC SUCKS," she spat. She took another issue off the rack and put it on the counter. "I'll take this one and pay for the one I just destroyed. Sorry about that. Got a little carried away."

She paid for the two issues and then stomped off home, deciding that once she got the internet up and running the first thing she'd do with it was start a blog where she could rant about how Marevel Comics were ruining her childhood to the whole country.

Hmm, this comic sucks...that might make quite a good catchphrase for reviews.

Sunset went home and made dinner for herself. She put half in the freezer, because she hadn't been taught to waste food, and there was too much for one pony to eat. After a week of doing that, however, the freezer was starting to fill up with leftovers.

I should probably start eating some of this, but it doesn't taste as nice as food made fresh. Probably because the melting ice gets in it.

As she ate her casserole, Sunset pondered where to start on her grand design. She supposed she'd have to start by building a computer. Then she could sell the idea for that and get other ponies making more while she invented things to do on the computer.

She started making sketches, and lists of what she thought she'd need, long into the night until she fell asleep on the floor.

[ hr ]

Sunset was woken by a knock on the door, a loud and insistent knocking. Bleary eyed, she could see the sun shining in through a crack in the curtains.

Late to bed and late to rise, it seems, Sunset thought, picking herself up off the floor. Bits of paper lay all around her like a nest, covered in scrawlings, scribblings, plans, designs, lists. She had even written a ten point plan for global fame at some point in the night's heady work, a list Sunset could not remember writing and became increasingly implausible as it descended from bullet point to bullet point.

"Use my vast wealth and resources to fight crime and become a great philanthropist," Sunset Shimmer murmured, reading item number eight off the list. "Yeah, that's likely. I shouldn't have bought that comic."

The knocking became even louder and twice as insistent upon answer.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming. Have a little patience, why don't you?" Sunset walked over to the door and opened it. Outside stood Twilight Sparkle, and behind her Spike teetered under the weight of a large chest.

"Good morning," Twilight said evenly. "You didn't show up at the library this morning. I was a little concerned."

"You mean you were concerned about me or that you were concerned about what I might be doing?" Sunset asked with a wry smile.

"Shall we say it was both?" Twilight replied, matching Sunset with a smile of her own, impenetrable and guarded.

Sunset let out a bark of laughter. "Sorry, Princess Twilight, I was up all night working and overslept afterward. Come inside, I'll go brush my teeth before you or Spike complain of the smell."

Sunset padded into the bathroom, leaving Twilight to close the door behind her. She didn't like brushing her teeth before breakfast ─ she was always left with a lot of sticky stuff lining the inside of her mouth and bugging her, and anything she drank afterwards would have a funny after taste ─ but she wasn't going to have Twilight Sparkle interview her with stale breath. She may have been a villain, but she wasn't a bum.

"What are you working on?" Twilight Sparkle asked from the dining room.

Sunset Shimmer spat into the sink. "I've found something to occupy myself. I'm going to bring Equestria into the information age."

"The what now?"

Sunset Shimmer came back into the dining room. "You know when we were in that other world, they were a lot more advanced than us in a lot ways. The horseless carriage that took you to the Fall Formal, that didn't produce steam or require rails to run on, we can't produce anything on that level yet."

"Well, actually, I did see something that moved without rails once," Twilight Sparkle said. "It doubled as a cider press."

A look of disbelief crossed Sunset's face. "Really? A cider press?"

"Yeah, it was a little weird," Twilight confirmed. "Though I admit it didn't look as nice as our limo, or Flash's car."

"Mmm," Sunset murmured. She quickly changed the subject, "Good thing I didn't decide to invent the automobile then. Anyway, the greatest achievement of the culture on the other side of the mirror is there development of computing. In every prosperous home there is now at least one computer or computing machine, each capable of storing more information than there is in your entire library. And they have this thing called the internet, which connects folks from all over the world to one another and lets them share anything they want. It's transformed their society, and I'm going to bring it here so it can transform our society as well." She finished with an excited, anticipatory grin upon her face, but became conscious of the fact that Princess Twilight was not sharing her enthusiasm. In fact she looked downright sceptical. Sunset's smile faded. "What?"

"I'm not sure I want to see Equestrian society transformed," Twilight murmured. "And that is leaving aside the fact that the things you're talking about creating are exactly the things that you used to make me look crazy in front of everyone, aren't they?"

"I didn't 'make you' look like anything," Sunset replied defensively.

"Everyone at school was laughing at me," Twilight shouted. "I looked like an idiot because of you and the video you made."

"Please remember, Princess Twilight, that not one second of that video was faked by me," Sunset Shimmer replied sharply. "Everything I showed you doing, you actually did. I just cut the footage together and put it on YouTube, but I wouldn't have had anything to work with if you hadn't provided the material."

"Like I provided the material of me destroying the gym?" Twilight asked.

Sunset Shimmer sighed. "That was completely different. And besides, you're missing the point that, as I tried to tell you yesterday, none of that was about you. It was about me and getting what I wanted."

"I'm waiting for you to convince me why I should allow this idea of yours," Twilight said. "All I can see is something which we don't need and will bring more harm and trouble than it’s worth. You might think it is one of the great achievements of that world, but I think it was one of the worst."

"Oh come on," Sunset Shimmer said, shaking her head. "How can you possibly justify a statement like that?"

"People don't talk to one another in that world," Twilight said. "You would never have been able to divide my friends in that world if they had actually spoken to one another, face to face. But they let technology, the technology you want to bring here, divide them. And you used those barriers for your own advantage."

Sunset Shimmer scoffed, "Is that what you think? Do you think this is an absurdly complex scheme to take over Equestria by getting everypony so addicted to free wi-fi that they won't notice? That's not why I'm doing this!"

"Then why are you doing this?" Twilight challenged. "Sheer altruism?"

"Because if I do this then I'll be famous, guaranteed!" Sunset yelled. "My name will resound through history, more than the name of anypony else except Celestia. I'll be the mother of a revolution in the affairs of Equestria."

"I believe that," Twilight murmured. "That is what concerns me. Is this really all about fame to you?"

"I need to do something extraordinary, I won't sink into mediocrity," Sunset Shimmer replied.

Twilight shook her head sadly. "Even now, you don't get it, do you?"

Sunset snorted. "Get what?"

"Just because you aren't 'extraordinary' doesn't make you mediocre, or worthless. Is that what you think about everypony here? About Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity? What's so wrong with being ordinary?"

Sunset smirked. "Princess, I have never, in my entire life, wished to be ordinary."

Twilight Sparkle shook her head once more, and Sunset Shimmer honestly found her conceit rather grating. It wasn't as if she was particularly ordinary herself, and to have her lecture Sunset Shimmer like she was ever so humble was a little hard to swallow.

"You know you can only go ahead with this if I allow it," Twilight said.

"But why wouldn't you?" Sunset asked. "Listen, as an example: the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Suppose they could reach out to blank flanks all over Equestria, find other ponies just like them. Their movement could span hundreds, thousands of fillies. They'd know that they weren't alone. What would the taunts of the local bully matter when they had an army of friends online."

"Online friends can never be a substitute for the real thing," Twilight Sparkle said. "You can't know anypony's heart if you've never met them. I agree that it might be a convenient way to meet others, but a friendship that stays online is worse than no friendship at all because it stops you from going out and developing real relationships."

"They are real," Sunset countered. "The emotions that can be inspired by friendship over a computer are just as valid and true as the feelings that Spike feels towards you."

"That might be so, or it might be a pretence by some wicked pony looking to take advantage of desperate ponies seeking solace," Twilight argued. "It's impossible to tell. Not to mention that on my brief visit to the other world this internet seemed capable of bringing out the very worst in the behaviour of those who lived there."

"That won't happen here," Sunset said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we're better than they are," Sunset insisted.

Twilight regarded her coolly. "Are we really?"

Sunset scowled. "You're looking at the greatest social leap in the history of pony kind and you're going to turn your back on it because you're scared."

"I'm looking out for Equestria and for everypony's best interest, that's my job as a princess," Twilight snapped.

"I see, so that's how it is now?" Sunset said, a fake smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. "Mother knows best, I see."

"I didn't mean it like that," Twilight said sharply. "You can build your computer. The information storage abilities might be beneficial. But I'm withholding judgement on everything else. You don't do anything without my permission, and if I tell you to kill it, you kill it."

Sunset's mouth tightened, but she knew that this was not a negotiation. "Okay."

Twilight nodded. "Good, I'm glad we understand each other. I didn't just come over for our daily meeting." She stepped aside, allowing Sunset to get a better view of the chest Spike had dumped on the floor. "Princess Celestia sent this: it's a box of your things that you left in Canterlot. The Princess thought you might like them back."

Sunset's eyebrows rose. She hadn't expected Princess Celestia to be so considerate. She walked over to the chest, running one hoof over the red exterior. The box had been stamped with her cutie mark, the setting sun looking slightly worn and faded now after thirty moons. In fact the whole box looked a little worn and shabby, but inviting in that special way that only slightly worn and shabby looking things can be, like an old familiar chair or a collection of oft-read books.

Her horn glowing, Sunset opened the chest to see what Celestia had sent her.

The very first thing, lying on top of the pile, carefully placed so that it was not squashed, was a stuffed bunny rabbit in a blue jersey and red bow tie. Black eyes gazed up at her, a welcoming smile upon the rabbit's face.

Sunset chuckled as she lifted it up. "Wow. Nice to see a familiar face in Equestria at last."

"Old keepsake?" Twilight asked.

"Very old," Sunset said with a smile. "I was born on Hearth's Warming Eve, this was the present I got from the hospital. I call him Bab."

"Bab?"

"I know it isn't very imaginative, but give me a break, I was really young," Sunset replied. She levitated the stuffed toy over to her face, and felt the softness of it against her cheek. He hadn't lost his cuddliness since she'd been gone.

"You're going to keep him then?" Twilight asked her.

"Yeah, of course I'm going to keep him," Sunset said, propping Bab up on the chair while she looked through the rest of the box. "Why?"

"No reason," Twilight said. Softly, she continued, "I'm going to have get Smartypants back from Big Macintosh one of these days."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Twilight said immediately.

Sunset paid it no mind, being too pre-occupied by going through the other stuff in her box. There was the clay dragon she'd made for art class, which would provide the windowsill with some much needed decoration, and a bunch of old photographs from her childhood. Some of them were nice to look at, the picture of her taken after she was born made a slow, sad smile spread across her face, but the picture of her and Princess Celestia at the Summer Sun Celebration just made her feel cold in the pit of her stomach at the memory of all she'd lost.

"Hey, Twilight Sparkle," Sunset Shimmer's voice was a little hoarse when it came. "Do you think it's our choices or our destiny that make us who we are? I mean, looking at this photo of me and the princess, do you think that there's any way I could have become you if I'd stayed on the straight and narrow. Or was I always fated to become me?"

"I don't know," Twilight confessed. "I mean, I believe that we all have a destiny, but I also believe in the power to change and reform yourself. But I thought you liked who you were?"

"I do," Sunset said defensively. "But I also wouldn't mind having some of the things you have, as you well know. You know what, forget I asked." She put the photographs to one side, not knowing whether she wanted to have them framed, put them on the wall, or put them away and not look at them again.

But the next items in the box made her grin as she took them out.

"Either of you two like Marevel comics?" she asked.

"Yeah," Spike said.

"Look at this," Sunset presented a slightly dog-eared comic proudly. "Power Ponies Number One. Before this, each of them just starred in their own solo book."

"Really?" Spike said.

"Yep, they were well-written in those days," Sunset said. "There were no clones, no replacements and Humdrum was the smartest and most competent member of the team."

Spike was practically salivating now. "Can I borrow it?"

Sunset laughed. "Maybe if you're a little nicer to me from now on, Spike."

"Aww, come on, I didn't think you were that evil."

Sunset laughed some more as she dug through the rest of the trunk. Old curios and ornaments, a few books and, at the very bottom of the chest, a handsome leather box which was, like the crate, stamped with Sunset Shimmer's cutie mark.

"Really?" Sunset murmured. "She's giving this back to me? After everything I did?"

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

Sunset levitated the leather box out of the chest, opening it up to reveal a chess board and a set of intricately carved chess pieces made of ebony and ivory.

"Princess Celestia gave me this for my last birthday before I...left," Sunset explained. "I was absolutely brilliant at chess, best game ever. I could have beaten anyone in the high school chess club if it wouldn't have ruined my reputation." She held up a couple of the pieces with her magic and examined them. The knights looked like Commander Hurricane, the wizards like Clover the Clever and the princesses like Princess Platinum. They were so detailed you could practically see the pupils of their eyes.

"Princess Celestia gave that to you, as a birthday present," Twilight murmured.

"Yeah," Sunset confirmed. "Why, didn't she get you any birthday presents?" Sunset smiled slyly.

"Of course she did," Twilight replied loudly. "My last birthday before I left for Ponyville, she gave me my telescope."

"Oh, okay." Sunset nodded her head, still smiling. "Was it a good telescope?"

"An excellent one," Twilight said primly.

"Ooooh, excellent, okay then." Sunset and Twilight stared at one another for a moment, each looking equally proud. Then Sunset started to giggle like a filly.

"What's so funny?" Twilight demanded.

"The two of us, comparing the length of our horns like this," Sunset said. "Arguing over which of us Princess Celestia liked better."

Twilight chuckled. "I guess it is pretty silly."

"Especially since there's no real contest, is there?" Sunset asked.

"Well, um," Twilight murmured.

"Don't be ashamed of it, for sunlight's sake," Sunset said. "You won, I lost, there's an end to it. And I'm sure it is a very good telescope."

"Yes it is," Twilight said emphatically. "Though that is a nice looking chess set."

"Thanks," Sunset said. "Do you play?"

"Of course."

"Well, sit down then." Sunset set the board upon the floor and began to set up the pieces. "You can be white. That seems appropriate doesn't it?"

Twilight sighed at that, but sat down on the other side of the board. Her horn glowed as she started with the king pawn. Sunset moved the princess' knight pawn, and then Twilight moved her princess out.

"Starting with the princess," Sunset murmured. "Interesting."

"If the princess isn't willing to lead, why should anypony follow her?" asked Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Yes, I should have guessed you'd think like that," Sunset said, as she and Twilight both made their moves. "After all, that was how you did it the last time we played."

"We've never played this game before."

"Oh, but we have," Sunset said. "On the other side of the mirror, surely you haven't forgotten."

Twilight frowned. "We weren't playing a game then."

"Of course we were," Sunset replied, beaming. "We were playing a much grander game. True, the game board was a bit irregularly sized, and we used real people instead of pieces, but other than that..."

"You used people like playing pieces, I didn't," Twilight said firmly.

"Really?" Sunset raised one eyebrow inquisitively. "You don't mean to tell me that you cared about the doubles of your Ponyville friends on the other side of the mirror as much as you cared about the real thing."

"Yes, I did."

"Oh, please, nopony is that nice," Sunset snapped. "Neither of us cared about that other world, we just used it and the people in it to further our goals in Equestria."

"That isn't true!"

"Of course it is! What was it you told them: if you'll follow me, we'll put our differences aside? Oh, you led them all right. You led them right up until you didn't need them any more and then you came straight back to your real friends."

"What was I supposed to do?" Twilight demanded.

"Oh, I'm not judging you, Princess, far from it, I agree with everything you did. I would just like you to be honest and admit that we are not so different, I think it would help our relationship move forward," Sunset Shimmer answered calmly, a hint of smugness entering her voice. "We both used the inhabitants of that world like pawns, the only difference is that I used lies, blackmail and manipulation while you used inspirational songs and montages. But white or black a pawn is still a pawn."

"You're wrong," Twilight shouted, slamming her princess down into the board. "And that's checkmate."

Sunset looked down, and blinked. While she had been intent on flustering Twilight, she had indeed allowed her king to get boxed in without an escape route. What was more, apart from the princess the other pieces Twilight had used to entrap her were all pawns.

Sunset looked up. "Well done."

Twilight didn't reply, simply getting up and turning to leave without a word. Spike scurried after her, and Twilight used her magic to slam the door on her way out.

Sunset looked back down at the board. Her own side, the black, had lost all but one of its pawns by the end of the game, she had spent them frivolously in order to lure Twilight's more important pieces into traps. But, while Twilight had lost most of her knights, rooks and wizards, her pawn contingent was absolutely intact. And she had used them to win the gain while Sunset disdained them.

"You always did make better of use of pawns than I did," Sunset muttered to herself.

Author's Note

I'm sure you can all spot the pony-puns littered throughout this chapter.

And That is Why

Chapter 3

And That is Why

Sunset got up and yawned. It was the end of today's interview with Twilight, and she was keen to get going.

"Well, if that's everything sorted, Twilight Sparkle, I'm gonna go back home and─"

"No," Twilight said.

Sunset blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Twilight regarded her evenly, her expression inscrutable. Spike, standing by her side, looked torn between worry and triumph. Twilight closed the book lying open before, the book in which she recorded the details of her interviews with Sunset Shimmer, and probably their other interactions too.

"I don't think that you shutting yourself up in that house all day is doing your attitude any favours," Twilight said firmly. "You don't just have to keep out of trouble, you're also supposed to be changing your ways and so far I'm not seeing much evidence of that. You still look down on other ponies, desire to be seen as better than other ponies around you and have no feeling for anypony but yourself."

"That isn't true," Sunset protested. "I...don't hate having to meet you every day. In some ways I kind of look forward to it."

Twilight's expression did not alter. She continued, "I've arranged for you to spend the morning helping my friend Rarity with her stock taking at Carousel Boutique, and in the afternoon you'll be working for Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner."

"What?" Sunset whined. "But I have my own stuff to work on! I was going to start gathering raw materials today."

"Tough," Twilight said, her voice not unpleasant but not exactly sympathetic either. "Frankly, Sunset Shimmer, I think you should have stayed in that other world and made amends for the things you did there─"

"They would have killed me!"

"You're being melodramatic," Twilight replied. "Since you are here, I have no intention of letting you continue with the same attitudes that you led to you to become so dangerous in that world."

Sunset scowled. "So, what you're saying is, I don't have a choice?"

"No, you don't."

"You're my gaoler then? I jump when you yell?"

"If that is how you want to look at it, then I can't stop you," Twilight said, her voice still calm. "But I prefer to think of it as an intervention."

Sunset stamped her hoof, half turning away from Twilight before she looked back. "Don't you think you're taking a big risk, leaving me alone with your friends like this."

Spike twitched, and Sunset smirked a little. Can't decide whether you want to be gleeful at my humiliation or worried for your Rarity, can you Spike?

"I'm not worried, my friends are stronger than you think," Twilight said, still without any obvious emotion in her voice. She half stood, leaning over the library table. "And besides, I think you're smart enough to realise that if you did do something stupid, then there is no way in Tartarus that I would let you get away with it."

There was such snap in her voice when she spoke, such steel, that Sunset found herself taking an involuntary gulp as she stepped backwards. She covered it with a smile and a dismissive wave of one hoof. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Princess Twilight, your pals are safe with me. But you can write in that book of yours that I'm doing this under protest."

"You can protest all you like, I don't have to ask your permission," Twilight replied.

Sunset snorted. "No, you don't. See you around, Princess." She turned to go, striding towards the door with heavy, frustrated steps.

"Sunset Shimmer," Twilight called.

Sunset stopped and looked back. "What now?"

"Today will go a lot easier if you go into it with an open mind and an open heart," Twilight said. "And the sooner I see evidence of change, the faster your time will be your own again."

"You mean this isn't a today only thing?" Sunset asked, her eyes widening in horror at the prospect of an endless span of days in servitude stretched out before her, slaving away at the cruel whims of Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

"This will go on as long as I think it needs to go on," Twilight replied implacably. "Now off you go, Rarity is expecting you."

Sunset ground her teeth as she once more turned away and left the confines ─ more confining now than they had been when she came in ─ and slammed the door on her way out.

She muttered under her breath about the unfairness of it all the way to Carousel Boutique, giving several ponies the evil eye as she passed them by. She recognised Lyra Heartstrings from school, and glared at her more than any other pony she saw on the street. I bet she doesn't have to work as anypony's peon because Twilight Sparkle doesn't like her. She's just jealous that I'm going to become more famous than she is.

Sunset arrived at the gleaming exterior of Carousel Boutique, sighed, and decided that there was no point putting off. She pushed open the door, the tingling of a bell heralding her arrival.

"Come in, darling," Rarity trilled, trotting out of one of the back rooms. "Ah, Sunset, dear, so good of you to come. I mentioned to Twilight that I could use some help today and she said that you wouldn't mind lending me a hoof for the morning."

"Is that what she said?" Sunset muttered, her tone just the right side of being surly. She walked closer to Rarity as she said, "So, what is that you need me to do here?"

"Well, the first thing I'd like for you to do is to take inventory, darling," Rarity said, levitating a list on a clipboard over to Sunset. "I know it's important work, but I have some orders to complete so I don't have time to do it myself. This list is all the materials that I should have in stock, so I want you to go through the shop and find out if everything is present and accounted for."

Sunset nodded. It was boring work, but it shouldn't be too difficult. "What if anything isn't here?"

"Then come and talk to me, dear, I might have used it for something and forgotten to note it on the list. It's so hard to remember trifling details like that when one is in the zone, don't you think?"

"I guess," Sunset murmured. It was disconcerting how familiar this was, considering that she had only met this Rarity once before, and briefly at that. The Rarity she knew had been the unofficial queen bee of Canterlot High before Sunset herself arrived, though she did so little with her power and authority that Sunset hadn't seen much wrong with depriving her of it. Rarity hadn't seen it that way, but looking back it had been trifling easy to break her. Rarity, after all, had been hampered by her conception of herself as a classy lady and had behaved accordingly. Sunset, for whom no trick was too dirty and no blow too low, had outmanoeuvred her with ease and socially torn her apart. The moral, as Sunset saw it, was that holding yourself to arbitrary standards was an invitation for others to walk all over you, whatever world you lived in.

Obviously I won't be telling this Rarity all about that. Though I wonder, if I could get her friends on my side, would Twilight go easier on me? She had no illusions about her ability to detach Twilight's friends from her, or make them her own; quite apart from the fact that they would be on their guard against such tactics, it had been hard enough to split up the gang in the other world and she had only managed it by using devices which didn't exist in this world to achieve miscommunication, and, to cap it all, Twilight Sparkle had undone months of hard work in a matter of days. In Equestria, she had no doubt that breaking up this six would be impossible for anything short of a demi-god. And in any case, what would be the point? It would accomplish nothing beyond giving her a moment of vindictive satisfaction, and Sunset would never get anywhere if she allowed herself to wallow in that kind of pettiness.

I am not going to descend into a morass of self-pity about how I could have been a contender if I'd been given a shot, Sunset thought. I'm not going to lash out pathetically because all I can really do is make other ponies as miserable as me. I'm certainly not going to whine about why Celestia didn't love me enough. I think I met that pony once and she was disgusting.

"Sunset?" Rarity said, sounding slightly nervous. "Are you all right? You seemed to get lost in your own world there."

"Right, sorry," Sunset said quickly. "I'll just get started on this list." The sooner I finish, the better.

"Thank you, dear," Rarity said. "Oh, by the way, my sister Sweetie Belle is staying with me while my parents are away, so don't go into her room. She's very conscious of her privacy.

So, Sunset found herself checking bolts of silk, satin and the like. She sorted through crates of gemstones. She checked that there was enough thread, enough needles and enough spare belts for the sewing machine. She knew which was Sweetie Belle's room straight away by the sign on it which said, 'Keep Out! THAT MEANS YOU, RARITY!!' She steered clear of that one. She couldn't imagine that Sweetie Belle was any more controlled or less rambunctious here than she had been in the world beyond the mirror.

Most of the stock was perfectly in order, it was a simple matter of checking items off a list. What was missing either entailed a simple conversation with Rarity or a rather less simple hunt through the organised chaos of her ideas room. It wasn't difficult work, but Sunset was at a loss how this was supposed to teach her respect for others. All it was doing was making her wonder how Rarity managed to make enough money to keep this place profitable.

"Hey, Rarity, can I ask you something?" Sunset asked as she rooted through the cupboards.

"Yes, of course, ask me anything you like," Rarity replied absently, stitching together a blue dress adorned with peacock feathers.

"Would you like to be able to sell your dresses to ponies all over Equestria?"

Rarity looked up, frowning. "Whatever do you mean? I will gladly make dresses for anypony who comes in to my shop no matter where they're from."

Sunset shook her head. "No, you're missing the point. They wouldn't have to come here, you wouldn't have to go to them. Imagine if there was a machine, that you could have in your home, that anypony could have in their home. Now, imagine if ponies could use that magical machine to find this store and look at the dresses you have for sale. Then, with the push of a button, they could order the dress or the suit they want and the magical machine would make sure you got paid. Then all you'd have to do is box up the clothes and fly it to them, and the magical machine would see that they paid for the postage as well."

Rarity's frown deepened. "I don't understand, what do you mean they would see the dresses? If they don't come to see me how would I know what colour would suit them, what style? How would they tell me what they were looking for, and how would I know that that's really what they want?"

"They wouldn't," Sunset explained patiently. "They'd see the clothes that you've already made and that would be it."

"But, I wouldn't even be able to take their measurements to tailor their outfit," Rarity protested.

"But why would you want to waste time with all of that when you don't have to?" Sunset asked. "Just come up with a few designs, make some copies and ship them out the door! Maybe hire an assistant or two to help you churn them out faster."

"Churn them out?" Rarity's eyebrow twitched. "Churn them out? You mean, sell off the peg? Without alterations? My dear Sunset, Carousel Boutique does not sell off the peg! What do you think this is, a department store? Every item I create and sell is tailor made, or at the very least tailor altered, unique couture. Every piece is bespoke, every piece is original and every piece looks fabulous upon the customer because I would never sell anything to anypony who didn't suit it. Even when somepony comes in and wants to buy something I made earlier, the dress chooses the pony not the other way around."

"Okay, I get it, don't let your mane catch fire," Sunset said, rolling her eyes at Rarity's histrionics. "What I don't get is why it has to be that way? Why take so much time and so many wasted pains on one dress like you are now, when you could get a dozen ham-hoofed earth ponies on sewing machines producing cheaper clothes in half the time."

"Because this isn't about money," Rarity made the word sound sordid. "Nor is it about time, or effort. It's about craftsmareship, about experience, most of all it is about the satisfaction of the customer. Do you understand?"

Sunset Shimmer shook her head.

Rarity sighed. Then she frowned at Sunset. "When was the last time you had something tailor made for you, darling?"

"Never," Sunset replied.

"I thought so," Rarity replied, nodding knowingly. "Step onto the podium, Sunset, I'll get my measuring tape."

Sunset climbed up onto the podium in the centre of the boutique, while Rarity buzzed around her, taking her measurements.

"Are there any colours you'd like?" Rarity asked. "How about something to bring out your eyes. You do have lovely eyes, I must say, they appear both blue and green at the same time."

"Colours, um, I dunno," Sunset muttered. Her leather jacket came to mind. "How about black?"

"Black?" Rarity asked in surprise. "But black..." She cocked her head to one side. "Yes, now that you mention it. A coat or jacket, something to go over the blouse. But then how can you wear a jacket with a dress?"

"I'm not looking for a ballgown here," Sunset said quickly. "I've never been much of a girly mare anyway."

"Well, in that case, it should be..." Rarity trailed off, murmuring to herself, before she let out an excited squeal. "Idea! Now stay right where you are Miss Shimmer, you'll see that this will be absolutely stunning."

Sunset watched as Rarity hastily sketched something down on a piece of paper and then got to work, pulling bolts of fabric and gemstones to her from all over the shop by the power of her magic. She worked fast, it was only a little after lunchtime when Sunset stood admiring her reflection in one of Rarity's mirrors.

"This is great," Sunset said. Rarity had, by some magic beyond the power of unicorns, come up with something not a million miles away from the kind of stuff she'd worn in the mirror-world. Her blouse was a light purple, shading into pink, with a fiery red and gold trim around the neckline that matched the colours of her hair. The sleeves were ever so slightly puffed out, though not so much that they would impede the jacket. The skirt was a little more elaborate than Sunset might have chosen for herself, but it felt really soft, probably let her move more easily than the kind of short skirt she'd worn over there, and looking at it, it was growing on her by the second. It consisted of three skirts of different colours, first yellow, then purple, then gold, layered so that only a stripe of the yellow and purple were visible. It covered her cutie mark and then stopped, leaving her legs free.

And the jacket. It wasn't leather of course but it looked great anyway. The cut and design were perfect, and it had tiny emeralds sewn into the lapels amongst the rhinestones to bring out her eyes.

Of course the jacket meant she couldn't wear boots on her forehooves, and boots on her back legs would have looked odd, but Sunset didn't care at this point. She wasn't naked any more! She had clothes and they looked awesome."

"Aww yeah!" Sunset grinned. "I'm back, baby!"

Rarity smiled fondly. "And that, darling, is why."

Sunset looked at her. "Huh?"

"Why I make each item specifically, regardless of how impractical it is," Rarity reminded her. "The look on your face, the look on the faces of each of my customers, makes it worthwhile. After all, if each customer is unique, it only makes sense that what I sell them should be unique as well."

Sunset looked away, back at her reflection. "I..." Her objections remained, but on the other hand, she did really like the way she looked right now. Would she have felt so good wearing something she'd brought off a rack someplace, made by strangers who didn't even know who she was?

No, she wouldn't.

"Yeah, yeah I think I get it now," Sunset murmured. And the weirdest thing was that she meant it. "I can't thank you enough for this, Rarity, you've know idea what this means to me."

Rarity smiled. "Yes I do."

Sunset looked into her eyes, and thought that maybe she did, at that.

"Thanks," she repeated quietly. "Twilight Sparkle is lucky to have you as a friend."

"And well she knows it, too," Rarity replied. "Thank you for help, Sunset, it was most appreciated. Now, I believe Pinkie Pie is expecting you."

"Yep," Sunset confirmed, and found she was not as nervous of it as she had been this morning. Well dressed and once more looking herself, Sunset felt as if she could tackle anything, even Pinkie Pie. She swaggered down the street, daring anypony to look at her in awe. She even started to hum.

Back in black, that's right. Sunset Shimmer has returned.

[ hr ]

The sign said that Sugarcube Corner was closed, but Sunset pushed open the door anyway, and found Pinkie Pie sitting on the floor waiting for her.

"Hey, Sunset!" Pinkie cried excitedly.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie," Sunset replied more coolly, glad that Pinkie hadn't leapt on her while she was wearing her new and only outfit.

"Whatcha wearing?"

"Rarity made it for me this morning, cool, isn't it?" Sunset turned around for Pinkie to admire her new look.

"Hey, that looks like what you used to─"

"Yep, and that's what makes it so cool," Sunset said. "All I need now is a pair of sunglasses. And maybe something to put in my mouth, like a toothpick. Then I'll look cool and awesome."

"But not right now, because we've got some work to do!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed cheerfully.

"Yeah, of course, what is it?" Sunset asked.

"Mr and Mrs Cake have gone out for the day, which is why we're closed, and I've already made the cakes for sale tomorrow. I just need you to clean up around here and make sure the cakes in the oven don't burn while I make sure that the Cakes in the crib don't get up to anything too crazy."

"The cakes in the... oh, right," Sunset said as she spotted the bassinet. She levitated the broom over to herself. "Right then, I'd better get started."

The manual labour was thoughtless, requiring little more than repetitive motion, so it was easy to get to talking. And even though Pinkie Pie had her back to Sunset, her eyes fixed on the pair of incredibly active babies, she still answered any question Sunset asked or statement she made.

"You know the other world, the one you dream about?" Sunset said.

"I sure do," Pinkie replied.

"Do you ever think about it? Other than when you're dreaming?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I guess. Not often though. Even if it is my real life, that doesn't mean I shouldn't live here too, and if it isn't real then obsessing over it would just be silly."

"I guess that makes sense," Sunset said. "But, when you think about it, think about what you've seen, is there ever anything from that world that you think they have better than we have? That they do better than we do?"

"Nope," Pinkie said at once. "I'm happy the way I am right here."

"Really?" Sunset asked, incredulously. "There isn't anything you envy about the other side? Nothing at all?"

"Nope," Pinkie repeated. She twisted her head a little to half look at Sunset. "Why, what do you like better about that other place?"

Sunset shrugged. "Little things, mostly. Cars, computers, cellphones, the music on the other side, they have a good beat over there which we don't. How easy it is to be popular in high school, anypony can climb to the top if they're willing to act the right way, say the right things and─"

"And not be themselves at all?"

Sunset licked her lips, searching for a better way to phrase it. She couldn't. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"But isn't it better that here, anypony can be popular by being themselves?"

"Oh, please, I tried being myself and I had to go to another universe to find somepony who liked me. And even he didn't like me that much," Sunset said derisively. "I admit that there are a lot of things wrong with that place: everyone cares far too much about money, nobody respects anyone unless they're stinking rich, once you leave school you have to leave your soul behind - you know, I got the idea to turn all the students into zombies and invade Equestria from the fact that everyone there pretty much gets turned into a zombie anyway by their society, I thought they might as well be useful zombies working towards a purpose."
"There was this guy we had to read in school, who said that the idea society would be one where everypony - everyone - could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to as they had a mind to do it, because they didn't have to worry about starving or making a living. And he thought enough people would love to do the things that need doing that society would still function. Everyone in that world thought he was crazy, but we have that here, more or less. So we can't have gotten it all wrong. Although it still doesn't explain the six of you."
"Huh? What's there to explain about us?" Pinkie asked.

"Why do you do all hold these insignificant jobs?" Sunset asked. "You're heroes. You wield the Elements of Harmony, the strongest magic known to pony kind. You defeated Nightmare Moon. And yet here you are in a Mom and Pop bakery. Applejack breaks her back trying to keep that farm afloat. Twilight Sparkle is an honest to goodness princess and yet she lives in a library nopony ever uses in a town that wouldn't even merit a train station if it wasn't so close to Canterlot. Why bother? Why aren't you doing book tours, or living the high life in Las Pegasus? Why aren't you in Applewood, producing the movie adaptation of your adventures? Why do you sit here doing all this ordinary stuff?"

Pinkie looked confused, as though she didn't understand the question. She frowned, hesitated, then finally she spoke, "Because, we don't enjoy using the Elements of Harmony. It isn't fun, it doesn't make anypony laugh, it isn't what I want to do and I don't think it's what anypony wants to do either. I don't want to be a hero, I don't want to spend my life shooting bad guys in the face with magic and I don't want other ponies to remember me for that either. I want to be remembered for throwing the most awesome parties in Equestria, for making everypony laugh till their sides split, not because of how many bad guys I beat up."
"So I'll use the Elements when I have to do, because there are meanies around who want to make everypony cry and I'm the only pony who can something about that, but I won't make a big thing out of it because my real life, the life I chose, is right here in this Mom and Pop bakery."

[ hr ]

Sunset Shimmer didn't go straight back home after she was finished at Sugarcube Corner. Instead she went back to the library, entering without knocking, to find Twilight Sparkle reading a book by candle light. Spike was nowhere to be seen.

Twilight didn't look. "Ah, Sunset Shimmer, I've been expecting you. Sit down." Sunset didn't move. Twilight continued, "How was your day?"

"This was never about work, was it?" Sunset asked. "You wanted to make me spend time with your friends so that I could talk to them. So that they'd...befriend me."

"Did it work?" Twilight looked up. "Nice clothes."

"Thanks," Sunset said tersely, sitting down. "It was weird."

"Weird how?"

Sunset scrunched up her face. "I don't understand how you can all be so content to be so small."

"We are little ponies," Twilight pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Sunset said forcefully. "Rarity told me that the satisfaction of other ponies is what she lives for. Pinkie Pie told me that she'd rather be remembered as a party animal than as a hero. I don't get how none of you seem to feel any desire to make anything of yourselves, how none of you seem to have any ambition."

"Maybe you should talk to Rainbow Dash," Twilight murmured.

"I especially don't get you," Sunset went on. "I know we didn't cross paths at school that much, but I'd seen you coming."

Twilight looked at her quizzically. "You'd 'seen me coming'?"

"As a rival, a threat," Sunset said. "Everypony had heard of you, the prodigy with a mind like a needle who wasn't going to let anypony stand in her way. The most brilliant unicorn the school had ever seen. The marble pony who never put a hoof out of line. You scared the hay out of me, I thought if I didn't make it while you were still a filly I'd have to work twice as hard just to keep up with you. That's why I pushed Celestia so hard to let me get stronger, faster, because I knew once you caught up I'd be finished. How did a pony like that ever end up in a place like this?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "Well, first of all I'm flattered that you were so impressed with the competition." A slight blush appeared on her cheeks. "But, just because this isn't what I thought I wanted when I was young, doesn't mean it isn't what I needed, or what I wanted all along deep down."
"I never set out to be a hero. I never wanted to save the day. When Equestria needs me I'll be here, but until then, I don't see that I owe this country my whole life, or even my happiness, not even as a princess. The Element of Magic does not define me, any more than my wings or my title. I will live the life I choose."

Twilight leaned forward, staring right into Sunset's eyes. She looked so earnest, so sincere in her desire to help that Sunset wasn't sure what to make of it. "Sunset, I'm not going to stop you working on your computer project, but I will give you some heartfelt advice. Don't be too set on greatness, and don't be too dismissive of a normal life. You may find that fame comes with a pricetag too steep for you to pay."

Sunset was silent for a moment, mulling over what Twilight had said. Surprising, she found that she had a point. Did Princess Celestia have time to just hang out with her friends? Did she have any friends, or was all she had her unending life of service to the land? If she'd known what her life would become, would she have taken the throne and the crown, or would she have turned her back on both and told the ponies to find somepony else while she devoted herself to...whatever it was she did for fun, Sunset had never found out if the princess had any hobbies.

"I...I'll think about it," Sunset replied, surprising even herself by actually meaning it. "But, I learnt something else today as well."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"That if you create something that brings other ponies joy, then you can take joy in that, regardless of whether or not they put you on a pedestal for it," Sunset said. "So, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to continue my work for now."

Twilight said, "Fair enough, just so long as you don't think it makes you better than anypony else."

Sunset waited for her to say something else. Nothing else was forthcoming.

Sunset said, "So, am I working for you again tomorrow?"

"No," Twilight said. "But that doesn't mean that this will never happen again, so don't book out your calendar too far ahead."

Sunset laughed. "There isn't much chance of that."

Author's Note

A little self-referential bit in there for those who've read my earlier work. Hopefully you'll all consider this chapter to contain the stuff you seemed to like about the last chapter but without all of the self-indulgence.

Coward

Chapter 4

Coward

"So, how do you plan to start on this project of yours?" Twilight asked politely, taking a sip out of a cup of tea.

Sunset sweetened her own tea with a little sugar, taking a drink. "I can't build anything out of thin air, so that means I have to start by gathering raw materials. Metal, mostly. The frame can be built out of anything, even wood I imagine, but the guts need to be metal or they won't conduct electricity."

Twilight nodded. "How are you going to get around that particular problem?"

"Magic," Sunset replied. "The same way that the movie theatre and the arcade get around it. Say, I don't suppose you could use royal funds to spring for an arcade machine for me to take apart? The graphics interface and stuff would be quite similar to what I need."

"Maybe later," Twilight said guardedly. "Once you've earned it."

"Earned it?"

"Earned my trust."

"We've progressed as far as tea, haven't we?" Sunset said, flashing a charming smile in Twilight's direction.

"You think that makes us close?" Twilight asked. "No wonder you turned out the way you did."

"Don't be like that," Sunset said. "You wouldn't have offered me anything to drink last week." She looked around the library. "Hey, where's Spike. I haven't seen him glaring at me all morning."

"He's gone to Canterlot on royal business," Twilight said.

"Royal business? Him? On his own?"

"It happens sometimes," Twilight murmured. She set her teacup down upon the table and looked thoughtful. "Usually when it's convenient for me to have him out of the house, like the night of the slumber party."

Sunset struck a coquettish pose. "Why, Princess Twilight, are you planning on seducing me?"

Twilight flushed crimson. "No! Why would you say something like that?"

"I was only joking. It wasn't as if I meant it."

"Oh."

"I do now."

"What?"

"Well, why are you blushing?" Sunset cackled. "You're too easy, Twilight Sparkle. You'd think living with that pink maniac, you would have developed a thicker skin." She stood up. "I've got to be going. Thanks for the tea." It was no substitute for coffee, but it did perk her up a little bit.

"Where are you going?" Twilight asked.

"The wastes east of town," Sunset replied. "Mining for copper isn't my thing, so I'm going to go scout for gems and then use them to buy what I need."

"Good luck," Twilight said.

Sunset nodded, and started towards the door. Before she could reach it somepony started knocking from the other side.

"Come in," Twilight said politely, rising to her hooves.

The door opened, revealing a dark blue unicorn with a silver-white mane and grey eyes standing diffidently in the doorway.

"Pardon me, Princess Twilight Sparkle, but I was told that I could find Sunset Shimmer here if I hurried and I─" her eyes, darting around the library, found Sunset and widened a little. "Sunset."

Sunset's eyes were plenty wide themselves. For a moment her breath stuck in her throat, and when she spoke her voice was more hoarse than usual, "Eclipse?"

Eclipse stared at her. "So, it really is you."

Twilight cleared her throat. "I take it you know each other?"

Sunset gave a half-laugh. "Yeah, you could say that. Twilight Sparkle this is my little sister, Eclipse. Eclipse, this is Twilight Sparkle, my...supervisor."

Twilight smiled invitingly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eclipse. Please, come in. Sit down. Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you, Princess," Eclipse said quietly, stepping inside the library and closing the door after her. She stared at Sunset, while silence began to drag on.

"Would you like me to give you a moment in private?" Twilight suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks," Sunset said impatiently, anxious to get Twilight out of the room so that she and her sister could catch up.

"No, thank you, but this won't take that long," Eclipse said. "I don't want to put you out."

"It's no trouble─" Twilight began.

"I said no," Eclipse snapped. She lowered her eyes and her voice became quiet again. "Sorry, Your Highness."

"Won't take long?" Sunset shook her head incredulously. "Come on, sis, it's been three years. I mean, how are you?"

"I'm good," Eclipse said.

"Good? Come on, Eclipse, work with me here," Sunset urged. "What are you up to? I mean, you came to see me, don't you want to talk?"

"I came to give you this," Eclipse said, taking a letter out of her saddle bag and levitating it over to Sunset. "Under the circumstances, I thought it was best to deliver it in person."

Sunset took hold of the letter in the grip of her own magic, opened it, and read the fine, cursive script.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Planed Surface and Eclipse to be held at the Canterlot Registry Office on Saturday the 21st of July at 2.00 PM.

Sunset looked up. "You're getting married. To somepony named Planed Surface?"

"He's a carpenter," Eclipse explained.

"You're marrying a carpenter?"

"We won't starve. Or lack for furniture," Eclipse said defensively.

"Yeah, but come on, Eclipse. You could do better than that," Sunset said. "Is he even a unicorn?"

"He's an earth pony, and I love him," Eclipse said obstinately.

Sunset sighed. "Well, in that case, congratulations!" She smiled, but Eclipse did not smile back. Her face remained stern, almost a scowl. It made Sunset's own smile fade.

"So, yeah," Sunset said, looking away for a moment. "Um, thanks for the invite. I'll─"

"You're going to decline," Eclipse said firmly.

"I am?" Sunset asked, frowning.

"Yes." Eclipse said. "Planed Surface is a good stallion, he thinks that our wedding should be an occasion for both our families. It was him who said I should invite you, him who said I should come talk to you. So I came to tell you I don't want you anywhere near my wedding. I don't want you anywhere near me ever again. Ever."

Sunset blinked rapidly, a cold icy grip squeezing her stomach as she stepped away from her little sister. "But, why not?"

Eclipse laughed harshly. "Do you even have to ask? After everything you've done. I know what you did, Sunset. Princess Celestia told me everything when she came to tell you were back in Equestria. I can't believe you had the nerve to show yourself around here again. Why did you come back?"

"What, you'd rather I'd stayed gone?" Sunset demanded angrily.

"Yes, because then I could tell everypony you were dead!" Eclipse shouted.

"You told everypony that I was dead?" Sunset yelled. "What the hay, sis?"

"What was I supposed to tell them? That you were a traitor? That you were evil?"

"I'm not evil, I just─"

Eclipse cut her off. "Spare me your self-serving justifications. I'm not interested in hearing them."

"Come on, you've got to hear me out."

"Why?"

Sunset's face crumpled. "Because, we're family."

Eclipse's eyes burned with anger. "That's what you said when you stole my Pretty Princess doll and lost her. That's what you said when you raided my allowance to buy comics for yourself. That's what you said when we both got detention because you convinced me to be your lookout while you rigged Lyra Heartstrings' room with pranks. All my life you told me I had to put up with your ponyfeathers because we were family. Well not any more. What did you ever do for me?"

"I looked out for you," Sunset said.

Eclipse laughed bitterly. "The only pony you have ever cared about is yourself! If you cared so much about your family you wouldn't have run away and disappeared for the last three years."

"Eclipse─"

"I don't care," Eclipse snapped. "Whatever you want to say, I don't care. Stay away from me." She opened the door. "Goodbye, Sunset, have a nice life." She closed the door softly behind her on the way out.

Sunset stood as still as stone in the library for a moment. Twilight's face was pale, but mostly she looked embarrassed to have been a witness to all of that.

"Sunset," she began, her voice tender and compassionate.

Sunset snarled wordlessly and kicked the table so hard her hoof began to throb with pain as the unicorn bust toppled onto the floor and rolled across it, stopped only by Twilight Sparkle's magic.

Sunset cleared her throat loudly, shifting uncomfortably beneath her jacket. "Right. So, where were we? Oh, yeah, I was leaving, right. See you tomorrow."

"Sunset wait," Twilight said. "Are you really going to ignore this?"

"Ignore what?"

"What just happened," Twilight said loudly. "Your sister─"

"I don't have a sister," Sunset snapped.

Twilight frowned. "Sunset Shimmer, I know that you may not like me very much, but you can't be alone at a time like this. You can't just shrug this off."

"Says who?" Sunset demanded. "Are you my guidance councillor on top of everything else?"

"You have to talk to somepony─"

"No, I don't," Sunset snarled. "I don't have to talk about this, I don't have to open up about my feelings, I don't have to hug or share or any other chick flick Doctor Phil nonsense. I am not going to cry on your shoulder, I am not going to chase after my sister and beg her to forgive me. I am going to handle this way I handle everything."

"You can't just pretend this didn't happen," Twilight cried.

"Watch me," Sunset shouted, stomping out the door. Unlike Eclipse she didn't bother to close it behind her.

***

Sunset walked out into the dusty brown wastes east of Ponyville, glad of the solitude as she kicked up dust with her hooves. Hardly anypony ever came out here unless, like her, they were prospecting for gems. It looked like Rarity was doing something else today, so Sunset Shimmer had the whole wasteland to herself. Which was good, as she spent a good half an hour levitating rocks with her magic and throwing them as far as she could, yelling at the top of her lungs the whole time.

What right did Eclipse have to do that to her, to treat her like that? None at all! Showing up out of the blue just to tell Sunset that she hated her guts? What kind of pony behaved like that? What kind of person would have behaved like that? No human would have done that, that was for sure. If she didn't want Sunset to come to the wedding that was her own business, but all of the other stuff, that was just harsh.

"I didn't want to come to your stupid wedding anyway," Sunset said, pouting. "Though I'm sure you'll all have a lovely time eating off of tables that the groom made himself." She couldn't get over that, a carpenter. Come on, little sister, have some standards.

"And I did not run away!" Sunset shouted up at the sky. "I left to pursue other projects. I didn't run away. I've never run away from anything!"

"No argument here, ma'am," a passing pegasus called down to her as he flew overhead.

Sunset rolled her eyes and stamped up some dust with her hooves. She supposed she'd better get to work, or Eclipse would have ruined Sunset's entire day.

Finding gems out there wasn't hard, but digging them out with bare hooves was more of a trial. She should have thought to bring a shovel, but she'd been too mad to get one.

"You see this, Eclipse, this is your fault. Don't say you never cause me to have a hard time," Sunset muttered as she scrabbled through the earth, getting dust and dirt all over them. She'd already taken off her jacket to keep it from getting ruined, tying it around her body so that it hung down like a cape, the way that people did in the summer on hot days in the other world.

Sunset was sweating profusely as she worked. "Hey, Princess Celestia, do you think you could maybe move the sun a little further away before I get heatstroke?" The sun didn't move. "No? Please yourself I guess." Sunset wiped her brow. "I really should have brought a shovel."

"Sunset!"

Sunset looked up to see Twilight Sparkle trotting towards her.

"You left in such a huff, I thought you might need this," Twilight said, planting a shovel in the ground in front of her.

Sunset sighed. "A nice thought, but I'm fine." She went back to digging with her hooves.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Accepting help from others isn't weakness, you know."

"And being self-reliant isn't a sign of wickedness," Sunset replied.

Twilight shook her head. She watched Sunset work for a couple of moments before she said, "You'll ruin your clothes with sweat if you keep working in them like that."

Sunset frowned. "Then I'll wash them afterwards, or maybe ask Rarity to make me a couple more outfits. I can't wear the same stuff every day after all, can I?"

"Why do you need to wear anything at all?" Twilight asked. "Most ponies don't bother except on special occasions."

Sunset huffed and stopped work for a moment. She looked Twilight in the eye. "I am not most ponies, now am I?"

"I know that, but it half seems to me that you're trying to set yourself apart from everypony else."

"Ah, well there is a very good reason for that."

"What?"

"I am trying to set myself apart from everypony else."

"But why?" Twilight asked.

"Because I'm already different so I might as well stop pretending otherwise and be myself," Sunset said loudly. "I went to another world, Twilight Sparkle. I lived among a whole different race of beings. I've had experiences no other pony has except you, and you didn't spend one percent of the amount of time there that I did. Like it or not, that place changed me, and I don't see why I shouldn’t recognise that."

"But it isn't normal," Twilight said.

"No, it isn't," Sunset agreed, with a look daring Twilight to make anything more of it.

Twilight frowned. "Do you wish you'd stayed there? On the other side of the mirror?"

"Nah," Sunset said, shaking her head. "If I'd done that, best case is that I'd be going to animal shelters with Fluttershy and talking to stuffed unicorns. As opposed to digging up earth with my bare hooves and talking to you. Huh, maybe I should have stayed after all."

"There's the shovel," Twilight pointed out.

"Yes, I know," Sunset shouted. "Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?"

"Well, I─" Twilight began to speak as a large shadow loomed up over her.

"Twilight, look out!" Sunset yelled.

Twilight twisted round, a panicked look on her face, a split second before something brained her on the back of the head with an audible clunk. Twilight's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she collapsed in a heap on the ground.

A trio of big, burly dogs emerged from under the earth, rubbing their hands with glee.

"Look what we have here? Pony Princess, yes?"

Sunset's heart was beating rapidly now, her breath ragged with fear. She whispered, "Leave her alone."

"Or what?" one of the dogs demanded. "Go, tell ponies that we ransom princess for many gems. Yes, yes, many precious gems."

"This one knows how to find gems," another dog, bigger and meaner looking, pointed out. "Maybe we take her too, have her find gems for us."

He lunged for Sunset, whose magic flared upon instinct. Sunset disappeared in a flash, teleporting twenty metres away from the dogs. No sooner had she reappeared than she started to run, without even waiting to see if they were following her.

"Run little fraidy-pony," the dogs crowed. "Run, and tell pony folk to bring precious gems if they want see princess again!"

Sunset didn't look back, didn't say anything, didn't let any sound escape her except her frantic breathing. She had to escape, she had to get away. The teeth, the claws, Celestia save her!

She had to get out of this waste. Who knew where those dogs might pop up, springing out of the ground to devour her. Their teeth like knives, their claws like spear points. She had to escape. She had to get back to Ponyville where it was safe. She wasn't going to let them get her like they'd gotten Twilight Sparkle.

She'd go back to Ponyville, go home, lock the door...

And tell everypony that she'd run away and let their princess get taken away by monsters.

Sunset tripped over her own hooves, falling down the riverbank and into the stream which ran into Ponyville. She landed in the water, soaking her new outfit and her mane. She shook her head, water droplets falling out of her mane and onto her nose, and gazed at her reflection in the water.

"Don't feel too bad, Sunset," her reflection said. "After all, isn't running away what you always do in times like this."

"It's called picking your battles," Sunset snapped. "It's how you keep winning."

"Oh, is that what you call it," the reflection sneered. "Just call it cowardice, its more accurate."

"I am not a coward," Sunset said. "What was I supposed to do back there?"

"You tell me, you're the magical prodigy. You're the one who wanted to rule all of Equestria. Tell me, if you had led an army through the mirror would you have backed down the moment Celestia looked at you funny?"

"Shut up."

"Such rapier wit," the reflection said mockingly. "But at least you're consistent. You've never liked to pick on people your own size, have you?"

"That isn't true."

"You knew that Fluttershy wouldn't fight back, so you were harder on her than on anyone else. You always knew everyone's breaking point, and you never pushed anyone so far that they stood up to you."

"Because I was smart!"

"Because you were afraid! Because you knew that if they stood up to you, then all your power would crumble like a hollow eggshell. You're pathetic. All you've done your whole life is run away. You ran away from Equestria, you ran away from the mirror world, now you're running away again."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Sunset yelled, splashing water everywhere to get rid of her reflection amidst the ripples. She sobbed, bowing her head and letting her wet mane fall to obscure her face.

Tears began to fall down her nose and into the water.

"It's true," Sunset whispered. "I am a coward."

And yet, where could she run to this time? Ponyville would not forgive her for abandoning Twilight. There was nowhere in Equestria that she could go where Celestia would not find her. Did she really imagine that she would be given a second chance after this? She would have to leave Equestria altogether, and even then, she wouldn't be free of what she'd done. It would follow her all of the days of her life like the Mark of Cain, a sign of evil upon her warning other ponies to shun her and her company.

"I will never be free of it, unless I do something now," Sunset murmured. She still had time. Nopony knew what she had done. If she went back now, then they need never know. They might even call her a hero.

She wrung her jacket out, put it back on, then turned the collar up for no other reason then because it made her look a bit more badass. She really missed having a pair of sunglasses.

"Right," Sunset muttered to herself. "Can't run away, I suppose I'll have to move forward."

With nowhere else to go, she headed back into the waste, following her own terrified hoofprints until she reached the spot where she had been digging. There was a nearby hole which was probably where they had taken Twilight. Sunset looked down it, took a deep breath, and teleported in after her.

She materialised with a flash inside a deep, dark tunnel. It was like some videogame level, or a scene out of a book. Sunset half expected an armed welcoming party to jump out at her.

"Deep breaths, Sunset, deep breaths," Sunset said, her horn glowing to provide some light in these catacombs. "Remember: you are awesome, you are a demon, you are all that and a bag of chips. You can do this."

She hoped her legs weren't trembling too hard as she set off down the tunnel.

"Twilight Sparkle?" she yelled. "Twilight Sparkle?"

There was no answer. Only the darkness and the cold and the earthy confines pressing down all around her.

"Come on, Twilight Sparkle, answer me," Sunset called out nervously.

Was it her, or was the tunnel getting smaller? Was the roof about to collapse and bury her? Were dogs about to appear from all directions and have her for dessert?

Sunset closed her eyes, then found she could barely open them again for fear of what she might see.

Unbidden, a song from her childhood came to her lips, one of the old traditional songs you heard every holiday. A song to keep the monsters away.

"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
So long as it burns we cannot drift apart," Sunset's voice trembled, her pitch was all over the place and she barely kept the tune.

But then, in answer, another voice took up the song.
"Though sorrows arise their numbers are few,
Laughter and singing will see us through."

"Quiet, pony!"

"Twilight Sparkle!" Sunset yelled, rushing towards the sound of the singing. "Hold on, Twilight, I'm coming."

She burst out of the tunnel into a spacious cavern, where Twilight Sparkle sat trussed up in rough, dirty rope, her wings tied down and her horn clamped so tightly, it was a wonder she wasn't getting a migraine. The three dogs from before stood between her and Twilight, and Sunset could hear other things moving in the shadows beyond her sight.

"Back again, fraidy-pony?" the big, mean looking dog taunted.

Sunset scowled. She could do this. She had terrorised an entire student body for three years, she could bluff these filthy mutts for a few moments. “There’s an old earth expression: bite me!”
"I've come to get our princess back," Sunset declared. "Give her to me and we'll say no more about this...mistake, on your part."

The dogs cackled. "You threatening us, fraidy-pony."

"THREATEN!" Sunset's voice boomed out, echoing across the cavern as her horn glowed brighter than before. "I DO NOT THREATEN, DOG. I PROMISE." Sunset's whole body burst into flame until her body disappeared behind the aura of an alicorn, blazing with wrath. "YOU MEDDLE WITH FORCES GREATER THAN YOU KNOW. I AM NO MERE PONY. I AM SUNSET SHIMMER, THE FIERY DEMON OF EQUESTRIA, THE HIDDEN WEAPON IN CELESTIA'S ARSENAL. IF THERE IS ONE PONY IN THIS LAND YOU SHOULD NOT OFFEND IT IS I, FOR I AM MORE POWERFUL THAN ALL THE UNICORNS COMBINED! YIELD TO ME, OR I WILL TEAR THE ROOF FROM YOUR LAIR AND DRAG YOU INTO THE SUNLIGHT FOR THE SPORT OF THE COMMON HERD! FLEE, FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Sunset's flames began to spread throughout the cavern, her wings of shadow spread from wall to wall. To the dogs she appeared to be twenty feet tall, and turning the earth to ash beneath her hooves. She heard the dogs screaming in terror, heard them run for their lives, leaving Twilight alone to stare up at Sunset with wide eyes.

"Sunset?"

The clamp on Twilight's horn shattered, the ropes confining her fell away. Then all the glamours on Sunset's voice and appearance disappeared and she stood before Twilight as she always was.

"Well that was fun," Sunset muttered.

"You came for me," Twilight said gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," Sunset said quickly. "Now, we should get out of here before they come back..." Her legs gave way beneath her and Sunset toppled to the ground, striking the dirt with a heavy thud. She heard Twilight yelling her name, but the sound of her voice was faint and distant.

Sunset couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything. She felt so very tired...

***

Sunset Shimmer opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling above her.

"Sunset?" Twilight's voice was soft, concerned, a gentle caress to her ears.

Sunset looked for her. She found Twilight sitting by her bedside. Sunset herself, she saw, was connected to a half dozen drips of various kinds.

"I'm in hospital?" Sunset asked, trying to sit up.

"Stay down," Twilight said anxiously, pushing her back down onto the bed. "The doctor said you shouldn't exert yourself, even a little. Yes, you're in hospital. You collapsed with complete magical exhaustion. You were totally drained."

"Well, duh," Sunset said softly, grinning. "You think all that god-tier stuff is easy?"

"You'll have to stay here for a few days, until your magic has recovered," Twilight said.

"What about our meetings?"

Twilight chuckled. "I'll come to see you for a change. Sunset Shimmer...thank you, for saving me."

"You would have done the same for me," Sunset replied. She paused. "Wouldn't you?"

"Probably," Twilight replied. "Hey, Sunset, why did you do it? Come and get me, and all by yourself?

Sunset looked long and hard into Twilight's face, suffused with concern for her. She said, "Because I need you." She grinned. "Besides, it was a pleasure to play hero for such a cute princess."

Twilight flushed.

"Just don't give up on me, okay," Sunset said. "No matter what happens, promise you won't turn your back on me."

Twilight leaned in close to whisper, "Never. I promise."

Author's Note

A shout out here to my pre-reader The Albinocorn and his awesome fic Long Road to Friendship, which follows the adventures of Sunset Shimmer in the human world post-EQG.

Housewarming

Chapter 6

Housewarming

Sunset Shimmer pushed open the hospital doors and walked down the steps leading out of the building. Straightening her jacket on her shoulders, Sunset whistled tunelessly as she stepped off the stone and onto the grass.

It was good getting out of that place. Good to get the sterile smell out of her nostrils and replaced with fresh air, good to be eating decent food again instead of what they served up on the wards for dinner. Being in hospital, in Sunset's opinion, was like being in a prison where the jailer was your own body, and getting discharged was freedom.

She wouldn't be going back to the wastes again, that was for sure. Sunset wasn't one to tempt either fate or Diamond Dogs, and she certainly had no desire to require a rescue of her own. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have Twilight rescue her, and found it was excruciatingly embarrassing; although not without a frisson of excitement at the same time.

Sunset shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was never going to happen so why bother thinking about it? She needed to think of a new way to acquire raw materials if she wasn't going to harvest gems. She might, and the thought made her shudder a little, have to get a part time job to earn money. Sunset had managed to avoid work all through high school, mostly by the expedient of leeching off her boyfriend. But that wasn't really an option here, and she couldn't expect the princess to keep supporting her forever.

She wasn't a bad cook, if she said so herself, maybe the restaurant was hiring?

But the horrors of work were, for the moment, still safely in the future. Sunset found that she didn't want to think about that right now. And she didn't want to go home either. The skies were clear and the sun was warm, it wasn't a day for sitting in a dark house drawing schematics or making plans, it wasn't a day for trying to work while the sunlight through the window nearly blinded you. Sunset wanted to lie down under a tree and nap in the shade, never caring who saw her, or sit and read among the flowers while she ate strawberries and drank cider. She had three years of pony literature to catch up on, after all, maybe Twilight could recommend her the best stuff she’d missed.

This day was too nice to even think about working.

Sunset set off with a spring in her step, turning up her collar and humming a few bars of 'Maneater' to herself as she trotted down the lane.

She closed her eyes as she let her hooves carry her towards the library. "Hey, Twilight, are you in there? Or are you still in Canterlot?"

"Yes, I'm still in the palace right now."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "There's no call for sarcasm, I'm sure." She pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Hey, when did you get back?"

"This morning," Twilight replied, looking up from the book she was reading. "When did you get out of the hospital?"

"A few minutes ago," Sunset said. "Listen, um, I appreciate it, sort of, but you didn't need to lay it on so strong with Princess Celestia. What you told her and all. It was a bit embarrassing."

Twilight raised one eyebrow curiously. "You didn't like being praised?"

"I didn't like being in a situation I didn't understand," Sunset said.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Sunset said gruffly. "Just...thanks, but no thanks, okay?"

Twilight blinked. "Okay. So, is that what you came here to say?"

"No, no, that was just something I wanted to say while I was here," Sunset walked around the library table until she was standing behind Twilight, reading over her shoulder. "Celestia acted swiftly to deal with the chaos that followed Princess Luna's banishment... you're reading history? Come on, Twilight, you can't study on a day like this."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not natural," Sunset said exasperatedly. "If you have to read, then read outside in the sun, and don't read something so heavy either, unless you think it will help you take a nap later."

"Did you come here to drag me outside or something?"

"No, I came here to get a book, I haven't read anything written by a pony in years," Sunset said. "Something light, frothy, but good."

"I guess I am still the librarian around here," Twilight marked her page in the history book as she rose to her hooves. "What kind of genres do you like?"

"Wish fulfilment fluff," Sunset replied.

"Really?" Twilight sounded half-aghast. "With the red and black alicorns and the overpowered magic? That kind of wish-fulfilment."

"Yeah, what about it?" Sunset asked challengingly.

"Nothing," Twilight said primly. "I just thought you had better taste."

"Oh, well excuse me, Princess Twilight Smug, but those of us who didn't actually get to be alicorns like to be taken out of ourselves sometimes. Do you honestly mean to tell me that you never wished that you had ridiculous amounts of power compared to anypony else, and everypony who wasn't a hissingly evil villain would be kissing your hooves wherever you went?"

"No," Twilight answered with perfect sincerity.

Sunset stared at her for a moment. "Yeah, that makes sense. Probably why you got the wings and I didn't. Anyway, do you think there's a book here that I'd like or not?"

"I suppose there probably is something suitably trashy around here someplace," Twilight murmured.

"Oh, don't talk about me like that. Just because I like something a little lowbrow some times doesn't mean I can't appreciate literature as well as you can," Sunset protested. "I suppose you mainly read textbooks?"

"Not at all. I have every Daring Do book delivered on release date," Twilight declared. "I just prefer stories that can combine adventure and excitement with nuanced characterisation and developed worldbuilding."

"World building?" Sunset grinned. "You're such a nerd."

"Says the mare who reads novels about black and red alicorns and who got mad because her comic books changed while she was away," Twilight pointed out archly.

Sunset blinked. "Touché, Princess."

Twilight chuckled as she began to climb the steps onto the second floor of the library. "So you want something as awful as your preference, or do you want something that's actually halfway decent?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Okay, what would you recommend?"

Twilight's horn glowed lavender as the aura of her magic surrounded it. A book flew off a nearby shelf towards her, before Twilight lowered it onto the table in front of Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset looked down at it. The book was called A Nightingale Sang, and it had a picture of the titular bird on the front cover. Sunset gripped the tome with her own magic and flipped it over to read the blurb on the back.

"It's my second favourite novel," Twilight said, trotting back down the stairs. "It's incredibly well written. Since I've moved to Ponyville I've really appreciated what a brilliant depiction of small town life it is. I re-read it every year, or try to."

"How often do you read your actual favourite?" Sunset asked.

"I don't have it any more," Twilight said, sounding a little unhappy about it.

Sunset looked up. "Why not? What's the book?"

"The Silk and Cotton Bunny," Twilight said. "I read it when I was a filly. I cried my eyes out. Have you read it?"

Sunset shook her head. "I've never even heard of it. What's it about?"

"It's about a stuffed rabbit who becomes real through the love of her owner," Twilight explained. "When I was little, I thought that if I loved Smartypants enough she'd become a real donkey just like the bunny did. But now, when I think back on it, I sometimes think that I'm more like the bunny myself: living in Ponyville I've become real through the love of my friends."

"Real? What were you before, a ghost?"

"I wasn't living, not really," Twilight said, taking the last few stairs to rejoin Sunset on the ground floor. "I only existed, I didn't live. I was like you."

"Gee, thanks."

"I just meant..." Twilight looked as though she was pondering how to say it. "Do you think anyone on the other side of the mirror misses you?"

Sunset harrumphed a little to cover up the fact that the obvious answer was no. She cleared her throat loudly. Then she looked away. Finally she conceded, "Probably not, no."

"Then you weren't living there," Twilight said. "And you weren't real."

"Dismissed by the word of a fillies' book, awesome," Sunset growled. "If I read this, is it gonna tell me that I suck as well?"

"Not unless you're the arrogant matriarch of a farming family," Twilight said.

"Good," Sunset said. She started for the door, then paused as she saw Twilight getting ready to continue reading her history. "Oh, come on! You aren't really going to sit in here on a day like this?"

"I thought I might, yes."

"Look, read history if you want, but at least read in the sun. Come on!"

Sunset practically dragged Twilight out of the library and into the shade of an apple tree upon a hill overlooking Ponyville. There were no apples growing, but the tree was blossoming, providing a pink an white canopy between the two ponies and the sunlight as Sunset sat down with her back against the tree trunk. The light dappled upon their coats as Twilight curled up on the grass with her book in front of her. Every so often the tree would weep, sending a blossom petal floating down to land upon Sunset Shimmer with a tickling sensation.

Sunset opened her book to the first page, but didn't start reading it. Instead she leaned back, a slight frown upon her face.

"It isn't really fair, when you think about it," Sunset said. "You got to live and be real in two universes, and apparently, I haven't lived in even one. Some ponies get all the luck. Snips and Snails..."

"Hmm?" Twilight murmured, looking up from her book.

"I bet Snips and Snails miss me a little bit," Sunset averred confidently. "They may not admit it, but they do. I'd bet anything."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Even after you turned them into demons?"

Sunset shifted a little, the bark of the tree scraping against her back. "I may have screwed up a little bit at the end, but there were more good times than bad."

"You used them shamelessly," Twilight pointed out.

"Everypony is using somepony," Sunset said. "You could say the same about the store-owner using his clerk, the mayor using her assistant, even Princess Celestia using you. The fact is, I gave those two a place to belong, I made them cool by association with me and I took care of them. I always look after what's mine. Whatever's happened to them now, I bet they aren't doing half so well without me." She spoke it as a proud boast, but when she stopped to consider it for a moment the less it seemed cause for pride and more for shame.

They had trusted her. They had put their faith in Sunset Shimmer and followed her every command. They hadn't always been competent about it, but they'd always tried their best to do what she asked of them. And she had repaid them first by twisting their bodies into demonic forms, then by abandoning them to save herself. What was happening to them now? Had they been arrested? Had they been expelled? Or were they just the same dim-witted outcasts they'd been when she recruited them to her side. Did people stare at them and wonder what they were, and she wasn't around any more to speak up for them?

"Wow, I really treated them like dirt, didn't I?" Sunset murmured. "I almost hope that they don't miss me. Hey, Twilight Sparkle, do you think that they're all right?"

"Who?"

"Snips and Snails! The two from the other side of the mirror."

"Yes, I think so," Twilight replied confidently, nodding her head. "My friends on the other side won't hold a grudge. They'll stick up for them."

Sunset made a noncommital sound with the back of her throat. She was of the opinion that Twilight's friends on the other side of the mirror where just another clique like all the other high school cliques, and the fact that they weren't united by a common interest but by something deeper just made them a little more resilient than the cheerleaders or the musicians. They might close ranks to protect one another, but she didn't for a moment believe that they would stick their collective necks out for the likes of Snips or Snails. They hadn't even stuck up for one another against her, for all their talk about being BFFs.

But there was nothing she could do about it now. The portal was closed, and would remain so for the next three years. Even if she did go back after that time, they would be college freshmen by then and would have no need of her help or hindrance. Sunset supposed she would have to trust in a mixture of their survival skills and the kindness of Twilight's human friends.

Who knew, perhaps they would turn into essentially nice but dim kids, like their pony counterparts?

Sunset got up, walked a few steps away from the tree, then lay down on her back staring up at the clear skies above. "It's kinda weird if you think about it, isn't it? Us all having clones in another world."

"Not exactly clones," Twilight replied.

"Copies, or doppelgangers, you know what I mean," Sunset said dismissively. "It makes you think, doesn't it? What does it mean that they're all so like us."

"It means the universe has a limited imagination when it comes to characters," Twilight muttered, nearly beneath her breath.

Sunset laughed. "But, aren't you a little bit curious about how they all ended up so like us? Don't you wonder what the other you is like? I mean, it's a pretty good argument against nurture, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Twilight said. "After all, the parallels aren't exact. Snips and Snails are a lot less mean on this side of the mirror. That speaks to the effect of environment."

"That's a small change compared to all the stuff that's the same," Sunset pointed out. "I mean, to have nurture produce two Rarity's who are fashion crazy, two Rainbow Dash's who are athletic and two Pinkie Pie's who are just plain nuts, those are some big coincidences."

"So you think, what, that you can be born a fashionista?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not saying it makes much sense, but that's what the evidence suggests," Sunset sighed, putting her forehooves behind her head. "Makes you wonder if we just can't help how we're made. Makes you wonder if I ever had a chance."

"Makes you wonder if you can excuse all your mistakes by blaming them on how you were born, you mean," Twilight said archly.

"That too." Sunset smirked. "Do you ever wonder what she's like, the other you? Do you ever wonder if she'll meet up with your other friends?"

Twilight looked up. "I sort of hope not, actually. If there is another Twilight Sparkle out there, I want her to have her own life, not be standing in my shadow trying to fill my seat with my friends. What about you? Do you think there's another Sunset Shimmer out there somewhere?"

"I don't see why there wouldn't be, there's more than one of everything else," Sunset said softly. "I hope she's not like me."

Twilight looked puzzled. "Not like you?"

"I don't think you need me to recite my flaws, do you?" Sunset asked. "I hope she hasn't got all of them. It's a lot to hope for, but I hope whoever she is the other Sunset is better than me, and does better. President Sunset Shimmer, has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"Only if she really is better than you."

"Hey!"

Twilight put one hoof to her mouth as she giggled. "Honestly, I know you've got problems, better than anypony. But, the other you could do a lot worse than be like you."

Sunset rolled over onto her side, blades of grass sticking to her back and in her mane. "You mean that?"

"I do," Twilight said simply.

A slight smile spread across Sunset's face. "Hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"I've been calling you Twilight this whole time and you haven't said anything about it."

Twilight considered it. "I guess, that's because you've earned it."

Sunset's smile broadened. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Pinkie Pie with a sound of streamers and party-blowers.

"What'cha doing?"

Sunset yelled in surprise as she scrambled away. "Will you stop doing that?"

Pinkie Pie laughed. "What are you doing sitting around out here silly. You're supposed to be back home where everypony's waiting to throw you a party!"

Sunset looked at Twilight, who seemed just as surprised as Sunset felt. "Why is everypony throwing me a party?"

"It's a housewarming party, duh!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"But I've lived here a few weeks now."

"But we weren't your friends back then because we only knew you were the meanie pants who stole Twilight's crown but now we know you're the good guy who rescued Twilight so I forced everypony to...I mean everypony decided that we should throw you a housewarming party because a house that hasn't been housewarmed is just freezing cold, brrrr!"

Sunset mentally ran back through that sentence, inserting commas where appropriate. "Um, that's nice, Pinkie Pie, but I don't really want-"

"Great!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Now come on, there's no time to lose."

Sunset yelped in surprised as Pinkie grabbed Sunset's tail in her mouth and began to drag her off towards her home, while Sunset scrabbled furiously against the ground with her hooves.

"Get off! Pinkie Pie, get off me! Twilight, help!"

"Oh, so it's different when somepony is dragging you someplace, huh?" Twilight said, the expression on her face saying that she was rather enjoying the sight of Sunset's discomfiture.

Pinkie dragged Sunset all the way home, hauling her inside and onto a welcome mat that Sunset was sure hadn't been there before.

Thankfully, everypony turned out to not be the whole of Ponyville, as Sunset had feared, but just Twilight's other friends, lined up under a banner proclaiming 'Happy Housewarming!'. Sunset's table had been colonised by party food, bowls of ice cream and fruit punch and a cake covered in golden marzipan. Some houseplants had been set up discreetly in the corners, adding a bit of colour to the rather beige room.

"I take it she didn't especially want a party," Rarity murmured as Pinkie Pie let go of Sunset to leave her in a heap on her own floor.

"Called it," Rainbow Dash said.

Sunset picked herself up onto her hooves. "You called right." She paused for a moment, then added, "But I do quite like the look of that cake."

Everypony laughed, and began to eat while Pinkie Pie put some music on.

"Did you guys get me these plants?" Sunset asked.

Twilight nodded. "I thought your house looked a bit empty."

"And that's not all," Rainbow Dash added, darting into Sunset's bedroom before reappearing, pushing an arcade game out into the living room in front of her.

Sunset's eyes went wide. "You got me one? You actually got it for me like I asked?"

Twilight just smiled.

Sunset approached the game. It was in impeccable condition, the wooden casing undamaged, the glass clean, the plastic buttons showing little sign of wear and tear. It looked, in fact, like it had been restored extensively. Sunset's eyes were drawn to the label at the top of the game.

"I can't take this apart," Sunset said. "This is Fighting is Magic, they only made fifty of these before the developers got sued out of business! How did you get this?"

"Princess Luna gave us one out of her collection," Twilight answered. "Apparently she has three."

"You cannot honestly expect to gut something so rare for it's insides," Sunset said.

Twilight looked at her for a moment. "Actually, no, we don't. This one is to play. There's an old Pac-Mare game in the bedroom for you to rip apart to see how it works."

"Thank goodness for that, for a moment I was worried there," Sunset said.

Rainbow Dash flipped the game on. "So, Sunset, you want to play?"

Sunset raised one eyebrow. "You think you can beat me?"

"You think you can beat me?"

"Oh, challenge accepted," Sunset purred in anticipation as she and Rainbow Dash took their places. Rainbow Dash selected the pegasus character Eagle, while Sunset chose the buffalo M. Bison. In no time they were both furiously mashing the buttons while everypony else cheered them.

All told it was, if Sunset had to be honest, the best night she had had since returning to Equestria.

Author's Note

Lots of shout outs/references in this one: Fighting is Magic, obviously, Street Fighter as well with M.Bison (OF COURSE!) and another oblique reference to pre-reader the Albinocorn's excellent Long Road to Friendship.

Most Definitely Not A Date

Chapter 7

Most Definitely Not A Date

Sunset Shimmer sat on the floor of her living room, the curtains closed, the floor littered with parts and materials.

In the corner, placed on one of the chairs, sat the video display unit Sunset had succeeded in creating, based on copying the Pac-Mare display and tweaking it a little. Unfortunately, since it had nothing to display at the moment, the screen was just a solid blue at the moment, a constant distraction for Sunset's eyes and a mocking reminder of her limitations.

Because, while she had managed to create something resembling a monitor, creating an actual processor that could carry out the wide variety of functions Sunset wanted was proving more of a challenge.

Sunset growled as she tossed what she had hoped might be a viable motherboard across the room, where it bounced across the wooden floor and into the bedroom.

"Who would have thought that creating a processor capable of several complex functions simultaneously in a short period of time would be so hard?" Sunset asked the air around her. She wasn't even certain she was starting from the right premises. She knew that computers started at ones and zeroes, but she wasn't certain what that meant in real terms, or how to take that forward into anything meaningful. She had considered bolting something together and then zapping it with enough magic that it would either come alive or blow up in her face, but even if that worked it wouldn't really be suitable for production, would it?

Sunset sighed, rubbing her eyes with one hoof. It was starting to get stuffy in here. Her horn glowed as she yanked the curtains open, letting the bright sunlight flood the dark room with such intensity she had to shield her eyes from it.

"Oh, yeah, I definitely need to get out of here for a while," Sunset muttered. "Or else I'm going to go crazy or something." She pushed everything into rough approximation of tidiness before putting on her jacket and heading out the door.

The world outside made her screw her eyes shut at first, it was too bright and warm for somepony who had spent too long stuck inside.

Once she had gotten use to how much colour there was out here in the sun, Sunset began to trot in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. A cup of coffee and something sweet would do wonders for her powers of thought. Hopefully.

She passed Fluttershy, heading the opposite way with what looked like a saddlebag full of vegetables, and the yellow pegasus waved to her with one hoof.

"Good afternoon, Sunset."

Sunset wasn't used to having folks shout hello at her in the middle of the street, but she put something like a smile on her face and waved back. Fluttershy soon went on her way, and Sunset continued upon hers.

"Hey, Sunset Shimmer, glad you're feeling okay!" called a caramel coloured stallion whose name escaped Sunset's memory, though she remembered seeing him around.

"Uh, hi," Sunset replied judiciously, a grimacing smile playing on her lips.

Lyra Hearstrings and her mare-friend stopped to greet her as well, which was weird but at least Sunset remembered who Lyra was, if not why she suddenly wanted to be friends with Sunset Shimmer. She was still pondering the mystery of it when, almost to Sugarcube Corner, a grey pegasus with a golden mane and matching eyes dropped down out of the sky in front of her.

"Hi there, Sunset Shimmer!" she called cheerfully.

"Gah!" Sunset recoiled backwards with a start and a strangled cry, falling onto to her rear end as she did so. "Okay, who are you and how do you know who I am?"

The wall-eyed mare tilted her head to one side. "Are you okay?"

"No, I am not okay," Sunset snapped. "Every perfect stranger in this town seems to know who I am and I don't get it one bit and it's creeping me out so I am definitely not okay. Who are you?"

"I'm Derpy Hooves," Derpy smiled, closing her eyes as she did so. "Nice to meet you."

Sunset growled wordlessly before she managed to speak coherently through clenched teeth. "How do you all know who I am? I've never met any of you! Are you all stalking me or something?"

Derpy retreated a little. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes! Yes, you definitely did something wrong, I just don't know what it is yet!" Sunset shouted.

"What is going on here?" Twilight Sparkle asked, appearing out of the bakery. "I can hear you yelling from inside."

"I don't know what's going on! If I knew what was going on I wouldn't be freaking out," Sunset yelled.

Twilight trotted up. "Derpy, would you mind giving us some space. I'm sorry if you're upset."

"That's okay," Derpy said, the smile returning to her face. "We all have our bad days. I hope you feel better soon!" She took off into the air, her last word stretching out until she was out of sight.

"Now," Twilight said. "What's up?"

Sunset began to explain, "When Fluttershy just shouted hello at me in the street I thought that was just who she was. But then everypony started doing it, and I don't even know most of these ponies' names! I've never seen half of them before. It's weird."

Twilight giggled. "Is that all this is?"

"What, you think this is funny?"

"I think it's funny you don't understand yet," Twilight said. "Come on, you were going inside?"

"Yeah."

"Then follow me," Twilight led her inside the cake shop, towards a table in the corner. Sunset had barely sat down when a plump green mare bustled over to them.

"Hello, dear, so glad to see you're up and about again. What can I get you?"

Sunset's eyes were wide, her posture rigid with shock. She opened her mouth to demand just how she knew this pony, when Twilight spoke over her.

"We'll have two chocolate sundaes, thank you, Mrs Cake," she said.

"Of course, dear," Mrs Cake, bustling off to see to their order.

Sunset leaned in to whisper to Twilight. "What is going on here?"

Twilight chuckled. "This is a small town, Sunset. Everypony saw me carry you out of the wastes, unconscious. It's the kind of thing that ponies talk about,"

"So you're telling me everypony has been gossiping about me?" Sunset demanded, cringing at the thought. "That I'm...small town famous?"

"How does it compare with big city anonymity?" Twilight asked with a grin.

"Hey, I was never anonymous," Sunset declared proudly. "Whenever I set out to leave my mark on somepony, it stuck."

"Then why does this bother you?" Twilight asked. "I thought you enjoyed notoriety?"

"I do, but..." Sunset sighed, considering her response. "I like to be known for the things that I set out to be known for. I guess I like to control my image."

Twilight nodded. "I will admit, it took me a while to get used to the way Ponyville worked compared to Canterlot. My first day here, all I wanted to do was find some peace and quiet in the library, but as soon as I went inside I found that every single pony in town was waiting for me to throw me a welcome to Ponyville party."

"Seriously?" Sunset asked, her eyebrows rising. "Your very first day?"

"It was Pinkie's idea."

"Oh, well that explains everything." Sunset shook her head. "I suppose I'll have to get used to this kind of thing."

"If you decide to stay," Twilight said.

Sunset eyed Twilight suspiciously. "I didn't think I had a choice."

Twilight shrugged. "I'm satisfied you're not a megalomaniac bent on world-domination. Not anymore, anyway. I've recommended to Princess Celestia that you be put at liberty."

Sunset's mouth hung open, catching flies until she remembered to close it. She stammered, "Honestly? You, you trust me that much?"

"Are you so surprised?"

"Yeah, kind of," Sunset replied, half laughing. "I mean, when I first came here did you think you'd be letting me go so early?"

"No," Twilight admitted. "You're a better pony than I thought you'd be."

"Or maybe you're a better gaoler than you give yourself credit for," Sunset said.

Twilight didn't rise to the flattery. "So, what are you going to do now? Head for Canterlot?"

Sunset sighed, leaning backwards. "If you'd asked me that when I came through the mirror, I would have said yes in a heartbeat.But now...what am I going to do in Canterlot? My own sister doesn't want to know me; it's not as if I had a whole bunch of friends to begin with. I think I'd be lonelier in Canterlot than I am here."

"Really?" Twilight sounded surprised. "I never pictured you as a small town kind of girl, by preference."

"Were you?"

Twilight laughed. "No, I guess I wasn't. If I recall, my exact words were 'all the ponies in this town are crazy!'"

"You were probably right," Sunset said. "It's just that crazy-"

"Isn't always such a bad thing," Twilight finished for her.

"Yeah, something like that," Sunset said, getting up to leave. "Well, um, thanks Princess. I guess I'll see you around." She turned away, and the thought of another evening cooking for one filled her mind, along with the thought that her refridgerator didn't have a lot of room left in it for more leftovers. Another night alone.

Sunset turned round. "Hey, Twilight, do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

Pinkie Pie gasped, long and loud, rising into the air as her hooves spread out like the legs of a folding chair. As soon as she was done gasping, she sped out of Sugarcube Corner with a commendable turn of speed, leaving only a pink blur in her wake.

Sunset looked around. Everypony in the cafe was staring at her,

"I should have asked you somewhere more private, shouldn't I?"

"Probably," Twilight replied, grinning. "But the answer is yes."

Sunset started to smile before, mindful of everypony staring at her and the ideas that they might get, she cleared her throat loudly. "I mean, I don't mean like a date or anything. This isn't a date. Most definitely not a date."

"Of course not, it's just dinner, between friends."

"Yeah, friends, exactly," Sunset said. She glared at everypony who was watching her. "Did you get all that, too?"

Everypony looked away. Slowly and reluctantly.

"So, do you want me to pick you up?" Sunset asked, at which point all eyes turned on her once again. "Oh for Celestia's sake!"

"I think I can find my way to your door," Twilight said, amusement in her voice. "Say, seven?"

"Sure, it's a date," Sunset said. "Except for how it most definitely isn't."

She strode out of Sugarcube Corner looking incredibly pleased with herself. On the way home she started to whistle.

***

Most of the rest of Sunset's afternoon was spent gathering ingredients for the meal she planned to create: tomatoes, onions, spring onions, cornflour, thyme, carrots, peppers, potatoes, plus pastry and a few of what Applejack had proudly declared to be her finest cooking apples for desert.

By the time seven o'clock approached, she had already pureed the tomatoes, onions, spring onions into a sauce, with cornflour added to give it texture and the thyme added with a few other seasonings to get the flavour just right. An apple pie was already in the oven.

Sunset levitated a spoonful of sauce into her mouth, letting the spicy flavours bite at her tongue and sizzle on her throat.

"Yep, once this has been cooked it'll be just fine," Sunset said, nodding to herself.

There was a knock on the door.

Sunset smiled briefly, then padded out of the kitchen to answer it. As she had expected, it was Twilight Sparkle. What Sunset hadn't expected was that Twilight would be wearing a glamorous gown of midnight blue, bodice and dress both sparkling with diamond dust, with a sapphire tiara set in her hair. She looked...stunning. Sunset could barely find any words to say.

When at last she managed to control her tongue, she only managed to point out the obvious. "You're wearing a dress."

Twilight blushed. "Rarity caught me on the way over here. She insisted. If you think it's too much I could always change out of it then put it back on again when I go."

"No, no, I don't think it's too much," Sunset said, shaking her head. "I think it suits you. Um, anyway, why don't you come inside?"

Twilight stepped into the living room, while Sunset shut the door behind her. Twilight at once headed over to the pile of (hopefully) soon-to-be computer parts. "Oh, is this what you've been working on?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"What does it do?"

"Nothing, yet," Sunset admitted. "I haven't quite figured out all the details."

Twilight looked at her. "Maybe I can help you out after dinner."

"Really? You know even less this than me," Sunset pointed out.

"I know," Twilight admitted. "But it couldn't hurt to have two smart ponies taking a look at this, could it?"

Sunset smirked. "I guess not. But after dinner. Right now I need to get back to work."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Twilight asked.

"Even if there were, I'd say no. You're my guest tonight, remember?" Sunset called as she headed into the kitchen. She picked up a knife with her magic, and began to use it to chop up the remaining vegetables: peppers, carrots and potatoes. She diced them all into slices (more like cubes in the case of the potato) until there was a large pile of mixed vegetables sitting on top of the chopping board, to which Sunset added a few peas because, why not?

Then she put them all in a large flat pan, doused them gently in cooking oil and started to fry them.

"You seem pretty good at this," Twilight observed, coming to stand in the kitchen doorway and watch Sunset work.

"Nah, this is pretty simple really," Sunset said. "Once the vegetables have been fried it's just a matter adding the sauce and then leaving it to cook."

"What are we having?"

"A recipe from the other side of the mirror," Sunset replied. "It's a spicy stew, over there they eat it with meat but we should be able to manage without. You're supposed to have it rice but as we don't have any we'll have to make do. There's probably enough as it is."

"It looks big enough, no wonder you always have a lot of food left over," Twilight said. "Don't you ever eat any of that stuff in your fridge?"

"I find they're not as nice when they're not fresh," Sunset said. "Although, to be honest, it's more that I like cooking. It gives me time to think. It's kind of relaxing."

"When did you learn? In the other world?" Twilight asked.

Sunset laughed. "No. It certainly helped me get by there, but I learnt a while before that, when I was a filly. My mom and dad both had to work late more often than not. And so I'd pick Eclipse up from kindergarten after school and take her home. Whenever we got home, Mom would have left a note telling us what time she thought she and dad would make it back. If they were going to be really late, I'd make dinner for me and my sister and we'd eat together before I put her to bed. Then, when they got home, Mom and Dad would eat the stuff I'd put aside for them, after they heated it up again.
"But, if they weren't going to be too late back for Eclipse, then I'd time the dinner just right so that it was ready as they walked through the door. It got to the point where Eclipse would ask me to start cooking earlier so that our parents would get home quicker." Sunset smiled at the memory.

"It seems like you were pretty close when you were fillies," Twilight said, her voice tinged with regret.

"We had each other more than anypony else, it's no wonder we were close," Sunset said. "Our parents had usually left for work by the time she woke up, but I was always there. I met her after school, sometimes I tucked her in at night. We couldn't help but be close then. It was only later that I ruined it."

"I'm sure you didn't-"

"Yeah, I did," Sunset admitted. "I've always taken care of myself. Sometimes I've taken care of other ponies too. But somewhere along the way it seems like I forgot that there's a difference between being self-reliant and being selfish."

"I think you're remembering now," Twilight said softly.

Sunset said nothing, her attention fixed upon dinner. Eventually she said. "You've got... is it a brother or a sister?"

"A big brother, Shining Armour," Twilight said. "He's in the Crystal Empire, now."

"Oh yeah, you're the baby sister, aren't you," Sunset said, smirking. "I bet you got spoiled rotten, didn't you?"

"No," Twilight said, a little too quickly and too emphatically.

Sunset cackled. "What, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You couldn't help it, after all. I'm just saying, I reckon you were the little princess in your family long before you got a crown and a pair of wings."

Twilight blushed cutely. "Maybe a little."

"Don't be embarassed, it's the way things are," Sunset said, though that didn't stop her from continuing to laugh at Twilight's discomfiture. "The youngest is always special." She sighed. "Or should be, anyway. Sometimes you forget." She blinked rapidly. "Sorry about this, Twilight, the heat is making my eyes water a little."

"I understand," Twilight said, kindly. "I'll be out in the living room if you need me."

She went back out into the living room - Sunset could hear her rustling through books - and left Sunset alone in the kitchen with her thoughts and the smells of gently cooking food.

Soon it was ready. Sunset took the pie out of the oven, put it on the side to cool and dished up the stew, levitating the two plates out into the living room and setting them upon the table. "Here you go."

Twilight eyed it suspiciously. "It looks a little hot."

"It isn't so bad, I've eaten a lot stronger, trust me," Sunset said.

Twilight still looked a little suspicious as she took her seat and levitated a spoonful of the thick red stew, a piece of potato sticking out from amidst the sauce, and stuck it in her mouth. Her eyes bulged a little, but she made a contented sound as she swallowed.

"Spicy," she said. "But rather nice."

Sunset smiled. "Sometimes it's good to have your throat scoured clean, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't go that far." There was silence for a few moments as the two ponies ate. "So what did they do, your parents, if you don't mind me asking? What made them home so late every night?"

"Salesponies," Sunset said. "Selling hats. They weren't exactly huge successes."

"Does that matter?"

"Not per se, I guess, but..." Sunset pondered a moment. "They never had time to enjoy life, you know? Didn't have time to tuck their baby girl to bed, didn't ever have time to stop rushing around. What about your folks?"

"My dad used to be in the Royal Guard, until he hurt his knee," Twilight said. "My mom's a writer."

"Ah, so that's where the bookworm tendencies come from," Sunset replied knowingly. "Is she any good? Did she write anything I might have heard of?"

"She's written some pretty popular stuff," Twilight said. "Have you ever heard of the Peapod and Rough Diamond books?"

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "Your mom wrote them? Yeah, I read a few of them, they were pretty fun. The series stopped, didn't it? They had kids."

Twilight nodded. "Mom and Dad used to travel a lot: Ne'Ari, Gryphonia, it all stopped when they had Shining Armour and me."

"Oh, so it was based on life," Sunset said. "You never thought about doing that yourself? You've got the material: Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra." She grinned. "Me."

Twilight said, "Putting yourself in prestigious company, aren't you?"

"I could be an awesome villain, I've got so much untapped potential for malice," Sunset said. "Come on, you can't deny the premise has potential. A princess, newly crowned and uncertain of her status and position. A jealous rival, her heart consumed with bitterness and envy. A perilous journey to another world, with no guarantee the hero can ever return. Allies and enemies. Demons. Battle and forgiveness. The fate of two worlds on the line. It's got all the ingredients for a hit. Might want to add in some dragons somewhere."

"Dragons," Twilight said flatly.

"Our story could have done with some dragons," Sunset said confidently.

Twilight laughed. "You seem to have given this some thought."

"I've considered turning the other world into a book or two," Sunset said, leaning back in her chair. "After all, practically nopony would know that I hadn't made it up. I could explore the pony condition through humans, or teach life lessons to kids. I could just tell fun adventure stories in a unique fantasy setting."

"With dragons."

"Come on, everypony knows that dragons are awesome."

"I'll be sure to tell Spike that," Twilight remarked.

"You do that," Sunset was silent for a moment. "Thanks for agreeing to come over tonight. It's nice to have somepony to talk to besides the wall."

"The pleasures all mine," Twilight said. "This is very good."

They finished dinner, the discussion straying away from the other world and back to literature in general, before Sunset brought out desert: apple pie with whipped cream. As they ate, Twilight asked, "So, what's the problem with this machine of yours?"

Sunset sighed. "I feel like, once I get the basics working, building up to achieve greater complexity of function will be just a matter of increased power and capacity. But at the moment I can't get off the start line."

"What are you trying to do?"

"Get a processor to work," Sunset said. "I need a way of reducing a diverse variety of information into a common language for storage, which can then be re-extrapolated into its original complex state again at the command of the user."

Twilight frowned. "So the ideal system would be one in which the same processes used to convert the data going in could be applied in reverse to the data coming out."

Sunset shook her head. "I thought that, too, but it seems impossible. I mean, once you've reduced the data to a common language, how are you even going to know what language to convert it back into. But that's irrelevant since I still don't know how to convert it in the first place."

Twilight's eyes lit up with excitement. "Boolean logic!"

"Huh?"

"By interposing a series of boolean logic gateways between programme and storage, all data inputs would have to pass through a sequence of nand or nor gates."

"And as they passed through each gate they would be refined into increasingly simple forms of boolean algebra," Sunset continued, catching on to Twilight's train of thought. "Which can then be converted into binary at the point of storage. That's the common language between the various different programmes! That’s how we store a diverse variety of information in one place: by refining it until it isn’t diverse at all at point of storage."

"Yes, exactly," Twilight said excitedly. "But, that still doesn't solve the output problem."

"No, but it does, don't you see?" Sunset said. "Like you said: reversing. Two conduits, one for inputs and one for outputs. The first gate for inputs converts the input programme into boolean algebra. The arrangement of output gates is a reversed mirror of the input gates."

"So that the first output gate will read the programme that was used in the input, of course," Twilight said. "Do you want to give it a try?"

"Of course," Sunset yelled. "Let's get to it."

They worked all night. Finishing off the apple pie as they crafted circuits and logic gates, slotted homemade chips into an improvised motherboard, crafted twin highways of information. The result was an ugly mess, ungainly and a little haphazard, but so long as it worked nopony would care how it looked, Sunset Shimmer least of all.

"Ready to test it?" Twilight asked.

"Yep," Sunset swallowed, hoped, hooked it up to the monitor and then powered it with a burst of magic into the homemade battery.

There was a whirring sound, followed by some beeping in quick succession, then the blue screen of the monitor turned black as green letters appeared upon it.

SSTS-01 ACTIVATING

LOADING...

SEARCHING FOR INPUTS...

NO INPUTS DETECTED

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED? Y/N

A squeal of pure joy escape from Sunset's throat as she started bouncing up and down like a filly on Hearth's Warming. "It works! It actually works! This is absolutely brilliant!" She hugged Twilight tightly around the neck. "Thanks, Princess, I never could have done it without you."

Twilight beamed. "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"

"Are you kidding?" Sunset asked. "We make an excellent team."

A Mountain of Affection

Chapter 8

A Mountain of Affection

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME? (Y/N)

Sunset glanced at Twilight. "I guess now we’ll see if our programming skills are any good, won't we?"

Twilight held out one hoof, and pressed down on the keyboard.

Y

PLEASE SELECT THE GAME YOU WISH TO PLAY

Sunset took over the typing, her hooves flying over the keys.

GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR

ERR: "GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR" NOT FOUND. PLEASE RE-ENTER THE NAME OF A VALID PROGRAMME

"Global Thermonuclear War?" Twilight asked, looking askance at Sunset. "What's that?"

"A pop culture reference," Sunset replied briskly. "I was just messing around. Now for one we did actually programme in."

CHESS

ACCESSING

LOADING

HOW MANY PLAYERS? (1/2)

Twilight pressed the 1 key, since the whole point of this test was to see how well the programme they had designed performed against a pony opponent.

With a few bleeps and bloops the screen transitioned into the image of a red and black chessboard as seen from a forty-five degree angle. A few more bleeping noises and pieces appeared upon the board. The computer played white, because one of the things that Sunset remembered about computer's in the other world was they always gamed the system (or, to put it more simply, cheated like crazy) and she had wanted to recreate that as far as possible.

The computer opened with it's king pawn. The selection of the piece was accompanied by a heavy boww sound, while the actual movement of the pawn occassioned a beep-boop.

"We might want to disable the noises, I can see that getting annoying after a while," Sunset remarked.

"Maybe, but I think it's important that ponies have some way of knowing that something has happened," Twilight said. "Some of them might have trouble seeing the screen."

Sunset made a noise of non-committal. They weren't yet able to get the resolution or the colour pallette of the arcade game she'd patterned the VDU after, which meant that everything was cast in dark and muted colours. That was why the squares on the board were black and red, and the 'white' pieces actually a deep crimson: the colour white was beyond the system's capabilities at the moment.

It was their turn, so Sunset began to type. The interface was a little cumbersome at the moment, and consisted of typing in the square on which sat the piece you wanted to move, then typing in the square you wanted to move that piece too. Sunset opened with her own king pawn, moving it too spaces forward.

"Move the princess," Twilight urged.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because 'If the princess does not lead, why should anypony follow her' is not a valid strategy," Sunset snapped as the computer move it's princess knight. "I'm setting up a Macedonian Defence, it always confuses rookie players." She began to arrange her pawns in a series of arrows pointing forwards, with each pawn diagonally behind the one in front. If any of her pawns were taken, then the taking piece would itself be taken by one of the pawns behind. The only weakpoints were at the back of the arrow, with the pawns she hadn't moved from their starting positions, but they were covered by her wizards.

Twilight shook her head. "Setting up your pawns to get taken in the hope you can take some enemy pieces? That's a mistake."

"Why?"

"Because you'll just end up trading pawns for pawns and you won't get any further ahead than you are now," Twilight said loudly. "Here, let me take over."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because I know what I'm doing!"

"What you're doing is about to lose the game."

"I am not, just wait and see..."

Together they managed to bicker their way to a total rout, their strategy changing as often as every turn depending on which one of them had their hooves on the keyboard.

CHECKMATE. YOU LOSE.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY AGAIN (Y/N)

Sunset glowered at the computer. "Did you programme it to be this smug or was that me?"

Twilight raised one eyebrow sceptically, as if she couldn't believe Sunset was asking.

"Yeah, it does seem more like me, doesn't it?" Sunset muttered.

"Well, on the bright side, we've established that our programme can beat two players who can't agree on how to play," Twilight offered.

"Right, that's what's really important here: the programme works," Sunset declared. "Winning doesn’t matter. Losing just sucks, is all." She pressed the N key, returning the computer to the starting menu. "We'll have to find a way to make it easier to select what you want than having to cycle through a list of Yes or No questions until it asks you if you want to do what you want to do." It wasn't a huge deal at the moment, because after a couple of days the only programmes they had were a clutch of simple games, a word processor and - their most complex programme yet, and still only half-finished - a teaching programme which Sunset had called Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day when Twilight wasn't looking. Twilight had retaliated by programming it so that if your test scores were sufficiently low you got a graphic of Sunset being laughed at by all the kids in magic kindergarten.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something eventually," Twilight looked at the clock on the wall. "But I have to go now, I'm meeting my friends for lunch."

"Oh. Okay," Sunset felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought of Twilight leaving and briefly wondered where that had come from before forcefully shoving it aside. "Well, have fun. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, you could come with me if you wanted. I'm sure everypony would be happy to see you," Twilight said, smiling invitingly.

Sunset felt temptation springing from the same source as her previous jealousy, but mastered it in turn before she said, "Nah, I'll just get in the way. You go, and have a good time."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "I didn't think you had any other plans."

"I'll be fine," Sunset said, more sharply than she had intended. She softened her tone. "I'll be fine, really. Have fun with your friends. I'll see you around."

"Okay then," Twilight said, a bright smile lighting up her face. "See you later, Sunset." She turned and walked out the door, closing it gently behind her.

Sunset was left alone in the living room, scowling at nothing. What was the matter with her? She'd used to like being alone, now she was becoming this pathetic blob who couldn't stand it when Twilight Sparkle left? She had more self-respect than that - more self-reliance.

"I can get by on my own," Sunset declared to the empty air. "I don't need Twilight, or anyone."

She thought about continuing her work, but she kind of did need Twilight for that so that was out. And then there was...

Sunset looked around. There really wasn't very much to do. Sunset harrumphed in annoyance.

"I really need a job or something."

Everypony else had already arrived at the picnic spot; the blanket spread out upon the grass and the hamper unpacked onto the blanket.

"Ooh, it looks delicious," Pinkie said. "Can we start yet?"

"It wouldn't be very polite to start without Twilight," said Fluttershy. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"I wonder where she is, anyway?" Rainbow Dash wondered.

"Oh, she's probably with Sunset," Rarity replied airily. "It must be a terrible wrench for her to tear herself away."

"Why's that?" Rainbow asked.

Rarity looked shocked that she would need to ask. "Why isn't it obvious, darling? Can't you see there's something between them?"

Rainbow blinked, hovering up into the air to hang a few feet above the ground, her forehooves crossed. "No. They're just friends."

"Oh really?" Rarity said, her tone indicating she didn't believe that. "What about all the time they spend together?"

"Ain't they just working on some fancy doodad?" Applejack said. "It ain't like they go for a romantic walk every day."

"Perhaps not, but they do spend an awful lot of time together."

"Twilight spends an awful lot of time with all of us, it doesn't mean that there's anything going on," Rainbow insisted. "If you asked Twilight she wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about."

"Well, of course not dear, I never said that it was conscious on their part. But from the outside it's plain to see that there is something between them. Haven't you noticed how tempestuous they were, how close they are now? There's more than friendship there, or the potential to be. And, as Twilight's friends, it's our duty to bring that potential out and make it flower."

Silence greeted this pronouncement. "Uh, come again?" Applejack said.

Rarity giggled, clapping her hooves together eagerly. "We shall bring Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer into a mountain of affection."

"Um, Rarity, are you so sure that's a good idea," Fluttershy said, making it clear by her tone that she did not.

"Yeah, I mean, it isn't like it's any of our business who Twilight likes," Rainbow sounded incredibly sceptical.

"Well I think it's a brilliant idea," Pinkie Pie yelled, bouncing up and down. "Playing fixer-upper is so much fun, I can't wait to do it again."

"Again?" Rainbow said. "When have you done this before?"

Pinkie chuckled. "I knew a mare once whose husband was being very inattentive to her. She was really sad because he just wasn't giving her the thoughtful affection he used to. But with my help, she came up with a plan. She hired a stallion to make her husband jealous, flirting with her and kissing her, all where her husband could see them. It worked, and so, the mare knew that he really did love her after all. That's when she told him the whole story: how she'd only done it to make him realise that he'd been neglecting her. And the husband was so happy when he found out he was jealous that he gave the other fellow a lot of money for making him jealous. Then he took his wife in his hooves, and kissed her, then they went out and got married all over again."

"Uh huh," Applejack murmured sceptically. "And when exactly did all this happen?"

"This was when I was living in Manehattan's Upper East side selling greetings cards," Pinkie replied happily.

"You never...you made that whole thing up, didn't you?" Rainbow demanded.

"You can't say for su-ure,"said Pinkie in a sing-song voice.

"True or not, I think it's a wonderful idea, Pinkie Pie," Rarity declared. "If we make them jealous, Twilight and Sunset will have to realise the extent of their feelings for one another."

"Ah don't know, Rarity," Applejack said. "This sounds mighty like the time Apple Bloom and her friends tried to set up Big Macintosh with Miss Cheerilee. That didn't end too well."

"I'm hardly suggesting that we drug the pair of them," Rarity said. "I simply want to help their relationship along as best we can."

"I'm not kissing Twilight, or Sunset," Rainbow said quickly.

"Obviously we wouldn't do any of that ourselves," Rarity explained patiently. "No, what we do is - oh, Twilight, dear!"

Twilight trotted through the meadow to join them, sitting down at once corner of the picnic blanket. "Sorry I'm late, you guys. I didn't leave Sunset's early enough."

"Oh, that's quite all right, darling." Rarity's expression was triumphant. "How are things between you two?"

"Fine, really. The work is going about as well as it could, I think," Twilight frowned. "It's really weird though. Sunset got pretty snippy when I told her I was leaving. I asked her if she wanted to come, but she didn't. I don't get it."

Rarity chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you'll figure out eventually."

As they all began to eat, Applejack said, "So, Twi, explain again what it is you two are building in that house of hers?"

"It's called a computer," Twilight said. "They have them in the other world, beyond the mirror. They're...machines that think."

Applejack's eyebrows rose. "No offence, but that don't sound too good. I don't reckon I'd like the plough telling me I wasn't working it right, or that it didn't want to work today."

"They don't think think," Twilight explained. "Their logic only follows pre-designed pathways, pathways created by their makers, but within those pathways they can operate at speed far in excess of a pony mind, and carrying out many more calculations at once. At its most basic, a computer is a way of doing a lot of sums very quickly, but then you use those sums to...drive the engine of creation."

"Sounds kind of nerdy, if you ask me," Rainbow remarked.

"Oh, it is definitely that," Twilight said with a laugh. "But if you're into that sort of thing its a lot of fun, building a whole world out of equations. I admit I was a bit sceptical at first about the idea, but I think that at the level Sunset and I are at now, we can enjoy the benefits while keeping the harmful and unhelpful stuff at bay. I just wish that it was as easy to understand Sunset as it is to understand the math."

Rarity chuckled again.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"You do not want to go there," Rainbow Dash said.

The rest of the picnic passed pleasantly, but without incident. It was only as they the six ponies were packing up that Spike appeared, running furiously across the grass waving a letter over his head. He was panting furiously by the time he reached them, bending double and leaning on his knees.

"You...need...to...read...this...now," Spike gasped.

Twilight took the letter within the grasp of her magic, levitating it over to her and opening it.

My dearest Twilight,

I am afraid I have been very remiss. I should almost certainly have discussed this with you earlier, but I was not sure how to brooch the subject and, hoping that this discussion would not be necessary, I allowed the matter to lie.

Unfortunately, my fears have come to pass.

You are a princess now, Twilight, and this has made you a public figure both in Equestria and abroad. It has also, with Cadance happily wed to Shining Armour, made you the most eligible mare in Equestria. Anypony who could win your hoof in marriage would achieve an extraordinary coup in status terms alone. I am not the only pony who has noticed this, and there are reports of suitors on thier way from Gryphonia, Zebrica and Cervidas. However, none of them will be here for some time, and while they make their way to you, Prince Blueblood has announced his intention to travel to Ponyville and woo you before anypony else can. He seems to rate his chances of success more highly than I do.

I wish to make this clear, Twilight: I have no intention of forcing you to marry against your will. Crown or no, you are a wonderful young mare and I would see you happy with somepony who sees more of you than your royal title. However, I do ask that you make no rash judgements: recieve these suitors courteously, evaluate them upon thier merits and then reject them politely and without malice.

Blueblood will arrive tomorrow at noon, his departure being delayed by his insistence on borrowing the railway director's personal carriage and a having a special train prepared for his journey. I hope this gives you enough warning.

Your devoted friend,

Princess Celestia.

Twilight put down the letter on the ground. Her eyes were wide, her whole body trembled. Her coat had paled a little.

"What's the matter, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "You look as though you've heard a banshee calling."

"Princess Celestia says that, now that I'm a princess, everypony wants to marry me!" Twilight cried. "There are griffons and zebras and deer coming to...to court me!"

Everypony gasped.

"And Prince Blueblood arrives tomorrow for the exact same reason!" Twilight yelled.

Everypony gasped again, except for Rarity who made a noise of deep disgust as if a spider had just started crawling up her leg.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Twilight said, her voice rising with panic as her words flew faster and faster out of her mouth. "I might have to move to Canterlot. I might have to move to Zebrica! I might-"

"Calm down, Twilight," Applejack urged, twisting her head a little to read the discarded letter for herself. "Princess Celestia says you don't have to do anything you don't want to, except be nice to 'em."

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Rainbow said. "Just tell them you're not interested and send them packing."

"But what if they won't take no for an answer?" Twilight asked.

"Then I'll send them packing," Rainbow proclaimed confidently. "Relax, Twilight, you're getting worked up about nothing."

"Except that the really mean and stuck up prince is still coming to Ponyville tomorrow! That might be something to get worked up about." Pinkie said excitedly

"Pinkie!"

"What?"

"No, Pinkie's right, I do have to prepare for Blueblood's arrival," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia said to be nice to him, after all. Unfortunately." She sighed. "I suppose I ought to dress up for him. Rarity, I don't suppose you have anything suitable for me to wear?"

"At this short notice?" Rarity smiled. "I'm sure I'll manage darling, an artiste always does. But do you want something to attract him or repulse him?"

Twilight laughed.

"That's the spirit, partner, you'll get through this," Applejack said.

"We won't let anypony take you away," Fluttershy added. "Um, unless you want them too."

"Which you really might once you meet some of them," Pinkie declared. "I remember this one time, when I was living in Vanhoover selling balloons-"

"Okay, I am certain you never lived in Vanhoover, Pinkie," Rainbow said.

"Maybe not, but I could have."

Sunset slammed, no, no, laid her forehooves forcefully down onto the table. She did not slam them down. Just like she didn't yell, she just...raised her voice and adopted a forceful tone to say, "You're getting married? To Prince Blueblood?"

Twilight's tone, by contrast, was one of patience. "No. I told you, Blueblood is coming to ask me to marry him."

"Don't play semantics with me."

"I'm not playing anything, I'm telling you the truth," Twilight insisted.

Sunset, who had been staring down at her hooves, looked up at Twilight. "People do not just turn up at the doors of other people and say 'Hey, wanna get married?' You date, you go out, maybe move in together, then you pop the question. Nopony just proposed out of thin air."

"Apparently they do when you're a princess," Twilight said wearily. "Just like they apparently ask despite having no idea whether you'll say yes or not, or even having any reason to expect you will say yes."

"Oh, well that's just awesome," Sunset snapped. "I mean it makes no sense but, you know, whatever."

"Are you accusing me of lying to you?" Twilight demanded. "Because if you are then I'd rather you just came right out and said it!"

"You really expect me to believe that you're going to refuse?" Sunset said. "Prince Blueblood and everypony else. The four corners of the world are beating a path to your door and you're going to send them all away empty hoofed? Come on, don't treat me like an idiot."

"I don't need to, you're doing a pretty good job of acting like an idiot all by yourself," Twilight replied. "You honestly think that I want this? That I enjoy being...what was that woman's name, from the other world, that play...what was it, what was it...Helen, that's it, Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships-"

"And burnt the topless towers of Ilium, yes, I took the same class, for longer," Sunset snapped. "You must be very proud to see your stock rise so high in the world."

Twilight gasped. "You honestly...I thought you understood me better than that! Do you really think that this the kind of person that I want to be? Somepony's trophy wife, a puppet, valued only as a possession like...like art! In fact I'm even worse off than that because none of these presumptive jerks are even looking at my face! All they see is a crown."

Sunset gritted her teeth. All she could feel inside was a swirling, tempestuous mass of envy, fear and anger. Envy of all those noble ponies and foreign dignitaries who would soon be flocking around Twilight, filling her social circle, leaving no room for a forlorn former villain playing with circuits in a one-storey house. Fear that Twilight would leave, anger that she would lie to her like this, act like this wasn't something she wanted.

Because after all, who wouldn't want this much attention, to be the centre of the greatest drama in the land?

Who wouldn't want to leave a mare like Sunset Shimmer behind?

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you just hate this," she growled. "You know, I appreciate honesty, too. Come on, you really expect me to buy that this is a trial for you? That you aren't itching to blow this town? To blow me?"

"You're not the only pony who lives here you know, my friends live here," Twilight shouted. "I don't get it, why are you getting upset about this? What do you have to be mad about in this situation?"

"I," Sunset stopped, her jaw tightening. She knew what she felt, but she could not find the words to say it. The words that did come to mind were not strong enough to force their way past her pride. "You know what, you should go. I'm sure you have to get ready for your date. Go, and...just go."

Twilight shook her head. "I really don't get you," she murmured. And then she left. It was too her credit that she didn't slam the door on her way out.

"You don't get me?" Sunset murmured. "You're not the only one." She looked around at the walls of her living room, walls which now seemed small and close, a tightening space, suffocating Sunset. She roared with anger, kicking the table with her hind leg. "Aargh!"

As his train puffed into Ponyville, His Royal Highness Prince Blueblood polished off the last of an excellent lunch in the director's personal carriage and dabbed delicately at his mouth with a lemon-scented napkin.

"Ah, yes, the world is about to change for me, I can feel it," he declared. "Nopony will dismiss me as irrelevant once I marry the newest princess in Equestria. I shall be an important, neigh, crucial figure in the affairs of Equestria. Not to mention, Auntie might finally stop asking me what I plan to do with my life."

"Quite so, Your Highness," said Buttoned Up, one of the small entourage of flunkies the prince had brought with him to render him fit to meet his bride. He was a brown coated unicorn, and his cutie mark was a sponge. "But there will be losses to be endured: you shall no longer be in consideration for City Life's Most Eligible Bachelor award."

"Indeed, Button, I'm well aware that I shall be required to make sacrifices upon the altar of married life," Blueblood murmured. "It will be a sore trial, but I daresay, I shall manage." After all, he had only been ranked second most eligible bachelor last year. And he would still have his other awards to console him. "And with a wife upon my hoof, this wife in particular, I shall be feted in a whole new way."

"Quite so, Highness, but first you must win the lady," Buttoned Up reminded him. "Have you given thought to what you will say?"

"I shall say little, and let my unmatched good looks do the talking," Blueblood said.

"A sagacious decision, my prince. And...if you should encounter That Mare?"

Blueblood's face spasmed with distaste at the thought of having to deal with That Mare. He cleared his throat. "I shall explain, delicately of course, that she was tipsy and offensive that evening, forcing her attentions on me, and it was only due to my impeccable manners that I neither humiliated her in public nor took advantage of the situation."

"An unimpeachable tale, Your Highness. I fear we have very, nearly arrived."

Blueblood stamped his hoof and his attendants lined up ready to attend to his final needs: a last dab of manespray in his luxuriant mane, a touch of scent upon his neck, one last gulp of mouthwash - and spit - a breath-freshening mint.

He was dressed in his second best suit - he didn't want to ruin the best by dragging out to this provincial place, once they were married Twilight Sparkle would be staying in Canterlot with him - with a freshly cut rose in his buttonhole. Blueblood examined himself in the mirror, satisfied he looked every inch the dashing, handsome prince. Indeed, what mare in Equestria could resist him? Would not the mere sight of him sweep this bookish and unworldly country mouse off her hooves?

"Once I have wed the princess, I shall be raised to a new state of position, prestige and glory," he proclaimed. "And I promise, you will all share in my good fortune."

"But of course, Your Highness." Buttoned Up smiled. "To share is why we serve."

Rarity frowned. She tilted her head, putting one hoof to her lips. "I never thought I would say this, but I've rather worried that I've done my work too well."

Twilight and her friends waited on the platform of Ponyville station for Prince Blueblood's train. For the occassion, Rarity had designed a gown of shimmering silver, with a white bustle lying over the skirt. The puffed sleeves, which rose up almost to Twilight's chin, were also white. The design was simple - there had been time for Rarity to add a great many adornments or frills to the gown - but elegant, and both bodice and skirt were covered all over with miniature diamonds, making the whole affair sparkle like starlight. Twilight's crown sat perched upon her head.

"You do look rather wonderful," Fluttershy murmured.

"Yeah, Rarity, we don't want him to actually want to marry Twilight," Rainbow snapped.

"I know that, I know better than anypony what he is, if you'll recall," Rarity responded. "I'm terribly sorry, darling, once I start to work I'm afraid I'm incapable of doing less than my best."

"It's okay, Rarity," Twilight said reassuringly. "If he hasn't been put off by the fact that he doesn't even know me, I doubt that anything about my appearance could dissuade him."

"It's not too late for me to have an accident with a cloud, dump some water on you, Twilight," Rainbow offered. "Or I could have the accident and drop a loud of water on him."

Twilight chuckled. "As fun to watch as that would be, Princess Celestia did ask me to be polite."

The train whistled as it rounded the corner and began to pull into the station.

Twilight took a deep breath. "And now, I think you should all go. I don't want to seem like I need a half-dozen escorts to protect me."

"Are you sure?" Applejack. "You could say we were your...what did mah aunt Orange call it...chaperones."

"I'll be fine, honestly. I'm calmed down now, and I've no intention of going anywhere." Twilight smiled reassuringly. "I'll come and find you when it's over."

"If you say so, sugarcube," Applejack said, and she led the others away into town somewhere.

Twilight watched the train approach, and did the calming excercise that Cadence had taught her. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps Rarity would turn out to have been exaggerating. Perhaps he would take rejection well.

Oh, who was she kidding, this was going to be an endurance test of gruelling proportions.

The train came to a stop, the carriage resting so that it's door was directly opposite Twilight. The car door slid open and Prince Blueblood emerged, sparkling in his good looks.

"Well met, my love," he said, in a tone that was probably supposed to be suave but which sounded oily to Twilight's ears. "How now?"

"How now in love when we've just met?" Twilight replied.

Blueblood froze, apparently unsure of how to respond. He said nothing, flashing her a smile instead.

Twilight didn't react.

Blueblood seemed to hesitate, before his smile broadened further and he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Twilight still didn't react.

A drop of sweat rolled down Blueblood's face. He flicked his mane back, his horn glowing slightly as the amount of sparkle hovering around him seem to quadruple and the movement of his mane appeared to enter slow motion.

Twilight gave him a look that suggested she couldn't quite believe he was serious. "Are you okay?"

Blueblood looked momentarily crestfallen, but rallied to proclaim, "I'm better than fine, now that I'm with you, darling."

Twilight laughed nervously. "Well, okay then. That's good to hear. Um, uh, so, do you want to go somewhere."

"Indeed. Let us take a promenade around this quaint little town. It'll be an opportunity for you to say goodbye."

There was nothing that Twilight could have said in reply to that that wouldn't have involved yelling, so she took another deep calming breath, made no reply, and allowed Prince Blueblood to lead the way.

Sunset Shimmer was not spying on Twilight. Absolutely not. The very idea was unthinkable. She had just happened to be standing around in a position to observe, and as she took a stroll around Ponyville she happened to continuously be in a position to observe. Casually. Disinterestedly. She just glanced over now and then to make sure Twilight was okay. Sunset was doing her a favour really, that prince looked like a real slimeball.

As for why she was crouched out of sight, peeking unobtrusively around the corner...she was just staying in the shade, that's all.

"Hiya, Sunset! What'cha doing?"

Sunset gave a strangled cry and nearly leapt out of her concealment. Pinkie Pie stood right behind her, an eager smile on her face. Behind her stood the rest of Twilight's friends, looking a bit more shamefaced.

Sunset coughed with embarassment. "Well, um, I was, uh, you see-"

"Are you watching Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

Sunset's ears burned as she bowed her head and admitted, "Yes."

"What a coincidence! That's what we're doing too!" Pinkie yelled happily. "Now we can all do it together!"

"Quiet, Pinkie," Rarity hissed. "Or they'll hear us."

"Oh, right. Shhh!"

They all poked their heads around the wall, the ground-bound ponies jostling for space while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovered above the rest. They saw Twilight and Blueblood walking down the main street, ponies stopping to stare at them as they went by.

"I was thinking that fame could be the theme for our wedding," Blueblood drawled. "Gold and platinum would be the primary colours, gold trim on the wedding dress, platinum decorations, golden flowers. And of course, our guest would reflect the theme as well: only the most well-known and stylish members of Canterlot society would be invited, very exclusive. I have contacts in the music industry that could get us the very best performers for the reception, and I know the owners of some excellent restaurants who would be happy to cater. Truly, it will be the social event of the season. The paparazzi will have a field day and anypony who is not invited will be in despair. Doesn't that sound marvellous?"

"Their wedding?" Sunset hissed. "Did he ask her while I wasn't listening?"

"I don't see an engagement ring on her horn," Rarity murmured. "But then, that would be sadly typical of him."

"Our wedding?" Twilight asked. "You haven't even asked me to marry you yet."

"He hasn't even asked her?" Sunset said. "What a tool!"

"I do detest that stallion," Rarity remarked sadly.

Blueblood looked affronted. "Isn't it obvious? Why else would I come out to this crude, provincial backwater except to take your hoof in marriage?"

"I hate that guy," Applejack snorted.

"That doesn't mean you can just take it for granted," Twilight replied, raising her voice a little. "That's like buying a lot of Hearth's Warming presents and then saying that means you don't have to give them out."

Blueblood frowned. "Do you want me to give you a present, my dear?"

"No, I don't want you to buy me a present, I want you to not take me for granted," Twilight shouted. "And my name is Twilight Sparkle!"

Blueblood cringed before her, adopting a wounded tone. "Please, Twilight Sparkle, if I've offended you I'm so sorry. Surely you can see the advantages a marriage between us would bring?" He recovered his usual self-assurance. "I am, after all, one of the most famous stallions in Canterlot. City Life's Most Eligible Bachelor three years running, declared Equestria's Most Stylish Stallion by Mode magazine five years running. For six years running I was voted winner of the Most Charming Smile award by the readers of Mare's Weekly. And, of course, you are not without a few accomplishments of your own."

Rarity gasped. "Why, the nerve of him! To talk to Twilight Sparkle in that way!"

"A marriage would allow us to combinue our glamour and share our glories," Blueblood went on.

"Hmm, Twilight gets to be associated with a guy whose won a few awards in glossy magazines, you get to be associated with a hero who saved Equestria and defeated me," Sunset said. "Yeah, Twilight's really lucking out with this deal."

"And of course, through me you would gain entry into the very highest tiers of Canterlot society," Blueblood went on.

"She's already got that, you pompous ass," Sunset spat. "She's Princess Celestia's favourite, you can't get higher than that."

"And be able to associate yourself with the very best people," Blueblood finally finished his sales pitch.

Twilight's posture was regal and her tone was prim as she replied, "Personally, I am of the opinion that the very best people in all of Equestria are to be found here."

"Yeah, you tell him, Twilight," Rainbow said. "I hate that guy."

Blueblood laughed. "You only say that because you don't understand what you're saying. One week in Canterlot will cure you of all such delusions."

"Trust me, I understand exactly what I'm saying," Twilight said. She sighed. "Could we please talk about something else. Something besides you?"

Blueblood hesitated. "I'm having trouble thinking..."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you should consider moving here. It might do you good to get away from Canterlot and everypony fawning on you."

"Oh, now you sound like Aunt Celestia," Blueblood groused. "You simply don't understand that if one isn't the centre of attention then life simply isn't worth living."

"I can't stand any more of this," Rarity declared. "Girls, I'm going in!"

"Wait, Rarity!" Applejack hissed, but it was too late. Rarity strode out of cover and marched brazenly up to the couple.

"Twilight! Fancy running into you like this," Rarity said with false cheer. "Oh, do forgive me, I had no idea you were with a- why, Prince Blueblood, I had no idea you were in Ponyville."

Blueblood's eyes were wide with fright, he had gone stiff as a board.

Rarity's smile was wicked. "You must remember me, Your Highness, we met at the Grand Galloping Gala, if you recall. You left quite an impression on me."

Blueblood cleared his throat. "As did you, madam."

"Oh, really?"

Blueblood smiled slyly. "Indeed. When we met you had clearly been partying hard already, swaying on your hooves and slurring your speech. You threw yourself upon me in a manner most undignified, embarrassed yourself completely by your conduct and forced your attentions on me. It was only the fact that I am a perfect gentlecolt that prevented me taking advantage of the situation."

Rarity gasped with a mixture of shock and fury. "Well I never! Of all the barefaced lies I have ever heard that is by far the most audacious! You know perfectly well what happened that night!"

"And so do I," Twilight declared. "And I am afraid I could never marry a stallion who was dishonest on top of being self-absorbed and snobbish. I am sorry, Prince Blueblood, but I am afraid you have wasted your journey here. I have no intention of accepting the proposal you did not make."

"What?" Blueblood shrieked, stamping his hoof on the ground like a petulant child. "No! No, this is wrong, this is not how it's supposed to go. I am the prince, the prince! I'm the darling of Canterlot, the most eligible bachelor, everypony is supposed to look at me! Every mare should want to be my wife! Everypony should care what I think! But now there's Princess Cadence, and now you! Do you know that I was only ranked second most eligible bachelor this year? Do you know why? Because City Life said that 'as princesses proliferate, Celestia's distant cousin Prince Blueblood becomes an increasingly irrelevant and lightweight figure."
"But you can make them love me again, respect me again. Please, I need to be loved, I deserve to be loved!"

"Perhaps you do," Twilight replied, not without some sympathy. "But I do not love you."

That evening, in the library, Twilight changed out of her gown and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Prince Blueblood had returned to Canterlot. Unfortunately, all that meant for Twilight was that her trials were only just beginning. Zebras, griffons, more ponies too she had no doubt. She sat down at her desk, levitated up a quill, and began to write a letter to her sister-in-law. Hopefully Cadence would have some advice for her on how to deal with this situation.

There was a knock on the door. Twilight set her quill down, wondering who it was. She walked down stairs and opened the door, to find a shamefaced looking Sunset Shimmer standing outside.

"Can I come in?" Sunset asked meekly.

Twilight scowled, but nodded. "Sure." She turned away, walking over to the table, before fixing Sunset with a stern glare.

Sunset closed the door and stood silent for a moment, kicking her hooves on the floor. "I wanted to apologise... for this morning."

"I see."

"I shouldn't have acted like I did."

"No," Twilight agreed, coolly. "You shouldn't have."

Sunset closed her eyes and hung her head, her lips moving soundless for a moment before she looked up and said, "I don't always know how to...I don't like...Sometimes I can't...I don't know how to say what I'm feeling all the time. I don't like to say what I'm feeling always. Sometimes, I think it would be easier not feeling at all."

"Don't say that," Twilight said emphatically. "Don't ever. That way lies...you'd be a monster."

Sunset chuckled. "Been there, done that already." She was silent for a moment. "The point is, I didn't express myself very well this morning. I was angry and afraid and I took that out on you and it was wrong and I shouldn't have done it but...I thought that you were leaving me. And I didn't want that, because I...really like...hanging out...with you. I mean, who else is going to put up with me, right? I'm selfish and self-centred and I'm not that different from Prince Blueblood really, but you don't seem to care about any of that. I don't...I can't...without you, I...I don't want you to go because..." Sunset glared at Twilight angrily. "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? Throw me a bone, I'm dying out here!"

Twilight smiled. "Okay then, first of all: your apology is accepted. Second: you needn't worry, I don't plan on leaving here with any of these suitors. And third: you are nothing like Prince Blueblood. So don't worry about that either. Now, the girls and I are going out to dinner, do you want to join us?"

"Are you sure?" Sunset asked. "They won't mind?"

"Of course not, it'll be fine," Twilight said. "But only if you want to."

"Okay, great," Sunset said. "Let's go."

Twilight grinned. "One more thing before we go, and I'm going to tell the girls this too: I know you meant well, but I didn't need the six of you following me around and spying on me."

"Got it. Won't happen again."

And so the two of them left the library, side-by-side.

Author's Note

Pinkie's story is based on the plot of the silent comedy Slipping Wives, notable for being one of the earliest occassions when Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who would later achieve great fame as a comic duo, appeared on screen together. Pinkie claiming ot have sold greetings cards was inspired by the fact that Laurel and Hardy would later remake Slipping Wives as a talkie, Fixer Uppers, in which they...sold greetings cards.

Last Tango in Ponyville

Chapter 10

Last Tango in Ponyville

Twilight Sparkle stood upon the balcony of the library, protected from intrusion by her magical shield, and looked east towards the dawn. The sun, commanded by the majesty of Celestia's power, rose quickly into the sky, dispelling the darkness and spreading its warm rays across the broad lands of Equestria.

As she closed her eyes, Twilight felt her spirits rising in concert with the sun, its warmth and light bringing a smile of hope to her face. Soon, very soon. She could hardly wait.

"Won't it be great to finally get out of here, Spike?" Twilight asked. There was no response. "Spike?"

A snore answered her. Spike had fallen asleep again, leaning on the door that led back into the bedroom. Twilight smiled fondly; he was only a baby, so it was asking a lot for him to get up at the crack of dawn and stay that way. Levitating him up, she carried him back to his basket and covered him in a blanket. She wondered if she ought to have sent him to stay with Rarity until the crisis had passed. None of the suitors, after all, were interested in him. The only reason Spike couldn't leave the library was because in order for him to do so, Twilight would have to drop the shield - the only thing keeping intruders out.

Still, when Cadance arrived things would get better. Twilight was certain of it. As soon as she arrived...

Unfortunately, there were early risers among her suitors, and they had noticed her standing on the balcony. Whether they thought she was looking at them, or because they were just willing to take any opportunity to try and grab her attention, they started to close in on the library like a pack of timberwolves.

Equally unfortunately, the shield didn't block out sound.

"Oh Princess Fair,
Who brightens up the air,
With wondrous beauty," Slender Chance, a disshevelled Baltimare socialite whose opinion of his own artistic talents sat on the far side of an abyss from the opinion of the rest of Equestria, was the first to approach. His grey horn glowed with a white aura as he held up his latest poem in front of his face.
"O I implore you, do your royal duty,
And choose from us,
A pony with great soul,
Don't make a fuss,
Just let my heart be whole."

He calls that a poem? Twilight thought. There isn't even a metre.

She was half-glad when he was interrupted by the sound of somepony enthusiastically puffing on a tuba. She was less glad when the tuba began to be accompanied by Flying Deuce, a chubby pegasus from Baltimare, singing Let Me Call Your Sweetheart at her while his servant puffed enthusiastically upon the tuba in the background. It wasn't that he had a bad voice - objectively he was quite a good singer - it was just that Twilight was absolutely not in the mood for a serenade. She stalked back inside the library, slamming the door behind her.

"The sooner Cadance gets here the better," Twilight muttered to herself.

At that very moment, the sound of a train whistle split the air, echoing loudly across all of Ponyville, loud enough to even reach Twilight inside the library.

Twilight leapt up into the air, wings spreading to carry her to the ceiling. "Yes!"

Sunset was also up early, sitting on the roof of her bungalow and switching her gaze between the library and the large open space on the outskirts of town which was presently half-turned into a dance floor.

The dance was the brainchild of one Ivy League, a particularly smarmy suitor - in Sunset's eyes at least - from Fillydelphia who had stuck up posters all over Ponyville advertising it even as his hirelings worked to set it all up just outside of Ponyville. He had ordered in some musicians for Canterlot for tomorrow night and - Applejack and Pinkie Pie had admitted - brought large quantities of cider and contracted Sugarcube Corner for some of the catering. Sunset understood that they had to make a living, but she was glad that they had at least seemed a little shamefaced in admitting that they'd taken his bits. After all, it wasn't as though there was any mystery as to what Ivy Leage hoped to gain from all of this. He didn't just want everypony to have a good time, he wanted to draw Twilight out onto the dancefloor so he could put the moves on her.

The thought of it made Sunset's hooves itch.

Looking out by the dawn's early light and seeing the half-erected bandstand, the banner proclaiming 'Ponyville Gala!', the scaffolding for the lights, the tents for the vendors, Sunset was seized with an urge to start casting fireballs. She only didn't because she knew that Twilight wouldn't approve.

Twilight.

Sunset turned away from the impromptu dancefloor and looked to the library where she could see the Princess of Ponyville standing on the balcony like Juliet, looking towards the sunrise while all her would be Romeos gathered below like sharks. Or vultures. Or something equally repellent and nasty.

Sunset scowled. Why did just thinking about them and Twilight get her so worked up? Why did she care if Twilight married some rich dirtbag (the fact that there was a suitor called Rich Dirtbag, and that he had the audacity to show his face in public, would have amused Sunset if she hadn't been too upset about the possibility of Twilight marrying him) or not?

It wasn't as if Sunset wanted to be in their horseshoes.

Sunset hesitated. Where had that come from? She didn't like Twilight that way. Just because she thought about Twilight a lot, and got jealous that some other ponies where taking Twilight's time away from her, that didn't mean a thing.

The fantasy she'd had about driving all the suitors off with her power and rescuing Twilight from their slimy clutches didn't mean anything either. Nor did the more recent fantasy about dancing with Twilight - or trying to, considering what a terrible dancer Twilight was - at the impromptu gala. Didn't mean a thing. It just meant she wanted to wipe the smug looks of those rich jerks' faces. It was like when Twilight had gone to the party with Flash, she hadn't actually cared about Flash, she was just infuriated that someone else, and her rival no less, was playing with Sunset's toy.

The fact that what Sunset was feeling now felt a lot less childish and a lot more intense had nothing whatsoever to do with it. She and Twilight were just friends, and what she was feeling was just a friendly impulse. Rarity or Rainbow Dash would have felt exactly the same way.

Maybe not with the same roaring inferno of envy that Sunset was feeling, but other than that she was sure they felt exactly the same.

Sunset watched as Twilight went back inside, clearly disgusted with all of these would-be suitors. The thought lifted Sunset's spirits a little, before the sound of a train whistle startled her so much she almost fell off the roof.

Sunset righted herself, grabbing hold of the chimney stack and clinging to it like flotsam in the ocean, as she watched a high speed train of glimmering crystal thunder down the line eastward into Ponyville.

Ah, the Princess Cadance cometh, Sunset thought. Evidently she doesn't do subtle.

"She's here! She's here!" Twilight yelled, bouncing up and down. "She really came, Spike, isn't it great!"

"Um, sure, I guess," Spike said. "Do you really think Cadance will be able to fix all of...this?"

"Cadance has been ruling the Crystal Empire; Spike, I'm sure she knows how to deal with ponies like this," Twilight said confidently. "And if she doesn't, I'm sure that having an extra friend in town can't hurt, can it?"

She heard the unmistakable sound of a crystal flugelhorn outside, two in fact, blowing a fanfare to the skies.

"The Princess Cadance has come!" Flash Sentry declared. "Make way! Make way!"

Twilight's horn lit up with purple aura as she lowered the shield protecting the library. Then she ran to the door in time to see Cadance approaching, proceeded by Flash Sentry and two trumpeters, and trailed by a dozen crystal guards in their bejewelled and glittering armour. For once, the suitors did not immediately rush forward at the sight of her, still less did they attempt to force their way inside. Instead they hovered, uncertain seeming, at an unobtrusive distance as Flash Sentry and the guards formed a line between them and the two princesses.

"Cadance!" cried Twilight. "I'm so glad you could make it! I wasn't expecting you so soon!"

Cadance trotted the last few paces separating them, pulling into a hug while she nuzzled the top of Twilight's head. "You sounded so desperate in your letter that I knew I had to come right away. How could I stay away when you need my help?"

Twilight closed her eyes, smiling contentedly as she felt the cool of Cadance's necklace against her cheek. "I'm so glad you're here."

Cadance looked back at her guards. "Flash Sentry, remain here and do not let anypony disturb us."

"Yes, Princess," Flash said.

"Come on," Cadance said. "Let's go inside."

Twilight stood up, leading the way into the library with Cadance following. Lush smells assailed Twilight's nostrils from the kitchen.

"Hey, Spike," Cadance called.

"Morning, Cadance," Spike replied, his voice emerging from the kitchen to accompany the delicious smells. "You want some breakfast? Juice or coffee?"

"Coffee please, and breakfast would be lovely," Cadance said. "I've been up all night on that train. Could you take some coffee out to my guards as well, they've been awake as long as I have."

"Okay."

"Thanks, you're a dear," Cadance said with a smile. To Twilight she whispered, "If Shining Armour had had his way he'd have come too, along with all the guards, but I convinced him not to overreact."

Twilight chuckled. "I don't want to beat anypony up, I just want some peace."

Cadance nodded, and gestured for Twilight to sit down. They both sat around the round library table, moving the bust of the unicorn's head a little so it didn't get in the way.

"So," Cadance began, leaning her forelegs on the tabletop. "First things first: Rarity was right, they can't deny you the right to a chaperone. Once you invoke that right, you don't have to meet or deal with any of them unaccompanied nor can they force you to do otherwise. And, as a princess, my suitability is unquestionable. Plus, I've had to learn a thing or two about dealing with wealthy ponies who have an overly high opinion of themselves. But ultimately, this is only treating the symptoms, not the cause. What do you want to do about all of those ponies, or the foreign princes who are said to be on their way?"

Twilight looked away. "That's just it, I've got no idea. I've never done anything like this before."

Cadance smiled fondly. "Don't worry, that's why I'm here to help. So, let's break it down: do you actually want to marry anypony right now?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm too young. I don't want to tie myself down to anything right away. I mean, I suppose it would be one thing if I knew I was in love with somepony, like you and Shining Armour, but I don't feel like I even know what love is yet."

"Okay, there's no point giving any of them a real chance then, since you don't really want to," Cadance said. "That means we need a way to get rid of them that doesn't require you to date every pony, zebra or griffon who finds their way to Ponyville. Something like...a test, maybe."

"A test?" Twilight said. "What kind of a test?"

"You know, like the bedtime stories I used to tell you," Cadance said. "Where winning the hoof of the princess involves actually winning at some contest or challenge she sets."

"Yeah, but what if somepony wins, then I'll have to marry them."

"We won't phrase it like that," Cadance assured her. "You may have to go on a couple of dates with anypony lucky enough to pass, but if they're jerks, you can just dump them later. And besides, if we get the test right most of them won't pass. It will still be a lot easier than dating all of them."

Twilight considered. She imagined naming Sunset her champion and making all who would seek her hoof fight their way past her. The image of Sunset, clad in armour shining bright, wearing Twilight's favour around her leg, made Twilight giggle...but at the same time it was quite a striking image too. As Twilight imagined it, Sunset looked quite good in knightly raiment. Very dashing.

"Twilight?"

"Oh, yes," Twilight snapped out of it, chuckling in embarrassment. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Do you have a test in mind?"

"No, we'll have to give it some thought," Cadance murmured. She hummed contemplatively for a moment, then leaned in. "So, what else has been going on with you, besides suddenly becoming the hottest ticket on the marriage market?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Twilight grumbled. "Well, I've been spending a lot of time with Sunset lately. Once you get to know her, she's not such a bad pony."

Cadance nodded. "Princess Celestia told us about the diamond dogs."

"Honestly?" Twilight went on. "Out of all the ponies I thought would come get me, she was the least expected. Of course I did end up carrying her back to Ponyville, but she was the one who scared the dogs away. It was...pretty cool to see."

"I'm glad to see you're making progress with her," Cadance said.

"Sunset isn't like Discord, she doesn't need reformation or to be taught what it means to not be evil. She isn't evil, she never was. She just...made some bad decisions, and then had to keep making worse ones to try and keep her head above water. Sure, she's got her faults, who hasn't? But once you get to know her, she's not half bad. It makes me regret how hard I was on her when she first got here. But..."

"But?"

"It's like she's always got something weighing on her," Twilight said. "Making her sad, making her angry, grinding her down. I'd like to take those things away. I'd like to see her be just happy, with no misgivings or reservations."

"I look forward to meeting her," Cadance said. "She sounds like a good friend."

"Hmm," Twilight murmured. The truth was that - although it wasn't anything worth mentioning to Cadance - she had a hard time envisaging Sunset as a friend. She liked Sunset, sure, liked her a lot, but her feelings didn't seem to belong in the same place occupied by Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow or the others. She loved her friends with all her heart, and she loved each of them differently because they were all different. But when she thought about them, individually or together then she could see the pattern in the feelings that she felt, the effect that they had on her. She could tell that it all came from the same place. But when she thought about Sunset, it felt different, something else.

For one thing, she'd never caught herself thinking about any of her friends as being hot.

Cadance smiled mischievously. "So is there anypony that you like? That you've got your eye on maybe?"

Twilight squeaked as she was jerked from her thoughts once more. "No. Why would you even ask me something like that?"

"It's shameless of me to steal somepony else's material I know," Cadance said. "And the question has already been asked, but I just wondered if the reason you didn't want to give any of these suitors a try is because there was somepony you really wanted to go out with."

"No," Twilight said quickly. "I don't want to give them a try because if it was Princess Applejack instead of Princess Twilight Sparkle they'd all be camped outside of Sweet Apple Acres right now." Twilight sighed. "Did you get this much attention before you got married?"

"Sort of," Cadance said. "I was a little older than you, and I tended to date in order to keep the hopefuls at bay. That...brought it's own problems. And you have no idea how lucky you are living in Ponyville instead of Canterlot. You don't know what lack of privacy is until you've had thirty paparazzi pressed against your bedroom window trying to get a picture of you with bedhead or looking tired or just looking less than one hundred percent perfect."

"They did that?" Twilight asked, aghast. She couldn't imagine living like that.

"It wasn't as bad as some of the things they said," Cadance went on. "Why shouldn't I have gone out with guys I liked? Why shouldn't I have broken up with guys I didn't like? Why should I have held out for perfection, for love?"

Twilight grinned. "You think Shining Armour is perfection?"

Cadance smiled. "Everypony's idea of perfect is unique. He's perfect to me. Why should I care what anypony else thinks? It shouldn't matter to you either, whenever you find somepony. Now come on, let's explain to all these suitors how it's going to be from now on."

Cadance took the lead heading up the stairs, Twilight trailing behind her. Cadance pushed open the balcony doors and strode out into the sunlight, her crown and necklace gleaming. Twilight, hanging back a little, noticed Cadance's posture changing subtly as she stared down at the suitors gathered below. She was no longer Twilight's sister-in-law, that mare had been put away. The Princess of the Crystal Empire stood in her place.

Twilight joined her on the balcony. The suitors, barred entry to the library by Flash Sentry's ponies, had gathered underneath, looking up in expectation of some announcement. They were silent, which Twilight found a refreshing change.

Cadance can get them to do all this, Twilight thought. Can she teach me, or is she just that awesome?

"Shame on you," Cadance declared coldly. "Shame on you all, to treat a young mare so."

Rich Dirtbag cleared his throat. "Your Highness-"

"I have not finished," Cadance's voice rose just enough to threaten anger without seeming to shout. "You saw a young mare newly raised to royalty and you descended on her like lions! None of you care for my sister-in-law. None of you care for the mare beneath the crown. All you care for is a title and a connection to Princess Celestia and in pursuit of those, you have locked a girl inside her house, cut her off from all contact with her friends and made her life a misery. Prisoners would call such treatment harsh."

"Princess Twilight belongs to Equestria," yelled Entitled III up at Cadance. He was an earth pony, his coat a ruddy brown, who also happened to be the best dressed pony in the company. "Before the zebras or the griffons come to carry her off she must wed the best pony amongst us."

"Must?" Cadance said incredulously. "Let me tell you how things are going to be from now on: this siege in all but name will end. You will remove yourself from here to the edge of Ponyville or I will have you removed do I make myself clear? I am Princess Twilight's chaperone, you will have no contact with her except in my presence and if I tell you to go, you will go. But each of you will be given the chance to prove yourself to Princess Twilight, in a manner to be announced later. Do you understand?"

Judging by the sullen tone of their muttering, Twilight guessed that they did understand but were far from happy about it.

"Good," Cadance said. "That is all. Come, Twilight."

She swept back inside, leaving Twilight to scuttle in after her. As the doors closed, Cadance let out a deep sight of relief and seemed to soften visibly before Twilight's eyes. "I hate doing that. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

Twilight's eyebrows rose. "Did you learn that in the Crystal Empire."

"I had to learn that," Cadance said. "Otherwise I would never have made it. Like I said, you're very lucky to be were you are."

When she saw all the suitors moving their stuff to the outskirts of town, Sunset had to admit that she was impressed. It seemed Princess Cadance really did know how to handle a situation like this. She had left most of her guards upon the library, but it seemed that Twilight and Cadance had themselves gone elsewhere. Sunset didn't blame them, after so long stuck inside the freedom must be quite liberating for Twilight.

The stern faces of the crystal guard didn't invite questions as to where the two princesses had gone, but thankfully Sunset could take a good guess from the attention being paid to Sugarcube Corner, where a small crowd was gathering outside. Sunset smiled. You could always rely on the good folks of Ponyville to get enraptured by the presence of celebrity, even if Equestria's own princess of hearts appeared to deserve it more than some. She had just done a good thing for Twilight, that was certain.

Sunset turned away from the library and padded down the street towards Sugarcube Corner. Lyra waved to her as she went and, to her own surprise, Sunset waved back, her leg moving almost independently of her will.

Why did I do that? Sunset asked herself. I guess this town is really starting to grow on me.

Sunset nudged her way through the crowds towards the bakery where she saw two ponies in crystal armour not so much guarding the doors as standing nearby them keeping an eye out for trouble, and a golden pegasus in armour equally golden.

"Flash?" Sunset asked, coming to a stop as her eyes widened.

Flash's whole body stiffened with shock. "Sunset? Oh, Celestia, I had no idea you were here. Wow."

"Wow is right," Sunset murmured. She had dated pony Flash for a few months when she was still studying with Celestia. It was one of the reasons she had gone for human Flash in the other world: when she had first got there she had sought the comfort of familiarity in some reflected form, although she had ended up dating that Flash for far longer. Still, seeing pony Flash Sentry like this was like a blast from two pasts. She'd known he was in the Crystal Empire because she'd seen him when she came back with Twilight - although she'd managed to avoid having to actually speak to him while she was still a more or less prisoner - but she hadn't really thought about it much. She certainly hadn't expected to see him here in Ponyville.

They stared at each other for a moment while the crowd jostled around them for a glimpse of Princess Cadance.

"So," Flash said.

"Yeah," Sunset replied.

"Right," Flash said.

There was a silence.

Awkward, Sunset thought. She said, "Um, so how have you been?"

"Good," Flash said. "I've been good."

Sunset nodded. "Cool. You're, uh, you're guarding Princess Cadance."

"Guard captain," Flash said. "To Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armour."

"Nice," Sunset replied. "Is it fun?"

Flash gave her a look.

"Yeah, right, hard work, got it," Sunset said quickly. "Um, are you...seeing anypony?"

Flash looked away, blushing. "There's somepony, she's Princess Cadance's mane stylist. We've been on a couple of dates. Early days."

"Right, yeah."

Flash frowned a little. "So how are you, Sunset? Doing okay?"

"Can't complain," Sunset said quietly.

Another silence fell between them.

Sunset felt as thought she could practically touch the wall between them, the tension weighing down the air. The fact of it was, she'd never actually broken up with Flash on this side of the mirror. She'd just...gone through the mirror, bidding her life goodbye and not looking back until her new life had fallen to pieces. She'd walked away from her sister, her coltfriend, her teacher, her whole world and she hadn't even stopped to say goodbye. She hadn't gotten what she wanted, so she had run away, like she always did, without a thought for any of them. The more she thought about it, the more she understood why Eclipse hated her, yet Flash was being incredibly civil. If their positions had been reversed, Sunset would have probably smacked him by now.

"Listen," Sunset said. "About the way that I-"

"I was going to ask you to marry me," Flash said, his voice rising and becoming sharper.

Sunset's train of words and thoughts were completely thrown off the rails by that, so that she could only offer in response a rather stupid, "Huh?"

"I had a ring," Flash said. "I was going to ask you at the Gala. But you weren't there."

"Yeah," Sunset hung her head a little. "Not my proudest moment."

"You just disappeared, I thought something had happened to you!" Flash was practically shouting now. "It took me months to get a straight answer out of Princess Celestia about where you'd gone, and it wasn't even that straight. I loved you and you treated me like trash."

"I know," Sunset said softly.

"Why?" Flash demanded. "What was it all for?"

"That I don't know," Sunset replied. "Not any more. Vanity, I guess? Ambition, maybe. Looking back, I find it harder and harder to remember what the point was. I can't make up for what I did, Flash, but I wish you the best with your mane-stylist."

Flash looked at her coldly. "No. You can't make up for it." His gaze softened. "But I guess you don't have to. I don't hate you, Sunset. I just...I don't know, there's nothing there any more."

"Fair enough," Sunset murmured. "Hey, Flash...were you really going to ask me to marry you?"

"Uh huh."

"Why?" Sunset asked. "I was a terrible mare friend."

Flash shrugged. "I loved you. I can't explain it better than that." He cleared his throat. "So, you want to go inside?"

"Nah, it's fine, I'll catch up with Twilight later," Sunset said. She found that she had lost her appetite a little bit. Discovering that you had behaved even worse than you thought you had could do that to you. "I, um, it was...seeing you again was certainly...something."

"Yeah, something," Flash said. "Have a nice life, Sunset Shimmer."

"You too, Flash Sentry," Sunset replied.

Sunset turned away, pushing back through the crowd away from Sugarcube Corner. Her stomach felt icy cold. He'd been going to propose? She couldn't honestly say that she would have said yes but still, he'd been about to ask. And she'd just vanished on him, without so much as a 'it's not you, it's me'. Sunset had had no idea that she had been quite such a terrible person. No wonder nopony from her old life wanted anything to do with her.

I'm going to have try and make things right, with Flash and with Eclipse. If only I knew how.

Sunset went home and spent the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon trying to write to her sister. Trying was the key word there; she soon had a waste basket overflowing with half-formed thoughts and incoherent scrawlings, words vomited onto the page with little regard to style or meaning.

"Ugh, this is hopeless," Sunset moaned, putting her head in her hooves. There was no way she could mend her fences with those she had wronged because she had no way of righting what she had done. What could she possibly say to her sister: I'm sorry for all the times I was an ass to you, including the time I ran off to another dimension without giving you a second thought, please forgive me so we can be besties again? And while Flash was pretty clearly over her, that didn't really excuse her cruelty. Sunset’s actions had pretty clearly demonstrated the dynamic of their relationship: Flash had loved her, and she had loved herself.

But while Sunset would not have refused forgiveness from either of them, it was Eclipse's mercy that she wanted more right now. After all, if she had broken up with Flash properly she would have no reason to feel guilty or to care what he was up to these days. But the fact that her own sister didn't want Sunset to come to her wedding was like a festering wound upon her soul.

A wound that she had no idea how to heal.

Sunset considered that it might be easier to do this in person, but on the other hand she wasn't sure if she could bear the humiliation of having the door slammed in her face before she could say a word.

There was a knock on the door, making Sunset scramble to hide her scribblings under a heavy book. "Um, who is it?"

"It's Twilight."

The fact that Twilight had beheld her in various states of physical and emotional weakness already meant that it was a bit absurd to start worrying about that now. All the same Sunset felt a desire to conceal her worry and confusion from Twilight almost as great as her desire to rush to the door and see her all the quicker. She hid the letter scraps, tidied up her mane a little as quickly as she could and only once she had put on a smile to conceal her troubles did Sunset get off the chair and get the door.

Twilight wasn't alone. A pink alicorn was with her who must surely have been the famous Princess Cadance.

"Hey, Twilight," Sunset said. She bowed her head. "Your Highness."

"There's no need to be so formal," Cadance said breezily. "Twilight says that the two of you are getting along well, and I want to thank you for getting her back from the diamond dogs."

Sunset coughed. "Thanks," she said softly. "How does it feel be allowed out, Twilight?"

"Great! Fresh air again. I didn't realise how stale the library was getting," Twilight said cheerfully. "You already know who she is but I might as well introduce you properly: Sunset, this is Cadance, Cadance, this is Sunset."

Sunset said, "Should I bow again?"

Cadance chuckled. "That won't be necessary. May we come in"

"Yeah, sure." Sunset stood aside to admit them. Company would be better than letting her mind go round and round in circles trying to find a way to make up for years of being a jerk. "Do you want something to drink? To eat?"

"No, thank you, we were just at Sugarcube Corner," Cadance said.

"Oh, yeah, of course," Sunset said. How had she forgotten that? She'd been there herself. As everypony sat down, Sunset went on, "So, I see the besiegers are letting up the pressure a little."

"Yep." Twilight's bright smile warmed the cold embers of Sunset's stricken heart. "Cadance and I are working on a way to send them home without offending anypony too much, but keep that to yourself, okay?"

Sunset laughed. "You think any of them talk to me? If you're not a princess they don't notice you exist."

"Yet another reason why I don't want anything to do with them," Twilight said. She looked at Cadance. "Do I really have to go to this dance tomorrow?"

"Yes. First, because they'll be more pliable if they think that you're dealing with them in good faith, but they won't believe that if you don't at least play the game a little," Cadance said. "Secondly, because Ivy League has at least tried to lay on something which he hopes you'll enjoy, which is a first for this bunch as I understand. And third, we did get him to agree to allow everypony in Ponyville to attend, so it might actually be a fun night, and you could do with one of those."

"I guess," Twilight said. "Hey, Sunset, you should come!"

"Nah, I'll pass."

Twilight looked a sounded a little deflated. "Oh, why?"

Because I don't want to have to watch you get twirled around the dancefloor by a bunch of stuck-up jerks while I'm stuck in the crowd. Sunset thought. Then she remembered what Twilight dancing looked like and started to snigger in spite of herself.

"What's so funny?" Twilight asked.

"I'm just wondering what everypony who worked so hard to set up a dance for you is going to say when they realise that you cannot dance," Sunset said with a grin.

Twilight pouted. "I can too dance!"

"No, you can't, I've seen you dancing," Sunset said mischievously. "I watched the Fall Formal through the window and saw you get on all fours and flail your limbs around. The only reason I didn't kill myself laughing is because I didn't want to get caught."

"You were supposed to be mending the wall," Twilight reminded her sharply.

"You think I spent that night doing manual labour like a chump?" Sunset asked, aghast. "What kind of an idiot do you take me for? I'd already decided I was going to follow you back through the mirror, so what was the point in starting a job I was never going to finish? I watched the dance for a little bit and then I packed a bag and hid in wait so that nobody could see what I was going to do and stop me before I could do it."

"Huh," Twilight said. "That was...well thought out... in a fundamentally dishonest way."

Sunset looked smug. "And that is how I know that you cannot dance."

"And I suppose you're a great dancer?"

"Yup." Sunset abruptly felt the lack of any kind of record player in her house. She crossed quickly over to the window, opened it, and stuck her head out. "Hey, Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie, as Sunset had expected she would, appeared from out of nowhere with her nose practically touching Sunset's own. "What's up, Sunset?"

"Can we get some music?" Sunset asked. "Something you can dance to."

Pinkie beamed. "You betcha!" She produced a stereo - Sunset knew better than to ask where she'd gotten it from - which began to blast out a perfectly danceable tune with lots of guitar and a steady beat, to which Pinkie herself began to dance on the grass outside of Sunset's house.

Sunset left her too it, her horn glowing as she folded up her table and tucked it against the wall. She turned her attention to Twilight. "Just watch what I do at first, okay?"

Sunset began to sway to the music, letting the rhythm take over her body, a smile spreading across her face. She grinned at Twilight as she swayed energetically, tossing her head and letting her mane fly invitingly back and forward.

"And then, once you get warmed up," Sunset said, and then she began to dance.

She was fast, she was skilled, she knew exactly where to put her hooves. Every movements of her legs looked deliberate, every movement looked just right. Even her mistakes didn't look of place. She looked impressive, she looked as though she was having fun, above all else she looked inviting.

Sunset's smile widened. Out of the corner of her eye she could see more ponies outside her window starting to dance. She thought she could hear Pinkie starting to sing along, but most of her brain was shut off from the outside world. Only the music mattered, only the dance; only Twilight sitting in front of her, starting to smile.

One, two, one-two-three, Manehattan! Sunset counted off the beats in her head, finishing with an outstretched foreleg into the air. She was basically doing nothing more than a glorified cha-cha, but she was adding enough of her own personal flair that most ponies wouldn't even notice. One, two, three, chasse!

Outside her house, more and more ponies were joining the throng but Sunset's eyes were fixed on Twilight. "Come on, Princess, it's your turn." Sunset practically pulled Twilight onto her hooves, gazing into Twilight's wide, lavender eyes as she said, "Just do what I do."

Twilight's face filled Sunset's gaze as they moved in rhythm, stepping, swaying.

"Now shake that flank," Sunset yelled as the song reached its height, the number of Pinkie's backing dancers reaching its zenith outside. Sunset shook her own provocatively.

Twilight began to blush. "Uh, I'm not sure that I-"

"Come on, isn't this liberating?"

Twilight was silent for a moment, then she started to giggle. "Yeah."

"Of course it is," Sunset said loudly, feeling euphorically light-headed as she started to prowl forwards, shaking with every step. Before she had really thought about what she was doing, she had her forelegs around Twilight's neck.

"And rise up," Sunset murmured, standing up on her hind legs, forelegs around Twilight, looking down upon the princess. Then she began to lower her face towards Twilight's.

"And then you-" And then the music stopped.

"Aww," somepony moaned outside.

Sunset became abruptly conscious of exactly where she was and what she was doing.

Judging by how red her face was, Twilight had only just realised it herself. "Sunset, what are you doing?"

Sunset leapt away, turning aside so Twilight couldn't see her face burning. "So, yeah, just do something like that and you'll be beautiful, I mean fine, fine, awesome and stuff. Yeah. Thanks for coming over, have a good time, I'll see you around."

"Right," Twilight said softly. "Are you sure you don't want to come to the dance? You seem like you'd have a really good time there."

"Trust me, I wouldn't," Sunset said.

"Oh, right," Twilight said. "You know best, I suppose. See you later, Sunset."

"See ya!" Sunset said, still not looking at her. She heard the door open, and then close.

Sunset looked around, and nearly jumped when she realised that Cadance was still there.

"You should really reconsider coming to the party tomorrow," Cadance said knowingly. "Twilight could use somepony there who cares about her."

"Aren't you going to be there?" Sunset asked.

"You know what I mean," Cadance said with a sly smile. "Just bear in mind, it's a formal dress event, so if you do decide to make an appearance you should go probably go and see Rarity as soon as possible, before she gets snowed under with orders."

"I'll bear that in mind."

Cadance opened the door to go, but paused in the doorway. "And by the way, you were right. You really are a good dancer."

She closed the door behind her. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief.

What the hay is wrong with me?

Sunset looked down at her...hands? She had hands again? Since when? What was going on here?

Sunset looked wildly around. She stood in a dense fog, too thick to really see through. She couldn't work out where she was, if she was alone or if anypony else was just hiding out of sight. And she was human again, dressed in her familiar leather jacket and boots, the feel of them tight around her legs as she turned this way and that.

"Hello?" Sunset yelled. "Is anyone there?"

No answer. Not even a wind.

"Twilight? Anyone?" Sunset called. Again, there was no answer.

Sunset noticed something. There was no sound of soil crunching beneath her feet, no creak of wooden floorboads, no squeak of polished tiles being trampled on. If she could work out what she was standing on it might help her work out where she was.

Sunset dropped to her knees, lowering her head and sticking her hand out - good thing she could still remember how to use it - and brushing her fingers gently against the ground. It felt cold and smooth, and it looked like glass, like that one way mirror glass you saw on all those procedural cop shows humans watched. And she was standing on it.

"Weird," Sunset murmured.

And then she heard somepony crying.

"Hello?" Sunset called out, trying to work out from where in this thick fog the crying was coming. "Hello, whose there? Do you need help?"

There was no response but more sobbing.

Sunset scowled. "Okay, I'll try and find you." She set off through the mist in what she hoped was the right direction, her boots tapping on the glassy surface beneath her feet. The fact that the crying got a little bit louder seemed to prove that Sunset was going in the right direction, as did the fact that she could make out a murky silhouette in the fog.

"Are you okay?" Sunset asked as she got closer. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was Fluttershy, mirror Fluttershy. She wassitting the ground hugging her legs, sobbing into her knees. Her pink hair had fallen around her face to hide it from Sunset's view.

"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked, before realising what a stupid question that was since she didn't have the faintest idea where they were. "Are you hurt? What's the matter?"

Fluttershy didn't answer, she just kept crying.

Sunset frowned. "I know you might have a hard time believing this, but I want to help you. I'm a better person now." She knelt down by Fluttershy's side. "Or at least I'm trying to be. Come on, what's the matter?" She reached out and placed a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

Instantly her palm was filled with such a sharp, burning sensation that Sunset howled in pain and recoiled backwards, landing on her rear as she gripped her wrist with her other hand. When she looked at her palm, she half expected to see it seared black or branded with some mark, but instead it looked completely unharmed. It didn't feel unharmed though.

Sunset winced, and spoke through gritted teeth. "What did you do that for?"

"An excellent question. One to ask yourself, don't you think?" The voice that emerged from the foggy gloom was a strange mixture of sinuous and sultry, part hiss, part croon. "After all, you hurt many people in many ways. What was it for?"

Sunset got to her feet, still cradling her hand. "Who's there?"

A woman emerged from the mists. Well, she sort of looked like a woman. That was the starting point. Her skin was grey and looked a little scaly in places. She had a pair of bat wings, tattered and holed like the wings of a changeling, sprouting from her shoulder blades. Her hair was fire, red and orange, burning like a torch on top of her head. Around her waist, snakes were threaded like a belt, hissing and spitting at Sunset as the creature closed with her. Her hands were claws and her feet were the talons of birds. She looked a little like Sunset's demon form, except that that had been in imitation while this was the original: Allecto, the fury of wrath.

Sunset shook her head as she retreated. "No. This is a dream."

"Well, yes," Allecto said. "But why should that mean it isn't real? You disturbed the shrine to myself and my sisters, exposed your blood to us. And what blood it was, so rich with sin. So sated with anger and rage."

"No," Sunset said loudly. "I'm not that person any more."

"Look at her," Allecto said softly, gesturing to Fluttershy with one clawed hand. "Do you know how many nights she wept herself to sleep because of your cruelty, your malice."

"I try not to think about it," Sunset confessed.

"No," Allecto whispered. "You hide from your own misdeeds. Why did you do it? Why did you torment her so, such a sweet and innocent creature?"

"Because...because," Sunset's face became a picture of misery. "Because I was angry and hurting and I wanted to spread it around. I thought I wouldn't suffer so much if everyone else was suffering too. And I chose Fluttershy because I knew that she'd let me get away with it, that she wouldn't fight back." She sank to her knees, head bowed. "And because I hated how kind she was to everyone. It didn't feel like anyone had ever been that kind to me. So I didn't see why anyone else should enjoy what I had been denied."

Allecto hissed disgustedly.

"I know I've done bad things, so many things," Sunset whimpered. "But I'm trying to be a better person. I am a better person now. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"

"There is no repentance, no mercy, only the crime and the punishment," Allecto snarled. "You are a monster full of rage, swollen with envy, who committed injustices against the innocent then fled beyond their recourse. You are the rightful prey of all three furies." Allecto's lips curved upwards in a smirk. "You should be honoured, Sunset Shimmer, rare is she who can incite all three sisters to an equal pitch of righteous indignation."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Your soul belongs to us, and too long has it been since we last hunted, bound away in that shrine within this contented land. Your soul is ours, and we will claim it, but first we will visit you in your dreams, I or one of my sisters, and we will torment you with the evidence of your guilt. We will torment you, we will hound you, and only when the misery of your victims has been repaid will we take your soul."

Sunset shook her head. "Please..."

"GO!" Allecto yelled, the flames on her head leaping higher even as an inferno raged behind her eyes. "GO AND REMEMBER THIS!"

Sunset tumbled out of bed with a yelp, crashing heavily onto the floor.

"Ugh," Sunset groaned, lifting her head up and looking around. She rubbed her head with one hoof, then pushed herself up onto all fours. Looking around her room, walking out into the living room, it seemed a world away from the primal place that creatures such as the furies came from.

"It was only a dream," Sunset muttered to herself. "Just a bad dream, that's all."

She certainly hoped it was anyway.

Sunset looked at the clock on the nightstand and was surprised to find that it was just gone noon. Who knew that getting confronted by Allecto could take so long?

She first tried washing all memory of the dream away, which didn't really work. Then she tried brushing it away, which worked even less. Then she decided to go for a walk to clear her head. That worked insofar as the sight of the - by now, pretty much completed - dance setup gave her something else to fume about. Something which quite pushed all memories of furies and punishment out of her head.

Those greedy and unworthy mules. None of them cared for Twilight's intelligence, her humour, her kindness or generosity. None of them even really cared about her beauty. Sunset stamped the ground angrily, trampling the grass beneath her hooves. It wasn't right, none of them deserved her!

Yet tonight they would monopolise her, drooling over her, holding her in their grasping hooves. That why Sunset wasn't going, she had no desire to see that.

But just because she couldn't see it didn't mean that it wouldn't be happening. In fact, it only meant that there would be one less pony who wanted to stop it.

Sunset began to stomp in the direction of Carousel Boutique. If she wanted to be there for Twilight she would have to really be there for Twilight, where it counted, on the dance floor. She would show all these fine, rich ponies that she could be as dashing as any of them.

She reached the boutique and threw open the door so hard it slammed, something which she then regretted when she saw how hard Rarity was working. Dozens of fabulous gowns littered the store, flowing and elegant, bejewelled and glittering. Sunset couldn't see a ponikin in the store that didn't have a glamorous dress draped over it, and saw barely a hanger unused for that matter. Rarity herself was slaving away at the sewing machine, bags underneath her eyes when she looked up to see who it was.

"Ah, Sunset," Rarity didn't sound surprised, but there was an undercurrent of weariness beneath her usual tones. "Do close the door more quietly than you opened it, would you?"

Sunset did as she was asked, eyes wide as she looked around the shop. "You must have worked all night to make all these."

"What is sleep compared to the needs of Ponyville?" Rarity asked proudly. "So many ponies are so excited about tonight, I couldn't disappoint them."

Sunset nodded. "So which one is Twilight's?"

Rarity chuckled. "That one is being kept safely out of sight. It wouldn't do to reveal it before the dance. One of my better works, if I do say so myself. Now, what can I do for you?"

Sunset said nothing as she looked around the boutique. Faced with so much evidence of hard work, forethought and preparation, her arrogance in thinking she could just walk in and get a dress seemed especially pronounced. She began to back towards the door. "I, um, it was nothing. Sorry to bother you."

"You changed your mind, decided to go to the dance and then realised you had nothing to wear, correct?" Rarity said.

Sunset stopped. "How did you know?"

Rarity smiled. "Step up onto the podium, darling, I left some time in my schedule just for you."

"But how did you even know that I'd be here?" Sunset asked, walking onto the stand.

"Some things a lady just knows," Rarity said airily. "Now, what sort of dress are you looking for?"

Sunset closed her eyes for a moment and decided it was best to get it over with quickly. "I want to dance with Twilight. So I want something that makes me look...worthy of her. Almost like a princess myself: graceful, elegant, that kind of thing. Sort of like you, I guess."

"Hmm," Rarity sound a trifle disapproving, but she nevertheless nodded her head. "Stay right here, I'll see what I can do."

Sunset was sure that Rarity tried her best, but it just wasn't enough. None of the ideas that Rarity had, none of the samples she tried on, none of them felt right. None of them looked right on her. If she didn't look ridiculous, Sunset felt as though she was hiding who she was, pretending to be something she wasn't, disguising herself beyond recognition.

Eventually she had to acknowledge that the reason she felt that way was because that was exactly what she was doing.

"Gah, this is hopeless," Sunset moaned, facehoofing after yet another failed attempt. "Even if you were the best dressmaker in Equestria you couldn't make me look pure and innocent."

"Ahem."

"Correction: even you, Rarity, the best dressmaker in Equestria, cannot make me look pure and innocent," Sunset said.

"Much better."

Sunset hung her head. "This isn't me. It hasn't been for years. I'll just look stupid if I go out there in any of these. This whole idea was stupid." She turned away and started to descend from the podium.

And then stopped. Why had she wanted to look like that? Because she thought that Twilight would? She wasn't Twilight, and never would be if she spent a thousand years trying. Because she thought that's what Twilight would like? Why? Twilight liked her, or Sunset hoped she did. The dress code was formal, yes, but that could mean a lot things when you were a mare.

"Rarity, I've been going about this all wrong," Sunset said. "Can you make me look like passion on four legs?"

Rarity gave her a knowing look. "Darling, I thought you'd never ask."

Twilight lingered longer than she really needed to at the cider bar, her gaze flickering from one mug to the other without actually taking one.

"There's nothing wrong with any of them you know, Twi," Applejack said.

Twilight chuckled. "I know. I just want to take my time choosing so that I don't have to spend it doing other things."

"Ah, I see," Applejack said, nodding sagely. "Well, when you do get done prevaricating and such, I recommend that one over there." She nudged a mug closer to Twilight.

"Thanks."

"Hang in there, kiddo," Applejack murmured, giving Twilight a reassuring smile before heading over to the next table, laden with apple family pies and pastries.

Twilight continued to stare at the cider mugs, hoping that it looked as though she was actually pondering and not just prevaricating.

Cadance approached, her gown swishing behind her as she strode gracefully across the grass. "Are you okay?"

Twilight shrugged. "How many do I have left?"

"Six. But I think you've gotten the worst ones out of the way already."

"Yes, but still, six more," Twilight moaned. She finally picked one of the mugs, the one that Applejack had pushed her way, and quaffed it down. Twilight looked back, examining her dress. "Rarity really pushed the boat out tonight, it's a pity it's wasted on a night like this."

The gown Rarity had made for her was a dark, deep, rich purple, sewn with sapphires, amethysts and lavender diamonds. The skirt flowed outwards like a gentle rolling hill, spilling down into a long train that followed in Twilight's wake. A lavender sash, hung with glowing opals, ran about halfway up Twilight's legs. Twilight felt as though there was something else concealed in the sash, but she couldn't tell what it was. The bodice was covered in diamond dust, so that it sparkled like Twilight's name under the light of the moon and the lights set up to illuminate the dance floor.

"You never know," Cadance said. "Something might happen to make this night very memorable."

"Like what?"

Cadance's face assumed an expression of guileless innocence. "Oh, I've no idea."

Twilight's eyebrow rose. "You're up to something."

Cadance smiled. "If I'm right, you'll thank me. And maybe thank Rarity as well."

"Rarity?" Twilight looked around. "Where is Rarity, anyway, she'd probably enjoy this more than I am."

"You'll understand once you realise."

Twilight snorted. "You're being infuriating."

"Speaking of infuriating," Cadance murmured. "I think it's time to make it just five to go." She gestured with her nose, and Twilight looked around to see Ivy League standing in a spotlight in the middle of the dance floor, with what was probably supposed to be an inviting smile plastered across his face. He was a tall earth pony stallion, with a long blond mane which hung down the sides of his face. He was wearing a green sweater-vest with red and yellow trim, the colours of his exclusive Fillydelphia academy, over a white shirt with custom cufflinks. He bowed to her, and gestured for Twilight to join him.

Twilight sighed, steeled herself, and advanced onto the dance floor. As she did so, a spotlight swung onto her, nearly blinding her for a moment.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Twilight was surprised to hear Pinkie's high pitched voice amplified by the microphone, and wondered when she had gotten into the commentary box. "The next dance will be performed exclusively by our best friend Twilight and-"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut in on this one," a voice declared loudly from out of the darkness. "I hope nopony minds."

Everypony gasped, including Pinkie.

"And a mysterious and beautiful stranger!" Pinkie yelled happily.

While one spotlight remained on Twilight, the other swung away from Ivy League and onto - Twilight's breath caught in her throat - Sunset, standing on the edge of the dance floor.

"Oh, wait, no, it's only Sunset Shimmer," Pinkie said. "Hiya, Sunset!"
Sunset stalked onto the dance floor. Twilight could hardly breathe, could hardly think, could hardly do anything but stare. Sunset looked...jaw dropping. She was dressed like fire, a bodice of crimson with golden scrollwork picked out with tiny chips of amber running all across it. Her skirt was short, barely reaching to her knees, but made of layers of red, yellow, orange and gold that rustled as she advanced on Twilight like a lioness. Sunset's horn glowed teal and the mildest glamour began to glow around her, so it seemed that there really where flames flickering upon her dress, on her artfully dishevelled mane, all the way down to her hooves.

She strutted like a stallion-eater across the grass towards her, shaking her flank with every step, her expression somewhere between a smirk and a scowl.

"S-Sunset," Twilight murmured.

Sunset grinned. "I was originally trying for the Cinderella look, but it didn't really suit me. But I think this works, don't you?"

Twilight could only nod.

"Shall we?" Sunset asked.

Twilight felt the colour rising in her cheeks. "Uh huh."

Sunset's face resumed its stern expression as she stamped her hoof twice upon the ground. She looked at the band. "Tango!"

The orchestra began to play, and Twilight and Sunset began to dance.

It began with the pursuit. As the music began to play, with flowing, heavy strings and thumping percussion, Twilight retreated. She moved coquettishly, as if she were not trying to escape Sunset but rather to draw her on. Twilight's heart began to beat faster as Sunset followed, scowling fiercely. She did not run, but her strut proved faster than Twilight's walk. Wherever Twilight turned, there Sunset was. Even when Twilight teleported, Sunset would teleport as well. Twilight affected a look of derision, turning away from Sunset whenever she reached for her, holding out one hoof dismissively.

"You know, if this is supposed to sum up our relationship, I should be chasing you," Twilight whispered when Sunset got close enough. "I did, after all."

The mock chase continued. Sunset did not reply until they were close enough to whisper again. "Maybe, but when you were my nemesis, you didn't even know who I was. Besides, anger suits me better."

Twilight couldn't argue with that. She kept letting Sunset get closer to her, closer and closer, her retreats becoming slower. Her 'secret' desire to be caught became more and more obvious, until Sunset teleported in front of her and took her firmly in Sunset's front hooves, pulling her close so that their breasts and necks were touching.

"You're good at this," Sunset murmured. "Are you sure you haven't been chased before?"

"Not by anypony I wanted to catch me."

Sunset's eyebrow rose. "I'm flattered."

"You should be," Twilight said with a smile.

Sunset stepped off, keeping her expression verging upon angry as they stepped and snapped across the grass, moving and turning in perfect unison.

"You lead very well," Twilight said as they whirled.

"I'd better, since I'm terrible at following," Sunset replied.

They moved in perfect harmony, every motion of their bodies taut, sharp and snappy. Twilight felt herself getting hot, tiny beads of sweat starting to drip from her brow. And whenever she was borne near to the ground, Sunset on top of her, the beating of her heart got noticeably more intense.

"Ready for our big finish?" Sunset asked.

"What?"

"Spread your wings," Sunset said as she stood up on her hind legs, back straight and lifted Twilight up into the air, holding her horizontally as if she was flying, then started to twirl around and round on her hind legs while Twilight spread her wings and threw her forelegs out.

Ponies on the sidelines began to stamp their hooves in approval. And then Sunset's dress caught fire.

Twilight's eyes widened in shock for a moment, and then she realised that the fire wasn't burning Sunset, or indeed even consuming the dress. It was fake fire, an illusion of ashes and flame. But Sunset's horn wasn't glowing, so it couldn't be magic. Had Rarity done something to the dress?

Sunset looked almost as surprised as Twilight, but she started to grin as the flames leapt higher and higher and everypony started to cheer.

Then Twilight's dress began to shoot off sparks, as though somepony had sewn sparklers into the...

So that was what I could feel weighing down the sash. Well done, Rarity.

Sunset started cackling as she kept whirling, Sunset burning and Twilight sparking, while everypony cheered them loudly to the night sky.

"I didn't know your dress was going to shoot sparkles," Sunset said as she put Twilight down.

"I didn't know your dress was going to catch fire," Twilight replied.

"Me neither," Sunset said. "I didn't understand half of what Rarity was doing.

Twilight smiled. "It looked great though. And, thank you for coming. I...I had a really great time."

Sunset stared into Twilight's eyes, while Twilight stared into the blue-green eyes of Sunset Shimmer, being drawn into them, losing herself to them. Twilight opened her mouth to say-

Sunset turned away abruptly. "Twilight, I came to say goodbye."

"What?"

"I'm going to Canterlot. Just for a couple of days, probably. I'll be back soon. I hope."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't understand. Why are you leaving?"

"I need to sort my head out, understand where I'm at, what I'm feeling," Sunset said. She looked back. "I can't do that with you around."

"Why not?"

"Because you're the pony whose confusing me!" Sunset shouted. "I don't know...I've never felt like this before and I don't get it. I need to think. Please, Twilight, give me time. I'll be back, I promise." She started to walk away. "Don't get married while I'm gone, okay?"

You've never felt this way before? Does she...does Sunset feel...do I feel...? Twilight stepped forward. "Sunset, wait!"

Sunset's horn glowed and she disappeared in a flash of teleportation.

"Sunset?" Twilight called. "Sunset?"

But she was gone.

Relationships Are Hard Work

Chapter 11

Relationships Are Hard Work

"The next station is Canterlot!" the conductor announced as the night train pulled in, the engine puffing as it slowed down. "Please make sure that you have all your belongings with you before exiting the train."

That'll be easy, Sunset thought. Since I don't have any belongings with me

That had probably been a mistake on her part, but she hadn't wanted to go back to her house and pack in case Twilight followed her. Then she'd demand answers, answers Sunset couldn't really give right now, and they might up yelling or fighting or something. That wasn't what Sunset wanted. She wanted to clear her head, not raise her blood pressure. No, she'd done the right thing. Some time away would be good for both of them. It would let Sunset sort her head out, work out just what she was feeling.

Which was why she was on the train to Canterlot, wearing a dress that would look overly fancy anywhere that wasn't a dance, with no money and no overnight bag.

Yeah, no doubt about it, this was an awesome plan.

Sunset scowled at her reflection in the train window as a poor substitute for scowling at the voice inside her head. She'd be okay, she hoped. Princess Celestia wouldn't see her on the street, she hoped.

Sunset sighed, leaning forwards to let her head bump against the window. It was dark outside, though already she could see the lights of Canterlot intruding on the darkness.

You know, life may have been wretched and miserable and not really worth living when I was a friendless supervillain whose only goal was my Saturday morning cartoon plot to take over the world, but at least it was simple. I never had to worry about all of these conflicting feelings or anything like that.

She shook her head as she got up, joining the queue for the carriage doors as the train rattled into Canterlot station. The train clattered, bumped and jerked slowly to a complete stop, and only then did the doors open and everypony filed slowly out onto the platform.

Sunset was one of the last out, stepping off the train and onto the cold, dark station. She made way for the last few ponies getting off the train before taking a look around. She hadn't been to Canterlot in a while, she needed a moment to match up her memories with what she could see in front of her now.

"Miss Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset looked around to see a royal guard - one of the day ones, a white unicorn in gilded armour - standing in one corner of the platform, looking at her expectantly. As she walked cautiously over to him, Sunset sort of recognised him from her time as Celestia's student. What was his name, Stand Fast? Or was it Hold Fast, or maybe Stand Firm?

"Is there a problem, officer?" Sunset said when she got close enough.

If the guard thought that she was mocking him he didn't show it. "Princess Celestia would like to see you. Come with me, please."

"She knows that I'm-" Sunset bit off the tail end of that question. Of course Celestia knew that she was here. Sunset swore she didn't even have to use magic to do it, it was like the princess just had a sense or something.

Did you think the eyes of the white tower were blind? Sunset thought, a line from a book she'd glanced through in the other world coming to her from the recesses of her memory.

"Okay, let's go," Sunset said. "I was on my way there anyway. Say, have we met before?"

The guard gave a minute frown. "We have. I was one of the guards tasked with removing you from the palace when-"

"When I chose to run for the mirror instead," Sunset finished for him. "Story of my life, there's no better runner than me. I should compete in the Equestria Games." She shook her head. "Like I said, let's go. Lead the way, or whatever."

He did lead, and Sunset found herself glad he did because - whether it was because of the darkness or because it had been a few years - she found that she didn't remember the way half as well as she thought she did. Without her guide, there were times when she would have been a little lost even though you could always see the golden spires, even at night. That didn't make it necessarily easy to get to them.

But with her guard to lead her there she made it alright, and she was shown to the front door where the unicorn left her and a second guard - this one was a pegasus - showed her inside and through the half-remembered marble hallways. At first, Sunset though that she was being taken to the throne room for a formal audience - a thought that filled her with trepidation - but they took a right turn near an antique vase Sunset remembered as having always found ugly, and she was led instead into a modest parlour in the east wing. The room was small by palace standards, which meant it was still larger than her living room, and lit by banks of candles in sconces on the walls. The floor was white tile, the walls hung with tapestries depicting dragons of all shapes and sizes, the furniture was a simple varnished wood. Princess Celestia sat at a round table, the candlelight glinting off her royal regalia, and on the table were place a pot of tea, two china cups and a small plate of lemon cakes.

Though the Princess had no need to rise for Sunset Shimmer, she did so nonetheless. "Sunset. It's good to see you again."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that again," Sunset muttered. "I, um, it's good to see you too, Princess."

Celestia nodded to the guard. "Thank you. That will be all."

"Your Highness." The guard bowed, then exited the room.

Celestia smiled. "Please, Sunset, sit down. Have some tea."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Sunset murmured. She sat down at the table, and Princess Celestia poured two cups out of the china teapot.

"Do you still take cream and honey?"

"I've learnt to make do with milk and sugar," Sunset replied. She gave a wry chuckle. "You've no idea how posh you have to be to even drink tea over there; if you don't come from a tiny island then it's weird."

"Would you prefer coffee?" Princess Celestia asked. "Sugar? I can have them sent for."

"No, thanks," Sunset said quickly. "I...it's nice that you remembered how I take it. Better than nice. I didn't expect you would."

"I always hoped that you would come back," Celestia said, adding two tablespoons of cream and one of honey to Sunset's cup before sliding it over to her with her magic. Sunset took a sip; it was hot enough to scald the tongue but satisfyingly sweet. Sugar wasn't quite the same.

"Sunset," Celestia went on. "If I may ask, what are you doing here? Has something happened in Ponyville? Something between you and Twilight?"

"No," Sunset said, far too quickly and far too snappishly. At Princess Celestia's curious look, Sunset relented, her tone softening. "Well, yes, sort of. It's hard to explain, I just needed to come away for a few days. I want to talk to my sister, I want to get my head straight. I just, I couldn't be around Twilight right now."

"Has she done something?" Celestia asked.

"No," Sunset said. "It's just what she is. She makes me feel...I dunno, I've never felt this way before. When I see her... when I see those jerks flocking around her trying to take her away... how can you let them do that?"

"How am I supposed to stop them?" Celestia asked mildly.

"You're the Princess," Sunset said. "Your word is law!"

"And what law should I decree?" Celestia pressed, not angrily, but curiously. "Shall I forbid anypony from coming within a hundred yards of Twilight Sparkle without her permission? Shall I make it a crime to talk to her? Shall I make it illegal for her to marry? What law could I make that would not curtail Twilight's freedom and punish her for the acts of others?"

Sunset pouted. "You're always so logical, aren't you, Princess?"

"I don't have much choice in the matter," Celestia said. "And, to return to our earlier subject of discussion, you can stay here as long as you like."

"Thank you, Princess," Sunset said quietly. "Have you ever felt the way I do - the feeling that you don't want to share somepony?"

Celestia chuckled. "Are you asking me if I ever felt jealous?"

"Jealous," Sunset murmured. "I thought that jealousy would be more, I dunno, universal or something? Like... wanting a toy somepony has, or not wanting anypony else to have what you have. But with Twilight it's... selective or something. Like, she can hang out with her friends and it doesn't bother me. When I say her with Princess Cadance, it doesn't bother me. But when I see her with one of those guys I just wanna..." Sunset growled. "Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you ever felt that."

Celestia got up, walking away from the table to the double doors that let out onto the balcony. The doors were closed, and Sunset could see Celestia's face reflected in the glass. Sunset sipped her tea, waiting for a response.

"For a thousand years I ruled this land alone," Celestia said, her eyes closing to hide the grief that surely within them, even as her tone began to hint at melancholy, like hearing a song played slowly upon a harp. "Every pony in Equestria feels, in some way, like my child. Everypony who serves me in my guard or in the palace is, in a way, a part of my family. But I have never...jealousy, and what inspires it, are fundamentally self-centred emotions. I have never had time to be selfish. I have never allowed myself to be selfish. I...I have always been able to stop myself."

"Princess?"

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment. "When I first began to tutor Twilight, I found myself astonished by how gifted she was. So intelligent, so talented, so...loveable. Before I realised it I found myself envying her mother, resenting the fact that I had to let her go back to her parents at the end of each day." The Princess shook her head. "Foolish of me. Once I realised what I was doing I reminded myself that I was not her mother and told myself not to be so silly."

"She loves you," Sunset said.

Celestia smiled slightly. "I know. And I have learned to be content with that."

Sunset looked down. A thought occurred. "If you don't me asking, is there anypony else? A new student? Somepony you've taken in since Twilight moved to Ponyville, or since she became a princess?"

"No," Celestia said. "There is nopony else."

"Right," Sunset said. "Why not?"

Celestia turned around so that she was facing Sunset once again. "What do you mean?"

Sunset chuckled. "I suppose that what I'm asking is: was this always the endgame? I know I wasn't the first student you ever taught, but is Twilight the last? Was this whole process just so you come find somepony to bear the Element of Magic, somepony who could become a princess? Was that all you were ever looking for? This isn't about me. Well, yeah, it is, but this isn't about me being a princess. I screwed up, I didn't find my destiny, I demanded it, and I get now why that was wrong and stupid and you were right to toss me out the door. Or out the mirror. But, was that all you wanted from us? Were we all just failed experiments until you found somepony whose personal destiny was compatible with ‘big D’ Destiny?"
"I suppose, what I'm trying to ask is: did you choose us for ourselves, or because you thought we might become Twilight Sparkle?"

"Oh, Sunset." Celestia sounded weary and sad in equal measure. "It is true I thought you might be the mare to unite the Elements of Harmony, but that was purely due to your proximity to the thousand year deadline mentioned in the prophecy. It became clear to me later that Twilight might have the qualities required to ascend, but that did not become my plan for her until after she had defeated Discord. All I wanted, all I have ever wanted from any of my students, was that you learn well, hold friendship in your heart and do your best in whatever path you choose to follow."

Sunset didn't know what to say. Three years wasted in misery, loneliness and futile scheming. My bridges burned, my life destroyed. Three years living amongst aliens, plotting and manipulating them like Princess Palladium amongst the griffons. All because I thought I needed to meet some arbitrary standard that nopony but me thought was ever there at all. Three years trying to win a game that I was never playing. I thought I'd lost the race to Twilight, when the truth is I was never a competitor at all.

It was disheartening, but at the same time it sort of made Sunset feel better. She'd run Twilight a good race, considering that she was foredoomed to failure, and if she'd made mistakes - and Celestia knew - then at least she'd failed at things she wasn't meant to succeed at. She didn't have to be defined by what she could have, should have become but hadn't. She could make whatever she wanted of herself, without having to settle for her second best destiny.

"Thank you, Princess, I'm glad you said that," Sunset said as she got to her feet. "I, I think I'm going to go to bed now, if that's all right?"

Celestia nodded. "I'll have somepony show you to your room."

"Thanks," Sunset repeated. "Princess Celestia?"

"Yes?"

Sunset hesitated. "Do I love her?"

Celestia smiled. "Only you can answer that question, Sunset Shimmer, just as only she can answer the other."

***

Twilight and Cadance sat on the library balcony, the stars glittering in the night sky above them; Twilight's telescope resting just in front of them.

Twilight had her eye pressed against the telescope lens. "You know, I've found I've been doing some more astronomy since I got back from the other side of the mirror. Because I can't help wondering: is it out there as well? Does that other world I went to exist as another planet in our world, or is it another dimension? Could I see it through my telescope, or does it only exist on the other side of the looking glass?"

"Honestly, I think it would be a little strange if that world you went to existed as a planet in our universe," Cadance replied, after a moment's thought. "I mean, I can accept that there is another version of our world where everypony walks on two legs, and we all have hands like dragons. I can accept that there is a paralell dimension filled with versions of ourselves. But to think that there is another planet, in our night sky, populated by creatures who act just like we do, that is rather bizarre to contemplate."

Twilight took her eye away from the lens. "When you put it like that, I suppose paralell universes do make more sense with regards to the doppelgangers. Although that in itself raises an enormous number of questions about predestination versus free will. The implications of so many creatures turning out so very like their counterparts here are enormous. What if there are more parallel dimensions out there, all filled with alternates of us?"

Cadance chuckled. "And you are a hero in all of them, I have no doubt."

Twilight felt her cheeks starting to burn up. "You don't mean that."

"If they are anything like you at all, then any world would be well blessed to have a Twilight Sparkle watching over it," Cadance said. "Twilight Sparkle: The Eternal Champion."

Twilight snorted. "What, those pulpy novels Shining Armour used to read? Oh, no. Although the premise seems less fanciful now." Twilight paused for a moment. "Hey, Cadance?"

"Yes?"

"In all those other universes, in the world on the other side of the mirror, do you think the other versions of you and the other versions of Shining Armour still got together?"

Cadance hummed softly to herself while she thought. A smile spread slowly across her face. "I think so."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

"Like you said, it would be incredible if people in another world, completely different from our own, turned out just like us without the intervention of some kind of destiny," Cadance said. "Shining Armour is my destiny, and I'm his; I don't need to believe that, I know it. And if that is true here, why shouldn't it be true everywhere? A love reaching across time and space!" She gestured grandly up towards the stars twinkling merrily above them.

Twilight laughed. "It's a pity I couldn't meet the other you to see for myself. I'd like it to be true though, it would mean we were friends."

"Uh huh," Cadance said with a nod. "But, Twilight, don't get too hung up on this stuff. However many Twilights there are, whatever they're like, at the end of the day you are the only you. There may be people who look like you, who even act like you, but ultimately in all these galaxies and stars, however many other worlds there are out there or wherever they are, there's only one of each of us. We're friends, Shining Armour and I are married, should anything else really matter to us?"

Twilight sighed. "I suppose you're right. Like I said to Sunset, I wouldn't want the other me to be in my shadow, so why should I put myself in hers? Huh, Sunset. Do you think she's okay?"

"I think she'll be fine," Cadance said. "You'll see her again, sooner than you think."

"Maybe," Twilight murmured. "But why did she have to just run off like that? Did I do something?"

"If you did, I don't think it's anything you could have not done," Cadance said. "Certainly it isn't your fault. Some ponies are more complicated than others. Some relationship are more complicated than others. You have to treat each one differently and appropriately, and there's no manual for it. Each one is unique. That's what makes them so hard."

Twilight shook her head. "I already miss her. Miss knowing that she's there, anyway. It doesn't feel right, not knowing where she is. Cadance...can I ask you something personal?"

Cadance frowned. "You can ask me anything, Twilight, you know that. You don't need to ask my permission. What is it?"

Twilight looked away, up towards the moon shining above them. "How did you know that Shining Armour was the one for you?"

"That? That's what you had to get permission to ask?" Cadance laughed. "You had me worried there for a moment." She considered for a moment. "We told you the story of how we got together, didn't we? We were in high school and there was that jerk and the senior prom..."

Twilight chuckled. "Yeah, it took forever for Shining to actually ask you out."

"He was very shy," Cadance said, giggling slightly. "That was one of the things I liked about him: he was sweet and shy and kind. I didn't think he was hiding who he was, trying to be somepony else to impress. And I liked what was there, too. It's no good letting somepony see the real you if the real you is a horrible person. But, Shining didn't seem like he was, so I decided to give him a chance. If I didn't like him...there had been a lot of guys who didn't seem so perfect once I got over the first impression. Honestly, at first I wasn't sure it would last. But it did. I just kept on seeing him. And it reached the point where I looked around and realised that I had completely fallen for him."

"But how?" Twilight pressed. "When?"

Cadance sighed. "I can still remember the moment it hit me. We'd been going out for about six months and Shining Armour wanted to do something special. He brought me this dress, this absolutely gorgeous dress and took me to dinner at this griffon restaurant, La Bella Avia. And we had a wonderful time but anway, after dinner, we went to this club, the Blue Oyster Club, very exclusive, I don't know who he talked to that we could get in without queuing. But we went in, and we danced, and then Shining went to the bar to get drinks and I was left on my own for a little while. So then this stallion, who I'd never seen before, comes up to me and asks me if I'd like to dance. And I looked at him, this handsome stallion, and I realised then that I didn't ever want to dance with anypony but your brother for the rest of my life. And that was the moment I knew." Cadance grinned. "I bet you're disappointed, aren't you? It isn't really a very dramatic story: no true love's kiss, no shock like a lightning bolt. Quite unworthy of the Princess of Love. But, that's how it happened. And you have no idea how awkward I felt for the rest of the night, Shining thought I'd gotten sick."

"Awkward?" Twilight asked. "Why?"

"Because that's only half the answer," Cadance explained. "It's all very well for me to realise that he is the one, but did he feel the same way? Should I tell him? What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if I say 'I love you' and he says 'ditto' or 'And I love spending time with you' or some other half-flanked excuse? Shining Armour did not ask me to marry him for another month after that and I spent that month in agony! I kept a whole layer of my freezer filled with ice cream in case he broke my heart."

Twilight laughed. "Really? Come on, you've got to be kidding."

"I am deadly serious," Cadance said, for all that she was laughing too. "There is nothing worse that being ready to give your heart to somepony and not knowing if they're willing to give you theirs."

"Shining always loved you," Twilight said. "From the moment he saw you, I think."

Cadance shook her head. "That's not love, not when you don't know somepony. It's a feeling you should take notice of, but it's where love starts, not where it ends." A sly look crept across her face. "So, Twilight, why the sudden interest?"

Twilight gave her a side-eyed glance for a moment. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You told me there wasn't anypony in your life like that."

"Because there isn't," Twilight said emphatically. "But...that doesn't mean that I can't think about what would happen if there was."

"Oh, no, you do not just get to say something cryptic and then leave it at that," Cadance said. "Details! I just told you all about my break-up ice cream stash, you owe me something!"

Twilight resolutely did not look at Cadance. For a few moments, the only was Spike snoring in the bedroom behind them.

"It's Sunset," Twilight admitted. "I feel...that dance, and before, I've never felt that...I can feel something. When I think of her, when I didn't want her to go, when we danced. But, after what you said, I don't know if I feel that. I don't think I do. Or maybe I do but I don't realise it. Ugh, why do feelings have to be so complicated?"

"Because if love wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth having," Cadance replied.

"So it is love, what I'm feeling."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Cadance said, back-pedalling a little. "The trouble with love is that it's such a big word, and it means so much, it's easy to get scared off by it. It sounds like you like her. Do you think she's pretty?"

Twilight felt her cheeks turning red. "Yeah, a little."

"So, you like her, but you don't love her and you're not in love yet. Or, that's what it sounds like to me."

Twilight hesitated. "I, I'm glad to hear you say that. Like you said, love is just so...huge. Like is...smaller. I can handle small." She glanced towards her old foalsitter. "So, what should I do now?"

Cadance's face assumed a thoughtful aspect. "Ordinarily, I'd tell you to go for it and ask her out."

"Just like that?" Twilight squeaked.

Cadance smiled. "Faint heart never won hot ex-demonic supervillain. But, it would be quite difficult for you to get away with dating somepony, especially somepony like Sunset, while there are all these suitors camped outside that you won't look at twice. So, I think you're going to have to keep your feelings to yourself until after we've dealt with that particular problem. In that sense, Sunset's absence is a good thing, keeping temptation out of the way until you've got some peace and quiet again."

"Peace and quiet," Twilight muttered. "Who knows when I'll next get any of that?"

"Actually," Cadance said. "I might have an idea that will take care of your eligibility problem."

***

The next morning, Sunset Shimmer walked through the streets of Canterlot. It wasn't as early as she would have liked but, after a bit of thought, she had decided that surprising Eclipse too early might not be such a good move, and she didn't really want to meet the fiance. She did want to meet him eventually, if only to get the measure of him, but reconciling with her little sis was going to tough enough to begin with without some guy hanging around in the background getting in the way.

Fortunately, Celestia had been sympathetic to her plight and had let Sunset know where Eclipse lived. The Princess did not, however, know what Eclipse did, so if she'd gone out to work then Sunset would be out of luck.

Well, if that happens I will have to come back early tomorrow, and risk catching the fiance at the same time.

The address Sunset had been given took her Magpie Lane, a narrow and twisty street in the low part of town. Although it lacked the grandeur of Canterlot's public spaces - the high, gleaming towers of the palace, the classical elegance of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, the shining walls and ever-present marble - or the overstated opulence of those parts of the city were the rich and famous clustered. Nevertheless the street was clean and the houses well looked after for all that they were made of common brick. The ponies that lived here may not have been rich, but they still had their pride, or at the least their self-respect and none of them wanted to live in a pigsty.

As Sunset trotted down the lane she passed two colts playing kickball in the middle of the road, with two goals marked with piles of red and blue laundry. Sunset grinned, remembering when she and Eclipse had played out in the street like that, and shuffled to the side of the road so as not to get in their way.

"Woah, watch out!" one of the colts called, as he kicked the ball too hard and sent it flying towards Sunset's head.

Sunset's horn flared with magic as she conjured a crimson shield just in front of her face. The ball bounced harmlessly off, and into the blue goal.

"Goal!"

"No, it's not!"

"Yes it is, the ball went in the goal."

"Only because of magic!"

"It still counts!"

"Does not!"

Sunset smiled and shook her head. The words were different but the tone was completely familiar to her, from when she and her sister would have stupid play-fights instead of stupid real fights over things that Sunset had done. Her face fell a little. Was there any point to coming here? Could she and Eclipse ever get back to that place after everything Sunset had done?

No. But maybe we can get to somewhere new, somewhere better than we are now.

Eclipse's house sat on top of a set of grey stone steps, flanked by iron bannisters. Sunset padded up the steps and stood in front of a polished brass doorknob and a number eleven on it. Sunset raised a hoof, hesitated, then took a deep breath to steady herself.

I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away. Sunset steeled herself for the inevitable anger that almost certain to come at first, then knocked on the door.

She heard what sounded like a kid crying inside, and for a moment Sunset began to worry that she'd got the wrong house and would have to explain to some complete stranger why she'd just woken up their baby.

But then she heard Eclipse shout, "Hold on, I'm coming!" And knew that she did have the right house, even if she didn't understand what was going on.

Has Eclipse had a baby? Am I an Aunt? She told me she was getting married but not that she had a kid?

Should I have bought a present?

The crying became quieter, and then the door opened and Eclipse stood there, her welcoming expression fading into shock before Sunset's very eyes.

Sunset stood there for a moment, realising too late that she should have planned what she was going to say in advance. "Hi," she said, waving like an idiot.

Eclipse's mouth tightened. "You."

"Yeah, me," Sunset replied. "What, did you think I was a changeling or something?"

"A changeling would be more welcome," Eclipse spat, pushing the door shut.

Sunset pushed back against the door, stopping it from closing completely. "What? That's it? You're just going to slam the door in my face?"

Eclipse opened the door enough to poke her head out of it. Her blue eyes were cold with fury, and her face started to redden beneath her dark blue complexion. "What do you expect?" she snarled. "I told you that I didn't want to talk to you, that I didn't want to see you, that I didn't want anything to do with you and now you think it's okay to just show up at my house? I don't believe you! Did you think you could just doorstop me like this and I'd appreciate it? Did you think that was acceptable?"

"I thought you hadn't left me much choice," Sunset replied, her voice rising along with her temper. "If I'd written to you, would you have replied?"

"No."

"Well, then," Sunset snapped. "Like I said: not much choice."

"You could have stayed in Ponyville and left me alone like I asked you to." Eclipse was practically shouting by now. "Go away!"

"Not until we talk," Sunset said.

"We have talked, now go," Eclipse said. She tried to slam the door again, and again Sunset got in the way.

"I mean really talk," Sunset said. "Where you actually listen to me, and I listen to you. Look, I know that I wasn't a very good sister growing up. In fact I was terrible. But I've changed, Eclipse. I'm a better pony now than I was. I just want to prove that to you. Please, give me a chance. For family's sake?"

Eclipse stared at her suspiciously. "I don't know what you want or why you're here, but I am done listening to your excuses and I'm done believing your lies."

Excuses and lies? Is that all she thinks comes out of my mouth? Sunset would have felt it like a kick in the teeth if she hadn't been too busy trying to get inside the house. "Well I am not leaving until we have a proper conversation, so either you let me in or you can listen to me embarass you in front of all your neighbours when I stand out in the middle of the street yelling at you."

Eclipse growled, her expression becoming mulishly stubborn. Sunset growled right back at her, and tried to look every bit as stubborn if not more.

Eclipe threw open the door. "Get in."

"Thank you," Sunset replied, nodding politely as she trotted into the hallway. Eclipse's house was nice but a little bit bland, with the walls covered in plain whitewash, the carpet an unassuming shade of blue and the open plan layout looking very much what you'd expect from an open plan layout. The furniture, however, was all made of wood and all hoof-made bespoke, at least as far as Sunset could tell. She supposed it was the work of the carpenter fiance, and had to admit it did look as though he had a bit of talent about him. And there were some unique looking ornaments sitting on the bookshelves

As Eclipse slammed the door shut, the next thing Sunset noticed was that she hadn't been wrong about hearing a kid. There wasn't a baby but there was a small pegasus filly, only a few years old and still in diapers, sitting in a playpen with a few toys strewn around her, gurgling indistinctly.

Sunset wandered into the living room and over vaguely towards the playpen. "So, are you a foalsitter now?"

"No," Eclipse said coldly as she followed Sunset.

"Oh, so that's why you're getting married then," Sunset said cheekily.

She was hoping to get a laugh, at least a smile out of her sister, but Eclipse just rolled her eyes and said, "She's Planed's daughter from his first marriage."

Sunset's eyes widened as she looked back at the kid. "His daughter from his first - how old is this guy?"

"Hey, just because I let you in my house doesn't mean you get to talk about a pony who actually cares about me that way," Eclipse snapped.

Sunset raised one hoof in contrition. "You're right. I'm sorry. I don't have the right to say anything. I was just surprised is all."

Eclipse sighed impatiently. "Well? You wanted to talk, so talk."

"I..." Sunset trailed off. "Can we at least sit down? You're not making this very easy."

"Why should I?" Eclipse demanded. "What do you want, Sunset?"

"I want to be forgiven," Sunset said. "I want us to be friends again. I want the chance to make up for the things I did wrong, I want three wasted years back. I want my little sister back, if she'll have me."

Eclipse shook her head, her expression as sceptical as her tone of voice. "You want to be friends? You never wanted that before, why would you start now?"

"Let's just say I've come to appreciate the magic of friendship," Sunset murmured.

"No, let's not just say that," Eclipse said. "I don't have the time or the patience to pick through your words trying to figure out what you left unsaid, so why don't you just say what you mean plainly and upfront."

"I stole one of the Elements of Harmony and then had their magic turned on me," Sunset said bluntly. "Is that plain enough for you?"

Eclipse's eyes were wide. Her voice trembled as she said, "Get away from Heartwings."

Sunset said, "Heartwings? Oh is that her name?"

"Get away from her," Eclipse insisted.

"Okay, okay," Sunset said, retreating across the room until she was standing against the living room window. "What's the matter?"

"You had the Elements of Harmony used on you?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Monsters get the Elements of Harmony," Eclipse said. "Not ponies, Sunset, monsters! What are you?"

"I'm your sister!" Sunset shouted. "Your no-good, pain-in-the-flank sister. I am a lot of things and a lot of those things aren't good but I am not a monster. If I was, what would I be doing here? Would a monster care what you think? I'm just a pony, a flawed, imperfect pony asking for another chance."

Eclipse pursed her lips. "Where did you go, Sunset? Princess Celestia said that you'd been somewhere nopony ought to go, using magic. What happened?"

"I went through a magic mirror to another world," Sunset said. "I was greedy and lazy and I wanted everything handed to me and I thought that this mirror would give it to me. I'd seen something in there: me as a princess, an alicorn. I thought that that's what I'd find on the other side."

"I'm guessing that you didn't," Eclipse said.

Sunset laughed sourly. "Oh, I became a princess. Princess of the Fall Formal and the Homecoming and the Prom."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, three years of school," Sunset said. She decided not to go into the whole 'turned into another species' bit. She didn't want to break Eclipse's brain, she just wanted to explain herself. "A school that wasn't even as fun as the one I'd run away from. I have wondered, since, if it was meant to teach me humility. If so, it didn't work. I just became even more aloof and superior than I had been before because I didn't have anypony like you or Flash holding me down."

"So you stole one of the elements?" Eclipse asked.

Sunset nodded. "I thought...I can't quite remember exactly what I thought, except that I think I was hoping for some kind of super-mode: you know, wings, long hair, enhanced abilities. What I got...well it did give me a power up, and wings, and my hair grew a bit. It just wasn't in the spirit of what I'd been hoping for. At all."

"And that's when the Elements were turned against you?"

"Not quite," Sunset said. "First, Princess Twilight followed me through the magic mirror. Then she out-thought me, out-manoeuvred me, undid three years of work in under three days, humiliated me in front of everypony and then, just in case there was anypony left in any doubt as to which of us was superior to the other in every way, she pulled the power of the Elements of Harmony out of her flank even though the other five were nowhere to be seen and hit me with it. Did that sound bitter? I think that sounded bitter."

"Just a bit," Eclipse said.

Sunset chuckled. "I actually really like Twilight, and I know that she did me a favour by doing what she did. It's just that bringing up those memories, thinking about how I felt back then...I've never liked to lose."

"Really? I had no idea," Eclipse said dryly. Softly, she asked, "What was it like?"

Sunset bowed her head, closing her eyes as the memory of that agony threatened to overwhelm her. "Torture. Like burning. Like having fire running through my veins. Like it was burning away the rotten parts of my soul to spare the bits that weren't infected yet. Burning the evil out. And it wasn't just the flames; I got the feeling that was something alive inside the fire. Like I was being judged by some supreme presence, and found wanting. I'm not a monster, little sis, but I did become one, in those few moments before Twilight fired. And that's why I don't blame her any more, because I understand that she did what she had to do for me, as much as for anypony else."

Eclipse was quiet for a few moments, the clock ticking on the wall the only sound. Then she said, "I know what you want me to say, Sunset. And I can't say it. Not right now. I need time. Because, after all that we went through; after all that you put me through, I can't just believe you when you say that you're a changed mare. I'm not saying that I'll never forgive you, I'm not saying I won't give you a chance. I'm saying that I don't know if I will. You should go, come back tomorrow. I need time to think."

Sunset nodded. "Right. I guess it was a bit optimistic to think that our relationship could change in one day wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Eclipse said. "But I'm willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, it was a bit pessimistic to think that you could never change."

Author's Note

This chapter was originally going to cover the entirey of Sunset's visit in Canterlot (and have a much better name, which unfortunately is not appropriate for this chapter any more), before I realised that having her reconcile with her sister in one day would be ridiculous. But, while this part of the tale grew in the telling (to continue with the LOTR references from the chapter itself), it also shrunk again as I also realised that a planned bit of business with Eclipse's teenage stepdaughter (who would remind Sunset of herself and she would help out of trouble) would have been a bit too much of a diversion, not to mention a man old enough to have a teenage daughter would be too old for a mare around the age of the mane six (IMHO, anyway, please don't yell at me in the comments).

Also, in the end, I don't think you'd forgive me keeping our putative almost-lovers apart for too long. Twi and Sunset will be reunited soon, just not quite as soon as I'd originally planned.

The Princess and the Frozen Heart

Chapter 12

The Princess and the Frozen Heart

Twilight and Cadance stood side-by-side in the centre of the Golden Oaks Library. Both were dressed for the occasion in plain, simple but still elegant gowns: Twilight in white trimmed with lavender, and Cadance in a soft shade of pink. Spike, wearing his tuxedo and red bowtie, stood by the door.

The table had been cleared away, stored in the basement laboratory along with most of the furniture, leaving a clear open space for a large group of ponies to gather. It had also made room for the three caskets which rested upon velvet cushions atop pillars of enchanted ice Twilight had raised near the stairs. The caskets of gold and silver glittered in the light streaming in from the window, while the dull lead box seemed almost to absorb the light, turning even the air around it dark.

The columns of ice fit no architectural or decorative style; Twilight had swiftly given up on trying to make them look Ionian. Instead there was a spiky wildness to them, full of sharp protrusions and brittle barbs, obeying no will or logic but their own on their twisting, thorny path upwards. Yet there was a beauty in their wildness; in the spikes and thorns, the twists and turns, in the fragile, crystalline structure of the columns and the way the light glinted off them. They reminded Twilight of Sunset, in a way: sharp, spiky, wild and uncontrollable, but brittle too, and more fragile than she seemed; beautiful in all her aspects.

Twilight shook her head ever so slightly. This wasn’t the time to be thinking that sort of thing.

Cadance glanced at her. “Are you okay?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Are you sure this will work?”

“I can’t guarantee it will get rid of every last one of them,” Cadance said. “But it should winnow the numbers down a little.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you. For everything.”

Cadance’s hoof moved slightly, until it was touching Twilight’s reassuringly. “We’ll get through this, together. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied. “Let’s get started. Spike, open the door.”

Spike, wearing his very best ‘prim and proper’ expression - the one that made him look unspeakably stuck up - opened the door. Outside, Flash Sentry and a thin line of Crystal Guards stood between the suitors and the library.

“Show them in now, Flash,” Cadance called.

Flash, his golden armour gleaming, bowed. “As you command, Your Highness. Let them through, make way! Fillies and Gentlecolts, you are invited to enter the presence of their highnesses Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

The corner of Twilight’s lip curled upwards. “Of all the ponies whose duplicates I met, he is the one whose two selves I have the hardest time reconciling. He’s so stiff and formal.”

“Being stiff and formal is his job,” Cadance replied softly. “I’m told he’s the life of the party when he gets off duty.”

One by one, the suitors walked into the library and formed a rough clump in front of the two princesses. Twilight noticed that they arrayed themselves wordlessly by order of status: the richest, best connected ponies in front, the poorest and least influential standing at the back and straining to see her over the heads of their competitors. They were all wearing their best clothes and trying their hardest to maintain poised expressions of studied neutrality. But she did not miss the flickers of contempt in their eyes for her humble library, the looks of distaste for everything that did not meet the highest standards of sophistication. Her eyes had even caught Rich Dirtbag’s momentary sneer at Spike, which made her want to demand when was the last time he had saved the Crystal Empire.

But, as much as they might irritate her, their displays of entitled arrogance also increased Twilight’s hopes for the success of Cadance’s plan: ponies like these would never be able to pass Cadance’s test.

When all the suitors were in, Spike closed the door. Cadance gave Twilight a reassuring look and then stepped forward. Her voice was calm and melodious. “Thank you all for coming, and thank you also for the patience and consideration you have displayed following my arrival.”

“Our patience is running thin,” Rich Dirtbag declared in a voice that was fruity and full of his own importance. He was a long-faced unicorn with eyes of gold and a green coat the colour of money. “It is as we told you, Your Highness: we shall not depart until Princess Twilight chooses the best among us.”

Cadance’s smile was so sweet it circled around into being sinister. “The best among you, Mister Dirtbag? Well, yes, I certainly wouldn’t want Twilight to have to settle for anypony second rate. But how to judge the best? How are we to tell which you is worthy? How shall we know which of you deserves this treasure?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell us,” Slender Chance said.

“Indeed.” Cadance nodded, and with one hoof she gestured at the pillars of ice and to the three caskets that sat on top of them. “I am sure you all noticed these when you came in.”

They could hardly have failed to notice them. The caskets of gold and silver where both beautifully worked, with delicate leaf patterning worked in relief into the boxes. The lead casket, though unadorned, had a plain and solid quality that drew the eye, if only by comparison with its two cousins.

“Each of you who still wishes to marry Twilight must choose one of these caskets,” Cadance continued. “If you choose correctly, you will have the opportunity to impress Twilight with your romantic qualities, of which I am sure you have many.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice like saliva from a lion’s mouth, but none of the suitors gave any sign that they had detected it. Cadance went on, “But, if you choose wrongly, then you must leave Ponyville at once.”

The suitors muttered amongst themselves in consternation. Ivy League said, “Surely, after the first two ponies have chosen and failed we shall all know the right choice.”

“Each of you will choose alone, watched only by Spike, Cadance and myself,” Twilight said. “Before you choose, you must sign this magical contract.” She levitated a large scroll up into the air in front of her, a scroll glowing not only with the lavender aura of her telekinesis, but with the blue-green glow of the spell she had placed on it earlier. “Once you sign, you will not only be bound to honour the terms of this test, but also unable to tell anypony which casket you chose or what you found inside.”

“And how are we to choose?” Slender Chance demanded. “Is this nothing more than a contest of luck?”

“There is a clue written on each casket, if you are capable to understanding it,” Cadance said softly.

Ivy League growled. “We came to woo, not to play childrens’ games! This isn’t fair!”

“Considering your behaviour, you have little right to appeal on grounds of fairness,” Cadance replied tartly. “You have all invaded Twilight’s life unasked, unwanted. Now you have Twilight’s terms: accept them or go.”

For a moment the suitors, regarding the three caskets warily. Then Rich stepped out of the herd. “Very well,” he declared. “If we must choose then we must choose. I will go first.”

“Thank you for volunteering,” Cadance said. “Will the rest of you please leave.”

The rest of them left – Spike slammed the door behind them – leaving Twilight, Cadance and Spike alone with Rich.

Twilight unrolled the contract. “Please sign here before we go any further.”

“Hmph, of course,” he said, and signed his name. As soon as he was done, his signature flashed red, signifying that the spell was cast. He was bound by the terms of Twilight’s challenge now, unable to stay in Ponyville if he failed or to speak to anypony of the casket he had chosen. Win or lose, he would only get one chance.

Twilight struggled to control her breathing. Of all the suitors, here was the one she liked the least. If he chose right...no, she couldn't get defeatist at this point. She had to have faith in Cadance.

She would also have to make sure that she gave nothing away on her face.

Rich eyed the three caskets suspiciously. "How shall I know that I have chosen right?"

Twilight noted that he had said 'that I have' rather than 'if I have'. She said, "The correct casket contains my picture."

Rich nodded. Slowly, gingerly, he approached the casket of lead.

"A clue on each you say, what have we here," Rich put one hoof upon the casket, running it across the inscription written on the lid. "'Who chooses me must give or hazard all they have.' Hazard? For lead? Give everything I have?” He drew back from the casket as though it was burning his hoof, looking outraged at the very idea that he might have to make sacrifices in a relationship. “But I am the richest pony in Manehattan, the darling of society, the master of thousands of workers, I own coal mines and factories and newspapers. My home is a tower that touches the clouds and my butler has his own valet. Must I cast it all aside? Am I to risk all that I have upon a throw of the dice? And for what, for dull lead? Neigh," he glanced suspiciously towards Twilight, looking into her eyes. "The prize is not nearly worth the price demanded. You would need to be more beautiful by far before I hazard ought for...lead."

Cadance snorted like an angry bull, her eyes narrowing and her jaw tightening. Twilight got the distinct impression that she wanted to put a hex on him. For herself, she was fighting not to cheer.

Rich Dirtbag turned away from her and from the casket of lead, passing instead to where the golden chest sat on it's purple cushion. He bent down to read the inscription hidden amongst the leaf patterning. "'Who chooses me shall gain what many ponies desire.' What many ponies desire. Hmm. Many ponies, I suppose, meaning those common, poor, benighted idiots outside and all their sort who litter up the streets of Manehattan and Canterlot. Farm bumpkins, bouncing idiots, noponies proud and timid both alike. Shall I judge as they do, foolish as they are and taken in by every carnival and circus show that arrives outside their door? Are my desires no higher than their own? Are not my ambitions nobler: a crown, a set of grand connections, influence throughout the land? No, I'll raise my sights above the common crowd and look elsewhere for satisfaction."

And so finally he came to the silver casket, which gleamed less brightly than the strongbox of gold but had in some ways a purer sheen to it. Rich took out a monocle, putting it to his eye as he read the final clue. "'Who chooses me shall get no more or less than they deserve.' Aha! Now here’s the thing! I know my worth, none better. Is not my dazzling wealth testament enough to my superiority over the poor and common rabble? In Manehattan the mares all kiss my hooves, the stallions clamour at my door begging small favours. Do I not deserve a crown? Do I not deserve to be known by all ponies, involved in all things, to sit upon a throne and style myself most royal? Do I not deserve a fair consort and fairer still than…” he glanced towards Twilight, and then looked at Cadance for a moment. “Fairer than the word. I choose this chest of silver, in all Equestria there is no stallion more deserving.”

He touched the ornate lock upon the silver casket, and the box opened with a brilliant burst of lavender light. Rich Dirtbag peered inside. His horn glowed as he levitated a silver-framed mirror out of the chest and held it up before his face. “A looking glass?”

“The better to behold the object of your affection,” Cadance said waspishly. “You may deserve your wealth and success. You may even deserve the esteem in which you are held. But in matters of love, what we deserve has very little to do with it. In fact, I might go so far as to say that if you really love somepony you will never really feel as though you deserve them; while if you ever are so vain as to feel that you deserve somepony else, then what you feel for them is almost certainly not love.”

Rich glared at the two princesses for a moment, his mouth tightening. Behind him, Spike opened the door.

Rich practically spat his words, “It seems that I am twice a fool: once for my choice and once for coming here at all!” He turned around and swept out the library.

Spike shut the door. “Huh, and good riddance.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the silver casket closed, ready for the next suitor to take the test. “It worked. I can’t believe it worked.”

“It’s been my experience that ponies like these are too full of themselves, too wrapped up in their own importance, to risk everything,” Cadance said. “Even for a treasure like you.” She scowled. “I can’t believe the nerve of that guy, talking about you that way. Don’t let anypony talk about you that way, Twilight. Promise me. You’re better than that.”

Twilight compared this with what Cadance had just said, and frowned at the contradiction. “But…you just said-“

“Two lessons about relationships,” Cadance said. “Lesson number one: when it comes to the heart, nopony owes you anything. No matter how rich you are, how talented, sometimes the pony you like just isn’t into you and no amount of stamping your hooves and talking about how much you deserve to get what you want will change that. Lesson number two: don’t sell yourself short. Don’t ever settle for somepony that you don’t love because you don’t think you can do any better; it’s the recipe for a miserable life. Understand now?”

“I think so?”

Cadance smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ve got as long as you want to figure it out. Now, I wonder if we can get rid of any more of them today.”

***

Sunset walked down the street towards her sister’s house. There were no colts playing kick-ball this morning, instead two fillies were flicking a skipping rope for a third friend.

“Hundred and one, hundred and two, hundred and three; come on, you’re doing great!”

Sunset walked on by until she came to the steps leading up to Eclipse’s green door. She was about to mount the steps leading up to it when the painted door flew open and a bespectacled dark red stallion wearing a pair of bulging saddlebags began to bustle down the steps.

"Please excuse me," he said. "I'm in a bit of a-" He stared at her for a moment. "Miss Sunset Shimmer?"

"Um, yeah," Sunset murmured. She frowned. "Are...you're the fiancée, aren't you?"

The stallion smiled a little too widely, it made him look kind of goofy. "Planed Surface, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

And yet you didn't run away screaming, Sunset thought. She sized up the stallion who thought he was going to marry her sister. He was younger than she had feared, only a few years older than she was. He held himself awkwardly, like one of the nerdy kids in the playground, but he filled out his grey suit well enough even if it did look a bit too big for him. The suit itself was old, but not shabby. His glasses were square and the eyes behind them were a deep blue. His mane was black, and combed over to the right in an unassuming style that screamed 'clean cut and honest'. He probably sent money back to his white-haired old mother.

Sunset noticed that his cutie mark was a block of wood, and couldn't help but wonder if that was a comment on how interesting he was.

"Hi," Sunset said evenly, holding one hoof. "It's um, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, thanks," Planed said, bumping her hoof with his own. "I'm just so glad that you could be here right now, after being out of the country for so long and being reported dead-"

"Yeah," Sunset said, a subtle growl entering her tone. "So, anyway-"

"Does this mean that you'll be able to come to the wedding?"

Sunset hesitated. She wanted to, if only because it would put the diamond ring on her reconciliation with her sister, but she had no idea of whether the tender rapprochement they had established yesterday would bear any kind of weight. And if Eclipse thought that Sunset had gone behind her back to get invited to the wedding she would never be forgiven. "I don't know," Sunset said. "I...things might come up. I can't say."

Planed's face fell a little. "Oh. Well, I hope that you'll really try to be there, Miss Sunset-"

"Stop calling me 'Miss', I'm not your spinster aunt," Sunset snapped. "You can call me Sunset like everypony else."

His face fell a little. "Okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. My mother always told me to-"

"Yeah, I'm sure she did," Sunset interrupted. She sighed. "Listen, Clark-"

"Who?"

"Never mind," Sunset said quickly. "I'm sure that small town manners go down a hoot wherever you come from-"

"Smalltown, Equestria," he supplied helpfully.

"Of course you do," Sunset said flatly. "The point is, they aren't my thing, so if you could tone it down that would be awesome."

"Of course," he said. "I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I know that you've been away for a while, so if there's anything I can do to help you, please don't hesitate to ask."

Sunset blinked. "Okay. What is up with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"In the very short time we've known each other, I have been rude to you five times and it hasn't even ruffled you," Sunset said, her voice rising. "Why are you still being so friendly? And what in Equestria has my sister told you that you're being so friendly?"

The expression on the face of Planed Surface was absolutely guileless. "I'm being so friendly because that's who I am Mi- um, Sunset. And because it takes a lot more than a few words to get under my skin. As for what Eclipse told me: some bad things, some good things if you know how to listen, but I always prefer to judge people for myself."

Sunset’s eyes narrowed and she stepped forward, shoving her face into Planed Surface’s personal space. “You’re up to something. And when I find out what it is, you’re going to be in big trouble.”

He smiled disarmingly. “Actually, I think when you realise that I’m not up to anything you’re going to owe me an apology. Anyway, I really ought to go now; it was nice meeting you M- Sunset.” Planed nodded goodbye to her, then began to walk down the street.

Sunset stared at him. That guy is way too calm and nice to be on the level. She scowled as she walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

Eclipse opened it a moment later. “Hey. I wasn’t sure if you’d be back.”

Sunset frowned. “Meaning what, exactly?”

Eclipse raised one eyebrow. “Come on, you don’t exactly have a great track record.”

Sunset shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I can’t argue with that.”

Eclipse smiled. “Come on in.”

Sunset followed her inside. “So, I met the future husband.”

Eclipse must have noticed something in her tone because she turned around and fixed Sunset with a stern look. “What? Come on, let’s hear it.”

“He’s too friendly!” Sunset said. “It isn’t normal. I insulted him and he didn’t get annoyed, he didn’t get upset. He just kept smiling that stupid smile the whole time. Somepony that nice is obviously hiding something under his mask.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, maybe he’s a member of a Nightmare cult,” Sunset suggested. “Okay, that was stupid, but I think he’s up to something. Come on, Eclipse, don’t you think there’s something off about a guy that perfect?”

“I think there’s something really weird about you trying to tell me that somepony might be bad for me,” Eclipse said, her voice sharp but not without a trace of amusement in it.

“Don’t be like that, come on,” Sunset said. “I’m just…” she hesitated, aware of how stupid the words would sound coming out of her mouth but equally aware that she had to say them anyway. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay.”

Eclipse began to shake, as though she had suddenly been struck with a chill. Then she opened her mouth and laughter echoed through the house, until even little Heartwings was gurgling happily in her playpen.

Sunset sat down on the floor and tried to swallow her chagrin. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, come on.”

Eclipse’s laughter trailed off as she said, “You had to realise how ridiculous you saying that would sound.”

Sunset smiled sheepishly. “Isn’t it nice that I care?”

Eclipse snorted. “I guess so.”

“Thanks for having me back,” Sunset said.

Eclipse smiled out of one corner of her mouth. “I never hated you, Sunset. I just…I didn’t want you dragging me back to…”

“Yeah, I know,” Sunset said softly.

“But you seem different now,” Eclipse continued. “You are different. You never used to admit that you’d done anything wrong.”

“Really? Never?”

“Nope.”

“Huh,” Sunset said. “I seem to do it all the time these days.” She got up, wandering around the living room. “So, is this you now? Full time wicked stepmom?”

Eclipse glared at her.

“Full time not-wicked stepmom?” Sunset corrected herself.

“Not full time,” Eclipse said. “I make things: pots, figurines, that kind of thing. It doesn’t make a lot of money, but I enjoy it.”

“Really,” Sunset murmured. She looked at the ornaments on the bookshelves. “So, are they yours?”

Eclipse nodded, and so Sunset walked over to the closest shelf to take a closer look. The piece that caught her eye was a delicate porcelain statuette of a unicorn mare with long, lithe legs and a flowing pink mane. “It’s beautiful.”

“An Eclipse original,” Eclipse said. “It will be worth a lot in fifty years.”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”

They looked at one another, a silence falling between them broken only the sounds of little Heartwings banging her toys together.

Sunset said, “You know, it’s weird: we’re sisters, but we don’t really know each other anymore, do we?”

“No,” Eclipse agreed. “I guess we don’t."

Sunset held out a hoof. "Hi, I'm Sunset Shimmer, nice to meet you?"

Eclipse shook her head. "Where do you think we ought to start?”

“How about with how you ended up with the most corn-fed boy this side of Saddle Range.” Sunset suggested.

Eclipse smiled. “Why don’t you sit down, I’ll make us some tea.”

Sunset sat down at the table and waited while her sister went into the kitchen. She tapped her hoof on the table while she waited, watching the young filly roll one of her toy wagons across the floor of the playpen.

"He really isn't a bad guy, you know," Eclipse said when she returned, levitating a pot of tea and two cups with her, putting them both down on the table. "And he's not hiding anything. What you see is what there is."

"I don't buy that," Sunset said. "Not even Twilight Sparkle is that even tempered, and she's the best pony I know." Twilight may have been the tranquil pool to Sunset's raging inferno, but even the serene water could boil with rage when roused to it.

"He is," Eclipse insisted. "He really is."

Sunset sighed. "I know I don't have any right to say this, and I know it sounds incredibly wrong of me to say it, but I don't want you to get hurt a few months down the line when he turns out to be an enormous ass."

"We've been together for almost six months now," Eclipse said. "If it was a mask, I think I would have seen it slip. And besides, what would be the point of it? What could he want from me?"

"I don't know," Sunset admitted. "I still want to know how you two ended up together."

“He saved my life,” Eclipse said simply.

“He what?” Sunset asked. “How?”

“There was a fire,” Eclipse said slowly. “I was trapped and he came in and got me out. When we were outside, and I asked him why, he just looked at me and said, ‘Because you needed help.’ That’s the kind of pony he is: the kind who helps others. I’ve seen him dive out into the middle of the road to push somepony out of the way of an oncoming carriage. I’ve seen him sit and talk to complete strangers about their problems for hours. He always does the right thing and he never expects anything in return, he just does it because it’s right. That’s why I know that he won’t ever hurt me, because I know that he’d never hurt anypony. I feel like the luckiest mare in Equestria sometimes.”

“You sound like it,” Sunset said. “I can’t say that it’s the kind of relationship I’d choose – too boring - but you do sound happy so I suppose I don’t have much choice but to trust you.” She grinned. “I’ll still kick his flank if he turns out to be a jerk though.”

Eclipse laughed. “I have missed you, Sunset, honestly.”

“Really?”

“You stole my stuff, you lied to me, you took advantage of me, you were an ass,” Eclipse said, rattling off the list of Sunset’s flaws. “But you were fun to hang out with when you weren’t trying to get something out of me, and you were right, you did a lot for me when we were kids. Mom and Dad weren’t always around, but you were.”

Sunset shrugged. “Is that what you told your coltfriend about me?”

“I told him everything, he just saw the best,” Eclipse replied. “He sees the best in everypony.”

“Gee, they really do make them differently out in the country, don’t they?” Sunset said. “Must be the small town air.”

“There’s no need to be sarcastic.”

“I can’t help it,” Sunset said. “It’s in my nature.”

“Before recently I would have said that being absolutely self-centred was in your nature too,” Eclipse pointed out. “But here we are.”

“Yep,” Sunset said heavily. “Here we are.”

Eclipse hesitated, her eyes darting this way and that. “I…would like to have you back in my life. If you want to be my sister, then I’ll be your sister too.”

“Really?” Sunset gasped eagerly. “You…you mean it? Thanks, I just…thank you. Hey. Does this mean I can come to your wedding?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Eclipse replied.

“Right, sure,” Sunset said, unable to stop herself grinning like an idiot. It hardly felt like a rebuke at this point. She had her sister back! She’d been forgiven!

“So how about your life?” Eclipse asked. “What are you up to in Ponyville these days?”

“Well, I-“ Sunset began, but before she could get very far into her answer, Heartwings managed to poke herself in the eye and started to cry and wail.

“Oh, you poor baby,” Eclipse said in a gushing, motherly tone, her horn glowing as she lifted the filly out of the playpen and into her hooves, rocking her gently from side to side. “Ah, there, there, let Eclipse kiss it better.” She kissed the little girl gently. “Sunset, could you get the music box, it’s on the third shelf down.”

Sunset got up and padded quickly over to the shelf. She recognised the music box at once as the one that their mother had had when Sunset and Eclipse were children: a carved redwood box, plain and unadorned with a brass plaque on the lid inscribed ST, for Starlight Twinkle. Sunset smiled as she picked up the box and carried it over to the table. “I didn’t realise you still had this.”

“I couldn’t get rid of that,” Eclipse said. “And a good thing too, Heartwings loves the music.”

“She’s got good taste then,” Sunset said, opening the box and letting the familiar melody flow out to fill the house. Almost at once, the filly quietened, her crying diminishing as Eclipse rocked her from side to side.

“That’s it, all better now,” Eclipse whispered. “I’m here, you’re safe, everything is going to be all right. Go to sleep. Go to sleep.”

Heartwings was blinking sleepily, but she managed to murmur, “Stowwey.”

Eclipse gasped. “A story?” She looked up at Sunset, blue eyes gleaming mischievously. “Well you’re very lucky, princess, because you’re Aunt Sunset is here and she tells the most wonderful stories.”

Sunset’s eyes widened in alarm. “I do?”

“You used to,” Eclipse said. “You used to create those illusions, remember?”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Huh. Yeah, I did, didn’t I? Well, I guess we’ll see if I’ve still got it, won’t we?” She channelled her magic, her horn lighting up with magical aura as she did so, and hoped that she could still get the spell right.

Sunset waited until the melody of the music box had wound down and then started over again, before she began to speak. When it came, her voice was the gentlest whisper. She half felt as though she was a teenager again, putting Eclipse to bed because their parents were working late.

“This is the story of the Princess and the Frozen Heart,” Sunset said, and the image of a princess whose resemblance to Twilight Sparkle was pure coincidence appeared in the air above Heartwings, an image that looked as if it was formed of smoke, hovering in the air and smiling down upon the filly who reached up for it with her tiny hooves.

“Once upon a time,” Sunset continued. “There was a girl, who was very lonely, because she felt no love in her heart. Though many ponies offered her their friendship, the girl scorned them all, because she thought that friendship would only make her weak.” The image of the princess disappeared, replaced by an amber unicorn with fire in her mane, turning her back upon Princess Celestia and all the other ponies reaching out for her, her eyes closed and her nose in the air. “This foolish girl was so determined to be free of love, that she took out her heart and hid it in a cavern of ice, where it grew cold and lonely. ‘Now I will be the greatest wizard of all time,’ the girl cried. ‘No,’ said Celestia, for she saw that there was no love in this girl’s heart, and banished her from the kingdom until she could learn to love another.” The images swirling above Heartwings’ head, having shown the girl standing in an icy cavern, became Celestia looking away from the stupid girl, gesturing imperiously with one hoof to bid her begone.

“The lonely girl wandered in misery,” Sunset said. “For her heart could feel only the cold of the ice all around it, biting and bitter, and the warmth of friendship and love could never touch it while it lay entombed. But the girl could not bear to admit that she was wrong, and blamed everypony but herself for her misfortunes, and she became ever more lonely and afraid.” The Sunset lookalike became surrounded by shadows, with cold eyes and colder smiles, all turned away from her while the lonely girl stared fearfully at all of them, shivering from cold, fright and loneliness in equal measure.

“In time, a new princess was crowned, a princess loved by everypony, for she was kind and brave and generous.” Sunset created the image of the Princess surrounded by a vague crowd of well-wishers, and the sound of their cheering nearly blocked out the sound of the music box. “And when she saw how loved the Princess was, how praised, how admired, the girl became enraged. And so, one dark night, she crept into the palace and stole the Princess’ crown.” The image of a shadowy figure, hidden in a dark cloak, appeared over Heartwings, making the filly shrink in fear. The hooded figure raised one hoof to reveal a golden crown, which glinted brightly before both crown and figure both disappeared.

“But now that she had the crown, the lonely girl became terribly afraid of what the Princess would do, and so the lonely girl ran away, as far as she could, to escape the Princess’ anger. But the Princess did not come after right away. First, she went to the cavern of ice and found the heart of the lonely girl, and took it with her as she followed the girl who had stolen her crown.

“But the girl kept running. She ran and ran, always looking behind her, always trying to escape. She kept on running, between the stars and past the sun, while galaxies and shooting stars whirled past her. She ran and ran, and the Princess followed her, always on her trail.” The images Sunset created showed girl and princess both running through the stars and planets, which twinkled in all manner of colours around them.
“At last, the girl came to the very edge of the galaxy, and when she could run no more she turned at bay and saw the Princess coming towards her.” The girl stood upon the very edge of a silver waterfall, snarling at the Princess as she walked slowly forwards towards her.

“’Leave me alone’, the girl cried. ‘Why are you chasing me?’ ’I’d like you to give me my crown back,’ the Princess replied. ‘And in return, I will give you this.’ And she took out the lonely girl’s heart, and offered it to her. The girl was amazed that the Princess would treat her enemy so, and asked her why she would offer her such a gift. ‘Because to see you so lonely makes me sad,’ the Princess answered. ‘And nopony should live without love.’ And so the lonely girl threw down the stolen crown at the Princess’ hooves, and snatched her heart and took it back for the first time in many cold years. And the girl began to cry, because for the first time she realised that she was loved. And so she fell down at the hooves of the Princess, sobbing, ‘What shall I do? How can I atone for what I have done?’ And the Princess held out a hoof to her and said, ‘Come with me, and we will find the answer out together.’ And so the girl took the hoof of the Princess, who led her home where she belonged, and made sure that she was never lonely or frightened again. And, if they are not dead, then they are living still.”

Heartwings smiled happily as her eyes closed and she drifted off at last to sleep, snoring idly in Eclipse’s hooves.

Sunset grinned. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, not bad at all,” Eclipse said quietly. “So, who is she?”

“Who?”

“The Princess who gave you back your heart,” Eclipse said. “Lonely girl.”

“What? No!” Sunset squawked, while keeping her voice quiet enough to not wake Heartwings. “It was a just story, that’s all. I made it all up.”

Eclipse’s smile was very smug. “Of course you did.”

“Yes,” Sunset insisted. “I did.”

“If you say so,” Eclipse said, sounding as though she didn’t believe a word of it. “You want to come to dinner tomorrow night? Or do you have to go back to Ponyville?”

“Soon, but not right away,” Sunset said. “Yeah, dinner would be great, thanks.”

Eclipse nodded. “It’s nice to have you back, big sister.”

Author's Note

I've wanted to write this chapter, especially Sunset's fairy story, for some time now, so I really hope you guys like it. Lots of this was originally going to be a part of the last chapter, but I think it works better the way it is.

I couldn't really explain why I think that the Impossible Girl theme fits Sunset, I just happen to find it very appropriate for her. Probably it's the whole dimension hopping thing.

Family Dinner

Chapter 13

Family Dinner

Sunset writhed upon the gurney, her arms and legs squirming under the restraints.

“Let me out of here!” she shrieked, tugging fruitlessly at the bonds that held her down, struggling in abject futility with all the strength that she possessed. “Let me out! You can’t do this to me!”

Above her shone bright lights, so bright she could barely see anything else. She could only just make out the plastic walls enclosing her, the blinking and beeping medical equipment, the video cameras set up to record her last moments for posterity.

No. Not for posterity. For science.

Sunset lurched upwards like a giant kraken rising from the sea, trying to rip herself free of her restraints by main force. It didn’t work, and her wrists and ankles felt worse than ever as the tight straps burned her skin. She snarled wordlessly, anger, pain and outrage mingling in her animal growl.

“Sedate the subject,” the voice was cold, clinical. “We need her still in order to conduct a full and thorough examination.”

“I am not a subject!” Sunset yelled. “I’m a person! I’m a person and you can’t do this to me!”

A solitary figure stepped into the light. He was an old man, grey haired and robed in crisp, white scrubs which glowed under the sterile lights of the operating theatre so that he looked as much like a god as a scientist. There was no mercy in his hard, weathered face or in his cold, blue eyes. His voice, when it spoke again, was heavy with the sound of Sunset’s doom.

“You are not a person,” he declared, each word a hammer blow descending upon Sunset’s hopes. “You are an alien organism and a threat to the security of this country and this world. And as such, you will be examined so that we may develop countermeasures against others of your kind.”

“My kind?” Sunset asked. “My kind isn’t a threat to you. We’re a peaceful people.” He didn’t believe her; she could see it written all over his face. Sunset found she couldn’t blame him.

“I just want to go home,” she begged. “Please let me out of here.”

Her desperation bounced off the armour of his dispassion. Sunset realised that he had meant what he said: she wasn’t a person to him, she was a science project.

Two orderlies dashed forward, syringes in their hands. Sunset tried to get away from them but she was strapped down too tight, and one of them put all his weight on her to keep her still while the other readied the sedative.

A scalpel appeared in the hands of the scientist. It glittered with a silvery light.

Sunset tried desperately, uselessly, to throw the orderly off of her. She looked around for something, anything she could use, anyone who might help her. But there was no one. Twilight Sparkle was not coming to take her home; the Canterlot High Five were not going to break into the evil government lab on bicycles to rescue her.

She had lived alone, and now she would die alone with no one to mourn her.

The syringe pricked her neck with a sharp jab of pain.

Sunset moaned, already feeling woozy as the scalpel started getting closer.

“ENOUGH!” the loud cry made all of Sunset’s weariness vanish in an instant, and she looked up to see Princess Luna standing before her, fury blazing in her eyes.

“She is not your prey!” Luna shouted. “Begone, all of you!”

At her shout, the world dissolved. The science lab melted into smoke and blew away before the hurricane of Luna’s anger. The restraints on Sunset fell apart even as Sunset’s body returned to its pony form and she found herself sitting on a grey, rocky floor. The scientist and the two orderlies disappeared, and in their places stood the three furies, baring their teeth towards the Princess of the Night.

“Who are you to command the Furies?” Allecto hissed. “We do not answer to you, Moon-witch, but to laws more ancient and more powerful by far. Take care, lest we decide that your crimes also warrant punishment.”

“There is no torment you could visit upon me that I have not suffered already at my own hooves,” Luna replied coldly. “But you shall not torment this mare. She is under my protection, and while you may be older than even I, this is my realm. And in my realm I rule, and you obey.”

The three furies hissed in unison, the flames in their hair blazing bright with wrath, the snakes coiled about their waists spitting in frustration.

“She is a sinner,” Allecto said. “A sinner who has escaped the consequences of her crimes - escaped all punishment, who inflicted suffering yet has suffered nothing in return. She is…happy,” she spoke the word like it repulsed her. “Her heart is full of gladness and light. Is it not an affront to justice that the architect of so much pain should feel such joy?”

“That is not for me to judge,” Luna said.

“No, it is for us to judge, and judge we have,” Allecto spat. “Now leave us to our work!”

“No!” Luna shouted. “I have refused you once, I do so again. Leave now, or you will see what powers this ‘Moon-witch’ possesses.”

The furies were so still that Sunset half-thought Luna had turned them all to stone. Then they began to hum as one entity, one mind. They were, she realised, sharing their thoughts with one another.

“Very well,” Allecto said. “We shall go. But beware, Sunset Shimmer. You will not always be so well protected.”

The three furies faded from sight, leaving Sunset alone with the Princess of the Night, standing together upon a grey surface under a black sky.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Sunset murmured.

Luna regarded her without any obvious warmth behind her blue eyes. “So, you are Sunset Shimmer.”

“I have the…dubious distinction, Your Highness,” Sunset replied.

“Be careful, Sunset Shimmer,” Luna said. “When overcooked, modesty can burn into another form of arrogance. Beware, lest you come to consider yourself, in your peerless humility, more virtuous than other ponies.”

Sunset blinked, considering Luna’s words. She smirked. “I suppose I have been overdoing it a little, haven’t I?”

“It is no bad thing to be penitent, in moderation,” Luna replied. “Only be sure that it is moderate.”

Sunset nodded. “Princess Luna…can I ask why?”

“Why? Why what?”

“Why did you stop the Furies?” Sunset asked.

“I did my duty,” Luna responded.

“You have no cause to love me.”

“No,” Luna said. “I do not. But everypony deserves the right to forgive themselves, no matter their offence. The Furies would have every wrongdoer live their lives in torn rags, wandering Equestria with dirt in their manes, eternally seeking forgiveness for their sins. They forget that we are all sinners, in our own ways great or small. But now I must go, the night is old yet there is still much work for me to do.” She turned away, and Sunset knew enough of the theory of dream-magic to know that in a moment the Princess would be lost form her sight.

“Princess Luna, may I be impertinent?” Sunset blurted out, fearing to ask her question yet at the same time knowing that she would regret it if she did not ask.

Luna hesitated. “You may?”

“How long did it take before you forgave yourself?”

Luna laughed. “Who says that I have?”

Sunset stood in front of Eclipse’s door, a plastic box held in the grip of her telekinesis, half-hidden behind Sunset’s neck.

The dress Sunset had come to Canterlot in - the magnificent gown which Rarity had made for Twilight’s dance - was far too fancy for something like family dinner. But at the same time the event had seemed too important to Sunset for her not to wear anything. Her sister wanted her around sufficiently to invite Sunset to spend the entire night with her and her family. That wasn’t something that Sunset could just ignore, or treat as ordinary. It might not have been a matter for the fate of Equestria to rest on, it might not even have compared to a princess’ wedding, but to Sunset, in her life, it was pretty huge. So she had begged a little money from Princess Celestia – which hadn’t actually require too much begging, Sunset had forgotten how generous her old teacher was – and brought a little red dress off the peg from a boutique in the city. It was nothing compared to Rarity’s work, but it felt soft against her coat and the colour matched her mane mostly, and Sunset certainly didn’t think she looked ugly as she waited outsider her sister’s door, nerving herself to knock.

The sun set, dropping down rapidly below the horizon. The moon rose up to take its place just as fast, the stars coming out as though one of the princesses had flipped a switch. Sunset imagined them, Celestia and Luna, standing upon the balconies of their high towers, horns aglow as they performed their hallowed task.

She knocked on the door.

There was a moment’s pause, and then Eclipse opened the door and beamed at her older sister. “Great! You’re here.”

Sunset stood upon the steps, a foolish smile upon her face, staring. It seemed such a small thing, it was such a small thing, but to have her little sister smile at her like that, to have her eyes light up with pleasure at seeing Sunset…Princess Celestia could have appeared at that very moment and granted Sunset wings and a royal crown and it would have meant less to her in that moment than the fact that Eclipse was happy to see her. How many years had it been since that had last been true? And now look at that smile. Sunset hoped that she never forgot this moment, or how it had felt.

Eclipse waved one hoof in front of Sunset’s face. “Hey, Sunset? Are you okay?”

Sunset shook her head. “Yeah, sorry, I just spaced out for a sec.”

“You want to come inside?”

“Sure,” Sunset replied. “Listen, I got you something. It’s a little bit cheesy, but…” She levitated the plastic box towards Eclipse, who took it in the sure grasp of her own magic and turned the pink and purple box over.

“A Pretty Pony Princess doll?” she asked.

Sunset smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I remembered you complaining about me taking those when we were kids.”

Eclipse chuckled. “You realise how old I am, right?” But then she laughed again, to show there was no malice in it. “Thank you. Really.” She held up the doll, which looked to be based off Princess Celestia without actually looking like Princess Celestia; it was pink, for one thing. “It even looks like the one I had.”

Sunset nodded. “They’ve got ones that look a bit like Princess Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle now, but I decided to stick with the classic.” She had thought about getting Twilight her ersatz doll – Princess Starlight Twinkle – just to see her face, but had decided against it.

Eclipse magically pushed the button on Princess Sunbeam’s flank.

“A princess is as wise as she is beautiful,” the doll said.

“She certainly is,” Sunset murmured, thinking of Twilight.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Sunset said quickly. “Um, can I come in?”

“Oh, yes, of course. What am I thinking, keeping you freezing on the doorstep?” Eclipse went inside first, leaving Sunset to close the door.

“Heartwings!” Eclipse called. “Look what Aunt Sunset got you.”

Heartwings gurgled happily as Eclipse unwrapped the box and handed the doll to the little filly.

“Sunset, I’m so glad you could make it,” Planed said, walking out of the kitchen to join Sunset in watching Eclipse.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Sunset replied.

“I’d offer to take your coat but, well…”

“Yeah, it’s hard to do when I don’t have one,” Sunset replied. They both watched Eclipse playing with Heartwings for a few moments, the adults looking on quietly while the filly cried out with joy.

“You’re a lucky guy, you know that,” Sunset said.

“I know,” Planed replied. “You’re a lucky sister.”

“I know that, too,” Sunset muttered.

The two of them looked at each other. “If you ever hurt her-“ they both began at exactly the same time, before they both started sniggering.

“I’ll tell you what,” Sunset said. “We’ll both treat her right, and we’ll neither of us have anything to complain about. Deal?”

Planed Surface nodded. “She’ll never be anything but happy, I promise.”

“I believe you,” Sunset told him, and she meant it.

She believed it because it was right in front of her. It was in everything. She just had to watch them, she just had to listen to them to know that these two ponies were meant to be together. They were bound by a red string of fate that not even Celestia or Luna or Cadance, Princess of Love could have severed.

It was in the way a spark leapt between them whenever their eyes met. It was in the way he stood a little taller when he felt her eyes on him. It was in the way she glowed a little brighter when she felt his eyes on her.

It was in the way they told their stories, switching out at intervals as though they were some kind of storytelling tag team, always picking up at exactly the right place where the other had left off with no visible signals passing between them.

It was in the way that they could laugh at one another, and at themselves, without any shame or embarrassment at all.

It was the way that everything they did, every gesture, every touch, every little hint of a smile, seemed to mean more to them than an hour of speechifying.

It was the way that they moved around each other as if they were always dancing, twirling around another as if there was a single mind guiding them both.

Sunset found herself watching them in amazement, and then with pleasure. A slow smile crept across her face as she listened to their stories and watched their interactions. Just by watching she knew that her little sister would be okay, but more than that, Sunset started to wonder if maybe she could be okay as well.

This must be it, Sunset realised. This is what not even Princess Celestia could explain to me. This, the way that they fall in love with each other all over again every minute, this is what love is. This is how you know.

Do I feel that way?

She watched her sister and Planed Surface washing up, bantering lightly with one another, moving as if they shared a single mind, breaking off their work to kiss every so often. Sunset watched, and she tried to imagine a similar scene, but taking place somewhere else with different ponies as the characters: her home in Ponyville, no, Twilight's library. She imagined herself and Twilight, having dinner, talking. Their eyes would meet, spoons halfway to their mouths, and there would be that spark, the tiny and invisible spark, that would seal the bond between them anew for the thousandth or however many time. She could imagine spending endless days in Twilight's company. Only Twilight, not pony Flash, not human Flash, not anypony else, just Twilight.

"Sunset?"

Sunset blinked rapidly, the scene in her mind dispersing. "Yeah? What's up, sis? You need any help?"

"No, we're all done," Eclipse said quietly. She smiled. "You got it bad, don't you?"

"Huh?" Sunset said, trying to sound casual and surprised in equal measure.

"That story was more than just a story, wasn't it?" Eclipse said, sitting down. "A princess really did give you back your heart."

Sunset hesitated, then nodded. "Princess Twilight."

"The one you stole the Element of Magic from?" Eclipse chuckled. "You know how to pick 'em, don't you? What is it with you and the brave, upstanding type?"

Sunset shrugged. "You're asking me? I mean, I ought to hate this mare; she's everything I wanted to be but aren't...can't ever become. But I don't hate her, I..."

"Love her?" Eclipse suggested.

"That's the stupidest thing, I can't even say," Sunset snapped.

Eclipse leaned forwards, elbows on the table, eyes keenly curious. "Then what can you say?"

Sunset leaned back. "That when I think about her with anypony else I want to start punching people. That when I'm around her, I get so nervous like, like she'll suddenly realise that she's better than I am and turn away from me, even though she never does. But at the same time I feel as though I could tell her anything and she'd understand, do anything and she'd forgive me. That when I think about me and her, I get this warm feeling inside like, like there was this hole inside of me all this time that I didn't even know was there but can fill in.
"I feel like I'm the sun, and she can raise me up and set me down at her command."

Eclipse was silent for a moment, then she whistled. "Sis, if you didn't think that was love I hate to think how high your standards are."

"You mean that?" Sunset asked.

"On my Celestia, yes! You love her," Eclipse insisted. "No ifs, no buts, you're in love, deal with it. Am I right, honey?"

"It sounds like love to me," Planed Surface called out from the kitchen.

"Thank you," Eclipse said loudly. "There, you see, undeniable."

"Because you and your fiance say it is?"

"Because it's staring you in the face," Eclipse shouted. "The real question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know, I..." Sunset hesitated, a goofy smile crossing her face. "It's true, isn't it? You're right. I love her. I love her! I am in love with Twilight Sparkle!" She leapt off her chair, raising her forehooves in the air. "I am horribly in love with her!"

"Howwibly!" Heartwings yelled, raising her legs and falling onto her back.

Sunset dropped back down onto all fours. "I love her. Sweet Celestia, I love her, what am I going to do?"

"You could start by asking her out?" Eclipse suggested. "I hear that's a good way to begin a relationship."

"Ha ha," Sunset said flatly. "Listen, this is serious. There's all these suitors and...she's a princess."

"And are you really going to let that stop you?"

"No, I just..." Sunset sighed. "What if she doesn't love me? What if one of those rich ponies has gotten to her first? What if..."

Planed Surface came out from the kitchen. "If this is real love, if this is fate, if you two are meant to be together, then an army of griffons won't be able to keep the two of you apart. But, on the other hoof, if it isn't real, then none of the obstacles you're afraid will be what keeps you apart in the end."

Sunset snorted. "You know I always used to think that I made my own fate. That I could defy destiny, cheat it, fulfil my own ambitions in spite of everything the world had planned for me. That worked out...not so great. I suppose it might be nice to put my trust in some grand cosmic plan and hope that it's on my side for once." She looked at the two of them, first at Eclipse and then at Planed Surface. "Do you think that it's possible? Do you think that a pony like Twilight Sparkle, a princess, could love somepony like me?"

Eclipse smirked. "I think she'd be a lucky mare, and I'll tell her so myself if I have to."

Sunset laughed. "Thanks, little sister. I, I know what I have to do. I'll go to Ponyville, and I'll take a chance. I'll trust in fate, or whatever, and believe that we're meant to be together. And so I'll make it happen. Whatever it takes."

Eclipse nodded. "Go get 'em, Tiger."

"I will, I'll leave first thing tomorrow, I..." Sunset hesitated. "Come here, you." She pulled her little sister into a hug. "Thank you, Sunset whispered. Thank you for trusting me, for giving me a chance, for telling me what I needed to hear. You're the best sister I could ever have."

"And don't you forget it," Eclipse replied. "And Sunset?"

"Yeah?"

Eclipse looked at her fiance, who nodded. "We would be honoured if you could attend our wedding. If you want to."

Sunset's eyes widened. "If I want to?" she said softly. "If I want to? If I want to?"

"Is that a yes or a no?" Planed asked.

"Of course it's a yes, why wouldn't I want to come to my own sister's wedding?" Sunset shouted, barely restraining herself from jumping for joy. "In fact," she grinned. "Put me down for a plus one."

Author's Note

As I said in my blog post, there are probably about 4-5 chapters left until this story ends, now with a different but hopefully better climax than the one I originally envisaged.

I considered having the Pretty Princess doll say 'let's fly to the castle' or something, but I decided that it would be twisting Equestria out of character for the sake of a gag even cheaper than having the doll be pink.

The thing about breaking into the governent lab on bikes is supposed to be a reference to ET, but I haven't watched ET since I was a kid so that may not have actually happened.

Canterlot High Five is very much a reference to my pre-reader the Albinocorn and his Long Road to Friendship.

Does anyone know of a fanfic where Sunset stays in the human world and is forcibly recruited to SHIELD or some such secret government organisation?

I Could Be Your Marefriend

Chapter 14

I Could Be Your Marefriend

The sun was shining bright and it seemed brighter still for shining down upon a glad occasion: the last of Twilight’s suitors was leaving Ponyville.

Twilight stood upon the platform, all her friends surrounding her like bodyguards, watching the Fillydelphia train pull away from the platform, carrying away the very last of those who had so proudly come to woo. In pomp and ceremony they had arrived, but one by one they had slunk away in shame and shadow, defeated by their own fears or by the test of caskets Cadance had arranged.

And now they were all gone! Twilight breathed in the sweet smell of freedom once again and found it very heady indeed. She sighed in satisfaction.

“Thank goodness that’s over with,” she said. “There was a time I thought they’d never leave.”

“Well, good riddance I say,” Rarity declared. “They may have called themselves gentlecolts but it was clear to me that not one of them had an ounce of manners or decency in their entire bodies. Trust me, Twilight, you’re well rid of the whole pack of them.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Twilight replied. She looked at Cadance. “And it’s all thanks to you, Cadance. I don’t know if I can ever thank you enough for helping me get through this.”

“You don’t need to thank me at all,” Cadance said. “What are sisters-in-law for? Besides, after you rescued me from the caverns under Canterlot and helped save my kingdom from Sombra, I think this is the very least I could do.”

“However you wanna put it you did a real good thing, Cadance,” Applejack said. “And we’re all mightily grateful to you. I don’t know what we would have done if one of those princess-rustlin’ yahoos had managed to take Twilight away.”

“I’m just glad we can put all of this behind us and get back to normal,” Fluttershy said.

“Until the next time one of you flips out about something stupid, Discord comes to visit, the Cutie Mark Crusaders nearly destroy the town or the next ancient enemy returns bent on taking over the world,” Spike reminded them. “I mean, what’s normal for us, really?”

“Yes, thank you, Spike,” Twilight replied a little tersely. “Now, Cadance-“

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Oh my gosh girls, do you know what this means? We need to have a Twilight Liberation party!”

“That sounds like an excellent idea, oh if only Sunset were here,” Rarity said, her tone carrying an undercurrent of teasing playfulness. “You could have another magnificent dance with her, Twilight.”

Twilight felt her face start burning up, and coughed loudly to cover her embarrassment. “So, Cadance, I suppose you’ll be going back to the Crystal Empire now.”

“Well, my work here is done,” Cadance said. Then she smiled. “But I’m sure Shining Armour can manage without me for a couple more days. A couple of peaceful days, hopefully.”

“That’s great!” Twilight yelled. “Come on, everypony. Pinkie, you can throw your party at my place.” She turned for home, the sound of her hoofsteps echoing on the wooden platform, but something abruptly made her stop. Some force, like an invisible red string tied around her neck, dragged her back towards the platform edge, looking out towards Canterlot.

“Twilight?” Rainbow asked. “What are you doing?”

Twilight frowned. “I don’t really know. I just…I feel like I have to stay here.” They all heard a trainwhistle blow as the stopping train from Canterlot to Baltimare began to puff into view. “I feel as though I have to wait for this train.”

Sunset struggled to control the pounding of her restless leg upon the carriage floor. Thump, thump, thump it went, matching the clattering of the train as it thundered down to Ponyville.

Sunset could control her leg – just about – but it was only one symptom of a nervousness that she could not suppress. Her stomach was frozen colder than the northern mountains, her forelegs trembled, her mouth was dry and her throat was sore.

Get a grip on yourself. This isn’t the hardest thing you’ve done, it isn’t even close.

It would have been hilarious if it hadn’t been happening to Sunset herself: that she who had left her world behind and journeyed to another planet, who had stolen the Element of Magic from under the nose of its rightful bearer, who had raised rebellion against Celestia herself, should now tremble at the thought of asking another mare out.

But all those other acts had been born out of fear and cowardice, and being afraid, she had done them easily. None of them had presented her with any consequence – in fact she had fled Equestria precisely to avoid consequence, as she had then fled from Earth for the same reason – and so she had undertaken them with a light heart, sure in the knowledge that none of them need trouble her mind once she was done, none could possibly come back to haunt her.

The fact that she had been precisely wrong about that in at least one instance didn’t change the fact that it had been much easier to creep into Twilight’s room while she slept and steal her crown than it felt like it would be to walk up to her in broad daylight and stake a claim upon her heart. She had stolen the crown because she feared a rival, because the prospect of another pony equal or superior to her in magic so filled Sunset’s heart with dread that she would have done anything to protect herself. But what she meant to do now could not be done in fear, only with courage, and Sunset was not sure she had that quality in sufficient supply.

She took a deep breath.

Calm down, take it easy, there is nothing to get worked up ab- what if she says no?

The worry had kept Sunset up half of last night, tormented by visions of Twilight’s face twisting in disgust as she exclaimed her revulsion even at the idea of being with a pony like Sunset Shimmer.

If that happened, Sunset supposed the only thing to do would be to pack up and move someplace else. Celestia knew she wouldn’t be able to stay in Ponyville after a humiliation like that.

Celestia. At times, it felt as though the only reason Sunset had been able to get on this train was what Celestia had said when Sunset had told her what she meant to do.

”You’re going back to Ponyville now?”

“I am,” Sunset declared with more resolve in her tone than she really felt. “I understand my feelings now, Princess. I know what I have to do.”

Celestia smiled. “So, you’re going to tell Twilight how you feel? Then I wish you the very best of luck, Sunset. Not that I think you’ll need it.”

Sunset frowned. “You don’t?”

“Not really,” Celestia replied. “In fact, I expect you’ll be very happy together. I told Twilight I would not force a relationship on her against her will but, if I were so inclined, I would match her with somepony like you.”

“Now arriving in Ponyville!” the conductor called.

Sunset was the first pony out of her seat, reaching the carriage doors as the train pulled to a stop at the rustic little station. Breathing deeply, fighting a losing battle to stay calm, Sunset reached through the window, opened the door and stepped out onto the wooden platform.

“Right,” she muttered to herself. “Now to go find Twi-“

“Sunset?”

Sunset started in surprise. Twilight was right there, on the platform, eyes wide with amazement. Sunset felt a frisson of relief that she wouldn’t have to wander all over Ponyville looking for Twilight, fears growing with every step. That lasted until she noticed that every last one of Twilight’s friends were there, including Princess Cadance, and Sunset’s plans hadn’t really included having an audience.

Sunset smiled weakly. “Uh, hey Twilight. What are you doing here?”

“We were just seeing off the last of Twilight’s suitors,” Pinkie cried excitedly, bouncing up and down. “And because they’re all gone now we were just going to have a super party to celebrate Twilight being free again. Then Rarity said about how sad it was that you couldn’t join us and almost right after that, bam! Here you are! So do you want to come to Twilight’s party, do you? Do you?”

Sunset chuckled nervously. “Yeah…sure, Pinkie, thanks. But, uh, could I have a word with Twilight first?”

Twilight took a couple of steps forward. For a moment, Sunset was afraid that she was going to get reamed out for leaving the way she did. But Twilight just smiled warmly and asked, “Did you have a good trip?”

Sunset nodded eagerly. “Yeah, it was really great. I got to spend some time with family and I got a few things straight in my head. It was good for me.”

“I’m glad,” Twilight said.

There was silence between them for a moment.

Sunset cleared her throat. “So, congratulations I guess. All the suitors are gone.”

“Cadance deserves congratulations more than me,” Twilight replied. “It was her plan.”

“Oh, right. Thanks, Cadance,” Sunset said. “I’m not sorry they’re gone.”

“I’m sure you’re not,” Cadance said slyly.

Silence descended once again. Sunset became increasingly aware of everypony staring at her. More than staring, actually; they were all actually leaning inwards, mouths open, waiting.

They know! They know what I want to say and they’re not giving me any peace because they want to hear me say it!

Sunset felt as if her tongue had locked up. There were words, jumbled masses of words swirling around her head, but she couldn’t get any of them out of her mouth. She was just standing there in front of Twilight like an idiot, as though Twilight’s friends were cockatrices and their combined gaze had turned Sunset into stone.

Cadance must have realised her plight, for she half turned away and said, “Girls, why don’t we give Sunset a moment with Twilight? I’m sure that-“

“TwilightIloveyouwillyougooutwithme!” Sunset gasped in mortification as everypony on the entire platform started staring at her. Like a river when the dam breaks, words hadn’t so much come out as they had erupted, with the result that an angry dragon would have been more comprehensible.

As her friends held their breath, Twilight blinked. “Come again?”

Sunset closed her eyes, took a deep breath and steeled herself to get this done. “Twilight…I think; no I don’t think, I know. Twilight Sparkle, I love you. I love how smart you are, I love how pretty you are, I love how kind you are. I love the way your face lights up when you smile, I love the way your eyes sparkle when you’ve had an idea. I love you from the tip of your horn to the bottom of your hooves. And I know that if you give me a chance, if you let me show you what I am, what I have to offer, then I think that maybe you could love me too. So, what do you say? Do I get a chance to make you happy?”

For a moment, Twilight said nothing. Sunset waited, fear consuming her, already inwardly shying away from the rebuke she was sure was coming.

And then Twilight’s foreleg was around Sunset’s neck, her face pressed against Sunset’s cheek, soft and warm.

“Thank you,” Twilight whispered. “I’d love to, really I would, more than anything. But I’m afraid that there is something that you’ll have to do first.” She looked sheepish. “I’m afraid I might have been a little too clever for my own good.”

“Do something?” Sunset frowned, but then her frown transitioned into a smirk. “What, do I have to go on a quest and bring back the tail feather of a phoenix before I can have a shot?”

“It’s not quite that bad,” Twilight replied, a touch of prickly defensiveness entering her voice. “Not quite. Come with me, I’ll explain on the way.”

Twilight led the way back to the library, Sunset following and everypony else trailing behind them. As they went, Twilight explained exactly how she had gotten rid of the suitors. Sunset would have been impressed by the ingenuity if she hadn’t been next up into the firing line herself.

“So what you’re saying is that one of these boxes is the right one, and I have to guess or that’s it?” Sunset summed up once they all stood in the library, three caskets laid out before her on columns of magical ice, enchanted so as to never melt until the spell itself was ended. It was certainly a complex piece of magic, encompassing no fewer than five separate spells all interlocking together and interacting in perfect harmony, but it also seemed fiendishly difficult as a challenge.

“It isn’t as bad as that,” Cadance said. “Each casket contains a clue to help your decision.”

“Did anypony guess right?” Sunset asked.

“No,” Cadance admitted.

“Then the clues can’t help very much,” Sunset said. “I’m sorry, Cadance. I know you meant well, and it certainly worked but…couldn’t you have come up with something that could be passed on skill and not just blind luck?” Sunset had never been that lucky. Certainly not in her opponents. She was unlucky in war, was she fated to be just as unlucky in love?

Look on the bright side: if you hadn’t lost those battles you wouldn’t be here now, so maybe you’re luckier than you think in the long term.

“Okay,” Sunset declared. “If I have to do this let’s do this.”

“What I don’t get is why Sunset has to do this?” Rainbow asked from where she hovered near the ceiling. “You just admitted you like Sunset, so why put her through this test that was designed to be failed?”

“If Twilight breaks the rules that she herself laid down for anypony, all the previous outcomes could be called into question,” Cadance replied. “The suitors would all be back and this would all have been pointless. Twilight has to be seen to be scrupulously fair in observing the rules or else it will come out. That’s one of the downsides to being a princess.”

“But what if she fails?” Rarity cried. “It’s just too awful to contemplate!”

“If it is meant to be,” Sunset said quietly. “Then a host of griffons cannot stand between us, let alone these three caskets.”

“Sunset?” Twilight murmured.

“I will do it,” Sunset said firmly. “Or I won’t, in which case it never would have worked out anyway. Where do I sign my name?”

Spike brought the contract, and Sunset added her name at the bottom. The letters flashed red, and Sunset felt a chill run down her spine as the spell took effect, binding her to the terms of the agreement she had just signed.

“And now you have to choose,” Cadance said quietly.

Sunset nodded. She felt the eyes of all of Twilight’s friends upon her, and she contemplated asking them all to leave. She wasn’t sure that she would be any less nervous doing this in private, however, and so Sunset said nothing at all as she stalked over to where the caskets stood.

For a few moments, Sunset avoided the issue by studying the pillars of ice on which the caskets sat. There was a kind of cold beauty to their frozen latticework, to the spiky thorns that protruded out from the rising columns.

It was an attractiveness that was not so easily found in the three squat boxes sitting atop them. Or perhaps Sunset simply disliked them because they had the power to decide her fate so conclusively.

She stared at them for a moment: ugly lead, gleaming gold, shining silver. Sunset frowned. “How do I know if I’ve won?”

“There’s a picture of me in the correct casket,” Twilight said.

“And in the wrong ones?”

“Hopefully you won’t need to find out,” Twilight whispered. “Good luck.”

Sunset looked back at her and tried to smile encouragingly. “So long as you’re pulling for me, that’s all I need to know.”

She turned back to the caskets, licking her lips as she examined each one in turn. The three boxes, as Cadance had promised, each had a riddle written on the top to help, or hinder, the choosing. The silver casket sat in the centre, gleaming effulgent, and so it was to silver that Sunset went first.

Who chooses me shall get no more or less than they deserve. That is…ominous.

Sunset thought back to what Luna had told her, about false modesty being as dangerous as overweening pride. And now I must judge my own worth perfectly, valuing myself neither too high nor too low, with all my future happiness at stake. It is a pity you could not have come to advise me sooner, Princess Luna.

Sunset stole a glance at Twilight, who was watching with an expression of studied neutrality that was matched by that of Cadance. Of course, they were the only two who knew which box was the correct choice. The others, who had no more clue than Sunset did, looked as though they would soon burst from anticipation.

But Sunset’s gaze kept flickering back to Twilight.

Do I deserve her? If I answer too proudly I will fail. If I answer too modestly then I will fail. Yet the same fate awaits me if I answer too proudly. Do I deserve her, as fair as she is, as wise, as full of virtues? Am I worthy to touch her, to have her, to hold her? Have I, even in my half-forgotten youth or childhood, done anything so good that it would be rewarded with so beautiful a paragon as she?

Sunset grinned. No. I do not deserve her. Just as I did not deserve to be Celestia’s apprentice, just as I did not deserve to be the queen of Canterlot High, just as I did not deserve to rule all of Equestria. Since when have I ever suffered my ambitions to be constrained by such low ceilings as what I deserved?

I will not have what I deserve. I will get what I want, and what Twilight wants as well.

Next Sunset turned her attention to the casket made of gold, and its inscription: Who chooses me shall get what many folk desire.

Sunset’s brow furrowed. What many folk desire? Is that Twilight? They have certainly come from all over Equestria to win her. And, after all, I desire her. Am I the only one? I can’t be. No, I’m not, this test is proof of that. If no one desired Twilight then there would be no need for me to stand here, parsing riddles. Those who desired her came to claim her, and throughout Equestria there are doubtless many who would not turn their noses up at…

A crown. None of them would refuse a crown, that is what they desire. Of course. Twilight and I talked about this, together, when Cadance arrived and earlier than that. How none of these suitors who beat a path to Twilight’s door cared about Twilight, but saw only a glittering crown and a royal style. Any other unicorn that sprouted wings they’d marry just the same.

Many folk desire power, wealth, royalty; very few of them desire Twilight for herself. I hope that I can prove to her that I am one of them.

Which left only one casket, which Sunset approached with trepidation weighing down her hooves. Is this it? So simple? What if I’ve been wrong about the other two?

Sunset read the inscription on the third, final and least enticing looking casket. Who chooses me must give or hazard all they have.

Sunset took a step backwards. Hazard all I have? And what is that? What is mine to put at risk? A sack of clothes, given to me by Rarity. A house, given to me by Celestia. And Twilight’s affections, given of her own free will. A meagre stack of belongings, yet I will lose them all if I make the wrong choice. If I choose wrong then I must leave Ponyville, and more importantly I must leave Twilight. The thing that matters most to me is already on the line, yet I am supposed to be frightened of putting what I have at risk?

I hazarded everything the moment I opened my mouth and confessed how I felt to Twilight. I risked all I had the moment I signed my name. If I pass this test, then every day we spend together I will be putting myself at risk by baring myself to somepony else in a way I never have before in all my life. And I will do so gladly, with a light heart, because I have faith that it will be worth it to share my life with Twilight Sparkle.

These words may frighten spoiled princess and wealthy stallions, but I am Sunset Shimmer. And I dare ruin, as I always have.

Sunset placed a firm hoof upon the lead casket. “I make my choice.”

The casket hissed. Green light and grey-white smoke seeped out of the cracks in the lid of the casket as it popped open – Sunset retreated back a step – and out floated, with a soothing celestial fanfare, a miniature portrait of Twilight Sparkle.

“All that glitters is not gold,” Cadance murmured.

Sunset’s eyes widened. She felt her heartbeat racing as she looked from the real Twilight to the picture and then back again. “I, I won?”

"Yes." Twilight smiled - a smile which lit up her whole face, her voice cracking as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Yes, you did."

And then they were embracing, their hooves around each other, turning around one another in the centre of the room.

"I love you," Sunset whispered.

"I hoped you might," Twilight replied.

They broke from their embrace, Sunset suddenly feeling drained and uncertain. After the tension of her test, the relief of winning seemed to have robbed her of all energy.

Or perhaps it was just that she had no real idea where to go from here.

"So, um, what now?" she asked.

Twilight shrugged. "Go on a date, I suppose."

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, of course. So... am I taking you out or are you taking me out?"

Twilight's brow furrowed. "Can't we just go out, or at the very least take each other out?"

Sunset made a noise with the back of her throat. "I feel as though one of us ought to be the...the...the active one, for want of a better word. And it should be me."

"Why?"

"Because you're a princess, and so I should have to come to you. I will plan us a date and you just turn up for it. No, don't turn up for it, I'll come get you. You wait here and...wait here. I'll be back tonight to take you someplace awesome." Sunset grinned. "This will be the best date ever, I promise." She turned to go, but before she had gone another couple of steps she looked back at Twilight. "Don't move."

Her heart felt light as she practically skipped out the door, a stupid grin plastered to her face. She had won, she was going out with Twilight.

Now she just had to think of a really great date.

Author's Note

Originally, Sunset was going to fail the challenge of the caskets by choosing gold, separating her from Twilight for the last quarter of the story. But that whole plot thread involved too many out of character shenanigans (after all Sunset's developments, how could she not make the daring choice?) and, to be honest, retreading of my previous work to be any good. So you all get your fuzzy feelings early. I hope you like them.

Drag Me to Tartarus

Chapter 15

Drag Me to Tartarus

Twilight paced up and down, one ear constantly listening out for a knock on the door. “Do I look all right?”

“You look wonderful, just like always,” Cadance said reassuringly.

“Do you think I should have worn a dress?”

“No,” Cadance replied with infinite patience. “What would be the point in Ponyville? You’d look ostentatious, and if Sunset wasn’t dressed up then you’d embarrass her.”

“Do you think Sunset will be wearing a dress?”

“I very much doubt it,” Cadance said.

“What if after all this, we end up not having a very good time?” Twilight asked. “What if we don’t connect? What if we don’t have anything to talk about? What if there’s no spark, what if-“

“Twilight,” Cadance said firmly, her voice rising a little. Twilight stopped, one hoof still raised for the next, abandoned, step. Cadance climbed to her hooves. “Deep breath.” She breathed in, Twilight doing likewise, before the two princesses exhaled at the same time.

“And calm,” Cadance said. “You’re getting worked up over nothing, Twilight. You and Sunset have already proven that there’s a connection between you, so what are you worrying about?”

“Everything,” Twilight said with a nervous smile. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been this jittery since Princess Celestia said she was going to set me a test. Where you ever this nervous before a date?”

“I was even worse before my first ever date,” Cadance confessed. “I didn’t know how to act, what to say, I didn’t even know the boy half as well as you know Sunset.”

“What did you do?”

“I freaked out,” Cadance said. “Until a wise mare told me something I’ve never forgotten: if he’s not that into you, then more fool him. Be yourself, and if it’s meant to work out then it will.”

Twilight’s smile broadened, becoming a little less nervous and a little more genuine. “Thank you, for everything.”

“I’ll be waiting up,” Cadance said. “When you get back you can tell me all about it.”

“Okay, mom,” Twilight said, chuckling. “When do you think Sunset will-“

There was a knock on the door.

“Ah, perfect timing,” Cadance said.

Twilight trotted quickly down the stairs and to the door. She paused for a moment, primping her mane with one hoof, before she opened it.

Sunset stood on the doorstep, a bundle of lavender and pink carnations levitating beside her. “Hey! Um, these are for you. I didn’t want to go for anything too generic, so I chose colours that matched your mane.”

Twilight laughed as she took them. “That’s really sweet of you. Thank you.”

“You know,” Sunset said. “When human Flash showed up for our first date with a bunch of red and yellow flowers because they went with my hair, I thought he was the dumbest thing I’d ever laid eyes on. Well, to be fair, he is. But on the other side of the door I can kind of see the appeal.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re that dumb.”

“That dumb?”

“You have done a few stupid things,” Twilight reminded her.

Sunset laughed. “Yeah, I can’t deny that, can I? But I am confident this isn’t one of them. Are you ready?”

“Absolutely.”

“You’re not going to go powder your nose while Cadance tries to intimidate me are you?”

“Did you see all my guards outside?” Cadance called from upstairs.

“See you later, Cadance,” Twilight said with amusement as she stepped outside and closed the door. The air was cool and refreshing on her face. The sun still shone bright above them, but Twilight guessed that there was not so much time left before Celestia lowered the sun to make way for the moon and for the night.

“So where are we going?” Twilight asked, as Sunset led the way.

“Up to the gazebo,” Sunset replied. “I thought we could eat first and then…well, you’ll see once we’ve eaten.”

As they climbed the hill towards the gazebo, Twilight saw that Sunset had decorated it in lights, like a thousand fireflies crawling down the walls. She had also set up a table within, laid out for a formal dinner. The cushions to sit on looked plump and soft, the tablecloth looked pristine, the silverware shone with the reflected lights of the gazebo.

“You’ve been busy,” Twilight said.

“I had a little help from your friends,” Sunset said. “I suppose I should be flattered that they think I can make you happy. I doubt they’d give me a chance otherwise.”

“Probably the opposite,” Twilight murmured.

Sunset reached the gazebo entrance first and bowed her head, gesturing Twilight to go inside. “After you.”

Twilight chuckled, shaking her head as she went in and sat down. Sunset took the jug of cider already sitting on the table and poured some of it into a pair of flute glasses.

Sunset raised her glass, the aura of her magic surrounding it, and paused. She seemed to be at a loss for words. Eventually she said, “To you.”

“To happiness,” Twilight countered, raising her own glass in turn.

Sunset snorted. “Yeah, why not. To happiness.”

They drank, the cider felt rich and strong down Twilight’s throat.

Sunset set her glass down. “Now dinner should begin arriving-“

She was interrupted by the sound of a cart being pushed up the hill, rattling at it went. As it crested the hilltop, Twilight could see that it was a two-storey cart laden with silver platters, being pushed by Pinkie Pie, wearing a chef’s hat and a fake moustache that reminded Twilight a little of Gustave le Grande.

“Good evening, ladies,” Pinkie said in a distinctly fake accent. “My name is Diane, le Pie au Pink, and I have prepared zis delicious meal for you to enjoy tonight. Now I recommend you begin with-“

“Pinkie,” Sunset interrupted. “What are you doing?”

Pinkie looked around. “Pinkie, who is zis Pinkie? I have told you that my name is Diane-“

Sunset stood up, pulling off the fake moustache with a tug of her telekinesis. “Pinkie, I know it’s you. Twilight knows that it’s you. The photographer in the bushes trying to get pictures of our date knows that it’s you and he’s never seen you before. Yes, I see you in there, you creep! Beat it!”

“Aww.” Somepony moaned by way of reply.

Sunset took a deep breath. “Pinkie, what are you doing here? I asked Mrs Cake to do this.”

“And she would have, if Pound and Pumpkin hadn’t had a major emergency,” Pinkie hissed. “When that happened I was more than happy to volunteer.”

“Then why the disguise?” Twilight asked.

“I didn’t want to distract you from your alone time,” Pinkie said. She put the ridiculous moustache back on, though the accent did not return. “Just sit back, relax and pretend I’m not even here.”

Sunset sighed as she sat down. “Okay.”

Pinkie took a big platter of pasta off the cart and laid it on the table, removing the lid with a flourish. “Bon appetit!”

Sunset frowned. “Aren’t we supposed to have a starter first?”

“But I want to see you start on the same piece of spaghetti from different ends and kiss!” Pinkie protested.

“Pinkie,” Sunset growled.

“Okay, okay,” Pinkie said, taking the pasta back and setting out two light salads.

“Thank you,” Sunset said.

“Yes, thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “It’s really nice of you to want to do this.”

Pinkie did not respond, instead settling into an impression of Spike at his most self-consciously servile, eyes closed and nose in the air.

Sunset took a bite out of a piece of celery. “I hope you don’t mind such a traditional choice. I’ll come up with more imaginative ideas in future.

“Why didn’t you just ask me for help?” Pinkie said. “I could have come up with tons of really cool ideas for you-“ she stopped, seeming to remember that she had sworn to be invisible. “Sorry.”

Twilight chuckled. “I don’t mind at all. I think it’s a good idea, something quiet to get us started. Just being with you is enough.”

Sunset flushed bright red, turning away as she looked down. For a moment she also looked like Fluttershy, and the contrast with the Sunset that Twilight had first met was so strong that Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” Sunset asked.

“I was just thinking about how we met,” Twilight said. “If we could know then what we know now, if we had known where we would both end up, how do you think we’d react?”

“You mean you haven’t caught on to the brilliance of my scheme yet?” Sunset asked. “I knew I had to make some kind of grand gesture to attract the notice of a princess, so I stole your crown because I knew, I knew, that if I did that you would have to chase me. And you did, and I let myself be caught.” She waved her hooves to encompass their surroundings. “And the rest is history.”

“Yes, because clearly your theft of an element of harmony, corruption of an entire school and attempt to conquer Equestria using an army of zombies was all just the initiation of an unorthodox courtship,” Twilight said, her tone deadpan. “It all makes so much sense now.”

“Exactly. I can’t believe you didn’t work it out sooner,” Sunset said with a smirk. She leaned back upon the cushions. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Everything that you are, everything that I love, was there all along,” Twilight whispered. “I just helped a little.”

The blush on Sunset’s face became even redder than before, and she might have said something else had not the placid evening been suddenly disturbed by the sound of somepony starting to play on an accordion.

It was Pinkie, of course.

“Tell me she’s not,” Sunset sighed.

Pinkie started to sing.

“She is,” Twilight said, a grin spreading slowly across her face.

Sunset sighed, her eyes glancing upwards towards the sky as a grimly resigned expression occupied her face.

“This is not what I planned,” she muttered, and she looked as though she would have said something to Pinkie if Twilight hadn’t put a hoof on Sunset’s outstretched arm.

Sunset looked at her, surprised. “Really?” she asked, scepticism evident in her tone.

Twilight nodded. “If I didn’t like Pinkie’s singing I’d have had to leave Ponyville a long time ago. Listen to her; she’s pretty good, isn’t she?”

Sunset’s ears pricked up. She smiled. “Hey, Pinkie!”

Pinkie stopped playing, the sound of the accordion coming to a clattering halt. “Yes, Sunset?”

“Can you play something a little faster?” Sunset asked. “It’s time for the dancing.”

“Can I?” Pinkie exclaimed. “Just who do you think I am, Sunset?” And with that, she launched into a fast paced reel, her forelegs working the bellows with astonishing speed.

Sunset stood up, offering one hoof to Twilight. “Your Highness, may I have the honour?”

No sooner had Twilight reached out and taken her hoof than Sunset pulled her onto her hooves and into her embrace. Twilight started to feel very warm as Sunset half-led, half-dragged her out of the gazebo and onto the hillside where they reeled to the sound of Pinkie’s playing. Sunset’s coat was warm against Twilight’s body, her eyes were large and beautiful in Twilight’s gaze. So bright, as though an inner fire burned behind them: the fire that burned in Sunset’s soul. As they pranced upon the grass, Sunset’s mane waved about her, brushing against Twilight’s cheek, covering her face. It looked, Twilight thought, as though someone had woven sunlight into it.

“I half feel like we ought to be singing a duet, don’t you?” Sunset asked, gasping for air from the exertions of the rapid dancing.

Twilight didn’t have the breath to respond, but she did manage a staccato giggle in between deep breaths.

The sun began to sink low in the sky, descending rapidly under the compulsion of Celestia’s power. Twilight and Sunset stopped dancing, sitting down on the hillside to watch as the sun approached the horizon.

“What were you thinking, before?” Sunset asked. “You had a weird look on your face.”

Twilight shrugged. “I was just…just, um, realising again how smart and beautiful you are.”

“So I’m looking in a mirror for you, basically?” Sunset said.

Twilight snorted. They both watched the sun redden as it began to disappear from view.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sunset asked.

“The Sunset?”

“The Twilight.”

They looked at one another. Twilight could feel a crackle in the air; she knew what she wanted to do but, she had no idea how to start. She had never been in this situation before.

“Oh, the hay with it,” Sunset said, putting her hooves around Twilight’s neck and moving into a kiss. Twilight’s widened as their lips met, but then they closed as she allowed herself to melt into Sunset’s embrace and passionate kiss.

They broke off. Sunset gasped. “No way that was your first time.”

“Hey, it really was,” Twilight replied.

Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Talk about natural talent.” She blinked, her eyes glancing downwards for a moment. When next she spoke, her voice was softer and more tender. “I’m really happy with you. Honestly. I don’t think that I’ve ever been happier.”

A crack of thunder split the sky, rolling over the hillside and out across Ponyville.

Twilight looked up, the sky was clear blue all the way to Canterlot, she couldn’t even see a cloud. “Rainbow didn’t say anything about a storm today.”

A lightning bolt came from that clear sky, landing directly in between Twilight and Sunset and hurling Twilight backwards head over hooves, sending her rolling across the hillside.

“Twilight!” Sunset yelled.

Twilight came to a stop on her belly, her face in the grass. Spitting green blades out of her mouth, Twilight looked up to see Pinkie out cold beside the gazebo and Sunset surrounded by a circle of blue fire which rose high but gave off no heat. Rather it seemed as cold as ice.

“Sunset!” Twilight cried, climbing to her hooves and running towards the flaming circle that held Sunset captive. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset shouted. She ran towards the flames but some force pushed her back from them.

“Hold still,” Twilight said, her horn glowing as she conjured a spell to put the fire out. It had no effect. Neither did her failsafe spell.

Is Discord doing this? Twilight wondered, remembering the time her spell had had absolutely no effect against his corrupting influence, but her question was answered a moment later by the appearance of three figures.

They looked a little like the humans that she had met on the other side of the mirror, but where the friends she had made in that world had possessed the same bright hues as her friends in Equestria, these creatures had skin of slimy green and putrid grey, the colours of scaly reptiles and decaying death. They had wings like bats, but tattered and torn with holes as though these creatures were so old that their bodies had started to fall apart. They had clawed hands and talons for feet, and serpents coiled around their waists, hissing and spitting at Sunset.

The first of them had hair of fire, crimson and gold like Sunset’s mane, but angry and alive, pulsing and moving. In one clawed hand she gripped a flaming sword, in the other a whip that looked to be made of living fire. Her eyes were red and her teeth resembled the fangs of a wolf.

The second also had hair that burned, but her fire was an icy blue and her eyes were a pure green. In one hand she bore a sword of ice, in the other a crude iron knife, dripping with poison.

The last of them had no fire in her hair. Instead, she had what Twilight realised after a while were spines of bone instead of strands of hair. Spines topped with miniature skulls of ponies and humans alike, moaning and howling as they waved in a wind that had not been there a moment earlier. She carried an ancient-looking stone axe and, strangely, a book with yellowing pages bound in crumbling leather.

They hummed in unison as they surrounded Sunset, who cowered in the centre of the circle of fire, whimpering in fear.

“No,” Sunset murmured. “No you cannot be here. You have no power save in my dreams. Go back! I defy you!”

“Defy?” hissed the one whose hair burned red. “To defy our sisterhood is to defy justice itself, and what are you, small mortal wretch that you are, to defy that power?”

“You know them?” Twilight demanded. “Sunset, what’s going on?”

“We are the Furies, pony child,” snarled the fury with bone for hair. “I am Tisiphone, fury of justice, I speak for the downtrodden, for those who have no voices, for those who have suffered at the hands of those who thought their might or wealth or influence rendered them beyond reproach, above redress.” Tisiphone smirked. “No one is beyond my reach.”

“I am Megaera, the fury of envy,” hissed the fury with the blades of ice and poison. “All those driven to evil by their jealousy are my prey. I punish those who sin for worldly possessions, who take what they want without caring who they hurt in the taking, who seek to tear apart those who are more beautiful or more talented. Faced with me, all thieves must ask if their prize was worth the punishment.”

“And I am Allecto, the fury of wrath,” cried the fury with burning hair. “I punish those who succumb to their rage, who let it drive them to wickedness. All who allow their hatred to dominate them will answer to me, and they will find their fury pales in comparison with mine own. We are the Furies, the natural check upon the corruption of the world, and we have come to claim an unrepentant sinner.”

“No!” Twilight shouted. “You’re wrong, Sunset has changed, she’s a better person now. She doesn’t deserve to-“

“Changed?” Allecto roared. “There is no change, there is no redemption, there is no mercy! There is only the act and the penalty.”

“Driven by envy, this creature has wrought misery and suffering in countless lives,” Megaera hissed.

“She committed crime after crime, evil after evil, abused her power and her influence to lord it over all she knew, flaunting her invulnerability from them. Then, when she feared that she might have to answer for her acts, she fled beyond the reach of any mortal law,” Tisiphone said. “Such affront to justice cries for answer.”

“Her soul is blighted by the scourge of wrath,” Allecto declared. “And driven by her rage she sought to commit even murder, the blackest of acts. Yet now she claims to be happy? What right has she to happiness, she who ought to have wandered the world in torn rags with ash upon her face in penitence? What of the happiness of her victims, what of their suffering? The wretch known as Sunset Shimmer has been weighed by us and found wanting: her soul is black as pitch, and as such it belongs to us by ancient right. Do not interfere, pony child.”

“I’m not a child!” Twilight snapped. “I’m a princess, and I-“

“Then take care you do not become our prey in your turn,” Tisiphone sneered. “I adore puncturing the arrogance of over mighty princes.”

“Peace, sister,” Allecto said coldly. “Our code is clear, and the child is innocent.”

“For now,” Tisiphone said sibilantly. “Who knows what a crown and the passage of years will make of her. It may be I will see her again.” She seemed to be positively looking forward to it.

“What may be is not our concern,” Allecto replied. “We are bound by the iron chains of laws older than gods or mortals. Sunset Shimmer is ours, and no other. Let us go.”

Her whip leapt forward and coiled around Sunset’s neck, pulling her to the ground. Sunset gasped as she floundered like a fish on a line, thrashing wildly as she sought to escape.

“No, wait!” Twilight yelled as the furies converged around Sunset. “Sunset!”

The three furies closed in, blocking Sunset completely from Twilight’s view.

“Tartarus awaits,” Megaera said, a slow and ugly smile upon her face.

The blue fire leapt up, glowing so bright that Twilight was blinded for a moment. Then it died down, and was gone.

So was Sunset, and so were the Furies.

“No,” Twilight murmured, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

“What do I do?” Twilight asked, but nopony answered.

Lavender Orpheus

Chapter 16

Lavender Orpheus

The four princesses lingered in a circle around the spot where Sunset had last stood before the Furies had taken her away.

“The Furies,” Luna muttered. “I never would have dreamt they’d be so bold.”

“I never would have imagined they would have the power to do such a thing again,” Celestia said. “When we banished them I was certain that we had stripped them of their power.”

“You know who they are?” Twilight asked frantically. “You’ve met them? Do you know why they took Sunset?”

“They had been tormenting her in her dreams,” Luna said softly and with leaden solemnity in her voice. “I should have told one of you.”

“It’s okay, Princess Luna,” Twilight said. She looked down at the ground. “Sunset didn’t say anything to me, either.”

Cadance put one leg around Twilight’s shoulder. “Sunset probably didn’t want you to worry. But who are these Furies?”

“Relics of a harsher time, a different world,” Luna said. “Spirits of vengeance and justice, they exist to punish the wicked, particularly those who have escaped all forms of mortal punishment.”

“There was a time, a time before Luna or myself, before even Discord, when the worlds of ponies and humans were far more closely connected than they are now,” Celestia explained. “Creatures wandered from one world to another almost at will, which is why the humans tell stories about manticores, griffons or even unicorns and pegasi which are unknown in their world but commonplace in our own. Both worlds were riddled with corruption: everywhere the poor were at the mercy of the rich and mighty, who abused their authority without mercy or fear of ever being brought to account. People and ponies alike cried out for aid, for some power to take their part and punish their tormentors. Out of that despair were born the Furies, and from the first,, they worked to bring all those who, in their opinion, had sinned or transgressed to justice.”

“But the times changed, and the Furies would not change with them,” Luna’s voice was solemn as she took up the tale. “When Celestia and I, by agreement with powerful beings in the other world, sealed off Equestria from the human world – save for only a tiny corridor, intermittently accessible – the Furies were trapped here, with only ponies to prey upon. Though the world became a gentler place, and harmony and equality replaced power and injustice, still the Furies continued to seek out those they considered wrongdoers, to torment them or even, in some cases, destroy them.”

Twilight gasped. “Sunset…have they...?”

“I doubt it, they liked to have their sport with their victims first,” Luna growled. “For avengers and protectors they developed a streak as cruel as any they had pursued. It was for that reason that Celestia and I sought them out and banished them to Tartarus.”

“Bound by their code, they could not harm us,” Celestia said. “And so we were able to drain their power and leave them so weakened and cut off from civilisation that they would be unable to escape, nor catch the scent of anypony they might wish to hunt. I am afraid Sunset must have done something to awaken them.”

“She did disappear into the Everfree Forest one day,” Twilight said. “She never would tell me what happened, but when she came out she was covered in injuries.”

Luna nodded. “The forest is exactly the place where Sunset might have stumbled upon some means of arousing the Furies, releasing them from their bonds.”

“But we can save her, can’t we?” Twilight demanded. “I mean, we have to.”

“It will be very dangerous, Twilight,” Celestia warned. “To rescue Sunset would involve journeying into the depths of Tartarus itself, to places where even Discord would fear to tread, and with good reason. There are creatures there who are pure evil, and should you avoid them and find your way to the nest of the Furies…by the code that governs their existence they had the right to take her; they will not give up their prize easily.”

“I don’t care,” Twilight said, tears welling up in her eyes as she started to sob. “I know that it will be dangerous, I know that it won’t be as easy as asking those monsters to give Sunset back, I know that I might not come back either. But I have to try, I can’t just leave Sunset down there. I love her!”

Celestia smiled. “And that resolve is why I have every confidence in you, Twilight.”

Twilight blinked. “Was that…were you testing me?”

“I told no lies regarding the difficulty of your quest,” Celestia replied. “But I did want to gauge how committed you really were to rescuing Sunset Shimmer. To brave Tartarus is not a task that should be undertaken lightly. But you have a pure heart and an iron will, and I know that if anypony can do this deed, it is you.”

Twilight smiled weakly. “Thank you, Princess, for having faith in me. But…I don’t even know how to begin.”

“I will lead you to the entrance to Tartarus, and open the way for you,” Celestia said. “After that, it will be up to you to find the way; I know you will.”

Twilight nodded. “Right.”

“Does Twilight have to go alone?” Cadance asked. “Couldn’t I go as well?”

“No, you should stay here, Cadance,” Twilight said firmly. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, or that I wouldn’t like the company, but it’s best that nopony else gets put in danger down there. You stay here and make sure that none of my friends follow me. And…and if I don’t come back, take care of Spike.”

Cadance nodded. “Of course.”

“And tell Shining Armour…tell him that I’m-“ Twilight was silenced by Cadance’s hoof on her lips.

“You’ll come back to us, I know it,” Cadance said softly. “You’ll both come back. And you’ll be happy.”

They hugged, Twilight burying her face into Cadance’s shoulder. “Will you wait up for me?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Twilight stepped away, and looked Celestia in the eye. “Okay, Princess. I’m ready now.”

Celestia nodded. “Then let us go.”

Twilight and Celestia spread their wings and flew, passing over the broad fields and the dark forest until they came to a spot on the far side of the Everfree, where a rocky hill loomed with all its soil stripped away, exposing the grey stone beneath.

Celestia was the first to land, Twilight’s hooves touching the ground shortly after.

Twilight had been here before, when she had returned the wayward Cerberus to Tartarus after his escape, but she was still glad of Celestia’s company on this journey. She had not passed through the gates then, after all, she had merely opened them and told the overgrown dog to get inside and stay there. Now she would be descending into the darkness herself, and she wanted one friendly face waiting for her in the light.

Celestia bowed her head in front of a particular patch of stone, and the glow of her magical aura intensified. The rock-face shimmered and was transformed into a great, black gaping maw, barred with gates of iron and brass decorated with eerie visages of ghouls and demons. Smoke issued from out of the dark tunnel, together with eerie cries and the howling of deranged beasts all slipping through the bars in the twin gateways to assail Twilight’s nostrils and her ears.

“As cosy as I remember it,” Twilight muttered.

“Indeed,” Celestia replied. “Twilight...the gates cannot be left open.”

Twilight shivered in spite of herself. “You mean you’re going to shut me in there?”

Celestia nodded grimly. “I am afraid so. When you return with Sunset, I will open the gates again.”

Celestia’s horn lit up with magic once again, and the gates of iron and the gates of brass swung open with a grinding and a groaning sound.

Twilight walked to the very threshold and then paused. The chill issuing out of the darkness and the deep chilled her to her bones.

“You do not have to do this, Twilight,” Celestia said quietly. “There is no shame in fear.”

“I know,” Twilight replied. “But there is shame in yielding to it. Wait for me, Princess Celestia, with luck I won’t be long.”

So Twilight walked into Tartarus, and did not look back as she heard the gates slam shut behind her.

Twilight walked down the corridor as light died and time warped around her, as she passed from silence to cacophony and back again. Sometimes the tunnel was so silent that even her hooffalls dared not disturb the peace, other times she could hear them echoing upon the cold, damp stone, the echo of them mingling with the drip drop of water falling from the stalagmites down onto the floor. And then there were times when a whole host of sounds enveloped her: clanking chains, crashing sticks, the moans of poor lost souls, savage bestial growling and the screams, the screams.

Twilight was almost grateful when the screaming was obscured by the cacophonous noise of drums and symbols, horns and flutes playing louder and louder to block out all other noise. But then she remembered what the badly played music was hiding and wished for silence again.

It was so dark. Twilight tried to use the magic of her horn to light the way, but her lavender glow could not penetrate this blackness. Sometimes her throat felt so dry it was though she had gone without water for days. Sometimes she was sweating and her legs trembled as though she had walked from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire. Sometimes it hardly felt as though she had gone anywhere at all.

A part of Twilight’s mind, the part which remained ever the scholar, detached from the more immediate concerns ahead, recognised some power of magic at work in this place, and consented to be impressed by it. The greatest unicorns in the history of Equestria could not have wrought an enchantment such as this. It was old magic, a legacy of an elder world; a world that ponykind had left behind.

Twilight had no idea of how long it had been by the time she emerged from the tunnel, but eventually she did emerge, to behold a river of black and brackish water flowing in front of her, the strong current poised to sweep away anypony unwary enough to jump in.

Twilight spread her wings to fly over, but the ceiling of the cavern suddenly seemed much lower than it had been a moment earlier. Twilight’s horn was nearly scratching it; there was no way that she could fly: there was no height to gain. Twilight considered trying to fly practically at ground level, her hooves skimming the surface of the river; but then she saw something large and serpentine moving in the river and decided against it.

So she walked along the riverbank – keeping a careful distance from the water – until she came to a wooden jetty where a dirty old boat was moored, and beyond the jetty a giant tree stood. Its branches seemed big enough to encompass all of Equestria, and beneath its eaves lurked a whole host of ponies: unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, night ponies, Twilight could even see one or two alicorns. They were all grey and dull, their eyes unseeing, their voices nothing more than croaks and groans, withered and hoarse. Under the giant tree they made their home, staring with longing out towards the far bank of the river.

Twilight trotted down to the jetty, where a pony in a black hood and cowl stood silently and still, watching her.

“What are they all doing there?” Twilight asked. “Are they waiting for something?”

“Before anypony may cross the Acheron they must first remember all the days of their life, from their first memory to their last breath,” the hooded pony replied, her voice a harsh and rasping sound. “It is better done in life, but it can be done after. Either way, a recounting must be offered up to Crona. Those souls there have forgotten who they were and what they did when they walked beneath the sun and moon, and so they must wait under the eaves until, with good fortune, they will remember again.”

“And if they never remember?”

“Then they will wait under the branches of the tree until the sun fails and the moon dies, until the stars go out and the earth crumbles, until time stands still and the world comes to an end,” the hooded pony replied. She chuckled. “But you are not here for them, are you? Another purpose brings you down into the darkness and the deep.”

Twilight swallowed. Her mouth dried up again almost immediately after. “Can you take me across the river?”

“I can,” the hooded mare said. “But I will not. Why should I? It is not for the living to enter the lands of the dead before their time. Go back to the light, frolic under the stars; when we meet again at the appointed hour it will be soon enough.”

“But I have to get into Tartarus,” Twilight said. “It’s urgent.”

“Always urgent are the quests that bring the living too me,” the hooded mare spat. “What is it that you seek? Glory? Some fantastic prize?”

“I want to save the mare I love!” Twilight shouted, tears springing to the corners of her eyes. “The Furies dragged her down to Tartarus and now she’s all alone and I have to save her. Please, you have to help me. I need to get across this river.”

The mare was silent for a moment. “Turn back, sunlit mare. Nopony should enter Tartarus lightly. Certainly not for a love that will be as the breeze: dead and gone as swiftly as it came.”

“Sunset isn’t like that,” Twilight said firmly. “Nor am I and neither is what we feel for one another.”

“I thought as much myself, a long time ago,” the mare replied scornfully. “Now I am here, and she is in Elysium.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, really I am. But just because you got hurt and betrayed doesn’t mean that Sunset would ever betray me. It certainly doesn’t mean that I should abandon her. Sunset wouldn’t leave me down here and I won’t leave her.”

“Pretty words, to be sure, but is there meaning behind them?” asked the ferrymare. “I will make a bargain with you, the same bargain that I made when I was a foolish young mare. I will ferry you across the Acheron and, if you return with your beloved I will take you both back to this side. And I will wait for your time to end, and when you come to me again, you will give me the tale of your life. If you have lived with her in love for all your days – or all of hers, if she should come to the river before you – then I will concede that I was wrong, and bear you over the Acheron a second time. But if I am right, and she has abandoned you and broke your heart, then you will take my place upon this boat, and spend the long count of years ferrying souls over the river. And you shall carry me across, and I shall enter Elysium at last, my heavy charge passed on to another poor lovesick fool. Do we have an agreement?”

“Yes,” Twilight said without an instant’s hesitation. “I accept your terms.”

“Do not be so rash!” the ferrymare spat. “Oaths made in this place cannot be taken lightly.”

“I take nothing about this lightly,” Twilight replied through gritted teeth. “I accept your terms. Now are we leaving or not?”

The hooded ferrymare stared at her, or at least Twilight thought that was what she was doing. She turned away. “Come, then!”

Twilight followed her into the little boat, and the ferrymare pushed off the pier and began to pole them both over the Acheron. The waves did not disturb the smoothness of the journey, nor did any of the creatures Twilight saw below. Clearly, this was the one permitted way to cross the river.

“Can I ask you something?” Twilight said when they were halfway across.

“It is too late to have cold hooves.”

“I do not have cold hooves,” Twilight replied loudly. “Not in that sense anyway. I just wanted to know…how did Cerberus get across the river in a boat this size?”

The hooded mare laughed. “He did not. He swam, the great stupid lummox. The guardians of the river did not trouble him, large and ferocious as he is. The other, though…” she shuddered.

“The other?” Twilight asked. “What other?”

“You will find out, in due time.”

The boat touched the far bank, and Twilight leapt out. The ground was cold and hard beneath her hooves.

“Thank you,” Twilight said. “Will you wait here until I get back?”

“I cannot, who knows when somepony may require the boat,” the ferrymare said. “But if you return to this place with your marefriend I will see you, and I will come.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said again. “What’s your name?”

The hooded mare hesitated. “In more than a thousand years nopony who ever journeyed on my boat has asked my name. My name…my name was Sun Song.”

“I will remember you,” Twilight said solemnly.

“Perhaps you are different,” Sun Song said. “Perhaps you will prove me wrong after all. Do you know the way?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Then go straight ahead, always straight ahead, until you reach the golden laurel tree. Take a bough from that tree, and continue on to Lady Crona’s banquet table. Do not sit down nor eat or drink anything she offers you, but demand to know which is the door to Tartarus. Once you pass through the door, Cerberus will know by the golden bough that he is to let you pass. But how you are to find the Furies’ nest…I do not know.”

“I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” Twilight said. “You are nicer than you seem.”

Sun Song laughed. “Don’t tell anypony, will you? Good luck…?”

“Twilight,” Twilight said. “Twilight Sparkle.”

“Good luck, Twilight Sparkle,” Sun Song said. “Take care.”

“I will,” Twilight promised, turning around and beginning to run straight ahead.

The mist around her was thick and cloying. It surrounded her, a blue-grey mass, nearly impenetrable to her eyes - thicker than any fog Twilight had known before, tugging at her coat, pulling on her tail. Twilight knew that if she stopped, if she allowed her steps to falter, then she would lose the way so she kept on going, the clip-clop sound of her hooves upon the stone was reassuring, a point of familiarity, of sanity in this place.

What she could see through the mist was not reassuring. Monsters reared up all around her: hydras and chimeras, giant boars and monstrous lions all surrounded her, snarling and growling. Twilight stopped, her legs trembling. A hydra stood square across her path, a boar pawed the ground to her left, but they had left a space for her to escape them on the right.

If I turn away, then I will never find the golden laurel, and without the laurel bough I cannot enter Tartarus, Twilight thought. But if I enter don’t turn, then how can I pass?

The hydra growled, all its mouths opening at once to show her their spectral fangs.

I cannot turn away. If I do then Sunset is lost. Twilight’s eyes narrowed. The hydra, the chimera, the boar, the lion, she could see through all of them. She had not been able to say the same of the creatures she had glimpsed in the dark water of the Acheron. These were not real monsters, these were but their shadows, set to frighten her and turn her from her path. Somepony or something was trying to keep her from Sunset with shadows on the wall, as if that were enough to make her tuck her tail beneath her legs and run.

“I will not say that I am not afraid,” Twilight murmured. “But I am fear’s master, not its servant.”

The hydra roared, but Twilight looked it in the eye and took one step forward.

And all of the great beasts who had surrounded and harassed her vanished, like clouds blown away by a sudden gust of wind. Twilight could see a gleam of gold dead ahead of her. She ran on, and saw a magnificent golden tree before her, gleaming in the darkness and the mist. Smiling, Twilight dashed to it and reared up onto her hind legs to take a low hanging bough in her mouth. It took but a sharp tug to pull it free. No sooner had she pulled the branch out than a new one grew in its place, and the golden laurel looked as pristine and beautiful as it had done before.

The bough glowed in Twilight’s mouth, brighter than the light of her horn in this dark cavern, and the cloying mist around her was dispersed by the golden light, driven back as if pained even by the presence of Twilight’s key.

Hold on, Sunset. I’m coming.

She pressed on, past the shades of dragons and basilisks, through the mists that retreated from her, until she came to a long stone table, richly laid out with cakes and punch and salad and sandwiches and every manner of food imaginable. Though there were seats for at least a score of ponies at the table, none of them were filled. Two mares, a unicorn and a pegasus, were standing nearby, but neither of them had sat down. In fact, from what Twilight could make out of their frenetic speech, they were arguing about who should sit in one particular seat. Twilight couldn’t see why it mattered when there were plenty of other chairs.

“They are poets,” a weary voice called out. “There is one seat reserved for the greatest of versifiers and they are arguing over who should get to sit in it.”

Twilight looked up towards the source of the voice. At the head of the banqueting table, slouched upon a throne of graven ebony, sat a black alicorn with eyes of icy blue, eyes that were half hooded by her eyelids as though she was about to fall asleep at any moment.

“They have been arguing for the past five hundred years,” she said. “It was amusing for the first century but now I am bored by it. I don’t suppose you would care to settle their dispute?”

“No,” Twilight replied evenly, dropping the laurel bough out of her mouth and suspending it above her with her magic. “I don’t think I have the time.”

The alicorn laughed. “Time is something I am not short of. I am Crona, and for my sins I rule the underworld in Celestia’s name.”

“I’m-“

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, yes, I know,” Crona replied. “I have heard you hollering up above. The ceiling is not as thick as you might think. The Princess Twilight cometh, behold, behold. How very banal.” She sighed, resting her head on one hoof.

Twilight sighed with impatience. “Can you tell me the way to Tartarus?”

“Certainly,” Crona said.

Twilight blinked, waiting for her to continue. “And?”

“Don’t be so impatient, where are your manners, Princess?” Crona said. “Sit down and drink with me.”

Do not sit down nor eat or drink anything she offers you, Twilight recalled. “I would rather not. I’m in a hurry.”

Crona snorted. “For a princess you are being very rude. I insist that you sit down and share food and drink with me.”

“And I refuse,” Twilight snapped. “I don’t have time for all of these games, these attempts to frighten me, these tests. Sunset Shimmer is waiting for me and I intend to find her and bring her back. Now stop playing with me and tell me what I need to know. I demand it.”

For a moment Crona was silent, her expression stern. Then she sighed in resignation. “Ah, well, you can’t blame me for trying. It gets very dull down here with only these numbskulls for company. All the interesting ponies go to Elysium. Nopony wants to live in the shadowlands, even if it means talking to me.”

“What would have happened if I had sat?” Twilight asked.

“The stone would have encased your legs and trapped you here for all eternity,” Crona said casually. “Unfortunately, you managed to avoid that.” Crona’s horn glowed, and an archway of ivory and horn appeared on the far side of the table. “The gate to Tartarus. You already have the laurel bough. If you get what you came for, then leave by the gate of gold that you will see on the other side: it will take you directly to the river.”

“No tricks?” Twilight asked.

Crona shrugged. “I’m not a bad mare. I’m just bored and lonely.”

“Hmm,” Twilight murmured. “Thank you for your help.” Her tone was chilly as a winter wind.

As Twilight walked around the table, Crona said, “Tell Rainbow Dash that there is a seat at my table for the greatest flier, if she wants it.”

Twilight looked at her. “Is there a seat for the greatest farmer, too? Or the greatest vet?”

“No.”

Twilight smiled. “Then I think Rainbow will pass.”

Crona sighed again. “Such a pity. One last thing: ask Pinkie Pie if she can’t keep it down a little, sometimes I worry she’s going to bring the roof down on my head.”

Twilight chuckled. “I’ll mention it.”

“And tell Celestia she’s a terrible pony for sticking me down here,” Crona said.

“I will,” Twilight murmured inattentively as, holding the golden bough before her, she passed through the gate of horn and ivory and entered into Tartarus itself.

Author's Note

I'm indebted to the Albinocorn even more than usual for this chapter, after he saved me from making an awful continuity gaffe.

The next chapter will be the last.

The Kindly Ones

Chapter 17

The Kindly Ones

Sunset spread her bat-like, demonic wings, rising into the air as she cackled in triumph. Such power. With this form, her hated rival would never stand against her.

Twilight Sparkle would be as an ant beneath her foot.

Wait, what? Sunset thought. Hated rival? Twilight hasn’t been my rival in…where am I?

Sunset looked around. Canterlot High lay spread out around her.

No, Sunset thought. No, I’ve done this already. I don’t want to live this again.

I don’t want to hurt Twilight.

As her heart began to pound with fear, only one thing calmed Sunset’s anxiety: the knowledge that she had lived all this before. She knew what would happen. Twilight’s friends – their human doppelgangers anyway – would come to her defence and together they would awaken the powers of the Elements of Harmony and purge Sunset of her wickedness.

But when she looked down, Sunset saw that Twilight was alone. Absolutely alone. There were no students to be seen, no friends to take her side, no Flash Sentry, no Celestia.

There was only Twilight, rendered powerless by her human form, standing alone against the powers of darkness embodied by Sunset.

Twilight eyes were wide with anxiety. “Sunset,” she murmured. “You don’t have to do this.”

Sunset’s mouth moved independently of her will; she spoke because some other power commanded her voice. “No,” she said, and she smiled even though inside her head Sunset was screaming. “But I want to.”

A fireball leapt from Sunset’s hand and flew straight and true towards Twilight, who screamed as the vile flames consumed her. And Sunset started screaming too.

Her mind kept on screaming as it started all over again.

***

Twilight passed through the gate of gold and felt heat wash over her face. Fire was erupting from pits in the earth, the red and yellow flames reaching towards the ceiling, flickering like the eager claws of some great dragon grasping at gold.

There was a growling, snarling, snuffling sound as the great guard dog Cerberus loomed out of a patch of shadow, drool dripping from the mouth of its leftmost head, six eyes fixed on Twilight.

Twilight met the gaze of the hound of Tartarus without fear, displaying the wand of golden laurel-wood which she had taken from the tree. Cerberus bowed to her, sagging jaws dragging along the ground as the dog retreated, whining slightly.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief; she had enough problems to deal with without worrying about Cerberus as well.

She advanced, passing between lakes of fire and great gaping chasms in the earth. Flames cast their flickering light upon Twilight’s coat on one side, while her other side was cloaked in shadow. Her ears were assailed by screaming, moaning, the clanking of chains and the banging of sticks and ropes.

Twilight paused as the path spread out in three different directions before her, three bridges of grey stone over the fire and the crevices, three roads going in different directions.

How do I know which path to take?

“Sunset?” Twilight yelled, hoping that Sunset would hear her as she had heard Sunset down in the den of the Diamond Dogs. “Sunset, can you hear me?”

“Sunset, she cries. Sunset. Doesn’t she know there is no sun in Tartarus? This is the domain of darkness and evil. Nothing good can linger here.” The voice was harsh and rasping, accompanied by the rattling of many chains.

“Who’s there?” Twilight called out. “Can you help me?”

There was more rattling as a black goat, his eyes gleaming red from the midst of his dark, hairy body, shuffled into the firelight. His whole body was loaded up with iron chains, and some of them stretched backwards into the shadows. From the way he abruptly stopped moving, Twilight guessed that he was chained to something which she could not see.

“Who am I?” the goat said. “Who am I? Why, pony child, I am nought but a poor prisoner, bound here to suffer torments undeserved. But you look kind, and you seem in need. Help me, I beg of you, and I will do all I can to repay you in kind.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Celestia would not put anyone here who did not deserve to be imprisoned.”

“Celestia,” the goat spat. “What of this Sunset you search for? Does she deserve to be imprisoned here?”

“No,” Twilight said. “But that’s different.”

“If your friend can be wrongfully punished, why are you so certain that I am not in the same position?”

“Because I know Sunset, I don’t know you,” Twilight replied. “Were you dragged here by the Furies, before they were imprisoned?”

“The Furies,” the goat laughed. “So self-righteous, so blind. They are the most wicked of all we prisoners here, yet to hear them talk, you would think them the most virtuous paragons that ever lived. So it is the Furies’ den you seek? Grogar can tell you the way, if you set me free of these chains.”

“And where will you go and what will you do once I have freed you?” Twilight demanded.

“Why should that matter to you?” Grogar replied. “You will know the way to your Sunset. Do you not care for her?”

“I love her,” Twilight said softly.

“Well then, what price is too high to pay for her rescue?”

“The suffering of hundreds,” Twilight said grimly, her voice hard. “I will not risk innocent ponies by letting you walk free. I cannot. I will find another way.”

Grogar howled in frustration. “You fool! Do you imagine that you are in some pathetic pony village? Are you so naïve as to believe that any creature in this pit will tell you what you wish to know out of simple kindness? All our hearts are black as pitch; you will get no bargain better than mine. You may wander this place until your old bones turn to dust, you may deal with a monster so evil that I seem as a newborn foal in comparison…or you may accept the offer which I, graciously, yet offer you.”

Twilight stared at Grogar with eyes like iron. Her voice, when she spoke, was heavy with resolve. “Or I will find another way. If I took you ‘gracious’ bargain, I would not be the mare that Sunset loves even if I found her. Goodbye.”

She turned her back on him and closed her ears to the sound of his cursing.

Twilight shut her eyes, contemplating the paths in front of her. Where are you, Sunset? Can you hear me? How do I find you?

She opened her eyes. Grogar had called the Furies the worst of all the villains bound in Tartarus. The air felt foulest to the left. It was not much to go on, but at this point it was all that Twilight had. She took the leftmost path, crossing over a pool of bubbling lava and onto a path surrounded by thorns. Amongst the thorns, creatures squirmed; Twilight recognised some of them from her studies of history: the zebra warlord Sophoniba, who had led a campaign to conquer southern Equestria, the griffon Empress Ildico who had enslaved the Diamond Dogs, the dragon Typhoeus, all three and countless others writhed and struggled in the hedge of thorns while the needles pricked and tore at them. She even saw Sombra there, and when he saw her he snarled and tried to lunge at her, but the thorns curled tighter around him and pulled him back into their sharp embrace.

Will Sunset end up here, when the Furies are done toying with her? Twilight wondered. I would not wish this upon Chrysalis.

Am I even on the right path?

Twilight looked around again, at the villains who writhed within the grip of these thorns. Wrath, envy, cruelty and injustice, all three were on display amongst this gallery of rogues. The zebra who had coveted the fertile lands of the north, the griffon who had put an entire race in chains, the dragon whose lust for gold had been exceeded only by his hatred for pony kind, the king whose heart had been so full of anger that it had consumed him until only a screeching shadow of a pony still remained. All of them had assumed that their power, temporal and magical, had rendered them above right and wrong, above the morals of lesser ponies. All of them had thought that their ability to commit acts of wickedness gave them the right to commit those selfsame acts. All of them were now paying the price for their hubris. Who could deny, watching them squirm, that this was the part of Tartarus where the proud where humbled and those who had been untouchable in life where pricked as their consciences had never been. Surely the Furies where somewhere near here.

“Sunset?” Twilight yelled, galloping on down the middle of the thorny path and ignoring the hosts of howling villains all around her. “Hold on, Sunset, just a little longer.”

And then Twilight heard Sunset scream, exactly as she had when the Elements of Harmony had ripped her demonic form apart.

Twilight ran faster, panting from the effort as her legs began to ache. She followed the sound, that awful sound, down the thorny path and into a steep, dark ravine which, after a journey far too long – a single step would have taken too long, once Sunset started screaming – opened out into a broad basin. And there, Twilight saw the Furies.

Their den was illuminated by sickly green flames, which burned from no visible source but merely sat upon the ground, casting their unnatural light in flickers upon the dark stone walls.

In between the green fire, or beyond them, or before them, dotted here and there across the Furies’ nest, lay pits. Some of the pits were filled with lava, others with long, sharp spikes, still more with ice or snakes or a horde of wriggling insects. Every pit was filled with ponies. They screeched as the lava burned them, they moaned as they lay buried in the ice up to their necks, they tried without success to escape the cruel points of the spikes or beat futilely at the bugs that crawled all over them. Some of them reached out to Twilight, stretching their hooves towards her as though her appearance offered them hope.

Twilight looked away, sickened that her presence, what they thought it meant, was making the torment of these poor ponies worse.

“You pity them?” Allecto murmured. She and her sisters stood in the centre of their den, huddled close together with their backs to Twilight. Yet she had guessed at Twilight’s thoughts regardless. “You would not, if you had known them while they lived.”

“If they are all as guilty as Sunset Shimmer then I cannot imagine that any of them deserve this for a day, let alone the span of years you’ve been inflicting this upon them. Where is Sunset? I have come to get her.”

“Have you now?” Allecto crooned, her voice sibilant and soft. She turned to face Twilight, a smirk upon her scaly face. “So the bold princess descends into the underworld to rescue her beloved from a fate worse than death. How touching. How arrogant.”

Twilight growled. “Where is she?”

Allecto’s smirk broadened. “Why, here she is.” The three Furies backed away, revealing Sunset hovering between the three of them, suspended in the air by the tail like a sack strung up in a barn.

Twilight gasped. “Sunset?” she got closer, her hooves echoing upon the ground. “Sunset, can you hear me? It’s Twilight, I’ve come to take you home.” Sunset did not reply. Her eyes were closed, her face was wracked by spasms of pain and frustration, she groaned and moaned and cried out in response to nothing that Twilight could see. Her horn glowed with magical aura. In fact, Twilight noticed that her whole body was starting to glow with the same aura. That was definitely not supposed to happen. Twilight’s eyes widened as she realised what was happening: Sunset was trying to keep her magic bottled in, the way you would if you wanted to be ready to cast a spell without actually casting one right away. But you could only do that for so long, every unicorn had a limit as to how much magic they could hold without using any of it. By the looks of things, Sunset was trying to hold her magic in while it was still building up, and like a bottle that you kept pouring water into her magic was overflowing, flooding back into her body seeking a release.

Twilight rounded on the Furies, snarling. “What are you doing to her?”

“What you and Celestia were too soft and weak to do,” Tissiphone said. “Punishing her for her crimes.”

“Her magic is turning inwards, if Sunset doesn’t let it go then it will consume her and she’ll die!”

“That is up to her, not to us,” Megaera replied. “We are not keeping her from casting the spell.”

“Then what are you doing?” Twilight yelled.

“Making her suffer,” Allecto hissed.

“She doesn’t deserve to suffer for the things she did,” Twilight protested.

“Three days, you saw her work her wicked ways,” Tissiphone snapped. “Three years her victims suffered beneath her lash. Such arrogance, to presume the right to speak for all her victims, to abrogate on their behalf all claim to justice. Will you erase the tears that Fluttershy shed, will you dismiss the pain of Pinkie as irrelevant? Do you claim that your opinion, your desires, matter more than anypony elses? Be careful, princess, that your crown does not swell your head and make you our prey in your turn.”

“Sunset Shimmer provided blood to summon us back into the world, and so she is our first victim,” Allecto crowed. “But once we are done with her then there are many others across Equestria who stand in need of judgement. Luna, Discord, Tirek, all shall know our fury and Equestria will know true justice once again.”

“True justice? You’re killing Sunset!” Twilight yelled. “How is that just? Sunset never did anything remotely close to what you’re doing to her!”

The three Furies began to hum in unison, looking at one another intently. Allecto scowled, and the sound of her humming was a discordant note to the song, but at last she said, “Very well. You may free her from the enchantment, if you can.”

Twilight turned away from, approaching Sunset cautiously, examining what exactly was being done to her. Perhaps, if she had gotten here sooner, she could have unpicked the net from here. But it had been too long. If she wanted to break Sunset free of her ensorcellment, she would have to do it from within.

If I do not return, I leave my Daring Do first editions to Rainbow Dash, Twilight thought as she summoned her magic and, gently, touched the tip of Sunset’s horn with her own.

Her eyes opened on a deserted Canterlot High.

Deserted and ruined. The damage was far worse than the wall Sunset had battered down in her actual rampage. Here whole buildings had been demolished and set aflame, the smoke from the ruins rising to obscure the moon above. The grass was on fire, and the mirror was smashed; shards of glass lay amidst the broken stone.

Twilight was human again, though instead of her prom dress she wore what had been her normal outfit on the other side of the mirror. In spite of that, she knew at once that this was the night of the Fall Formal. What other night would the Furies have forced Sunset to suffer through than the scene of her humiliation?

Though that didn’t explain why there was no one here? Where was the audience to Sunset’s shame?

Then she heard the screaming.

Twilight ran past the burning gym, into the centre of the school courtyard. Sunset, wearing her dark demonic visage, lay curled up on the ground like a foal; she was a sobbing, quivering mess. In front of her stood another Twilight, all alone.

“Twilight, run, “ Sunset growled, raising one arm in a strange, quivering motion as though she was fighting with her own body. “Get away!”

A fireball appeared in Sunset’s hand, and Twilight understood what her punishment was.

Oh, Sunset.

Sunset held the fireball in the palm of her hand, gritting her teeth, before she raised her arm and drove the fireball into the ground where it exploded all around her. Sunset screamed and howled in agony as the flames consumed her.

Twilight shut her eyes, she did not want to see what the fire would do to the mare she loved. She cringed from what she could hear, turned away from what she might have seen, and only when the screaming stopped did she open her eyes again.

Sunset was whole and intact again, though still demonic, and once more she struggled against her compulsion to attack Twilight.

“Please,” Sunset moaned. “Get out of here.”

“Sunset, don’t,” Twilight yelled, stepping out from her concealment. Instantly the false Twilight disappeared like smoke, and Sunset’s demon eyes widened in horror.

“No,” she whispered. “No, you can’t be here, you have to go.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” Twilight said, advancing on Sunset.

“Don’t come any nearer, I can’t control it.”

“Yes, you can,” Twilight insisted. “You’re the only one who can. You control yourself, not the Furies, not anypony else. Nobody owns you. No one pulls your strings. You don’t have to dance for them any longer.”

Sunset flinched from her. “Please stay back. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know that you would never hurt me,” Twilight replied, continuing to advance as though she had not a trace of fear within her.

“But I did,” Sunset cried. “They made me hurt you.”

“But you fought back.”

Sunset nodded. “I couldn’t bear it.”

Twilight smiled. “Like I told you, you can fight them. And now that I’m here we can fight them together.”

“What if they’re right?” Sunset murmured. “What if I deserve to be punished?”

“How does this help anyone?” Twilight demanded. “You think it would make Fluttershy feel better to know that you’re here, burning yourself up? If you want to make amends for the things that you did, then do it by living each day a better pony than you were before. You’ll make no amends down here, and you know that as well as I do.”

Tears welled up in Sunset’s eyes. “I don’t deserve you,” she whispered.

Twilight shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not.” Her smile widened. “But you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She reached out. “Now take my hand, and let’s go home.”

Sunset reached forward and rested one clawed demonic finger in the palm of Twilight’s hand.

Sunset opened her eyes and gave a squawk of alarm as the power suspending her in the air vanished, dumping her face-first in a heap on the ground.

“You’re a petty bunch, aren’t you?” Sunset muttered as she picked herself up.

Allecto’s lip curled into a sneer. “So, you have escaped. How disappointing.”

“We shall have to find another means of punishment,” Tissiphone hissed.

Twilight’s expression was resolute as she stepped between Sunset and the Furies. “No. You won’t.”

The Furies growled in unison. Allecto snarled, “You still dare to defy us? My patience is wearing thin.”

Twilight smiled. “I have defied Discord, I have defied Sombra. What’s one more just like them?”

“Who are you, pony princess, to stand between the Furies and their prey?” Tissiphone demanded. “Who are you to stand in the way of justice?”

Twilight laughed. “Justice? I’m not standing in the way of justice. I am standing between three cruel, bullying monsters and their victim. Of all the ponies in Equestria you could have tormented, you chose one who was too weak to fight back against you. And then, when you had her, you used her to indulge your passion for pain, your lust for suffering. You three are monsters as bad as any, and you belong right here with all the rest.”

“We avenge the helpless and the weak,” Megaera insisted.

“My friends aren’t helpless, and they don’t need you to take cruel retribution to make them feel better,” Twilight yelled. “Look at Sunset, and look at yourselves, and then tell me who here is really helpless.”

“Thanks a lot,” Sunset muttered under her breath.

Megaera and Tissiphone hesitated, humming to themselves. But Allecto howled in rage, a flaming sword appearing in her hand. “Silence! I am Allecto, Fury of Wrath. I walked this world when sun and moon were young. I protected ponies and humans alike when both were too weak to protect themselves.”

“And now, we need neither your protection nor your stern judgement,” Twilight replied. “We help one another, we forgive, we embrace. We love. So why, honestly, are you doing this?”

“I will not be lectured by an infant princess!” Allecto roared, raising her sword above her head as her fiery hair blazed with anger. Tissiphone and Megaera looked alarmed, but Allecto ignored the both of them. “I will not be mocked, nor talked down to like some peasant! I give you one opportunity: depart, and leave Sunset Shimmer to darkness and to me.”

Sunset pressed close to Twilight. “Maybe you’d better do as she says.”

Twilight shook her head, never taking her eyes off Allecto. “I’m not leaving without you.”

“My magic didn’t touch her, and you’re not that much more powerful than I am,” Sunset said.

“If this works, I won’t need to be,” Twilight whispered. Louder, she said, “I have done no wrong. I have committed no crime. If you attack me, then everything I have said about your being nothing more than sadistic bullies will be proved right.”

Allecto laughed. “So be it! After all, who is there to witness it here?” Her flaming sword swept down.

Both Tissiphone and Megaera swung their blades into position, blocking Allecto’s stroke with a ringing sound.

“What are you doing?” Allecto demanded.

Tissiphone’s voice was icy cold. “Would you really break our code, sister? Would you really abuse your power to strike down an innocent, simply because you could? Is that not what we were born to stand against?”

“It is true then, what she says,” Megaera said mournfully. “We love the hunt so much we have forgotten the reason for it.”

Allecto bared her teeth in a snarl, before a pathetic sob escaped her lips. “I will not fade from this world! I will not! Sisters…I only want for us to live and hunt again.”

“And maybe we would,” Tissiphone said. “But if we did, we would not be the Furies.” She looked down at Twilight and Sunset. “It appears that we have sins of our own that we must contemplate. Go now, both of you, and tell Celestia that we shall trouble Equestria no more.”

The Furies faded away into the darkness, followed by their victims, their pits of torture and their eerie fire. Allecto’s sobbing echoed in the chamber for a few moments, before that, too, faded, leaving Twilight and Sunset all alone in the silence and the shadow.

The two mares looked at one another. It was absurd but, after having come so far, Twilight found that there were no easy words to roll off her tongue.

“Was I really worth all this?” Sunset asked.

Twilight nodded. “All of it and more.” She did not mention the bargain she had made with Sun Song. She never would. She did not want Sunset to feel like she owed it to Twilight to stay with her. If they lasted, and Twilight genuinely believed they would, then it would be because their love had lasted, not because Sunset was labouring under obligation.

Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Wow. That makes me feel…like I have a lot to live up to. I don’t know how I can ever-”

“You don’t have to,” Twilight said. “That’s sort of how it works.”

Sunset chuckled. “Well, thanks. A lot.” She stared at Twilight for a moment. “You’re really wonderful, you know that? And very attractive when you get all righteous.”

Twilight blushed. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

“No, I’d like to hang around in the dark for a little longer,” Sunset replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Follow me.”

Sunset grinned. “All my life.”

Twilight led her out of the Furies’ den, down the path of thorns and to the gate of gold which Crona had mentioned. It gleamed effulgent, a beacon of hope in this dark place.

“All those villains,” Sunset murmured. “Would I have been stuck there, if you hadn’t come?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight said. “I would never have not come.”

“More to the point, I would have deserved to be there if not for you.”

“Good point,” Twilight said mischievously. “What do you contribute to this relationship?”

Sunset spluttered for a moment before she spotted Twilight giggling. “Very funny. Are we leaving?”

Twilight held out one hoof. “Together?”

Sunset took it. Her hoof felt soft and warm in Twilight’s grasp. “Together.”

They passed through the gate, and in a flash of soft, blue light they had emerged upon the river bank. Sun Song was waiting, her boat still resting upon their bank, ready for them to climb aboard.

“You did it,” Sun Song said, her voice sounding surprised. “I did not think you would.”

“Then why is your boat still on this side of the river?” Twilight asked.

Sun Song did not reply. Instead she turned to Sunset – or it looked as though she did, her face was still hidden beneath her cowl – and said, “Take care of this one. She is a rare treasure.”

Sunset put her leg over Twilight’s shoulder. “That she is.”

Sun Song ferried them across the river, and together Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle walked out of the underworld. The path out did not seem so cold or so forbidding when there was another pony to share it with, especially when that pony was the mare you loved.

The gates opened as they approached, and together the two of them stepped out of the tunnel and into the moonlit night as-

“Twilight! Sunset!”

Twilight barely had time to look around as Pinkie cannoned into the pair of them, bearing them to the ground as all her other friends crowded around her.

“You went into Tartarus by yourself?” Rainbow cried. “Don’t do something that awesome without inviting us again, okay?”

“You’re supposed to say something dangerous, Rainbow, darling, not awesome,” Rarity said.

“We should have a welcome back Twilight and Sunset party!” Pinkie yelled.

“Um, Pinkie, I haven’t really been gone,” Twilight said.

“Then we should have a party to celebrate that!”

Celestia came to stand over them all. “I’m glad to see that you are well, Sunset. Welcome back.”

Sunset smiled, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m…I’m home.”

As morning approached, Twilight and Sunset sat upon the hillside, alone, Ponyville spread out beneath them.

“As a first date,” Sunset said. “That could have gone better.”

“It was certainly lively,” Twilight said.

Sunset snorted. “So, what happens now?”

Twilight smiled. “The rest of our lives, I guess. Punctuated by the occasional monster attack or resurgence of an ancient evil.”

“At least it won’t be dull,” Sunset replied. “Oh, and you have to come with me to my sister’s wedding, because I told her I was bringing a date.”

“Of course,” Twilight said. “It will probably be less stressful than the last wedding I went to.”

Sunset looked into Twilight’s eyes. “You’re the best thing that’s ever been mine, you know that?”

They kissed as the new day dawned on their future together.

A month later, in Canterlot, saw Sunset Shimmer adjusting the veil on Eclipse’s mane. “And that just about does it, I think.”

Eclipse smiled. “How do I look?”

“Awesome,” Sunset said.

Eclipse made a face. “I’m the bride, I’m supposed to look beautiful.”

“You do. Awesomely beautiful,” Sunset replied.

Eclipse shook her head. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be married by Princess Celestia. How did you arrange that?”

“I asked very, very nicely.” Sunset grinned. “Don’t say that I never did anything for you, sis.”

Eclipse chuckled. “So, am I going to get to return the favour soon?”

Sunset felt herself blushing furiously. “I, uh, what kind of a question is that to spring on a pony?”

Eclipse cackled. “Just kidding. Take your time.”

There was a knock on the door of the bridal dressing room.

“Are you ready, dear?” asked the groom’s mother from the other side.

“Yes,” Eclipse said. She took a deep breath. “You know, I never would have believed that you would be walking behind me on my wedding day.”

“There was a time I never would have thought you’d ask me,” Sunset said. “Now come on, let’s not keep everypony waiting.”

And so, when Eclipse walked down the aisle to marry Planed Surface, Sunset Shimmer walked behind her as her Mare of Honour, and held up her train as she strode towards happiness.

It isn’t about you asking me, sis, Sunset thought. There was a time when I never would have been able to do this. To be here, walking behind somepony else? To have all eyes on you, and none on me, my pride would not have borne it. I would have refused to come, then turned up anyway and done something to make myself the centre of attention.

In as much as I’m a better pony, it’s thanks a little to you, and a lot to one special mare.

Sunset’s eyes locked with Twilight’s as she swept past her marefriend - it still felt weird to think of them like that - down the aisle.

Well, maybe not quite all the eyes are on you, Eclipse, Sunset thought, as she winked at Twilight.

It was, the presence of two princesses notwithstanding, a small ceremony. Family, friends and Princess Celestia. Vows were said, speeches were made, and a party got under way.

Sunset watched the bride and groom slow dance across the floor and then, once other couples started to drift on, she coughed gently and held out one hoof for Twilight. “Would you care to dance?”

Twilight smiled, and took Sunset’s hoof in her own.

They danced, the slow waltz of romance followed by the fast dance of passion, as Sunset put her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders and rose up above her, looking down into those beguiling lavender eyes as she shook her flank in the air and sang along with the music.

“Yeah, you are the best thing,” Sunset sang, staring into Twilight’s eyes. “That’s ever been mine.”

Sunset descended towards Twilight, and their lips met.

The End

Author's Note

Thank you all for sticking with this story to the finish, I hope you enjoyed it to the end.

There will probably be a one-shot sequel to this coming out around Christmas, not because it's a Christmas story but because that's when this story started and so it seems appropriate. I may write a longer sequel after that depending on how I feel.

Especial thanks to the Albinocorn for his dedicated proof-reading, and another big thank you to all of you, the readers, for responding so positively to this story.

Life After High School

How the Sunset Sparkles

by Scipio Smith

Chapter 1

Life After High School

Sunset Shimmer woke up, her eyes fluttering open to fix on the dark ceiling of her new home. Fumbling, she reached for the glass of water on the nightstand─

And knocked it over onto the floor with a crash.

"Every. Single. Time," Sunset groaned. "I gotta get used to not having fingers anymore."

Sunset Shimmer rolled out of bed and stood up. Then she lost her balance, fell over balance and nearly hit her head on the same nightstand from which she had just dislodged the water. Not having a bipedal body any more was something else she had been failing to get used to.

Not for the first time in the past week, Sunset wondered if she might not have been better off staying in Equestria-616, keeping the body she'd gotten used to over the past three years. But, considering the various possible futures in store for her there she had decided it would best to follow Twilight Sparkle home and throw herself upon the mercy of Princess Celestia.

As Sunset had expected, Celestia had indeed been merciful. Much more merciful than a judge, a school board or a government scientist would have been in the other world, she was sure. Sunset Shimmer was not to be banished to the Griffon Kingdom, thrown into a deep, dark hole, or indeed suffer any real consequences for her actions whatsoever. Of course it helped that she hadn't actually done anything wrong in Equestria, but even so she'd been surprised in spite of herself by the extent of her old teacher's clemency.

The only stricture under which she laboured now was a mild one: she couldn't leave Ponyville and had to report to Princess Twilight Sparkle every day on what she had done and was doing. She also had to suffer visits whenever Twilight felt like it so that she could check that Sunset wasn't secretly plotting to seize power.

They needn't have worried. Sunset Shimmer had played the game, cheating like crazy at every turn, and she had lost. If she couldn't complete her plans for power when she had every advantage of surprise and preparation on her side, how in Equestria was she supposed to achieve anything when everypony knew what she was like and what she was up to? No, Twilight Sparkle had beaten her fair and square, quite an achievement when you considered how unfairly the deck had been stacked against her, and Sunset had to respect that, and concede with as much grace as you could muster in front of somepony who'd seen you blubbing in a heap on the ground.

So glad that nopony else saw that, although she's probably told all of her friends by now.

Sunset summoned her magic - getting used to having magic again had been easier than getting used to not having thumbs - and lit the candles.

If we didn't have magic, would we have invented all the things that the bipeds have? Has magic stagnated ponies as a people?

It was something to think about, and Celestia knew she didn't have much else to do right now but think.

Sunset Shimmer looked around her room: the beige walls she hadn't decorated yet, the bedclothes that were white because that was what she'd been given and she hadn't gotten around to buying any more, the functional furniture. It was nice enough, and far, far preferable to a prison cell, but at the same time she couldn't help but miss her old digs, the stuff she had accumulated in three years in then bipedal world: her high school crowns, her record collection, her wardrobe. The return to continual nakedness had given her quite the case of culture shock on her initial return. She hadn't known where to look.

Not as much culture shock as when she'd walked out of the mirror and stepped out into the middle of the road stark naked and nearly caused a traffic accident mind, but still.

Sunset Shimmer's gaze fell on her ipod, the only thing apart from the clothes she'd been wearing at the time that she'd managed to bring to Equestria with her. The battery had nearly run out, and she wasn't able to charge it with anything in Equestria. Soon it would be dead.

Pity. Listening to it was the only to way spend an evening I had.

She padded into the kitchen and made breakfast, a kids' cereal called Chocochunks.

I know I'm probably too old for this, but give me a break, grown-up cereals are boring.

Which would make them very appropriate to my life at the moment.

She finished getting ready, which took less time than it did when she had to put on clothes, and stepped out into a new day in Ponyville, the happiest town in Equestria.

Smile, smile, everywhere I look everypony has a stupid grin plastered on their face. What do they all have to be so happy about? You're laughing at yourselves!

A couple of ponies gave Sunset Shimmer funny looks as she walked down the street with a resolute scowl defacing her features, but for the most part the good folk of Ponyville were too wrapped up in their own affairs to pay her much mind. Her arrival in Ponyville in mysterious circumstances had not gone unremarked upon, and everypony kept their distance, but nopony knew exactly what she was or why she was here. Certainly neither Twilight nor Celestia had been putting it about that she was a former supervillain or anything like that. She had been the source of gossip for a few days, but by now most ponies had moved on.

Almost a pity that, it would have been quite cool being the mysterious outsider for a bit, the way I was at high school. Who is she? Where does she come from? Some of the ponyfeather theories they came up with were hilarious. I think my favourite was the one where I was in witness protection preparing to testify against my mobster father.

Although for sheer out there weirdness, Sunset conceded, you couldn't beat the guy who thought she was an esper sent to observe Pinkie Pie (who was god in this kid's head) and stop her from getting bored and destroying the world. That was just taking the cake ridiculousness.

"What ya doin'?"

Speak of the pink pony. Sunset Shimmer sighed, "I'm going to see Twilight, like I do every day."

"Then why are you frowning?" Pinkie Pie asked, doing an exaggerated expression of Sunset's scowl as she sat down in the middle of the road in front of her. "Going to see Twilight always puts me in a good mood. Unless I'm really upset like the time Rainbow Dash didn't write back from Wonderbolt Academy even though she promised she'd write every day the irresponsible irresponsibility pants and─"

"I'm scowling because, unlike you, I don't like being looked down upon by a self-righteous milksop," Sunset said forcefully.

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Silly Sunset, Twilight's not a milksop. Twilight's awesome."

"Really," Sunset murmured, rolling her blue eyes.

"Well, duh!" Pinkie looked at her as though she was an idiot. "What about the time she totally activated the Elements of Harmony even though five of the elements were in an other world and you had the Element of Magic? Wasn't that awesome? And then how about right after that she totally blasted you in the face with the magic of harmony, that was pretty awesome too─"

"Not to be me it wasn't and how do you know about that?" Sunset Shimmer demanded. "She said she wasn't going to tell anypony!"

"I dreamed about it."

Sunset blinked, "You... you dreamed it."

"Yup. I've been dreaming about that place for years and years now. Every night when I close my eyes I start walking on two feet again. My parents took me to see a shrink once cause they thought it wasn't healthy to have the same dream so often, but sometimes I wonder if I am dreaming. Like, maybe the real me is the one in my dreams and I'm what happens when she falls asleep and dreams that she's a pony. That would explain why you where there way before you were here, because I knew you in the real world for years before you finally turned up in my dreams!"

"I am not, nor have I ever been one of your dreams," Sunset Shimmer said firmly. "I am real. I was always real and I always will be."

"Really? Huh. Lucky for you nopony ever ran into the other Sunset Shimmer on the other side then wasn't it."

"There was no me on the other side," Sunset said confidently.

"But everypony─"

"There is no pony like me; there's just me," Sunset Shimmer said in the coolest tone of voice at her command. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go and see Twilight now. So this has been fun. Let's do it again. A long time in the future."

Sunset edged around Pinkie Pie and started to walk away. She stopped, paused for thought, then yelled, "And I'd better not catch you in my home when I get back."

"Aww, but I haven't thrown you a housewarming party yet."

"That's because I don't want one!" Sunset shouted, and began to run away before Pinkie Pie could argue the point further.

I swear she's even worse on this side of the mirror. Arguably what was weirdest was that she, unlike every other pony in Ponyville, knew exactly what Sunset Shimmer had done. She suspected Twilight had given her friends the revision notes version, but Pinkie Pie had seen it? Then why wasn't she scared? She'd seen Sunset turn into a raging demon of the inferno, why was she so blase about that? Did the Elements render me that toothless. Or is it cause she saw me crying? It's cause she saw me crying isn't it?

Sunset carried on through the rest of Ponyville without incident ─ except for the fact that she kept wanting to blush at all the ponies seeing her naked ─ until she arrived at the library where Twilight Sparkle ruled. Or lived rather, since Twilight Sparkle took pains to deny at every turn that she ruled anything.

Being a princess hasn't changed me at all. I don't do anything different than I used to. I'm still the same as I always was. Well then what are you doing with a crown you ungrateful little wretch? Give it up to somepony who'll use it! Somepony like me!

Just because she'd accepted that she was never going to beat Twilight in an unfair fight didn't mean Sunset Shimmer had to give up on her dreams completely.

She rapped on the library door with one hoof. The oak door was opened by Spike, whose eyes narrowed suspiciously when he saw her.

"Oh, it's you," Spike said sullenly.

"Top of the morning to you too, Spike," Sunset replied with faux-cheer. "It's that time again."

"Oh, joy."

"Come on, Spike, you can't be mad at me can you?"

"You kidnapped me!" Spike said.

"Technically it was Snips and Snails who kidnapped you, I shouldn't be held responsible for all the actions of my incompetent minions now, should I?"

"Yes."

"Oh for crying out loud, stop being a drama queen and get over it already!" Sunset shouted. "I got shot in the face by a rainbow and you don't see me making a fuss!"

Spike looked at her sceptically.

"Okay, I've mentioned it a few times in passing," Sunset conceded. "The point is, I have got it much worse than you or Princess Twilight in there and yet I am trying to make this work, so ─ hard as it is for a shrimp like you ─ you need to be the bigger pony and let it all go. Let bygones be bygones, move on with your life, get closure and all those cliches. Can't we be buddies, Spike?" Sunset gave him the most insincere grin in her arsenal of smiles.

"You don't really expect that to work do you?"

"Not at all and I don't really want it to," Sunset confessed. "Bugging you is about the only entertainment I have in this world."

Spike grunted, and moved out of the doorway to let her in. "Just so you know, I've got my eye on you."

"Ooh, I'm so scared of you Spike, you pint-sized baby lizard you," Sunset chuckled. "Relax, I'm not planning anything more devious than how to annoy you each day." She walked into the library, sat down on the floor with her head resting on the table, and sighed. "My life has become a small and petty thing." For now, at least. It will not stay that way. My plans failed, but there are other avenues in which a pony blessed with brains, ambition, charm and prodigious talent can achieve greatness. I just can't think of any right now.

"Where's Her Highness?" Sunset asked.

"I'm right here," the Princess Twilight Sparkle appeared at the top of the stairs. She walked down rather than flying, possibly so as not to appear ostentatious, though she wasn't doing anything to disguise those wings on her flank. "And I've asked you not to call me Highness, especially since you don't seem capable of saying it without sarcasm. Twilight Sparkle will be fine, or Princess Twilight if you must."

Why spend so much time trying to pretend that you're not different! It obviously isn't true and it's as ostentatious as it would be if you walked around in your crown all day.

Sunset said, "Okay, Twilight."

"Twilight Sparkle," the reproof was mildly given, but a reproof nonetheless. Twilight's tone reminded Sunset of Princess Celestia, the way that she would correct you without drawing attention to the fact that you had made a mistake.

"So I can call you Twilight Sparkle, but just Twilight is a step too far?" Sunset asked.

"Twilight is what my friends call me," Twilight Sparkle replied, with a courtesy so chilly Sunset thought it might single-hoofedly revive the windigoes.

Sunset Shimmer blinked, and said nothing. There wasn't anything to be said to that, was there? If ever there was a door slam that was it. She coughed to cover her embarassment. It wasn't that she wanted to be Twilight Sparkle's friend, nothing of the sort, but to have it stated so baldly that she was not counted among that number was rather disconcerting.

She masked her concern with mockery, "You mean that we're not friends? Twilight Sparkle, you hurt me. What happened to this being the land of forgiveness?"

"Forgiveness is quite another thing from trust," Twilight Sparkle replied. "Trust has to be earned, and after the things you've done you have a lot of work to do to earn it."

"Aw, come on, Twilight Sparkle, it was nothing personal."

"You threw a fireball at me," Twilight reminded her.

"Yeah, impersonally," Sunset Shimmer said. "I didn't do it because I didn't like you. I mean, sure, you got the crown and the wings and everything I ever wanted, but I don't resent you in particular. I would have treated anypony who came through that mirror trying to impede my goals just the same. It was just business. In my position you'd have done the same thing."

"No. No I wouldn't."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, I forgot I was talking to Princess Goody-Four-Hooves for a moment."

Twilight Sparkle frowned. "Perhaps we should get to business. How are you today?"

"I'm bored is what I am," Sunset said forcefully. "I've got nothing to do all day except come here and bother you and Spike. I don't have anything to occupy myself, occupy my mind. I am bored."

"You could always get a job?" Twilight suggested with a touch of archness in her tone.

Sunset said, "Yeah, that hadn't crossed my mind. Got any idea what I should I do?"

Twilight shrugged ever so slightly. "What are you good at? You must have some talents, or at least an enthusiasm for something."

"You sound like a High School guidance councillor," Sunset Shimmer said. "You know, in the other world they say there are some folks whose lives are over after high school. Either they were never as popular as when they were as the quarterback, or as the cheerleading captain. I guess that's me."

"Maybe you should have thought about that before," Spike interjected from behind her.

Sunset turned around to say, "I was planning to take over the world after high school. Somepony and her little dragon-dog ruined that plan."

"My condolences," Twilight Sparkle murmured dryly.

Sunset Shimmer shook her head. "The point is, why can't I move back to Canterlot? At least there I'd find something to do, and the real princesses could keep an eye on me."

"The real princesses?" Twilight asked, one eyebrow raised.

"You know what I meant," Sunset said. "Honestly, some ponies are so sensitive."

"Yes, that's the problem," Twilight said in a voice laced with sarcasm. "If you are bored, then you can always tidy up the library while you think."

"What?" both Sunset and Spike demanded at the same time, in the same tone of incredulity.

"That's my job," Spike said.

"Am I your assistant now?"

"You said you were bored, and I've just given you something to do," Twilight said. "Spike, I need your help with some research for the princess."

"I could help you with that instead," Sunset suggested.

Twilight Sparkle looked her in the eye. "I don't think so."

Sunset Shimmer sighed. "Okay, okay, where do you keep the feather duster?"

As she cleaned up the place, which truthfully didn't require a lot of work since it was quite well maintained as it was, Sunset noticed two things. The first was how cute Twilight Sparkle looked in the pictures of her that dotted the library here and there.

"You know you're much cuter as a pony than you were as a biped, Princess Twilight," Sunset called to them.

"Um, thanks," Twilight said uncertainly. "Shame I can't say the same about you."

"Hey, whether as a pony or a human I look smoking hot," Sunset replied.

The second thing she noticed was how long it was taking Twilight Sparkle to find anything. She kept having to send Spike scouring the bookshelves for books, accumulating a steady stack of them as she referenced and cross referenced.

It got Sunset thinking.

Back in that other world, she could have just looked all this stuff up on the internet, and been able to keep her notes on the cloud and accessed them from wherever she was.

Except we haven't got anything like that.

But why can't we?

A light shone through the library window and onto Sunset Shimmer.

That's it. That's what I'll do. I'll bring technology to Equestria! I'll invent the internet, spread IT across the country, become the most famous inventor in the whole of pony history! I'll be famous. More famous than Twilight Sparkle!

Look out Equestria! Sunset Shimmer, Captain of Industry is on the move.

Author's Note

This is my first attempt at doing a romance, a comedy or a slice of life, so I hope you enjoy it as it develops. Credit for the idea goes to the Albinocorn, without whose casual mention I would never have imagined the pairing.

Different

Chapter 5

Different

Sunset Shimmer stared up at the blank ceiling of the hospital ward. It was the only place she could look without feeling embarrassed.

The doctors wouldn't let her out. They said her magic wasn't recharged enough yet. So she was stuck here, in this bed, in this room, in this hospital.

That wouldn't have been so bad, if only Twilight's friends hadn't kept sending her stuff.

The reason Sunset had to stare at the ceiling was because she didn't know where else to look. Everywhere she cast her gaze, there was another sign of abundant generosity. A bouquet of flowers at on her bedside table, along with a very large homemade 'Get Well Soon' card with everypony's signature inside. A bunch of balloons ─ red and yellow balloons, to be precise ─ were tied to the foot of the bed. Pinkie Pie had sent her a box of candy, and Applejack a small basket of apples. Rarity had washed and pressed Sunset's clothes ─ they were folded up on the chair on the other side of the room ─ and from what Sunset remembered of her last visit had been talking about making some more for her.

Nopony had ever been this nice to her before. Nopony had ever given her this much stuff at once before. The closest Sunset had ever come to it before was getting presents from Princess Celestia, and that didn't really count because it was like getting presents from your mom. Sunset didn't know what she was supposed to think about all of this stuff, what she was supposed to do with it.

She'd started eating the candy and the apples, because you ought to take what you can get when you can get it, but that didn't lessen her confusion about why she'd been given them in the first place.

When she was a filly, Sunset had gotten tonsillitis. She'd been pulled out of school and taken to hospital. In the end she had to have an operation. When she got back it was as though she'd never been away. Nopony had cared. There'd been no card, no candy, nothing.

She just didn't get why they were doing this. What did they want out of her in return?

Or where they just doing this because they thought she was a hero? The thought made Sunset sick in her stomach. She'd never bothered to hide who or what she was, the world could take her as it found her or not, she didn't care. Sunset wasn't sure she wanted to start living a lie now.

Of course, there was one pony who hadn't sent her anything. That hurt a little. You would have thought being laid up in hospital would be enough to get a little sister's attention, but apparently not.

And she'd been the only pony who seemed to care when Sunset had tonsillitis, too.

"This sucks," Sunset murmured, reaching for the box of candy. The doctors had forbidden her from using magic until she was fully recharged, so Sunset had to fumble with her hooves to grab the box and then contort her neck like a circus act to get her teeth around one of the soft centres.

Mmm, strawberry cream, tasty.

"I miss hands," Sunset muttered, after she swallowed down the last of the chocolate.

The door to her room slid open. Sunset was expecting the nurse, or maybe a doctor. Possibly lunch. Instead, Twilight's friends walked in, minus Twilight Sparkle herself, to stand in a line expectantly in front of the bed like they were some kind of welcoming committee.

"Howdy, Sunset Shimmer," Applejack greeted her brightly. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I'm malingering sitting in this bed," Sunset replied. "Just because I can't do magic doesn't mean I can't walk around, does it? Earth ponies seem to manage okay."

"We wouldn't want you to get hurt again from overdoing it," Fluttershy murmured.

"You wouldn't?" Sunset asked. All of these ponies had been there when she followed Twilight back through the mirror from the other world. They all knew she'd been bad. Weren't they at least a little glad to see her like this?

Or was this all because they thought she was somepony that she really wasn't?

"Why in Equestria would we want you to get hurt again?" Rarity asked.

"We wouldn’t want to hurt you," Pinkie Pie said brightly. “After all, you never did anything to us. You must be getting us confused with the other us, silly, the ones that you tormented and terrorised and threw a fireball at when you turned into that big scary monster.”

"She did what?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Oh, just a dream I had, probably nothing," Pinkie said, her tone still bright and breezy.

Sunset coughed. "Yeah, so, anyway. Girls, can we just cut through it for a minute?" she squeezed Bab the bunny close to her between her leg and her body, as if she were still a filly and thought that he might give her courage. "I think you should take all this stuff back. I know I've eaten some of the candy, and a couple of the apples, so I'll pay for those when I get out of here, but as for the rest─"

"Take it back?" Fluttershy asked. "Did I pick the wrong kinds of flowers?"

"No, the flowers have a really nice smell and they do make the room look a little brighter but─"

"Didn't you like the balloons?" Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes as soft as a puppy-dog's.

"No, I liked the balloons, good job picking the same colours as my mane by the way, it's just that─"

"Do you not like the card?" Rarity asked. "Should I not have let Sweetie Belle and her friends make it. I know they won't be getting their cutie marks for designing greetings cards any time soon but I thought it had a certain charm to it."

"The card is very nice," Sunset said, a touch of impatience finding its way into her voice.

"Did the candy give you a stomach ache?" Pinkie guessed. "Ooh! Or was it the apples?"

"Hey, mah apples are all one hundred quality assured by Granny Smith herself," Applejack protested. "Apples indeed."

"It's not the candy or the apples," Sunset growled.

"Then what is it?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Why are you all being so nice to me?" Sunset shouted, causing Fluttershy to recoil from her a little. She continued more quietly. "Nopony is ever this nice to me. I don't understand and I don't want to owe any of you anything. I don't want to owe anypony anything. I don't know what you want from me. I don't want to know. I just...I don't want you to fake it with me. I don't want you to pretend because you think you'll get something. I don't want to owe you anything," she repeated. "So please, just take all of this stuff and go."

There was a moment of silence. Sunset looked down at the sheet that covered her body. She squeezed her bunny rabbit tighter still.

"Owe us?" Rarity sounded incredulous. "Whatever are you talking about, dear?"

"Huh?" Sunset looked up. Twilight's friends looked confused, but not angry as she'd expected.

"We didn't give you this stuff because we wanted anything out of you," Applejack said. "We did it to say thank you, for the way you helped Twilight get away from those canine varmints."

"I mean, I could have totally stormed those caves and rescued Twilight myself," Rainbow Dash said. "But you saved me the effort, so that's cool too."

"You always know the right thing to say," Rarity remarked archly.

"It's a gift."

"These little things are the least we could do after what you did for us," Fluttershy said.

"You helped our friend out of a tight spot, and that kinda makes you our friend too," Applejack said.

Sunset's lips worked silently, no sound coming out of them. It took her a moment to find her voice. "You mean... it's free? No strings attached?"

"Well, duh," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes.

Sunset blinked. "You guys. I don't know what to say." She paused. "Literally, I've no idea what to say next, I've never been here before."

"How about, 'thank you'?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Oh, yeah. Um, thanks. It, er... thanks."

"You're welcome, Sunset," Fluttershy said, a contented smile settling on her face.

Then Pinkie Pie started to giggle. "Oh, silly. The reason why nopony was ever nice to you was because you weren’t nice to them! Now that you're doing good things for other ponies, you'll start to see them doing kind things for you!"

Sunset kept her mouth shut, even as her mind recoiled from the inanity of such kindergarten-level moralising.

Kindergarten...but not without a grain of truth or two to it. Sunset cast her mind back through her life, and through the lens of Pinkie's words, trying to think of anypony who she might have expected to care whether she got sick or not, whether she ever came back to school. Her memory drew a blank. It did, less than helpfully, supply a few names who might have been quite glad to never have to set eyes on her again.

You're thinking like a biped. This is happy-happy land where everypony forgives on the drop of a hoof and nopony holds a grudge. Or was it? The people she'd met on the other side of the mirror all had their exact duplicates in Equestria: Pinkie Pie was just as crazy and Rarity just as much a diva as the other Pinkie and Rarity she had known and made miserable. Was it possible there was no moral difference between the two? Was it possible that the Equestria she had plotted to overrun had never really existed at all, that she had created it in her mind during her long absence, like a sailor who returns from a lengthy voyage to find his home is smaller and dirtier than he remembered?

That would explain why nopony had ever rushed to be her friend. A storybook hero might weep for their enemy, but in Equestria there were neither heroes nor villains - even Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who had more claim upon heroic status than anypony in Equestria save, perhaps, Princess Celestia herself, had disclaimed it - only people, and the compassion of people was, no matter what certain poets might say, a strained resource. It had to be earned before it could be tapped.

And what does that mean for me? Sunset had claimed the villain's mantle because the hero role had been denied to her, but if there were neither villains nor heroes, then what had she been doing?

Was I never as different as I thought I was?

Or does the fact that I can think like this prove that I always was different?

You could hurt your head letting it go around in circles that way, and besides if she sat there without saying anything for too long everypony was going to think there was something wrong with her, so Sunset forced a smile and said, "I guess so, Pinkie Pie. Hey, can I ask, where is Twilight Sparkle anyway?"

"She's gone to Canterlot," Pinkie said.

Sunset frowned. "Huh. Okay. Do you know why?"

"She came to speak to me," the door slid open again, and this time it was Princess Celestia who stood in the doorway, barely avoiding having to stoop in order to fit through. "In Spike's absence, it was the swiftest way for her to send me a message. She will be returning shortly."

Twilight's friends bowed as Princess Celestia strode majestically into the room. Sunset herself could not bow, obviously, but bent her head and averted her eyes as best she could. Celestia was radiant, giving off such brightness that, if she chosen not to raise the sun but merely to walk in its absence, she could still have given day to all Equestria.

"I trust you are all well, my little ponies?" Celestia asked, implicitly excluding Sunset from that statement. "It is wonderful to see you all again, but I am afraid I must ask you for some privacy while I speak with Sunset Shimmer."

They took the point, filing quickly and quietly out of the hospital room. Only Pinkie Pie remained to offer a cheery, "See you soon!" Then she bounced out after her friends.

Sunset was left alone with the princess. Celestia did not look at her, walking to the window and staring out of it. Sunset felt the urge to look away in turn. There was an abyss between them, an abyss of Sunset's own creation. It was so wide and so deep, Sunset was not sure why Princess Celestia had come. What could possibly bridge the gap between them?

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" Sunset said, aware of how stupid she sounded but at a loss for anything clever to say. "But then, I suppose you'd know. After all you made it this way."

Celestia murmured some half-spoken acknowledgement. Then she said, "You look well. I trust you are being well looked after?"

"Oh, yeah. If I'd known you could get all this free stuff from getting ill I'd be sick more often," Sunset replied.

Celestia did not laugh. "I am glad to know they're taking care of you."

"Really? I thought you'd be glad I couldn't do magic for a few days," Sunset spoke without thinking. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that."

"Perhaps I did," Princess Celestia said softly.

"Huh?"

Celestia turned around, to look Sunset in the eye. "When Twilight told me what had happened...what you had done, I scarcely believed it. If it had been anypony but Twilight Sparkle, I doubt I could have been convinced. I did not think that you could ever do something so... so selfless. Evidently I was wrong. When I think of what could have happened to Twilight...I owe you a debt, Sunset Shimmer, but more than that, I owe you an apology. I was wrong about you." A single tear rolled down Celestia's cheek. "It appears I have misjudged you terribly."

Sunset was shocked by the tear, by the look of regret on Celestia's face, all of it. More than that, she was uncomfortable. This was worse than the squirming embarrassment she had felt as Twilight's friends praised her for something she had not done, worse than the gratitude of Twilight Sparkle herself. Princess Celestia had been a colossal figure in her fillyhood, inviolable as the sun itself. To see her like this, vulnerable, flawed, felt deeply wrong on some instinctive level. She had never thought of the princess this way, nor did she really want to.

It was too much. Far too much.

"Please, princess, don't do that," Sunset said quietly. "I don't deserve it."

"But-"

"I ran away," Sunset confessed, the tightness in her chest lightening as soon as the words left her. "When those dogs appeared I got scared and I ran and I left Twilight to them. She doesn't remember that because they knocked her out. But I did. I abandoned her. I ran away because I was afraid and the only reason I went back was because I got even more scared of what would happen if I showed up without her. I don't deserve these things, I certainly don't deserve to have you standing here and apologising to me. I'm just a coward, and I deserve your scorn worse than I did before."

"Oh, Sunset, no," Princess Celestia said, her tone maternal as she shook her head from side to side. "There is no shame in fear, none at all. If you were not afraid you would not be a pony. Did you think you had to be completely fearless in order to be brave? It does not matter how frightened you were when you went back for Twilight. What matters is that you did go back, and you saved her. Actions speak louder than words every time, and your actions on Twilight's behalf were very brave. You did not let the fear you felt rule you, and that is what matters."

"But you're not afraid of anything," Sunset protested. "And, even on the other side, in this whole world, even when I turned into a monster, Twilight Sparkle never seemed afraid of me."

"You are wrong, Sunset," Celestia replied. "I fear many, many things. And, though I cannot speak for Twilight, I imagine that she would say the same."

Sunset lay down, the pillow scrunching up beneath her head. "Everypony has been so nice to me," she murmured. "Princess, do you think there is something wrong with me?"

"Wrong with you?"

"When I was a filly," Sunset said. "I used to have this book, an illustrated history. It was all broken down into stories, very old-fashioned, not serious scholarship at all, but I loved it. I used to read the stories about Clover the Clever over and over again, sometimes I'd just stare at the gorgeous pictures. I used to wish that I could go on a quest like Clover did, that I could be the hero and save everypony."
"And then I'd look at everypony all around me, laughing and joking while I sat there with my books, and I realised that I could never be the hero and I could never go on a quest because I wasn't a good girl like everypony else. I couldn't make friends, and if you can't make friends in Equestria then you'll never be anything but a nopony, and nopony will ever care about you.
"Then I started to wonder why I couldn't make friends, why I couldn't laugh with everypony else, why they all seemed so stupid, so small to me. I wondered why I was so different to everypony else and I realised that it must be because I was some kind of freak: abnormal, unclean. And freaks don't get to be heroes, even here. So I became the villain instead, because I thought it was the only part there was for a bad girl. But now I've started thinking about how nopony seems to think like me, and whether that means that I'm even more of a freak than I thought, and maybe the reason the Element of Magic turned me into a monster is because in my head I always was one."
Sunset closed her eyes. "I used to hate the way you'd tell me to do things that I couldn't do, like make friends. I used to wonder why you didn't just use your magic to make me normal if that's what you wanted. But you couldn't, could you, because I was too broken. So I suppose I should thank you for treating a monster like a pony for as long as you-"

"Hush," Celestia knelt down, draping one wing over Sunset's form. "Hush now, and say nothing more. You are not a monster, you are not a freak. You may be different but that is not something to reproach yourself over."

"But-"

"Sometimes," Celestia murmured. "Equestria can be a cruel place. I am sorry, Sunset."

"Sorry?" Sunset's voice was quiet, childlike. "What for?"

"Every mistake I made with you. I learned from them, but for you, I learnt too late," Celestia replied, her tone filled with anguish. "I am sorry."

"Don't apologise, it feels weird," Sunset said hoarsely. "After all, it isn't as though I haven't made a lot of mistakes myself. I suppose I'd better start learning from them too."

Celestia laughed as she stood up. "I suppose you had. Let us both agree to learn and do better from here on."

"I'm sure Twilight will keep me in line," Sunset muttered. "Princess...I'm glad you came." The chasm between them felt a little narrower now.

"I'm glad we had this opportunity to talk," Celestia said. "With hindsight, we should have spoken like this earlier. Every mistake I learn from it seems I make a new one. Such is life, it seems, even for me. Goodbye, Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset bowed her head. "Goodbye, Princess."

As Celestia left, she said, "All right, Spike, you can go in now."

More visitors? Sunset facehoofed. Just because she didn't have a lot to do didn't mean she didn’t want a bit of privacy some of the time.

But no, there was Spike, scuttling in with an inscrutable look on his face. He stood there, glaring at her. Just the sight of him made Sunset want to flick his face. She wasn't sure why she enjoyed riling Spike up more than anyone else, unless it was because he was more openly hostile to her than any pony.

"I don't like being wrong," Spike said defiantly.

"Children rarely do," Sunset drawled.

"But apparently you did a pretty good thing for Twilight-"

"That's what they tell me," Sunset replied.

"Why are you acting like this?" Spike demanded. "I'm trying to apologise here!"

"Maybe I don't want your apology."

"Well too bad, you're getting it!" Spike yelled. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so hard on you! You're not as bad as I thought!" His tone was the perfect opposite to his words.

Sunset started to laugh. "Making an apology sound like an declaration of hatred, that's quite a talent, Spike."

Spike glowered at her for a moment, then started to chuckle.

Sunset grinned. "Come here a moment."

Spike approached.

"No, closer, right up to the bed," Sunset waved him nearer. Spike came close, close enough to touch. So Sunset poked him in between the eyes with her forehoof."

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That was remind you not to be too nice to me," Sunset said simply. "I don't want everyone to start giving me flowers, it's too much at once. I need you to keep me on my hooves, okay?"

"Um, okay?"

"Thanks, jerk," Sunset said brightly.

Spike frowned. "Why are you calling me a jerk?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "You're supposed to insult me back. I say 'jerk', I say something else, I saw it on TV."

"TV?"

"Never mind," Sunset sighed. "Run along, Spike."

She rolled over onto her side as Spike left. The sooner I get out of here the better.

Mad, Bad and Dangerous

Chapter 9

Mad, Bad and Dangerous

It was not a siege, but it certainly felt like one at times.

It was as if Prince Blueblood's return had blown the starting whistle on a race, or as though the other 'elite' ponies of Equestria had been deferring to him but, now that he had failed, they all felt free to pitch in. One would-be suitor had confessed that they were eager to beat the zebras and griffons to the prize, to which Twilight had yelled that she was not a prize so loudly that the windows had shattered.

There were a dozen of them, four mares and eight stallions from Canterlot, Manehattan and Baltimare; the wealthiest and most well-born (whatever that meant in practice, it certainly didn't make them polite in Twilight's estimation) ponies in Equestria's most sophisticated cities. And not one of them had come alone. The least of them had brought a valet, the grandest, an entire suite of servants, stylists and even a small band with which to disturb her sleep with serenades.

And they had all camped out around the library. For a definition of camping that included large and luxurious pink multi-storey caravans at any rate. They had set up shop outside the library and they weren't leaving until she chose one of them. Prince Blueblood, for all his faults (and Celestia knew...) had at least accepted rejection and gone home. For these ponies, the word 'No' seemed to mean 'not yet'. She might have admired their tenacity if it hadn't been driving her crazy.

Twilight groaned as the music started up outside, followed closely by the singing. She would have yelled at them to stop it, but showing herself only encouraged them further. If it wasn't singing it would have been poetry, or simple declarations of undying affection.

"Oh, Spike, what am I going to do?" she moaned, resting her head on the library table as she felt a headache coming on.

Spike shrugged. "I don't know, Twilight. Why don't you just give each one of them a date, tell them you're not interested, and hope that they'll go away."

"If me telling them I wasn't interested didn't work the first time, what makes you think that telling them no after a date would make any difference?" Twilight asked, her voice half muffled by the position of her head on the table. "They'd probably think I was playing hard to get."

"Or they're just waiting for you to give them a chance," Spike suggested.

"How am I supposed to give them a chance when they never let me go anywhere without flocking around me as a group?" Twilight responded, lifting her head up. That was the reason why she had been forced to put a shield around the library. It was ludicrous, that in the safety of Ponyville she should be forced to set a barrier around her home as though a horde of changelings or diamond dogs encircled her, and yet without the barrier there was no nook or cranny they would not squeeze through to get to her. "Can you imagine going on a date with one while the other eleven stand around trying to get me to pick them instead?"

"Maybe it wouldn't be that bad," Spike said optimistically.

Twilight looked at him.

"Yeah, okay, it would probably be that bad," Spike admitted. "But what else can you do? It's not as if you can wait them out."

"Can't I?" Twilight said. "They must have lives to go back to wherever they came from."

"Probably, but I wouldn't bet on them needing to go back before you go stir crazy in here alone," Spike said, sounding incredibly dubious of the prospect.

He had a very good point. After a few days trapped in here - the shield spell kept them from creeping in to try and get some alone time - the library was starting to feel very small and airless and Twilight herself was beginning to feel like an animal trapped in a cage. Even opening a whole in the shield for Spike to get out and go shopping led to somepony trying to squeeze in. She needed to get out of her, she needed her friends, she needed company apart from Spike. Her young assistant was trying his best, but they were beginning to run out of things to talk about.

Twilight stood up. "Could you get me an aspirin please? I'm going down into the laboratory to try out the Delayed Messager."

"You really think it will work?"

"I certainly hope so, or you and I are going to run out of things to talk about," Twilight said. While Spike went to the bathroom to get her an aspirin and a glass of water, Twilight opened the laboratory door and padded down the brown steps. Partly out of worry that something like this might happen, and partly just to see if they could, Twilight and Sunset had bashed together a second computer, even more primitive than the first, but with the capacity - in theory - to link up to the first and send messages between them. It was no substitute for pony-to-pony conversation, but in this situation it was the best she could do.

The machine was little more than a jumble of wires spilling out and around a monitor, there hadn't been time or desire to build a proper housing for it. They had built this for one reason only: to give Twilight a lifeline in the event of a scenario like this one.

Twilight flicked the on switch, and waited for the humming and whirring device to complete it's cumbersome boot-up. While she waited Spike came back with her tablets and she swallowed them down eagerly. Another benefit about being in the laboratory was that she couldn't really hear the singing any more.

"Anything happening?" Spike asked.

"Give it a second," Twilight replied, moments before the green letters began to appear on the black screen.

SSTS-00A STANDING BY

SEARCHING

WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE DELAYED MESSAGER? Y/N

Twilight used her magic to press the button down, since the keyboard they had designed was a little too small for hooves to manipulate with ease.

Y

SEARCHING FOR CONNECTIONS

The computer began to make a noise that was halfway between a distressed cat and a circular saw - an uncomfortable image if ever there was one.

CONNECTION FOUND: SSTS-01. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONNECT? Y/N

Y

The cat started screeching for a while, Twilight started to worry something had broken before more words appeared on the screen.

CONNECTED TO SSTS-01. ENTER YOUR MESSAGE AND IT WILL BE TRANSMITTED

"Now we'll see if it really works," Spike muttered.

Twilight's horn glowed as she pressed down on the keys.

SUNSET, ARE YOU THERE?

"What happens if she isn't there?" Spike asked.

"Well the computer must be on or we couldn't have connected," Twilight said. "So she should be around. Of course she could be in the bathroom, or doing something else. Or it might just take a while to communicate, Sunset said it wouldn't be very fast. She told me in the other world it's called 'Instant Messaging', but she thought that would be a little optimistic for our first attempt.

More green letters began to appear, one at a time as though a ghost or an invisible pony was in the laboratory with them, typing out unseen to either Twilight or Spike. It was really weird, so Twilight tried to focus on the image of Sunset on the other end, tapping away to make her words appear before Twilight.

HEY TWILIGHT, IT'S SUNSET. YEAH, I'M HERE. ARE YOU SEEING THIS?

"It works!" Twilight exclaimed. "Oh thank goodness."

"Woah," Spike muttered. "That's like, if you got a letter from Princess Celestia while she was writing it."

I CAN SEE IT. IT WORKS. THANK CELESTIA.

AWESOME. HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP?

"How do I even start answering that?" Twilight murmured.

"Tell her you're not doing so great," Spike offered. "It's true."

"I don't want her to think I'm begging for sympathy."

"Why not? Isn't that exactly what you're doing?"

"No, I'm..." Twilight hesitated, while Spike waited expectantly. Twilight coughed. "I'm asking for understanding."

"The distinction is crucial," Spike said in a deadpan voice.

"Okay, okay," Twilight shook her head as she typed in her response.

NOT GREAT. I NEVER THOUGHT THAT I COULD HATE A LIBRARY BUT THAT'S HOW I'M STARTING TO FEEL. HOW DID MY HOME BECOME A PRISON?

DON'T ASK ME, I'M NOT RICH OR FAMOUS. MAYBE ALL CELEBRITIES GO THROUGH THIS?

THEN I'M SURPRISED THEY DON'T ALL QUIT. ONE WEEK AND I'M ALREADY SICK OF THIS. WHAT CAN I DO TO GET RID OF THEM?

There was a pause. Twilight could imagine Sunset considering her response.

AGREE TO MARRY ONE, WAIT UNTIL THE OTHERS GO HOME, THEN LEAVE THE SAP AT THE ALTAR.

I'D RATHER NOT DO SOMETHING DISHONEST. BESIDES, WHAT IF I CAN'T LEAVE HIM?

GOOD POINT. WE WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO END UP MARRIED TO ANYPONY, WOULD WE? There was another pause, obviously Sunset was giving it more thought. DO YOU WANT ME TO CHASE THEM OFF FOR YOU?

Twilight chuckled. THAT'S KIND OF YOU, BUT I DON'T THINK PRINCESS CELESTIA WOULD APPROVE. IS ANYPONY WITH YOU?

NO

COULD YOU GET THEM, PLEASE? I NEED TO...SPEAK TO THEM. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

SURE, I'LL BB the typing abruptly stopped, leaving Twilight frowning at her end and wondering what had happened. Had something broken? Was that it? Did it not work any more?

"Do you think you should turn it off then on again?" Spike asked.

Twilight considered it, but before she do anything Sunset's typing returned. OKAY, PINKIE IS GOING TO GO AND ROUND UP EVERYPONY. I DIDN'T HEAR THE DOOR OPEN. OR CLOSE. SHE WAS JUST BEHIND ME. HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?

DON'T ASK. HOW ARE YOU?

OKAY. MISSING YOU. I WISH THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD DO. COULD I TELEPORT THROUGH YOUR SHIELD?

I DOUBT IT, AND EVEN IF YOU COULD, I COULDN'T TALK TO ANYPONY ELSE WITHOUT YOU TO OPERATE THE MACHINE ON YOUR END.

I GUESS. SOMEPONY'S COMING. NO SHE CAN'T HEAR YOU SHOUT HELLO TWILIGHT AT THE SCREEN NO MATTER HOW LOUD YOU YELL, IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY.

Twilight laughed. TELL THEM I SAID HI. THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE COULD WORK ON LATER. WHOSE THERE?

EVERYPONY EXCEPT PINKIE PIE.

"Hiya, Twilight!"

"Ah!" Twilight shot up into the air as Pinkie's cheery voice blasted into her ears. She flew up so fast she hit her head on the ceiling and rubbed it with one hoof as she looked down at Pinkie sitting on the floor just behind where Twilight had been. "Pinkie? How did you get in here?"

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Not really," Twilight muttered. "Can you just past me shield any time you want?"

Pinkie giggled. "Not any time, silly. Only when it will be funny!"

"Well, of course," Twilight said sarcastically. Still, she smiled as she descended back down to the floor. "I'm glad you're here. It's nice to talk to somepony instead of having to keep reading off a screen."

"Tell me about it, I’m sick of reading so much all-caps," Pinkie said. "That's why I'm here. I'll read out what's on the screen while you and Spike can rest your eyes, then you can tell me what you want to say back and I'll type it in for you. That way you can talk to me while I help you talk to everypony else! So scoot." Pinkie shoved Twilight aside. "Now, what do you want to say?"

"Tell them you're here with me," Twilight said.

Pinkie tapped away with astonishing dexterity. She waited. "I'm not even sure how to pronounce that! Oh wait: 'Hey, Twilight, Sunset here. I'm going to type in what everypony else says, because none of them can hit the right keys. We need a bigger board for earth ponies and pegasi."

"That's something we can work on later," Twilight murmured. "It's not as if we have the chance right now."

Pinkie's hooves flew as she typed away. Her voice slipped into an eerily accurate impression of Fluttershy. "Hello Twilight, this is Fluttershy. Are you sure there isn't we can do to help?"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "For now, just knowing that you're there is enough."

"Ooh, now it's Applejack." Pinkie put a twang into her voice. "Well of course we're here for you, sugarcube, where else would we be. Wait, I didn't say sugarcube. Well you normally do. Not all the time. Some of the time. That doesn't mean you can just throw it in whenever you want-"

"Is Sunset typing out the argument she's having with Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"I guess she doesn't want us to feel left out." Pinkie said. "Ooh, now it's Rarity: hello, dear, I've taken over the keyboard in order to give you an accurate representation of events. I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. Why don't you write to Princess Celestia and tell her how unhappy you are."

"Because I'm a grown mare and a princess," Twilight said. "I can't go running to Celestia just because things aren't going precisely the way I want them too."

"But you know she'd want to help if she could," Pinkie said.

"Was that Rarity again?"

"No, that was me, silly!"

"Oh, right. But the point is she shouldn't have to help me. I should be able to stand on my own. We've handled worse than this, haven't we?"

"Rainbow Dash is talking now," Pinkie said. "She says: but we can't turn your suitors to stone, can we?"

"Don't tempt me," Twilight said darkly. "At the moment I'd settle for just being able to stop them flocking all over me like vultures whenever I go outside."

"Rarity's back now." Pinkie modulated her voice again. "You need a chaperone, darling. Somepony to be your escort out and about and ensure proper behaviour from the gentlecolts. Unfortunately, I'm not sure any of us would be considered suitable, even me. What would we need is a pony with sufficient status to cow all of these suitors with their presence."

Twilight gasped. "That's it! I know just the pony, we all do! Thank you so much Rarity, thank you all. Spike, prepare a letter to the Crystal Empire."

"Spike prepare a letter to-" Pinkie murmured as she typed.

"You don't have to type that, Pinkie Pie," Twilight said.

"You don't have to type that, Pinkie Pie," Pinkie repeated, typing away.

"Stop that!"

"Stop that!"

"Now you're just doing it on purpose!"

"Well, of course!"

Sunset leaned back, folding her forehooves up behind her head as a slight frown disfigured her face. "So that's it? We're just going to wait for Twilight's sister-in-law to come and solve all our problems."

"You sound disappointed, darling," Rarity said. Her hooves hovered over the buttons on the computer. "Um, how does one turn this off?"

"Here, let me," Sunset said, using her magic to shut the machine down. "I wouldn't say I'm disappointed, just...okay, I'm a little disappointed. I expected something more proactive from the heroes of Ponyville. "

"I do wish you wouldn't call us that," Rarity replied. "We aren't warriors, after all, and it isn't as though we go out fighting monsters on a regular basis."

"As awesome as it would be if we did," Rainbow remarked from where she hovered near the ceiling. The floor of Sunset's living room had become quite cluttered with wiring and circuitboards, so anypony who could fly was encouraged to do so with so many guests.

"Even you'd get bored with it after awhile," Applejack remarked softly. "Anyways, Cadance has a lot more experience of being a princess than Twilight, so I'm sure she'll be able to deal with all of these hoity-toity suitors."

"I hope she can make it," Fluttershy murmured.

"She'll come," Applejack said confidently. "Cadance won't let Twilight down when she really needs her, they mean too much to one another."

"Plus, Cadance kinda owes Twilight for all the times that Twilight's saved her," Rainbow said with a quiet chuckle. "This'll certainly make a change."

"And Sunset will finally get to meet Cadance!" Pinkie yelled, appearing with the sound of a party popper right next to Sunset, who recoiled with a squawk of alarm and ended up rolling backwards until she was practically standing on her head. Pinkie continued, oblivious to what she'd done. "I mean, I know you saw her in the Crystal Empire but then you were too busy being all 'Please, please don't throw me back through the mirror' to Princess Celestia to really notice. Cadance is really cool and she loves Twilight and I just know that you're going to be best friends."

"Yeah, sure," Sunset muttered, righting herself onto her hooves. "How do you keep getting in here like this?"

Pinkie giggled. "It wouldn't be funny if you knew how I was doing it, would it?"

"I guess not," Sunset said in a flat tone of voice.

"Pinkie is right about one thing, you should meet Cadance," Rarity said, walking past a pile of clutter to perch on a chair, her forehooves resting on the dining table. "It will be good for you to get to know Twilight's family and in-laws for when you..." Rarity looked as though she realised she had said too much, her eyes widening and a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

"When I what?" Sunset asked.

"When you, um," Rarity looked away. "When you start wanting to spend more time with her, that's what I was going to say."

"Right," Sunset murmured, feeling a nagging at the back of her mind that said that Rarity wasn't being honest with her, while at the same time being unable to think about what she could be hiding.

"So, Sunset," Pinkie leaned in so close their faces were practically touching, her expression a little disturbing and her voice conspiratorial. "Hearts and Hooves day isn't that far away. Do you have a special somepony you'd like to celebrate with?"

Sunset shuffled away from her, shooting anxious glances at her all the while. "No, no I've never had a lot of luck that way. I'm not an easy pony to get on with." That had been true in the mirror-world as well. Flash had stuck it out with her for as long as he had mostly because she was the popular girl and he was the cool guy and it was expected that they would date. That, and she suspected that he'd been into her bad girl thing at the time. Although the fact that he had run screaming into the arms of Twilight, who was so far on the good girl side of the spectrum that she was practically the angel to Sunset's demon, showed how successfully she had put him off that.

But, he was only one who had lasted more than one date. The others all said she was too demanding, too aggressive, too much for them to handle. Not that it had bothered her, since she had never planned to make a life in that world to begin with. Now...it still didn't bother her.

Though she was curious about something. She asked, "Why the sudden interest in my dating life, Pinkie?"

"Oh, no reason," Pinkie said, her face a picture of innocence.

"Uh huh," Sunset said sceptically. "Anyway, I still think it would have been easier to just scare them or force them off rather than hoping that Princess Cadance can make everything better."

"This way is much more subtle, darling, and, I have to say, less brutal in execution," Rarity said.

Rainbow added, "Not to mention...well, no offence, but you're not exactly as scary as you seem to think you are."

Sunset was silent for a moment. She blinked. "You...don't think I'm scary?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I know you're supposed to have done some big bad stuff in some other world, but we never saw that. I mean, to us you're just another pony."

"Just another pony," Sunset repeated quietly. She looked around the room. "Is that what you all think? I'm not intimidating at all, I'm just another pony?"

Fluttershy looked uncomfortable, Pinkie looked blaise, Rarity frowned. Applejack said, "Sugarcube, why would you want us to be afraid of you?"

"I don't I just..." Sunset let her words trail off. She looked down at the ground. She had an idea, and looked up as her horn glowed with magic and her whole body seemed to erupt with fire reaching all the way up to the ceiling, a flaming aura such as she had used to frighten the Diamond Dogs. "HOW ABOUT NOW, RAINBOW DASH? ARE YOU FRIGHTENED YET?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Nah, I'm afraid not."

Pinkie had produced a marshmallow on a stick from Celestia knew where and was trying to toast it on Sunset's glamour, only to watch it remain stubbornly white due to the lack of any real flames. "Aww."

Sunset took a series of deep breaths as she let the spell go and felt a wave of weariness descend upon her. "It's not real fire, Pinkie, I don't have the juice for that. Or know anypony who does apart from Princess Celestia. But...none of you were just a little impressed by that?"

"Nah," Rainbow said.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said scoldingly.

"Well it's true."

"We could say that we were intimidated, if you'd like?" Fluttershy offered tremulously.

"No, thanks, it's okay," Sunset said, plastering a false smile onto her face. "Can you girls let yourself out when you're through? I want to go for a walk. Alone. Great, thanks, see you around." She did not wait for their response before turning on her hooves and walking out the door, moving briskly over the grass to put as much distance between her home and herself as possible.

They didn't think she was scary? At all? The knowledge ate at Sunset as she traversed the meadows around the outskirts of Ponyville, like a maggot burrowing its way into a worm. It shouldn't have bothered her - she wasn't, after all, trying to frighten anyone - but it did. It bothered her more than she wanted anypony to know.

What had happened to her. She was Sunset Shimmer, the girl who had held Canterlot High in thrall for three years without anyone's help, who had terrorised the student body and who had, by the force of her malice, sundered all bonds of friendship. She had been a dark queen in that place, beautiful and terrible as the setting sun. And now...she was nothing? That stung more than just her pride. When had she gotten so soft?

Not that she wanted to terrorise, but it would have been nice if ponies had still thought she could. If they didn't take her seriously, after all, then why should they pay her any mind? What was she otherwise?

As Sunset left Ponyville, she could see the library and the suitors camped around it. Just looking at them, their glittering carriages, their silk tents, their caravans, their suits and gowns, it made Sunset's hooves itch so badly she wanted to kick somepony. They thought they were so much better than her, didn't they? They thought they were entitled to just snap up Twilight just like they snapped up anything else that caught their fancy with a jingle of their purses. They thought that Sunset was so far beneath them that Twilight would never choose her over them.

Sunset chuckled mirthlessly. More likely they just didn't even known who Sunset was. After all, she wasn't scary any more.

She was seized with a desire to march right over there and show them just why she had once struck fear into the hearts of children. But she resisted. Twilight wouldn't like it if she did something like that and neither would Princess Celestia. Besides, she was afraid that if she tried anything, Rainbow Dash would be proved right: not even strangers would find her threatening.

Sunset stomped away, heading towards the Everfree Forest with no clear plan or firm intentions beyond a desire to remind herself that there had indeed been a time when she had been considered mad, bad and dangerous.

She had not dressed before leaving the house, so she had no jacket to make her look tough or feel confident. Sunset told herself she didn't need it. And besides, she didn't want to ruin it getting caught on twigs or thorns.

The eaves of the forest closed in around her as Sunset strayed off the path and into the woods. Their branches reached for her with spindly, grasping fingers. The knotted trunks scowled and leered at her. Sunset gave no visible reaction, she would not. She was here to spread fear, not to be afraid.

She didn't know what she was looking for. Something, anything she could measure herself against, test her strength and courage against.

Sunset knew she was not a pony of great virtues. She wasn't compassionate like Fluttershy, faithful like Rainbow Dash, dependable like Applejack. She did not, as Twilight did, display the elements so mixed in her that nature might cry out to all the world 'This is a mare!' She wasn't even particularly brave in the face of adversity. But there was one thing she could do and that was scare somepony's mane white, and nopony was going to take that away from her!

A sudden gust of wind blew through the forest, making the leaves rustle in such a way as they seemed to be whispering.

Turn back, turn back, they said. The wind kept blowing. Do not trespass here.

Sunset looked around. When she had first crossed through the mirror, once she'd gotten over the fact that the weather happened without reference to human will, she had thought that it operated like it did in the Everfree, but it didn't. The weather in the other world happened according to maths, so long as you had the numbers you could predict what it would do. The Everfree behaved not according to the iron laws of mathematics, but according to its own invisible and incomprehensible intelligence.

Even so, it seemed unusually eloquent today.

But another voice seemed to be denying the whisper of the wind, calling to her, beckoning her on towards a small gap in the trees, where two intertwined branches made an archway leading to who knew what.

Come, come, it said.

Go, go, said the wind.

Sunset steeled herself, and passed beneath the arch of branches. Perhaps this was the challenge she had been seeking.

Under the arch, she found herself in what was half clearing and half cavern. Clearing, because there was a clearly marked circle in which no trees grew, but cavern in the trees on the edges of the circle had grown their thickest branches out so far that they enmeshed, blocking out the sunlight except in very sparse patches falling on the grass.

The smashed and shattered remains of colums in what humans would have called the ionian style formed a rough ring around the clearing, suggesting an artificial origin. A stone head lay upon the ground, all that visibly remained of what must once have been a proud statue. It was a unicorns' head, stern of face, crowned with a ring of white flowers that had grown around her forehead. The princess of this forest, Sunset thought.

Unicorns, pegasi, chimeras, hydras, she had often thought that there must have been a time in distant history when travel between Equestria and the human world had been both commonplace and easy, for so many of their races and monsters to be mirrored so perfectly on the other side of the mirror as myths and legends. Sunset even thought it was possible that what the humans called centaurs had been inspired in the first place by garbled reports of talking ponies. She could have written a paper on it for the historical society, had Celestia allowed her to reveal the existence of the mirror to the public.

Her gaze was drawn from the stone unicorn head to the back of the dark clearing, where what looked like a stone altar sat, almost completely covered by tangling vines of ivy. Behind her, the wind seemed to be growing stronger, while something else within the clearing tempted her forwards. Sunset advanced cautiously and when she reached the altar she raised one hoof to brush the weeds away. She did not use magic...it didn't seem right somehow.

It was an altar, she could see that plainly as she clearly some of the ivy from it. An altar of grey stone, a square slab with a flat top and decorations around the sides. Decorations of...human women? No, Sunset realised that they were not once she revealed more. They looked liked humans at first, until one noticed the fraying, bat-like wings growing out behind them, the snakes they wore around thier waists like belts, the way that their flowing hair appeared to be on fire. Furies.

Sunset's hoof snagged on a thorn, a cut opening up to drip a thin, minute trickle of blood onto the top of the altar.

The wind began to howl outside the clearing and in, the sound of the wind and blowing of the leaves mingling with a fey, piercing cry like the hunting call of a bird of prey.

And all around her, laughter.

Sunset's mane whipped this way and that as she looked around. "Who's there? Come out, I'm not afraid of you!"

No answer but the mockery of the forest.

The wind was cold, it chilled Sunset to the bone. She turned away, putting the altar behind her and left at a...brisk trot. Very brisk. She did not stop until the wind had died down.

But she did not leave the forest. She couldn't, now. Sunset felt as though it would, in its way, confirm the very things she had come into the forest to disprove. Wasn't there a timberwolf here she could fight, a dragon she could face down?

The forest trembled to the tread of a manticore as it lumbered through one of the less densely forested parts of the Everfree. It's scorpion tail shook idly as the beast walked, swaying this way and that. The manticore had a scar on the left side of its face, a cracked tooth on the right side, it's red mane was turning to grey in streaks and patches. An ageing warrior, this.

Sunset growled. "Hey, you!"

The manticore ignored her. She was to him as was an ant to her.

Sunset bared her teeth in a snarl. "I'm talking to you, buddy! Over here!"

The manticore continued on his way, presenting his back to her.

It was the last straw. Sunset picked up a rock and threw it at him. "Don't you dare turn your back on me! I'm Sunset Shimmer, no one turns their back on me!"

The rock hit the manticore on the back of the head. It turned towards her, roaring more in anger than in pain.

Sunset grinned in anticipation, pawing at the ground with one hoof while her horn glowed with a teal aura. "Yeah, that's right. Come and get it, you overgrown pussy-cat."

The manticore charged, and Sunset charged right back at it. She would have this brute running in terror from her in no time.

She barely saw the swiping paw coming before it picked her up and slammed her into a nearby tree with jarring force.

"Ugh," Sunset groaned, sliding down the tree-trunk onto the ground. The manticore roared into her face, then turned away with the air of one who wass letting somepony off more lightly than they deserve.

"No!" Sunset bellowed, a beam of magic erupting from her horn to scrape along the manticore's side. The manticore howled in pain this time, turning back to stride purposefully towards her. Sunset gritted her teeth and fired again, striking the manticore in the face. It howled as a blue glow consumed its head, blocking it from Sunset's view. Sunset smirked. It would run howling from her now.

The manitcore's scorpion tail swept downwards over it's own head, the stinger piercing Sunset in the middle of her back.

Sunset screamed, her back arching as she reared up onto her hind legs as pain swept through her like fire in her blood, burning her from top to bottom. So much pain, so much weakness. Her hind legs wobbled and she toppled to the ground, her face in the dirt, the manticore looming above her like Twilight Sparkle after the battle in Canterlot High. Tears of pain pricked at Sunset's eyes.

No! That was when it started, that was when I stopped being scary, that was when everypony - everyone - stopped being afraid of me. I don't want to rule all of Equestria. I don't want to Ponyville to be in terror of my merest glance, I don't even want to hold Canterlot High in my grasp. All I want is to scare one giant kitty, is that so much to ask?

Sunset rose up bellowing in rage, bolts of magic lancing from her horn as she charged the raging manticore. She pirouetted on her forehooves and kicked with her hind-legs with all the strength at her command.

Which wasn't much, as it turned out. The manticore barely seemed to feel it. It knocked her aside with a contemptuous swipe of its paw.

"No," Sunset growled, struggling to rise. "I am Sunset Shimmer. I'm mad, bad and dangerous. You should be in awe."

Her legs shook, barely able to support her. She felt so weak, so weary. The poison sting was paralysing her, knocking her out. Sunset's eyelids felt heavy. She had to finish this while she still could. She mustered all of her magic, wielding it like a hammer for one crude blow that would send the old manticore running for its mother.

It wasn't as strong as she'd intended. Apparently the poison was sapping her magic too. What came out was more a rap on the knuckles than a hammer blow. It seemed to more enrage the manticore than scare it.

Sunset took a step forward...then collapsed, her brain clouding and her eyes drooping closed as the manticore advanced upon her.

The last thing she heard was a high-pitched voice yelling, "Stop it!"

When Sunset woke up, she was in a house. A nice, cosy house, with a little fire in the fireplace and a grass-green carpet. Sunset was lying on a soft couch, a small coffee table nearby. There was a bird-house on the wall, and various woodland creatures scurrying around on the floor. A rather displeased looked white bunny rabbit thumped the ground with one foot impatiently, giving her stink-eye all the while.

"Now, Angel, you know that isn't very nice," Fluttershy murmured, fluttering in from another room - the kitchen, maybe - with a pot of tea clutched in her hooves. She set it down on the table, to join the cup and saucer that were already there. "Let me apologise for Angel, it's just that, that's his couch normally and he doesn't like not being able to sit on it."

"I suppose I should feel privileged," Sunset murmured, shaking her head to clear away some of the grogginess away. She sat up, her back aching. "What happened?"

"One of my squirrel friends told me that he'd seen you go into the forest, so I followed you to make sure you were okay," Fluttershy said. "When I found you, I persuaded the manticore to let you go and brought you back here to administer an antidote to the poison." Fluttershy's face became very stern. "The manticore said that you started the fight. What were you thinking, attacking a poor, innocent creature like that? Ralph never did anything to you."

"His name is Ralph?" Sunset asked. She saw that Fluttershy was not about to be deflected by inane questions, so she said. "Right, not the point. I...don't tell Twilight about this, okay. I don't want a lecture."

"Well it sounds as though you need one!" Fluttershy was practically shouting now. "What did you want to go and attack another animal for, without any provocation at all! And a manticore! You could have been killed!"

"I was being an idiot, okay, it happens more often than you'd think," Sunset said sharply. She slid off the couch - her seat was taken by a happy looking Angel - and onto the floor, sitting with her hind legs hunched up and her forelegs resting on her knees. "So you saved my life, huh? Thanks." A few months ago she would have laughed at the idea of weak, pathetic Fluttershy, who could be frightened and made to cry so easily, saving her life. It was weird how quickly things changed, wasn't it?

Fluttershy looked concerned, but didn't say anything right away. Instead she poured some of the steaming hot tea into the blue china cup. "Drink up. It'll help you get your strength back."

Sunset found she had about enough magic to levitate the cup towards her. The tea was sweetened with honey, but there was another taste as well, one Sunset didn't recognise. "Herbal tea?"

Fluttershy nodded. "From my own garden. There are a lot of plants that can be very medicinal when boiled, but a lot of them don't taste very good so I use honey to mask the bitterness."

"Thanks," Sunset repeated, setting the cup down on the low table once again.

There was silence between the two ponies, broken by the chirruping of happy birds and the squeaks of contented mice.

"Why?" Fluttershy asked.

Sunset bowed her head. "You wouldn't understand. I don't suppose anypony has ever been scared of you." She looked up, meeting Fluttershy's gaze. "You're strong, but I best most folks don't realise that, do they? So everypony writes you off for being weaker than you really are. I'm the opposite. I've always been thought as being stronger than I am. Until now. I wanted to prove I could still convince others that I was tough, that I was worth fearing."

"Why does that matter to you? Why in Equestria would you want to be intimidating?" Fluttershy's tone was one of incomprehension.

Sunset laughed darkly. "You've never needed to frighten anypony, have you? You've never been alone, there's always been somepony to stand up for you, to stand with you. Ponies want to help you out because you've got a warm heart. I'm cold."

"Shall I put some more wood on the fire?"

"I wasn't being literal," Sunset murmured. "Nopony stands up for a cold-hearted mare who can't love anypony but herself. When you have a warm heart, others will come to be warmed by you, and their hearts will keep you warm in turn. But nopony wants to spend their time thawing a frozen heart like mine. They just leave you alone instead. And the jackals will eat a pony who is all alone, unless you can convince you're actually a lioness."

Fluttershy placed one comforting leg around Sunset's shoulders. "You're not alone anymore, Sunset. You're Twilight's friend. You're our friend. You can be a pony now, it's okay."

"Really?" Sunset bowed her head, hiding her face from Fluttershy's view. "Don't tell Twilight about this, okay? I don't want her to worry."

"I won't," Fluttershy whispered.

Author's Note

The chapter title comes from the expression Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know.