Shine Again

by Fandom Trash Snivy

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Sonata Dusk, Aria Blaze, Comedy, Adagio Dazzle, Sapphire Shores, Equestria Girls
Length: 12745

The Dazzlings return to Equestria after the events of Rainbow Rocks. After that, they meet a pony named Sapphire Shores who will reform them into one of the best musical groups in Equestria.

It was over. The Dazzlings were defeated in the Battle Of The Bands by the Sonic Rainbooms. The necklaces shattered, shattering their lives. Their self-concept was also shattered. Their music career was over. They thought they would never sing again.

Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle returns to the Equestria Girls universe to meet up with Sunset Shimmer. Both noticing the Dazzlings have changed, they offer them a deal. A deal to go back to Equestia to start over. To get their necklaces repaired and drained of their evil magic. To become ponies again. A second chance.

Upon returning to Equestria, the Dazzlings meet a pony named Sapphire Shores. She also loved to sing. Will she help these ponies truly redeem themselves and get them back to singing again?

Published 2014-11-17 21:50:08 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-17 23:20:16 UTC

Prologue: Shattered

"Got the music in our hearts

We're here to blow this thing apart

And together, we will never

Be afraid of the dark

Here to sing our song out loud

Get you dancing with the crowd

As the music of our friendship

Survives

Survives!!

SURVIVES!!!"

The magic of friendship destroyed the true images of the Dazzlings and shattered their necklaces. Realizing this, Adagio Dazzle tried to pick up the pieces of her broken necklace. Of course, it didn't work. The Dazzlings tried to sing one part of their song again:

"We will be adored

Tell us that you want us

We won't be ignored

It's time for our reward..."

The Dazzlings were immediately booed off the stage. They ran away in embarrassment. As the Sonic Rainbooms celebrated their victory, the Dazzlings loathed their failure.

"Ugh! I can't believe we lost to those stupid Sonic Rainbooms!" Aria Blaze angrily spoke.

"I wonder why we couldn't sing?" Sonata Dusk stupidly questioned.

"Sonata dear," Adagio Dazzle told Sonata, "Our magic comes from those necklaces. When those necklaces broke, we had no magic. When we have no magic, WE CAN'T SING!"

The Dazzlings were walking out of the Canterlot High School property, loathing their victory along the way.

The Dazzlings sighed in sadness.

"Why did it have to be this way?" they all spoke in unison.

"It was the perfect plan..." Adagio sadly spoke.

Suddenly, she couldn't handle it anymore. Adagio Dazzle flopped down on the grass and started to cry.

"Oh come on!" Aria angrily spoke. "We don't have all night!"

Sonata joined Adagio and put her hands on her face. Poor Sonata Dusk was weeping.

"Ugh. Alright." Aria Blaze spoke.

Aria Blaze started to cry. Of course, it was fake. If you can't beat the crying, join them.

Thirty minutes later, the Dazzlings walked up in front of a building.

"There it is," Adagio says sadly. "The Sleep Inn."

"You mean we're staying here at THIS DUMP for potentially the rest of our life?" Aria Blaze angrily questioned.

"No, Aria," Adagio told Aria. "We are staying here as long as we need to."

The Sleep Inn wasn't that large. It had only fifty rooms and it looked like it could only house two people in each room. Whatever. The Dazzlings needed someplace to stay for a while. The Dazzlings walked inside the building and up to the front desk. A young light green girl with blue hair and leaf green eyes walked up to the desk to welcome them.

"Hello. My name is Natura. How may I help you?"

"We need to check in a room for one day and one night." Adagio replied.

Natura pondered for a second.

"So, tonight and tomorrow morning?" Natura asked. "That'll be eighteen dollars, six dollars for the each of you."

Adagio Dazzle handed Natura the little money she had.

"There's free breakfast tomorrow morning starting at seven o'clock," Natura told The Dazzlings.

"Thanks for telling us," Adagio replied.

"This place is a dump!" Aria spoke. "We don't even know our room number!"

"Aria's right!" Sonata agreed.

"Oh!" Natura spoke suddenly. "Your room number is room 45 on the second floor."

Natura handed Adagio Dazzle the room key.

Sonata Dusk looked excited.

"Ooh! Ooh!" she excitedly spoke. "Is there an elevator?"

"Oh, I'm sorry guys," Natura told an excited Sonata. "We have no elevators, so you'll have to take the stairs."

Natura pointed to the stairs located directly behind the desk she was sitting behind. The Dazzlings started towards the stairs.

Aria growled.

"Why do we have to take the stupid stairs?!"

"This place is too small for an elevator," Adagio responded. "Besides, it is good exercise to walk up the stairs. After all, we have been too focused on our music career-"

She spoke too soon. Adagio buried her face in her hands and started to weep again. Aria and Sonata helped their leader get up and walked her up the stairs with them.

They finally arrived at the door of their room.

"Are we going in or what?" Aria Blaze asked.

"Well, yes," Adagio answered.

Adagio, with the room key in her hand, unlocked the door and walked inside the room with the rest of her motley crew. Aria Blaze sat on a chair in the room while Sonata Dusk flopped down on the only bed in the entire room.

"Ooh! It's a BOUNCY BED!"

"Sonata!" Aria Blaze angrily told Sonata Dusk. "We are only staying here for tonight and tomorrow morning!"

"So what if I can just have a little fun now and then?

"By 'a little' you mean a lot, and by 'now and then' you mean all the time."

Adagio Dazzle closed the door.

"So, this is it!" she spoke, trying to sound excited despite having just wept. "This is where we will stay until tomorrow morning! We leave at ten thirty a.m."

"I really need something to eat," Aria spoke.

"We can go out for dinner somewhere! Ooh! Ooh! Can I pick?" Sonata excitedly added.

"We aren't going anywhere, girls," Adagio Dazzle responded.

"So we're just going to bed on an empty stomach?" Aria Blaze asks.

"That's what it looks like," Adagio answers.

Adagio sighs and sits down on the bed with a sad expression. Aria Blaze walks over to her.

"You okay?"

"No."

Adagio gets up and walks to the windows. Aria and Sonata follow her. Sonata jerks open the curtains, and The Dazzlings watched whatever you can call scenery outside. A man was driving into a house. Two young children are seen playing and had no signs of showing any disagreement.

"Those children look pretty happy," Sonata Dusk speaks.

Suddenly Adagio Dazzle jerks the curtains shut and flops facedown on the bed, weeping very loudly.

"I don't know if we can do this anymore," Aria Blaze speaks.

"Whatever," Sonata speaks. "You can comfort her. I wanna watch TV!"

Sonata picks up a remote and turns on the TV.

One hour later, The Dazzlings were very tired.

"Sonata," Aria asked Sonata Dusk, "can you please turn it down? I want to go to sleep."

"Oh come OOOON!" Sonata Dusk pleads, "Can I please finish watching this episode?"

The sound of a head clonk and people laughing came from the TV.

"Whatever," Aria answered.

When the credits of whatever show Sonata Dusk was watching came up, she immediately turned off the TV with the remote and got under the covers of the bed.

Sonata yawned.

"You said we were going to bed, Aria. So why aren't you gonna go to sleep?"

"I'm going to bed, Sonata."

Aria Blaze pulled back the covers of the only bed in the room and slipped inside.

"Ugh. It's SO uncomfortable to sleep in our Battle Of The Bands clothes."

"If you want, you can get out our other clothes from that bag over there," a sleepy Adagio Dazzle answered.

Hearing this bit of information, Sonata Dusk sprang out of bed, ripped open the bag, rushed into the closet, and within a few seconds, she was back in her old clothes.

A few minutes later, The Dazzlings were back in their old clothes.

"NOW can we go to bed?" Aria asked.

"Yes," Adagio told Aria sleepily.

[There seemed to be one problem, however. When The Dazzlings were trying to crawl under the sheets of the bed together, Aria Blaze kept falling out!

"Oof!"

Aria Blaze was rubbing her head.

"Please tell me there isn't any bump on my head."

"I think somebody's gonna have to sleep on the floor tonight," Sonata spoke.

"We'll figure something out," Adagio told her.

Adagio Dazzle got out of the bed and found a third pillow on the floor. She put it in the middle of two other pillows.

"Now try not to roll around too much in your sleep, girls."

"That sounds like something Sonata would do," Aria Blaze commented.

"No it doesn't," Sonata Dusk replied. "I stopped rolling around in my bed when I was just a siren pony of nine years old!"

Usually, ponies from Equestria thought that sirens stayed in their usual form for their whole life. However, they are wrong. Sirens are born without any necklace, and their parents would give them a necklace to drain the negative energy from ponies and other creatures so they can use that power as they're singing. Sirens mostly stay in their pony form, but when they have enough power, they can transform into their true forms.

"Whatever," spoke Aria Blaze.

The Dazzlings tried to go under the sheets of the bed again. This time, they succeeded. They went right to sleep as the crickets outside were chirping.

BEEP BEEP BEEP! blared the alarm clock.

Sonata Dusk was the first Dazzling to wake up.

"GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!"

Sonata immediately woke up the rest of the Dazzlings.

"Just a little more sleep, Sonata..." muttered Aria.

"Aria, we have to get up NOW," reminded Adagio. "We are leaving at ten thirty, remember?"

"Whatever, Adagio. I don't care. As long as we get out of this dump, I'm fine."

The Dazzlings exited their room, Adagio Dazzle grabbing the key as they left. She put the key in her pocket as she and her friends headed down the stairs to the lobby.

Immediately their eyes got all big.

"FOOD!" they all spoke at once.

The Dazzlings immediately scrambled across the floor and grabbed a plate. Aria Blaze got some sausages, bacon, and eggs. Adagio Dazzle got three pancakes with syrup and eggs on the side. Sonata Dusk got a breakfast burrito and a "breakfast taco".

"I'm pretty sure those don't exist, Sonata," Aria Blaze told her friend.

"To me, they do!" Sonata Dusk replied.

At the end of the breakfast bar, The Dazzlings got some apple juice and sat down at a table.

"Do we need to go back to Canterlot High?" Aria Blaze asked.

"We might ask Natura if we can stay here a few more days," Adagio Dazzle replied.

"This place is REALLY nice!" Sonata Dusk commented.

After that, they didn't talk too much. They had to concentrate on eating their meal.

In the Sugarcube Café, Sunset Shimmer was drinking some coffee with Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. It was three o'clock.

"This pumpkin spice latte is DELICIOUS!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Rarity hushed Pinkie.

"We are in a restaurant, dear. We don't need any shouting."

Sunset Shimmer took a sip of her coffee.

"When do you guys think that Twilight will return to Canterlot High?" she asked.

"Well, she just said 'till next time', but that's kinda up in the air," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I really want to see her again," Sunset replied. "She's one of the only friends I've ever had."

"You'll see her again if you just BELIEVE!" Pinkie Pie commented.

It was three thirty, and The Dazzlings were walking on a sidewalk on their way to the Sugarcube Café.

"Why are we going here?" Sonata asked.

"I just thought we could stop for some coffee," Adagio answered.

The Dazzlings entered the Sugarcube Café.

"So, everyone was like-" Pinkie Pie stopped in mid sentence.

"Are those The Dazzlings?" Fluttershy asked. "Eeep!"

Fluttershy ran off. The Dazzlings walked up to the counter, where Mrs. Cake was busy making cupcakes.

"What can I get ya?"

"We want to get three pumpkin spice lattes," Adagio Dazzle answered.

Mrs. Cake disappeared behind the counter and got The Dazzlings their pumpkin spice lattes.

"That'll be eight dollars."

Adagio Dazzle handed Mrs. Cake eight dollars.

"Like, thanks for the lattes," Aria Blaze spoke.

"You're welcome," Mrs. Cake answered.

The Dazzlings walked away from the counter.

"Hey look, Adagio." Aria Blaze told her leader. "It's those Rainbooms who defeated us."

Adagio Dazzle suddenly got angry. "I'm going to give them a good talk about why they had to take away our power from our passion!"

The other two Dazzlings nodded their heads in agreement. The Dazzlings started their way towards where Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms were sitting.

"What are YOU doing here?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"We just wanted to grab a little something to quench our thirsts," Adagio Dazzle replied.

"We were kind of wondering if there was, like, any way you can give us back our singing ability," Aria Blaze asked Sunset Shimmer.

"Well, first of all," Sunset Shimmer began, "you need to prove to us all that you really HAVE changed after the events of the Battle Of The Bands. Second of all, I need to send Twilight a message that she needs to come here immediately to see if she agrees with my decision. Third of all, if we both agree that you have all changed, Twilight will grant you back your powers with some Equestrian magic and you can come back to Equestria."

"How exactly will she give us our powers back, Sunset Shimmer?" a confused Sonata Dusk asks.

"She will bring here with her some Equestrian magic somehow. That's up to her; I know she's REALLY smart. Then, she'll conjure up some new jewels that basically have the same function as your old ones did, except you'll ENHANCE your performances instead of feeding off the negative energy you've created."

"So, if we're good," Aria began, "You'll give us back our necklaces and you'll take us back to Equestria? That's a nice deal."

"How exactly are we going to see if these gals are good enough to get their singin' abilities back?" Applejack asked.

"It's all in the good deeds they do that'll make us see the pure ladies within them," Rarity mused.

Suddenly, as Pinkie Pie was sipping her pumpkin spice latte, she accidently dropped her glass. It broke, scattering broken pieces of glass everywhere.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed.

"I'll buy you another one!" Adagio Dazzle spoke.

She ran up to Mrs. Cake and immediately ordered a pumpkin spice latte. After paying Mrs. Cake two dollars and fifty cents, Adagio Dazzle headed back to the table and gave Pinkie Pie her latte.

"Thanks a bunch!" Pinkie Pie thanked her.

"You're welcome," Adagio Dazzle smiled.

"Wow! I didn't expect THAT to come out of you! I think you're ALREADY ready!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "I don't really-"

Sunset Shimmer was interrupted by the sound of Aria Blaze mopping the floor of the café and Sonata Dusk squirting whipped cream on top of a coffee mug.

"You know," Mrs. Cake began, "you could've asked me if I needed any help earlier..."

"But our help came from the heart!" Sonata Dusk exclaimed.

"Alright, girls." Sunset Shimmer retreated, "you'll get your powers back."

"YES!" The Dazzlings all exclaimed at once.

"At least give me time to write a letter to Twilight," Sunset Shimmer continued.

Sunset Shimmer took her journal and pen out from her bag and began to write:

Dear Princess Twilight,

I've been missing you for a while, as it seems. However, you need to come back here to this world immediately. Apparently The Dazzlings, whom we've just defeated yesterday, have been showing signs of improvement in their behaviors and want their singing abilities back. I think they should. What are your thoughts?

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

In Equestria

Twilight Sparkle was sitting in her throne in her castle when her journal suddenly started vibrating. She used her magic to open the journal. She started to read the journal entry sent to her by Sunset Shimmer.

"Reading a letter sent by Sunset?" Spike asked her.

"Yes," Twilight Sparkle answered him, "although I think she could improve on her handwriting."

She glanced back down at the journal entry, which was very sloppily written. She read it again, and she gasped.

"Spike? Can you please get my friends to come in here again?"

"On it, Twilight!" Spike replied.

Spike dashed out of the room to gather Twilight Sparkle's friends. Within a few minutes, they were in the throne room. Rarity glanced at the open journal.

"Sunset Shimmer really needs to work on her handwriting."

"Now why exactly did you call us in here?" asked Applejack. "I was busy tendin' the corn fields at Sweet Apple Acres. After all, harvest is in only two more months!"

"Sunset Shimmer sent me a letter in here telling me that it is possible to reform the Dazzlings." Twilight Sparkle explained.

"But you just defeated them!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I don't think they would feel any shame after they attempted to take over that world you were in!"

"I guess they're just tired of being evil," Twilight Sparkle told Rainbow Dash. "Sunset Shimmer probably felt the same way. I'm now going to write a letter to Sunset asking her why she's doing this for sure."

Twilight Sparkle levitated a quill and dipped it in ink. She opened the journal with her magic and began writing:

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

I slightly agree with your idea. However, it seems to me that they wouldn't just become a better version of themselves *that quickly. Perhaps they should stay in your world a while longer. Spike and I will also come to your world to see if they really* have changed.

Also, why exactly are you making this quick of a decision? I've learned in the past that you shouldn't jump quickly to conclusions. Perhaps I will do what I suggested before: I will come to your world with Spike again to see if they are really ready. If they're not quite there yet, then I'll tell them that they have a few more days there in your world. If they are ready after a few days, I'll allow you and the Dazzlings to come back to Equestria with Spike and me. Hope that we can really do this.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Back in the other alternate universe, Sunset Shimmer's journal began vibrating. She opened the journal and read the journal entry that Twilight Sparkle had sent her.

"Twilight has really nice handwriting," she spoke to herself.

"Perhaps I was overreacting a while ago," Rainbow Dash confessed. "I just thought it would be really cool to be friends with the Dazzlings!"

Rainbow Dash's friends looked at her.

"Y'know, when they're completely reformed..."

Pinkie Pie walked over to Aria Blaze, who was sitting in a chair at a table, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Scram," she spoke.

"Come on, Aria!" Pinkie Pie told Aria Blaze with a smile. "Turn that frown of yours upside down!"

"Yeah!" Sonata Dusk encouraged.

"Ughhhhhhh."

Aria Blaze slammed her head on the table and groaned.

Sunset Shimmer walked over nearby her.

"Aria, if you want to go back to Equestria, and if you want to feel better about yourself, you're going to have to shape up."

Sonata Dusk walked over and sat in a chair across from Aria Blaze.

"Yeah! It's easy! Just pretend that everybody is your friend!"

"I think that would be a problem," Rainbow Dash spoke. "What if someone looked unfriendly?"

"Unless they looked unfriendly," Sonata Dusk added. "Yeah, I totally said that too."

"Looks like you'd better start writing back to Twilight," Rarity told Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset Shimmer walked back to the table she was sitting in before and opened her journal. She started to write:

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I get how this would be sort of a problem. I just don't think they're ready yet. They keep arguing with each other over how they would each act back in Equestria. Perhaps they should stay a while more here. However, I still invite you here. Once you help me and my Canterlot High friends reform them a bit more, we can take them back to Equestria after you've repaired their necklaces with Equestrian magic.

Your friend,

Sunset Shimmer

Sunset Shimmer closed the journal. "Dazzlings, are you sure that you want to go back to Equestria?"

"We are sure," replied Adagio Dazzle. "We are tired of feeding off of the negative energy of the other people in this world. We want to return to Equestria to start fresh."

"A second chance," Adagio Dazzle and Sunset Shimmer both spoke at the same time.

In Equestria, Twilight Sparkle was reading the letter that Sunset Shimmer had sent her. Spike walked up to her to see what the letter said. She was sitting on her throne.

As she closed the journal, she spoke: "Spike, we're going back in the mirror."

Right as Twilight Sparkle spoke, Rainbow Dash flew up to her. "Can we please join you this time? I wanna see what my, um, what were they called again?"

"Your human self," Twilight Sparkle informed Rainbow Dash.

"That's right!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Can we please join you?"

"I want to see all of the fashions that these, erm, humans wear," Rarity added. "You told us that they were very modest creatures."

"I don't think you should come with Spike and me," replied Twilight Sparkle. "I have to reform the Dazzlings, and I'm afraid it might be even harder than it was to reform Discord."

"Oh, it was nothing," Fluttershy replied. "I just needed to get in touch with his inner nice side. Everypony has a nice side and an evil side."

"She's darn right," commented Applejack.

"Now Spike," Twilight Sparkle asked Spike, "are you ready?"

"I'm ready," he replied.

Twilight Sparkle levitated the journal she was previously writing in into the book holder in her contraption. The magic from the book surged through the wires of the contraption, opening the mirror. With a sense of confidence, Twilight Sparkle and Spike leaped into the mirror. Immediately after they leaped in, the mirror closed.

"Hope she'll succeed," Fluttershy spoke.

Through the Mirror, Into the Fog

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Twilight Sparkle and Spike swirled through the vortex in the magical mirror. Within three minutes, Twilight Sparkle and Spike appeared in the strange world they had visited two times in the past. Twilight Sparkle was a human, and Spike was a dog. Twilight Sparkle stood up on her two legs in front of Canterlot High.

"I should write to Sunset Shimmer asking where she is," Twilight Sparkle spoke to herself.

Twilight Sparkle facepalmed herself. She used the journal to transport herself and Spike here in the first place! Now she'll have to find Sunset Shimmer with Spike, neither of them knowing where she was.

"It would've been better if she wrote to you about where she is right now," Spike told Twilight Sparkle.

"I have a feeling she's not in Canterlot High," she told Spike.

"Maybe she's at the Sugarcube Café," he suggested. "I'm pretty sure that school has been over for a while."

"You're right," replied Twilight Sparkle. "School has been over for about two hours. Let's go to the café."

Twilight Sparkle held Spike in her arms as she walked onto the sidewalk that was on the Canterlot High campus. A few minutes later, she and Spike were both considered off-campus, but they were on the same sidewalk. Soon they were at the Sugarcube Café. As soon as Twilight Sparkle opened the door, Pinkie Pie gasped.

"It's Twilight!"

"Yep," Twilight Sparkle replied, "it's me."

"Glad you could visit us," commented Rarity. "We've been missing you, even though it has only been a day since we've last seen you."

Sunset Shimmer walked up to Twilight Sparkle. "Let me show you the slightly-better Dazzlings. Tell me what you think."

Twilight Sparkle set down Spike in Fluttershy's lap and walked over to the Dazzlings.

"I'm not really afraid of the Dazzlings anymore," Fluttershy commented. "In fact, with a little more work, they could be our friends."

Twilight Sparkle sat down in a chair, seated across from Adagio Dazzle. Aria Blaze was seated next to Twilight Sparkle, and Sonata Dusk was seated across from Aria Blaze. Twilight Sparkle put on her best smile and greeted the Dazzlings:

"Hello! I'm Twilight Sparkle, if you've already noticed."

"We've noticed," Adagio Dazzle replied. "Anyways, we're getting tired of doing the same things time after time. I keep telling myself that I need to learn how to do things for myself, not to make other people do them for me."

"Life has gotten so boring recently," Aria Blaze added.

"I don't like doing things in a routine!" added Sonata Dusk.

"So, we've turned to one of our rivals Sunset Shimmer for help," Adagio Dazzle commented. "Hopefully you could help us too."

Adagio Dazzle sadly sighed. "I'm just so frustrated, bored, and sad at the same time. If we had been better in the past, we would've never been banished here in the first place."

"Well," Sunset Shimmer commented, "at least you have our help."

"Because no one else will help us?" Aria Blaze asked.

"Somewhat," answered Twilight Sparkle. "But Sunset and I believe in you. Together we will both learn how to be great friends."

"Do we get our necklaces repaired now?" Sonata Dusk asked.

"Not yet," answered Twilight Sparkle. "Not until you prove that you can handle its power again."

"But wouldn't we just be feeding off people's negative energy again like we've always been doing?" Aria Blaze asked. "It's been getting really boring, like I've said before."

"I will find a way," spoke Twilight Sparkle determinedly. "I will find some Equestrian magic that will make your singing a little bit better every time someone appreciates your singing."

"But our singing isn't that good right now," Adagio Dazzle spoke.

"We will help you practice your singing," Sunset Shimmer told Adagio Dazzle.

"Girls, whose house should we practice at?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a ray of hope in her eyes.

"We'll practice singing at my house," Applejack answered.

"Okay! Let's go to AJ's place then!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

Everyone got up out of the seats they were sitting in and exited the Sugarcube Café.

About thirty minutes later, everyone was at Applejack's house. The Rainbooms, including Sunset Shimmer, had their instruments with them.

"So," asked Adagio Dazzle, "you guys will play the music, and we'll sing?"

"Just try to sing," replied Twilight Sparkle. "I need to see how much Equestrian magic I need to make your new necklaces."

"I bet we're going to sound horrible!" Aria Blaze shouts.

"Aria, we have to stay positive!" Sonata Dusk told Aria Blaze.

"I guess you're right," replied Adagio Dazzle. "If we just stay positive, we'll do our best without failing horribly on purpose."

"All of this is to just see how good your singing is," informed Sunset Shimmer. "We aren't pressuring you or anything, but we want you to do your best. We're going to start playing one of Rainbow Dash's songs now, so be ready to sing."

Sunset Shimmer handed Adagio Dazzle Rainbow Dash's lyric book.

"What page should I flip it to?" Adagio Dazzle asked Rainbow Dash.

"Flip it to page 15," answered Rainbow Dash.

Adagio Dazzle flipped the lyric book to page 15 and put it on the stand. "It looks like this song is called 'Be the Best'."

"My songs are all about trusting yourself and being as awesome as you wanna be," informed Rainbow Dash.

"I thought we scrapped that song!" Applejack spoke.

"Yeah..." replied Rainbow Dash. "Anywho, let's begin the song!"

When The Rainbooms began playing their instruments, Adagio Dazzle nervously took a deep breath and began singing:

If you are feeling down

And your face is one big frown

And if you want to beat the rest

You've gotta be, be the best!

Soon, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk began singing along with Adagio Dazzle:

You've gotta be the best

If you wanna beat the rest

This is your real test

You've gotta be the best!

Aria Blaze began her solo part in the song:

Set yourself apart from the others

Sonata Dusk sang her solo part in the song:

But we'll still support each other

Soon, all of the Dazzlings began to sing:

Just be your best

Yeah, be your best!

You've gotta be the best

If you wanna beat the rest

This is your real test

You've gotta be the best!

The song was horribly sang. The Dazzlings' voices were off-key. Sunset Shimmer's eyes got all big.

"Yeesh. Guess you were right. Well, I guess you kind of did sound good."

Adagio Dazzle frowned. "I guess we can't get our necklaces back."

"We're still deciding what we should do with your new necklaces," Twilight Sparkle told a saddened Adagio Dazzle.

"Buuuuttttt..." Pinkie Pie spoke. "I am inviting you all to a sleepover at my house tonight! Dazzlings, do you wanna come?"

The Dazzlings looked at each other. Finally, Adagio Dazzle walked up to Pinkie Pie.

"Sure. I guess we'll go. We haven't been to a sleepover in, like, forever."

"Yay!" squealed Pinkie Pie. "See you all tonight!"

Aria Blaze grinned. "Wow. An actual sleepover. This oughta be good."

"Yaaaaay! A sleepover!" Sonata Dusk squealed.

Slowly, all of The Rainbooms except Applejack and the Dazzlings left Applejack's house. That very night was going to be the most fun the Dazzlings have had in a very long time.

Sleepover at Pinkie's!

Pinkie Pie was sitting in a chair at her dinner table, twiddling her thumbs. Suddenly, she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!"

Pinkie Pie sprang up out of her chair and opened the door. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were at the doorstep.

"Hey, Pinkie!" greeted Applejack. "Glad to be back at your place."

"So am I!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Come in, you two!" Pinkie Pie told her two friends.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack entered Pinkie Pie's house.

"I guess we'll just wait for the others," Rainbow Dash commented.

Rainbow Dash sat in a chair at Pinkie Pie's dinner table and pulled out her phone from her pocket. After she "unlocked" it, she began texting Rarity:

When will you be here, Rarity?

I'm going to be at Pinkie's house soon, darling Rainbow. My dad's car is filling up on some gas right now. I'll probably be at Pinkie's at four thirty sharp.

Thanks, Rarity.

See you later.

Thirty minutes later, Rarity arrived at Pinkie Pie's house. She knocked on the door, and Pinkie Pie ran to the door and opened it:

"Hiya, Rarity!"

"Hello, darling," Rarity replied as soon as she walked inside Pinkie Pie's house.

Soon after she stepped inside, Fluttershy got out of her parents' car. She walked up to the doorstep of Pinkie Pie's house.

"You can come in too, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie told Fluttershy.

"Just let me gather my belongings," Fluttershy told Pinkie Pie. She walked to her parents' car and got a bag full of her stuff out of the trunk. After she gathered everything she needed for the sleepover, she walked inside. Pinkie Pie closed the door behind Fluttershy.

"Pinkie," Rainbow Dash began, "I think the interior of your house needs to be about twenty percent cooler."

"If you say so!" Pinkie Pie ran to her thermostat and turned it down twenty degrees.

Immediately Rainbow Dash started to shiver. "Brr! Pinkie Pie, I meant to change the interior of this place, not change the temperature on your thermostat!"

Pinkie Pie immediately turned the thermostat back up twenty degrees. "Aw. I was just having fun with ya."

"I mean," Rainbow Dash began, "your interior is a little boring! Y'know, there's too many-"

"Rocks."

Rainbow Dash spun around and saw Maud Pie standing before her.

"Has anyone seen Boulder's leash?" Maud Pie asked. "He wants me to take him on a walk."

"I know where his leash is!" responded Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie ran into the living room and got out a rock-sized leash from a basket. She walked back up to her older sister Maud Pie and gave the leash to her.

"Thanks, Pinkie."

"You're welcome, big sis!" replied Pinkie Pie.

After that incident, Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer opened the door and walked inside.

"I guess that's everyone," Applejack commented.

"How rude!" replied Rarity. "You're forgetting about someone!"

"More like three!" added Rainbow Dash.

"Now, now," calmed Twilight Sparkle. "let's not argue. The Dazzlings will get here when they get here. After all, they have no form of transportation to carry them here."

"Wow wee," commented Applejack. "You're not even from this world and you know that much about means of transportation?"

"I observe things here," Twilight Sparkle replied.

"Anyways girls," began Applejack, "I'm sorry. I just don't think this'll work."

"With a little more work," Sunset Shimmer replied in a confident tone, "we'll make them better."

"Better than ever?" asked Rarity.

"Better than ever."

The Dazzlings walked on the sidewalk, Adagio Dazzle carrying a huge bag full of their stuff. Aria Blaze was whining about the fact that it was getting dark outside. Sonata Dusk was, well, whining in general...

"Are we there yet?" she asked for what seemed like the millionth time, but actually was the tenth time she asked the dreaded question.

"We're almost there," Adagio Dazzle spoke between her teeth.

"It's getting dark," Aria Blaze pointed out.

"We're almost there..." repeated Adagio Dazzle.

The Dazzlings kept treading on the sidewalk. It was now five thirty, and the moon was glowing brightly above the suburbs where Pinkie Pie and her family resided.

"Does Pinkie Pie live in a house with a red roof," Sonata Dusk asked, "or a brown roof?"

"Does it look like I care?" Aria Blaze replied.

"Actually," replied Sonata Dusk, "I was asking Adagio that question."

"That's because you're the-"

"Shhh!" Adagio Dazzle hushed Aria Blaze. "We don't want to get into any fights while we're on our way to a social gathering."

"A social what?" asked a confused Sonata Dusk.

"A social gathering." clarified Aria Blaze. "Y'know, like a party or a sleepover, like what we're going to now."

"Ohhhhhhh..."

"Aria! Sonata!" announced Adagio Dazzle. "We're almost there!"

Adagio Dazzle walked up to the driveway of Pinkie Pie's house and paused for a second to let her friends catch up to her.

"So," began Aria Blaze, "Pinkie Pie said that the address of her house was 5514 Hickory Boulevard, right?"

"Correct," replied Adagio Dazzle.

The Dazzlings walked up to the doorstep of Pinkie Pie's house. Sonata Dusk pushed the doorbell just to hear it ring.

"Aren't you loving this doorbell?"

"Yes," sarcastically spoke Aria Blaze. "It sounds so amazing."

Pinkie Pie opened the door to let the Dazzlings in. "Great that you're finally here! Come in! Come in!"

Adagio Dazzle carried the huge bag behind her back and walked inside Pinkie Pie's house. Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk followed soon after her.

Thirty minutes later, everyone was in their pajamas. Adagio Dazzle was wearing a purple t-shirt with a yellow diamond at its collar and long, purple pants. Aria Blaze was wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt with purple music notes on it, along with some long dark green pants that were rolled up at the cuffs. Sonata Dusk was wearing a long light pink nightgown with a heart and a music note sewn off to its side.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were busy playing a round of their favorite video game, "Mane-Iac Mash!".

"I'm winning! I'm winning!"

"Oh really, sugarcube? I think you should have used your special attack on me earlier, Rainbow."

Applejack pressed the "A" button on her game controller three times, knocking out Rainbow Dash's character.

"Player 2 wins!"

Rainbow Dash growled in anger. Suddenly, Aria Blaze came down from the bed she was previously sitting on and walked over to Rainbow Dash.

"Tell me about it."

"Yeah, Aria. She's just too hard to beat!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"I could teach you how to beat that game," offered Aria Blaze. "I've played it several times ever since my friends and I got banished here."

Applejack gave Aria Blaze her controller and moved out of the way.

"I might want to watch this," Adagio Dazzle commented.

Adagio Dazzle and Sonata Dusk got up out of the bed they were sitting on and sat on the ground nearby Rainbow Dash and Aria Blaze. Rainbow Dash used her controller to select the "Begin Game" option. Rainbow Dash chose to play as the Mane-Iac and Aria Blaze chose to play as Shadow Play, a character cloaked all in dark, murky shadows. Rainbow Dash selected the "Begin" option, and the game began to load...

"FIGHT!"

Rainbow Dash used her controller to make her character walk over to the right of the screen. She hit the "A" button once, but Aria Blaze made her character jump before she could get hit. Aria Blaze used her controller to move to the left and hit Rainbow Dash's character three times, making her combo meter and special attack meter go up. The Mane-Iac's health bar only went down.

Rainbow Dash, not wanting to lose, hit Aria Blaze's character once, only making her character's bar go down a little bit. Aria Blaze laughed at her failure.

"Face it, Dash. I'm the best at this game!"

Rainbow Dash put on her game face and used her controller to hit Aria Blaze's character two times, making her combo meter and special attack meter go up. She continued to attack little by little until her special attack meter was glowing. Rainbow Dash, with a wicked grin on her face, hit the "X" button on her controller and used her special attack. The Mane-Iac's wild, long hair wrapped around Shadow Play, and threw her off-screen. Aria Blaze's health bar instantly went all the way down.

"Player 1 wins!"

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in pure victory.

Aria Blaze stared at the screen in absolute shock. Did she, the best player at "Mane-Iac Mash!", really lose to Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be just the average player? She couldn't believe her eyes.

"B-but...I thought I was..."

"Not anymore!" a proud Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Ah well," Aria Blaze spoke. "At least I did great, right, Dazzlings?"

"You did great?" asked Sonata Dusk. "You did awesome!"

"You've really improved since the last time you've played that game," complimented Adagio Dazzle.

Aria Blaze set the controller down and walked over to the bed. Sunset Shimmer ran over to her.

"Great job, Aria. You've really improved on your, um, anger issues..."

"It's okay, really," replied Aria Blaze. "It's always great to let off some steam."

"Your friends seem to be doing fine too," Sunset Shimmer added. "They were congratulating you, even though you lost."

"It doesn't matter if you won," spoke Aria Blaze. "It's just a game. What matters is the thrill of the fun you're having while playing the game."

Thirty minutes later, Pinkie Pie came into the bedroom, holding three pizza boxes.

"I've got some pizza here! Who likes pepperoni?"

"I'll try a slice," Adagio Dazzle commented.

Pinkie Pie skipped over to The Dazzlings on the bed and gave them the pizza box with pepperoni pizza in it.

"Aw," spoke a disappointed Sonata Dusk. "Why couldn't we have tacos?"

Pinkie Pie grinned and took out a taco on a plate from behind her back. She gently set the plate down on the bed, and a squeaking noise came from Sonata Dusk.

"Thanks, Pinkie!"

"You're welcome!" replied Pinkie Pie. "My mom knows that you like tacos, so she whipped up a taco just for you!"

She then leaned in real close to Sonata Dusk and whispered:

"It has sour cream in it!"

Sonata Dusk grinned and picked the taco up from the plate. She started eating her taco while Adagio Dazzle and Aria Blaze ate their pepperoni pizza.

"This is the best taco ever!" spoke Sonata Dusk, still with her mouth full.

"Glad you like it!" Pinkie Pie gave the second box of pizza to Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy. The third and last box was for her, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset Shimmer to eat.

Sunset Shimmer gently opened the lid of the pizza box she and her friends got. "Ooh. Hawaiian pizza. My favorite."

"I knew what kind of pizza you all like," Pinkie Pie started, "and I ordered it all online!"

Twilight Sparkle stared in fear at what seemed to be meat on her pizza.

"Don't worry Twilight," reassured Pinkie Pie. "I made sure to order fish as a topping instead of sausage."

Twilight Sparkle breathed a sigh of relief and started to eat her pizza. Rarity took out a fork and began eating her pizza. Rainbow Dash looked over at Rarity.

"Rarity! You do know that you eat pizza with your hands, right?"

"A lady does not get her hands dirty, darling," Rarity replied.

"Thanks for getting us a vegetarian pizza, Pinkie," Fluttershy thanked.

"You're welcome Fluttershy!" replied Pinkie Pie.

After everyone was finished with eating their dinner, everyone except Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and The Dazzlings went downstairs to watch a movie. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer looked at each other, then at The Dazzlings.

"Excuse me if you give us a minute to talk," Twilight Sparkle told The Dazzlings.

"Oh, trust me," replied Adagio Dazzle, "it'll be fine with us."

"We'll wait for you," added Aria Blaze.

The Dazzlings walked out of the room to let Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer talk to each other.

"We'll tell you when you can come back in, okay?"

The Dazzlings nodded their heads in agreement and closed the door to the bedroom. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer then turned their heads to face each other.

"Do you think they're ready yet?" Sunset Shimmer asked Twilight Sparkle.

"They're almost there," Twilight Sparkle replied. "We'll see how the rest of today turns out. If they do well for the rest of today before we finally go to sleep, I'll inform them that they can get their necklaces back."

"Sounds like a plan to me," spoke Sunset Shimmer. "I've really started to notice some changes in their behaviors. Adagio Dazzle, who used to be mean and bossy, is now listening to what we have to say and tags along for social events. Aria Blaze, who used to be moody, is now participating in social events and is managing her anger. Sonata Dusk, well, she wasn't as evil as the other Dazzlings, but she has changed a little bit too."

"How is that?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"She's slowly accepting the fact that even though people may judge her for being silly and random," Sunset Shimmer began, "she'll always continue to be herself."

They paused for a moment.

"Dazzlings," Twilight Sparkle spoke, "you can come back in now."

The Dazzlings walked back into the bedroom. Adagio Dazzle walked up to Sunset Shimmer:

"So, about those necklaces..."

"We'll see what we can do, Adagio," Sunset Shimmer answered.

An hour and a half later, the movie that everyone else was watching ended. Everyone was back upstairs in the bedroom. Suddenly, as Twilight Sparkle drew back the covers of the bed, Spike popped up.

"Why did you have to wake me up?" yawned Spike. "I was sleeping!"

"Sorry Spike," Twilight Sparkle apologized. "We are about to go to sleep-"

"LIGHTS OUT!" shouted Pinkie Pie.

Everyone took out their sleeping bags from their bags. Pinkie Pie hopped on over to The Dazzlings:

"I'll lend you three my bed tonight. I can sleep on the floor."

As The Dazzlings drew back the covers of the bed and crawled inside, Spike hopped on the bed.

"Do you mind if I sleep here tonight?" asked Spike.

"Fine by us," replied Sonata Dusk.

After Pinkie Pie turned off the light in the bedroom, she crawled inside her sleeping bag and fell asleep. Soon, everyone was asleep. This day was one of the best days that The Dazzlings have ever had. Tomorrow was going to be an even better day for them.

New Necklaces

It was seven thirty a.m. on a Saturday. Pinkie Pie's loud yawn woke up everyone.

"Yaaaaaaaaaawn!"

Sonata Dusk was the first one to get up. She stretched out of the bed, yawning a short yawn. She looked over at Aria Blaze, who was still sleeping very heavily. She shook her friend, which had no effect on the situation.

"Wake up, Aria!"

Finally, Aria Blaze woke up. Her long, loud yawn woke up Adagio Dazzle and soon everyone else. Rainbow Dash looked more drowsy than everyone else.

"Dear," asked Rarity, "did you stay awake all night?"

Rainbow Dash looked very embarrassed. She gulped, and she looked at all of her friends. "Fine! I stayed up all night until one o'clock on my phone!"

"Spendin' all night on Facehoof, were you?" asked Applejack.

Rainbow Dash hung her head in shame. Adagio Dazzle got out from under the covers of the bed and walked over to Rainbow Dash. She sat down on the floor next to her.

"It's okay. I do stuff like this all the time, Rainbow."

"I know," Rainbow Dash replied. "When I'm not busy playing sports, I'm either playing video games, on my phone, or on social media like Facehoof or My Stable."

Pinkie Pie gasped. "How could you have two similar social media accounts?! It's like having two accounts on the same site!"

"Somebody recommended me My Stable!" confessed Rainbow Dash. "I swear! I found Facehoof all on my own!"

"Now, now!" spoke Adagio Dazzle. "That settles it! Even though Rainbow Dash has two similar forms of social media, it doesn't mean that she is uncool or something! Social media doesn't matter in choosing a friend! It's his or her character that makes you want to be their friend!"

Adagio Dazzle stomped off and hopped back on the bed. Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk's mouths were hanging wide open.

"How could you say that?" Sonata Dusk asked.

"That was pretty awesome," added Aria Blaze.

Sunset Shimmer walked over to the bed. She motioned Twilight Sparkle to come with her. The Dazzlings looked at both of them.

"Dazzlings," Twilight Sparkle began, "Sunset Shimmer has something to tell all three of you."

Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat. "Well, we've been talking about doing this for a while, but..."

She paused for a second.

"We're allowing you to get your necklaces back today."

The Dazzlings looked at Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer in gratitude, wonder, and amazement. Adagio Dazzle was the first Dazzling to speak:

"Thank you so much. I don't know where we would be right now without all of you."

Aria Blaze was next. "Wow. Thanks, Twilight and Sunset! Can't wait to get my necklace back soon!"

Sonata Dusk was the last Dazzling to speak. "Yaaaaaaay! I'm so excited! Will we return to Equestria after we get our new necklaces?"

"Yes," replied Twilight Sparkle. "And I feel that Sunset Shimmer should come back to Equestria with us."

"Thanks Twilight," Sunset Shimmer answered.

"Now," began Twilight Sparkle, "I'll get into my casual clothes soon with Spike and I'll tell Pinkie Pie's parents that I'll be leaving early. After I leave, I'll enter the mirror near Canterlot High so I could go back to Equestria. I'll just be needing three things before I leave."

"What is that?" asked Adagio Dazzle.

"I'll be needing the strings that previously held your red gems," answered Twilight Sparkle. "I'll know what to do with them once Spike and I get back to Equestria."

"I guess you'll have to wait here," Sunset Shimmer informed The Dazzlings.

"If you really say that you need our broken necklaces," spoke Adagio Dazzle, "I get them for you."

Adagio Dazzle leaped off the bed and dug around in her bag. She finally found what made her and her friends feel bad about what they did the most: the broken necklaces. The three black strings that each respectively once held a beautiful, red gem on the very center now just had the gold piece that helped the gems latch on to the necklace itself. Adagio Dazzle blinked back her tears and walked up to Twilight Sparkle. Her throat felt blocked as she tried to speak:

"Here, Twilight. If you'll really be needing these for a bit, take very good care of them. We certainly don't want them to be damaged any further."

Adagio Dazzle handed the three black strings that were once beautiful necklaces to Twilight Sparkle. She put them in her backpack and went into the bedroom closet to change into her casual clothes. It only took her three minutes to change, and she came out.

"Goodbye, Sunset Shimmer and Dazzlings. This will only be for a little while. Be sure to meet me outside of the mirror so I could grab Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings with me once I give back their necklaces to them."

Twilight Sparkle grabbed Spike and her backpack and left the bedroom.

"We'll see you later!" Pinkie Pie spoke.

Twilight Sparkle, wearing her backpack and with Spike in her hands, walked up to Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock. Maud Pie also happened to be nearby them, holding her pet rock Boulder.

"I've informed Pinkie Pie that I'll be leaving early today," Twilight Sparkle told Pinkie Pie's parents.

"That's fine with us," replied Cloudy Quartz. "It doesn't matter if your parents drive you home or if you walk home. The only thing that matters is that you need someway to get home."

"I'll be walking home," Twilight Sparkle replied.

"See you later!" Igneous Rock spoke.

"Boulder will miss you," Maud Pie added.

Twilight Sparkle put Spike into her backpack and exited Pinkie Pie's house. As soon as she was outside, she set down her backpack and took Spike out of it. She put Spike on a leash she also pulled out of her backpack.

"Do I need to walk on a leash?" asked Spike.

"I can't just carry you in my, erm, hands the entire time we'll be walking," replied Twilight Sparkle. "Besides, I don't want to lose you either. It'll also be good exercise for you!"

Twilight Sparkle put on her backpack and picked up the leash that was latched onto Spike's collar. She started to run, Spike following her close by.

Finally, after about a long thirty minute walk, they reached Canterlot High. The mirror was looming in front of the large high school campus yard. Twilight Sparkle picked up Spike in her hands and faced the mirror.

"This'll only take a while," she spoke.

She jumped into the mirror, and was being transported back to Equestria...

It was only a matter of seconds before Spike and Twilight Sparkle were back inside the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom.

"Hiya Twilight!" Pinkie Pie greeted. "Are those sirens back here yet?"

"No," replied Twilight Sparkle. "I came back here to repair The Dazzlings' necklaces."

"That group must be the sirens," spoke Rainbow Dash.

"That's what they call themselves," Twilight Sparkle replied. "Anywho, has anypony seen Rarity around here? I need to borrow three red gems from her."

Like she knew what Twilight Sparkle was talking about, Rarity immediately appeared in front of Twilight Sparkle and Spike.

"Oh Twilight, I happen to have many red gems from my last gem hunt with Spike before you entered the mirror. Here, you can have these three."

Rarity used her magic to pull out three red gems from a drawer inside a small table. Twilight Sparkle used her magic to envelop the gems inside her magic instead. She set the gems down on a table with her magic.

"I'll need Spike's help to make a magic liquid that'll make those ordinary gems into magical gems. C'mon, Spike! Bring over a cauldron and a book of spells and potions!"

Spike pushed a small cauldron over to Twilight Sparkle and took out a book of magic spells and potions from a bookshelf.

"What page should I open it to?"

"Open it to the page that says 'Admiration Application Spell' on it," replied Twilight Sparkle.

Spike flipped the book to said page and started to read the ingredients aloud:

"Three pegasus feathers from the top of the right wing."

Twilight Sparkle used her magic to pluck three feathers from the top of Rainbow Dash's right wing.

"Ouch! Next time ask me if I want to help you or not!"

Twilight Sparkle blushed and put the feathers inside the cauldron.

"Some water that is colored magenta," read Spike.

Twilight Sparkle used her magic to grab a glass of water that was magenta-colored and emptied it into the cauldron. The water, which seemed to already be magical, reacted with the pegasus feathers and made a huge magenta-colored mushroom cloud to appear. The water magically grew in volume until it reached almost to the top inside the cauldron.

"And lastly," Spike read, "a tear from a unicorn."

"I'll help in this!" spoke Applejack. "Rarity, I heard that they are closin' down the spa nearby!"

Rarity's face began to quiver. Then suddenly, she burst into tears. Twilight Sparkle levitated one of the tears from Rarity and dipped it inside the cauldron. Another magical reaction took place; the tear swirled around inside the water and turned green. The result was water in the pattern of a magenta and green spiral.

"To apply this spell," Spike read, "dip any object up to the maximum of ten into the very center of the spiral. After about thirty seconds, the object or objects will magically levitate themselves over the cauldron that you are using."

Twilight Sparkle levitated the gems with her magic and slowly dipped them inside the spiral of the contents of the cauldron. Instantly the three red gems sank into the water. Suddenly, they began to spiral wildly inside the cauldron. A giant magenta and green mushroom cloud appeared. As soon as the cloud disappeared, the three red gems were magically levitating over the cauldron. Twilight Sparkle used her magic to take the gems. She set them down next to her.

After that was over, she opened her saddlebag and used her magic to take out the three black strings that The Dazzlings previously gave to her back in the human world.

"Rarity," Twilight Sparkle called, "I'll need your help again!"

Rarity trotted over to Twilight Sparkle. "Looks like you'll need some help on fastening those gems to the necklace strings. I'm an expert on jewelry, so this should be easy for me!"

Rarity used her magic to take each red gem and black string. One by one, she fastened them together.

"There we go! Good as new!"

Rarity used her magic to open Twilight Sparkle's saddlebag and gently placed the repaired necklaces inside. After that, she closed it with her magic.

"Thanks Rarity," spoke Twilight Sparkle.

"Your welcome," Rarity replied. "Can't wait to see you later. I heard that Sunset Shimmer will also be coming back here along with those sirens!"

"The Dazzlings," Twilight Sparkle sternly corrected Rarity.

"Yes," she spoke. "The Dazzlings."

"There's no time for fooling around," Twilight Sparkle spoke. "The Dazzlings need their necklaces back and they need them now. C'mon, Spike! Let's go back through the mirror."

Twilight Sparkle and Spike immediately disappeared behind the mirror as soon as they jumped inside.

Rarity turned to everypony else. "I really do hope that these Dazzlings are as nice as we all hope that they'll be..."

Vows and Promises

Twilight Sparkle and Spike instantly appeared in front of the mirror in front of Canterlot High. Sunset Shimmer, The Dazzlings, and the rest of Twilight Sparkle's Canterlot High friends already were there.

"Glad you've made it," Sunset Shimmer welcomed.

Slowly The Dazzlings sauntered up to Twilight Sparkle. Promptly she began to dig in her backpack for the repaired necklaces. Once she found them, she gave the three necklaces to Adagio Dazzle. She kept one necklace and gave one to Aria Blaze. She gave another to Sonata Dusk. The Dazzlings immediately put on their new necklaces. Immediately Adagio Dazzle asked Twilight Sparkle:

"They look exactly like our old necklaces. Do they still harness negative energy?"

"No, Adagio," replied Twilight Sparkle. "They feed off of a little bit of positive energy that is around you. They will barely affect anything around anyone else. Every time you gain positive energy, your voice will get better. Your voice will also get better if someone compliments it."

"Cool," added Aria Blaze. "Can't wait to get outta here so I can be a pony again."

"Wait a second," Sunset Shimmer interrupted. "You'll need to say a few vows before we go back to Equestria."

"Wait, a vow?" a confused Sonata Dusk asked. "I thought you only say vows when you're getting married!"

Sunset Shimmer was obviously not pleased with Sonata Dusk, but she continued to display her confident expression and told her:

"You don't just say a vow when you're getting married, Sonata. You vow to do something when you absolutely promise to yourself that you'll do it."

"So," Sonata Dusk began, "you want us to say vows..."

Sunset Shimmer nodded "yes".

"So that you and Twilight both know..."

"Yes, yes Sonata..."

"That we'll be good back in Equestria without lying?"

"Exactly Sonata," Sunset Shimmer replied with confidence. "With this kind of confidence, you'll be ready to face whatever lies in front of you when we get to Equestria!"

"I'm totally pumped for this!" an excited Aria Blaze shouted.

The only Dazzling that didn't respond to Sunset Shimmer was Adagio Dazzle. She was looking at the ground with a sad expression on her face. Worried, Sunset Shimmer walked over to her.

"Is everything alright?" she asked a troubled Adagio Dazzle.

"Yeah," Adagio Dazzle replied. "Everything's just fine."

"It sounds like everything's," Sunset Shimmer began, "not."

Adagio Dazzle sighed. "Alright, Sunset. To tell the truth, I'm actually..."

There was a long period of silence.

"...not ready to leave yet."

"Not ready to leave?" asked Rarity. "But you have your whole life ahead of you in whatever lies on the other side of the mirror!"

"I saw what was on the other side of that mirror," Pinkie Pie added, "and it looked real weird."

"I'll go with Twilight, Sunset, and my friends," Adagio Dazzle began, "but no matter what, I'll always miss this place."

"So you're actually kind of glad that Star Swirl the Bearded banished us here?" pondered Aria Blaze.

"I've never thought of it that way!" Sonata Dusk added.

Adagio Dazzle turned to the rest of The Dazzlings. "This place has really built our character. We came here as clueless power-hungry sirens, and we're leaving here as changed sirens."

"So, will you say your vows now?" asked Sunset Shimmer.

"Sure," replied Adagio Dazzle. "I think we're finally ready."

The Dazzlings gathered together so they were standing side-by-side in front of Sunset Shimmer. All together they spoke: "We The Dazzlings vow to never cause any trouble in Equestria again. We will make new friends, but we'll keep the old. Even though we may fight, our friendship is as strong as steel. If we feel in pain, we'll try not to feel it. Our whole life is ahead of us, and we're ready to live it."

"That was beautiful, darlings," commented Rarity.

"You're very poetic," added Fluttershy.

"Now Dazzlings," started Twilight Sparkle, "are you ready to head back to Equestria with me, Spike, and Sunset?"

"We're ready," replied Adagio Dazzle.

"I'll step in first," commented Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle, holding Spike, leaped into the mirror.

Sunset Shimmer was next. "I'll go in next."

Sunset Shimmer held her head high and sauntered into the mirror.

"Okay girls," Adagio Dazzle began, "are you ready to go back to our true home, where we really belong?"

"Yes," Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk replied.

The Dazzlings ran into the mirror and instantly disappeared.

"So long," spoke Fluttershy.

Back to Equestria

Back in the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle, Twilight Sparkle and Spike appeared in front of the mirror first.

"Welcome back, Twilight!" chirped Pinkie Pie.

"Everypony's still getting here," Twilight Sparkle told the rest of the Mane Six. "It's not everypony stepped through the mirror at once."

A minute later, Sunset Shimmer came out of the mirror, standing on her two hooves. After about fifteen seconds, she faceplanted on the ground.

"Ouch... Still getting used to being a pony again..."

Twilight Sparkle helped Sunset Shimmer. "Don't worry. You can stay in the castle for a couple of days. After that, you'll have to find a new home on your own."

"What if those days are up?" asked Sunset Shimmer.

"I guess you'd probably have to stay in the castle for about two months," replied Twilight Sparkle.

"Same goes for those Dazzlings, I guess," Applejack added. "They won't have anywhere to stay either."

"I can't wait to meet them!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Everypony else glanced at her.

"Erm, I mean, I'm very excited to meet The Dazzlings."

After Rainbow Dash spoke, The Dazzlings finally came out of the mirror, still wearing their necklaces. Adagio Dazzle was still wearing her headband and her gloves on her front hooves. Aria Blaze was still wearing her star bands on her mane and her wristbands on her front hooves. Sonata Dusk was still wearing her mane in a ponytail and her spiky collars on her front hooves.

Fluttershy was the first of the Mane Six to speak. "Hello Dazzlings! My name is-"

"Hold on," interrupted Adagio Dazzle. "You look exactly like somepony else on the other side of that mirror."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, then again, Twilight never did tell us what that world she's always in is like..."

"I guess nopony really needs to introduce themselves if they look exactly like somepony else on the other end of that mirror," added Aria Blaze.

"Hooray!" exclaimed Sonata Dusk. "I'm a pony! I'm a pony!"

Sonata Dusk bounced up and down until Adagio Dazzle stepped in front of her.

"She's always like this; an endless ball of energy."

"Just like me!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Sunset Shimmer walked next to Twilight Sparkle. "Well, Twilight needs to teach me how to live like a pony again. Who else wants to come with us?"

"I guess we'll come too," Aria Blaze replied. "After all, we just got back here. Now it's time to be a vegetarian again..."

"Just follow me!" spoke Twilight Sparkle. "I'll show you around."

"I guess I'll just stay here," commented Spike.

"I'm sure Rarity will leave you in good hooves!" replied Twilight Sparkle.

Spike ran right over to Rarity.

"Oh Spike-Wikey! Make sure not to run so hard into a lady next time. I know how much you want to see me again after all of that alternate world traveling you did with Twi."

"Goodbye, friends!" shouted Twilight Sparkle. "We'll come back soon around five o'clock sharp!"

Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and The Dazzlings started to head down the stairs.

Welp. It's time to get used to our surroundings again. thought Adagio Dazzle. Little did she know, Sunset Shimmer was also thinking the same exact thing that she was.

It had been five minutes since Twilight Sparkle had been giving Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings a tour of Ponyville.

"And that's Sugarcube Corner! That's where my friend Pinkie Pie works!"

"It looks great," commented Sunset Shimmer, "but could we please see the rest of Ponyville?"

"I guess if you're not that interested in Sugarcube Corner," replied Twilight Sparkle.

The five of them continued to walk through Ponyville. However, Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings, still feeling a bit uneasy about their surroundings, started to sing in their heads:

It’s been a long time since we have all seen

All of the things we previously came between

Sunset Shimmer sang:

Even though the lines still remain a blur

I’ll come back there soon, that’s for sure

Adagio Dazzle sang:

Bein’ a siren isn't easy

When the ones around you aren't so forgiving

We all felt pretty uneasy

But at least we’ll all be right here together, living…

Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk sang:

Breathing...

Sunset Shimmer sang:

Walking...

They all began to sing:

We’ll be walkin’ on four hooves

Just like all the rest

Seeing everything they’re seeing

As the world around us improves

Aria Blaze sang:

I’ll be breaking free

Beyond my mental prison gates

I’m free to be me

Sonata Dusk sang:

Taking a breath feels so great

Somethin’ there to relate

To finally take the world

And get it back on your side

Adagio Dazzle sang:

Now it’s time to show the world

That we’ve all changed for the better

Before that, we were under the weather

We are totally different girls

It didn’t feel easy

When the others around you weren’t so forgiving

We all felt uneasy

But at least we’ll all be right here together, living…

Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk sang:

Breathing...

Sunset Shimmer sang:

Walking...

Soon they all began to sing:

We’ll be walkin’ on four hooves

Just like all the rest

Seeing everything they’re seeing

As the world around us improves

‘Cause we’ll be walkin’ on four hooves

At five o'clock sharp, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, and The Dazzlings promptly made it back to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle.

"Do you four want to continue exploring on your own?"

"I guess," Sunset Shimmer replied. "It'll be great to talk with the other ponyfolk here."

"I'll go tell my friends that you'll be gone until six o'clock sharp," Twilight Sparkle told Sunset Shimmer.

"Got it," she accepted.

Twilight Sparkle opened the huge, crystalline castle doors with her magic and walked inside. The doors shut as Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings began to walk away.

"So Dazzlings, where should we go?"

"We could go to Sugarcube Corner!" an obviously-excited Sonata Dusk suggested. "We can eat all of the sweets that we can eat!"

"Let's not fill up too much, Sonata," pointed out Aria Blaze. "You don't want to have another stomachache like last Tuesday."

"That was horrible!" Sonata Dusk replied. "It felt like my tummy would explode! I also had a sugar high right after I drank a whole bunch of soda to calm my poor little tummy down."

"That is how not to get rid of a stomachache," added Sunset Shimmer.

Before long, the four made it to Sugarcube Corner...behind a long line.

"Why is there a long line here all of a sudden?" asked Sonata Dusk.

"It could possibly be because of a popular dessert or candy," suggested Adagio Dazzle. "I remember on that same Tuesday, you dragged us into a candy store. There was a really long line at the sand candy dispenser machine."

"Oh, I remember now," added Aria Blaze. "There were a whole bunch of kids that were filling up on that sand candy. One of them even had his mouth on one of the spouts."

Sunset Shimmer grimaced at the thought of what Aria Blaze just said. "Ew! That's disgusting! Did that kid have to get carried out by an employee or something like that?"

"Yeah," began Aria Blaze, "he had to! It was even on the local news channel."

All of a sudden, the line began to move. Five mares ran out of Sugarcube Corner, screaming.

"I can't believe that Sapphire Shores was in there!"

"I know! Perhaps she was snacking there before beginning her tour or something like that!"

"Sapphire Shores?!" Sunset Shimmer asked.

The name sounded familiar to her, yet she couldn't remember who exactly she was. All that she knew was that she was a very popular celebrity in Equestria.

Before long, the line cleared away, revealing the reason why everypony came to Sugarcube Corner in the first place. Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings entered inside. As soon as they stepped on the "Welcome" mat, Sapphire Shores gasped.

"Are you three over there The Dazzlings?!"

Sapphire Shores Shines

Sunset Shimmer stepped aside and let The Dazzlings walk over to a seemingly-astounded Sapphire Shores.

"I'll let you girls talk to her. Don't mind me."

"Oh, I know who you are too," Sapphire Shores told Sunset Shimmer. "You're Sunset Shimmer, right? Y'know, Princess Celestia's student before Twilight Sparkle took your place?"

"Yes," replied Sunset Shimmer. "I wish that I could become a princess too. I guess Twilight was a better student."

"Oh, don't be that way honey," spoke Sapphire Shores. "I'm sure that right now you're just as good as she was."

Sunset Shimmer smiled. "Thanks, Sapphire."

"None taken," replied Sapphire Shores. "However, I am interested in talking to your friends."

Sapphire Shores walked over to The Dazzlings. "Hello, Dazzlings! I've heard of you three before. A musical group that you three are in?"

"Yup," replied Adagio Dazzle. "We're called 'The Dazzlings', which is named after me, Adagio Dazzle. When we were sent to this strange alternate universe by Star Swirl the Bearded many moons ago, we eventually learned to change our ways. We have new necklaces that now harness positive energy rather than negative energy."

"Oh honey," replied Sapphire Shores, "I already know your names! In fact, when I was first looking to become a pony pop star, I did a little research on previous musicians. Apparently you three were considered musicians in your time."

"We were looking to become musicians when we were just little fillies," began Adagio Dazzle, "but we still were evil. Our necklaces took control of other ponies and seduced their minds to nothing but a state of hypnosis."

"Oh honey," repeated Sapphire Shores. "Don't pressure yourself about the past. It's, well, the past. You've gotta move on, sweetie! You and your fellow band-mates need to just move on and keep singing!"

"Well," spoke Aria Blaze, "we never signed a record deal..."

Sapphire Shores jumped back in surprise. "Blasphemy! You girls have beautiful voices! W-well, at least that's from what I've read..."

"We could vocalize for you," suggested Sonata Dusk.

"Yes, please!" Sapphire Shores answered. "I wanna hear your voices!"

Adagio Dazzle gulped.

"I hope that this'll work," she whispered. "I hope that our voices sound better..."

The Dazzlings drew in a deep breath. Soon afterwards, they began to vocalize:

"Ah ah ah, ah ah

Ah ah ah, ah ah..."

Their voices sounded beautiful, but not quite like they originally sounded. Still, Sapphire Shores was quite impressed with the vocalizations.

"Bravo! Bravo! You three sounded wonderful!"

"Actually," began Adagio Dazzle, "our voices sounded a lot better before our old necklaces broke..."

"No sweetie," Sapphire Shores replied, "you still sounded fine! I think I should talk to my manager about you three so he could perhaps sign you a record deal!"

"We could become professional musicians?" asked an astonished Sonata Dusk. "That sounds awesome!"

Sonata Dusk leapt up in the air.

"Finally!" added Aria Blaze. "We can now use our siren abilities for singing other than hypnotizing everypony!"

Suddenly, the Ponyville town clock rang six times, signaling that it was six o'clock sharp. Adagio Dazzle turned to Sapphire Shores.

"Look Sapphire, we have to leave right now. Sorry."

"No really," began Sapphire Shores, "it's okay. I was about to leave right now too! I've gotta go back to Manehattan so I could talk to my manager about this. Also, I've got a tour coming up. Maybe if he signs you a record deal, you could be the opening act of one of my gigs!"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," replied Adagio Dazzle. "We've gotta shed our past images right now."

"Well, it was nice talking to you girls!" spoke Sapphire Shores. "See you later!"

Sapphire Shores sauntered out of Sugarcube Corner. Sunset Shimmer began to wonder if she was ever going to see her again.

"Well, it looks like you three are well on your way to fame here. Maybe I can show Princess Celestia how I've changed."

"Don't give up hope," replied Adagio Dazzle. "Eventually you'll run into her. You could wow her with your social skills and maybe, just maybe, she'll reconsider making you her student again."

"It's a long shot," began Sunset Shimmer, "but it might actually work."

"Just like how our music careers are like right now," added Aria Blaze. "It's sort of up in the air right now, however..."

The Dazzlings and Sunset Shimmer exited Sugarcube Corner and were on their way to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle.

"WHAT?!"

At the same time, the Mane Six were surprised at The Dazzlings' situation. They almost couldn't believe it when Adagio Dazzle first told them that she and her band-mates could possibly become musicians. Rarity saw this as an opportunity to make this situation a major discussion at the dinner table.

"I'm so happy for you three!" added an excited Rarity. "Maybe I can be your wardrobe designer and design all of your clothes for your concerts!"

"I think that's fine with us," Adagio Dazzle replied.

"Well, I'm just the slightest bit jealous of The Dazzlings..."

"Why, darling?" Rarity asked Sunset Shimmer.

"Y'know,' began Sunset Shimmer, "be-be-because they're already getting a great start back in-"

A tear silently rolled down her cheek as Twilight Sparkle got up out of her chair and walked over to her.

"It'll be okay, Sunset. You'll eventually find out what you'll do."

"What I want to do is get back on Princess Celestia's good side," spoke Sunset Shimmer.

"I believe that'll be very difficult," spoke Twilight Sparkle. "She still doesn't know if you've changed or not."

"Why not make a special trip to Canterlot?" suggested Rarity. "You could tell her there."

"Maybe I'm better off just sending her a simple letter," Twilight Sparkle replied. "After all, I don't always have to make a special trip for anything when I'm a princess."

Spike got up out of his seat. "I'll start composing a letter right away, your-"

"Spike, I'll do it later. Right now, we have to eat dinner."

Right after dinner, everypony but Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings went home. Spike walked up to Twilight Sparkle:

"I'm going where you're going, Twi."

"Spike, it's not like I'm the fastest letter writer in Equestria or something," Twilight Sparkle spoke. "Wait with Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings."

Spike obeyed her order and walked next to Sunset Shimmer. Twilight Sparkle then walked into her bedroom, grabbed parchment paper, ink, and a quill with her magic, and started writing a letter:

Dear Princess Celestia,

After we defeated The Dazzlings (we are currently working to reform them now), I've seen how your former student Sunset Shimmer is changing too. She helped me back in Canterlot High with locating The Dazzlings in the first place and we're currently working to reform them. Sunset Shimmer has changed, and I know that. Please request her to travel to Canterlot to see you.

Your former student,

Twilight Sparkle

Sending the Letter

Twilight Sparkle had written the letter. She walked over to Spike.

"Okay Spike! You can come to the desk right now and send the letter."

Spike walked over to the desk, picked up the letter, and sent it with his breath. Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings watched the magical dust of Spike's breath float in the air. Sunset Shimmer knew that this letter controlled her fate of whether she could be her student or not.

"I hope that Princess Celestia will see how much I've changed."

"I think she'll believe you. Now I think we should all get some sleep."

The Train Leaves in the Morning

The very next morning, Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings woke up with a start. Twilight Sparkle was in the same room with them.

"Come on girls! Have some breakfast with us! After all, the train for Canterlot leaves in the morning."

"Oh ponyfeathers!" spoke Sonata Dusk. "I didn't realize that we were leaving today!"

"You are leaving today," replied Twilight Sparkle. "Princess Celestia replied to me in a letter saying that Sunset Shimmer needs to come to Canterlot and that you three are still going to Manehattan."

"Aw mare! I thought that it was going to be tomorrow!"

"You can probably rest at some hotel or something," Aria Blaze told Sonata Dusk. "I heard that Manehattan is a really fancy city."

Adagio Dazzle sighed. "Let's just get some breakfast."

It didn't take long for Sunset Shimmer and The Dazzlings to finish their blueberry pancakes.

"So, did ya like my pancakes?" asked Pinkie Pie. "I made it with a super-special secret recipe! It's a secrety secret!"

"Erm," began Adagio Dazzle, "I guess these pancakes were pretty good."

"I'm with Adagio," Sunset Shimmer agreed. "I haven't tasted pancakes this good since I was in Canterlot High!"

"Did my, erm, human version make pancakes this good?"

"I-I, I guess, Pinkie."

"Okay. Good."

Just as Sonata Dusk was about to say something, Twilight Sparkle looked at Sunset Shimmer.

"Your train is here!"

Sunset Shimmer was riding on the train, thinking about her past. She didn't mean to do those things to Princess Celestia. She wasn't as honest and as loyal as she was now. If only she could fix those mistakes.

"I'm sorry..."