Sunset landed hard on her hands and knees from the portal, and the rough concrete of the path scratched and stung her skin. She needed to give herself a moment to breathe. It had been a long time since she had run so fast! It was something humans weren’t capable of. While she caught her breath, hot tears began to well up in her eyes. What was the matter with her? She had wanted to see Princess Celestia, hadn’t she? How could she be such a coward? What would Twilight think of her?

The worst of the sudden emotion passed, and Sunset was able to calm herself down. She hadn’t counted on how terrified the prospect of actually meeting with Celestia would make her. The idea was all well and good, but actually doing it? How could she face the princess when, the last time she had seen her, Sunset Shimmer had ruined everything between them? She didn’t have the strength. At least not now. She picked herself up off the ground, wiping the last of her tears away with the sleeve of her jacket. Just as she started to think of what she would do next, she heard a voice calling to her.

“Hey, Sunset Shimmer! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Sunset looked up and saw Rainbow Dash heading in her direction. Practice! Sunset had forgotten all about it! “Are you coming or what?” Dash asked.

“Yeah, of course!” Sunset answered. On Saturday afternoons, she, Rainbow Dash, and Flash Sentry all got together to practice playing guitar and give each other tips.

“Then, uh, where’s your guitar?” Rainbow Dash said impatiently.

“Right. It’s, um, in one of the practice rooms. Want to come with me?” Sunset offered.

Rainbow Dash quickly considered. “Alright, but let’s hurry. I need to play!”

Together, they made their to the school entrance and toward the band room, where the practice rooms were. Rainbow Dash asked, “So, what were you doing by the portal?” She gasped suddenly. “Did you go to Equestria? Did you see Twilight? What about the other me? Was she awesome? Who am I kidding, of course she was.”

Sunset felt a bit embarrassed by Rainbow’s sudden outburst. She had hoped the other girl wouldn’t have noticed exactly where Sunset had been standing when she found her. But she saw no reason to lie to Rainbow Dash, nor did she want to. “Yeah, I… I went to Equestria. I didn’t see any Rainbow Dashes, but I did visit Twilight,” she told the other.

“That’s so cool! You’re a unicorn there, right?” Sunset nodded. “I wish I could go. How great would being a pegasus be? Anyway, back to you. What made you want to go there?”

“I missed it,” Sunset replied. “And you know how hard I’ve been working to make up with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna and everyone at Canterlot High, right?”

“Duh! You’ve been working so hard and so often it’s like we never get to see you anymore,” Rainbow Dash told her. “It’s kind of impressive, actually. Not many people have that much energy.”

“Well, I wanted to make it up to the Celestia back in Equestria, too,” Sunset continued. “Twilight offered to take me to meet her, but I lost my nerve and came back here.” As Sunset finished, her gaze dropped to the floor out of embarrassment. As the pair reached the practice rooms, Sunset put just a little too much focus into retrieving her guitar.

“Well, that’s a bummer,” Rainbow Dash said, frowning. “But you’re gonna try again, right? The Sunset Shimmer I know wouldn’t give up on anything.” Sunset Shimmer smiled at this. Rainbow Dash could be cocky, and even a bit coarse, but she was a true friend at heart. “And, hey, I could come with you!”

As the two walked toward the back of the school, with Sunset’s guitar in hand, Sunset wondered if going back to Equestria with her friends would be such a bad idea. She smiled to herself at the thought, but of course, there was also a lot of bad that could come out of Equestria having two of everybody. Sunset decided that now wasn’t the time to worry about it. She and Rainbow Dash passed through the back door and headed toward the benches that sat in the shade in the yard, where they saw Flash Sentry waving them over.

“Hey, guys,” Flash greeted the girls as they sat down on the bench opposite from him. “What’s been going on?”

Sunset was about to answer when Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “Sunset Shimmer spent the morning in Equestria!”

“Wow, really?” Flash said with excitement. “What was it like? Must’ve been great to finally go back home.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. “I forgot how pretty it was there.”

“You don’t seem too happy, though,” Flash observed. Sunset explained the situation to him, an explanation which Rainbow Dash finished by saying, “And that’s why I thought I could go with her, to support her. In fact, we could all go! Us two, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack could all go with Sunset Shimmer and help her.”

“Would you really all do that for me?” Sunset asked. She was still getting used to the care and support her new friends showed her.

“Sure we would,” Rainbow Dash told her. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

Soon after, the three of them had rounded up the rest of the girls, and the group was standing in front of the portal entrance. Pinkie Pie was fidgeting excitedly, jabbering about how “we’ll be cute little ponies!” Fluttershy was saying goodbye to her animals and promising her quick return. Sunset, however, was frozen. She could hardly think through the nervousness she was feeling. She felt someone else’s hand take hers, and turned to see it was Rarity, who smiled warmly at her.

“Everything is going to be alright, darling,” she promised.

“’Course it will be,” Applejack agreed. “We’ll be with you the whole time.”

“And if you feel uncomfortable, we can come straight back,” Rarity added.

Sunset smiled gratefully at both of them. Everyone in the group was ready to leave. Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath to steel herself, and then led the others through the portal. When they reappeared on the other side, they came face to face with…

Themselves.

Author's Note

Flash Sentry has big ass ears what's up with that