Guiding Light

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Twilight stumbled through the portal, falling to her hooves as she arrived on the other side. She fell to the floor, ignoring everything. Nothing really mattered to her anymore anyways, not since she had said goodbye. She stifled a sob as she laid on the floor, defeated. She had not been right in an entire year now, her friends had done their best to console her, and on some days, their efforts did dull the pain to the point she could almost pretend she could see her love again.

She had been doing much better during the past month, however today was a different story. Today was the exception she would allow herself, after all it was the anniversary of the day she had been forced to part ways with-

She screamed as tears she had previously thought run out, streamed down her face. Even thinking of the name of her love hurt her physically and she sobbed on the floor for several more minutes thinking only of the name and the love she had felt saying that name in hushed whispers in her bed.

She sighed as she finally forced the tears to stop, grateful that she had spent Spike to spend the night with Rarity. She had been hesitant at first, but after remembering what day it was, Rarity accepted the young dragon for the night.

Twilight stood and stared at the book above the portal, tempted to take it down, but on a whim she decided to leave it. No one would know the portal was open so she had no fear of anyone entering the portal. She walked out of the library and stumbled into the throne room, smiling as she saw the giant tree root hanging from her ceiling several gems showing pictures of happier times. After the Golden Oak Library roots had been put up, Twilight had taken it upon herself to place more picture-gems upon them and she smiled to herself as she looked at some of her own additions.

There was the picture from her love and herself at a picnic each laughing happily with smiles upon their faces. Another gem displayed the two of them having fallen asleep holding one another, their hands linked together and a blanket covering their legs. Pinkie had never explained where that particular picture had come from, but she was grateful for it now.

She also considered the pictures she had not deemed acceptable for hanging in the open. Pictures that were private gifts from the one she loved. She blushed as she remembered how much she had panicked over the gifts initially, but in time she had realized just how practical they were, after all her love did live in an entirely different world. She laughed as she remembered when her love had caught her "utilizing" the pictures in her bed.

They had laughed over that moment for several months afterwards. She loved moments like these, when the memories of all their joyful times came flooding back to her at once. The memories really dulled the pain and all she could think of was the warm smile and beautiful laugh that had kept her loneliness at bay during their time together.

She smiled warmly at the pictures on display as she decided how best to spend the remainder of her night. She walked into her kitchen, just off of the throne room and hummed to herself while she made her love's favorite sandwich; lettuce, tomato, and the strange soy strips that they had mutually referred to as 'not bacon'. The sandwich itself was called a BLT, if Twilight remembered correctly, and apparently the soy in place of the bacon was acceptable.

She wondered how humans could eat meat and shuddered in revulsion. She was perfectly content to bite into the sandwich held in her magic as she walked back into her library and sat in front of the portal.

Twilight absently munched on her sandwich and considered her plan as she stared at the open portal. "I miss you." she mumbled aloud. "I know it's impossible for you to hear me right now, but the books I've read on dealing with this sort of thing say that talking to you will help. I don't understand how it would help, but... I'm willing to try. After all, I know you would want me to at least try to be happy."

She finished her sandwich in silence before speaking again. "My friends have been helping me deal with it... losing you, I mean. I know that it's for the best, but I still wish you were here. Still, I'm an alicorn now, I have to learn how to deal with loss eventually."

She laid on her stomach and placed her head in her hooves. "I remember everything about you and that really helps. The way you would hold me when I cried or the way you would whisper my name when we were... making love." she blushed for reasons she did not completely understand, after all, nopony was around to hear her. "The way you would laugh when I didn't understand things and the way you would smile whenever you saw me." she laughed. "I love all of those things about you... and I still love you. No matter where you go, or what you do, I will always love you. I know that."

Twilight used her magic to bring herself a blanket and pillow as she grew more comfortable on the floor. She closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "The way you told me you loved me as we parted ways... I'll never forget that either. I had never been so sad and so happy at the same time."

Twilight yawned widely as she pressed her muzzle into the pillow. She could still smell her love's hair on the pillow, she thought. It may have been wishful thinking, but it was enough to ease her mind into her nightly slumber.

That slumber was not to last, however, as Twilight awoke to the sound of a gun shot and a mare screaming. She quickly jerked her head up to look at the portal that she had unintentionally left open as its surface shimmered, a sure indication that someone or something was about to pass through.

She got to her hooves quickly and rolled out of the way of the portal just as a flaming hunk of metal passed through on a collision course with her bookshelves.

She grabbed the strange, flaming contraption in her magic as she threw a barrier around herself. The contraption exploded, taking half of her library with it.

She sighed heavily as she imagined just how many books she was going to replace now. She looked back to the portal to find a mare laying on the ground, blood pouring from her chest.

Panic set in as Twilight recognized the orange and yellow, flame like mane and tail before her. She quickly ran to the mare, yelling as she did so. "Sunset Shimmer?!"

Sunset did not stir at her own name being called and Twilight quickly wrapped the other mare in her magic. She rolled Sunset over and examined the hole in her chest. She quickly summoned gauze and bandages as she used her magic to search for whatever had created the hole.

Twilight had spent enough time in the human world to know what a bullet was and she was fairly certain that was what she was searching for now. Her magic hit a chunk of metal lodged deep in Sunset's barrel and she gently pulled it out.

She grit her teeth as she prepared a fire spell to cauterize the wound, Sunset releasing a helpless whimper at the pain before going eerily still and silent once more.

Twilight quickly padded the wound with gauze before wrapping bandages around the other mare's chest. She was no doctor and had very little medical skill, so she decided to take Sunset to the hospital. Wrapping the unconscious mare in her lavender magic, Twilight teleported them both to the lobby of the hospital.

The nurse behind the counter jumped as the loud pop of magic erupted in the lobby. Seeing a tearful Twilight holding a bleeding mare, the nurse immediately pressed the button on the counter to call a doctor before running around her desk to assist Twilight. "Don't cry, it'll be okay." she said.

Twilight jumped when she realized she was indeed crying. When did that start? she wondered to herself. Logically, she knew that nothing vital had been hit and that Sunset should be okay, but she still could not stop the tears. The doctor entered the lobby and everything was a blur after that.

It did not take long for everything to be put in motion. The doctors looked over Sunset and came to the conclusion that she was going to be okay after a blood transfusion. Twilight had told the doctors very little about what happened and they did not seem inclined to pry. Soon the unconscious unicorn was out of the intensive care unit and in her room.

Twilight had not left the other mare's side and the doctors did not try to make her. Sometimes Twilight was grateful for her authority as a princess. Twilight stood beside Sunset's bed and simply watched her sleep. She knew this was not the Sunset Shimmer she used to know and just looking at the mare hurt her.

This could not be the Sunset who was originally from Equestria; that Sunset was never coming back. It hurt Twilight to see the other mare sleeping so close, while her double was forever out of reach.

This was Sunset Shimmer... but it was not the Sunset Shimmer that Twilight loved.

Twilight sniffled once more as she watched the other mare sleep. She was curious as to how the other Sunset came through the portal and what exactly was that explosion, and how did she get shot?

Twilight sighed when she realized all she could do is wait until "Other-Sunset" woke up. Hopefully she would wake up soon. The doctors seemed very impressed by Twilight's amateur doctor work and promised that Sunset would soon make a full recovery.

There was a knock at the door and Twilight considered ignoring for a moment, until the knock came again only louder. She sighed as she stood from her spot next to the bed and opened the door to reveal a panic stricken pegasus.

"What is it, Rainbow?" Twilight asked quietly.

"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked. "I heard an explosion and when I went to your house, half of your library was gone. When I couldn't find you I decided to look here and the doctors said you brought somepony here. Who is it? Are they okay? Why was somepony at your-"

Twilight shoved a hoof in the pegasus muzzle, cutting off her panic induced rant. "I'm fine, Rainbow. I'll explain everything later."

Rainbow pushed the hoof away gently before nodding. "Okay." she said. "At least tell me who got hurt."

Rainbow did not wait for an answer but instead pushed the door open and peered inside. Upon seeing the sleeping mare, Rainbow turned to Twilight a surprised smile on her face. "She came back for you?"

And that was all it took for Twilight to hit the ground crying again. It hurt her so bad, thinking of her Sunset, but seeing her double was much more painful. Rainbow closed the door and wrapped a wing around Twilight asking several questions.

Twilight ignored them all and simply cried in the floor in her friends embrace. "She's not coming back. She's not coming back. She's not coming back." Twilight repeated this several times as she stared at the unconscious form of the one who shared her love's visage. "That's not my Sunset."

Rainbow gently pat Twilight on the back and allowed her to cry. "I'm sorry." she said quietly. "I didn't know."

Twilight nodded and put her head in Rainbow's neck. "It's not your fault. It's mine. I shouldn't have allowed myself to hope."

Twilight's crying seemed to ebb away slowly as consciousness began to leave her. The last thing she remembered before she finally fell asleep was her friends voice. "Everything is going to be fine." Rainbow said.

Yet, for some reason, Twilight did not believe her. Nothing was ever going to be fine again.

Author's Note

So... this is a thing. It just kinda popped into my head and I couldn't stop myself from putting it down. Always wanted to do a SunLight fic, but I've always been worried I wouldn't do a good enough job.

Feel free to let me know what you think.

Chapter 2

"Hey, Sparkles!" Sunset called from across the park. Twilight turned at the voice and smiled warmly at her friend. "C'mere a minute. I have something for you." she called.

Twilight walked across the park, following the other girl as she led her deeper through the trees, occasionally catching a glimpse of a blush on the other girl's cheeks. "What're you up to, Sunny?" she asked.

Sunset for her part merely scoffed and sputtered. "Sunny?" she asked.

Twilight shrugged as she caught up to the older girl. "If you can call me Sparkles, then it's only fair I call you Sunny." she stated with a resolute nod of her head. Sunset merely chuckled as she continued her slow walk through the trees. "You never answered my question." Twilight said. "What are we doing out here?"

"You'll see." Sunset said leading the way.

Twilight grinned as she followed her. After a few more minutes of walking the two came across a small duck pond deep within the trees of the park. Twilight gasped as she caught sight of the items placed next to the pond. Candles burning on the grass, a blanket spread out across the ground, and a picnic basket placed in the center of the blanket.

Sunset sat on one side of the blanket and gestured to the basket with a sheepish grin. "Care to join me?" she asked, her blush growing by the second.

Twilight stared at the other girl for a second, pondering her actions. "Why didn't we bring the others if we're having a picnic?" she asked. "They're still back there."

Sunset nodded and took on a tone that sounded much like the one Twilight herself used when explaining to the Cutie Mark Crusaders why they should not mess about in her lab. "Yes," Sunset said, "I planned this for the two of us."

"But, our friends-" Twilight started, however she was cut off by a small laugh from Sunset.

"They helped me plan this." Sunset said. Twilight stepped over to the blanket and sat next to Sunset. "I've been wanting to get you alone for a while now, and they wanted to help when I told them... that I wanted to see you..." Sunset's blush covered her entire face at this point and she could not seem to meet the other girl's gaze.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked as the other girl trailed off. "Your face is all red." Twilight placed her hand on Sunset's cheek and gasped. "Sunset, you're burning up. We should get you to a doctor." Twilight stood and grabbed Sunset's hand, moving to drag her to the nearest hospital.

She felt a sharp jerk on her arm as Sunset refused to budge. Sunset for her part, merely sat on the blanket and stared at the ground. "I'm okay, Twilight." she mumbled, her voice no higher than a whisper. Twilight raised an eyebrow, but merely sat back on the blanket. "I need to tell you something." Sunset stated with a quaver in her voice. "It's kind of important, but I don't know how to say it."

Twilight blinked. She stared at the top of the other girl's head, considering that was the only part she could see, and felt a wave of nervousness rise within her. Why was Sunset acting this way? Had something bad happened? "Sunset?" Twilight asked quietly.

"Twilight..." Sunset finally raised her head to look Twilight in the eye, her aquamarine eyes welling with tears as she took a deep breath and released it shakily.

"Yes?" Twilight asked, her hands shaking and her heart pounding within her chest. Why was she so nervous? Why was her body heating up and shaking like this? It did not make any sense.

Sunset said nothing, she merely placed her hand atop Twilight's own and leaned closer to the frightened girl. Twilight stared as those Aquamarine eyes grew closer and she saw her own eyes reflected in them. Sunset's eyes closed as her lips brushed against Twilight's own.

Twilight gasped as she felt the soft slickness of Sunset's lips slide against her skin. The taste of cherries filled her mouth for a moment before she forcefully threw herself away from the other girl. She felt scared and confused, having never been kissed before and her first was taken by her trusted friend. After throwing herself clear of the blanket, Twilight rolled to her feet in a standing position.

Sunset looked hurt, her eyes welling with tears as she gazed at the other girl. Still, she made no move to chase after the girl, she had done what she felt she needed to do and now she simply sat on the blanket crying, knowing her answer for the unasked question.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight whispered the question. She had no idea how to react right then, should she be hurt, angry... happy? She did not know.

"I would think that was obvious." Sunset said. "I did it because I like you... I was hoping you felt the same way."

Twilight shifted on her feet for several agonizing seconds as her mind raced faster than ever before. She had no idea how that had made her feel, but she did have to admit that Sunset's lips were soft and that her kiss had been innocent. There was no lust filled passion behind the kiss, it was simply a warm gesture meant to assure the girl of her feelings. She had been so warm and so kind to Twilight for so long and all of that warmth and... love... were evident in her kiss.

Twilight took a deep shaky breath, her hand held to her chest as she inhaled and pushed away as she exhaled. She was now calm enough, she opened her mouth to speak.

The first thing Twilight noticed when she awoke in the hospital, was the fact that her flank hurt really badly on her left side. The second thing she noticed, was a cyan pegasus, sitting in a chair reading a Daring Do book. Twilight got to her hooves and realized she had been sleeping on the floor for some reason.

Twilight had enough sense of mind when she awoke to remember the events of the previous night. Her library exploding as the Not-Sunset came through the portal and rushing to the hospital. She remembered her friend, Rainbow, holding her as she cried and then... nothing. "What happened?" she asked groggily as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

A quiet chuckle from Rainbow as she placed a bookmark in her novel and closed it. "I talked the doctors into giving you a sedative. Thought you needed the sleep."

Twilight glared at the pegasus before releasing a weak chuckle of her own. "And how did you do that, Dash?" she asked. "Pretty sure that's illegal."

"Well," Dash started, "when I say talked them into it, I might mean 'took it from them and shot you before they could stop me', but you never know with me." Rainbow's innocent smile only seemed to confirm this statement for Twilight.

Approaching the bed cautiously, Twilight looked down at Sunset's sleeping form and sighed. "We need to do something about her, Rainbow."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and looked towards the sleeping unicorn. "Why?" she asked. "It's not like she's going anywhere. Isn't she okay where she's at?"

Twilight shook her head as she continued to watch the unicorn sleep. "No, we need to move her before she wakes up."

"Why?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight sighed and sat on her haunches before turning to the pegasus. "She's a unicorn, Dash. Not just that, she's a unicorn that has no control over her magic." Twilight searched Rainbow's eyes for some sign of recognition, however, finding none she sighed before asking, "Do you know what happens when a novice unicorn is scared or hurt?" After Rainbow shook her head, Twilight continued. "They have magical outbursts."

"Like when you were a filly and you were trying to get into Princess Celestia's school?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight nodded her head. "Right. I was scared and my magic acted out." Twilight sighed. "It can still happen, even if a unicorn is grown and has control over their magic. The reason we need to move Sunset before she wakes up, is if she wakes up and is nearly as scared as I was when I first entered her world, it could be bad for all of the hospital."

Rainbow nodded. "That makes sense." she went to stand and walk away. "I'll go explain everything to the doctor."

"Wait." Twilight said firmly. Rainbow paused in the doorway. "Go ahead and tell the doctor what I said, but let him know we won't be moving her for an hour."

"Why not?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight felt wetness on her cheek as she shook her head. "I need to go home and get a room ready for her. If she has a magical outburst there, no matter what magic she accidentally casts, it'll be safe in my castle."

"And you need to put away the pictures of your Sunset...?" Rainbow asked quietly.

Twilight merely nodded, placing a hoof over her mouth to stifle a sob. Her horn lit up and the magic wrapped around her as she teleported home.

The rythmic beeping of a heart-monitor. Hospital? Good, she knew she had been shot and she sort-of remembered an explosion. She couldn't feel her fingers or toes and her clothes felt heavy; stifling. She groaned as she shifted in the bed, feeling her wound stretch, a dull throbbing reminder of what had happened.

She was certainly enjoying whatever pain medicine they had given her. It was a pleasant sensation of a dulled pain without the light-headed dizziness she was accustomed to. She tested her arms, shifting them just to learn if she had been handcuffed to the bed like on TV. She was pleasantly surprised to find that her arms were unbound.

She knew she had been saved. She couldn't remember exactly 'who' or 'how', but she knew a woman saved her life. She had a hazy memory of a winged woman, appearing as an angel, stopping the explosion from reaching her. At least, that was how she remembered it.

She heard voices in the room with her as she awoke. She refused to open her eyes just yet, but she was listening intently to the conversation only to find herself confused by most of it.

"Princess Twilight said we should move her?" A man's voice asked.

"Yeah, she said something about magical outbursts and she thinks her castle would be safer for everypony involved." A thick raspy woman's voice stated.

"Well, I may be a man of medicine, but I'd wager I know less about unicorn magic than the princess." The man said.

Unicorn magic? Princess Twilight? Magical outbursts? What the hell were these people talking about. The man sounded like a doctor, but a man of medicine discussing magic with a woman? Who was the woman anyways? Was she the angel that saved Sunset Shimmer? She remembered the color purple defining everything in the room as she had been saved.

She blinked her eyes open hoping to see the purple angel that had saved her life. However, as she looked across the room she saw strange ponies a brown one with a horn and a bright blue one with a rainbow mane and a pair of large wings.

The brown pony looked to where she lay and smiled. "Well, look who's awake!" he announced cheerfully.

The blue one, however looked at her with eyes full of worry as she muttered a quick curse under her breath. "Get out!" she yelled at the doctor, probably hoping that one less pony would make her feel better.

The doctor gained a worried look as he looked between a hyperventilating Sunset and a worried looking cyan pegasus. The doctor swifly left the room and the rainbow maned pony closed the door behind him.

Sunset felt herself panicking as the blue pegasus turned back to her. "Calm down, Sunset." she said. How did she know Sunset's name? "My name is Rainbow Dash. You're safe here."

"Where am I?" Sunset asked.

"You're in the hospital. You were hurt really badly and my friend Twilight Sparkle saved you and brought you here." Rainbow Dash said as she took a few tentative steps towards the bed. "We just wanna help."

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"Twilight told us." she said.

Sunset forced herself to take a few deep breaths and calm down, she felt some sort of fading in her forehead. It was as if she had started storing something as she panicked and she was releasing it in her relaxing breaths.

Apparently she had visibly calmed enough that Rainbow could also relax. "Feel better?" she asked.

Sunset nodded and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, it's just... talking ponies that know my name? It was a little scary."

Rainbow adopted a confused look at those words. "What do you mean?" she asked. Sunset raised an eyebrow. "You do realize you're a talking pony too, right?"

Sunset shook her head and laughed. "No, I'm a human." she said. "I'm sure it's confusing for you, and I bet you've never seen one before, but-"

She was cut off by Rainbow handing her a mirror. Sunset tried to grab it, but her hooves wouldn't cooperate.

Hooves?

She looked into the mirror, and a pony with a horn looked back at her.

The power she had felt in her forehead built again as she started to panic again. Rainbow backed away quickly as a bright light filled the room. Sunset screamed as a burst of light filled the room.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, work has been busy lately and I haven't had a lot of free time. This weekend I'm going to finish the only other story I have going and then I can focus all of my attention on this one so expect updates to come much, much sooner.

Feel free to leave any thoughts or comments below.

Chapter 3

Twilight trotted soundlessly through her castle's large hallways, silently tucking away any and all remnants of her love. She had no time for tears as she worked, she knew she would soon have to be back at the hospital to keep an eye on the other Sunset. She found it very likely that something was very wrong with the other mare.

She grabbed one picture in her magic before hesitating. It was a picture of her and Sunset from their first date. They were both covered in mud and laughing hysterically as the rest of her friends stared at them like they had lost their minds and, in a way, they had. She smiled fondly at the memory and tucked the picture under her pillow. She had a feeling she would want to see it again very soon.

She ran swiftly to her library to repair the damage caused the night previously. She entered the room to find the remains of her library still smoking. She grit her teeth at the thought of all the books she had lost. The alicorn took further stock of the damage as she prepared spells to fix what she could. Most of her books were irreparable, however her bookshelves could easily be fixed and most of the floor simply needed the soot wiped off of them.

Whatever had exploded in her castle could not be repaired until Twilight knew more about it, however it was large and important looking enough that Twilight decided not to throw it out. With a flash of light, the bookshelves were repaired, the books were moved, and the large metal contraption was leaned against the far wall of the library.

The alicorn sighed happily as she looked about her freshly cleaned and repaired library before she noticed something out of place. A black bag that must have slid under one of her shelves. She approached the bag cautiously before grabbing it in her magic and lifting it before her face.

Twilight gently lifted the clasp off of the bag and looked inside.

"Teddy bears?" The nurse asked. Rainbow had come out of Sunset's room panting and chatting rapidly before the nurse was able to make out two words.

"It's weird." Rainbow explained. "She started panicking and then she made- I don't even know how to explain it." she said.

Nurse RedHeart blinked several times before opening the door herself.

She stared, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the sight before her. She stood directly before a wall... made of teddy bears. "I don't understand." she said.

"Now you know how I feel." Rainbow said, after re-entering the room. "At first I thought I understood, but then I realized I was lost."

"She had a magical outburst." Nurse RedHeart said. "Normally for a unicorn her age, she would have leveled the town, but for some reason she has the magical power and mentality of a filly, so we're safe."

"Okay, Twilight mentioned that something like this could happen, but she made it sound a lot worse." Rainbow said.

"Well, when unicorns with average magical power lose control, their mind sub-consciously forms their magic to protect them in whatever way they believe is best." RedHeart explained. "When a unicorn is a filly, it's often silly. They create things, or replace things. They might replace whatever is near them with plants, or make them grown. When a unicorn is grown, like myself or Sunset, their mind usually presets to destruction and they simply allow themselves to let their magic explode."

"Whoa."

"Indeed. However, it seems that either Sunset's magic wasn't powerful enough to do that, or her mind preset to two thoughts. Protection, in the form of a wall, and comfort, in the form of teddy bears."

"Could it have been both?"

"Possibly. However, I'm sure the princess will be able to calm her down once she returns. We should just let her alone to calm down for now." Nurse RedHeart said as she turned to leave the room. "If you notice her magic power building again, let me know as fast as you can."

"Alright." Rainbow said as she watched the nurse walk away. She needed to let Twilight know what happened, but she also needed to keep an eye on Sunset. She just needed to decide which was more important. She stared at the wall for several minutes as she thought.

She sighed heavily after she came to a decision, and she curled up next to the wall. Surely, she could get a nap in and still keep watch. If anything happened while she was this close to the wall she would wake up in time to go get help.

"What is this?" Twilight asked aloud. She stared at the strange device in her hooves, studying it for any indication of what it was. As far as she could make out, it was made mainly of steel with several wires encased within it and a smaller metal box sticking out of it.

Feeling that the device might be important, Twilight stashed it away on one of her bookshelves. As her magic faded from around the contraption she heard, or rather felt, her mirror; the connection between worlds shimmered with activity. She wondered briefly as to who would attempt to enter the portal and cursed herself silently for forgetting to remove the book from its apparatus.

However, she did not have long to linger on those thoughts as an extremely tall white unicorn stepped through the portal. She was several hooves taller than the alicorn with a blazing sun emblem upon her flank. The human version of Twilight's mentor seemed to take a moment to survey her new surroundings. Behind her appeared a bright pink earth-pony who seemed to exude pure energy.

Had Twilight had time to think, she would have been hoping the non-equestrian Pinkie Pie would need a moment to take stock of herself much like Celestia. She however did not have time to think, because Pinkie being... well Pinkie, she apparently was able to take stock of everything within a blink of an eye and tackle Twilight in a hug that would have ended a lesser being.

By the time Twilight was able to regain control of her mind, and her body, Pinkie had already begun speaking so quickly the princess could not understand a word.

"Slow down, Pinkie." the unicorn Celestia said as she placed a hoof on the pink mare's shoulder. "I don't think Twilight understands."

Twilight simply blinked in surprise and rested her haunches on the cold floor of her castle library. "What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"We haven't seen you in a year, silly." Pinkie beamed happily. "We miss you and we know that you haven't felt up to coming to see us since everything happened and you probably want to be left alone and Tia told me that bothering you was a bad idea so, I wasn't going to, but then their was that thing on the news. Something about, a serious criminal being chased down and shot at and crashing their motorcycle into the schools statue and when it exploded apparently she was completely gone and so Tia told me it was okay to come and bother you now because you should probably know that somebody might have invaded Equestria. We also knew that yesterday was the anniversary of the day we lost everybody, but they are coming back except for Sunset so I thought you might want to see us and I was just glad that Tia finally let me come, but she said something about talking about it opening old wounds and so I couldn't before, but I could now."

Pinkie seemed to say everything in a single breath without giving Twilight time to process let alone respond, which was not surprising. What was surprising however, was when Pinkie grabbed her in an uncharacteristically tender hug and whisper in her ear. "We really are here for you if you're still hurting."

Twilight felt tears streaming down her face as she wrapped a hoof around her pink friend. "Thank you, Pinkie." she stated simply. "And you Principal Celestia." It was good to know at least one relationship had lasted the past year intact. Then the full impact of Pinkie's words struck her. "Criminal?"

Twilight pulled away from the hug to look between Celestia and Pinkie. What could have happened? she thought. Then again, I suppose it's not too surprising considering how I met my Sunset Shimmer...

"The police didn't release too much information, but we know that the criminal is supposed to be incredibly dangerous and a threat to our society as a whole." Celestia said before gesturing to her library. "Although from the looks of things it doesn't appear they were a problem for you."

Twilight looked around trying to figure out what exactly her mentor's double was referring to before her eyes settled on the destroyed... what did Pinkie call it, motorcycle? Were they assuming that she destroyed it? What did they honestly think of her? "I patched her up and sent her to the hospital." Twilight admitted.

"You didn't arrest her?" Celestia asked. It was so surreal an experience for Twilight to think of the pony that so resembled her mentor as just Celestia, however the lack of wings and the fact that she did not carry the same regal air as the princess of the sun made it much easier for Twilight to see her as such.

"No." Twilight said. "However, when she regains consciousness I'll have her moved here where she can be monitored."

"Well, this is your kingdom, Princess. Whatever you think is best." Celestia said with a dismissing wave of her hoof. "So, are you going to show us around pony land?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Equestria." Twilight said. "And, no. In this world you're a princess, so it would cause a scene if you were seen, especially without wings." Twilight then gestured to Pinkie and said, "and honestly, the last time we had more than one Pinkie Pie around was such a nightmare I think if I saw two of her together in the same room my post-traumatic-stress-disorder would kick in and I would zap one of them to the mirror pool."

Pinkie's face immediately brightened. "Please don't threaten my fiance, Twilight. Especially considering 'zapping her' somewhere sounds fun to her." Celestia said as she grabbed Pinkie to keep her from running out the door.

Twilight sighed as she shut the library doors and locked them. Then it hit her. "Wait, fiance?" she asked. "Since when? And aren't you a lot older than Pinkie Pie."

Celestia's face contorted into a frown as she mumbled. "I'm only twenty-seven."

"She's only thirty, Twilight." Pinkie said with a grin before Celestia cuffed her over the head. "Ow!" she whined. "What was that for?"

"Well, regardless, I'm happy for both of you." Twilight said with a small smile. "I appreciate the warning about the criminal and, rest assured, I will take care of it."

"Do you know who it is?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah, it's not important though." Twilight said. "I plan to patch her up and send her packing back to your world anyways. Whatever law enforcement you have there can deal with her."

"That doesn't sound like something the Princess of Friendship would say to me." Pinkie said with a frown.

"She's a criminal, Pinkie." Twilight explained.

"So?" Pinkie asked, the innocence in her expression almost painful to witness. "She's done something bad, but people only do bad things 'cause they have to. I think that you should be her friend and figure out why she did it so you can explain to her that it was bad and she'll say she's sorry and then she'll make more friends and she won't do bad things anymore. Besides, you really need somebody around here after what happened last year. Plus, maybe reforming her would be good for you. Maybe it would help you take your mind off of all the bad stuff that's happened to you over this past year."

"I seriously doubt that last part, Pinkie." Twilight said. "Besides, the past year has been good for the people we know in your world. Everybody is with the one they truly love. Isn't that what matters?"

"Everyone but you and Sunset Shimmer." Pinkie said quietly.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER, PINKIE!" Twilight yelled with far more venom than she intended. Pinkie's hurt expression and the way she backed away from the princess did not help Twilight's already aching heart. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "It's just... it still hurts, constantly. I don't know how to make it stop hurting. I've tried enjoying the fact that all of our other friends got what they wanted and were happier for it, but it just reminds me of what I lost... what I never even wanted in the first place..."

"Don't you say that." Celestia said, her expression and voice just as stern as the Equestrian Celestia's. "What you had... it may have disappeared, but isn't it better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all? You will love again. Just give it time."

Twilight felt a tear roll down her cheek as she sighed. "You're right." she said. "I would never trade those memories for anything."

There were several moments of silence that seemed to stretch for hours. "So..." Pinkie said cheerfully, breaking the silence. "Are we happy here?" she asked, gesturing at herself and Celestia.

"Oh, you aren't together here." Twilight said. "In fact you're both single in my world."

Pinkie gasped loudly before throwing her hooves around Celestia. "I couldn't imagine a world where I didn't have my Tia." she cried.

"You're still happy here, Pinkie." Twilight said with a chuckle. "Besides, there is a bit of an age difference here."

"Twenty! Seven!" Celestia said sternly.

"Multiply that by one hundred." Twilight said with a smile.

"Really?" Celestia asked.

"Give or take a few years." Twilight laughed. "You are an alicorn princess here, remember?"

"Hey, Twilight?" Pinkie said hesitantly.

"Yes, Pinkie?"

"I know you don't want to say who it is, so it's probably somebody we know, but I don't care if it's Trixie. Please consider what I said." Twilight blinked, surprised at Pinkie's uncharacteristically serious tone and expression. "Whoever she is, she probably needs a friend right now."

"I-I-I..." Twilight sighed. "I'll try..."

"Thank you." Pinkie all but whispered. "Seriously though," Pinkie brightened, "what is up with this castle? It looks like it's made of crystal. Did you build it with pony magic, or was it something else. Did it grow from a tree, or was it always here. Was it discovered by ancient explorers and this town was built around it or-" Twilight made a point to tune out everything after that point.

"What about Luna?" Celestia asked after a moment, apparently content to do the same.

"She's also single here." Twilight said. "She's the ruling alicorn of the night. She's also pretty old."

"I couldn't imagine her without Chrysalis." Celestia said with concern.

"She's pure evil here." Twilight explained. "I actually fought her once. She's the queen of the love-eating changelings."

"That would explain why she's so good at impressions." Celestia laughed. Twilight laughed along with her as Pinkie continued to jabber about eerily accurate theories about her castle.

Rainbow awoke to a small voice calling out, "Hello?"

She shook herself and leaned away from the wall she had been sleeping against. "Hello." she said back.

"Are you still out there?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, Princess Twilight asked me to watch you and even though she's a friend, she is also a princess." Rainbow explained.

"Where did these teddy bears come from?" Sunset asked.

"From you. You're magic went crazy when you started panicking."

"My magic?"

"Yeah, Twilight could probably explain it better for you." Rainbow said as she tugged on a bear at the bottom of the wall. It came lose easily. Rainbow guessed her magic disappeared once she calmed down. "Can I pull these down and come talk to you?" she asked, trying her best to avoid freaking her out any more than she already had.

"Sure..."

Rainbow gently pushed a hole through the wall of teddy bears, deciding to leave it up for Sunset's sake. When she finally crawled through the wall she bit back laughter at the sight of Sunset on the ground with her face on the floor and her hoofs flailing wildly, trying desperately to push herself off the floor.

"It's not funny..." the little mare mumbled. "Just help me up."

Rainbow slid a wing under the unicorn and pushed her onto her hoofs and left it extended to help her find her way back to the bed. "What happened?" she asked.

"I had two legs where I was from, so four kinda messed me up." She explained as she slowly inched her way across the tiles to her bed. "So, you're a pony with wings?" she asked.

"Yup," Rainbow stretched her wings proudly. "I'm Rainbow Dash. The fastest flyer in Ponyville." she explained. Sunset just blinked at her in confusion.

"You mean this place is called Ponyville?" Sunset asked.

"The town is, yeah." Rainbow said. "The country is Equestria."

Sunset nodded absently as she did her best to get back in her bed. She laid her front hooves on the edge of the bed and struggled to pull herself the rest of the way up. After she managed to slip her two back legs onto the bed her flanks still hung over the edge. After a few wiggles of her rump she managed to roll herself back into a laying position in her bed.

"Sorry if I freaked you out." Rainbow said.

Sunset shook her head. "It's weird, but I'm calm now. I think I should probably be freaking out about the ponies that can fly, and the ponies that have magic, but right now I'm okay." Sunset sighed contently as Rainbow pushed the blankets back over her.

"It's probably the pain killers." Rainbow chuckled. "Trust me, I've had my fair share of visits here and they have some great medicine."

Sunset giggled slightly. "Or it could be I was expecting to wake up dead. Not in some amazing new world."

"What happened?" Rainbow asked.

Sunset seemed to debate for a moment just what to say before she spoke. "I was riding my bike towards some school. Somebody started shooting at me. They hit me once here," she gestured to her bandaged side, "and the hit my gas tank. I remember crashing into a statue, but when I opened my eyes there was this-" she laughed slightly, "I thought she was an angel at first... you said she was your friend?" Sunset asked wistfully.

Rainbow smiled, a strange small smile. "Yeah, she is."

"She must be amazing."

"Yeah, she is."

"Is there any chance she'll come back? I know you said she's a princess here, so she must be busy, but I just wanna tell her 'thanks'." Sunset said hopefully.

Rainbow sighed before sitting in the seat next to Sunset's bed. "She probably will be back soon. But," Rainbow said quickly, "don't get too excited or comfortable here. She's probably not going to want you to stay."

"Why not?" Sunset asked as she tried to lean up and ended up falling into the pegasus. "Is there something wrong with me staying here?"

"Why do you want to stay?" Rainbow asked. "You just woke up in a strange new world with none of your family or your friends around. Why would you want to stay?"

Sunset sighed and looked down at her hooves. "I don't have anything to go back to." she said quietly. "In fact, sending me back would just be giving me back to the person who shot me." Sunset looked pleading into Rainbow's eyes as tears began to gather. "Please, don't send me back, Rainbow Dash. I could die..."

Rainbow swallowed her fear and stared at Sunset for a moment. "She's not going to make you leave today or anything. In fact, I think her plan is to keep you in the castle until you're healed." she explained. "I know it's not much, but I have a feeling she'll warm up to you and let you stay." Rainbow wondered briefly at why her heart hurt when she said that. Was she hurting for her friend's sake? Knowing that it was going to kill Twilight to let this confused little unicorn live her for a few days? Or was it the other thing that had been on her mind lately?

Her stomach growled uncomfortably. "Or it's just heartburn." she whispered to herself.

"So, Rainbow Dash. Can I just call you Rainbow?" Sunset asked.

"Sure you can."

"How do you know a princess? That seems like a good story."

"Well, actually, "Rainbow said as she put a hoof to her chest proudly. "I know all of them."

"All of them?"

"Yeah, well at least all of the pony princess. You see, here in Equestria, we have four princesses right now. Celestia, our main ruler and Princess of the Sun. Luna, her little sister and Princess of the Moon. Cadance, the ruler of the Crystal Empire and Princess of Love. Then, there's my best friend, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship." Rainbow glanced at Sunset to see that she was intrigued and continued with a smile. "I knew Twilight before she was a princess. Her, me, and four other ponies formed something called the Elements of Harmony. We were basically one of the most powerful forces of defense for the kingdom."

"That sounds amazing." Sunset said. She was obviously enjoying the tale.

"Well, yeah. It is." Rainbow said with a cocky grin. "It wasn't all fun and games though. Since the day we met Twilight, we've all been fighting any evil that shows up. We've fought a nightmare that controlled Princess Luna into attacking us, we've fought the Lord of Chaos, Discord, we've fought an army of changelings, and a bunch of other stuff."

"Like what?"

"Manticores, sea-serpents, cultists, power mad unicorns, wild Ursa Minors, and at one point a guy who had the accumulated power of everypony in Equestria except the princesses. His name was Tirek, but Twilight had the most amazing fight with him."

"She seemed pretty amazing from what I've seen." Sunset said.

"You should have seen her then." Rainbow said with a laugh. "She had absorbed the power of all three of the other princesses on top of her own."

Sunset seemed to think hard before she spoke again. "Can you tell me more about her?" she asked hopefully.

Rainbow thought about it for a minute, never really realizing how amazing Twilight must seem to somepony who's never even met her. "Sure," she said.

An hour later Twilight teleported back into the hospital lobby. She cursed herself quietly, realizing that she had spent too long chatting with Pinkie and Celestia. However after a quick glance around the hospital she realized that if Sunset was awake yet, she must have stayed calm enough not to destroy anything.

Twilight noticed she was now more calm about the prospect of facing her lover's doppelganger. She supposed that was just the effect Pinkie and Celestia had on her. It was strange to think how everyone on the other side of the mirror had developed relationships with each other and here everything was the same. Except for her, everyone was just carrying on almost the same as when she had first arrived in the town.

She wondered briefly if it would always stay the same. Part of her wanted it to. Her immortality had made her realize just how little she liked change. Then she remembered the look at Celestia's face when Pinkie was around and decided that maybe not all change was bad. She walked through the halls of the hospital and briefly wondered why she did not just teleport into Sunset's room. Probably in case she was awake. It would be a shame to freak her out.

As she grew closer to the room she heard laughter and voices from within. A stab of pain to her heart, as she heard the laughter she used to love so much. However, that was nothing compared to the surprise she found within the room.

She blinked for several minutes as the two continued to talk, unaware of her presence... probably due to the massive wall made of teddy bears in the center of the room.

"She did not." the voice of the faux-Sunset laughed.

"Yeah, the entire village. I don't think I've seen Princess Celestia so mad. Funny thing is, Big Mac-"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled. "Could I speak to you in the hall, please?"

Rainbow swore quietly and ran through an unseen hole in the wall. "Twilight, you're back." she said happily.

"What is this?" Twilight asked venomously as she gestured to the wall. "Because, if this is your idea of a good prank-"

"Chill out, egghead." Rainbow said before the princess could explain her threat. "She did this." Twilight blinked. "Yeah, those magical outbursts? She had one. I've been trying to keep her calm and get her ready for this world."

"This is something a two year old filly would do in an outburst, Dash." Twilight explained.

"That's basically what the nurse said." Rainbow shrugged. "I figured I should just keep her calm." a sigh. "After all, she really needs a friend right now."

Twilight felt something within her begin to burn at the statement. "Don't get too close to your new friend, Dash." she said. "She won't be with us much longer." Twilight moved to walk into the room when Rainbow flew before her and cut her off.

"Twilight," she said, an edge to her tone, "you can't send her back. You'll be putting her in danger."

"Yes, Rainbow." Twilight said calmly. "I've just received word that she was shot for being a criminal in the other world."

"That doesn't matter." Rainbow said. "We talked to the doctor earlier. He said she was almost dead when you brought her in, and that she would have been if you hadn't saved her. Criminal or not, we don't get to judge her, and no one should have been trying to kill her."

"Dash!" Twilight barked, fighting back the sudden wetness of her eyes. "She's not one of us. She doesn't belong here." She took a deep breath and wrapped her hooves around the mare's neck. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "But, it's not up to us. This isn't her world. I'm sending her back after she heals."

"Tell me the truth, Twilight." Rainbow said. "You always know best, so I'll keep my opinion to myself, but be honest. You're sending her away, cause you can't stand to look at her, right?"

Twilight sobbed briefly and pulled the mare tighter to her as she felt hooves wrap around her. "It's too hard." she said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to her, but I can barely look at pictures of my Sunset. How do you think I'd feel after seeing her living, breathing doppelganger walking around my castle."

"You always know best, Twilight." Rainbow mumbled. "So let your head decide. Not your heart. I'll drop it for now, but she's not leaving until we talk about this again."

"I promise." Twilight said.

"It's gonna be okay, Twilight." Rainbow said happily as she pulled away and grinned at the princess. "Now, you should probably get in there."

"Why?"

"Because I think you have a new fan." Rainbow said. "You shoulda seen the way her eyes lit up whenever I talked about you. She said when she first saw you she thought you were an angel."

Twilight laughed despite herself. "What's an angel?" she asked.

"I don't know, but the way she said it, it must be something good." Rainbow laughed.

Rainbow and Twilight walked through the wall together to find a small, scared, Sunset Shimmer waiting for them.

Rainbow grinned before announcing, "Sunset Shimmer, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Sunset's jaw had dropped upon seeing the Alicorn and she stammered a quick, "P-p-princess," before attempting a bow, which resulted in her face planting into the edge of her bed. She seemed unfazed. "My name is-"

"Sunset Shimmer," Twilight said, feeling the all-too familiar pain in her chest. "I know."

"Rainbow said you were the one who saved me." Sunset said as she tried to right herself, before Twilight used her magic to adjust the unicorn back into place. "Thank you, princess."

"You're most welcome, Sunset." Twilight said in her best imitation of her mentor. "Have you spoken to your doctor?"

"Yes, your highness." Sunset said, causing Rainbow to laugh. Both of the mares ignored her. "He said, I should be fit to leave tonight, but I'll need to be careful for a week or so."

"You can recover in the guest wing of my castle." Twilight said. "Then we'll see about getting you home."

"NO!" Sunset yelled in a panic, "I mean, no, please, your highness. Please, don't send me back."

"This is not your world, Sunset Shimmer." Twilight said calmly. "Why would you prefer to stay here?"

"Because, I'll die if you send me back." she pleaded, tears in her eyes. "They'll kill me. Please, Princess Twilight. Please, don't send me back."

Twilight took a deep, silent breath through her nose. "We shall see what the week holds." she explained. "I cannot, in good conscience, allow a fugitive to go free in my world."

Sunset's face fell as she grew pale. "How did you... how did you know?" she asked.

"I have my sources everywhere including your world."

"Please, Princess Twilight, you don't understand."

"No," Twilight said with a small smile. "that is why after a week of observation, I will decide whether or not you need to be sent back. Criminal or not, I cannot send you back to die either."

"Thank you, your majesty." Sunset said with a better attempt at a bow.

"There will be rules." Twilight explained. "If you break a single one of my rules, you will be sent back."

"Of course." Sunset said, sounding relieved. Rainbow grinned to herself as she ducked out of the room. "What are the rules?"

"You will not leave the castle without my permission and/or supervision." Sunset nodded. "You will preform chores around the castle to earn your keep." Another nod. "You will listen to what I say and obey my commands." That's right, Twilight. Just treat her like another subject... even if you've never treated anyone like just a subject. Another nod. "I can create new rules whenever I see fit, and you will obey them." Another nod and a hopeful smile. Twilight's heart twitched. She noticed tears beginning to gather in her eyes, so she tilted her head and squinted her eyes, attempting to pass it off as a regal look. "Finally, there is a room in my castle. The door is locked, and it is on the second floor. You may go anywhere in my castle, but that room."

Sunset smiled brightly and gave another nod. "Yes, your highness."

Twilight smiled again and leaned her head down. "One more thing." she said. "Call me Twilight."

Sunset positively beamed. "Yes, Twilight."

Even if she was already trying to push this Sunset away, Twilight was never comfortable with formalities. "Now, Sunset. I will go find your doctor and see if you are cleared to leave yet. If so, I will take you to the castle and you can choose a room."

"Thank you, Twilight." Sunset said with a spark in her eyes. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Twilight took the other girl's hand and helped her to her feet. "I understand, Sunset." she said. "I've never had somebody special like you before. If my friends think this is okay... well I'm willing to give it a shot."

Sunset wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. The other girl placed a hand under her chin and forced their lips to meet. Now that she was prepared, Twilight could fell everything. The soft moistness of the other girl's lips, the butterfly's in her stomach, the rapid heart-pounding of the girl in her arms that matched her own, and the warmth of the girl she knew cared for her."

"Thank you, Twilight." Sunset said, tears and a spark of warmth in her eyes. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Twilight smiled warmly and pulled the girl into her arms. "Then show me." she whispered.

Twilight felt a quick flare of emotion contort her features into a scowl before she nodded at a confused Sunset and left the room. She had made it halfway down the hallway before Rainbow bumped into her. "You okay?" she asked as she kept place with the alicorn.

"I will be, Dash." Twilight said evenly. "I'll have to be."

Sunset watched the princess walk away. She was confused. How could a pony look beautiful? Why did she seem like she was upset the entire time she talked to Sunset? Why did she look angry when Sunset thanked her... and why did she feel sad?

Rainbow Dash had seemed nice, too. She really enjoyed talking to the brazen pegasus pony. She hoped Twilight would allow her to spend some time with her. She laid back in her bed and relaxed slightly with a content sigh.

"Those are some really good drugs." She said as she looked at her I.V. bag. She knew she should probably have freaked out a bit more, but she supposed Rainbow was right. The medicine really kept her calm and she felt nothing more than a slight soreness in her side. Her doctor had interrupted her chat with Rainbow to catch her up on her condition and she now knew she would feel a hell of a lot worse once her I.V. was removed.

Right now, however, she felt that all was right with the world. She had escaped to another dimension where her life was saved, once from a bullet, and once from an explosion. She knew she would have to work hard to prove to Twilight that she didn't need to be sent back, but she was willing to give it everything to not go back.

"Darling!" A voice called from behind them. Twilight and Rainbow stopped in their tracks to face her.

"Hi, Rarity." Twilight said with a sheepish grin. Rarity did not look happy and Twilight supposed she should have told all of her friends what was going on. "I was just on my way to see you."

Rarity's eyes narrowed. "Really? Maybe it was to pick up Spike, or maybe it was to tell me that somepony blew up half your castle." she said with venom. "Which one, Twilight?"

Note to self, keep Rarity updated. Twilight thought. "Actually neither." she said levelly. "I need spike to stay out of the castle for another week."

"So," Rarity started stomping towards the princess. "let me get this straight. Somepony blows up your library. You don't tell me anything. And when I finally find you, you ask me to watch spike for another week?!" she shrieked.

"Sorry, Rares." Dash cut in. "But, it's been a crazy morning so far."

"I'll say." Rarity said.

"The human world's Sunset is here." Dash said. "We'll fill you in on the details later, but for now just go let the others know that Twilight's okay and we'll explain everything soon."

Rarity's jaw dropped at the mention of Sunset and she looked at Twilight. For the first time this morning she really took the time to pay attention. Twilight's eyes were red and bloodshot and they looked as if they had been that way for a while. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof looked as if she hadn't slept in two days with the large bags under her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered. She wrapped her hooves around Twilight. "I'll take care of Spike, and I'll let the others know what's happening. Should I tell them to meet at your castle later today?"

"Tomorrow." Twilight said. "Let me and Dash get some sleep and let Sunset get settled."

Rarity pulled away from the hug and placed a kiss on the top of Twilight's head. "I'll take care of everything for you, dear." she said before walking away.

"Thanks, Rarity." Twilight called after her. She turned to Rainbow. "And thank you." she said with a smile. "I don't know what I would have done without your help today."

"You can thank me by letting me sleep in your castle when we get there." Rainbow yawned. "I've only had a power nap today and I don't feel like flying home."

Twilight giggled softly. "You're more than welcome to stay with me anytime, Rainbow."

"Don't tell me that, egghead." Rainbow chuckled. "You may not get rid of me."

"I may not want to." Twilight said as she playfully bumped the pegasus.

Shortly after the three mares stood in Sunset's hospital room. "Are you ready to go?" Twilight asked her.

"Yeah," Sunset answered. "the doctor was helping me practice walking. I think I've got it down now."

"Well, let's go." Rainbow said with a poorly hidden yawn. "I need some sleep."

The three mares left the room and began walking. The halls were surprisingly empty to Sunset, who was accustomed to human hospitals that were usually full everyday, all day. She noticed how close Dash seemed to walk to Twilight and how far Twilight walked from her. She wondered briefly if you had to be friends with royalty here to walk so close.

She stared out the windows, excited to see this brand new world. She couldn't help but wonder what the other ponies were like. She would have been nervous if she were still human, but in her new pony form, she wouldn't stand out at all.

The trio walked through the doors of the hospital and Sunset squinted at how bright the sun was. According to Dash, in this world the sun was raised and lowered everyday by Princess Celestia and that fact made her hope that the princess knew how to sleep in. She had always been more of a night-owl than most people in her world. She supposed that meant she would get along with Princess Luna.

She had been absolutely mystified by everything Rainbow had taught her about this world, but the most amazing thing so far had to be the mare who saved her, Twilight. She didn't know why Twilight didn't seem to like her, but it was obvious something about Sunset bothered her. Well, Sunset would just have to prove herself to the princess and show her that they could be friends too.

Then she saw it, the most beautiful building Sunset had ever laid eyes on. A large tower-like castle that seemed to be made of pure crystal. It shimmered in the morning light and cast an almost blue shadow. "Is that it?" Sunset asked in a whisper.

"Sure is." Twilight said, looking at her home and smiling. "We should be there soon."

Other ponies shared the road with the trio, but they seemed to pay no mind to Sunset. Some were pegasi, others were unicorns, however the most common one she had seen so far Rainbow had told her were called earth ponies. Several would wave and even more would smile at them as they past.

Sunset noted that none bowed or kneeled to their princess, but smiled and waved as she politely smiled and waved back. Sunset smiled as she started to realize just how friendly of a town this 'Ponyville' place truly was.

As they approached the enormous doors of the castle a lavender glow surrounded them, pushing the door open and allowing entrance to the three ponies. As they stepped inside, Sunset was shocked to discover it was actually a very cool temperature inside. She looked around at the crystal doors and hallways. She did not know why, but she had a strange thought as she took in the sight of the castle she would stay in for the next week.

Such a strange, and random thought. One that she had no buisness having, but one that brought her comfort from an unknown source.

I'm home.

Author's Note

Okay, so I've got a lot to say this time.

First, a huge thanks to anyone who waited patiently for the several months for this chapter. You guys seriously rock. The explanation I have for you: My laptop broke and I am a poor person who had to save money for a while to afford a replacement.

Second, to anyone who is just now picking up the story: welcome aboard. Feel free to tell me what you think.

Third, you may notice some strange things, like for some reason all of the EG except Pinkie Pie and Celestia are gone. I felt like the story would be better if I didn't give you the story in a linear way. I thought it would be more fun to explain everything in the form of flashbacks so you can still be confused and surprised in the best of ways. I will explain how everything came to be eventually so for now, please bear with me. I promise it will be worth the wait. :raritywink:

Fourth, You may have noticed that this chapter is longer than the other two combined, that is for several reasons. 1: I felt like the first two chapters were just introductions into the basics of the story and now I can really spend time giving you the meat. 2: I feel like you guys have waited for way too long for just another 2-3000 words. 3: I've been writing at work during my downtime and I was able to do this entire chapter in two days, so I want to release longer chapters. 4: I'm gonna have a lot going on in this story and if I limit myself to 3000 words a chapter max, then it's gonna take way too many chapters to finish.

Thanks to all of you who continue to read my writing. As usual feel free to leave any thoughts or comments below. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 4

Twilight watched as the wonder-struck unicorn bounded through the halls of her castle with a goofy grin on her face. Even at the familiar sight of her face Twilight still could not withhold a chuckle at the mare's enthusiasm.

"I think she likes it." Rainbow mumbled as she tried in vain to suppress one of a long string of yawns.

"I think so too." Twilight mumbled. She cleared her throat and called, "Sunset Shimmer." before the unicorn bounced back to her.

"Yes, princess?" she asked as she stopped short before the two mares. Twilight wondered for a moment how somepony who was shot could have this much energy.

"Twilight." Twilight said firmly.

"Sorry, Twilight." Sunset said.

Twilight chuckled quietly, "It's fine." she said. "I need you to go pick your room. Then, I would like you to join Rainbow Dash and I in my room."

"Why your room?" Rainbow asked.

"Because, after she gets situated, I'm going to bed." Twilight explained.

"You guys do look tired." Sunset said, suddenly her face twisted into a frown. "It's my fault isn't it?" she asked. "You were both taking care of me and you didn't get any sleep."

"Don't feel bad." Rainbow said, clumsily throwing a wing on the mare's back. "It's what friends are for."

"She got less sleep than I did." Twilight explained as Sunset tried to support the pegasus. "I got about an hour before you came through the portal," which Twilight was grateful was now closed, "and then I got about three while you were in the hospital." she said.

"Which I still don't get." Rainbow mumbled. "I gave you a ton of sedatives. You should have been out all day."

"Alicorn metabolism, Dash." Twilight smiled. "Just another perk of being a princess."

"T's not fair." Rainbow slurred.

"Now that I think about it, Dash, did you get any sleep?" Twilight asked as the three began to move through the castle.

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, I got about thirty minutes after Sunset made that wall."

"When did you sleep before that?" Twilight asked.

"A couple days ago. I've been getting ready for my new flying routine and I've only been power-napping." she explained as she tripped over her own hooves, nearly dragging Sunset to the ground. "Sorry." she mumbled to the unicorn.

"You're alright." Sunset said as she limped the pegasus towards the end of the hallway.

"We're almost there, Sunset." Twilight said as she entered her room. It was probably the most modest room in the castle, with only a desk, a bed, a chair, and a couple bookshelves, it truly matched it's owner's personality.

Twilight gestured for the unicorn to deposit the barely conscious pegasus on her bed. "She can stay there." Twilight said.

Sunset merely nodded.

"I wanted you to go pick a room first, but I appreciate you helping with Rainbow." Twilight said.

Suddenly her horn flared up and Sunset was surrounded by violet light. "What is this?" she asked as she experimentally ran her hoof through the magic. As quickly as it had appeared it dispersed once again.

"Just a precaution." Twilight explained. "If you try to leave the castle, I'll know. Now I can sleep knowing you won't leave while I'm out."

"So, I'm a prisoner?" Sunset asked, her face betraying her annoyance.

"No." Twilight said with a smile. "You can leave any time you want. You just have to let me know where you're going."

"That's fair." Sunset said as Twilight curled herself up on the edge of her bed next to Rainbow. "So, should I go pick my room now?"

Twilight nodded and nudged Dash. "Dash, go pick out your own room." she mumbled.

Rainbow shook her head and pulled the alicorn to her. "I'm staying here. I'm already comfy." she slurred.

Sunset smiled at the sight of the two ponies curled up together, snoozing happily. Ponies are adorable, she thought to herself. Wait! I'm a pony now, am I adorable too? It was true that the only time she had seen her pony reflection she had been focused on other things entirely. Maybe she could find a mirror and see just how cute she was now.

Her eyes lingered over the two ponies, asleep already, and then she left the room. She wondered at the last time she had been held as the two other ponies held each other, and she wondered how normal it was for platonic friends to hold each other in this world. She wished they would hold her like they held each other, she could really use the comfort after the time she had had recently.

She knew she should want to leave this world, however it was already better than the one she had left. She already had two ponies in this world who cared about her and worried for her. Sure, it did seem like Twilight had some problem with her, but she also seemed to care. Sunset remember briefly the sound of her voice as she cried for Sunset when she first appeared in this world.

She casually walked the halls of the castle, searching for a room with a mirror. As she passed one door she noticed stairs at the end of the hallway. She remembered the words of the princess and realized that she had free reign of the castle aside from a room on that floor. She might as well check out the rest of the floors. As the large as the castle looked from the outside, Sunset assumed there were many floors.

Walking up the stairs, Sunset realized her wound was stretching and winced as she felt a small pool of blood drip from the wound. Maybe she would stick to the first two floors for now. She reached the top of the stairs and entered the first room she encountered. The room itself was minimal, a bed, a desk, and some bookshelves. The room did have a walk- in closet with no clothes, and a large bathroom with a shower. She explored the room for a moment and decided this would be a good room for her. She had very little at the moment and she did not need much space.

She experimentally pushed on the bed with her hooves and quickly discovered it was the most comfortable mattress she had ever laid hands on... or hooves. She quickly and awkwardly pulled herself onto the bed and pulled the covers around her. She quickly discovered that her pain medicine was wearing off and as such she was growing drowsy.

Maybe I should stop exploring for now, she thought, after all, I probably won't sleep long. I can look around some more when I wake up. She looked to the window and saw the sun was barely above the tip of the large window. It wasn't even noon yet, but she knew she would sleep soon. It had been too wild for the past few days and she had no energy left.

She thought of the princess as she felt the exhaustion sink in. She wondered not for the first nor last time, how a pony could be beautiful. The last thing she had remembered before waking in the hospital was still haunting her mind. An explosion that left her savior only a black silhouette. Large wings spread as if to protect the one cowering in the floor behind her and a violet light shining through the room and then only blackness and a voice, crying and screaming her name.

After that she woke up to meet Rainbow Dash. She had grown found of the pegasus almost immediately after her panic attack, and she had found pleasant conversation and information on her savior with the mare. Then, there was Twilight. Beautiful with a grace that seemed to come from nowhere and Sunset had noted she carried herself with power. Not political power, but actual power. She was a pony with the strength to protect what she cared about.

Sunset fell asleep with thoughts of a pony princess in her mind and a smile on her face.

The sun had set when she awoke again. She rolled over in her bed to make sure she was still in Equestria. She knew she was, but she needed to be sure. Seeing the large crystal walls and the breathtaking view out her window she smiled. She was rapidly growing attached to this world, and maybe even to this room itself. She hoped after her week was up she could talk to the princess about renting it somehow.

She also would need a job after her week, unless of course, the princess allowed her to keep doing chores to pay her way... chores she hadn't actually done yet. Then again, she hadn't seen anything that needed cleaning on her way up here. Maybe Twilight just wanted her to run errands? She had no idea, but she didn't think she would mind doing whatever it was the princess wanted.

She grinned as the adorable image of the two ponies cuddling popped back into her mind. This led her to remember that she had originally been searching for a mirror. She grinned as she imagined how cute she must be as a pony and walked awkwardly towards the bathroom. She should walk some more to get used to her new hooves. She entered the bathroom and realized there was no mirror. There was a sink, a toilet, and a shower with a few bottles of shampoo and conditioner on a shelf and a large tub.

"What kind of bathroom doesn't have a mirror?" Sunset asked aloud in her annoyance. She sighed as she left the room and searched for a room with a mirror once more. As she exited the room she realized that the one right next to hers (she wondered briefly on how she had already claimed the room) was the only one in the hall that had a lock. The door looked just the same as all of the others aside from a small keyhole under the knob.

Sunset was curious as to what was behind this door, but she knew better than to break one of the few rules that Twilight had given her, especially when she had not even been there for a full twenty-four hours yet. She ignored the room and decided to check the rooms downstairs for a mirror.

After she had gone down the stairs and poked her head into a few rooms she realized that none of them had a mirror either. She 'tsked' quietly and wondered into, what she could only assume, was the throne room. Seven crystal thrones sat before a round table each with a unique mark on the back aside from one which was blank. Two of them she recognized as the marks on Twilight and Rainbow Dash, but the other four she did not know.

She looked closely at the thrones and the table itself and wondered what things were like in this castle. Could Twilight be the King Arthur of this world? Sunset considered the possibility amazing. She noticed the large tree roots hanging in the middle of the room and stepped closer for a better look. There were gems hanging from the roots, all of them containing pictures. One picture in particular caught Sunset's eye. It was a picture of six ponies, two she recognized, sitting together in the grass. What really caught Sunset's attention with this photo was Twilight. She looked smaller and had no wings in this picture.

Hadn't Rainbow mentioned that her wings were new? She wondered how that worked. Did Twilight just use some kind of magic to grow them? Is that what made her a princess? Sunset laughed to herself at the thought, she doubted it was anything as silly as that.

She wondered off out of the room and proceeded down the hall when she noticed one door was cracked slightly open. Curious, Sunset stepped closer to the door and looked inside.

Twilight was sitting on the floor of, what looked like, a library. She was staring at a large mirror and talking. Sunset was not usually the type to eavesdrop, but the princess looked to be crying as she spoke to the mirror.

"It really did help, talking to you like this yesterday." she said, her voice barely quivering as she spoke. "I know it's not healthy to keep this up, but I don't know how to function without you anymore. I miss you..."

Sunset slid further into the room, trying her best to be quiet so as not to disturb the princess. She knew she already liked Twilight and she didn't like seeing her upset like this. She told herself she was just listening in to learn if there was something she could help the pony with.

"I've been thinking a lot about you lately, especially the past two days. It's harder now, since she showed up." Twilight continued. Was she talking about Sunset Shimmer? How did her showing up make anything harder on the princess? "I know she needs my help though and that's what I'm going to give her. In a week I may send her back, or I may give her a job and free roam of the town. I wish I could talk to you about it."

Twilight stretched and ruffled her wings. "It's all because of these." she said as she gestured to her wings. "Sometimes, I really wish I had never got them."

Sunset felt a hoof drop on her shoulder and she jumped quietly before turning to see Rainbow shaking her head and gesturing out of the room. Sunset nodded and walked away. When the pair had reached the room that Sunset had claimed Rainbow spoke. "What were you doing?" she asked.

"I was looking for a mirror." Sunset confessed. "The only one I could find was that one though, and when I got there Twilight was..."

Rainbow nodded and laid a hoof on the young girl once again. "I know you probably just wanted to help," she said, "but, I promise, you would have only made her feel worse. It's nothing against you, she just really needs to be alone when she gets like that. We've all tried, and she's been doing a lot better the past few months, but she still isn't over it."

"What happened?" Sunset asked. She felt an ache in her heart for the princess. She knew what pain looked like, what true pain was, and she saw it hanging on the alicorn like a web. She wanted to help.

"Sorry," Rainbow said with a small shake of her head. "That's her business to share, not mine." Rainbow smiled at the small unicorn, "I'm glad you want to help her. Just give her some time and she may talk about it."

Sunset hung her head and nodded. "Alright, I just really want to help her. It seems like she's lost someone and I know how that feels."

The pegasus nodded again. "She's a lot tougher than most ponies give her credit for, she'll be okay eventually." she said. "Still, I'm with you." she said, her voice quavering slightly. "I wish she'd let somepony help."

Sunset saw the way the shoulders of the pegasus began to sag and she grinned to herself. There was no reason they should all be sad. She was at least going to cheer up Rainbow. "Am I cute?" she asked.

Rainbow shook her head and asked, "What?"

"You and Twilight are freakin' adorable." Sunset explained. "I wanted to know if I was as cute as you two are. That's why I was looking for a mirror."

"I am not adorable." Rainbow grumbled.

"Maybe not by pony standards," the unicorn explained, "but, by human standards you are absolutely precious."

"So, you think every pony is cute?" Rainbow asked.

"All of them I've seen so far." Sunset nodded. "Twilight is a little different though. She has this majesty to her that makes her seem.... beautiful."

Rainbow laughed and nodded slightly. "I see how you could think that. Don't be fooled though, I've seen her fall asleep covered in pancakes and leaves before and I don't think you'd have seen any 'majesty' to her then."

Sunset giggled as she pictured the adorable princess asleep in a pile of pancakes. "You might be wrong about that." she laughed. "I think that would be pretty cute." Rainbow merely grinned and shook her head at the unicorn. "You didn't answer my question though." Sunset said. "Am I cute?"

Rainbow blushed slightly and kicked the door closed. "If you repeat what I'm about to say, I'll deny it forever." she locked onto Sunset's eyes.

Sunset smiled and nodded.

"You're probably one of the cutest ponies I've ever seen." Rainbow said. "Nopony can know I've ever said anything like that. I have a reputation to keep up."

Sunset laughed. "Your secret is safe with me, Rainbow Dash."

"I mean it." Rainbow said, her expression suggesting no games.

"I promise." Sunset laughed. "It's good to know I'm cute though. I was a little worried about it."

Now it was Rainbow's turn to laugh. "What does it matter if you're cute or not? I think all that matters is how cool you are."

"Am I cool?" she asked.

"Anypony who's worried about how cute they are is never cool." Rainbow deadpanned.

"Aw." Sunset feigned her disappointment. Then an idea hit Sunset and she grinned wickedly. "So, I guess cool ponies like to cuddle?" she asked.

"What?" Rainbow dropped all pretense of being amused.

"Well, you were cuddling with a princess earlier." Sunset shrugged. "If that's cool-"

"That was different!" Rainbow barked. "I was tired and I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Sure. Sure." Sunset nodded. "Because, being cool is a full time mindset, right?"

"It is." Rainbow nodded.

Sunset smiled and laughed. She had no idea what seemed so funny now, but she couldn't stop laughing. She kept laughing and laughing as Rainbow began to look worried.

"Sunset?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Sunset continued to laugh as she spoke. "W-why wouldn't I be?"

"Because, you're crying."

Sunset continued to laugh as she lifted a hoof to her eyes. They were wet. Her new fur was absorbing her tears as she continued to cry. She stopped laughing, but the tears continued to fall.

"What's wrong?" Rainbow asked.

Sunset chuckled once before responding. "I don't know." she said. "It just started hurting."

Rainbow's gaze turned soft as she gently pushed the mare towards her bed. "I think you need to go back to sleep now." she said quietly.

Sunset nodded as she managed to wriggle herself into the bed. "Rainbow?" she asked. "Could you stay with me for a while?"

Rainbow stared at the crying unicorn for a minute before sighing. "If you tell anybody-"

"I know." Sunset said. "I just don't want to be alone right now."

Rainbow hopped into the bed next to the unicorn and draped her large cyan wing over her.

"Thank you." Sunset mumbled into her wing. Rainbow merely slid closer to the unicorn and closed her eyes. "Thank you." she said again.

"Go to sleep." Rainbow mumbled as she wrapped her hooves around the smaller mare.

Sunset nodded and went to sleep.

Twilight had finished her conversation with her Sunset and had been heading to bed when she realized that Rainbow was not where she had left her. Had she left in the middle of the night? Or, had she simply moved to another bed? Twilight began searching the rooms out of curiosity when she found herself outside a room on the second floor.

She heard the familiar sound of Rainbow's gentle snoring on the other side of the door and smiled to herself. She peeked her head quietly through the door. The two ponies were curled together asleep in one another's embrace. She smiled proudly, glad that her friend was taking good care of Sunset Shimmer.

The princess had to stifle her quick 'Aw' as the two unconsciously snuggled closer together. She quietly closed the door and walked back to her own room. She was tempted to turn around and see if the two ponies would allow her to join them. She knew she shouldn't, but she was feeling vulnerable and needy. She needed somepony to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but she dared not ask.

She arrived in her room and simply stood for a moment. She missed her Sunset. She missed how she would come in, late at night, and find her asleep in the bed that Twilight now stared at. She missed the laugh that would echo through the halls of her castle and the way that Sunset would simply be there.

Twilight sighed as she fell into her bed. Thinking of her love all of the time wasn't healthy and she knew it rationally. However, it was much harder to convince her heart of that. Having the second Sunset here was not helping things either. It hurt Twilight to simply look at the mare that so closely resembled her lover, but she couldn't send somepony in need away.

She tossed and turned for a few more minutes before sighing angrily at herself. This was nonsense. She knew she could sleep and stop thinking about the mare upstairs. Had Sunset intentionally chose the room directly above her own? No. This was ridiculous. She just needed to stop thinking period. How hard could it be?

Five hours later, Twilight stared at the sun being raised above the horizon and (not for the first time) silently wished her mentor could learn to sleep in once in a while. She groaned as she rolled out of her bed, realizing her friends would be there soon, and began her morning ritual.

She silently prayed they could get through the day with no more unexpected events. She quickly trotted to her bathroom and stepped into her shower. She bathed quickly in her favorite tangerine body wash and dried herself with a spell. She made her way to the kitchen with the intentions of cooking breakfast, but she was shocked to discover halfway there she could already smell muffins baking. Her mouth watered at the aroma as she realized the only thing she had eaten in almost two days was a sandwich.

Twilight entered the kitchen to find Sunset and Rainbow busily preparing several stacks of muffins. "Morning, Twilight." Sunset said as she sat at the table. "Rainbow told me your friends were coming, so I thought I'd make you all something to eat."

Rainbow sat next to Twilight as Sunset pulled another tray from the oven, surprisingly she did so with her magic. "How did you do that?" Twilight asked.

"I found a book this morning about magic for unicorns. All I could do was this beginner's levitate thing, but I thought I might as well use it." Sunset explained as she brought three muffins to the table, also with her magic. The aquamarine magic disappeared for a moment as the muffins hovered above the table, but Sunset regained control quickly. "I'm not very good at it yet."

"Why did you go to all this trouble?" Twilight asked as she grabbed one of the muffins in her own magic.

"Well," Sunset began as she passed Rainbow a muffin and sat her own on the table. "you told me I'd have to earn my keep by doing chores, I just assumed that cooking would be one of those chores."

Twilight bit into her muffin and smiled to herself.

"What are you doing, Sparkles?" Sunset asked as Twilight cried in the floor. It had been their first night together and she had woken before the other girl. Twilight used her fingertips to wipe the tears from her eyes quickly.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I thought after last night, I should do something 'girlfriend-y' and then I used your phone to text Rarity and ask her what I should do and she said that I should cook you breakfast." she sniffled again. "I don't have my magic though so I grabbed the tray with my hand and it really hurts.

"I thought I was dating a genius." Sunset chuckled. Twilight looked up at her girlfriend and gasped as she saw her. Her hair was messy and covering the majority of her face and the only thing she wore was a button-up shirt that was several sizes too large. She had a half-asleep and dazed expression on her face and she wasn't wearing any of the make-up that she had worn on their date the night before.

This was the first time Twilight had ever seen her lover like this.

"What?" Sunset asked as she picked the tray of muffins off the floor with an oven-mitt.

"You're beautiful." Twilight said. Sunset blushed and placed the muffins on the counter.

"Shut up." she giggled. "Let's try these." she indicated the still hot muffins.

"My hand still hurts." Twilight whined. Sunset quickly pulled the small girl off the floor and brought the burned hand to her lips. She held her lips against Twilight's hand for several seconds before pulling away.

"Better?" she asked. Twilight smiled and nodded. "Good," she smiled, "now about those muffins."

Both girls grabbed a muffin and took a bite. Banana nut muffins. That's what Sunset had told Twilight was her favorite, but Twilight had never made them before. In fact, the princess hadn't spent much time at all in the kitchen. She nervously swallowed the disgusting bite of muffin while she swore to herself that she would wait to cook for Sunset again until she had more practice.

Sunset made a face and stared at the muffin. "It's bad, isn't it?" Twilight asked.

Sunset looked at Twilight for a moment and then smiled. "You remembered my favorite muffin." she then pulled Twilight into herself and kissed her deeply. Twilight gasped as she felt the other girl's tongue slide into her mouth, the taste of bananas filling both of their mouths. "I'd say, these are the best muffins I've ever had." Sunset said after she pulled away.

Twilight smiled at her and mouthed a quick 'thank you' before Sunset locked their lips together once more.

Twilight tasted it again now. Banana nut muffins. "Sorry," Sunset said, "I kinda made my own favorite. I didn't know what your friends like."

Twilight smiled at her as she chewed. "They're awesome." Rainbow said as she grabbed her third one to inhale. "You're a better cook than Twilight." she mumbled around a mouthful of muffins.

"Hey!"

"You know I'm right." Rainbow mumbled.

"Anyways," Sunset cut in, "I just thought after what all you've done for me so far, I needed to do something kind in return." she explained. "It's not like making your breakfast is worth much, but it's what I can do right now."

"Thank you, Sunset. I really appreciate it." Twilight said with a smile.

"M'foo." Rainbow said as she chewed her fifth muffin.

"Manners, Rainbow." Twilight scolded. "Now, Sunset." Twilight addressed her newest tenant.

Sunset looked up at the princess with a mouthful of muffin and nodded.

Twilight smiled to her, "Today I'll have a few errands for you to run for me while my friends and I discuss some important matters." she said as she levitated a quill and a scroll to herself and began jotting down a list of things she would need for the coming week. "Since you're going to be here a while, we'll need a few more things around the castle that I could use your help getting. A few more groceries and I'll give you a few extra bits so if you see anything that will make your stay more comfortable you can pick it up for yourself."

"You don't have to do anything like that, Twilight." Sunset said with a smile. "I was perfectly comfortable last night without any extras."

Twilight returned the mare's smile and nodded. "Be that as it may, I'll still give you a bit extra just in case."

Sunset laughed. "Whatever you wish, Princess Twilight." she winked to let the pony know she was just playing.

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued to write in her scroll. She knew they would need extra food and maybe some extra of the basic toiletries. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, a new toothbrush for the unicorn, and a new blanket. The ones that were already in the castle were slightly old and smelled of dust due to their lack of use. She mentally added up how much everything would cost and then considered the list again. What food exactly should she get, she wondered. This Sunset probably had the same appetite and preferences that her Sunset had, evident by the banana nut muffins. She jotted down some foods she knew her Sunset had loved when she had stayed here.

"Ugh," Sunset groaned as she stared at her salad. "The human world spoiled me. I'm so tired of veggies all the time."

Twilight giggled slightly as she took a bite of her salad. "Well, if you start eating meat here you aren't going to make any friends."

"Just a nibble." Sunset bawled. "I just want a little bit."

Twilight nodded and set her fork down. "Come on." she said as she used her magic to pull her girlfriend behind her. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Sunset asked.

"Didn't you tell me they made veggie burgers in your world?" Twilight asked. "Let's see if we can get a recipe from your world and I can try making for you."

Sunset laughed and began to walk of her own free will. "With the way you cook? I'd probably rather have salad."

"Not funny." Twilight pouted as they grabbed their saddlebags and approached the portal. Sunset simply laughed and kissed Twilight on the neck. Twilight felt a shiver along her body. "What are you doing, Sunset?"

Sunset grinned devilishly as she began to run her kisses further down the alicorn's body. "Maybe before we go..." she trailed off. Twilight simply grinned and nodded as she used her magic to take them both to her bedroom.

Twilight hummed to herself as her friends continued eating and she jotted down the ingredients she would need to make her veggie burgers. According to Sunset it was good, but still not as satisfying as meat, but for a pony who had never eaten meat before they had been amazing. She jotted down what she would need, tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, thyme, lentils, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, and cornmeal. The instructions she had found had called for goat cheese, however Twilight had immediately replaced it with regular cheese.

Rainbow finished her last muffin and looked at the list Twilight had been writing. "Are you planning to make what I think you are?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, Dash, and don't worry, I planned on inviting everyone when I did." Rainbow flew in the air and let out a whoop. She had been Twilight's biggest fan after the first time they had all tried her burgers.

Sunset glanced and the list and then back at Rainbow. Rainbow gently landed in the chair next to Sunset. "I take it Twilight is a good cook?" she asked the pegasus.

"She's the best at a few things." Rainbow laughed. "After she spent some time in the human world, she came back with all sorts of awesome recipes."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the pegasus. She was giving away a little too much information for the alicorn's taste. She did not want Sunset to know anything about her trips to the human world, mainly because of who she had been in the human world for. Rainbow's eyes seemed to widen slightly as she realized the inevitable question that Sunset would ask.

"Why did you go to the human world, Twilight." she asked. "Do you have like a vacation spot there or something?"

"Or something." Twilight said as her smile faded and she finished writing in her list. "I don't really want to get into it right now."

"I understand." Sunset said. "When you feel up to it I'd like to hear it though, okay?"

Twilight nodded. "Sure." she stood from the table and grabbed a set of saddle bags. She placed the scroll and plenty of bits in the bag and floated it onto Sunset's back. "You can leave after you finish eating." Twilight said. "I'm going to go take care of some things, but I should be back before you leave."

"Okay." Sunset said as she watched the princess leave. She finished her muffin and floated the dishes to the sink. This new magic she had was so convenient. She began washing the dishes as Rainbow grabbed a towel with her hoof and began drying them. They washed in silence for a few minutes before the question nagging at the back of her mind forced Sunset to ask, "What was that last night?"

Rainbow shrugged and grabbed a mixing bowl to dry. "What do you mean?"

"You don't strike me as the type to hold someone until she fell asleep. You seem like you'd be more worried about how uncool that is."

"Well, usually I am, but I know you could use a friend right now. Twilight is trying not to treat you any different than she would anypony else, but she's still having trouble with that."

"Why?" Sunset asked. "Is it because she found out I'm a criminal in my world?"

Rainbow shook her head as she grabbed another dish to dry. "No," she said. "It's something else. I can't really talk about it."

Sunset nodded. "Does it have anything to do with what she was doing last night?"

Rainbow sighed and placed her towel on the sink before sitting back at the table. "Kinda." she said. "Look," she locked eyes with Sunset. "without telling you anything that isn't my business, I'll fill you in a bit. You can't tell Twilight though, okay?" Sunset nodded. "Twilight was in love. With someone from your world. That mirror she was talking to last night, that's the portal back to your world."

"So, seeing somebody from my world at all is hard for her?"

"She's still hurting over it and the way their relationship ended. You actually showed up on the anniversary of the day she lost her."

"Her?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow shrugged. "I know it's not very common, but Twilight likes mares. Anyways, she's still upset about it, because she still loves her."

"Well, if she still loves her and whoever it was left, then she can do better."

"I don't really know what happened between them, but I know neither of them wanted to be apart." Rainbow said calmly. "I just know that after that day, Twilight's been really struggling."

"If they loved each other there was no reason for them to split up." Sunset said, she didn't exactly understand why, but she was getting angry at whoever had left Twilight. If she had Twilight, she would never let her go. The thought disturbed her for a moment, but she had already realized that she had been idolizing the princess since she had stepped foot... or hoof in this world.

"You can't say that unless you knew all the details, Sunset." Rainbow said with a note of disappointment in her voice. "I don't know what happened between them, but I do know that neither have them had ever been happier when they were together. They would spend time together in both my world and yours and they were so in love." Rainbow's voice seemed to strain on the last word and Sunset wondered if she was hurting for her friend.

"I get it," Sunset sighed, "I understand, but I don't think she's treated me poorly at all since I got here." She had already saved the young girl's life and taken her to the hospital and given her a place to stay and food to eat. How had she done anything to mistreat the girl?

"You don't understand, Sunset." Rainbow said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "She is treating you different. She doesn't want to get attached to you and she wants nothing more than for you to leave. She's still hurting and she isn't thinking straight." Rainbow shrugged and walked away from the table. "She's a good mare, Sunset. Don't let her push you away, okay?"

Sunset was stunned by the request. Was Rainbow insinuating that she should hook up with the princess? Was she honestly just saying being her friend? Sunset had no idea, but neither option sounded bad to her. She nodded and began to walk away before stopping herself. "I still don't understand why you were like that last night. There's a difference between being there for someone and holding them all night."

Rainbow blushed and shook her head. "If you tell anybody this, I'll-"

"I know." Sunset said, stifling a laugh.

"Twilight's not the only one who's been hurting lately." Rainbow said, and before Sunset could make another remark, she sped off out of the room and possibly out of the castle, Sunset couldn't be sure.

Sunset sighed and decided that she should probably ask the pegasus later about what her remark had meant, but decided it could wait. She immediately left the castle in search of some kind of store where she could pick up everything on Twilight's list. She floated the scroll out of her bag and marveled at the list. There were a lot of very specific things the princess wanted.

She stared at the list as she walked through the down and before she knew it she had forgotten where she was or how to get back. She was completely lost. She growled at the list and slammed it back into her bag before heading in a random direction and mumbling to herself about how she couldn't believe she had forgotten to ask for a map or something, however one look in the horizon confirmed that she could at-least find her way back. Still, it didn't help that she had no clue as to where anything was in this town.

"Can I help you?" A voice asked from behind her.

Sunset jumped and spun to face whoever had spoken, however her lack of motor control, due to her new hooves, turned the spin into a belly flop. Sunset grumbled as she got to her hooves and stared at the pony that had spoken to her. She was a unicorn, just like Sunset. However, this unicorn had a mint green coat, whereas Sunset had discovered her's was orange.

"Sorry." The mare said with a laugh. "You looked lost so I thought I'd help you figure out where you were going. Didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"It's okay." Sunset said with her own chuckle. Her side began to ache from where she had been shot. The impact with the ground must have disturbed it slightly. "I am a little lost." she said as she hid a wince.

"I'm Lyra." the unicorn said with an outstretched hoof. "Nice to meet you."

Sunset stared at the hoof for a moment before attempting to shake it. Lyra apparently found it hysterical. "Sorry, I'm not from around here." Sunset blushed. She must have looked like a fool. "My name's Sunset Shimmer. It's nice to meet you, Lyra."

"What're you looking for?" Lyra asked as she began to walk with the other mare.

"Anywhere that sells this stuff." Sunset said as she floated the list to Lyra. Lyra grabbed the scroll with her magic and as her's and Sunset's magic intertwined for a moment, Sunset felt a warmth from it. The sensation was like when someone's hand brushes against your own.

Lyra studied the scroll for a minute and laughed. "You can probably buy any of this from town square." she said pointing her hoof towards a clump of buildings and carts gathered in what appeared to be a town square. It wasn't far from where they were now. "I'll help you." Lyra said as she began to lead the way towards the square. " Bon-Bon is working today and I've got the day off so I don't really have anything to do right now."

"Who's Bon-Bon?" Sunset asked as they walked. She could already tell she liked this smiley mare and hoped they could be friends by the end of her errands.

Lyra simply blushed and smiled wider. "Just a really good friend." she said.

Sunset smiled herself, she recognized that goofy smile and blush even in this world. "Tell me about her." Sunset said.

Lyra beamed and began to tell Sunset all about herself and her 'best-friend'.

Twilight sat at the map table in her throne room and stared at all of her friends. Rarity had filled them all in and gathered them at her castle. After they arrived, Rainbow filled them in on everything they didn't know while Twilight sat in silence and mentally reviewed the past few days. She had been trying to be kind to Sunset while also trying to keep her at hoof length away. She had taken in the doppelganger of the one pony she loved most in the world... and for some reason, Rainbow Dash had yet to leave.

She had been so engrossed in her own thoughts that she had yet to realize that her friends were all staring at her in silence, waiting to learn what she needed from them. Spike, who had apparently been brought along by Rarity, poked her in the side.

Twilight jumped and looked at her friends expecting faces. She cleared her throat and smiled sheepishly. "Right," she said. "Rarity I'm going to need you to watch Spike for a little while longer." she looked to Spike. "I know you want to be here, but my moods have been so wild the past couple of days and I don't think it would do anypony any good for you to be here."

His response was a predictable resigned nod combined with a sulking cross of his arms. "Sure." he said with a pout. Twilight would have tended to his obviously hurt feelings, however now was a time to figure out everything with her friends.

"I don't really know how to handle this, guys." Twilight said as she looked to the rest of her friends. "Part of me is glad that she's here, because she looks just like my Sunset. Part of me hates her just for existing. I keep trying to push her away, but I can't treat her like that." She looked at Rarity with a pleading expression. "What do you think I should do?"

"She is a criminal." Rarity said with a strange look on her face. "I think you should send her back after her week is up to face justice."

"I don't think so." Applejack said.

"Pardon me?" Rarity asked. "Do you suggest that we just let a fugitive have refuge here? Are you condoning breaking the law?"

"You know I ain't, Rarity." Applejack said. "But, we don't even know what she did. She's still Sunset Shimmer and we all know Sunset wouldn't hurt no pony. She ain't bad and if she did somethin' those things in the other world didn't like, then it probably wasn't that bad."

"I agree with Applejack." Pinkie shouted happily. "Sunset isn't bad so what she did probably wasn't bad."

"I'm with them." Rainbow said. "You saw her, Twilight." she implored the princess. "Think about how she's acted so far. She doesn't act like a criminal out to escape. She just didn't want to go back because she almost died there. I don't blame her for wanting to stay here."

All of their heads turn to the only pony to stay silent in the whole conversation. "Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "What do you think?"

Fluttershy seemed to shiver as she opened and closed her mouth a few times before answering. "I think you're hurting right now and you want to take it out on somepony, but I think that's wrong. You should just ask Sunset what she did." Why haven't I just tried asking what she did? Twilight thought sarcastically. "She doesn't need to be punished just for being who she is and you know better, Twilight."

Twilight flinched as she realized that Fluttershy was completely right. She sighed, "You're right."

"I still say you shouldn't be harboring a fugitive." Rarity said. "For all we know she's done something terrible and deserves whatever punishment they have waiting for her in that other world."

"That doesn't sound like you, Rares." Rainbow said with a glare. "Why are so against even hearing her out?"

"Because, I don't want her hurting anypony in this world." Rarity said. Only Rainbow noticed her eyes shift quickly towards the alicorn in the room. Only Rainbow immediately understood what she was saying. She wanted her to leave for the same reason Twilight did. So Twilight wouldn't be in anymore pain.

"I get it." Fluttershy said quietly. "But, if we send her back then we'd be the ones hurting somepony. You said it yourself, Dashie. If you send her back she'll probably get hurt." For Fluttershy's sensitive mind the pegasus had simply said hurt instead of die. "She needs you right now, Twilight Sparkle."

"You're right." Twilight sighed. "Still, I think we should at the very least learn what she did and how she ended up here before I agree to anything."

"I agree." Fluttershy said.

"Twilight!" Pinkie screamed from her kitchen. The princess did not even bother to guess as to when or how she got there. "Come here! I need your help with something!"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. She had a pretty good idea of what the pink mare was doing. "Just a second, Pinkie." Twilight realized that this was to be a long day, but she hoped that, with a little help from her friends, they could make it a good one.

Sunset had picked up everything on the list. She had also found herself a stuffed pony that she had bought for herself with the extra bits Twilight had given her. She normally would have been embarrassed that she still slept with stuffed animals had her new friend not been the one to suggest it.

She was currently sitting in a coffee shop. Lyra had offered to buy the mare a coffee and Sunset would not pass up the offer from a new friend. She had only been gone an hour and she thought she should wait a while to head back, just in case Twilight and her friends were still discussing whatever they needed to discuss.

"She always smells like candy though, which sounds great, but after a while it makes you sick of candy." Lyra said. She had been talking about Bon-Bon for the entire trip, but Sunset didn't mind. She thought it was sweet that the mare could talk about her friend the way she did. "Still, I couldn't imagine living with anypony else."

"She sounds really nice, Lyra." Sunset said with a polite smile.

"Yeah..." Lyra said. "but, that's enough about me. What about you?"

"What about me?" Sunset asked with a laugh. She considered pointing out that Lyra had yet to actually talk about herself, but decided against it.

"Where are you from?" Lyra asked.

Sunset panicked momentarily. She had no idea of what to say. Should she tell this pony the truth? Magic seemed to be pretty common here, but she didn't want to risk saying anything crazy. "Out of town." Sunset finally decided on. It was true, without sounding crazy. "I got hurt on my way through here and Twilight took me in for a while."

"You're staying with Princess Twilight?" Lyra asked, her voice reverent. "She's like, the most amazing pony ever."

"She is pretty amazing." Sunset said.

"I got to see most of her fight with Tirek and we had just moved into town when she took on Nightmare Moon." Lyra began to bounce in her seat as she recalled all of Twilight's greatest achievements and she even mentioned a few that Rainbow had not mentioned to Sunset yet.

Sunset's favorite was about the changelings. "I wasn't there for it, but I heard that her friends and her literally took on a huge part of the changeling army by themselves. Then they got captured and Twilight's big brother and her sister in law made a shield so large, it threw them all out of the city."

"That's amazing." Sunset said as she finished her drink.

Lyra told her about the crystal empire and King Sombra and the grand magic games. She even told her about Twilight's coronation. "Anyways," Lyra said after she had spent a half hour recalling just how amazing the princess was. "I should be getting over to Bon-Bon's store. We're supposed to have lunch together today. Can you find your way back?"

Sunset nodded and began to leave. "I'll be staying with Twilight for at-least a week. You should bring Bon-Bon by sometime so I can meet her." she said.

Lyra nodded and held a hoof out to Sunset. "I'll do that." she said. Sunset stared at her hoof for a minute before Lyra laughed. "You're supposed to bump it."

"Oh." Sunset said as she bumped her hoof against Lyra's.

"You must be from a totally different world." Lyra said with a laugh. "We'll see you later this week sometime." she called over her shoulder as she walked down the road. Sunset smiled as she watched the mare walk away. Less than a day in this world and she had already made new friends.

She scanned the horizon until she saw the tip of Twilight's castle and began walking in that direction. She had made it three blocks before disaster struck in the form of a little pony on a scooter. "Look out!" a little voice cried.

Sunset turned her head and saw a pony on a scooter headed straight for her. She would have attempted to move or jump out of the way, but she had no time. She simply had to brace herself for impact and hope for the best.

The scooter hit the unicorn with the force of a slow car. Sunset hit the ground as the other pony landed gently on her hooves beside her. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" the young pony asked.

"I'm fine." Sunset grunted as she strained to stand. Of course the filly hit her in the same side where she had been shot and blood was now running freely down her side. She felt tears running down her face as she stood.

"We should get you to the hospital." The kid said.

"That's alright." Sunset said through gritted teeth. "It's barely bleeding. I'll just put some bandages on it when I get back." She took a deep breath and released it. The pain was already starting to ebb away. She was slightly worried that she had cracked a rib, but she knew from experience most doctors would just give her some pain medicine and say that was all they could do for her.

"At-least let me walk with you till you get home." the orange little filly said. "I feel really bad, I should have been paying attention."

"Sure you can walk with me." Sunset said as she limped towards the castle. Apparently, if a pony who gets hit in the side it also makes your leg hurt. Who knew? she thought glumly.

"What's your name?" the kid asked as they slowly walked.

"Sunset Shimmer." she said. "What's yours?"

"I'm Scootaloo." the filly said. "I'm really sorry for hitting you with my scooter."

"It's alright." she said. "I should have been watching where I was going. I guess I was just in a hurry to get back."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know." Sunset lied as she thought of a certain alicorn she was dying to have a real conversation with. "Maybe I'm just excited to get off of my hooves for a while. I've been walking around this town for hours." Sunset laughed and a sharp pain in her side made her realize how bad of an idea that was.

So, I have a crush on a pony and that's not even the weirdest thing to happen to me this week. Sunset thought with a wry smile. She could already tell that her developing crush was going to be anything but comfortable, but she couldn't help it. Maybe it was reverance for the one who saved her life, or for the pony who had taken her in when she thought she had lost everything. Maybe it was just that she felt drawn to her for something completely different, but whatever the case was, she accepted that she was starting to develop feelings for the princess.

"You okay?" Scootaloo asked, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"I'm fine." Sunset chuckled.

"You were just making a weird face." Scootaloo said. "That's the same face that Diamond Tiara's been making when she hangs out with us lately. It's really creepy."

Sunset stared at the filly for a moment as she limped closer to her destination. "You really rude, aren't you?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "A bit."

Sunset chuckled again and waved a hoof at the castle. "This is my stop." During her distracted day-dreaming and conversation, Sunset had finally reached Twilight's castle. "Thanks for walking me here, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo smiled and nodded at the unicorn. "No problem. I'll come by and check on you tomorrow, make sure that hit isn't still hurting you."

Sunset smiled and held her hoof out for Scootaloo to bump. "Thanks, I'll see you tomorrow." Sunset waved as the filly got on her scooter and beat her wings until she was speeding away towards the town.

Sunset limped into the castle and began heading for the dining room. She didn't know if that was where Twilight was or not, but she supposed that's where the things she got should go for now, and it was near enough to lunch time that she should start cooking.

She considered going to her room first to hide away her stuffed pony. She wouldn't be too embarrassed to show it to the princess if it weren't for the fact that she had (maybe) subconsciously grabbed the lavender one with the pink stripe in it's mane and tail. She decided that if the princess saw it and asked she would just say that it was the only one she had left. Maybe that would keep things from getting awkward.

Still, she decided that going to the dining room first would be easier on her since it was closer, and the mare who had sold her the stuffed pony had wrapped it in a paper bag. She opened the door to the dining room to discover that the room was pitch black.

That was when the cannon fired.

Author's Note

So, I know this may seem weird due to all of the unanswered questions I keep feeding you guys and I realize that it's bad to have too many of them unanswered at one time, but I promise you, next chapter I'll start answering at-least a few of them.

I'm also considering, after this story is over, writing a prequel explaining all of the events that led to this story, but I haven't decided yet. You also may have noticed that I added to the description about when this story is based. I had the basics for this story in mind before the Friendship Games and Season 6 came out and I considered changing the story to fit the canon, but I can't imagine actually changing my idea for this story.

Anyways, I really hope you all enjoy everything that's going to happen from here on and as usual feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below. Some of those really make my day. :twilightsmile:

Chapter 5

As the confetti cannon exploded directly next to the unicorn, Sunset's eyes dilated and she dropped to the floor as she threw her hooves over her head. She whimpered once and began to tremble. Not her too, Twilight thought as she ran across the room to the unicorn. Had she known that Pinkie had planted those things, she may have thought to warn her. Sunset had been shot just a day or so ago, of course she would have a panic attack over a cannon exploding next to her.

Her Sunset had been taken by panic attacks several times during their relationship and Twilight knew from experience that there were few things that would calm her, and one of them she dared not do in a crowded room of ponies. She quickly wrapped the smaller mare in her hooves and began rocking her back and forth. She gently stroked her mane and hummed lightly as everypony in the room continued to stare.

"What's happening?" Rainbow asked from directly behind Twilight. Nopony had noticed her rushing to the unicorn just as quickly as Twilight had.

"She's having a panic attack." Twilight explained. "Sunset has anxiety and the fact that she was shot a couple days ago probably helped trigger this. She'll be okay in a few minutes, she just usually needs someone to ground her until she snaps out of it."

"How do you know that?" Sunset asked as she shifted in the alicorn's grasp. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the tremor in it was clear.

"I just do, Sunset. Don't worry about it right now." Twilight said as she continued to run her hoof through Sunset's mane. "We're all here for you right now, okay?"

Sunset nodded quickly as she buried her muzzle in Twilight's coat. "Okay." she whispered. Tears stained the alicorn's coat, but she did not care.

"At least it isn't another magic outburst..." Rainbow mumbled, her voice muted as Twilight's thoughts began to wander.

Twilight froze as Sunset fell to the ground. Sunset had just been talking about her first few days in the human world when she had collapsed. "Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight cried as she approached the girl. "What's wrong?"

"I can't, I can't, I can't... I don't..." Sunset gripped the sides of her head and whimpered. "Don't-Don't-Don- No!" she screamed as she crumpled into a fetal position. "No..." she whispered as tears fell down her face.

Twilight panicked for a moment before doing the only thing she could think of. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders and cooed gently to her. "It's okay..." she said. "You're okay. I'm here for you..."

Sunset nodded as she buried her head into Twilight's shirt. "Don't leave me..." she pleaded.

"I'm not going to leave you." Twilight said as she ran her fingers through Sunset's hair. "I'm never going to leave you."

"I'm okay now." Sunset mumbled several minutes later. "I'm really sorry everyone." she said, slightly louder than before.

"It's okay." Rainbow said quickly. "You don't need to apologize."

Sunset smiled at the pegasus before she felt Twilight's hooves leave her. Twilight stood quickly, not even bothering to speak to her anymore, and walked into the mass of ponies. "What's wrong with Twilight?" she asked the pegasus quietly.

Rainbow shook her head. "I think you just shook her up a bit. She'll be okay." Rainbow promised as she extended a hoof to the unicorn. "We all just need to give her some space after that."

"How did she know about my anxiety?" Sunset asked as she accepted Rainbow's help from the floor.

"Twilight... knows a lot of things." Rainbow said. "We don't really question how she knows the things she does. We just accept it."

"So who are all of these ponies?" Sunset asked. She counted six in the room that stood out, the marks on their flanks familiar, and two of them she already knew.

Rainbow waved the other four ponies over to where she stood. "This is Fluttershy." Rainbow said as a yellow pegasus with a pink mane stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you." Sunset chirped as she held out a hoof.

"Nice to meet you too." Fluttershy mumbled as she bumped the hoof before quickly retreating to the other side of the room. Sunset frowned after her, but she understood. Her first time meeting Sunset and the only things she knew about her was that she had panic attacks and fell to the ground crying.

"Don't worry about her, darling." A white unicorn said as she stepped forward. "She's a little shy around new ponies. I am Rarity." she announced before throwing a hoof around Sunset neck.

"Nice to meet you." Sunset said as she returned the embrace.

"I'm Pinkie Pie." A pony who could only be described as pink said over Rarity shoulder. "You must be Sunset Shimmer, Twilight's told us so much about you, well she really hasn't told us anything about you, it was mainly Rainbow Dash who told us about you, Twilight just kinda sat on her throne and zoned out while we were all filled in on all the details about you and we all got to learn a little bit about you like your name, the fact that your a criminal in your world, and what color your coat and mane were, and-"

"Wait." Sunset said, breaking her hug with the unicorn. "What?"

"Well, she didn't tell us exactly what you looked like just-"

"No, not that."

"Oh, that your a criminal back in your world?"

"Yes." Sunset said, hanging her head. "I was hoping this place would be a fresh start." she mumbled.

"Don't worry." An orange pony with a blonde mane said. "Honesty is best around here. It's best you done got it out of the way."

"Besides," Rainbow said. "You'd be surprised how many criminals are our friends now." she laughed.

"I'm Applejack." The orange pony said as she held out a hoof. "Nice to meet ya, Sunset."

"Nice to meet you too, Applejack." Sunset bumped the hoof.

"I feel like we already know you, Sunset." the pink one said. "I'm Pinkie Pie."

"Of course you are." Sunset laughed. "Well, it's nice to meet all of you." she said in a warm tone.

"You should probably go talk to Twilight." Rainbow whispered to her. Twilight and Fluttershy were at the drink table on the other side of the room sipping on punch and speaking in low tones.

"I don't think she wants to talk to me right now." Sunset whispered back. "I'll talk to her when everyone else clears out."

"Would you like me to take your bags, Sunset?" Rarity asked.

Sunset blushed and quickly shook her head, remembering what was inside the bag. "No thank you, Rarity. I'll take them myself real quick."

"Are you sure, dear? This is your welcome party after all." Rarity said.

"It's fine, but thank you." Sunset said as she briskly walked away. She walked towards her room, again wondering at her strong claim on it, and deposited the bag inside the door. There was nothing perishable in there, she would just deposit it all in the proper places once the party cleared out.

"I'm sorry..." came a small voice from behind her.

Sunset spun around to find the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, at her door. "What for?" she asked as she levitated her saddle bag to the bed.

"For running off like that." Fluttershy said. "I know you need friends right now, but I just didn't know how to handle it actually being you."

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

"I just meant, I don't really know what I was expecting, but it wasn't you..." Fluttershy said quietly. Sunset wondered if this pony did anything that wasn't quiet. "I don't mean any offence by that, I just wasn't expecting you to look the way you do."

"And how do I look?" Sunset asked, her voice betraying a slight annoyance.

"Familiar." Fluttershy said. "You look like someone we've all known for years, but at the same time, you're completely different."

"Oh." Sunset said. She simply had no idea of how to respond to that. "Can I ask you a question, Fluttershy?" Sunset asked.

"Oh... uh... sure..." Fluttershy mumbled.

"Do you know why the Princess doesn't want me here?"

"It isn't that she doesn't want you here, I think. She probably just doesn't want to get too attached to you." Fluttershy sighed before sitting on her haunches. "She's already gotten close to several people in your world. She's said goodbye to all of them but one and I don't think she's handling it that well. It seems like everyone from that world ends up leaving her behind and she doesn't want that to happen again with you, I think." Fluttershy explained in a calm manner. She doubted saying that much would hurt Twilight.

"But, it seems like she really has it out for me." Sunset said. "Almost like she holds a grudge against me personally."

"Uhm, I don't think she has it out for you." Fluttershy said. "She's just... having trouble processing you being here, I think..."

"Well, do you think she'll ever warm up to me?" Sunset asked. "I'm already growing to like the princess... quite a bit, actually."

"Oh, well, I think so." Fluttershy said, her voice wavering slightly. "You just need to give her a little time and I'm sure you'll be friends."

"Thanks." Sunset said as she extended a hoof to the pegasus. Fluttershy took the offered hoof and stood before gracing Sunset with a tiny, hopeful, smile.

Twilight sighed loudly. "I know, Rainbow Dash." she said. The minute that Sunset had left the room, Rainbow had begun lecturing her on how 'uncool' it was to just walk off the way she had.

"I don't think you do." Rainbow said defensively. "We all watched her break down in the middle of the room and you just dropped her and walked away, because, what? You didn't want to help somepony who looks like your Sunset?"

"Rainbow," Twilight began calmly. "I helped her through her attack. She felt better. She didn't need me anymore. I got a drink. You're making it out like I abandoned her when she needed me."

"Whatever." Rainbow mumbled. "I just think that you should stop treating her so bad."

"I'm not treating her badly at all, Dash." Twilight snapped. "I've given her shelter, food, a job, and a place to live. After, might I add, she confessed to being a fugitive."

"The other Sunset was a fugitive too." Rainbow said. "And you loved her all the same!"

"Don't you dare!" Twilight yelled. Rainbow froze and shied away from her friend after her outburst. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm being as nice to Sunset as I can possibly be, so stop talking about it."

"Twilight, I-"

"No!" Twilight said sternly. "Why do you think it matters so much?"

"Maybe she's tired of seeing you hurting all of the time." Pinkie said.

Twilight froze as she tore her gaze away from Rainbow to discover that all of her friends were staring at her.

"Darling, maybe you need to go easy on Dash." Rarity said. "She's obviously just has your best interests at heart."

"C'mon, Twi." Applejack said as she placed a hoof on Twilight's back. "Maybe you should stop focusing on all the negatives an' start lookin' at the positives."

"What positives?" Twilight sighed. "I've allowed a pony into my home who looks just like my biggest mistake."

"Don't say that!" Pinkie warned sternly, her good-natured cheer evaporating. "You can say whatever you want, but don't you dare call your Sunset a mistake." Pinkie visibly shook as she glared at Twilight. "I've never seen you smile brighter than when you were with her. If you call that a mistake... then you're just heartless."

Twilight felt a familiar ache in her chest and burning in her face as she stared at Pinkie. "But... I just don't want to hurt anymore." she said quietly.

"We don't want you to hurt no more." Applejack said quietly. "But, you've got to stop letting the sight of Sunset get you so worked up, cause you ain't helpin' none when you do."

Twilight sighed deeply. "I know that." she said quietly. "But, you have no idea how hard it is for me..."

"And you aren't thinking of how hard it is for her." Rainbow snapped. "She almost died when she came through the portal and the pony that saved her is kinda bein' a jerk."

"Uhm..." Sunset's voice broke through everyone's thoughts. "Is everything okay down here?" Sunset asked as she entered the group. "I could here you guys yelling from down the hall."

"It's fine." Twilight said abruptly.

"I could have sworn I heard my name too." Sunset said.

"We were talking about a different pony." Twilight said. "Why don't you get something to eat and enjoy your party?" Without waiting for a response, Twilight walked away once more.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sunset asked the remaining ponies.

"No, darling." Rarity said quietly as she placed a hoof on Sunset's back. "Twilight's just feeling a little stressed."

"Where's Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked.

"She's still in the hall." Sunset said. "I think she was scared to come in while you all were yelling."

"I'll get 'er." Applejack said as she walked away.

"Are you alright, dear?" Rarity asked. "You look a little frazzled."

"I'm fine." Sunset said quickly as she plastered a smile on her face. "I guess I'm just worried about Twilight."

"What for?" Rainbow asked. "All she's done for you is been a jerk."

"Rainbow." Pinkie said. "Shouldn't you be a little bit more sensitive."

"Twilight saved my life, Rainbow." Sunset said quickly. "I almost died and she saved me. I can't expect anything more than what she's already done. Yeah, her mood swings are worrying me a little, but you said yourself that she's been through hell the past year. I just want her to be okay."

"Well, that's very kind of you." Rarity said. "But, maybe all she needs is a little time to get used to you being here."

"Maybe." Sunset shrugged. "In the meantime, I'm going to prove to her that I'm not a bad person."

"That sounds like a good idea." Pinkie beamed. "And maybe after you prove that you're a good person, Twilight will let you stay here in Equestria and we can all be your friends forever."

"I'd like that, I think." Sunset said as she smiled at the pink pony.

Twilight left the party behind. At the moment she all she wanted was to be as far away from Sunset Shimmer as possible. "Where are you going?" a tiny voice asked from behind her.

Twilight sighed. "Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'm just getting some air."

"Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on Sunset?" Fluttershy asked as she walked into Twilight's view.

"She'll be fine. She's got everypony else with her right now." Twilight said as she continued to make her way down the long hallways of her castle.

"I meant... uhm... aren't you suspicious of her?" Fluttershy asked. "You girls all said that she was a criminal in the other world. Aren't you worried that she's going to do something bad?"

"No." Twilight said flatly. "Fluttershy, I hate to say this, but that Sunset in there isn't much different from my Sunset. She looks the same, acts the same, talks, walks, and even moves the same. She's not my Sunset, but they're so much alike, I'm not worried that she's going to do anything bad."

"Didn't your Sunset try to kill you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, but her body was taken over by a demon when she did that." Twilight said. "She wasn't the type of person to hurt people intentionally. At least, not physically."

"Well, if you're so sure that she's not bad, why are you treating her so bad."

"Fluttershy, look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I've already gotten this speech from Rainbow Dash, I don't need it from you."

"Okay..." Fluttershy mumbled.

Twilight stopped and turned to face her friend. "Look, I'm sorry for being a little snippy. It's just- you don't have any idea how much it hurts to see someone you love more than anything in the world, but they have no idea who you are."

"Yes I do." Fluttershy said. "Maybe not just like that, but I know what it's like to see somepony you love so much... you'd do anything for them, while they barely know anything about you."

Twilight blinked once. Then again. "Fluttershy, I had no idea." she said. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, no... uhm... don't be..." Fluttershy said. "I just... the pony I love... I really do love them.... but, they're in love with somepony else... at least, I'm pretty sure..."

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I had no idea." Twilight repeated. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, what could you have done?" Fluttershy asked.

"I could've-" Twilight blinked. "I could have listened." Twilight ventured. "I could have listened to what you had to say and been there for you like a good friend should."

"When I realized I was in love, Twilight... it was a little over a year ago." Fluttershy began walking towards Twilight's library and Twilight followed suit. "I saw the way she stared at another mare, and it hurt." Fluttershy sat in front of the portal to the other world and stared at her reflection. "I wanted to talk to you about it, but I was worried of what you'd think... and then... you broke it off with Sunset. I saw how much that hurt you, and I didn't want to drop any of my problems on you while you were dealing with that.

"Then you spent the past year cooped up in your castle... and you spent so much time crying... I didn't want to say anything before now..." Fluttershy sniffed once as she finished saying her piece.

"Have I truly been that selfish?" Twilight asked.

"Oh no, Twilight... I didn't think you were being selfish at all." Fluttershy said quickly.

"But, I haven't been there for my friends..." Twilight said as she sat on the floor next to the pegasus. "I've been so distant this past year that I didn't even notice how much pain you were in."

"Yes... but, nopony else did either, Twilight." Fluttershy said as she wrapped her hooves around her friend. "I bottled it up so I wouldn't bother anybody."

"You shouldn't have had to." Twilight breathed into Fluttershy's mane. "We all should have been there for you."

"It's okay, Twilight."

"No, it's not." Twilight tightened her grip on the pony in her hooves. "But, it will be. I promise I won't let anything like this happen again."

Sunset Shimmer stared into her glass of punch, contemplating the pink tinted reflection staring back at her. She had become a unicorn, which she already knew, with a yellow coat and a mane that matched her normal red and yellow hair. Her eyes, while the same shade of blue they had always been, were much larger on her equine face.

"You okay?" A deep, southern voice asked from behind her.

Sunset turned to face the earth pony and smiled. "I'm fine." she said. "I guess I'm still adjusting to this whole 'I'm a magical unicorn' thing." she shrugged. Then she briefly wondered how she shrugged with a different shoulder structure than she was used to, before shrugging again.

"Yeah, I reckon it's pretty difficult gettin' used to a new body." Applejack said as she poured herself a glass of punch. "Hopefully after a while you'll get used to it."

"I hope so." Sunset said. She scanned the room for a moment before facing Applejack again. "Where's Fluttershy?"

"She said she wanted to have a talk with Twilight 'bout somethin' and ran off." Applejack said with a shrug. "I figure she's takin' it pretty hard that Twilight ain't bein' as kind as she should. She takes that kinda thing pretty personal."

"Why would she take something like that personal?" Sunset asked. "It's not like she's in charge of making sure everybody is kind to one-another."

"Well, no, she ain't." Applejack said. "But she is the element of kindness."

"The element of kindness?"

"Yeah," Applejack sat her glass on the table before taking a seat on a nearby chair. Sunset quickly followed suit. "Here in Equestria, Harmony is made up of six different elements. Fluttershy is one of those elements. The element of kindness."

"I think Rainbow mentioned those elements before." Sunset said. "Are you all elements?"

"Well, yeah, except for Spike we all are." Applejack said. "I'm the element of honesty, Rainbow is the element of loyalty, Rarity is the element of generosity, Pinkie is the element of laughter, and Twilight is the sixth element. The element of magic."

"I thought she was the Princess of Friendship?"

"She is, but before that, she was one of the elements of Harmony." Applejack explained. "Y'see, here, Harmony is an important type of magic, I think. That Harmony is made of friendship. When we found the Elements of Harmony all those years ago, we each became an element. Twilight proved herself to Harmony and became a princess."

"How does that work exactly?"

"T'be right honest with you, I ain't got a clue." Applejack said. "I just know how Twilight and Princess Celestia explained it to me, so that's how I'm explaining it to you."

"Well, I appreciate the lesson Applejack." Sunset said. "So, I don't mean to sound rude, but if Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, then why is she so against the idea of being my friend?"

"Ya caught on to that, huh?"

"It was kind of hard not to notice." Sunset said. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate everything that Twilight's done for me, but it's hard not to notice how much she avoids me."

"Well, I ain't gonna lie to you, Sunset. Twilight's head ain't exactly been in the right place the past year. She's been through some stuff and I don't think I've seen her interact with anybody but the six of us and you in a long time." Applejack shook her head. "I was startin' to think she'd never get better, but believe it or not, she's doin' a lot better now than she was."

"Yeah, Rainbow told me she's had a pretty severe break-up." Sunset said. "She told me just to give her some time and space and she'll come around."

"That about sums it up, sugarcube." Applejack said with a friendly pat upon the unicorn's back.

"I really like, Twilight." Sunset said quickly. "I want to be her friend... so that's why I had to ask."

"I understand." Applejack said. "She's saved your life, givin' you a job, and a place to live, and to top it off, y'ain't even known her for a full day. Lots o' ponies would wanna be her friend. Give it some time and I'm sure you will be."

"Thanks Applejack." Sunset said.

"Speaking o' jobs, I wanted ta talk to you about that." Applejack said.

"What's up?"

"Well, there ain't a lot you can do at the castle, so me and Pinkie were talking about you helping out down at sugarcube corner every now and then, if we can talk Twilight into it." Applejack said. "They'd appreciate the help, plus, it'd help you see more of the town."

"I think I was at sugarcube corner earlier today, actually." Sunset said with a shrug. "I wouldn't mind working in a place like that. It would be an upgrade over my last job for sure."

"What was that?" Applejack asked.

Sunset opened her mouth, before frowning and shaking her head. "Not important." she said briskly. "I don't know why I said that."

Applejack narrowed her eyes for but a moment before shrugging. "Well, if you'd be alright with that, I'll talk to Twilight and the Cakes about it later."

"Sunset Shimmer." A stern voice said from behind the two mares. Sunset turned quickly and smiled at the princess that had addressed her.

"Princess Twilight." Sunset said as she attempted another clumsy bow.

"Sunset, what have I said." Twilight said.

Sunset smirked as she stood again. "Sorry, Twilight."

"I'll leave ya'll to it." Applejack said as she quickly trotted to her other friends.

"I wanted to talk to you." Twilight said as she dropped her commanding tone.

"What's up?" Sunset asked.

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier." Twilight said. "Seeing you like that... it reminded me of a promise that... I didn't exactly keep. I didn't mean to run off like that though. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Twilight." Sunset said. "Everyone has pretty much clued me in on the fact that you've had a rough year. I understand if having a new tenant kind of doesn't help the stress factor."

"That's not important." Twilight said quickly. "I am the Princess of Friendship, and so far, I've not been a very good friend to you. Fluttershy reminded me of why it's important to stop wallowing in self-pity and pay attention to your friends... I hope you can forgive me."

Sunset smiled and placed her hoof gently on the alicorn's back. "Of course I can." she said. "Since I arrived in your world, you've been a good friend to me, you've just got a lot on your plate."

Twilight's horn began to glow as she levitated two glasses of punch from a nearby table to the two mares. "Here." she said, passing one to Sunset. "To a new start?" she asked as she extended her glass to Sunset.

Sunset grinned again as she nodded and clinked her glass to Twilight's. "A new start." she confirmed before drinking deeply.

Rainbow stared at Twilight and Sunset, each smiling at the other, and she felt a smile build on her own face. "You okay?" a voice asked from beside her. Rainbow's smile fell slightly before she nodded. "Are you sure?" the voice asked. "You don't seem to be as happy as you normally are."

"I'm fine, Pinkie." Rainbow said as she turned to face her friend. "I'm just glad those two are actually talking." she said.

"I hope they can at-least be friends." Pinkie said.

"Me too." Rainbow sighed as she took another drink.

Rainbow drank deeply as she stared at the two mares, finally having a conversation about... well, probably about nothing, but she was glad. The two didn't need to talk about anything serious, they just needed to stop seeing each other as the princess and the doppelganger and start seeing each other as normal mares, or even friends.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Pinkie asked as she sipped from a glass. "I mean, I'm sure they will be and everything, but do you think they'll be able to be friends or-"

"Pinkie?" Rainbow interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Drink your punch."

"Okay."

After all of the party-goers had cleared out, Sunset Shimmer had taken it upon herself to clear the room. Luckily for her, Pinkie Pie had taken most of her party supplies home with her and Sunset was left with dishes and a few napkins to take care of. Twilight had declared the need for a bath and left as soon as Sunset had started cleaning. She smiled and hummed to herself as she worked, oblivious to the fact that there was second pony who had entered the room.

"So, you truly are living with young Twilight?" a voice asked from behind Sunset. The voice was soothing, and seemed to emanate some unnatural tranquility.

Sunset turned to face the owner of the amazing voice before her jaw dropped. The pony in front of her looked nothing like the ponies she had met so far. This particular pony stood a foot or so taller than Sunset. Her coat was almost marble white with a mane and tail that shimmered like Rainbows, flowing in ethereal winds. Sunset knew who this pony was from several recounting tales from Rainbow Dash. This was the ruler of the country she now found herself in.

Sunset dropped into her most clumsy and awkward bow yet, her horn meeting the floor shortly before her muzzle. "Princess Celestia!" she cried on impact, not entirely sure of how to react to the most prominent ruler of her new world standing six feet away from her.

The large sun goddess giggled as she used her magic to prostrate her newest citizen. "There is no need for that, my little pony." she said softly. "This is a casual visit, Sunset."

"Yes, your highness." Sunset said quietly.

"Young spike sent me a letter filling me in on everything that has recently transpired." Princess Celestia explained. "I simply came to check in on my student and her new friend."

"Twilight's in the bath." Sunset blurted awkwardly. "I was cleaning and she took a bath."

Celestia lightly laughed once more. "I'm well aware." she said. "Twilight has this odd habit of leaving a towel by whatever book she happens to be reading when she takes a bath. I believe it is because she has ruined them before by not adequately drying her coat before picking it back up."

"Oh." Sunset said simply.

"Truly, I wanted to meet you." Celestia said as she stepped closer to the small unicorn. "It's a pleasure." Celestia said as she extended her hoof.

Sunset reached forward and (somehow) grasped the offered hoof in a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, your highness." she said. "Although, from the stories Rainbow Dash has told me, I feel like I already know you pretty well."

"I could say the same." the princess said with a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Has my student been treating you well?"

"She has." Sunset said immediately. "I mean, we had a rocky start... but, I think that's mostly my fault... she learned about... something that happened in the other world, and I don't think she fully trusts me yet, but we're getting there."

"Well, I'm glad that she's warming up to you." Princess Celestia said softly. "I know how rough she's had it, so it's probably best that you give her time to adjust."

"I will, princess." Sunset said softly. "I really like Twilight, and I hope we can get closer... maybe even become friends..."

"I think that would be wonderful, Sunset Shimmer." Princess Celestia said. "I believe a house-guest like you will do my young student a world of good."

"Really?" Sunset asked, before questioning the safety of questioning a ruling leader of a new country.

"I do." Celestia said. "I have a fair idea of what she's going through, but in time, I believe that she will come to value you closely, as she does all of her friends."

"I hope so." Sunset said softly. "I really like Twilight, and I feel like she's already so important to me. She saved my life, your highness, and that's not something I intend to take lightly..."

"I understand." the alicorn said. "I've been more like a second mother to Twilight than a teacher these past few years." she explained. "I have seen her go through many trials, and affect the hearts of those around her drastically. Still, I do believe that what happened one year ago was one of the greatest trials she's ever faced." The princess sighed as she turned her gaze to the unicorn before her. "That is why I wanted to ask you a favor, Sunset Shimmer."

"Anything, princess." Sunset said hastily.

"I'm not asking this favor as a princess." Celestia said calmly. "More as a concerned guardian. I want you to keep an eye on my Twilight." she spoke softly as she made her request, and Sunset noticed the slight crease in her brow as she spoke again. "I know that she hasn't been right in a year now, and for some reason, I feel as if you could help her get past what happened. I think that the closer the two of you grow, the more Twilight will begin to behave like her old self."

"I promise." Sunset said. "Even though it's only been a day or so... I really like Twilight. She's saved my life, given me food and shelter, and I've done nothing in return. I want to help her, because I can see just how much she's still hurting and I don't like it..."

"I'm glad." Celestia said. "I hope you realize how much it means to me that you're going to try to help Twilight learn how to be happy again."

"It's the least I can do." Sunset sighed, "Besides, I like Twilight. Isn't it natural to want to see her happy?"

"Very much so." the princess nodded. "But, don't forget about your own happiness while you're here." she warned. "I've seen it happen before. A pony who cared so much about making another happy that she allowed herself to be hurt over and over again. Don't let that happen to yourself, alright?"

Sunset smiled at the alicorn. "I won't." she said. "I would also ask that you keep an eye on the elements of harmony as well. I've sensed much turmoil from a few of them during our last conversations and I fear they could also use a dear friend to help ease whatever burdens they are hiding from me."

"I will, Princess." Sunset said as she resisted the urge to attempt another bow, mainly because she now knew just how sensitive a horn could be.

"There are few in this land that I can call friend, Sunset Shimmer." Princess Celestia said quietly. "I hope to, one day soon, count you among them."

"I think I would like that, your highness." Sunset replied.

"Thank you, for everything." the alicorn said. "Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to find Twilight and speak to her as well."

"I think she's still in the bath, your highness." Sunset said.

Sunset had meant to politely deter the princess from barging in on her fellow princess in the tub, however Celestia merely smiled, nodded, and said a quick, "Thank you." before walking away.

Sunset wondered briefly if it was perfectly normal for ponies to be in the same room as one another while they bathed, before she remembered that she had yet to see one wear clothes. She supposed if nudity wasn't an issue, then bathing would be no different.

Princess Celestia sighed as she slowly walked through the halls of Twilight's castle. She was one of the few ponies who could understand the pain that Twilight was currently feeling. It had hurt, to speak to a mare who resembled the young filly she had taken under her wing years ago. To see that innocent smile once more had almost been enough to break the aged alicorn's resolve, but it had been worth it. She had missed her young student more than she had ever thought possible, and after she had left Twilight a year before, Celestia had once again felt the pain of losing her.

Now she had returned, to bring Twilight the same happiness she had before, and to ease the mind of an old mare.

Celestia shook her head. No, she couldn't think of her like that. This was not a replacement for Sunset Shimmer. This was an opportunity to help a young mare from another world.

The solar princess ascended the stairs towards her most faithful student as she slowly shed her ruler's facade. She wouldn't greet Twilight today as a ruler, but as a trusted mentor and friend. She allowed her chin to droop, but only slightly as she slowly dispelled her regalia.

Twilight was blowing bubbles in the bath. It had been one of her more childish vices for whenever she was feeling particularly stressed. It had hurt her to attempt to bond with Sunset, but it had been necessary.

Another bubble floated to the ceiling and Twilight allowed herself a small giggle as she watched it rise.

"This is a sight I haven't seen in many years..." A soft voice said from beside the door.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked as she lowered herself further in the bath. "What are you doing here? Where's your crown?"

"I did not come here as a princess today, Twilight." Celestia said with a warm smile. "I came here as a friend... word reached me of your newest visitor and I assumed you could use another friend." Celestia smiled at her young student as she slowly stepped into the large bath with Twilight. "That... and it has been a year since we last spoke..."

Twilight blushed and hung her head. "I am sorry," she mumbled. "I haven't really stopped to talk to anyone in the past year..."

Celestia's smile never faltered as she began to run soap in her young friend's coat. "I am not here to make you feel guilty, Twilight. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"You didn't have to join me in the bath, though." Twilight mumbled. "I would have gotten out if I had known you were here."

"I am aware." Celestia giggled. "However, it is days like today when I long to see you as that young filly I used to help bathe after her experiments became messy. Please, humor an old mare..."

"Sure." Twilight mumbled and leaned her back into her former teacher. "After all, it's days like today that make me long to still be that little filly getting a bath from you and a lecture from my old teachers."

"I have been worried about you, Twilight." Celestia said. "Our last conversation-"

"Was selfish of me." Twilight blurted. "I should never have said those things to you."

"You were right..." Celestia said. "About everything..."

Twilight threw another book at the open doorway. She watched as the book bounced against the hard stone with a thunk and landed in a large pile of its predecessors on the ground. Tears streamed down her face as the fresh memory of Sunset's departure rang in her mind.

Just as Twilight grabbed another book, a loud POP behind her altered her to a teleportation spell in her library. "Twilight..." Celestia gasped as her students rampage was revealed to her eyes. "What has happened?"

"They didn't tell you?" Twilight growled as she threw the book, her back still to the alicorn behind her. "Your little 'gift' finally became a curse."

"Whatever do you mean?" Celestia asked.

Twilight ignored her and grabbed the entire bookshelf in her magic, but she found no satisfaction in the loud crash or the large cracks in the crystalline door. "You didn't warn me..." Twilight whispered, her voice low and cold. "You didn't tell me about the alicorn's curse."

"Twilight, I-"

"You didn't tell me that no matter what, I couldn't die!" Twilight screamed in fury. "You didn't tell me that I couldn't even be murdered or kill myself! Trust me, I've tried! You didn't tell me that I had no choice in the immortality! You didn't even give me a choice in the matter! You just selfishly slapped a pair of wings on me, so you wouldn't feel so alone anymore, didn't you?!" Twilight spun on the princess and Celestia could finally see the anger in her eyes, but she also saw the pain there. "I had to leave her, because you were too selfish to let me go!"

"Twilight, please-"

"You don't have any kids and I never stopped to wander why, but then? After she left... I found out. You can't have any! That's why you picked me! You wanted a pony that you practically raised yourself, so you could have a child forever! You didn't stop to think of my feelings, or my birth parents, or even the friends that I've made! Sweet little Celestia, just didn't want to be alone anymore!"

Celestia's calm demeanor cracked as the final words of Twilight's tirade fell upon her, and a few stray tears fell down her cheeks. "Twilight..."

"Just leave..." Twilight sighed, her tears continuing to spill as she once again turned her back to her former teacher. "I don't think I can talk to you anymore..."

Celestia sniffed once before light engulfed her body, starting at her horn. "Whatever you wish, Twilight..."

"I still regret ever saying any of that to you..." Twilight whispered as she watched her tears spill into the bath water.

"I know." Celestia hummed as she shampooed Twilight's mane. "I received all four hundred of your letters and responded to them all, but-" a heavy sigh. "you were right. I wanted you to be an alicorn, because you deserved the role, and because I knew that you would be the greatest princess that Equestria could hope for, but... I also couldn't bare to lose you. I should have told you of the consequences and I certainly should have taken your desires into consideration..."

"Princess Celestia... I don't blame you..." Twilight sniffed. "I'm not upset with you anymore... if I'm being honest with myself... I never was to begin with."

"I know that. I knew it then too." Celestia murmured. "It only hurt me so much, because you were right. I love you as my own, Twilight, and I couldn't risk you saying 'no' to becoming an alicorn, because I didn't want to lose you."

"You won't anymore." Twilight sighed as she rolled in the bath and wrapped her hooves around her teacher. "Cause you have been like a mom to me, and I don't want to lose my mom again."

Twilight buried her head in Celestia's coat and cried as Celestia's tears fell upon her young students mane. "I love you, Celestia." Twilight whispered.

"I love you too, my child."

Author's Note

Well, it looks like it's been almost a year... I'm trying to get better about these chapters, but I just want this to be as close to perfect as I can possibly get it. Sorry, that its taking me so long. But, here are another eight thousand words for you guys and I'm going to start on the next chapter just as soon as I finish typing this AN I promise.

As usual feel free to leave thoughts and comments of all shapes and sizes.