Rainbow Road To The Stars

Long ago when the universe was young there were two equal forces: Nexus & Void. Over the eon's they'd take many names, Light & Darkness...War & Peace...Life & Death...Harmony & Chaos. The two extremes always at odds and one never truly able to vanquish the other but in the end it was their duty to maintain balance between the two extremes...but as it was in their nature...darkness grew tired of balance and felt the light was feeble and weak and sought to do all in its power to snuff it out.

To this extreme over the eons the darkness has selected inhabitance  to embody its unholiness in the main elements that associate with true darkness: Cruelty, Despair Fear, Hate, Greed, Betrayal, Wrath, Vengeance, Death & Darkness itself.  These are what came to be known as the the elements of Disharmony.

In response to this the light fought back with agents of its own, pure embodiment of its holy and absolving light that could push back the darkness when used in perfect harmony. Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Forgiveness, Hope, Magic, Love & Courage. These are what came to be known as the elements of harmony. For long the elements battled one another until the light discovered a way to weaken the darkness to be a point of docile co-existence realizing that it could not truly be rid of the darkness and sought to tame it instead. To this end the light created the stars and galaxies to light the darkness enough to where it could not fight back nearly as hard as it once had. The stars and galaxies they painted whom were all children of the light of the nexus had in time shared their cosmic power with those they deemed worthy.

These chosen few have come to be known as the stars of unity, chosen guardians of the elements of harmony. It is said that one day that the light will fade just enough to where light and dark are at once again in balance and it is then when the void forces will return to awaken the darkness from its docile sleep and only the elements and their guardian stars together can push back the darkness...less the entire cosmos fall prey to eternal shadow...

-THE CASTLE OF FRIENDSHIP: THE LIBRARY

"Amazing...so you were right...forgiveness is my element"

"Sunset....do you realize what this means?!"

Twilight exclaimed putting down the ancient book she'd found deep within her castle library. After having Sunset come home after her graduation from Canterlot high a few months ago she'd been taking a lot of time to do more research on the elements of harmony and Sunset's possible connection to them and lo and behold it turned out her theory was correct. The elements were things that inhabited the bodies of those worthy to wield them in Equestria, but for the longest time nopony had managed to embody the spirit of the element of forgiveness but when Sunset had stepped up to defeat the Dazzlings and save an entire dimension in the hopes that she'd be forgiven for her past sins and happy that her friends managed to forgive each other and rejoin as a band; it was then for the first time in over 1000 years that anypony had gained that power and thus the elements of harmony grew stronger with the addition of its 7th element. However now as it turned out there were a total of 10 elements with Hope, Love & Courage being the only ones unknown to them however Twilight had a very strong hunch on whom had gained the power of the element of love and simply didn't know it...and it was so obvious. Sunset Shimmer gave Twilight Sparkle a knowing smile.

"Trip to see auntie Cady?" Sunset quipped

"Yes but this means theres a whole new layer to our lives than we thought! According to this it sounds like we're all destined to fight some big magical war with the forces of darkness!" Twilight exclaimed sounded excited and scared at the same time.

"Well when is that anything new? Kinda comes with the territory right?" Sunset said with a smirk. "Besides, nothing we can't handle...Especially with our friends by our side; the magic of friendship has won us the day before and if that book is correct, it'll win it this time too..."

"But it seems we'll have to do a little more research...hm this symbol for the element of love...just as i thought...look familiar?" She turned the book to Sunset whom looked at the text and the marking that showed the pattern for the element of love which was a crystal heart with gold accents around the lower left and right corners.

"Well this is going to be some pretty big news to break to her for sure...hm....strange..."

"What is ?"

"These symbols for the other two elements are pretty hard to make out...but if this book is any indication then to find them we need to look for ponies who embody the true spirit of courage and hope..."

"Well I've learned with these types of things its best to let fate bring them too you instead of seeking them out right away...makes for a lot less of a headache"

"So shall we assemble the girls?" Sunset asked with a smirk as she trotted up next to Twilight

"Yes, we have to inform them of this right away...It appears destiny has given us another call..."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's answer it..." Sunset leaned in and touched her horn to Twilight's.

"Yes...Let's." Twilight gave a happy smile as the two teleported into the main throne room.

As the two mares popped into the throne room of friendship with a flash of lavender and teal light they'd stand shoulder to shoulder at the table that doubled as the cutie map which now had a total of eight thrones sitting around it. Much to everypony's surprise, when Sunset had come to visit the castle for the first time the castle...changed. It had expanded in many different areas and as such in the throne room with the newest element of harmony discovered, an 8th throne was added to the round table directly to the right of Twilight's chair while Spike's sat on the left.

Sitting upon their thrones they'd summon their magic into a ball of energy that hovered above the table and activated the map and rainbow colors of light shot from each chair that bore the cutie mark of the various elements of harmony and even Spike as she'd come up with a spell to link him to the chair he had for himself as well as the map...she'd even worked with Starlight in the realm of cutie mark magic to give Spike his own cutie mark or as he liked to call it 'Dragon Glyph' since it sounded 'cooler' and 'more dragon'; Spike had been growing much lately; he'd been spending much time with newly appointed dragon lord Ember and had even begun a growth spurt of sorts, now being only a little shorter than Ember and he even finally got his wings. Ember had even taken to training Spike in the art of combat, while she was sweet on the younger dragon she sought to toughen him up into a true dragon which Spike didn't see to mind since he was pretty sick of being left out and always having to have ponies protect him when he was a growing dragon and much to everypony and even Ember's surprise, a very strong one. Spike was even to be considered the very first of Twilight's new guards when she finally got around to appointing her royal Midnight Guard which she was in the process of assembling as one of her many duties as of late.

As the lights beamed onto the table each cutie mark of the different elements of harmony and Spike were shown on the table and then the lights shot into the massive crystal hanging above the table that was connected to the entire castle and it shot out a sonic rainboom like pulse that acted as a summoning beckon to the rest of the girls. Smiling as the spell was complete Twilight and Sunset trotted out to the balcony that overlooked Ponyville. The day was fresh and new, the sun shinned bright and high in the sky, the clouds were white as snow and placed perfectly to create shade for ponies of all trots of life to relax and play in the summer sun, it was about midday on a Saturday and so most ponies had already taken to their business as was the case for Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight Sparkle; the two mares often spent much time together, studying, practicing new magic spells both offensive and defensive, researching new theories about magic and just talking and being friendly to one another. They were like sisters, something Twilight valued greatly as did Sunset; Sunset herself didn't have any direct blood siblings only a cousin in the crystal empire and while Twilight had Moon Dancer and Cadence; two mares who she grew up with and whom knew her very well...she felt a very deep and special connection to Sunset Shimmer  and she couldn't quite place why but regardless; the fiery maned mare was Princess Twilight's close friend...best friend? It was really hard to distinguish what made a friend or a good friend or a best friend and sometimes felt guilty giving that title to some-ponies but not others. She sighed and chuckled

'There you go overthinking again Worry-Flank Sparkle' She thought inwardly rolling her eyes as she smiled and looked out upon her 'kingdom' it was really odd sometimes, referring to Ponyville as her Kingdom; but Equestrian law both ancient and new required it so that nations knew that Ponyville was under sovereign protection. Ponyville was home to the elements of harmony as well as the Princess of Friendship and was where her castle lay rested so naturally it was only a matter of time before she had to royally declare Ponyville as her territory but the pony's of Ponyville didn't seem to mind, in fact they welcomed it, they were enthralled by the notion that they'd gained such recognition thanks to Twilight and the other girls as well as Spike who was known as the savor of the Crystal Empire, not to mention that they had strong ties to Canterlot since Twilight and Sunset Shimmer were students of Celestia herself. With all of this in mind not to mention the fact that Rarity's fashion business had been INCREDIBLY booming lately after her grand opening of 'Rarity For You' in Manehatten and 'Canterlot Carousal' in the heart of Canterlot with many of the extra proceeds going to benefit Ponyville and other such charities as per her generous nature Ponyville had seen a substantial increase in funds through the ponies that came to visit her main shop and this pleased Mayor Mare very much.

With a little help from Filthy Rich after a little convincing and puppy dog pouting from a newly reformed Diamond Tiara, Ponyville had expanded much of its land and more ponies began to populate as they migrated to live in the friendliest place in Equestria under the humble rule of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Twilight felt a swell of pride in her heart and soul as she gazed out upon all she and her friends had built together.

"It really is something isn't it?"

"What is?" Sunset asked

"The magic of friendship...look at all that it's brought us Sunset...all that it's allowed us to accomplish and achieve...the good fortune it's brought us...the peace we've attained because it...hard to believe that all those years ago I was just a silly little filly who thought books were better than making friends..."

"Yeah and I used to be a melgomaniac with a god complex who just needed someone to call friend...aaaaand a swift kick in the flank"

"Eheheh have I apologized for that?" Twilight smiled sheepishly

"Several times yes, just as I have apologized a dozen more times than that for what I did to you..." Sunset smiled equally sheepish

"I wish you'd stop beating yourself up over it Sunset, it's behind you." Twilight said with her expression soft.

"I know Twi, I know; it's all in the past but still there are times I wish I could just...start over...you know? I mean...have you ever wondered what it would've been like?" Sunset asked her eyes downcast only a bit.

"I don't follow?" Twilight said

"Looking back on everything...before I turned...nasty...I remember seeing you a few times with Cadence...back then I repressed a lot of things because my ego just wouldn't let me believe that you of all ponies could outshine me...heh...you were so much younger than me but so skilled and the Princess of love was your foal sitter...guess you could say I was jealous in a small way; I mean, I had Celestia and we always spent time together but I didn't ever spend time with anypony else...I always had my books and always heard ponies talking about me and how I never talked to anypony and just always read books and tagged along Celestia's tail...but I didn't care..."

"Okay..." Twilight waited for her to press on

"And then after I discovered the mirror and kept pressing Celestia about it, I noticed you more and more...while you didn't spend all your time with Cadence anymore you had made a new friend..."

"Moon Dancer?"

"Yeah...and well...I guess what I'm trying to say is...I've always wondered what it would've been like...had i listened to Celestia like a good filly and tried to make friends instead of just always studying...if we could have been friends from the start."

"Oh." Twilight finally realized what she was getting at as she gears turned in her mind. "Actually...I have..."

"R-Really?" Sunset asked in surprise.

"Yeah, now that I think about it...I remember seeing you a few times back then too...you always looked...unhappy; if you weren't with Celestia and anytime you looked at me you looked kinda mad...but it didn't bother me because Cadence was there and she always made me feel safe and loved...but I did always wonder...'Maybe she just needs a friend? She seems to really like books...and I like books' hehe but anytime I'd try and say something you were gone or busy with Celestia..."

"Wow..." Sunset said with all that realization coming into play, it felt so surreal.

"Heheh fancy that years later, I become a princess and you come back to steal my crown and by the end of it we became friends...."

"Pft...Destiny is weird..."

"True...but I wouldn't have it any other way though...with all that's happened in my life? The adventures I've had, the friends I've made? I could die tomorrow and be happy knowing that I got to have such great friends and know that in wherever I go...the magic of friendship will live on in every friend I made that still lives after I'm gone..." Twilight said with a kind grin as the wind whipped at her mane.

"Oh my Luna that was cheesy..." Sunset teased and got a indignant tongue from Twilight. "But it was the best kind of cheesy though...and you couldn't be more right Twilight...and I really have to thank you even now...you pulled me out of a very dark place and showed me a better way...you showed me how strong the magic of friendship truly is...something not even the great and almighty Princess Celestia could do...you should be proud." Sunset said with a smile getting a blush from Twilight. "But seriously...it's because of you I've gotten to where I am today...and I know it'll be because of you that I go even further...the magic of friendship burns bright in my heart thanks to you, and I intend to use it to warm the hearts of every pony I see for as long as I live." Sunset said with a broad smile as the sun shined bright above her and the wind gently whipped at her own mane.

"Heheh yeah; who's the cheesy one now?" Twilight teased with a smirk and Sunset blushed and blew a raspberry at the pony Princess.

"You're a dork..." Sunset said turning her nose up.

"That's princess dork to you" Twilight retorted with a goofy smile

'Faust your adorkable! Sunset screamed in her head trying hard not to blush more than she already was. In truth Sunset admired Twilight very much and liked her a little bit more than just a friend but much to her own surprise she hadn't had the courage to tell the princess this for fear of possibly ruining her friendship with her if she didn't feel the same way, plus she didn't even know if Twilight liked mares like she did and didn't want to freak Twilight out by asking to directly which was why she'd taken to spending so much time with her but she could never quite get around to the topic of romance or anything of the sort since Twilight was just so oblivious but Sunset found it endearing and almost erotic at the fact that she had to work to get Twilight, she had to dig deep and peel back the layers of the mares shell in order to get to the center of that sweet innocent heart of hers. Sunset was a mare who enjoyed a challenge and Twilight Sparkle for better or worse was her greatest challenge, the one magic she desperately wanted and she'd have it and protect it with her life.

Daily, Sunset Shimmer was a teacher in Twilight's newly build friendship academy where she was one of the head staff there. Twilight had it built so that she could better spread knowledge on magic both friendship and otherwise and she needed powerful unicorns, pegsai and even Earth ponies to be teachers and so she'd recently been looking for more and more talent and luckily thanks to all the new ponies who'd moved to Ponyville she'd found an ample amount of teachers she found suitable and Sunset was the very first. She taught advance magical mechanics, magic history,advanced ancient magical theory & friendship magic 101 and ironically enough Starlight Glimmer was Sunset's 'assistant' or helper pony, they were a team. Starlight and Sunset were actually quite good friends even if they had a friendly rivalry with one another much like that of Applejack and Rainbow Dash with one always trying to outdo the other in feats of magic and knowing things about magic but it was usually all in good fun...usually...they tended to sometimes get a little out of control. But nevertheless they worked well together and developed a very strong bond over the few short months Sunset had arrived to Ponyville and she'd even made friends with this worlds Trixie Lulamoon whom had now taken up residence in Ponyville since it's expansion and had her own magic shop where she put on shows for foals and sold magic artifacts she'd gained in her travels and even buys magic trinkets.

"So what do you think the girls are up too?"

"Knowing them? Business as usual..." Twilight said with a smirk