It is a peculiar fact of existence that every great discovery in the universe, no matter how world changing, will ultimately be used for something benign.
Relativity gave you the GPS, so you never have to ask for directions again. Advanced computing gave you the internet, and an effectively infinite supply of cat videos. Complex predictive analytics have been rigorously applied to fantasy sports to determine which players to theoretically draft.
And a portal in the fabric of the universe that leads to a world of talking ponies, griffons, dragons, and magic? Used to impress a girl on a date.
“Needtoseeitneedtoseeitneedtoseeit…” Twilight said, vibrating impatiently as Sunset Shimmer walked her to the base of the Wondercolt statue in front of Canterlot High School. Sunset Shimmer smiled at Twilight’s childlike excitement at finally being able to visit Equestria.
“Okay, now, remember, portal travel can be a little rough, especially your first time,” Sunset Shimmer said, placing a hand on Twilight’s back. “It can be really disorienting if you’re not ready for it.” Twilight looked to the base of the statue, then back to Sunset Shimmer.
“What was it like your first time going through?” Twilight asked. Sunset coughed, then scratched the back of her head.
“Let’s...not talk about that,” Sunset said, blushing a little at the memory. She still cringed when she looked back on it, just thinking about it made her back hurt. “A-anyway, Twilight and I have done some experiments, and it seems like the disorientation only takes effect when you leave the world you were born in.”
“Why’s that?” Twilight asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. Sunset shrugged.
“Best answer we have right now is, ‘because’. Twilight has a theory that it’s related to the transformation process. She thinks that it takes a little more work for the portal to figure out how you ‘should’ look in the world you’re traveling to, and that makes the trip rougher. Going home it just needs to turn you ‘back’, or maybe it keeps a copy of how recent users looked cached or something, so it doesn’t have to redo the work every time. That’d explain why the trip gets easier the more you use the portal too, the more you use it the more the portal recognizes you as a regular user and keeps how you look in the other world somewhere it can easily access it. That’s really just a theory, though, we’ve got no real evidence to support it.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “How scientifically rigorous of you.” Sunset Shimmer raised an eyebrow.
“Did you just sass me?”
“Maaaaybe…” Twilight said. Then she gave Sunset a playful shove. “Why? What are you gonna do about it?”
“Hmmm…” Sunset said, tapping her chin in a considering gesture. “Nothing. Maybe we’ll just go home.”
“Huh?”
“Yup. No need to visit Equestria today. I mean, you don’t think I’ve been thorough enough in studying the portal there, so I understand if you don’t feel safe-”
“But...but…”
“We can go to a movie instead. Or just watch TV. Something safe, and benign.” Sunset leaned in to Twilight’s face, flashing a wicked grin. “And having nothing at all to do with magic.”
“Nonononono,” Twilight said, waving her hands around. “I didn’t mean it, I’m sure you did a great job studying the portal, I-I just…”
“Hmm...I don’t know…” Sunset said, tapping her chin. “You don’t sound very convincing…”
“Oh, give her a break,” Spike spoke up. Sunset looked down to the small, purple dog that was following them, and giving her a little too-knowing look for a dog. “Twilight might not know that you’re just messing with her, but I do.”
Sunset Shimmer huffed. “You know, I think I liked you better when you couldn’t talk.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Spike said, jumping towards the statue. “Come on, let’s go!”
Sunset laughed, and turned around to look at Twilight. “Alright Twilight.” Sunset backed up into the portal, giving a tiny salute as she faded into the rippling stone. “See you on the other side.”
Spike barked, jumped up in the air excitedly, and leapt through himself. Twilight looked at the shimmering pool in the base of the statue and took a short, calming breath. “I can do this,” she said. She approached the base of the statue and stroked it quickly, spreading ripples over the surface. “If she can do it, I can do it.”
Before her nerves could set in again Twilight closed her eyes, took a breath, and ran through the portal.
***
It was a funny feeling, suddenly not being able to support yourself on two legs. It felt like the entire world had somehow gotten heavier on Twilight’s back. Falling down seemed like the easiest and most natural thing in the world. Twilight rolled through the white void, tumbling over the four legs that she suddenly had until she landed, back first on…
...on a mountain of pillows?
Twilight opened an eye and saw a ceiling made of crystal. Beautiful fractals spread out in every direction and she saw what appeared to be an adorable purple pony wearing a pair of glasses staring down at her in the reflections on the ceiling. It took Twilight a moment to realize that the unicorn in the crystal reflections was mirroring her own movements.
“Is that me?!” Twilight asked, pointing a hoof up at the ceiling. Then she blinked and stared at her leg. “I have hooves?!” Even though she had been expecting it, facing the corporeal reality of suddenly having a completely different body was still surprising.
“Need some help getting up?” a voice asked. There was a brief trotting and a yellow unicorn appeared in Twilight’s field of vision, her hair a very familiar, weaving mix of red and streaks of gold. She was wearing a sleek, pink dress with trims of white, gold, and very pale blue, all rounded out with a set of winged golden and red shoes with a matching symbol of a sun on the front.
“S-Sunset?” Twilight asked, flipping over and carefully standing up, a novel sensation when it meant staying on four legs. “Is that you?”
Sunset Shimmer nodded. “Yeah, this is...how I am over here.” She scratched behind her head awkwardly. “It’s...probably a little strange to you, I kno-”
“You look amazing!” Twilight interrupted, jumping up to examine Sunset Shimmer’s pony form more closely. Then a realization struck her and she raised an eyebrow. “Wait...why are you wearing a dress and I’m not?”
“Uh…” Sunset Shimmer said, her face flushing. “Well…”
***One week earlier
Sunset Shimmer trotted through the portal into Equestria slowly, a hair clip of her yellow and red sun cutie mark attached to her mane.
“Okay,” Princess Twilight said, scribbling notes on a roll of parchment. “A hair clip makes it through the portal. Watches, bracelets, and wallets make it through, but not general clothing. Basically, anything you’d call an ‘accessory’ seems to stay with you from one world to the other.”
“I think it’s a little simpler than that,” Sunset Shimmer said as she telekinetically removed the hair clip and set it down on the large table in the center of the room. “I’d say, for something to make it through the portal, it needs to be something you could use in whatever form you end up in when you change worlds. We can wear a hair clip or a watch as either ponies or humans, but clothes from the human world won’t fit on us as ponies. So, the portal doesn’t bring them through.”
Princess Twilight nodded along in agreement. “I’d theorize there’s a mental component to this as well: what do you expect to use or keep with you in the other world? I’ve seen cases where hair clips or earrings don’t make it through, but when we’ve experimented with them specifically you’ve been able to bring them with you every time. I think it has something to do with the fact that you’re thinking about them. You want to have them with you when you pass through the portal, so you do.”
“Twilight, Sunset, as much as I see how much you two are enjoying theorizing about the underlying workings of a portal between worlds, weren’t we here for something much more important?” Rarity asked, trying hide her impatience. “Namely, Sunset’s date?”
“Oh, right,” Princess Twilight said, picking up her papers and tapping them against the desk to put them in order. “Well, the bad news is, it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to bring along a dress with you. No matter what, it looks like the portal isn’t going to transport a full, human outfit that you’re wearing along with you. And even if it did, I don’t think it would turn it into an ensemble that would fit on a pony in any case.”
Sunset Shimmer sighed, sat down and slumped her head. “Yeah...that’s about what I figured.”
“I think you two may be going at this the wrong direction,” Rarity said, trotting over to the mirror very regally and examining it. “You’re trying to make it so that Sunset can keep an outfit that she’s wearing in the human world here when she crosses over. But when you go back to the human world, you go back wearing whatever apparel you had on when you came to Equestria, correct?” Sunset Shimmer and Princess Twilight nodded. “So, darling, the answer is rather simple: put on whatever you want to wear here beforehand, cross over into the human world, and when you come back for your date, there you’ll be! The dashing, gorgeous unicorn, dressed in the most perfect dress imaginable!”
Sunset Shimmer’s face lit up and she clapped her hooves together happily. “Oh, that could work!”
“Of course it could work,” Rarity said, tossing her mane proudly. “And I’ll make you the perfect dress. Oh, can’t you just imagine it! She finds herself in this strange, new world, a little nervous, perhaps, and then, there you are! The pony of her dreams! Ready to be her knight in shining armor! To lead her through Equestria, to show her all it has to offer!”
Sunset Shimmer fidgeted nervously. “The perfect dress?” she asked. Rarity nodded, and Sunset levitated three photographs over to her. “Could you...make a pony version of a dress like this?”
Rarity picked up the pictures, her own blue magic replacing Sunset’s pale green. She put on her glasses, examined the pictures closely, and nodded. “Of course, darling. It will be spectacular!”
Sunset jumped over and hugged Rarity. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou-er…” She backed up a couple of steps, a little embarrassed. “I mean...Thank you, Rarity. That means a lot to me.”
Princess Twilight stepped over, levitated up one of the photos to her eye level and saw a familiar sight. Her friends at CHS had shown her some video some of the students had taken at the end of The Friendship Games, and she recognized the form Sunset had briefly taken. The one that she and her friends had taken to calling, ‘Daydream Shimmer’.
“It looks nice,” Princess Twilight admitted. “But, why this dress, in particular?”
Sunset gave a couple of coughs, averted eye contact, then mumbled, “...said I looked beautiful…”
“Huh?” Princess Twilight asked.
“She said the magic turned me into something beautiful,” Sunset Shimmer said, sighing. “She liked how I looked as Daydream Shimmer. And...well...this is going to be the first time she’s seen me like...this.” Sunset gestured down to her pony body. “I’m...a little nervous. What if the fact that she’s dating a pony suddenly freaks her out? So...I want to look nice for her.” Sunset Shimmer sighed and looked up at Princess Twilight nervously. “I really like her…”
Princess Twilight put a comforting wing around Sunset Shimmer’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry. That girl’s totally smitten with you.”
Sunset Shimmer gave a hopeful look. “You think so?”
“Oh, absolutely, darling,” Rarity said, waving a hoof in a gesture that was supportive in its dismissing of the possibility. “I only met the girl briefly, but the way she was fawning over you, it’s clear that she won’t let a little thing like seeing you as a pony dissuade her.” Sunset Shimmer blushed. “But still…” Rarity said, examining the pictures again, “there’s always a good reason to wear a fabulous dress!”
“Thanks Rarity,” Sunset Shimmer said with a tiny, happy smile. “I appreciate that.”
***Now
“Well?” Twilight asked, adjusting her glasses with her hoof. “How come you came through the portal wearing a dress, but I didn’t?”
“Uh…” Sunset Shimmer said, shifting her eyes from left to right and giving a guilty grin. “Timey wimey magic stuff. Yes, super secret magic stuff.”
“But-” Twilight said, but was interrupted by what sounded like her own voice.
“Welcome to Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. Wow...that feels weird to say,” Princess Twilight said. The formerly human Twilight spun around to see what looked like a duplicate of herself staring back at her.
Well, a near duplicate.
“Oh, come on,” the newly ponified Twilight said, extending a hoof to the Alicorn Princess who was greeting her. “This isn’t fair. How come SHE has-”
“Oh, the wings?” Sunset Shimmer interrupted. “Well, that’s a funny story. See, Twilight was originally a unicorn, like me. And you, I guess. But she completed a spell originally created by Starswirl the Bearded, and was promoted to-”
“Oh, no, I get that,” Twilight said, then tapped her glasses. “What I meant was, why does SHE have perfect eyesight, but I still need glasses?”
“Uh…” Sunset said, raising a hoof as though to answer, then stopped. She shot Princess Twilight a questioning look, who just shrugged, utterly baffled. “Also secret magic stuff.”
“I think you’re making that up.”
“I’m so glad you could come and visit us,” A calm, regal voice spoke. Twilight turned around to see a tall, white Alicorn with a flowing, sparkling mane of pastels walking towards them. “Sunset Shimmer has told me so much about you.”
“Y-you’re,” Twilight said, stuttering. She immediately threw herself into a bow, or as good an approximation as she could manage in this new body. “Princess Celestia! Uh, um, hello your highness! I-I mean your grace? Your majesty? I-I mean-”
“Just ‘Princess Celestia’ will do fine,” Princess Celestia said, smiling a little at her visitor’s clumsy attempt at showing respect. “I believe they call you...what is it…‘SciTwi’?”
Twilight winced and shot a glare at Sunset Shimmer, who was trying to her best to whistle inconspicuously. “I can’t believe you told her that…”
“She has told me quite a lot about you. Including that you are studying Equestrian magic?”
“Uh, yes,” Twilight said, still refusing to stop prostrating herself. “I-I discovered some anomalies centered around Canterlot High School. I-It turned out they were caused by Sunset Shimmer and the Sirens a-and the portal between my world and Equestria. It was really just a matter of identifying the energy behind it all, and I could find a way to track and contain it.” Twilight looked down at the ground, biting her lip anxiously. “That...didn’t turn out great, but-”
“And I’m told that magic is not, in fact, a naturally occurring phenomenon in your world?” Princess Celestia asked. A careful observer may have noticed that she was deliberately steering the conversation away from the incident Twilight was alluding to.
“Th-that’s right. At least, I haven’t found any magic there that didn’t originate in Equestria and find its way over, somehow.”
“And yet you were able to identify and study it yourself,” Princess Celestia said. “Most impressive.”
“Th-thank you, Princess.”
“Hey, Twilight!” a pair of Spike’s called out, in unison. “Check this out!” they both said, standing next to one another in a perfect mirror of one another.
“I think I look pretty good over here,” one of the Spike’s said. Princess Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Spike, that’d sound a lot better if you didn’t live here.”
“Aww…” the same Spike said, as they both slumped over. “How could you tell?”
“I just can,” Princess Twilight said, patting her Spike on the head in an affectionate gesture. “Come on, why don’t you show our visitors the rest of the castle?”
“I’ll come along, if you don’t mind,” Celestia said, following after the pair of Spikes and the visiting Twilight Sparkle. “I am eager to hear more of your studies into Equestrian magic.”
“We’ll catch up,” Princess Twilight said before Sunset Shimmer could trot after them. As soon as the door closed behind the group Princess Twilight turned to Sunset Shimmer and spoke. “I have a...somewhat personal question, if you don’t mind.” Sunset Shimmer nodded.
“What is it?”
“I don’t mean to pry, really I don’t. But I heard that before you were Princess Celestia’s student you were in the...orphanage?”
“They prefer to call it, ‘Orphanarium’, but yeah,” Sunset said, not particularly troubled by the memory. “It was a nice place, all things considered. A little crowded, though.” Princess Twilight nodded.
“And when you became Princess Celestia’s student, you moved into the castle?”
“Yup,” Sunset Shimmer said. “It was a long time ago, I don’t really remember a lot of it, but-”
“So,” Princess Twilight said, a knowing grin spreading across her face, “does your date know that you basically just introduced her to your mother?”
Sunset Shimmer’s eyes went wide and her irises shrunk with terror. She thrust her head forward, pressing against Princess Twilight’s and her horn flashed with green magic. “Don’t. You. Tell. Her.”
Princess Twilight gulped. “U-understood.”
***
Twilight stared down at the menu. She hummed in deep concentration and squinted, as though that would somehow help. She imagined the menu flipping open, maybe even levitating a little bit in the air. She’d be so cool, she told herself, Sunset would be impressed that she got it on her first try.
But the stubborn thing just refused to move.
Twilight sighed. “I don’t get it. I could do magic so much easier when I was Midnight Sparkle.”
“It’s...a little different here,” Sunset Shimmer said. She levitated open the menu to the first page, gently placed it in front of Twilight, unfolded Twilight’s napkin and placed it across her lap, all in one, quick and delicate motion.
“Show-off,” Twilight said with a sigh.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Sunset said, waving a hoof. “I had a really tough time adapting to walking on two legs when I moved to the human world. And fingers took a little getting used to. Magic’s probably similar. You don’t have it in your world, so even though you have it here your mind is so used to it not being there that you haven’t really registered it. There’s a learning curve, that’s all. And you’re good at learning things.”
Twilight blushed and smiled proudly. Then she looked down at the menu and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Oat burgers? Daisy sandwiches? Hayfries? Fries carrots? This food seems...a little weird.”
Sunset Shimmer held up a hoof. “It tastes different over here, don’t worry. Give it a try, they’re actually pretty good.”
“Huh...is this why you eat so much oatmeal?” Sunset Shimmer blushed.
“Yeah...you can’t really forget your favourites, you know?” Twilight nodded.
“I hope you two are having a nice time,” the waiter said, trotting over to the table. “Can I take your order? Or a complete list of all romantic partners you’ve had?”
Twilight froze. “Oh no,” she said, her eye twitching.
“Hi Twilight,” Indigo Zap said, leaning her neck down and flashing a gloating smile. “How’s your date going?”
“Seriously?” Twilight asked. “I am literally a world away from home. How did you get here?” A realization hit her, and she looked past Indigo Zap to see a group of four ponies sitting at a nearby table. Their bodies may have changed, but they were unmistakable. “How did you ALL get here?” Twilight corrected herself. “The portal here’s in Princess Twilight’s castle! There’s two princesses there, two dragons, and Starlight Glimmer’s there too! How in Equestria did you get...into Equestria?”
Indigo Zap rubbed her hoof against her chest proudly. “Oh, we have our ways. It took a lot of subtlety, I’ll tell you that!”
***Twenty minutes earlier
The Shadowbolts emerged through the mirror. “Alright,” Indigo Zap said, trotting forward and pacing back and forth like a drill sergeant. “We’re in. Twilight and Sunset Shimmer are somewhere in this city, and we need to find them and follow their date. We need to be fast, we need to be sneaky, and most of all, we need to watch out for-”
“Princess Celestia,” Sugarcoat said.
“That’s right,” Indigo Zap said. “Well, her and anyone else who-”
“No, I mean, Princess Celestia.” Sugarcoat jabbed her newfound horn to the doorway behind Indigo Zap. Indigo Zap turned around, and saw the tall, white alicorn standing in the hallway, looking down at them with an amused expression.
“I saw nothing,” she said, and continued down the hall.
***Now
“-and that’s how we evaded capture,” Indigo Zap said, grinning widely.
“Well, by, ‘capture’, she means, ‘being thrown back through the portal’,” Sugarcoat said. “And she forgot the part where we had to ask for directions to get out of the castle.”
“That purple unicorn who helped us find our way out seemed very nice and mentally stable,” Sour Sweet said.
“That...may not be the ringing endorsement that you think it is,” Sunset Shimmer said.
“Will you just LOOK at me?!” Sunny Flare said, strutting around the restaurant, to the mild surprise of the other patrons. Her body shimmered, reflecting beams of sunlight as she moved back and forth. “My mane absolutely sparkles! I’m gorgeous, gorgeous I tell you! Clearly, I am someone-somePONY-very, very important here!”
“You’re a crystal pony,” Sunset said in a bored tone, taking a sip of her milkshake. “Not exactly common around here, but considering you go to Crystal Prep in your world, it’s actually kind of surprising that you’re the only one in the group.”
“Check it out Twilight,” Indigo Zap said, spreading her wings proudly. “I can fly here. Watch.” She lowered her goggles and leapt into the air, leaving a streak of different shades of blue behind her as she flew straight up. Plates, cups, and silverware went flying in every direction, blown away by the force of Indigo Zap’s takeoff and a loud, ‘whoosh’ spread over the restaurant.
“Oh come ON!” Twilight said, extending a hoof up to point to Indigo Zap. “How come she can fly here, and I can’t even lift a restaurant menu?”
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “Maybe she’s just naturally talented?”
“Yeah…” Lemon Zest said, fluttering her own, pink wings slightly. “That’s probably it.”
“That’s not it,” Sugarcoat said, bluntly.
***Four days earlier
Indigo Zap flew through the skies of Equestria, over a large, empty field. She weaved back and forth, dodging clouds gracefully. “Ha!” she yelled, ducking beneath a particularly large cloud. “I’m really gettin’ the hang of this!”
A whistle blew in the distance. Discord stood on the ground, wearing a black and white striped referee uniform. “Don’t get too arrogant,” he yelled out. “You’re going to need to be a lot faster than that if you want to even be competitive in this world.”
“Pfft,” Indigo Zap said, blowing her tongue out at Discord. “You’re just jealous that I’m such a natural.”
Discord steepled the tips of his fingers together and grinned. “Okay, you asked for it. No more Mister Nice Discord!” He snapped his fingers and the surrounding clouds turned dark. Lightning burst from them towards Indigo Zap, which she quickly jumped up to dodge.
“Ha!” she yelled. “Missed me!” Another blast of lightning hit her on the tail, sending her reeling and illuminating her skeleton against the silhouette of her body.
“Ohhh...you girls are just so, so...delightful,” Discord squelaed. “So cutthroat, so unthinkingly eager to jump into something. A few more ponies like you, and Equestria might not be such a boring place after all.”
“Your voice sounds so familiar,” Sugarcoat said, dropping the simple wooden blocks and spheres she was levitating to practice her magic to examine Discord. “Are you sure you’ve never been to our world?”
There was a flash of light and Discord appeared in a prison uniform inside of a metal cage. “I’ve been imprisoned in stone for the last thousand years. Didn’t exactly get time off to go on a vacation.”
“You just sound so familiar...and for some reason you remind me of cheesy SciFi.”
There was a ‘whoosh’ as an arrow flew towards Discord. He quickly turned around and produced a target, which the arrow hit directly in the center.
“Oh...I’m so sorry, Discord,” Sour Sweet said, her eyes wide and apologetic as she lowered her bow. Then she shifted her gaze into a glare. “Sorry I didn’t hit you in your stupid-goat-FACE!”
Discord leaned down to Sugarcoat and whispered, “That girl creeps me out a little, though.”
***Now
“Discord has been sneaking you guys in and out of Equestria?” Sunset Shimmer asked, pressing her hoofs against her temples. “I’m not sure if he’s going to be a bad influence on you, or if you girls are going to be a bad influence on him. But either way, not good.”
“I think it’s nice they found a friend over here,” Twilight said, happily taking a big bite of her burger. “You know, these oat burgers are actually pretty good.”
“Their ‘friend’ is the spirit of chaos and disharmony...which I guess explains why they get along.”
“In all fairness he...he…” Sugarcoat started, but stopped as her eyes followed a pink pony walking down the street. “Wait…” Sugarcoat said, pointing a hoof to the earth pony that had caught her attention. “Is that-”
There was an explosion of confetti and Pinkie Pie jumped over to pounce on Sugarcoat. “Ohmygosh, Sugarcoat! You’re here!”
“Pinkie?” Sugarcoat asked, blushing. “Wait, are you-”
“What are you doing here?” Pinkie Pie asked, grinning widely. “If I knew you were coming, I could have thrown you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!”
“Do you mean, ‘What am I doing here’ in Ponyville, or Equestria?”
“Wait! I can STILL throw that party! Come on!” Pinkie Pie took Sugarcoat by the hoof and dragged her off. The rest of the Shadowbolts galloped after them and Twilight’s jaw dropped.
“Was that-”
“Yup.”
“How does she know who Sugarcoat is? I thought you hadn’t met any of their counterparts in this world before.”
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “Pinkie Pie’s friends with everyone. I guarantee you, she could end up on the other side of the world and she would be able to introduce you to at least five other ponies. And she’d know their birthdays, their parents, how their work is doing, and their favourite flavor of cake. If anyone knows your friends from Crystal Prep here, it’s Pinkie Pie.” Sunset shimmer took a long sip from her milkshake, then went on. “Of course...there is another explanation. Princess Twilight said that after she returned to Equestria after going to the human world the first time, Pinkie Pie had a surprising amount of knowledge about what had happened over there. She claims it was ‘just a hunch’, but...well, some of us have theorized that both versions of Pinkie Pie may...switch, from time to time.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Switch?”
“Go through the portal,” Sunset Shimmer said.
“Wait…” Twilight said. “So, it’s possible that Pinkie Pie is actually...two Pinkie Pies?”
Sunset Shimmer shrugged. “It’s just a theory. It could also just be Pinkie being Pinkie.”
Twilight ate the last of her burger. “Well, I have to say, that was actually delicious. I didn’t think oats could taste that good.”
Sunset Shimmer nodded as she threw the last of her hay fries into her mouth. “All that stuff tastes different over here. Not sure if it’s the food, or if your taste buds change when you go through the portal.” Sunset Shimmer flagged down the waiter-the real one, this time-and dropped a few bits on the table. “Now, I know you’re excited to see Equestrian magic. So, I figured after dinner, why not see an Equestrian magic show?” Sunset Shimmer levitated out a pair of golden tickets. “The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour.”
Twilight snorted in laughter. “That’s kind of a weird name, isn’t it?”
Far in the distance, someone shouted, “It’s a working title!”
“That sounds really nice,” Twilight said, then added, with utmost sincerity. “Thank you, Sunset.”
Sunset nodded, inwardly sighing happily. “And hey, even if your friends from Crystal Prep followed us to Equestria, at least the girls from CHS weren’t stalking us this time, right?”
Twilight laughed. “Right.”
***
Across the street, Rarity and Applejack sat in the bushes, watching Twilight and Sunset Shimmer through two pairs of binoculars. “Do you think we should tell ‘em?” Applejack asked.
“No!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the tree she was sitting in above them.
Author's Note
Okay, so, my previous story got a lot more positive attention than I had been expecting. I know I said this in my last story too, but it was really flattering, and a couple of people asked that I continue the story in some way. I've wanted to write a "Sunset Shimmer visits Equestria" fic, and aceina suggested Sunset taking SciTwi on a date there, so...I decided to give it a shot 
If you liked my previous story and are reading this, thank you, so much 
And I hope you like this story too!
Thanks for reading!
