Sunset in Ponyville

Chapters

First Impressions - Moving Day
First Impressions - Setting Up
First Impressions - Errands
First Impressions - The Party
First Impressions - Mirror Mirror
First Impressions - Spa Day
First Impressions - Spectrum
First Impressions - The Start of a Bad Day
First Impressions - From Bad to Worse
First Impressions - A Fitting End
Part I: First Impressions
First Impressions - The Cottage at the End of the Road

First Impressions - Moving Day

So. There I was, walking down Main Street in Ponyville wishing everypony but Twilight would just go away. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if I'd even wanted Spike to leave us alone back then – it's unfair, I know, but he wasn't the mare I wanted to be with. He's kind of a third wheel.

I shouldn't say that. He's done so much for Twilight and I, and he really is my friend. He's just not good at realizing when he needs to give us some alone time. Sorry.

But anyway. There we were, walking down the street...

Sunset stayed quiet as she walked in the back of the group, attention divided between keeping her luggage aloft with magic and eavesdropping on Twilight and her new friends. All they were talking about was what had happened during Twilight's absence, which sounded like exactly the sort of business-as-usual events that Sunset had no interest in. A few references to a lack of monster attacks, as though such things were considered the norm here, were made as well; but since Twilight had already recounted tales of her Sunset-less Ponyville experiences to her already, Sunset thought nothing of them. The fact that Twilight had any enthusiasm for the others' smalltalk at all struck Sunset as strange and almost disheartening, but she quickly banished any thoughts that her best friend had changed.

Idly, she let her focus drift from the other mares to the world around her, glancing side to side down the street. Several open-air shops and stalls selling the freshest batch of the summer harvest dominated the area; the smell of flowers and fruits and vegetables wafting through the air and mixing with the aroma of the dirt road below her hooves was certainly novel, but Sunset wasn't certain she actually liked it. It was just too different from the cobblestones and neatly-sequestered storefronts of Canterlot.

The ponies were different, too. Throngs of them walked every which way among the stores and stalls, just dense enough to be called busy without hindering the progress of the group Sunset was reluctantly attached to. Ponies displaying any outward sense of fashion were few and far between, in contrast to Canterlot where you could rarely go five minutes without seeing some member of the nobility sporting the latest designs as a way of showing off. The ponies of Ponyville (which was a pretty uninspired name for a town as far as Sunset was concerned) seemed content to just go about their lives.

A few years ago, Sunset would've had no problem throwing her weight around until ponies were attending to her every need. Nowadays she had cut back on those bad habits at Twilight's behest, and she was content to just let them all go about their business without interference. But all that left for Sunset was a town filled with uninteresting ponies leading uninteresting lives. She began to sorely hope she wouldn't regret agreeing to the move.

At least, she reminded herself as she passed a particular building with a number of interesting old objects in its windows, Ponyville had a big antiquing scene. Sunset admittedly wasn't much of a history buff; to her it had just been another subject to excel at in school. But many times, more often than most ponies realized, some ancient relic or such with interesting magical properties would make its way to an antique store under the guise of attic junk or a long-forgotten heirloom. For a pony with a keen eye for magic and an interest in magical artifacts, antique stores were a veritable treasure trove.

Sunset made a note to visit the one she'd seen once she'd gotten settled in. But any chance of getting settled or relaxing seemed far-off to her right then.

“There it is! The Golden Oak Library!” Twilight announced cheerily, having fallen to the back of the group to nudge Sunset in the shoulder and point out the fairly unmissable tree.

“Home sweet home,” Spike said, positioning himself so he could see the place despite the stack of luggage he still carried.

“Wow,” Sunset said, craning her neck to get as much of a view of the towering building in front of her as she could. “I know you said you lived in a tree, but I never imagined you meant something like this.”

The Golden Oak was hardly golden – Sunset presumed it had been named after its founder, or something like that – but the fact that it was an oak was indisputable. So too was the fact that it had been shaped by magic; everything from the well-carved openings for the door and windows, to the green and flowering roofs of the entrance and jetties, to the very fact that the tree was still alive supported that notion. It was impossible to tell just by looking at it whether it had been an existing tree molded into a habitable building or grown specifically for its current purpose, even for a unicorn as talented and keen-eyed as Sunset, and that was enough to leave her impressed.

“I know, it's great isn't it?” Twilight told her, radiating smiles. “Just wait 'til you see the inside.”

“Yeah, I can't wait to see it!” Sunset said, the most genuinely excited she'd felt in hours, if not longer. The group began to head for the entrance, and Twilight's friends stepped aside to let the library's residents take the first steps inside.

Had Sunset not known Pinkie Pie for such a short amount of time she would have been more alarmed by the mare's wide grin and giddy vibrations. But she didn't, and so stepped straight into her trap.

An explosion of confetti, streamers, and party horns startled her into letting out a loud cry like “Gah!”, stumbling backwards until she crashed into Twilight and Spike, and losing control of the bags she'd been levitating so that they all came crashing down on the three.

Once she extricated herself from the pile of luggage, she and Twilight and Spike were pulled inside by Pinkie Pie who had somehow gotten in front of them.

“WELCOME HOME!” she cried, loud and jubilant and pulling a cord that resulted in more streamers and confetti and party horns. She pulled the three into a massive hug which was soon joined by the rest of Twilight's friends.

“Girls, thank you so much!” Twilight said, snuggling with the others while Sunset tried to escape the unwanted closeness.

Fortunately for her the group hug soon ended, giving Sunset enough room to breathe and actually look at the library's first floor. The first thing she noticed were the party decorations; a long banner reading 'WELCOME HOME TWILIGHT & SPIKE' complete with cartoonish renditions of their faces flanking the words was hanging from the ceiling along with a few balloons and such, and on a table in the center of the room was a large cake that she recognized as having elements of both Twilight and Spike's favorites. The cake was where Twilight and Pinkie and Spike were headed, and Sunset allowed herself to be ushered there as well by Twilight's other friends while taking the time to look around in awe.

Decorations aside, the first thing that Sunset truly sensed about the circular room was how big it was – definitely bigger than the outside implied, even for a large tree. By her estimation it was about five to ten percent larger, which made sense given the building's purpose. It was no secret that books had a certain power to them, and enough books – especially magical books – in one place tended to warp space a little. It was a harmless magical side effect and a useful one at that, and even on such a small scale it gave the Golden Oak a certain familiar feel to it for a mare like her who'd spent so much of her life in libraries and archives.

The next thing she noticed were the books themselves, sitting as orderly as they could in the 'artistically' uneven shelves that had been carved into the very walls of the room. The shelves themselves covered floor to ceiling, taking up the vast majority of the available space with the remainder allotted to other assorted storage space and a few artistic etchings. A crude ladder was resting off to the side, and just looking at it made Sunset glad she never needed to use such a deceptively difficult device.

“Come on, Sunset, try a piece!” Twilight said, just before pulling her over and levitating a piece of cake on a plate in front of her muzzle.

“Thanks,” Sunset replied, taking the whole set in her magic and idly noting that both dish and fork had been purchased in Ponyville. She took a bite, and just like she'd expected it was Twilight's favorite raspberry swirl. And while it wasn't exactly Sunset's own favorite, it was still surprisingly delicious. “Mmm, who made this?” she asked after savoring the first bite.

“I did, of course!” Pinkie answered immediately, leapfrogging over Rarity and landing in front of Sunset. “Do you like it? I know it's probably not your favorite flavor, but that's because you haven't told me yet, and anyway I baked it before I even knew you existed!”

Sunset let her ramble a bit, seeing no reason she couldn't enjoy the cake even if she wasn't fond of its creator. She casually flicked a few of the decorative gems that were embedded in the frosting over to Spike with her magic, then waited for an opportunity to present itself.

“Yeah, I like it,” she told Pinkie when the mare finally stopped for breath.

She grinned. “Yes! I knew you'd like it!” she cheered, bouncing into the air. She landed on her haunches, and immediately adopted a more thoughtful expression. “I mean, I didn't know know you'd like it, but I had a feeling you would. Sort of a... fuzzy-wuzzy-jittery feeling, y'know?”

Sunset awkwardly looked around at the others to see if they had any idea what the answer was supposed to be, but only received a mixture of amused smiles and shrugs. Therefore, Sunset hesitantly ventured a “No?”

“Ehh, you had to be there,” Pinkie immediately replied with a dismissive hoof-wave. “Aaaaanyway,” she said, stretching out both syllable and body as she rolled her head in a high arc that ended with her muzzle-to-muzzle with Sunset. “You never really told me any of your favorite party things!”

“Uhh...,” Sunset stalled, thinking up the best way to break it to her that she wasn't interested in sharing right now.

“I need to know them if I wanna throw you the best 'Welcome to Ponyville' party ever!” Pinkie continued, unabated.

“You didn't ask Spike and I what our favorite party things were when we first arrived,” Twilight said, pouting.

“Yeah, sorry,” Pinkie told her with a sad shrug. “We were both pretty busy that day, so I never really had the time.”

Twilight gave her a soft smile. “I understand. And it worked out pretty well in the end anyway.”

“I'll say,” Pinkie said. Then, before Sunset could take the opportunity to slip away or divert the conversation, she whipped her head back around and asked “So, what'll it be? It's okay if you can't decide, though.” She giggled. “I have loads of things for you to try, it'll be fun!”

“Uhh, thanks, but-” Sunset tried to say, but Pinkie cut her off again.

“Though you should prooooobably decide on a time right now so I know when tonight to have everything ready by. Can't have a party without the party supplies!”

Sunset cringed. “Yyyyeah, thing is, I don't really know if I want a party tonight... sorry...” She wasn't, not really, but she wasn't going to say so in front of Twilight. Or, probably, ever.

Pinkie's smile dropped away. “But... how can you have a 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' if it's not the day we welcomed you?”

“We could just... have it some other day,” Sunset replied, silently hoping the day would never arrive.

“Hmmm...,” Pinkie murmured, crossing her forelegs and tapping her chin as she stared at Sunset through narrow eyes. “So you're saying we have some sort of 'Day After We Welcomed You to Ponyville Party', eh?”

Sunset's eyes darted around again, and she hesitantly answered “...yes?” For a moment she considered suggesting a 'Two Days After We Welcomed You to Ponyville Party', or even 'Three', but decided that might be pushing her luck a little.

“Hmmmm...,” Pinkie repeated, leaning in closer to Sunset. “I like your style, Sunset Shimmer.” She perked back up with an almost alarming abruptness. “The party is on for tomorrow!” she said, pounding one hoof against the other. She nodded to herself, then started to head for the door at a happy bounce. “Time to go start planning it. Let me know if you've figured out your favorite stuff yet!”

“Uhh, ain't we still got the 'Welcome Home' party goin' on?” Applejack spoke up. Possibly for the first time since arriving, Sunset wasn't certain.

Pinkie, who had started humming happily, paused mid-bounce when she heard the comment. Her eyes popped open, and she fell backwards in a way that almost made it seem like she had reversed time. But then she turned around, and faced her friends with an oblivious cheer. “My mistake! It's really time to get this 'Welcome Home' party started!”

The party was unlike any that Sunset had been to before. Partly this was because it was being thrown by seven mares and a baby dragon in a hollowed-out oak tree, but that was hardly the end of it. The very feel of the party was different: warm, energetic, and just a little bit juvenile. Despite repeatedly telling the others she wasn't interested Sunset found herself roped into dancing far more – and far harder – than she ever had in her life; the dancing itself wasn't anything spectacular, though again it was just energetic enough to wrap her up in it. Afterward she would regret not using the opportunity to glean more about Twilight's friends from who they danced with and how, though she was beyond glad to have witnessed first-hoof the uncoordinated, flailing disaster Twilight Sparkle called dancing. She nearly kicked herself for not dragging her to a gala or something years ago.

The refreshments, though limited to the cake, a few apple-based sweets, and a mystery fruit punch, were nonetheless as delicious as the raspberry swirl.

Then there were the games. To her best recollection Sunset hadn't played a game at a party since she was a foal, and even then only before she'd been taken on as Princess Celestia's student. Watching grown mares, least of all Twilight, partake in such attractions as 'Pin the Tail on the Pony' was almost surreal. Though 'Guess the Book', which Pinkie had apparently invented specifically for the occasion, was surprisingly fun for Twilight and Sunset both.

Just about the only thing Sunset was used to doing at parties was talking to other ponies, notably those she thought could be able to further her studies and interests. But here there was nopony Sunset truly wanted to talk to, aside from Twilight, and surprisingly almost as few who wanted to spend the party chatting at all. The only exception was Rarity.

“Having fun, Ms Shimmer?” she asked Sunset, joining her on the sidelines with a glass of punch in her magic. The others were having a blast dancing around the room to the music of an artist Sunset was surprised Twilight had heard of, and Sunset had been content to simply watch.

“Yeah,” Sunset answered, surprised by the grain of truth in the word. Even more surprising were the words that followed. “Not gonna lie, though, a big part of me wishes it had waited until after I'd gotten unpacked...” As she trailed off, Sunset sent a wistful look towards the luggage that was still sitting near the door.

Rarity glanced that way as well. “Ah, yes, perfectly understandable,” she said as the two mares looked back at each other. “I'm sure you've had quite the stressful day, getting yourself moved. But never you worry,” she held her head high and gave her mane a small flip before looking back at Sunset, “I assure you this party will be over before nightfall. You'll have plenty of time to unpack and get settled.”

All Sunset could think to say, in the face of several more hours trapped at a party with ponies she didn't particularly care for, was “Good to know.” Fortunately she had managed to keep her expression neutral.

“But anyway, Sunset – do you mind if I call you Sunset?” Rarity swiftly continued, barely giving Sunset a chance to answer.

“Uhh, sure?”

“Excellent,” Rarity said with the short little nod of a would-be up-and-comer self-satisfied at having successfully schmoozed their way into being on first-name basis with a Very Important Pony. “Anyway Sunset, as I was saying, you simply must tell me more about life in Canterlot. I can only imagine how divine their parties must be...”

Sunset chuckled, and silently hoped Rarity didn't pick up on the awkwardness of it. “Well, I don't know if I'd call them divine, exactly. But they're certainly different than, uh...” She paused as the two mares watched the others walk past in an improptu conga line. “This.”

“Oh certainly!” Rarity said, nodding knowingly despite her ignorance. “Pinkie's parties are quite informal, but I find that gives them a certain charm, you know? Just let yourself get into the swing of things, and before you know it you'll be having the time of your life! Ohp!” The startled cry was the result of the conga line coming around for another pass, Pinkie grabbing Rarity and pulling her to the tail end – and Rarity following suit by pulling in Sunset.

“See what I mean?” she told the mare with her forelegs on her back. “Just lose yourself in the fun, darling!” She raised a hoof in cheer, and appeared to do just that.

Sunset, to her surprise, gave it a try.

All in all, Sunset's first Ponyville party was quite a different experience from the galas and garden parties of the Canterlot elite. But, she decided, that didn't mean they had no similarities. Both went on far longer than she would have liked, for instance. And, as of course, both guest lists were populated primarily by ponies she didn't particularly want to get to know. The Ponyville party was admittedly more 'fun' in some sense, but the Canterlot parties tended to present better opportunities for advancement, so overall Sunset decided the two types were equally tedious.

Fortunately, Rarity hadn't been wrong when she'd said the party would be over before it got dark out. Granted, it wasn't that much longer before the sun was lowered that the others finally left, but still. Sunset was willing to give Rarity at least some credit for the prediction.

Ignoring the pit in her stomach left behind by Pinkie Pie's assurances that tomorrow's party would be even better, Sunset forced a breath of relief through her lungs and waited for Twilight and Spike to finish their goodbyes. Twilight's friends had, surprisingly enough, helped clean up the mess left behind by the party, giving Sunset her first view of the ground floor in it's normal state. It wasn't actually much different, but it was nice to see the large horse-head bust without any streamers draped around it. How the stump it was attached to had grown out of the center of the room was a mystery even to Sunset.

At least the painting of Princess Celestia's cutie mark that took up the whole ceiling was understandable.

The front door finally closed, and Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “It sure is nice to be home, huh Spike?” she asked her faithful assistant as the two turned around and ambled back into the room.

Sunset took that as her cue to walk forward and start levitating luggage.

“Yup,” Spike chuckled. “Man I love this place. Don't you, Sunset?”

“I'm... still getting used to it,” Sunset answered, looking up at the ceiling again but putting on a smile.

Twilight giggled, she and Spike picking up the remains of the bags. “Yeah, I know how you feel. It took me a little while to get used to things here too. In a few days, I'm sure you'll love it!”

“I hope so,” Sunset replied, and thankfully Twilight didn't pick up on the doubt in her voice.

With all the bags accounted for the three headed towards the staircase jutting into the room. “The bedroom's upstairs,” Twilight helpfully supplied, “and the kitchen's just through there.” She pointed towards a doorway just beyond the foot of the staircase. “That's also where the stairs to the lab are, which is in the basement.”

“Just like back home,” Sunset joked, the other two adding their laughter. A thought occurred to Sunset, though, and she paused. “Hold on, I should probably double-check all my things first. Don't wanna put anything away where it doesn't belong!”

“Oh! Good point!” Twilight said, stopping as well – Spike following suit moments later. “I suppose it has been a few hours since we arrived.” She studied the bags she was holding, then set two down on the floor and pulled two others from the stack Spike was carrying. “There,” she said with a satisfied nod. “I'll take my things up to the room while you get sorted, Sunset,” she told her friend. “Spike, you stay here and help.”

“You got it, Twilight!” Spike replied with an eager salute as Twilight happily trotted up the stairs.

A salute which caused the stack of luggage he was carrying to start to sway, in turn causing Sunset to gasp, drop the bags she was carrying as gently as she could on the floor, and catching the rest with her magic. “Be careful!” she chided, floating the bags away and setting them down. “Some of these have breakables in them!”

“Sorry, Sunset,” Spike said glumly.

Years ago Sunset would have chewed him out for his carelessness, especially since he'd helped pack some of the bags and thus should know very well what was in them. But she'd changed since then, so she just took a deep breath and said “It's fine. Just... let me figure out what needs to go where.”

“You got it!” Spike repeated, beginning to salute out of habit but catching himself in the middle of it. He offered Sunset a sheepish smile, and stepped aside laughing awkwardly.

Sunset barely even needed three minutes to sort out all her bags, cases, and crates. “These are for the bedroom,” she said first, magically pushing one of the piles she'd made towards Spike. “These stay down here,” she pushed a second pile to the side, “and the rest go down to the lab. Some of those I'll have to handle myself.”

“Right,” Spike said as he began picking up the luggage destined for the bedroom. Every few seconds his eyes darted towards the largest of the three piles by far, and Sunset waited silently for the question she knew was coming.

“You, uh, sure do got a lot of things for the lab, though...”

Okay, maybe not a question exactly, but it was close enough as far as Sunset was concerned. “What can I say, I'm a researcher,” she said with a shrug, grabbing the rest of the bedroom bags in her magic. “I have a lot of notes, tools, instruments... Even a few of the artifacts I've been studying.”

Spike gulped, suddenly even more nervous and for plainly obvious reasons. “Not the, uh, more dangerous ones... right?”

“Of course not, don't be ridiculous,” Sunset replied, deliberately not looking at him as she walked past. Then, once she felt he'd had time to calm down a bit, she added “I'm having those shipped separately. They'll arrive tomorrow.” She allowed herself a smirk at the sound of Spike's uneasy groan, followed by his hectic attempts to keep his stack balanced.

Technically, what she's said wasn't entirely true. While she was indeed bringing all the artifacts she was currently researching to Ponyville, the more dangerous ones would have to wait until the right high-level wards had been set up in the lab by a sufficiently skilled unicorn with the proper licenses. Of course, as Sunset happened to be a sufficiently-skilled and properly-licensed unicorn, she didn't expect it to take very long to get all the right wards set up. They might not be done tomorrow thanks to the parties she hadn't accounted for, but Spike didn't need to know that.

Especially because technically, he should have already known that part of the plan. She and Twilight had discussed it in front of him, after all. Sunset hoped it would help him realize he needed to pay more attention when plans were being made.

But she soon turned her mind to other things, as she'd reached the top of the stairway and at long last gotten to see the room she'd be sleeping in for the foreseeable future.

It was about what she'd expected – filled with books, with a few decorative flower pots thrown in for fun. She found Twilight in a closet, the door of which was another bookcase, storing away some of the items she'd brought from her old apartment. Sunset dropped her own luggage in the center of the room away from the rest of Twilight's, and started looking around more closely. Spike arrived shortly after.

“It's pretty... cozy,” she said finally, attracting the attention of Twilight who turned her head to silently look at Sunset. “Are you sure there's enough room for me?” She'd meant it as a joke, but regretted it immediately when she saw worry flash across Twilight's muzzle – and into the back of her own mind.

“It's not too small, is it?” Twilight asked, looking around. “I know there's not enough room in the loft for both our beds, but I'm totally fine moving my bed down here!”

Sunset's eyes widened in alarm. “Whoa! You don't need to do that, I'm totally fine sleeping down here,” she said, hurrying over and cutting her off from the stairs to the loft. “I meant more in terms of storage space.” She donned a playful smirk, and added “I have a lot of books too, y'know.”

“Oh! Right! Yes. You do, don't you?” Twilight said, flushing with embarrassment that she quickly tried to laugh off. She then looked around at her extensive personal library, adding “I suppose we will have to get more bookshelves...”

“And space to put the bookshelves,” Sunset noted, looking around as well.

“That too.”

Fortunately, books aside, Sunset hadn't brought anything that couldn't fit in the upper level's existing closets and dressers – though it did force Twilight to consolidate some of her own belongings to give Sunset's some privacy. A few articles of formal wear that she'd liked enough to keep around just in case; familiar towels and sheets and blankets; various other sentimental trinkets and doodads she'd accumulated over the years; all of them were tucked away neatly in the corners Sunset had been given to make her own.

She'd have to settle for a sleeping bag for her bed tonight, as she still needed to purchase a proper mattress and such, but Sunset was fine with that. At the very least she'd brought a pillow with her for something familiar as she slept.

But those wouldn't be needed for a few hours yet. After getting the bedroom sorted out (aside from the piles of Sunset's books that couldn't yet be shelved), the three moved to the kitchen and made short work out of putting away the handful of dishes, appliances, and food that Sunset had brought with her. It was there that a very important question was raised by Spike.

“So, uh, not that I don't wanna keep unpacking or anything,” he said, “but are we gonna get a break to have dinner anytime soon? It's about that time of day, and we didn't have that much to eat at the party...”

Sunset and Twilight shared a look. “I'm fine with dinner,” Sunset said. “What kinda places to eat at are there around here?”

“Hmm... well...,” Twilight said, tilting her head uncertainly. “There's several good restaurants, but not many of them offer take-out. Usually Spike and I eat in, but... it is a special occasion after all,” she smiled, “so I'm totally okay with us going out to eat.”

Sunset scrunched her muzzle up with mild distaste as she thought it over. “Well... I don't know. Going out to get food is one thing, staying out to eat is another. I don't know how comfortable I am leaving my research material out in the open up here,” she said, casting a worried look towards the main room where a sizable pile of her luggage still waited.

Twilight and Spike shared a look that Sunset didn't immediately understand; even less so when they laughed. “There's nothing to worry about, Sunset! Nopony's gonna break into the library and steal your things...,” Twilight told her, rolling her eyes and smiling incredulously.

“Yeah!” Spike chimed in. “This is Ponyville, stuff like that just doesn't happen here!”

Sunset wasn't entirely convinced, even seeing how sincere they were. As far as she was concerned they were being naïve; just because something hadn't happened to them didn't mean it couldn't. And while Sunset didn't know the local crime statistics off the top of her hoof – not for lack of trying; the data just hadn't been accessible on short notice before the move – she did know that traveling thieves were out there. A library might not present too attractive a target to one unless they were after rare books, but a stack of unattended bags seen through an unlocked window was a different story altogether.

It wasn't a risk Sunset wanted to take. Not with how rare, valuable, or otherwise irreplaceable most of her as-of-yet unstored possessions were. And yet, she didn't want to completely spoil Twilight's mood when she was so set on things being fine, so Sunset made use of a lesson the Princess had taught her years ago and opted for a compromise.

“Well... okay,” she said after making a show of thinking, even pawing at the wooden floor. “I'll go out to eat with you two, but only after the rest of my things are in the lab. We don't have to unpack them right now, I just think I'll feel better if they're out of sight you know?”

“If you say so!” Twilight replied, a moment's hesitation quickly fading into a happy smile. “Come on, Spike, let's help out,” she told her assistant, already walking out of the kitchen. Spike scampered after her, and Sunset smiled as she took up the rear.

When she got to the main room Twilight was already levitating two of her bags, and Sunset noticed Spike looking anxiously between the rest.

“Err, Sunset?” he asked hesitantly, fidgeting with his claws.

“Here, you can take these ones,” Sunset answered before he could even ask, calmly levitating a trio of bags she knew to contain nothing but research notes into his waiting arms.

The unexpected weight as she let go of the bags nearly toppled him, but he stood firm. “Awesome! Thanks, Sunset!” he told her with a cheery smile once he'd gotten a good hold on his burden.

“Thank you for carrying them,” she replied, seeing no reason not to be polite. He scurried off as fast as he could – which wasn't all that fast at the moment – and Sunset decided to pause before picking up her share of the luggage. There was still enough left that multiple trips would surely be needed, and Sunset didn't want Spike to have to wait around for her to tell him what to carry. So, after quickly reconfirming what each bag contained, Sunset separated the ones which Spike would be comfortable carrying (and which she would be comfortable with Spike carrying) and pushed them noticeably closer to the basement stairs. Then she picked up a few of the remaining bags, and headed off to follow her friends.

Down she descended, through the tree and its root-ball to a short hallway with distinctly earthen walls. The hallway ended at a simple wooden door being held open by a wedge-shaped stone, and lead to a raised walkway that circled a quarter of the way around a large, open room. A few alcoves carved into the walled side of the walkway held a variety of books and flasks and phials, as well as the lanterns that lit the room, but they paled in interest to the vast array of instruments and machinery that filled what Sunset could only assume to be the lab.

She wasn't too proud to admit to gaping as she headed across the walkway and down the stairs to the bottom level, particularly at the monstrous thing that took up over a third of the wallspace. It wasn't quite like anything she'd ever seen, looking like somepony had decided to build several different instruments all into one massive device and tacked on a variety of cryptic lights and tubes of unknown purpose that led up into the mess of roots and down through the wooden floor.

Sunset didn't see Twilight at first, but it didn't take long to figure out where she was – she spotted Spike hurrying across the cluttered room to an open doorway, and Sunset followed him into the next room. Based on its size, shape, and positioning, Sunset guessed it was directly below the kitchen and bath on the level above, as well as the library's quiet study room. It was populated mostly by dust thick enough to make Sunset cough the moment she stepped inside, with a few cobwebs and several shelving units taking up the actual space. Four of those units were loaded top to bottom with the type of boxes used to store documents but the rest were empty; it was at one of those units that Twilight stood, setting Sunset's bags down on a recently-dusted shelf.

“What is this place?” Sunset asked, looking around. There were only three dingy windows near the ceiling along one wall; the bulk of the light came from a single magic lantern hanging in the center of the room.

“It's the library's storage room,” Twilight answered, helping her assistant unload his share of the bags. “Or it used to be, anyway. The previous owner mostly kept her own things in here since the library's records didn't take up much space-” she nodded at the dusty boxes on the other shelves- “and they didn't have so many books that they needed to keep some down here. Since Spike and I haven't found a use for it yet, I figured it would be perfect for your new lab! With some cleaning, anyway,” she finished with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Sunset said, looking around and trying not to sneeze. “Looks like I know where I'll be keeping my books, too.”

With the first round of lab luggage unloaded, the three began heading back towards the stairs. “Hey, Spike!” Sunset called ahead before the dragon in question could get too far, causing him to stop and look back over his shoulder with a questioning look. “The pile closest to the door is all safe for you to carry,” she told him. “Just don't go overboard.”

He smiled. “Got it. Thanks, Sunset!”

“You're welcome,” she replied, smiling as he scurried off.

The two unicorns weren't in nearly as much of a rush, to the point that when they re-entered Twilight's part of the lab Sunset took the opportunity to ask a question that had been on her mind for minutes.

“So, what is that thing anyway?” she asked, nodding at the massive device that took up so much of the wall. “All I can tell from looking at it is that it's old, and that's surprising coming from me. Where did you even get it?”

Twilight laughed a little. “It came with the library, believe it or not. Apparently it was meant to be some kind of prototype computing engine, but it was never finished. The previous owner couldn't figure out how it worked, but couldn't get it out of the basement, either. So she just had it converted into a furnace.”

“Wait, seriously?” Sunset replied, brimming with incredulity. She looked at the so-called furnace, then back at Twilight. “How does it work?” she asked, quickly catching up with her friend.

Twilight shrugged. “I don't know, to be honest. I've been too busy with other things to study it yet, and since it seems to be a perfectly functional furnace I haven't had reason to prioritize it on my to-do list.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. The Twilight of two months ago would have absolutely had her interest piqued by a mysterious computing-engine-turned-furnace, she thought. Twilight must have set a record for being in that 'zone' of hers if all she'd been focusing on for the past month was learning about friendship.

But, Sunset decided after another look at the device, perhaps it was for the better. Artifacts were Sunset's domain, after all, and while that monster of a furnace wasn't exactly ancient and probably hadn't been enchanted, figuring out how it worked was a task best left to her.

She smiled at the prospect of having yet another pet project to tinker with in her spare time. It would have to take a backseat to her artifacts, especially the mirror, but Sunset was confident she'd have it figured out before the year was up.

But for now, she had luggage to move.

It only took two more trips for Sunset, Twilight, and Spike to finish carrying everything down to Sunset's new lab, but by the time they were done all three were famished. Without even bothering to decide where they were headed, they locked up their home and headed out into the midsummer evening.

To Sunset's mild surprise, though she wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting, the streets were still fairly populated. Not nearly as busy as they had been that afternoon, of course, but there were still plenty of ponies out and about in the last scraps of daylight. Some seemed to be heading home from work alone or with friends, others were clearly families having a pleasant night out on the town. Even a few groups of foals were running and laughing and playing.

And, of course, there were the couples. Couples walking side by side, couples leaning against each other, couples gazing deep into each other's eyes over food or drink on the patios of every café and eatery along the street...

Sunset glanced at Twilight out of the corner of her eye, but saw her looking away as she greeted yet another passerby – how strange it was to see her best friend being so sociable with ponies that were clearly no more than casual acquaintances. A frown on her muzzle, Sunset moved her gaze back forward and tried to ignore the feeling of longing that was welling up in her.

She forced herself to think, instead, of how different it was from Canterlot. No sound of hoofsteps on cobblestone roads, no smell of crisp mountain air. Only the murmurs of talking and the soft patter of hooves across dirt and grass; and a warm, heavy blanket of air filled with the aroma of fruits and sweets. Part of her could understand why Twilight and Spike loved the small town so much after spending so little time in it; the other part of her stubbornly insisted that it would never be as good as Canterlot and all the nights they'd spent there together.

But that too was a line of thought Sunset forced herself away from once she realized where it would lead, a dark and lonely path of regret and second thoughts. She wanted to be with Twilight, with the one mortal pony who could challenge her and interest her and make her want to spend precious time together. Ponyville was different, almost irritatingly so, but she knew she'd adapt to it eventually. She was Sunset Shimmer, after all.

“So, how about here?” Twilight suddenly suggested, saving Sunset the trouble of thinking up another topic. They had stopped in front of what looked to Sunset like just another Ponyville eatery, a barely-defined space outside a small restaurant where ponies stood at tables on the bare grass. This one was called Hay Licker's if the wooden signboard over the building's entrance was any tell; it was busy enough that just a single waiter milling about was enough to cover all the patrons, and Sunset couldn't help but wonder what that meant about the quality of the food.

“Sounds good to me,” Spike answered, sliding off Twilight's back.

Sunset looked around a bit, then said “Yeah, sure. Anything special about this place?”

Twilight gave a lighthearted shrug. “Not really. The menu isn't too different from the other restaurants in town, but that makes it a good example of Ponyville cuisine. Plus,” she hastily added as the waiter walked past levitating a tray of water glasses and gave her a critical look, “the food is delicious! We should totally sit down and order now.”

“Yeah, sure,” Sunset said with a smile and chuckle, shaking her head as Twilight watched the waiter leave with a nervous grin.

The three practically had their pick of the tables, and Sunset allowed Twilight to choose one near the entrance. The two mares sat next to each other facing the street, with Spike on Twilight's other side, and for a moment silence passed over them as they waited for the waiter to finish his current task. Sunset soon noticed Twilight gazing up at something, and it didn't take her long to figure out what.

“Remember the day we first met?” Twilight said as they watched the sun set over the thatched rooftops of Ponyville. “Princess Celestia took us out on the balcony and lowered the sun right in front of us.”

“Yeah,” Sunset said, transfixed by the changing sky. “It was... an unforgettable end to an unforgettable day.”

Spike laughed. “I'll say. You two sure have come a long way since then.”

Sunset looked away from her namesake, casting her gaze at her hooves resting on the table. “Yeah...”

She saw a purple hoof reach over and rest on hers, and looked up to see Twilight smiling at her. She resisted the warm feeling that threatened to flood her cheeks, and the urge to look away. “Even though it was a rough beginning,” Twilight told her, “it led to a wonderful friendship in the end. And I just know that today is gonna be another day we look back on fondly.”

Sunset finally smiled back. “The start of a new chapter in our lives, huh?”

Twilight giggled. “Something like that, anyway. I don't know what it'll bring, but I'm glad that you'll be with me for it, Sunset.”

“And I'm glad to be here, Sparkle,” Sunset replied. And, in that moment at least, she knew beyond a doubt that she was.

To be honest, I barely recall what we ate that night or what we talked about. You'd think that my first night in Ponyville would be more memorable, but I guess the tail end of it just kinda... blended in with all the other nights we ate out, and all the other conversations we've had over the past year. Oh well. I'm pretty sure after we had dinner, we just went back home and finished unpacking. Or, no, actually – I think I decided that I wanted to wait until everything was dusted before I set up my lab, so we didn't finish unpacking that night. I guess we must've just sat around and talked until it was time to go to bed.

If I ever remember exactly what we talked about or whatever, I'll be sure to let you know, diary.

I do know that I barely slept at all that first night, at least. For one thing, lying in a sleeping bag in the middle of an unfamiliar room is just strange when you're used to a proper bed. Especially when there's only a couple folded-up blankets between you and the bare wooden floor. But there's more to it than that.

All of the thoughts I'd pushed out of my head that day, all the little wonders and nagging doubts, flooded back into my mind as I laid there.

'Was this a mistake? Should I have stayed in Canterlot?'

'I have no idea what I'm doing here. What am I even gonna do all day besides research?'

'Hmm... I'm gonna need to do some work before the basement is ready to be warded. I wonder what Twilight already set up, it was hard to tell down there.'

'What's the deal with that furnace thing, anyway? I wonder if I can take it apart...'

'Has Twilight changed? Does she still want me around, or does she just not want to admit she's moved on?'

'What does she see in those 'friends' of hers? Is this all because of the Elements of Harmony, or is it somehow something 'real'? What if this is just another temporary interest that she'll just move on from eventually?'

'Uggh, why do I have to go to another party tomorrow night... Doesn't that pony understand how to space things out? There's gotta be some way to get out of it...'

'But what if that makes Twilight decide she doesn't want me around after all? What if she kicks me out?'

'How am I possibly gonna stand being nice to all those ponies when they're practically stealing Twilight away from me?'

'Does it even matter? Should I really stay here just so that I'm around Twilight? What do even I want from her?'

Do I 'Do I even deserve to be here?' Do I even deserve to be anywhere?

Well, you get the idea. I'm not proud of a lot of those thoughts, but I know they were mine. But amongst all the worries I'd built up over the day, a single new thought rose up to the top once the weight of what I'd done finally settled in:

'I can't believe I live here now.'

I remember looking up at the loft and seeing Twilight's sleeping form by the moonlight shining through the window. Was she restless that night? Probably. But it was my first time sleeping in the same building as her, much less room, so I had no idea how she normally slept and I remember feeling... something. Something about if she was feeling the same way, or maybe that she was clearly calm enough to sleep so she must not have. Maybe both. I guess I don't really remember after all.

But... I do remember, I'm certain of it, that I looked up at the Mare-less moon after watching Twilight. It was only in the first quarter, but it was still enough for me to recall how empty it really was. It hadn't even been two months since a part of the night sky had left forever, a fixture that had been present since long before foalhood for everypony but onetwo, and yet we'd all already gotten used to how the moon now looked. I had barely even noticed it in the week leading up to that night.

And it occurred to me that if I could get used to the moon changing, I could get used to a new town and new ponies. I would figure everything out, no problem. I was Sunset Shimmer, after all.

I still don't know if those thoughts came to me because of something Princess Luna did, or if they were something that came to me on my own. But I do know they gave me enough comfort to finally fall asleep.

Obviously, a lot of those questions and doubts I had that night have since been cleared up. I mean, I have been living in Ponyville for nearly a year now. But like I said before, it's been an eventful year and I have a lot to tell you over the next few... days? Weeks? I guess it depends on how much time I have to write down everything that's happened. Who knows what could happen to me tomorrow...

But, well, that's all I have time to say tonight. I'll try to write the next entry tomorrow.

- Sunset Shimmer

First Impressions - Setting Up

Dear Diary,

Today's been pretty slow, so I decided to continue where I left off last night. Although I guess that's obvious.

I'm not really sure what I want to write next, though. Part of me wants to continue where I left off last time, but I'm not sure how important my second day in Ponyville really was. All I really did was clean my part of the basement, set up the safety wards I needed, and unpack the rest of my things. And set up the lab, and inspected everything to make sure nothing had been damaged in the move. And run a few errands, too, I think? Oh, and there was the 'Day After We Welcomed You to Ponyville' party, or whatever it was called. Which...

Actually, come to think of it, maybe enough did happen that day to make note of. Not a whole lot, but still. Who knows what tiny detail could be important in the future?

I guess I'll start from the beginning again – though in this case, that's a bit earlier in the day...

Sunset awoke at the sound of hoofsteps on a hardwood floor. It started with a particularly squeaky stair being tread on, slowly, multiple times, continued on via the tremors felt through the solid single piece the floor was made of, and finished with another creaky stair.

“Wha...?” Sunset murmured after a groan, finally stirred enough from her less-than-restful slumber to wonder what was going on. So groggy was she that she didn't even register any change in the sound, she just looked around through bleary half-asleep eyes and tried to figure out her surroundings.

Where was she? Her back ached, she felt lower to the ground than she thought she ought to be, she couldn't make sense of what was around her, she was in a sleeping bag...

“Sorry,” somepony whispered, and Sunset propped herself up enough to see a familiar purple pony in front of her.

“Twilight...?” she said, squinting at the other pony. The totality of where she was and what she'd done yesterday came back to her all at once, and that was enough to purge the sleepiness from her. Well, some of it anyway. Enough to sit up fully and try to shake away the rest of it, though not enough to succeed.

“Sorry, again,” Twilight said, standing in the bedroom doorway. “I saw that you were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up, but I guess I did anyway...”

“What time is it?” Sunset asked, largely ignoring her friend's explanation in favor of looking around for some kind of time piece. There wasn't one in view of her makeshift bed.

“Umm... about a quarter after seven,” Twilight answered after a moment.

Sunset blinked at her, slowly. “Who gets up at a quarter after seven?”

“I do?” Twilight replied, sounding confused. “And so does Spike, at least sometimes.”

“What? Since when?”

“Err... well, Spike's always been an early riser, though he has been sleeping in more in recent years...”

“Not him,” Sunset said, giving her head a quick shake. “I meant you.”

“Oh! Well, um, always,” Twilight answered, happily adding “You know what they say! Early to bed, early to rise-”

“-makes a mare healthy, wealthy, and wise,” Sunset finished, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice. “I get it.” With a grunt she pulled herself out of her sleeping bag, stood up and yawned, then gave her legs and back a good stretch.

“You don't have to get up now if you don't want to,” Twilight told her, and even half-asleep Sunset could register the concern. “I didn't mean to wake you...”

“It's no big deal, Sparkle,” Sunset replied, walking toward her – or rather, the door. “I'm already up, might as well stay up...” She yawned again.

“Oh! Well, okay then!” Twilight said, sounding a little surprised and not entirely convinced. She stepped aside and let Sunset go past, turning and following about a step behind her. “So... how did you sleep?” she asked after a moment.

“Meh,” Sunset shrugged. “I've had better. But I've had worse, too.”

“Right. Well, I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time. Especially once we get you a new bed!” Sunset could feel the smile on her muzzle even though she couldn't see it.

“Are you always this chipper in the morning?” she couldn't help but ask.

Twilight seemed to pause. “Chipper? Am I chipper? I don't think I'm chipper...”

“Anypony who can talk that fast this early is chipper, as far as I'm concerned,” Sunset told her.

“...if you say so,” Twilight conceded, though Sunset guessed she still had her doubts. Which was confirmed when she said, at a bit of a lower volume, “Never thought of myself as much of a morning pony before... Usually I don't really get going until I've had breakfast. Maybe I'm chipper now because of the unusual circumstances? I do feel more awake than I usually do...”

She continued on in that regard as they continued down the stairs, and as it was clearly just an internal monologue made public Sunset decided to tune it out. Though the notion that Twilight talked to herself when she was alone was... surprisingly fitting, she thought.

As they approached the small landing where the bathroom branched off, Sunset's ears pricked at the sound of movement behind its closed door. Sure enough, a toilet flushed and soon after she heard the sound of running water. That shut off, and moments later Spike emerged into the stairwell.

He took one look at the mares who had stopped just before the landing, and smiled smugly. “Gooood morning,” he greeted. “Looks like I made the right call in waking up extra-early to get to the bathroom first. Have fun figuring out who gets to go first! I'll be making breakfast.”

He scampered off before either mare could reply, snickering into his claws.

Sunset and Twilight shared a look, then rolled their eyes. “You go ahead,” Twilight said first. “You only just moved in, I want you to be comfortable.”

“Hmm...,” Sunset murmured, thinking the offer over. Part of her wanted to decline out of principle, not wanting to inconvenience her new roommate. But nature overruled that part fairly quickly. “Fine with me,” she shrugged, cutting in front of Twilight and laying claim to the library's sole bathroom.

A few minutes later, all three were in the kitchen making breakfast – Spike doing most of the work by frying up pancakes, Twilight brewing up a kettle of her favorite tea from the Griffish Isles, and Sunset slumped over a countertop desperately waiting for her coffee to finish percolating.

“You can always have some of my tea if you'd like,” Twilight offered once she was finally able to pour herself a cup.

Sunset barely spared her a glance before saying “Thanks, but no thanks. I know what I like, and it isn't tea.”

“If you say so,” Twilight said, once again sounding like she still had her doubts.

“You two and your caffeine,” Spike said, probably shaking his head even if Sunset couldn't see it. “If you're so tired in the morning, why don't you just sleep in? Or at least get to bed earlier...”

“And waste time we could be using to do research? Are you crazy?” Sunset asked, lifting her head a bit as her brew neared completion.

“I'll admit our sleep schedules haven't always been the best,” Twilight admitted. “But like Sunset said, sometimes you just have to push yourself into the night in the pursuit of knowledge.”

“But you two didn't do any research last night,” Spike countered.

“Well... true, but...,” Twilight tried to say, though she didn't sound like she knew where she was going.

“...but we have a lot of things to do today,” Sunset continued for her, picking up her coffee pot in her teal aura. “The sooner we get up, the sooner we can get done. Right?” she looked to the side and asked her friend once her coffee had been poured.

“Right,” Twilight nodded. The two mares took a sip of their respective beverages, and sighed contentedly.

“Well, if you say so...” Spike said, eyes on the pancakes he was flipping.

It didn't take long for them to finish cooking, and the three sat at the kitchen table for their first meal living together. Pancakes were enjoyed, the merits of different toppings were debated (Twilight preferring a pat of butter and fresh blueberries on hers with maple syrup currently out-of-season; Sunset liking basically any form of preserves on hoof; and Spike, ever the dragon, liking small gems), and plans were discussed.

Sunset, of course, would be getting her lab set up – which reminded her that she needed to relay a message back to Canterlot to confirm with the shipping company she'd hired that she needed a later delivery date for her remaining artifacts. Twilight would be catching up with the research and other tasks she'd had on hold since her trip to reunite with Sunset, as well as spending time with her friends. She'd already gotten it all scheduled out. And Spike, in his own words, would be 'doing whatever' – whether that meant helping somepony else, or simply lounging around reading comic books.

Sunset expected it would be more of the latter than the former, though she didn't say as such out loud.

Before they went about their business, however, a question occurred to Sunset. “So, does Ponyville not have a newspaper, or does it just come later in the morning than in Canterlot?” she asked, looking around for any sign of a periodical.

Twilight and Spike shared a look that made Sunset raise an eyebrow. “Well, there's the Ponyville Express,” Twilight answered, “I just don't have a subscription.”

“Really?” Sunset asked, surprised. “I thought you'd jump at the chance for something new to read every morning.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but my reading list is pretty full as-is so it's easier to just buy a copy when there's something interesting in it. Or just borrow a copy from one of my friends.”

“Don't you wanna stay informed about what's happening in the world?” Sunset asked, becoming incredulous.

“Like I said,” Twilight replied, “if there's anything important in it I can find out from my friends.”

Spike scoffed. “Like you'll even need to. The Ponyville Express is so dull, even the funny pages are boring. And that's practically a crime!”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “It can't be that bad. And even if it is, I'm still getting a subscription. You two might not care that much, but I wanna stay informed.”

She must have been more heated than she'd realized, as Twilight quickly went on the defensive. “Well, I mean, it's not like I'm objecting to it or anything,” she sputtered. “It's just...,” she quickly glanced at her empty tea cup, “not my cup of tea!” Her muzzle relaxed, and she added “If you need directions to the Express, just let me know.”

“...right,” Sunset said after a moment, willing herself to calm down but not acknowledging she'd been at all riled up in the first place. “I'll do that once I'm done setting up my lab.”

And with that, the three finally parted ways. Sunset made a beeline for the stairs, but stopped on the first step downward. “Right, the shipping,” she murmured, taking a step back and altering course for the bedroom. She wasn't about to head all the way back to Canterlot just to let the shipping company know not to deliver her things yet, meaning she'd have to tell them indirectly. A pegasus courier would be a little expensive at the Post Office's same-day express rate, especially since she'd used a good chunk of her monthly stipend on the move, but she hardly had another choice.

Inwardly, she berated herself for not just scheduling the delivery for tomorrow (or even the day after) in the first place. They'd wanted quite a bit more money upfront just to keep the possibility open, and Sunset had been just impatient enough to want the earlier delivery, yet clever enough to foresee the possibility of a delay, to agree.

It was going to be a bitter letter for her to write. But it had to be done, and she had to be in the bedroom to do it – that's where she'd put her quills and parchment, after all. It didn't take her long to gather what she needed, but before she could start composing she was interrupted.

“What are you doing, Sunset?” Spike asked, and Sunset looked over her shoulder to see him standing in the doorway. “I thought you were going downstairs to clean your part of the lab.”

“Unfortunately, that's gonna have to wait,” Sunset told him, returning her focus to her letter. “I have to let the shipping company know not to send the rest of my things today.” Parchment unfurled on the table and quill held firm in the grip of her magic, Sunset thought for a moment then began to write.

“Oh,” Spike said, and a few quick footsteps told Sunset that he'd come over to watch. “I can help you with that letter if you want. I take dictation for Twilight all the time!”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Sunset replied with a shake of her head, not taking her eyes off the letter. “I can handle this.”

There was a slight pause, and Spike said in a rather disappointed voice “Oh, okay...” For a minute or two Sunset thought that would be the end of it, but as she finished up the letter he spoke up again. “Well, I can at least send that letter of for you.”

That gave Sunset pause. She knew very well that Spike's dragonfire could be used to teleport burnable objects to another distant location; that was how Twilight had corresponded with Celestia for years. But she wasn't actually certain of how it actually worked, as enchantments on living creatures were notoriously difficult to make work. What she did know, however, was that the destination was tied to an individual rather than a place.

“Can't you only send things to Princess Celestia?” Sunset asked, looking down at him and raising a brow.

He squirmed a bit under her gaze. “Well, yeah. But I'm sure she'd be willing to forward it to the shipping company if you asked her!”

“Mmm... yeah, no,” Sunset replied, quickly dismissing the idea as she looked back at her letter. “I'm not about to ask the Princess to pass along a message for me, especially when it's my responsibility to keep in touch with the shipping company. She has better things to do.”

Sunset finished off the letter with a quick stroke of her quill, then rolled it up and tied it. She walked over to grab her saddlebags, and Spike finally replied with a noncommittal “I guess...”

Sunset was out the door and down the stairs moments later, and after about two seconds of looking around found Twilight in the library looking through the books.

“Change of plans,” Sunset announced, striding calmly towards the front door. “I gotta send something to Canterlot. I'll sign up for the Express on the way back from the Post Office.”

“The Post Office?” Twilight repeated, looking away from whatever she was doing. “You know you can just ask Spike to send any letters you have, right?”

“Would you want to ask Princess Celestia to relay a simply request to delay a delivery?” Sunset countered.

“Point taken,” Twilight said flatly. She looked back at the bookshelves but only briefly, soon looking back at Sunset with an expression of dawning recollection. “Oh! You need directions, don't you?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. To the Post Office, and the newspaper if it's close enough. I don't wanna spend too much time walking around when I should be setting up the lab.”

Twilight tapped her chin in thought a few times, then looked back at her. “I could come with you if you want, I'm not busy.”

“I'm not a little filly, Sparkle,” Sunset replied, rolling her eyes harder than she had in weeks, perhaps even longer. “I'm not going to get lost without somepony to hold my hoof and show me the way.”

“I, I didn't mean it like that!” Twilight spluttered, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “I just thought that, well...” She trailed off as she met Sunset's gaze, which was now stern and questioning. “...the Post Office and the newspaper are both on Main Street but they're about a block away from each other,” she said quickly, ears drooping. “Just head west out of the library and cut across the park, they'll be on the far northwest side of Town Hall.”

Sunset frowned at the sight of how down Twilight was feeling, but said nothing. She forced herself to repeat the directions under her breath, then nodded. “Thanks,” she told Twilight, putting on a genuine smile. “I'll be back soon.”

Twilight smiled back, and her heart soared.

The first thing Sunset noticed upon leaving the library was how, even in the morning, Ponyville was busy. Not that she wasn't used to hustle and bustle, having been born and raised in Canterlot, and Ponyville still wasn't as busy as that big city, but the fact that it was busy at all still surprised her. She'd always assumed that small, unimportant towns like Ponyville were always quiet and lazy; an assumption she clearly needed to get rid of. In hindsight she should have done away with it yesterday after stepping off the train and seeing the town for the first time, but she hadn't.

She blamed it on the time of day. Who would expect anywhere to be busy at 8 o'clock? Not Sunset, that's for sure.

And yet, busy it was. Ponies going to work, ponies running errands, ponies selling produce, fillies and colts too young to do any of the previous simply running about and playing... No matter how she looked at it, Ponyville was active. And considering just how many ponies were walking around, Sunset shouldn't have been so surprised when she bumped into one of the five that she actually knew.

“Good morning Sunset!” chirped Pinkie Pie rather unexpectedly from her blind spot, and Sunset had to do a double-take to confirm that the mare was actually bouncing alongside her. “How was your first night in Ponyville? Pretty good, huh?”

“It was... pretty okay,” Sunset answered halfheartedly, not looking at Pinkie and wishing the mare would get the hint.

She didn't. In fact, she giggled. “I knew you'd like it here! I mean, yesterday you were all worried about how you'd made such a big decision in your life, and about whether or not you would fit in! But you still had a pretty good night, and even though that may not be the bestest of best nights, it's still pretty good.”

“Uhh... thanks?” Sunset replied, unsure of what else to say or, indeed, how to interpret Pinkie's mouth-running.

“For what?” Pinkie asked, apparently oblivious.

“...nothing,” Sunset told her, sparing a glance but quickly looking away again.

“Okie dokie!” the pink one replied. She didn't miss a beat before continuing. “So, whatcha up to this morning? Doing something fuuun?”

“Not really,” Sunset answered, trying to keep her patience. “Unless you think sending a business letter is fun.”

Pinkie immediately came back with “They are if the business is fun!”

Sunset laughed the laugh of a pony who wanted to be doing anything else. “Well, this business isn't. It's just me telling some ponies not to deliver the rest of my things today since I won't be ready for them yet.”

“Aww, too bad,” Pinkie said, audibly frowning. “At least you'll have some fun at your 'Day After We Welcomed You to Ponyville' party tonight!” she added, back to being perky.

Sunset tensed up at the mention of the party, but only for a moment. “Yeah, uhh, about that...”

“Oh, did you finally figure out what kind of cake you want?” the pink mare asked, looking straight at Sunset with big, bright eyes.

“Nnnno, not that...” Sunset answered, trying to work up the nerve to admit she didn't want a party. For whatever reason, she was finding it difficult. They were heading past Town Hall now.

“Is it the decorations, then? Or, or the games?”

“None of those, either...”

“Hmm...,” Pinkie murmured, frowning thoughtfully and rubbing her chin. “This is a toughie. Oh!” She brightened up again, and asked “Is it about what time you want the party? Because I don't think we ever agreed on that. I mean, I was just going to have it this afternoon because that's my favorite time to party, but I totally understand if you want it later. Or even earlier, although that would mean I'd have to kick it into high gear to pull everything together in time.” She giggled.

Sunset laughed as well, if that pathetic and halfhearted thing could even be called as such. Again, Pinkie didn't seem to notice. “Uhh, I think later is better for me,” Sunset said. “I have a lot of things to do today that I don't really want interrupted.”

“Got it!” Pinkie replied, snapping off a sharp salute. A couple of passersby gave the pair odd looks, but Sunset noticed the looks soon turned to knowing smiles. Pinkie soon followed up with “So, what time are you thinking, then? Seven? Eight?”

“Uhhh...,” Sunset said, stalling as she forced herself to accept that it was going to happen and thus make a decision. “Seven, I guess. Closer to dinnertime.” She paused for a step, then added “Hey, is this going to be at the library again?”

“Hmm... nah,” Pinkie answered, her show of thought followed by a decisive head-shake. “You're going to be doing stuff there all day today, right?”

“Pretty much,” Sunset answered, looking at her and wondering if this was going where she thought it was.

It was.

Pinkie nodded, and put on an oddly serious expression for such a strange mare. “Exactly. I can't very well set up the party where you're going to be working, can I? So I'm thinking Sugarcube Corner instead.”

“Sugarcube Corner?” Sunset repeated, trying to recall what Twilight had told her about the place.

The question caused Pinkie to gasp rather dramatically. “Ohmygosh, you haven't been to Sugarcube Corner yet have you!”

“I only just got here yesterday, remember?” Sunset replied.

To her surprise, Pinkie grinned and started bouncing even more enthusiastically. The she squealed. “I'm so excited! That means your very first visit to the best place in all of Ponyville is going to be for the very first party thrown for you in Ponyville! That's like the best first visit to the best place ever, ever!”

“I'll take your word for it,” Sunset said, forcing herself to smile no matter how blandly.

Pinkie suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. “Oh, you'll take more than just that! You'll take the cake, take the load off, and take the plunge!”

“The... the plunge?” Sunset repeated, suddenly nervous.

“It'll make sense eventually,” Pinkie told her. “See ya later, Sunset!”

And just like that, she was gone – a pink blur speeding off to who knows where, leaving Sunset in stunned silence. After allowing a few moments for her brain to process what had happened, she scowled and moved on.

“Why didn't I just tell her to cancel it...” she muttered to herself as she headed down Main Street.

It didn't take her much longer to find the Post Office, though the fact that she didn't pass the Ponyville Express office first was moderately annoying if only for the extra distance it meant she'd have to walk.

The Post Office was, as she expected, a moderate bustle of activity – ponies of all sorts were coming and going from the ground-level entrance, while uniformed pegasi carried postage-laden bags to and from the upper stories. Sunset even bumped into a pony that was exiting as she came in, a gray-coated pegasus mare with a blonde mane.

“Oops! Sorry,” the mare said in a dopey sort of voice before flying off in a hurry. Sunset was momentarily too distracted by her wall-eyed expression to notice why, but eventually she realized the mare had been wearing a postal worker's uniform and carrying a mailbag stuffed with letters.

“Why didn't she just use the worker's entrance?” Sunset muttered to herself as she stepped inside the building. But she quickly dismissed the question as one she didn't care about, and took a look around.

One long-ish line of ponies mailing packages, another much shorter line of ponies picking up undelivered mail. Or attempting to, based on one stallion's heated argument with the clerk.

Sunset ignored him, and found the line for express delivery. There were just enough ponies in it for her to frown in annoyance.

“Typical,” she muttered under her breath.

Fifteen minutes of impatient hoof-tapping and sarcastic inner monologue about how some things never changed later, and Sunset was finally at the front of the line.

“Good morning! How may I help you, ma'am?” said the clerk, an earth pony mare with muted blue coat and mane. Shockingly to Sunset, she seemed almost genuinely cheery.

“Hi, I need an express courier to Canterlot,” Sunset said, levitating her sealed scroll out of her left-side saddlebag and setting it down in front of the clerk.

“Mm-kay, let's see here,” the clerk replied, picking the scroll up in her mouth and setting it on the plate of a beam-balance so old Sunset was amazed it hadn't fallen apart. The clerk started fiddling with the sliding weights, and Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“You're seriously weighing it? It's a single letter, the postage can't be more than half a bit!”

“Rules are rules, ma'am,” the clerk answered sweetly, continuing to fiddle with the weights.

Sunset groaned, and looked around the office. It was just as busy as when she'd came in, and there was still nothing of interest to look at while she waited. Just a lot of other impatient ponies she didn't recognize.

Fortunately, either time passed more quickly than she realized or the clerk didn't take much longer to finish her pointless task. “Okay, that's all settled,” she cheerily announced, garnering Sunset's full attention again. “You said this is for Canterlot?”

“Yeah, as fast as you can get it there,” Sunset answered.

“Okay, ma'am, fill out this address form,” the clerk said, sliding a quill and piece of parchment across the counter. When Sunset picked them up, she pulled an adding machine over and started punching in numbers.

Sunset made quick work of the form, finishing before the clerk finished calculating the price. “Okay, that'll be a total of one bit then,” she finally said, and Sunset fought the urge to roll her eyes. She instead fished a single coin out of her bag, and handed it to the mare while she looked over the address form. To Sunset's surprise, her mouth quickly drew back into a thin line.

“The Steady Shipping Company, is that right?” she said more than asked.

“Is... there a problem?” Sunset asked more than said.

“No no,” the clerk replied with a shake of her head that Sunset found suspicious. “I'd just recommend against getting anything airlifted here by them. Especially on the weekends.”

“Bad part-timer?” Sunset asked, catching the mare's drift almost immediately.

She saw the clerk tense up for a moment, and her eyes darted around quickly before she leaned in and whispered “Well... let's just say she's a bit... clumsy...”

Brow still raised, Sunset replied with “Well, good thing I'm getting my things delivered by train. But I'll keep that in mind for the future, at least.”

The clerk leaned back, pulling Sunset's coin with her. “Okay! We'll get this sent off right away, ma'am. Have a nice day!”

“You too,” Sunset replied blandly, turning and leaving. As she wordlessly navigated the other ponies, Sunset mulled over what she'd been told. Airlifting was still a lucrative service for any shipping or postal service even with the budding railway industry, and the very notion that any company would willingly hire a clumsy deliverypony, even just a part-timer, bordered on absurd. It was practically asking for something to get dropped from the lower stratosphere.

But considering how the clerk had been acting while sharing that little tidbit, how she didn't look like she wanted anypony to hear what she was saying, Sunset guessed it was nothing more than a piece of slander to make the Steady Shipping Company look bad. They were basically in competition with the Post Office, after all.

Sunset frowned, realizing that she found the move somehow... disappointing. It was the type of maneuvering she'd come to expect from certain circles in Canterlot, and of a good portion of the upper class in general, but to see it from some nopony clerk in a podunk place like Ponyville was disheartening. Almost to her surprise, she had honestly expected better of the ponies living in Twilight's current Favorite Place.

She was in the middle of the street by the time she realized she needed to turn. Lifting her head and getting her bearings, Sunset quickly recalled both the direction she'd originally come in from as well as the directions to the Express. She'd been told the newspaper's headquarters was about a block from the Post Office, hadn't passed it on the way here, and so concluded – again – to head in the opposite direction from 'home'.

Just like Twilight had said, the Ponyville Express office was only about a block away. She almost missed it at first, since it had the same thatched-roof style that made it nearly identical to most other buildings in town, but she saw the sign hanging outside its window. It didn't look very busy, at least from the outside.

Inside, it was... cramped, to say the least. The front desk was only about two yards from the door, nestled against a low wall cordoning it off from the rest of the room. To her right led further in, to two rows of desks with typewriters only a few ponies were actually working at. Beyond that and around the corner, Sunset presumed, would be the printing press. It didn't sound like it was on.

“What can I do ya for, miss?” asked the eager earth pony stallion at the front desk, yellow-coated and slick-voiced. Sunset guessed he was somewhere from around Manehattan or Baltimare. He was looking at her with a wide smile and keen interest, and Sunset decided to return at least some of the sentiment.

“I just moved here yesterday, and I figured I'd subscribe to the local paper,” she explained.

“Say no more!” said the stallion, speaking quickly. “I'll hook you up with a subscription to our fine newspaper right away!”

He pulled open a drawer, and Sunset took the opportunity to look around again – which meant her eyes soon drifted to the right onto the ponies at the typewriters. They were all looking at her with interest, but the moment they realized she was looking back they went back to work.

“Alright, just fill this out and pay the first month's subscription fee and we'll start delivery tomorrow,” the stallion said, sliding a form across his desk to her.

Sunset looked at it and picked up the quill that was on the desk. “How much?” she asked, making quick work of the form – she was mildly surprised how used to writing her new address she had already become.

“The full package comes in at the low low price of ten bits a month,” he answered with clearly-practiced ease. “That gets you the morning news each day, the evening news each week, and special editions whenever they come out.”

Sunset paused, frowning. Ten bits a month was cheaper than the Canterlot Daily, but it seemed a little much for a small town. She spared a look up at the stallion, who grinned back at her.

“Only newspaper in town!” he said helpfully.

Sunset let herself sigh, then finished filling out the form. Either the Express was making the most out of their relative monopoly on the town's news, or he had raised the price for the new mare in town. But since she didn't feel like spending time trying to argue down the amount, Sunset let it slide – with a mental note to check the price with Twilight's friends when she got the chance.

The trip back to the Golden Oak passed, as far as Sunset was concerned, without issue. Oh, sure, she'd gotten slightly mixed up on which direction to head once she'd retraced her steps to Town Hall, but she sorted it out quickly. More importantly, she didn't run into anypony inclined to talk to her – least of all Pinkie Pie. A peaceful walk home at her own pace, safe in the knowledge that the shipping company wouldn't be bringing anything she wasn't ready for this afternoon, put her in exactly the frame of mind for a few hours of cleaning and rearranging.

She found the library deserted upon entering it. “I'm back!” she called into the empty room; if Spike or Twilight heard her, they weren't near enough to reply. “Probably upstairs...” she muttered, taking a few steps towards the stairs before noticing something odd and stopping.

On her right, one of the reading podiums had been turned to face away from the door. A placard was hanging somewhat precariously from a corner, and a silver call bell lay on the angled top. Sunset approached the bell first; even from the door she could sense that it was enchanted from the familiar tingle in her horn. Over a year of training had taught her caution around unfamiliar enchantments, which was why even though she suspected it was benign she reached out with only the barest magical touches. And when nothing happened, she chanced a simple diagnostic spell.

There was only a single spell on it, and a harmless one at that. It was set to activate when the bell was rung, that much was quickly obvious, and there was a definite spatial component to it – several, in fact. Sunset's brow furrowed and her horn glowed with a stronger diagnostic spell, which coaxed out the keyed coordinates from the thaumic framework without damaging or activating the spell. Then it was simply a matter of translating those coordinates into a state of internal visualization, and she could see exactly where the spell was pointed – central points of every room in the building, with a rider that deactivated the closest one to the spell's point of origin.

In short, the bell was enchanted so that its ring could be heard throughout the tree. The spell's metasignature was unfamiliar, though, so it couldn't have been Twilight's handiwork.

“What's a bell that broadcasts itself doing here?” Sunset wondered aloud, finally turning her attention to the placard.

It read, in Twilight's hornwriting, 'The Librarian is on break. Please ring the bell if you need assistance.'

Sunset face-hoofed. “Duh, this place is open to the public! How could I forget that?” she muttered. Shaking her head and walking away, she added “Twilight must've put it out so she could do her job while she studies.”

She corrected herself after only a few steps. “I take that back. It's so Spike could do her job while she studies. Or at least so Spike could make her do her job, anyway.”

Making her way to the staircase, Sunset paused again. As neither of her friends had replied when she announced her return, even after several minutes had passed, it meant they were either too far away to hear her or were simply lost in their heads. A quick glance into the library's study room proved it to be empty, and Sunset reasoned that meant that Twilight, at least, was in her lab downstairs. After all, if she was reading then why wouldn't she use the dedicated reading room?

So Sunset headed down the first half-flight of stairs to the little curving hallway with the simple door at the end. It was open, which confirmed her suspicions – and also caused her to frown at the implications. If she was going to be doing research in a heavily-warded laboratory, she needed to make sure she had some privacy. The last thing she needed was some random pony wandering downstairs and touching a dangerous or sensitive artifact, and not just because that could cause her to lose the licenses allowing her to do the research here in the first place.

She'd have to ask Twilight if she could keep the door magically locked when she had the chance. Which, as it so happened, looked to be in the near future – the mare in question was in her part of the lab, though it seemed to Sunset that Twilight was more organizing her equipment and data than doing any hard research.

“Hey!” she called out as she rounded the final raised bend along the perimeter of the basement.

Twilight immediately looked up at her and smiled. “Welcome back! How did everything go?”

“Flawlessly, of course,” Sunset answered, flipping her mane as she descended the stairs in a mock show of pride that got Twilight giggling. “I sent the message to the shipping company and subscribed to the newspaper without problem.”

“Good, I'm glad,” Twilight replied, turning her attention back to cupboard she was looking through.

“What are you doing, anyway?” Sunset asked her, craning her neck to get a better view of what was in Twilight's magic.

“I'm taking inventory,” Twilight answered without looking away. Instead, she set the thermometer she'd been holding down on the cupboard shelf, picked up a checklist, and made a note of it. “I figured that with you setting up your own lab, it'll be helpful to have a complete and itemized list of what's in my lab in case you need to borrow anything.”

Although Sunset wondered what had become of all the things Twilight supposedly had to catch up on, she didn't say anything about it. “Cool, thanks,” she instead told her friend, smiling. She waited a few seconds before glancing back up at the basement door, and said “Hey, do you mind if I ward the door?”

That got Twilight to stop what she was doing, look up towards the door, and then at Sunset. “Why?” she asked, raising a brow. “Are you still worried about ponies coming in and stealing from us?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Sunset admitted sheepishly. “But more than that, I just don't want random library patrons coming down here and trying to poke around when there's going to be potentially dangerous magical artifacts lying around.”

“Hmm... that does make sense...,” Twilight murmured, tapping her chin in thought. “But nothing too big. I don't want to have to jump through any convoluted hoops just to get my friends down here.”

“Don't worry, it'll just be a simple locking spell with us and Spike keyed in as the only ones allowed to open it,” Sunset told her, waving a hoof. “I'll save the heavy-duty stuff for the door to my lab,” she added, looking at the door in question. It was currently open, which struck Sunset as mildly odd.

She looked back at Twilight, who was at the end of a thoughtful shrug. “Seems okay to me. Let me know when you do it, okay?”

“I will, don't worry,” Sunset replied, already heading towards her lab. And after hearing a few grunts of effort and the sound of sweeping, she wasn't surprised to see Spike inside it with a broom in his claws.

“Heya, Sunset!” he greeted with a cheery wave. “Just thought I'd help dust this place for you, I hope you don't mind.”

Sunset looked around the room in the brief time it took for her to think it over; he had already dusted off two of the shelving units and was making decent headway on the floor around them, but there was still a long way to go before the room could be considered clean. She decided she did appreciate his effort, though, but on the other hoof the room was a fire hazard and a single sneeze from him would be far and beyond dangerous.

“Thanks for the help,” she told him, “but maybe you should wait outside for a bit. No offense,” she added at his hurt look, “I just don't wanna risk you sneezing.”

He pouted. “I'm not gonna sneeze just cause it's dusty,” he told her, sweeping the floor more vigorously causing dust to fly into the air. “And I don't get why it's such a... such a...” He scrunched his nose up in irritation as the telltale signs of an oncoming sneeze started to show.

Sunset's eyes went wide in a bolt of panic, and she quickly got behind him and rushed him out of the room – getting him there just before he sneezed, sending out a small jet of green fire.

Straight into the face of Twilight Sparkle.

“...oops...,” Spike said sheepishly upon seeing her blackened face.

“...yeah,” Sunset echoed, feeling mortified.

Twilight shook the soot away, and asked “What's going on? I came over because I thought I heard you two arguing.”

“Sorry, Sparkle,” Sunset said. “I didn't want Spike to accidentally start any fires because of all the dust. When he started to sneeze, I just rushed him out here without realizing you were there.”

“Sorry, Twilight...” Spike said, hanging his head in shame.

Twilight smiled at them, though Sunset wasn't surprised. “It's okay. Neither of you did anything wrong. Though maybe you should stay away from the heavy dusting for now, Spike.” She giggled lightly, but Spike said nothing. So she said “Come on. I need some help reorganizing.” That caused Spike to perk up, and the pair turned and walked away.

Sunset watched them for a moment, thinking. Wondering. Twilight and Spike had been an inseparable duo for as long as Sunset had known them, practically brother and sister. Sunset wondered how Spike would take it if Twilight ever decided to date...

Then she shook her head to clear away the unimportant thoughts, and headed back inside her soon-to-be lab to finally get down to work.

The dust needed to go first, and she needed something more permanent than dusting which would only throw it all into the air. Magic was the answer, of course, because when wasn't it? But trying to zap away the dust as it was now was likely to result in damaged shelves, even for a unicorn of her skill level. She needed to get it all in place, and fortunately for her Spike had left the broom and a featherduster inside.

Physical labor like dusting was for ponies who weren't Sunset Shimmer, though. But once again, magic was the answer. She took a moment to summon up her magic and shape the spell she wanted to cast, then let it loose on the featherduster. She took a few moments to refresh herself, then cast a similar spell on the broom. Both tools immediately started moving about as though of their own free will, set to sweep up all the dust in the room into manageable piles of a certain size.

Sunset stepped into the open doorway while they worked to keep them from leaving, moving out of it only to follow and supervise. Every time they created a dust pile big enough for her magic to recognize it as a cohesive object, Sunset vanished it – in other words, she teleported it away and out of sight to somewhere it could be 'stored'. In this case that meant as far straight up as her magic could reach, set to drift on the winds of the open sky away from any passing birds or pegasi. Probably.

If anypony got a lungful of dust from her efforts, well, Sunset would apologize to them when they came forward.

But until then, Sunset would keep on vanishing the dust piles as they were created. It was a repetitive task, almost to the point of tedium, but watching the broom and featherduster work provided her with at least some level of amusement. Especially when one or both tried to get into some hard-to-reach nook or cranny, and flailed around as though furious until Sunset moved whatever obstacle was in their way.

The flurry of activity that usually resulted had an annoying tendency to kick up enough dust to make her sneeze, however.

With no timepiece in the room Sunset was uncertain as to when she finally finished, but she guessed that it couldn't have been much more than an hour. After dispelling the magic on the broom and featherduster before they could escape into the rest of the basement, Sunset poked her head out of the room. She immediately noticed that neither Twilight nor Spike were anywhere in sight. Deciding that they must have finished organizing things and gone upstairs, she shrugged and got back to work.

First and foremost were the wards. Actually, no – first came the strenuous task of moving everything away from the walls, and then came the wards. If she wanted to be able to study and do experiments on magical artifacts of class A or higher, she needed to have every square inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling covered, and even a single mundane shelving unit flush with the wall could interfere with the spells she was going to cast.

Levitating the shelves one by one was taxing on her magic, though, and by the time she had finished she was ready for a short break. Closing the door to her lab behind her, she walked back upstairs to the kitchen and got a glass of water. That alone was enough to refresh her a great deal, but knowing that her magic needed a little more time to recharge led her to delay returning to the basement in favor of finding Twilight.

It took all of ten seconds to find her in the library, absorbed in a book.

Sunset briefly wondered if she was lost in her little 'zone', but decided there was really only one way to find out. “Hey,” she announced in a strong, clear voice as she walked over. Twilight's ears flicked, and if that hadn't been enough to confirm her attentiveness then her turning to look at Sunset was. “I finished cleaning my lab and moving everything away from the walls.”

“Great!” Twilight said with a cheery expression. “Do you want any help setting up the wards?”

Sunset shook her head. “No thanks. But I might need your and Spike's help moving all the shelving units back, I'm gonna be pretty drained at the end of everything.”

Twilight frowned. “Well... if you're sure... Just let me know if you change your mind, okay?” she finished, becoming cheery once again.

“I will, thanks,” Sunset told her. She only got a few steps before Twilight called back out to her.

“Oh! Right! Sunset!” she said, both mares looking back over their shoulders at each other. There was a bit of pause that seemed far longer to Sunset as their eyes met and their gazes held, but then Twilight said “I'll let you know when we're going to have lunch, okay?”

Sunset smiled. “Got it, thanks.” Then she walked off, content in the knowledge of a meal in her near future that she wouldn't have to prepare herself. Which meant she could probably push herself magically just a little bit more than she'd planned...

Another glass of water and a roundabout walk later, and Sunset was closed in her lab-to-be preparing to set up the first ward. Since the room had been carved out of the earth, she applied the strongest version of Sapphire's Steadier she knew to the walls and ceiling and floor to ensure the room's structural integrity would be maintained. With it up, even something as big as an Ursa Major standing on top of it shouldn't cause it to cave in. Likewise it would stand strong even if something exploded inside it, and would remain unharmed by any fires – though only the structure of the room and not it's contents.

It took enough magic to cast that Sunset was left extremely tired afterward, more than she'd been after moving all the shelves, but it was worth it. She admired her work as she recharged, tiredly moving around the room knocking the walls with her hoof and feeling the magic stay firm.

Once she'd recharged enough she cast a diagnostic spell to ensure it conformed to the regulations she needed to follow, then left a tag in the metasignature to let any future inspectors know that she'd verified it was up to code.

Next, once she recharged more fully, was a ward to keep any radiant magic contained within the lab. She couldn't predict the sorts of enchantments on the artifacts she'd end up working with, and the last thing she needed was something leaking magic into the surrounding area. Weird things tended to sprout up when that happened, and you couldn't always predict what from the artifact that caused it. Sunset had once heard about somepony in Vanhoover whose flower garden had risen up as some kind of dirt monster after they'd broken an enchanted thousand-year-old crystal ball; needless to say she wasn't keen on anything similar occurring.

That ward – an old classic created by Starswirl the Bearded himself – was carefully layered on top of the first one, weaving the frameworks together at just enough points to keep the spell anchored without disrupting Sapphire's Steadier. Starswirl's Radiant Containment had its metasignature tagged as well, yet another part of the crucial process of safeguarding her lab to the highest official standards.

Next would have been an anti-intrusion spell to keep other beings from teleporting or otherwise appearing inside the walls by magic, but fortunately for her body as a whole and her grumbling stomach in particular it was then that a knock was heard at the door.

“Sunset?” Twilight called from outside a little bit louder than Sunset thought she ought to. “Spike and I are going to make our lunches now, if you'd like to join us!”

Sunset smiled wiping the sweat of magical exertion from her brow and answering the door. “Yeah, I'd love to,” she told Twilight, who looked startled at the door opening.

But she quickly smiled back. “Okay then!” she said as though lost for other replies, and the two mares departed for the kitchen.

To be perfectly honest? I have no idea what we had for lunch that day. You'd think I'd remember the first lunch I had after moving in with the mare of my dreams, but, well... I didn't. I'm pretty sure I said the same thing about the first dinner, too, so sorry for being repetitive. And hey, in my defense, meals tend to blend together unless something major happens during them.

So, yeah. That was the first part of my first full day in Ponyville. Riveting, huh? I told you I didn't think it was that important for a reason, you know. But I also decided there was enough going on to talk about for a reason, too.

Just like withwards,friendship

Things build off each other, little moments and inconsequential actions all adding together to form something far larger and meaningful than you ever could have predicted. But without a foundation to build off of, it all crumbles – this is as true for friendship as it is for wards.

Like I said before, who knows what tiny detail could be important in the future?

First Impressions - Errands

Now, where was I... Right, the wards. Well, after lunch was done I went right back down to my lab and got back to work setting things up. Though after Sapphire's Steadier and Starswirl's Radiant Containment, the remaining wards were pretty mundane: Scarlet Whisper's Privacy Shield to block unwanted divination; Evening Heart's Emergency Evacuator which could force-teleport all living beings, in addition to the room's entire air supply, to an outside area at a moment's notice (extremely handy in case of fire or poison gas); a double-layered Easy Drain Plus to drain the room from inside or out (getting the outside-facing layer working properly was kind of a pain now that I think about it); and, of course, the strongest unidirectional anti-teleportation ward that existed at the time to block unicorns and other magic-users from breaking in from the outside.

It wasn't nearly enough to stop Discord from getting in, but that's getting ahead of myself. Just something to keep in mind for whatever pony's reading this in the future. Maybe you'll do better than I did.

Anyway, after all that was done (which took a couple hours thanks to the rests I needed), all that was left was the door itself. That got the single strongest magical lock I could muster, and a note to myself to add another, better lock once I had recovered enough magical energy.

And because I was stupid and prideful and kinda sorta forgot to ask Twilight for help, moving all the shelves back into a formation that suited my purposes drained even more of my magic. Though I was able to get everything where I wanted it by pushing myself, at least. And, of course, instead of doing the smart thing and just taking another break, I decided to finally get to unpacking the rest of the lab instead.

While I was so tired I was barely capable of performing basic levitation.

“Let's see,” Sunset said to herself as she opened up a cardboard box using only her hooves. It contained a variety of books, both note- and otherwise. “Right. This should be easy enough...” She bent down and picked up the top book in her teeth, struggling for just a moment with both the weight and the grip. But eventually she managed to get it onto the shelf, and even standing straight up.

It promptly fell over. She grimaced, and set it back upright. It fell over again. She growled out of frustration, then huffed and turned around. “It doesn't matter. Once I put more books on it everything will be fine.”

She reached down and picked up the next tome on the stack, and quickly realized it was thicker than she what she could comfortable get her mouth around. “Get it together, Sunset,” she muttered, anger rising as she tried and failed to pick the book up again. “Don't get beaten by stupid things anypony can do, you're the Princess' personal student...”

Eventually, and with great effort, Sunset managed to get the thing onto the shelf next to the first book. Or, rather, on top of the first book. She stared at the pair for what must have been a good minute, then grumbled out “Whatever. I'll fix it later.”

Deciding to shelve, metaphorically speaking, that part of her plan for the moment, Sunset decided to turn her attention to taking out the various tools and instruments and such that she'd brought. She had, of course, already set up tables earlier when she still had enough magic to do things, and reasoned that setting up a simple workspace would be far less of a hassle than getting books properly oriented. After all, she'd only have to set things on the table, right?

All the simple tools – brushes, lenses, quills, clamps, and the like – were easy enough. Pick one up in her mouth, put it on the table, pick up the next one. Tediously repetitive, true, but easy enough. Feeling confident, Sunset decided to try one of the bulkier items. A resonance fork – like a tuning fork for musical instruments, except that it worked in reverse by reacting to existing thaumaturgic resonance thus allowing a unicorn to measure it – was lying on top of the open tool case, so she grabbed it first.

The metal felt strange in her mouth, even moreso than the other tools; she could feel it vibrating slightly against her teeth as it reacted to her innate magic. And when she finally spat it out onto the table, she noticed the dial on the end still spinning a bit – she made a mental note to calibrate it later. After that came her stage-1 amplifier, one of the most basic tools for measuring trace amounts of magic in all its forms, and that's when the trouble really started.

The stage-1 amplifier was a bulky thing, as all amplifiers were; a framework of treated wood with a variety of metal, glass, and crystal filaments sticking out of it in various directions that served as its intake and output. A plethora of knobs and switches, all dutifully labeled, allowed the settings to be adjusted. In short, it was not the sort of thing that had been made to be lifted by jaw, especially not by a pony so unused to the practice.

In hindsight, Sunset decided, she shouldn't have been surprised when she dropped it. Surprise that she dropped it on the resonance fork specifically, however, she decided was allowable.

The aftermath made her wince. The amplifier was basically unharmed, being mostly just a hunk of wood with bits sticking out of it, but the fork's dial – essentially the most useful part of it since it translated the frequencies into a readable form – had been smashed and would need replacing.

Sunset swore. Then she realized that she wasn't supposed to use that sort of language around Spike or, indeed, Twilight herself, and so she swore again at a softer volume and checked to see if anypony had actually heard her. Since the outer lab was empty as far as she could tell she assumed that nopony had, and thus allowed herself a third curse at normal volume.

“Where am I gonna find a new res fork in Ponyville?” she muttered to herself, staring at the remnants of her tool. “I'm pretty sure the only magically competent unicorns around here are me and Twilight, there's no way there'll be a supply shop within walking distance.”

She sighed in resignation, and allowed her gaze to drift upwards – first towards one of the grimy windows near the ceiling, and then towards the ceiling itself in the vague direction of where she presumed Twilight to be. “Guess I'll just have to order a new one from Canterlot... And hope Twilight has one I can use for the next couple days.”

Sunset looked back at the rest of her unpacked belongings and silently decided she was done doing things the earth pony way. She'd take a break and come back once she'd recovered more of her magic; she was feeling a bit peckish and a tad thirsty anyways so she might as well.

She headed for the stairs without delay.

To her surprise, she found Twilight in the kitchen washing an apple in the sink. It didn't take long for her to notice Sunset. “Oh, hey! How are things going with your lab?” she asked, turning to face her friend.

“Pretty good,” Sunset answered as she walked towards the bowl of fresh fruit her friend liked to keep stocked in a shaded corner of the kitchen counter. “Got the wards set up, so I'm taking a break before I do the rest.” She tried not to look as tired as she realized she felt.

“Great!” Twilight smiled. “Do you still want help moving everything back and unpacking your things? I'm not busy...”

Sunset shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I can handle it.”

“Even moving the shelving units back?” Twilight asked with a small frown. “You said earlier that you might need help with those.”

“Believe it or not, I already got them where I wanted them,” Sunset answered with an almost cocky smile.

It only made Twilight's frown deepen, along with the furrow of her brow. “You did all that right after setting up high-class wards?” she said. “Aren't you risking burning yourself out?”

“I'm still standing, aren't I?” Sunset replied, not losing her smirk. She walked past Twilight, and picked an apple up with her magic – luckily, she had enough to keep it from wobbling. Much, anyway. “Besides, why do you think I'm taking a break right now?”

Twilight murmured in displeasure, but only said “Fair enough, I suppose. But I still think you should let me and Spike help with the rest.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Sparkle, it's fine,” she said, pausing to take a bite of her apple. Twilight stared at her, but she chose to ignore. And, once she swallowed, she asked – in a totally not-awkward fashion - “So... I don't suppose you have a res fork, do you? Mine's broken, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need one before I can have a replacement shipped in from Canterlot.”

“You-” Twilight began to say, looking at her with disbelief. “You're asking this now? Why didn't you get a new one before we left?”

“It wasn't broken then,” Sunset answered with a shrug she was sure was nonchalant.

Twilight stared at her some more before saying, in a completely deadpan voice, “You broke your resonance fork trying to move it or something while you were nearly burnt-out on magic, didn't you?”

Sunset swore internally, and wondered how her Twilight could have actually picked up on that. Had she gotten better at reading ponies, or had Sunset just fallen so far out of practice that she'd slipped up and let her secret guilt show on her face? She wasn't sure. But she made certain to play it off with a laugh and a wave of the hoof, saying “That doesn't matter, does it? An accident like that isn't that big a deal...”

Twilight sighed. “Yes, I suppose it isn't. But you should be able to buy a replacement in town,” she said to Sunset's surprise.

“Really? I didn't think Ponyville would have a magic supply shop.”

“Well...,” Twilight began to reply slowly, averting her gaze in a way that told Sunset everything she needed to know. “I wouldn't exactly call it a magic supply shop, per se, but I have heard that it's the place to go for various rare tools and such.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, then leveled it into a stare. “You haven't actually been to this place, have you?”

“No,” Twilight answered with defiance. “I haven't needed to. I'm responsible with my tools.” She even had the audacity to turn up her nose and flick her tail in mock haughtiness, no doubt a callback to Sunset's behavior from before they were friends.

Her mind replied with painful memories of being forgotten for a month, and questions of whether Twilight could truly call herself 'responsible' after doing so. But Sunset knew this was not the time for such a remark and so stifled it immediately, unwilling to open such a fresh wound in response to such a minor and jesting slight.

She would not always be so careful.

But regardless, for now she simply laughed dryly. “Fine. I'm taking a break anyway, so I might as well go check it out. Where is it?”

“Oh, I'll come with you and show you the way, I'm not doing anything important at the moment,” Twilight replied, quickly shifting back into a friendly smile.

Sunset sighed, not wanting to repeat the conversation they'd had this morning about the post office. Twilight had been quite disappointed that Sunset had turned her down, and in retrospect... she really shouldn't be turning down offers to spend time with Twilight, even if it was only for something stupid like being shown around town.

“Fine,” she relented.

“Great!” Twilight replied with a cheery smile that Sunset couldn't help but find infectious.

Not long after, the pair were walking down the streets of Ponyville. And just like the night before, Sunset was amazed to see Twilight exchanging greetings with several ponies as they walked past. Surely she couldn't know all of them, right? The citizens of Ponyville were just polite, and it had rubbed off on Twilight since she was all into learning about friendship now.

But still, Sunset wanted to make sure. So, when she found the opportunity, she asked her friend in a hushed voice “So who are all these ponies you've been saying hi too?”

“Hmm?” Twilight murmured in reply, her ears perking up. “Oh, well, you know, just ponies I've seen around here and there. At shops, or stands, or stores, or even in the library!” She finished with a light giggle.

Which reminded Sunset, again, that she lived in a library now. Which had seemed like a good idea back in Canterlot, before it had really sunk in that not only were strangers essentially free to come and go from her home as they pleased, they were basically invited to.

“By the way,” she asked as nonchalantly as possible, “exactly how often do ponies use the library, anyway?”

It seemed to take Twilight a moment, but she managed to process the meaning behind Sunset's question fairly well. She smiled. “Oh, don't worry, it's a little weird at first seeing strangers walking around unannounced, but you'll get used to it. Especially because it doesn't actually happen all that often.”

“Really?” Sunset replied with a smirk. “Color me shocked that the ponies of this town aren't too interested in reading.”

She was happy to hear Twilight giggle a little, but slightly dismayed when it was quickly cut short. “Come on, Sunset, be nice,” her friend scolded. “The school's not in session right now, and a lot of ponies are busy with the summer harvest and all the associated events and activities.”

Sunset gave a noncommittal murmur in reply, turning her gaze forward again.

“I can't wait for the harvest to really get started at Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight continued, obliviously. “The early apples have been delicious enough, as have the apples they've stored overwinter, but according to Applejack the summer harvest has to be seen to be believed. I can't wait to see how they produce all their goods!”

Again, Sunset's reply was mostly just a murmur of thinly-veiled disinterest. Her attention was focused on looking for the supply shop they were supposed to be going to, and the growing realization that the mare that was supposed to be guiding her to it wasn't doing much guiding.

“So, uh, where is this place we're going, anyway?” she finally asked with a bit of a cough to get her friend's attention.

It worked, and Twilight stopped in her tracks in realization. “Oh! Right!” she said. “It should be around here somewhere...” She looked around for a few moments, and seemed to spot what she was looking for after mere seconds. “Yup! This is it, I think.”

“You think?” Sunset repeated with a healthy amount of skepticism, looking between Twilight and the fairly nondescript building she was now walking towards.

Like nearly every other building in town it was all thatched roof and half-timbered walls, though this one in particular had a sort of crammed-between-two-other-buildings sort of look going for it. Sunset could only assume that's how Twilight had identified it as it didn't stand out otherwise, at least from a distance; though as she got closer she could at least see a wooden signboard outside the front door that looked distinct.

Two lines of text, in all capital letters, curved around an image of an hourglass; the paint was peeling and shabby. It read “Time Turner's Technological Temporium”.

“...what's a 'Temporium'?” Sunset questioned after she and Twilight had stared at the sign for a fair bit.

Twilight shrugged helplessly. “Beats me. I thought Pinkie was mistaken when she told me the name, but apparently she wasn't...”

“Well, I guess we can just ask this 'Time Turner' pony or whatever about it,” Sunset said, more decisively than she truly felt.

They headed inside, and Sunset quickly noticed several things. The first was the noise. The second was the source of the noise, which seemed to predominantly be the countless clocks that littered the storefront – if indeed this was a store – with their hands ticking, pendulums swaying, and clockwork whirring with irritating asynchronicity. The third thing she noticed was just how much other stuff was in the room. Hourglasses and sundials and such, yes, but also music boxes and phonographs and cameras and things like that. And, of course, a variety of tools and gadgets of all sorts, including ones that Sunset knew to be distinctly magical. It was almost like an antique store and a hardware store had crashed together, and whoever 'Time Turner' was had decided to sell the wreckage.

The fourth thing Sunset noticed was that the room was far larger than it should have been, at least if the building's outer facade was to be believed. She thought it possible that it had simply expanded into what had previously been neighboring buildings, but... She also had the distinct feeling that she was in a magically-expanded space, although she couldn't immediately determine the cause. But she shelved her presumption that there was a bounty of books hidden somewhere in the clutter, because the fifth thing she'd noticed upon entering was walking their way.

“Why, hello!” greeted the single brownest pony Sunset could recall seeing in her entire life. He was an earth stallion, brown all over save his blue eyes and golden hourglass cutie mark. He wore a stiff white collar and teal bow tie, oddly enough, but they seemed to fit his distinct Trottingham accent.

“Time Turner's the name, of course,” he said with a sort of over-confident enthusiasm that quickly got on Sunset's nerves. “And you two, if I'm not mistaken, are the two-and-only students of our illustrious Princess of the Sun. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He finished with a short and shallow bow that managed to fluster Twilight and annoy Sunset even more – though she kept a neutral smile on her face the whole time.

“So you've heard of us?” Sunset asked, deciding to at least pretend to be amused – and to put just a bit of haughtiness into her words and bearing. After all, if he knew who they were, there was a good chance he'd tie himself in knots just to please them – and Sunset could make use of that if need be, though she recognized that Twilight wouldn't be too happy about it. “Good.”

“Oh yes, I suppose it is, isn't it?” Turner replied, unflinchingly. “I don't doubt that few ponies in this town have heard of you, although that isn't, ah, terribly unsurprising.” He looked at them both, and was shockingly unperturbed by the harsh stare Sunset was now fixing him. “You are, after all, merely students – a prestigious position, most certainly, but hardly among the movers and shakers of the Equestrian political scene.”

“Or so you've been told,” Sunset replied icily, raising an eyebrow. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Twilight looking back and forth between her and Turner, who seemed to Sunset to have an expression of innocent dumbfoundedness upon his muzzle.

“Yes, I suppose so,” he admitted. “Although my sources are quite, ah, reliable, if I do say so myself. But, ah, I must apologize for so clearly offending you,” he told Sunset. “I merely wished to respond to your implication that most ponies have not heard of you. I had assumed you were used to it. Dreadfully sorry.”

Sunset's ears and eyes twitched in irritation, though she forced herself to smile through them. “Yeah, well, I'm not,” she said before she realized. She quickly stopped herself from saying more, and glanced quickly at Twilight to see that she was looking like she was finding the whole conversation awkward.

Which caused her to breathe a sigh of relief, at least internally. Even if Twilight had changed a little during the time they'd been apart, Sunset felt confident that her response to an awkward conversation would always be to change the subject and escape as soon as possible.

Her relief was, thankfully, justified. “Anyway,” Twilight said forcefully, putting a smile back on her face, “we were actually wondering if you had any resonance forks in stock.”

“Ah! A replacement, I take it?” Time Turner said with rapidly-dawning comprehension, annoying Sunset even further by looking straight at her as he said it. “Say no more, say no more,” he added with a quick wave of the hoof.

“So I take it you have one?” Twilight said hopefully.

The stallion tapped a hoof to his chin as he thought. “Quite possibly. I'll have to check the old books to be certain, as well as to find out where exactly it is.”

Sunset's eye twitched again as he walked back towards the desk and register situated at what was roughly the back of the room. “You mean you don't know what you have in stock?”

He let out a good-natured laugh. “Of course not! Have you seen this place, the Temporium's a disorganized mess!” He paused to bend down behind the desk, returning momentarily with a thick ledger clenched in his jaw. He dropped it on the desk. “Not to mention,” he continued, “I don't actually carry that many magical devices. I've always preferred a more scientific take on things, you see,” he said as he opened the ledger with a hoof and began to peruse it. “Well, perhaps not literally always, but you get the idea – I like to spend my time trying to explain that which magic cannot. I suppose it's not a pursuit that unicorns such as yourselves are particularly inclined towards, but on the same hoof I, earth pony that I am, am not especially capable of delving into the magical arts either.”

It occurred to Sunset that not only was this stallion annoying, and not only was he wasting their time by talking at length about his personal interests, but those interests weren't even interesting. She'd heard of ponies like him, ascribing to ridiculous ideas that there were things that magic somehow couldn't explain and then using the very techniques used to understand magic to somehow explain those things under the generic and misapplied banner of 'science'. It was asinine, the type of thing that belonged only in fiction, and it only served to make Sunset loathe this pony more.

She looked at Twilight again in hopes of a sympathetic glance in return, or at least a sign that she was holding her tongue lest they get delayed further by a pointless argument with a pony of no importance. But instead, she saw her watching and listening with... well, attention, certainly. Not rapt, of course, merely patient, but that was enough to throw Sunset off so that Turner's next exclamation caught her off-guard.

“Ah, yes! Here it is!” he declared, thrusting a hooftip onto the open page.

“You found it?” Twilight eagerly asked. Sunset echoed the sentiment in her mind, hopeful for any chance to cut this encounter short and leave forever.

“I've found the location of it,” Time Turner answered as he stepped away from the ledger and desk. “Specifically, I've determined that I have exactly one resonance fork in stock, and that I've been keeping it in the back so as not to lose it in the clutter of, well,” he motioned to the room around them, “all this. I'll have it ready for you in just a moment, just wait right there.”

He left without another word, or even waiting for their responses. Sunset spent the next few seconds looking around awkwardly until Twilight broke the silence.

“So, he seemed nice,” she said with a sincerity that baffled Sunset.

“Really? Seems kind of annoying if you ask me,” Sunset replied, taking care to keep her voice low lest Time Turner overhear.

“Sunset!” Twilight hissed, and Sunset didn't even need to look at her to know that she had a look of chastisement on her muzzle. Though she looked anyway.

“He annoys me!” Sunset hissed back. “The attitude, the cluttered store, the making us wait, all of it!”

“W-well,” Twilight stammered, clearly taken aback by Sunset's harshness – enough to make Sunset regret her tone. “It's not like he was expecting us to come asking for an item he's only got one of,” Twilight added after a moment. “And yeah, his hobbies are a little... different, but it's not like he's hurting anypony.”

Try as she might, Sunset couldn't stare Twilight's counterargument into becoming less reasonable. Still, she didn't want to leave it at that, and very nearly repeated her opinion more firmly before a pit of doubt opened in her thoughts. This wasn't such an important point that she'd risk angering Twilight by continuing to argue about it, right? She didn't want to be cast aside again...

Still, her stubbornness caused her to at least sniff and give a look she meant to convey 'I still don't like him', and she averted her gaze to look over the room again.

An awkward silence followed, lasting until Time Turner returned with the resonance fork in his jaw. He dropped it on the desk, looked at Sunset with a smile, and said “There it is. That will be twenty bits.”

Sunset made a show of picking the tool up in her magic and inspecting it, hemming and hawing all the way. Judging by the dial it was a slightly older model, around five years old, but it didn't look like it had been used more than a hoofful of times. With a bit of cleaning to get rid of the dust and bits of spittle, it would be usable. At least until she could acquire a newer one, of course.

“...it'll do,” she said in an almost bored tone of voice, as though more displeased by it than she honestly was. Tucking it away in her saddlebag, she took out her coinpurse and dropped the bits onto the desk – then made a mental note to reconfirm her stipend schedule with Princess Celestia. The last thing she wanted was to unexpectedly run out of money and burden Twilight while she applied for a scholar's fund.

“Excellent,” Time Turner said with a crisp, satisfied smile. “I do hope the two of you will come again, and not simply as customers! It's been too long since I've enjoyed a rigorous discussion on the nature of the world with qualified scholars such as yourselves.”

Sunset grunted noncommittally, already turning away. Behind her, she heard Twilight – after a brief pause – say “We'll... have to get back to you on that. We're a little busy at the moment with the move and all.”

“Ah, not to worry, I completely understand,” she heard Turner reply. “Have a nice day!”

“You too!” Twilight told him, and soon enough she was walking alongside Sunset again as they headed towards the door.

It wasn't until the door swung close behind them that they realized they hadn't asked what a 'Temporium' was.

“Well, I suppose we can just ask the next time we see him,” Twilight said calmly after a short sigh.

“If there's a next time,” Sunset said. “I don't plan on going back there again unless I have to.”

An idle glance to the side revealed the frown on Twilight's muzzle, causing a similar one to appear on Sunset's. “Come on,” Twilight said, “you haven't even given him a chance! I'm sure you could become good friends if you really tried!”

Sunset snorted. “Yeah, but what if I don't want to try? I'm fine with the friends I already have. Besides, I haven't even settled into living here yet.”

She looked at Twilight and saw her frown only deepen. “I suppose... But I do think you should try opening yourself up and becoming friends with more ponies. I mean,” she smiled, “it's done wonders for me!”

Sunset laughed, but it was a good-natured one – and genuinely so, almost to her surprise. “Yeah, well, you had some big life-changing experience,” Sunset said with a roll of both eyes and hoof, hoping she didn't sound as sad as she realized she kinda felt in that moment. “I'm still just me. And you know how long it takes me to warm up to somepony,” she finished with a side-eyed look she hoped was playful enough.

To her relief, Twilight laughed. “True. Well, I guess I can't expect you to make a lot of friends so quickly. Sorry for being pushy.”

Sunset let out another, smaller laugh as she decided what was probably expected of her. “Yeah, well, sorry for not being... I don't know, more open-minded or whatever. I'll... try to be nicer or something in the future.”

“Thanks,” Twilight told her, smiling again. “Now, let's get back home – I'm sure there's still tons of stuff to do before the party tonight!” she added excitedly, speeding up to a trot.

“Yeah...,” Sunset replied uncertainly, forcing her own smile as she followed a step behind.

Wow, yeah, thinking back on it, my motivation back then was... not good. All that really mattered to me was doing what I wanted while keeping Twilight happy, and I don't exactly think that's the healthiest mindset to have. Granted, I don't think I'm that much better now, but still...

Also not good was how much of a jerk I was to Turner, but I was a jerk to pretty much everypony back then so it's really not surprising. And as annoying as Turner can be at times, he doesn't really

Scratch that, Time Turner just roped me into a two-hour quest to invent a better toaster that got me electrocuted three times for three entirely different reasons. Idiot deserves what he gets.

That said, I will still count him among my friends. Reluctantly. He's saved my hide more than once, and he's one of the few ponies in town besides Twilight that I can have a conversation with about the workings of the world.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, droning on about my second day in Ponyville. You know, for how little I thought happened that day, I sure have written a lot about it. And I haven't even gotten to the party yet...

First Impressions - The Party

Anyway. Once we got home I dropped off the new res fork on my work table and the two no, the three of us – Twilight got Spike, who I think had spaced on the fact that we'd left and was just reading comic books – finished setting up my lab. I'll spare you the details; no matter how many times Twilight argues otherwise, organizing shelves is not actually an interesting pastime when you already know exactly what it is you're moving around.

After double-checking the wards and triple-checking that there would be enough space to properly store the artifacts that would be arriving the next day, I set up the locks on both doors. The door to my part of the lab could only be opened by a magical key that only Twilight and I could summon; the door to the basement itself was locked like I described in yesterday's entry.

And... let's see... Well, nothing else really happened before the party, so I'll just skip ahead. Oh! I'm pretty sure we had sandwiches for dinner since Twilight said we should keep it light, so there's that.

Anyway, the party. Since it was supposed to start at seven, Twilight made us be ready to leave half an hour beforehoof...

“Haven't you ever heard of 'fashionably late' before?” Sunset asked as she watched Twilight review her 'party guest preparation checklist' for what was probably the fifth time now.

“Yes,” Twilight answered in her most matter-of-fact tone, her eyes still glued to her parchment. “I simply don't subscribe to such a notion. If Pinkie Pie had wanted us to show up at 7:15, she would have said so. But she didn't. The invitations said 7 o'clock, and so 7 o'clock is when we will arrive at Sugarcube Corner.”

She paused a moment, then added “Meaningless argument with Sunset over what time we're leaving? Check.” And then she checked off the next box on the list, and all Sunset could do was roll her eyes.

Then, since she had nothing better to do, she sighed. That was enough to persuade her thoughts to coalesce into actual words, and she said “Well, nopony can say you're not thorough. What do you think this party will be like?”

Twilight shrugged. “The only consistencies I've noticed in Pinkie's parties is that they're always on-theme, and they're always fun.” She raised her head from her list for the first time in minutes, and looked back at Sunset. “Did you tell her to do anything specific?”

“Not really,” Sunset answered, trying to think back to earlier in the day and recall what she had told the party planner. “I'm pretty sure I just gave her a time. And-” her brow furrowed- “I think she said something about taking the plunge? But she didn't tell me what- it's bad, isn't it.” The realization that Twilight had suddenly tensed up having struck her, Sunset's mind adeptly sped to a conclusion.

It hadn't even been a question, not really, but that had never stopped Twilight from answering things before. Though the forced smile she wore as she did so told Sunset at least as much as her words, if not more. “It's, umm... unexpected.”

“Unexpected?”

“You'll see what I mean,” she said. Then she thought for a moment, and added “Probably. It depends on whether or not she's made any changes to it since she used it last time.”

“Oh really?” Sunset replied, quirking a brow. For a moment she considered expressing her doubts about going, or rather the fact that she'd never been interested in the party in the first place, but she held her tongue. The only ending she could see for that conversation was an argument that had a high potential, in her mind at least, of irreparably damaging her relationship with Twilight.

So instead she sighed, and resolved herself to spending some token amount of time with Twilight's current friends no matter how little she cared for them. Still, her pride wouldn't allow her to give up everything. So she said, “Well, I can't say I'm looking forward to it then.”

“It'll be fine, trust me,” Twilight told her. “Pinkie's parties can get a bit hectic at times, but I've never seen anypony get hurt, or even have a bad time!”

“Really? You must not have been looking in the mirror during your welcome party.” The sound of Spike's voice alerted the mares to the fact that he'd finished up whatever task had been delaying him, and a slight turn of the head showed them that he was walking towards them from the kitchen.

Sunset turned her gaze towards Twilight just in time to see her turn her flushed muzzle away. “Th-that was different, Spike. I was stressed because of Nightmare Moon. Had I simply been there to assist with the Summer Sun Celebration and nothing else, I assure you I would have enjoyed myself.”

Spike scoffed, and Sunset echoed the sentiment half a moment later.

“W-well, I've enjoyed every other party Pinkie's thrown, haven't I?” Twilight countered, looking right at her surrogate sibling.

“Yes,” he conceded, “but they were all after you became friends with her.”

“So?” Twilight asked with a brief but defiant look elsewhere. “In that case, there shouldn't be a problem. Right Sunset?”

Sunset found herself staring blankly into Twilight's eyes for a moment after they were directed at her, only managing to get out a pathetic “Uhh...” Then Twilight's face fell, and Sunset suddenly found her words. “I mean, I've only known her for a little over a day, Sparkle. I don't think I'm ready to call us 'friends' just yet.”

Then she paused, and added “But I do trust you when you say I'll enjoy the party.”

The relief on Twilight's muzzle was palpable.

The trio finished up their pre-party preparations in short order after that, and with Twilight hurrying them along they soon found themselves on the streets of Ponyville. And much like the night before, Sunset noticed, they were plenty populated. Also like last night, several passersby greeted Twilight and Spike as they passed. Sunset was grateful that none of them lingered or held them back for an extended chat.

She was also grateful that none of them seemed to be heading in the same direction as they were, at least not in more than a general sense. It had occurred to her that, along with the menu and activities, she genuinely wasn't certain of the party's guest list either. She presumed that Twilight's other close friends would be invited, of course, but she knew from Twilight's own anecdotes that Pinkie's party guests often extended beyond their small clique. But since she'd already asked Twilight what to expect without bothering to bring up the guest list, she wasn't entirely certain she wanted to bring it up now. It wouldn't reflect well on her.

So she kept quiet, outwardly pretending to enjoy the evening air while inwardly crafting contingencies for dealing with various party-related scenarios. She had no honest expectation of using them; she'd always took pride in being a mare who could think on her hooves; but it was a fairly decent way to pass the time.

To Sunset's mild surprise, the three of them weren't the only party-goers that seemed to be aiming for a 7 pm arrival. At some nameless intersection near the center of town they were spotted by Applejack, who called out before joining up with the group.

“Howdy y'all,” she greeted. “On your way to the party, I take it?”

“Good evening, Applejack,” Twilight answered for the group. “And yes, we are.”

“Wouldn't be out here if we weren't!” Spike quipped from Twilight's back.

Applejack chuckled. “Yeah, that's what I figured.” She turned her gaze to Sunset. “So, you excited for the very first party thrown in your honor here in Ponyville?”

“I hear it'll be interesting,” Sunset said with a smile, pleased with her non-answer. “At least if it's anything like what I hear Twilight's welcome party was like.”

The farmer chuckled again as the four resumed walking. “Well, I doubt it'll be as big as that ended up bein', on account of you already havin' a bunch a' friends here and all. But then again, I ain't gonna pretend to know what Pinkie Pie is thinkin' half the time so for all I know half the town coulda been invited.”

Unsurprisingly, Twilight snorted. “It couldn't possibly be that many ponies,” she said. “Nopony else but us is heading towards Sugarcube Corner!”

She waved her hoof at the street, prompting Sunset and the others to look around and confirm the truth of what she was saying. “...maybe this is just the half that wasn't invited?” Spike said after a moment. “Maybe everyone else is already there!”

Twilight and Applejack just giggled. “That's pretty unlikely,” the former told him.

Spike hung his head, looking that particular mix of childish defiance and embarrassment that told Sunset that while he hadn't been entirely serious about his suggestion he still didn't appreciate it being laughed at. “I know...,” he muttered, proving Sunset correct as far as she was concerned.

The conversation petered off fairly quickly after that, and for good reason – they were finally in sight of their destination.

Sugarcube Corner was easily the most thematically appropriate building that Sunset had seen in Ponyville, and possibly in her entire life. While stylistically it mimicked the thatched roofs and half-timbered walls of the rest of town, every square inch of it was done up like a gingerbread house. Pink-striped candy sticks flanked the doorway; thick white icing coated the eaves; and the shingles resembled massive slices of rich, almond-filled fudge. The building's unusual central steeple was done up like a pink cupcake down to the trio of lit candles sticking out the top, and even the flowers planted out front looked particularly sweet. The fact that it was situated all alone in the middle of what would have otherwise been a fairly sizable plaza made it stand out even more.

The lights inside were already on, and Sunset could see hints of streamers and balloons set up inside – as well as a familiar pink mare milling about. She couldn’t see anypony else inside, and allowed herself to smile because of it. Though the feeling was dampened somewhat when she spotted Pinkie catching sight of them, grinning ear to ear, and darting out of sight.

She was completely unsurprised when the door was opened mere fractions of a second after Twilight began to knock; so fast, in fact, that the knock didn't even finish properly and her startled best friend ended up booping Pinkie on the nose.

Everypony just sort of stared for a few moments before Twilight, flush with embarrassment, withdrew her hoof. “Umm, hi,” she said in her classic 'I genuinely have no idea what to do right now' tone of voice.

Sunset had missed that tone of voice.

Pinkie, meanwhile, simply giggled. “Hi girls! Come on in!” With a wave of her hoof she stepped aside, allowing the group of four inside. Twilight and Applejack moved towards the center of the room without delay, Spike doing the same as he slid off Twilight's back, but Sunset lingered just inside the door and scoped the place out.

The theme of the exterior continued on the inside, as far as Sunset could tell, with images of various sweets plastered to the walls or carved into the wood. But all of that was beneath the party decorations, which she could now see consisted almost entirely of streamers and balloons. Red and gold were clearly the colors of the evening, which earned a smirk from Sunset – a smirk that widened just a smidge when she caught a glimpse of a painted rendition of herself adorning a banner hanging from the ceiling.

“Welcome to Ponyville, Sunset Shimmer!”

It took her a moment to register that it hadn't been her thoughts that had said that, and she turned her gaze from the banner to see all of Twilight's friends, Rarity and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash included, standing around her with excited expressions. The sheer warmth of it took her quite off guard, and for far longer than she liked her mental gears just spun in place without meaningful reaction.

But eventually words came to her again, and after finding herself laughing along with the others she said a simple “Thanks.” Then she looked at Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy – who immediately hid behind her mane – and asked “So how long have you three been here? I thought we were the first ones to arrive.”

“Oh, Pinkie Pie had us come early, darling,” Rarity explained, stepping forward and moving alongside Sunset as if to escort her into the party.

“Yup!” Pinkie replied with what Sunset was quickly assuming to be a characteristic enthusiasm, literally bouncing into view from her right. “Since Twilight is always right on time to parties, I figured she'd make sure you were on time too!” she explained, walking backwards in front of Sunset and Rarity. “But since you're the Guest of Honor, you need to make a good entrance! But you can't do that if you're the first one here! So I thought to myself-” she scrunched up her muzzle and furrowed her brow in what Sunset hoped was an exaggerated 'thinking' expression- “if the Guest of Honor is going to arrive when the party starts, then that means everypony else needs to be here before the party starts! So then I went around and told everypony but you and Twilight and Spike to get here early!”

“And so we did!” Rarity finished brightly, before her eyes dulled and she shot a look at Applejack. “Well, most of us did at least.”

Applejack chuckled bashfully. “Yeah, that's on me. I figured I'd have a bit more leeway for my arrival; guess I was wrong.” She shrugged. “All worked out in the end, though.”

“I'll say,” Twilight said.

“Well, it certainly was a surprise, I'll give you that,” Sunset added, stopping in place after Pinkie bumped into the shop's sales counter.

“I'll say,” Rainbow Dash said next, flying up close to her head. “Seriously, you shoulda seen your face.” She made a face of gaping shock, which Sunset took to be an imitation of her own reaction. Then she laughed for about a second. “Pretty funny,” she remarked. “Not the funniest, but not bad, Shimmer.”

She nudged Sunset on the shoulder, then flew off. “Thanks?” was all Sunset could say, watching the mare pour herself a cup of fruit punch from a bowl near the side of the room.

Looking around again, Sunset could see refreshments set up on tables throughout the room. The sheer variety on offer surprised her; just about every baked sweet she knew the name of was accounted for in some fashion, as were several she'd never seen elsewhere. Cakes and donuts and pies and so much more, in a rainbow of colors and, Sunset suspected, flavors. Even the punch came in more than one variety.

As she swept her gaze back across the spread, and the others began to fan out and gravitate towards one platter or another, she soon found herself face to face with Pinkie Pie. And with a rather startling abruptness at that, though she successfully staved off her urge to yelp or flinch.

“So, anything catch your eye?” Pinkie asked with wide-eyed, fast-talking innocence. “Since you weren't really sure what kind of cake you wanted, I decided to go with a little bit of everything. That way, you're sure to find one that you really like the best!”

“Uhh, thanks?” Sunset said, taken aback by the thoughtfulness of the gesture. With nothing better to do she allowed herself to be led forward to the nearest assortment, in this case a large platter of cupcakes that had each been given a unique look. “Did you bake all these?” she asked.

Pinkie giggled, to no surprise. “Oh no, I only baked some of them. Mr. and Mrs. Cake helped me with the rest.”

As if on cue, a bell dinged in what Sunset presumed to be the kitchen causing Pinkie to perk up. “Ooh! They're finished!” she said, hopping up in excitement and dashing around the sales counter and through a set up saloon doors.

Sunset watched her go, then shrugged and looked over the cupcake platter. Settling on a green-colored one with a sort of tan-ish swirled frosting, she picked it up in her magic and took a bite. Then blinked in surprise. “Pistachio?”

“Oh yes, when Pinkie says 'a little bit of everything', she means it.” Sunset looked to her right to see Rarity walk up alongside her. She looked over the platter with a scrutinizing gaze, then levitated a peach-colored cupcake up for a closer examination. “This one should be peach truffle, if I'm not mistaken.” She looked at Sunset. “Would you mind ever so much if I had it?”

“Go ahead,” Sunset shrugged.

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity replied, taking a bite and savoring it. “Mmm, yes. Simply scrumptious.”

Before either could say anything else, Pinkie burst through the kitchen double-doors with a tray balanced on her head. “Chocolate lava cakes, fresh out of the oven!” she announced, eyes on her prize as she cantered merrily to the nearest – and, Sunset noted, emptiest – table to drop it off. “Get 'em while they're hot, girls!”

She was followed out of the kitchen by two other, older earth ponies, each bearing trays of the chocolate-filled cakes. The first was a mare, light blue coat and pale crimson in mane, and visibly pregnant; she was followed by a harried-looking stallion that Sunset assumed was her husband, yellow and orange with a bit of an underbite. They dropped their smaller trays off next to Pinkie's, and joined her – and the others who had gathered around after the announcement – in taking a sample of the freshest wares.

“Oh hello dear, you must be Sunset Shimmer,” the mare greeted once she caught Sunset's eye. She stepped to the side and motioned for her to step forward. “Come now, don't be shy, there's plenty enough for everypony.”

“Thanks,” Sunset told her, doing just that – after hastily finishing her cupcake, anyway. “I take it you're Mrs. Cake, then?” she added once the chocolate lava cake was firmly in her magical grasp – with a saucer under it to keep the sauce from spilling.

“That's right,” said the mare, her gaze distracted as she looked at the others all enjoying their cakes.

“And that would make me,” the stallion said with a light chuckle, “Mr. Cake. Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Shimmer.”

“Same here,” Sunset answered with a smile, though she was mostly only being polite. “Thanks for helping Pinkie Pie set this up. I hope it wasn't too much trouble.”

“Oh, it was nothing at all!” Mrs. Cake assured her.

“Yeah,” Mr. Cake nodded. “We're always happy to lend a helping hoof to Pinkie. Goodness knows she's been a big help to us.”

And that prompted a round of giggles from Pinkie. “And I'm happy to do it! Now let's get this 'Day After We Welcomed You to Ponyville' Party started!”

She zipped over to a phonograph set up in a corner, and set the needle playing.

As though Pinkie's words had been a spell, so did festivities suddenly commence. It began much like the previous day's party had, with plenty of dancing and eating, and Sunset busied herself with far more of the latter. After all, she decided, why would she turn down food that was specifically baked for her? Even she wasn't so cold as to turn down free food simply because she wasn't fond of the chef.

The sweets themselves were excellent and Sunset made sure to have a little bit of everything even if she was certain it'd bring her trouble later on. Of course, the downside to everything being so good was that she was left unsure of her own dessert preferences, and it was only then that it dawned on her that she'd wanted to sort them out at all. She had never been a picky eater, and even with the importance of her station as the Princess' Personal Student she'd never felt inclined to insist upon any particular meal preferences. But at the same time, not having an answer for the question of what her favorite dessert was felt strange in some way now that she thought about it.

But, she soon decided, it wasn't important. Obviously either her 'favorite' wasn't at the party, or she just didn't have one. It really didn't matter either way. She didn't need a favorite dessert. She was Sunset Shimmer!

And then she realized she was getting worked up over something pointless, and decided to distract herself – or, rather, to move on to something marginally more interesting. Which, in this case, ended up being conversation.

She was surprised when the first one to talk to her wasn't Rarity but Rainbow Dash, and was left unsure whether the surprise was a pleasant one or not.

“So, ya got any good stories about Twilight or Spike?” she asked while hovering over one of the punch bowls again, an unexpectedly mischievous smile on her face.

It took Sunset a few seconds to figure out just how much she was willing to tell; while she most definitely had her fair share of embarrassing stories about both in question, a good chunk of them weren't things she wanted to make light of at such a social occasion. Most of it, actually, considering how sensitive Twilight and Spike could still be even after being around Sunset for so long. The last thing she wanted to do was make Twilight mad at her for revealing the more sordid details of her academic career.

There was also the fact that several such stories would paint Sunset in a negative light, and she wasn't about to do that to herself. And still others were practically cherished memories to her, and the jealous part of her refused to part with them so easily.

“Uhh, hello? You still there, Sunset?”

The sound of Rainbow Dash's voice snapped Sunset out of her thoughts. “Sorry,” she lied, “I was just trying to decide which one to tell you.” She put on a mischievous smile to match Rainbow's, and it seemed to placate her. “There's quite a few good ones.”

“Heh, I'm not surprised,” said Rainbow. “She's kind of a riot, loads of fun to prank. So, what do you got?”

Filing away Rainbow Dash's apparent tendency towards pulling pranks away as something to be mindful of, Sunset made a show of thinking up a story to tell. “Let's see,” she said with a fair bit of volume, tapping her chin. “Oh! I know! I bet she hasn't told you about the quesadilla thing yet!”

A quick glance to the side showed Sunset that her words had been picked up, and had had the desired effect. Twilight's ears had swiveled around to face her, and she was by Sunset's side before she could blink.

“Q-q-q-quesadillas?” she stammered. “Who cares about those? They have nothing to do with anything! Wh-why don't we talk about something else?” Her smile was wide and frantic, and Sunset could almost hear Twilight pleading as she looked between her and Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus snickered into her hooves. “Fine, fine,” she told Twilight. “We'll talk about something else.”

Then she proceeded to give Sunset an incredibly blatant 'We'll talk later' wink, so much so that Sunset had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“So, Sunset,” Rainbow Dash continued, unaware of herself. “Tell us about yourself. How did you and Twilight meet?”

Now aware that every pair of eyes in the room were on them, Sunset and Twilight froze in place and exchanged a brief and nervous look. “There's... not much to say, really,” Sunset said, attempting to be both quick and careful simultaneously and pulling it off better than most ponies could have. “Princess Celestia just kinda... introduced us one day.”

“When she decided it would be beneficial to both of us to do so,” Twilight hastily, and somewhat helpfully, added. Or perhaps clarified, Sunset wasn't entirely certain of her intent.

“Y-yeah. Like I said, not much to say.”

“I see,” said Rarity, nodding rather sagely. “I suppose the two of you must have been friends ever since?”

Spike snorted before either Sunset or Twilight could answer her. “Not exactly,” he said at the others' questioning looks, taking a bite out of a pastry studded with rock candy.

“It... took us a while to warm up to each other,” Sunset admitted before Spike could say anything more.

Twilight echoed her sentiment with a nervous chuckle and a short “Yep.”

A bit of an awkward pause followed, broken first by Rainbow Dash picking up a piece of yellow cake and then by Applejack. “Well, that makes sense I s'pose. Can't expect two ponies to automatically hit it off just cause they got somethin' in common.”

“True, true,” Rarity said with another falsely sagacious nod. “The important thing is that you're friends now.”

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie eagerly chimed in, getting a little too close for Sunset's comfort. “Aaaaaaand you're friends with us, now, too!”

Sunset didn't have the heart to contradict her, especially not with everypony else nodding along in agreement.

“So, what do you do for a living, Ms. Shimmer?” asked Mrs. Cake in the next lull in the conversation.

“Oh, well, I am still Princess Celestia's student, like Sparkle here,” Sunset answered with a bit of thought and a nod to her bashful bestie. “But I'm pretty much doing all my studying independently from her nowadays, so I guess calling myself a Researcher would be more accurate.”

“Oh? What are you researching?” asked Mr. Cake. Sunset was mildly surprised that he was interested, as were the other Ponyville residents.

“Right now? Magical artifacts,” Sunset answered. “Specifically, the enchanting techniques used to make them. Powerful, permanent magic isn't exactly easy to pull off, y'know.” Sunset's smile grew as she realized how much of the group's attention she had. “It's a lot of work digging up whatever information exists about a given relic, and even more trying to safely work out how it all, well, works, but it's been pretty worth it so far.”

That earned another nod from Rarity. “Oh, I can imagine.”

Sunset doubted that, but held her tongue. “Moving out here to Ponyville is a bit of a shake-up for me,” she said, putting it lightly, “but I think I've adjusted pretty well. I've already got a new lab set up,” mostly, “and tomorrow I'm expecting the rest of my equipment and things from Canterlot to be delivered.”

“That so?” Applejack said with what seemed like renewed interest. “Well let me know if ya need some help gettin' it to the library. If your luggage yesterday was anything to go by, I can only imagine how heavy the rest of your stuff is.”

“Thanks, I'll keep that in mind,” Sunset told her. She hoped she wouldn't have to, of course; she'd paid the shipping company good money to get everything out to her new lab, after all.

“And what do you plan on doing after you've finished moving in?” Rarity asked.

Sunset gave her a blank stare, working out what exactly she meant by that and what Sunset wanted to do about it. She settled on a puzzled look. “Well, I guess I'll probably just get back to researching. Although setting up the lab will probably take long enough that I won't have time for anything other than some preliminary tests to make sure everything still works fine.”

Rarity gasped, and Sunset made a mental note that she'd correctly guessed the mare's intentions again. “Why, surely you can spend some time getting settled in first, can't you?” Rarity said, aghast. She stepped around in front of Sunset, putting on a pout.“It would be a shame to put your nose to the grindstone without settling in to your new home and discovering all that the town has to offer first.”

“I... get what you're saying,” Sunset began carefully, “but I'd really feel better if I make sure everything made the move intact first. The sooner I catch a problem, the sooner I can fix it.”

She'd hoped that would strike a chord with the dressmaker, and it didn't take long for her to determine that she had.

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Rarity said with another more legitimately knowing nod. “Your work is important, and I apologize for trying to pull you away from a critical moment. However, I do still feel you ought to take some time off to really get to know Ponyville.”

Sunset opened her mouth to issue a stock reply about how she'd be sure to do that without actually committing to doing it with anypony in particular, but Twilight surprised her by answering first. “Oh, don't worry,” she told her friend in a matter-of-fact tone that evoked a minor sense of dread in Sunset. “I've already scheduled a full tour of Ponyville for her over the course of the next week.”

“The next week?” Rarity repeated, blinking in surprise. Sunset felt the same way.

“Yup!” Twilight nodded, before revealing the exact details of her plan on a rolled up piece of parchment she had presumably summoned from her bedroom. “As you can see,” she continued, unfurling the document and showing it off to her friends and the Cakes, “I've included all of Ponyville's major shops and landmarks.”

“You missed, like, all the best sleeping spots though,” Rainbow Dash pointed out after scanning the list for about a second.

“Well, those are hardly-” Twilight began to say, amusing Sunset with how put-out she was.

“And do ya really need to show her all the restaurants in town?” Applejack chimed in.

“She deserves to know all her choices, and-” Twilight once again tried to answer, getting flustered as her friends crowded around her more and more.

“Eugh, you can leave off GT's Fryery,” Rarity said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. “Their food is dreadfully greasy.”

Applejack shot her a look. “Well duh, it's a fryery! The food's s'pposed to be greasy!”

Rarity flipped her mane defiantly. “All the more reason to remove it from the tour, then!”

“I'm not removing anything from the list,” Twilight told them, her voice unheard despite its stubborn insistence.

“Umm, I'm sorry to interrupt, but...”

“I say leave the fryery, but take off all the boring stuff like town hall and the book stores,” Rainbow Dash chimed in again.

“...I'm really not certain I'll be able to show off my cottage on Monday...”

“That should give you some space for the sleeping spots, and time to watch me perform some awesome tricks,” Rainbow finished, puffing herself up with pride.

“...It's just that that's the time I usually spend playing with Angel...”

“Ooh! You should totally take Sunset to Sugarcube Corner on Monday!” Pinkie excitedly suggested.

“Pinkie, she's in Sugarcube Corner now,” Mr. Cake tiredly informed her just a second later. “She doesn't need to come here again on her tour.”

“Though she is welcome to, of course,” Mrs. Cake added with a smile, looking at Sunset.

“...But if you still want to come anyway, I understand...”

For her part, Sunset remained silent during the... She wasn't sure whether to call it a debate, a discussion, or something else entirely. Whatever it was it amused her, if only because of how flustered it was making Twilight. But she could tell her friend was about to reach her breaking point, and decided to step in and head things off before she blew up.

“Hey, thanks for the suggestions, all of you,” she said in a strong, clear voice; one she'd practiced specifically for talking over crowds of ponies. “But I think I'll just stick with what Twilight has planned, and see where it goes from there.”

As she'd hoped, the others quieted down and Twilight sighed in relief. “Thanks, Sunset. I-”

And then the conversation began again, voices talking over voices as thought the previous lull had only been the eye of a storm.

“I still think you're missing out on some awesome stuff, though,” Rainbow pointed out.

“I don't suppose it would be too much trouble to work in a session at the spa, would it?” Rarity asked, carefully looking over the schedule again. “I've been meaning to treat you to one, Twilight, and this would be a fantastic occasion to do so.”

“They already said they're stickin' to the schedule,” Applejack scolded. “Stop tryin' to get them to change it!”

“Umm... is there anything in particular you'd like me to do for your visit? Because...”

“Ooh! Ooh! What about the Everfree Forest, are you gonna show Sunset that?” Pinkie asked, prompting the Cakes to exchange a nervous glance.

Sunset looked back at Twilight just in time to see her facehoof and groan.

It took longer than Sunset liked for everypony to give up on modifying Twilight's tour schedule and return to the party. They were all apologetic, of course, but nevertheless Sunset's opinion of them had been soured slightly. After all, what sort of 'friend' didn't respect their friend's schedules?

Sunset dutifully shoved away memories of herself dragging Twilight and Spike away from whatever they had planned to assist her in whatever she wanted to do, ignoring their protestations all the while. None of that counted, as far as she was concerned.

After a bit more eating and dancing, Pinkie suddenly announced it was time to play some games and disappeared to some other part of Sugarcube Corner. She returned shortly after with far more equipment than Sunset had expected from a single pony. The items needed for 'Pin the Tail on the Pony' and her new hit 'Guess the Book' were meager enough, but the water basin, ladder, and toilet plungers that she managed to keep perfectly balanced on her head and back were... concerning, to say the least.

The fact that several of the others looked like they thought so as well was not as comforting to Sunset as she would have liked.

It didn't take Pinkie long at all to set up everything, leaving Sunset to dread what now resembled a makeshift carnival dunk tank sitting off to the side of the room away from any food as she recalled the mare's words to her about 'taking the plunge'.

“Alright Sunset Shimmer, up you go!” she said, filled with eager energy as she pulled Sunset over to the base of the ladder.

Sunset blanched. “Uh, why me exactly?”

That just caused Pinkie to giggle. “Cause you're the guest of honor, silly!” she said. “Obviously you get to be the first one to play Truth or Dunk!”

“...Truth or Dunk?” Sunset repeated with nervous skepticism, failing to dig in her hooves enough to prevent Pinkie from pushing her closer to the ladder.

“Yup! Truth or Dunk!” Pinkie said, grinning. “We take turns asking you funny questions, and if you get them wrong or tell a lie, you get dunked!”

Sunset wanted to protest, to assert herself, to do anything to get out of the game, but Pinkie Pie was now practically forcing her to climb the ladder, and was somehow far stronger than she looked.

“Fine, fine,” Sunset muttered, trying to pretend to be good-natured about it. A glance around the room showed the others watching her with quiet interest, even Twilight, and when she looked down at Pinkie the mare's grin widened.

With a sigh, she sat down on the 'platform' at the top of the ladder that hung out over the water basin. She was high up enough that she could touch the ceiling with her horn, and overall she felt ridiculous. “Okay, let's get this over with,” she told the ponies down below.

“Okay,” Pinkie replied, the others gathering around her in front of the makeshift dunk tank. To Sunset's surprise, Pinkie pulled a small stack of notecards out of her mane, cleared her throat, and said “Question one: what do you get when you cross a cow with a trampoline?”

To say the 'question' took Sunset off guard would be putting it mildly. For several seconds she simply stared at Pinkie, then she shook her head quickly and asked “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

“What do you get when you cross a cow with a trampoline?” Pinkie repeated without a hint of duplicity in her grin.

Sunset blinked, then furrowed her brow in thought. “Cow with a trampoline...” she murmured as she tried to puzzle it out. Her mind immediately went to schoolyard tales of failed transmutation and the horrors that resulted, and she picture a half-cow half-trampoline monstrosity roaming the countryside until she herself defeated it with her magical prowess.

Then she realized it was just some joke, face-hoofed, and guessed “I don't know... a milkshake?”

Pinkie practically squealed with delight. “Yes! A milkshake!” she said, descending into a giggling fit that last a good couple seconds. Once she recovered, she continued. “Okay, question two.” She looked at her notecards again, nodded, and looked back up at Sunset with her eyes narrowed dramatically. “What has a foot, but no legs?”

“Oh! I know this one!” said Fluttershy, beaming with the quietest excitement that Sunset had ever barely heard before.

As the only two things that Sunset knew about Fluttershy were that she lived up to her name and that she took care of animals, she wasn't sure what to make of her apparent knowledge of the answer. But she decided to take a gamble on it having something to do with animals, and dredging up the memories of biology lessons from her school days gave her an answer.

“A snail,” she answered with a confident smirk.

“Hmm...” Pinkie hummed, narrowing her eyes even more and even rubbing the bottom of her snout as she deliberated.

For all of three seconds. “Corrrrrrect!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hooves in excitement and tossing her notecards into the air. A second passed before she noticed them fluttering back down to the ground, and frantically started grabbing them out of the air.

“Let's see, third question, third question,” she mumbled, looking through the notecards.

“Hey, I got a question for her,” said Rainbow Dash, now hovering over Pinkie. Sunset raised an eyebrow, and a feeling of dread rose up as she saw Rainbow's grin turn mischievous. The pegasus flew up to eye level with Sunset, and asked “True or false: you're about to get dunked.”

Sunset paled, instantly seeing where this was going. But it only lasted a moment before her pride took over, and she leveled Rainbow Dash with a dull stare. “Ha ha, you got bored and decided to dunk me.”

Rainbow Dash just stared back for a moment, apparently taken off guard that Sunset hadn't even attempted to answer the question if her expression of inner struggle were anything to go by.

“...yup,” she finally admitted, turning and giving the platform a swift buck. It collapsed as it was designed to, and Sunset let out a scream as she plunged into the water basin.

When she recovered from the shock of it all and looked around, Sunset felt a surge of bitter happiness when she realized that Pinkie had, in fact, been sitting close enough to get a little soaked by the splash. Nopony else had, of course, particularly Rainbow Dash, but at least Pinkie had. Though Sunset's satisfaction was dampened by the fact that the mare had apparently enjoyed the experience.

“Wasn't that fun?” Pinkie asked in earnest, and Sunset found it surprisingly difficult to take her happiness away from her.

“I... think I'll let somepony else have the next turn,” was what Sunset settled on.

“Great idea, Sunset!” Pinkie said, her enthusiasm unabated. “There's enough fun for everypony! Who's next?” She turned and looked at the others expectantly, and Sunset noticed distinct looks of reservation on all of their faces.

Except for one.

“Dibs!” called out Rainbow Dash, who was already taking a seat on the platform at the top of the ladder.

Sunset quickly moved out of the way, fully expecting Rainbow Dash to take the plunge after two questions at best.

She lasted five, and gloated after every right answer. Granted, none of them had been the same sort of trick question that she had asked Sunset, but it stung her pride all the same. It also seemed to rouse a spirit of friendly competition in the others, and to Sunset's surprise the group actually began to enjoy it. Even she herself voluntarily made another attempt!

She was proud to beat Rainbow Dash's record, but the plunge into the water when she'd missed the seventh question still stung.

Eventually the game wound down once everypony got tired of it or simply hungry for more sweets. Pinkie successfully diverted some of them into playing 'Pin the Tail on the Pony' with her, but Sunset had never enjoyed the game.

At least 'Guess the Book' ended up being fun, even if most of them were cookbooks this time. It kept things competitive at least, and even led into a team showdown with Sunset and Twilight pitted against the Cakes themselves.

The Cakes won, but Sunset decided she had a fun time regardless. But a glimpse out the window caused her to realize just how late it was getting, and how much time the party had, in a way, taken away from her.

Fortunately, it seemed the others felt the same way. Rainbow and Pinkie were picking through and passing over what remained of the food; the Cakes were moving slowly back towards the kitchen; and most of the others had broken off into small conversations – Spike with Rarity; Twilight with Applejack and Fluttershy. The most recent record stopped playing, and even Pinkie didn't bother putting on a new one.

As for Sunset, after deciding she was done sampling the sweets on offer she headed over to where Twilight was.

“...which reminds me,” Applejack said to her, “I saw that Trixie again the other day. She was still kinda miffed about what happened, so ya might wanna get things sorted out with her.”

Twilight flushed. “Oh, right. I guess I do owe her an apology, don't I?”

“Trixie? Who's that?” Sunset asked, a sudden burst of paranoia causing her to insert herself into the conversation the moment she saw the chance. She looked at the others expectantly, and once again Fluttershy shied away from the attention.

“She's some kinda travelin' stage magician that rolled into town a little while ago,” Applejack helpfully answered. “She's got some fine tricks, I'll give her that, but she wears on a pony's patience somethin' fierce with all her boastin'.”

“Right, right,” Sunset replied, nodding somewhat absentmindedly. Sensing something more to the story she looked at Twilight, and raised a brow when her friend shrunk back from her gaze, her ears falling flat and her cheeks turning even pinker.

“She, er, she's kind of what caused me to, um... remember you...” Twilight said, eyes still averted and voice quickly becoming quicker and quieter. “Sorry,” she squeaked.

Sunset stared as she processed what Twilight said, flattening her gaze and uttering a dully annoyed “What?” when she finished.

“I'm sorry!” Twilight squeaked again, looking Sunset in the eye and orienting herself closer. “A pair of colts told Spike and I that there was a new unicorn in town with a lot of talent, and Spike said he didn't think that they could be as talented as I am, which caused me to remember that I'd forgotten all about you because you're at least as talented as I am!”

And now Sunset was flushing, reeling from the revelation of what, exactly, had triggered her irritatingly forgetful best friend to recall that she existed after a month-long absence. And hearing that it was apparently due to a unicorn that had some kind of ego about her magic was... a bitter sensation.

Sunset comforted herself by focusing on the details of what Twilight had said, specifically that simply the mention of a magically-talented unicorn had triggered the memory. No mention of the implicit ego of the other unicorn being involved. That was good, right? Sunset certainly hoped so.

“I see...,” Sunset finally said, so filled with conflicting emotions that she wasn't sure what to focus on. “So what happened next?”

“Well, I rushed over to see if it really was you, and got... annoyed when it wasn't,” Twilight admitted, averting her eyes and flattening her ears again.

Applejack chuckled. “Is that what happened? All I saw was you rushin' up like a hog at feedin' time only to start arguin' with the pony you rushed up to!”

Sunset looked back to Twilight; she was still embarrassed. “Well, she started saying she was the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria,” she said in a tone that told Sunset she wasn't entirely sorry she'd done it. “I may not like to brag about it, but that doesn't mean I could just let that stand without testing.”

That brought a smile back to Sunset's lips. If there was one thing about Twilight she was glad to have affected, it was forcing the filly to actually stand up for herself and what she could do. “So, you trounced her, right?” she asked her friend.

“And how,” Applejack answered for her, letting out a whistle at the memory.

It only made Twilight's blush reassert itself. “I may have gone a little overboard in our little 'duel',” she admitted, idly rolling a hoof.

“Oh, are we talking about your duel with Trixie?” said Rainbow Dash, flying over to a spot just above the group. “Cause that was totally awesome,” she added with a chuckle.

“I humiliated her in front of an audience,” Twilight countered.

Rainbow shrugged. “Ehh. She shouldn't have challenged you to a duel in the first place when she coulda just kept going with her act. As far as I'm concerned she brought it on herself.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Anyway,” she said forcefully before looking back at Sunset, “after I won, the others asked me how I got so powerful, which-”

“-reminded you of me again, I take it?” Sunset asked, unable to keep the dryness from her voice.

“...pretty much,” Twilight admitted, flushing again. “I left for Canterlot right after that.”

“Without so much as a word of explanation as to why, mind,” Applejack pointed out. “All ya told us was that you had to go back to Canterlot for somethin'!”

“We were quite worried,” said Fluttershy, though when Sunset realized she'd actually spoken and thus looked at her, the pegasus shrunk back and hid behind her mane.

“Sorry,” Twilight told them. “I wasn't really thinking straight at the time.”

“It's alright sugarcube, we understand,” Applejack told her. “Ya had to go patch things up with Sunset,” she nodded at the mare in question, “and we can't blame ya for it.”

“Even if things were a little more boring without you,” Rainbow Dash commented, earning a mild glare from both Twilight and Applejack.

“Well, I'm glad you left, at least,” Sunset said, offering her friend a wry smile. “But anyway, what ended up happening with that Trixie character?” she asked the others. As far as she knew Twilight had never actually made an enemy of anypony before, aside from Sunset herself. And the last thing she wanted was for some nopony with a grudge to show up one day and cause trouble for Twilight.

Applejack shrugged. “Well after basically gettin' her hindquarters handed to her outta the blue like that, Trixie scampered off all humiliated like ya said. Left her cart behind, but folks left it alone and it was gone by mornin'.”

Twilight raised a brow at that. “You're sure it was Trixie who came and got it, right?” she asked. “I'd hate for somepony else to have taken it.”

“I'm sure,” Applejack said. “Like I said, I saw her a couple days ago makin' camp in the woods on the north side a' the farm. She had her cart with her, plain as day. I reckon she's been lurkin' around tryin' to figure out what to do next, but since she ain't been makin' trouble I didn't bother tryin' to talk to her. Course, with how mad she looked I doubt she'd wanna hear anything I had to say to begin with.”

Twilight sighed. “I think I understand. I'll go and apologize to her tomorrow morning.”

“I might come with you,” Sunset told her, tapping her chin in thought. “Depending on when you go, anyway. I'll have to stay behind if you go when my shipment is coming in.”

After a thoughtful frown, Twilight shook her head. “As much as I'd like to wait until you have everything in your lab, that could take all day. But I'll get up a little earlier than usual so at the very least I can be back in time to help you out.”

That got a smile from Sunset. “Thanks, Sparkle. I appreciate it. And if it isn't too far out of the way, I'll come with you like I said.”

The party began to wrap up after that. Applejack and Rarity said their goodbyes first, citing their respective needs for an early start to each day. Then went Rainbow Dash, thanking Pinkie and the Cakes for another fantastic party and re-extending her offer to show Sunset some 'awesome moves'.

That left Sunset, Twilight, and Spike to leave with Fluttershy, which was awkward for Sunset – the pegasus was still essentially a complete stranger to her. Not that Twilight or Spike seemed to understand that.

“So, how did you like the party, Sunset?” Twilight asked with a happy smile.

Spike chuckled. “I bet you loved being the center of attention,” he said with a sly sort of smile.

Sunset laughed too, though it quickly trailed off. She just couldn’t get comfortable, even in the warm air of the summer night. Not with Fluttershy stealing looks at her every time she thought Sunset wasn't looking back. The looks weren't malicious or at all negative, simply a blank sort of stare, but that only served to unnerve Sunset even more.

“Uhh, well, I wouldn't put it like that,” Sunset said, trying to keep things light-hearted and pretend she wasn't being stared at by a pegasus she'd barely spoken to. “But it was good. The party, I mean.”

Now Twilight was laughing. “I'll say. Good food, good friends, good fun.”

“Truth or Dunk could stand to use some polishing,” Spike said.

That earned a giggle-snort from Twilight. “True. But at least it went better than the last time she tried it. Right?” she asked Fluttershy, who seemed startled by the sudden attention.

“Oh! Umm... yes...,” she answered, voice becoming progressively quieter with each word.

“I think it would have been better if it had been done outside,” Sunset chimed in, deciding it wouldn't hurt to let some of her true opinions be known. “With a bigger basin, and stricter rules-enforcement.”

Another giggle from Twilight. “Well then, make sure to tell Pinkie the next time you see her. I'm sure she'll appreciate the feedback!”

“I'll, uh, be sure to do that,” Sunset said, silently hoping she wouldn't have to do so any time soon. Even after the mare threw a party in her honor, Sunset still found Pinkie too strange and overbearing in her positivity to want to be around her very often. Two parties over two days lasting for several hours each was already what she felt was over her limit; she felt absolutely fine at not having anything to do with Pinkie for weeks. Even longer, actually, though she felt that Twilight wouldn't be happy if she actually tried to pull it off.

“Umm... good night...” The words came from Fluttershy at a volume barely high enough to qualify as 'said', and she began to turn down one of Ponyville's nameless streets.

“Good night, Fluttershy!” Twilight answered happily.

“See ya later!” Spike added with a wave.

Sunset added a wave of her own, mumbling a halfhearted “Good night” of her own to go with it.

The three returned to the Golden Oak in peace, though upon entering they noticed an envelope lying on the front podium next to Twilight's 'The Librarian is on break' placard. It bore the logo of the Steady Shipping Company, so after sharing a glance with the others Sunset picked it up in her magic and opened it.

“Oh, they're just confirming the time of delivery tomorrow,” she said after scanning the letter inside. Her face fell. “And adding the fee for the courier that sent this to my bill.”

Spike snickered into his claws, and Twilight rolled her eyes. “So, what time will they be arriving?” she asked, looking from Sunset to the message with interest.

“It says here their train is scheduled to arrive in Ponyville at 10:15 in the morning,” Sunset answered.

We basically just went to bed after that. Probably talked a bit more about the party? But yeah, that was it for Day 2 of me being in Ponyville.

I just realized I'm gonna have to write a bit about Day 3 too, even though I swear that not much happened then. Basically just to write about my original artifacts, and I guess the Trixie thing too. But nothing else, I swear!

Uhh, aside from that, I don't think there's much else to say. I probably got some details wrong about what happened at the party – Princess Celestia always said that memory of day-to-day events is a fickle thing – so, uh, sorry if what I wrote contradicts anything. Though I still don't think my 'Day After I was Welcomed to Ponyville' party or whatever was really that impressive, especially compared to some of the other parties Pinkie's thrown. You'd think it would be more special to me since it was literally thrown in my honor, but... well, it happened before I considered Pinkie to be a friend so it was hard for me to really care that much about it. Or something.

Figuring out my emotions and motivations and things like that is hard when I'm doing it alone. And also when they're from a year ago.

Anyway, that's all I'm gonna write about for now. I should be able to write the next entry tomorrow. Maybe more if I have the time.

- Sunset Shimmer

First Impressions - Mirror Mirror

Dear Diary,

Finally found some time to write some more. I guess I'll write about my third day like I said I would, though really it's just so I can write about some of my artifacts. Oh, also what happened with Trixie, I guess.

Speaking of, since Twilight wanted to try talking to her before my shipment came in, we ended up getting up kinda early and speeding through breakfast so we could get on the road to Sweet Apple Acres.

Sunset groaned. “Why did that Trixie mare have to set up camp so far away?”

To her minor irritation, Twilight merely laughed. “It's not that far.” She paused for a moment, then in a bout of anxiety looked back at Sunset and added “Is it?”

“It is for me,” Sunset grumbled.

The duo were outside of Ponyville proper, but that only meant they were walking past the vast fields and orchards of the outlying farmland now. They were alone, having left Spike back at the library to have his own fun – and because he was still pretty tired after the party last night. But Sunset was struggling to take advantage of the alone time with her legs already getting sore.

“Well... that just means you need to move around more, right?” Twilight said, her mood shifting back towards happiness. “Get some exercise, that sort of thing.”

All Sunset could do was grunt, unable to refute Twilight's point. Mostly due to general lack of energy, but also partly because Twilight was right in a sense. Even at the height of her scheming Sunset had hardly been a physically active pony; Canterlot didn't exactly have room for sprawl in its mountainside location so most everything was pretty densely packed. And more recently Sunset had barely found reason to even leave her home, which meant it had been weeks – at best – since her last real 'walk'.

“Yeah yeah, I'll add it to my to-do list,” she finally grumbled, although she doubted she'd actually have to. Not if she kept following Twilight around town like she was doing now.

“Oh, do you need my help working out a schedule?” Twilight asked with a happy smile as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sunset gave her a look. “Have I ever needed your help making schedules?” And then, before Twilight could reply, she added “Don't answer that.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. “Well, as long as you don't just stay cooped up in your lab all day I think you'll get used to all the walking just fine.”

It was Sunset’s turn to roll her eyes and smile. “Oh? You're one to talk, Miss Week-in-the-Library.”

She saw Twilight blush and look away out of the corner of her eye. “Th-that was only the one time!”

“Three times,” Sunset corrected with just the right level of smug in her voice.

“W-well still,” Twilight stammered, “I haven't done anything like that in ages.”

Sunset kept her immediate inference that it was due to Twilight being so obsessed with 'friendship' to herself.

Eventually, they made it to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack was waiting for them.

“Mornin' y'all,” she greeted as they walked up. “I hope the two of ya slept well.”

After a quick glance at Sunset, Twilight answered “Well enough.”

That got a chuckle from Applejack. “Yeah, so I figured. Ain't used to the country life yet are ya Sunset?”

“Not really,” Sunset replied, not feeling up to faking perkiness.

The others laughed again. “So, where exactly did you see Trixie's camp?” Twilight asked.

“Way over on the north side a' things,” Applejack said, jerking her head back over her shoulder. “It's a bit of a walk and I ain't been able to check to see if she's still around, but there ain't no better way of goin' about this but to just go and see for ourselves.”

Twilight nodded. “Right. Hopefully everything will go smoothly.”

“You'll be fine. Considering how many different scenarios you went through last night,” Sunset said, cracking a smirk, “I'd be pretty surprised if something happened that you haven't prepared for.”

Applejack chuckled, and Twilight flushed. “Well, it's not like I can predict everything,” she countered, futilely. “Especially since we weren't even up that late making plans!”

Sunset timed her yawn perfectly, and played up her supposed sleepiness by drowsily blinking her eyes and smacking her lips a few times. “I'm sorry, you were saying?”

That got Twilight to scowl, prompting a laugh in reply. “The point is,” she said with greater force, “I'm not going to assume everything will go to plan. Even though it should.” As expected, she ended with a decisive nod.

“Well unless the plan involves waitin' around here,” Applejack told them, “I suggest we get movin'. Now come on, everypony!”

She ran off without waiting for a response, and to Sunset's surprise Twilight soon followed her. So she sighed. “Yay, running. Just what I wanted.”

Getting beaten by Twilight in what could technically be considered a race stung at Sunset's pride. She knew, objectively, that it was stupid; she knew she wasn't in shape, while Twilight had somehow actually become active in the past month or so. But being the only mare to be winded after galloping across an apple orchard was embarrassing. Especially since Twilight and Applejack seemed to be so amused by it.

“You sure you're alright, Sunset?” Twilight asked, unable to keep the smile off her muzzle.

“I'm fine,” Sunset muttered, tired of repeating herself. “Let's just keep moving.” She kept trudging in a direction she was about ninety-percent certain was north.

Twilight shrugged, then followed alongside at a slow trot. Applejack rejoined them shortly after, taking the lead and leading them off of Sunset's course. “I'd offer ya an apple, Sunset,” the farmer said, “but I'm afraid the ones in this part of the farm ain't quite ripe just yet.”

Hearing those words got Sunset to look around, and give the trees another glance. They were... well, they were trees. Sunset supposed that was nice. And like Applejack said, they had fruit on them, just nothing that looked appetizing at the moment.

At least it was nice out, she decided. There was a bit of a breeze, enough to make the leaves rustle now and then, and it was still early enough that the air was cool regardless. A nice morning all in all, and depending on how much credit the local weather team could take for it they might have some of her gratitude.

“Shame,” Sunset finally answered Applejack.

“Eeyup,” was all the farmer gave in reply. She looked back and forth for a few seconds, then jerked her head to the side. “C'mon, Trixie's camp should be right this way.”

And so the three mares set off once again – one calmly, one tiredly, and one quickly growing nervous.

“Ohh, what if things go wrong?” Twilight said, beginning to dance around on her hooftips in a way that made Sunset roll her eyes. “What if she doesn't accept my apology? What if she wants compensation for ruining her act?”

“We've been over this, Sparkle,” Sunset told her, mildly aware that Applejack was listening in if the swivel of her ears was any indication. “The most you owe her is an apology. If she doesn't accept it that's her problem, not yours.”

“But what if she makes it my problem?” Twilight countered. “What if she demands a rematch?” She stopped suddenly and gasped, and that was all Sunset needed to know what was coming next. “What if she complains to the Princess?”

Sunset rolled her eyes upon being proven right, again. She nudged Twilight with her shoulder, getting her moving straight again. “You're arguing yourself in circles, Sparkle! Practically chasing your own tail. Don't forget you already came up with contingencies for all of that.”

“But what if they don't work?”

“They will. But what difference does it make if they don't?” Sunset asked her. “Can you honestly tell yourself that Princess Celestia won't forgive you for being kind of rude to one pony, one time, after you've already apologized for it?”

She gave Twilight a look, and could see her inner turmoil plain on every feature. Sunset shook her head, wishing she'd been able to cure Twilight of her fear of failure – she'd managed to force the mare into taking more pride in herself, but she still treated most possible screw-ups like they were the end of the world.

“Look,” she added, “no matter what happens... I'll be there with you, okay?” The words came with a difficulty that was regrettably unsurprising, the more pessimistic parts of her mind still hung up – and reasonably so – on the fact that Twilight hadn't been there for her recently. But just like every time those thoughts had welled up in the past few days, Sunset banished them.

“Sunset's right,” said Applejack, an ally that Sunset hadn't expected despite being obvious in hindsight. “No matter what happens, your friends are gonna be there for you. Of course-” it was then that Sunset realized that Applejack had stopped leading the group- “it don't exactly matter a whole lot now, I suppose...”

Sunset looked at where the farmer was now gesturing to, but seeing only an empty clearing could only raise an eyebrow.

Then it hit her – an empty clearing.

“She's... gone?” Twilight reasoned before Sunset could say so herself.

“Seems so,” Applejack said, walking forward and inspecting something on the ground. “And for a couple days by the looks of it. Musta left right after I saw her.”

“Do you know where she went?” Twilight asked, and Sunset turned her head to see the frown.

“On the road, I reckon,” Applejack answered after looking around briefly. “Ain't much reason for her to stick around, after all. I suppose I could try followin' these here wagon tracks if'n you'd like to know which way she went, but I don't see much point.”

“Me neither,” Sunset said. “If this 'Trixie' character wanted to leave, that's her choice. I'm sure she'll be the first pony to let you know if you ever cross paths again.”

Twilight sighed and hung her head, looking distinctly forlorn. “I suppose. I was just hoping to clear things up before then.”

“Aww, it's alright sugarcube,” Applejack said to Sunset's minor annoyance, which only increased when she started walking directly alongside Twilight. “Your heart was in the right place, things just didn't turn out. It ain't your fault.”

“The two of you are right,” Twilight said, though she didn't seem to believe it so much.

The three began the long walk back to the gates of Sweet Apple Acres, and along the way Applejack took the opportunity to give Sunset something of a tour of the grounds. It was a lot of information about different apple varieties, and farming practices, and history, and Sunset cared about none of it. Well, almost none of it – the historical information, while vague and anecdotal, was at least mildly interesting, and the presumed schedule of fresh apple goods was nice to know.

Her primary enjoyment during the impromptu tour was, instead, from watching Twilight gush about whatever it was that Applejack was talking about. Particularly when Applejack had to gently correct her, or point out “Well, we do things a little diff'rently around here.” Or, once or twice after Twilight had deliberately started trying to outsmart her friend, admit that she did not, in fact, already know whatever random piece of agricultural trivia Twilight had dredged up from the stale memories of study-binges past.

Those moments in particular put just the most adorable smile of pleased triumph on Twilight's face. She was one of the few ponies that Sunset liked seeing win. At times, anyway.

Before Sunset realized it, she'd been introduced to the other three resident members of the Apple Clan – large, stoic Big McIntosh who hadn't said anything beyond a simple greeting before continuing on with his work; young Apple Bloom, a blank flank who had bombarded Sunset with questions until Applejack gently scolded her and saved Sunset from having to answer by invoking her fast-approaching delivery; and elderly Granny Smith.

Sunset was already aware that the matriarch of the Ponyville Apples held no small amount of sway over the clan and, more relevantly, the town itself, but based on two minutes of conversation she didn't seem like much to talk to. Not while she was focused on farm work, anyway.

Soon enough they were back at the gates, and to Sunset's surprise – something she hoped didn't continue as a running theme for the morning – Applejack didn't bid them farewell.

“Wait, don't you have, like, chores to do or something?” Sunset asked her as she mentally bade her aching legs to walk back down the dirt road to Ponyville proper.

She just chuckled. “Don't you worry about that, sugarcube, they'll be taken care of just fine. I just figured the two of you could use a helpin' hoof with that delivery of yours. Said as much at the party last night, didn't I?”

“Thank you for helping us, Applejack,” Twilight said quickly, smiling.

Sunset looked aside. “Yeah, I guess,” she added, hoping to get her point across without seeming too rude about it. “Though to be honest I don't think we'll need it unless the shipping company's workers are seriously not up to snuff.”

“True,” Applejack replied in a tone that Sunset interpreted as just on the edge of joking. “But I reckon havin' another pony around to help out is always a good idea. And if I end up standin' around doin' nothin'? Then, well, no harm done.”

“Exactly!” Twilight chimed in, still almost irritatingly happy. “There's nothing wrong with taking extra precautions – especially when dealing with artifacts as important as the ones you're working on.” Then her tone shifted, and even without looking Sunset could tell she was frowning. “I'm actually surprised you're being so resistant to the extra help, Sunset!”

“Uhh...,” Sunset murmured, her mouth stalling for time while her mind quickly came up with an excuse that wasn't 'I just don't want to spend time with your friends'. “I'm... just... wary of letting someone who probably doesn't have a lot of experience moving crates containing delicate objects actually, y'know, do so.” Then she hastily added “No offense, Applejack.”

The farm-mare tapped her chin a few times, then shrugged. “None taken, it sounds reasonable enough. But don't you worry, Sunset Shimmer, I got plenty of experience haulin' stuff. And I'll make sure to be extra careful with anythin' I end up touchin', and follow all your instructions and such-like.”

To that, Sunset had no good objections that kept her all-important friendship with Twilight intact. So with no other option, she sighed and relented. “Fine, fine, if you really want to. But I'm holding you to that 'follow all my instructions' thing.”

She forced her legs to power on ahead of Twilight and Applejack, no doubt leaving them to share some sort of glance. Or possibly look. Sunset was annoyedly uncertain, but certainly annoyed.

Sunset stopped by the first fruit stand she came across and bought a fresh plum to help quench the needs of her tired body, then looked around for her friend and other 'companion' after they'd elected to go on ahead. Or, rather, after they continued on largely unaware that Sunset had lagged behind to pick up brunch.

Either way, she found them browsing the other stands and stalls set up along the street, never actually buying anything. She watched them in silence from a few steps behind them, as they greeted random ponies and conversed about non-Sunset-related topics and just generally seemed to have a pleasant time together.

It was enough to make her wonder if the sourness she was feeling was from a bad plum or something else.

She was the one who was supposed to have pleasant conversations with Twilight while they walked to whatever appointment they had. She was Twilight's first real friend. Not Applejack, or anypony else.

But then... Twilight had all but abandoned her for a month in favor of Applejack and the other four. So clearly Sunset wasn't first in Twilight's heart, even now after she'd been apologized to and dragged out here to join her. And in that case...

Somepony she didn't recognize bumped into her, and Sunset realized she'd trailed further behind the other two. That realization was soon followed by two others: that she couldn't allow herself to go down without a fight, and that she also seriously needed to make sure she was at the train station on time for her delivery. The last thing she needed was a dozen ancient relics, most of which were Class B or higher, left outside her supervision.

She quickly caught up, though in doing so caught Applejack's eye as well. “You alright there Sunset?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she answered without hesitation, taking a deliberate bite of her plum.

“Well okay then,” Applejack replied. “Just wanted to make sure ya weren't gettin' too tired from all the walkin'.”

“I'm fine,” Sunset repeated with a bit more bite in her voice than she preferred. “And anyway, it's not like I can miss the delivery no matter how tired I am.” She paused just long enough to realize what she'd said, then added “Not that I am tired...”

Which, of course, provoked a shared snicker from Applejack and Twilight as the three resumed their journey.

Fortunately for Sunset's nerves, they reached the train station well before the train did. Just like for Sunset's arrival two days prior the boarding platform was far from crowded, with only a pair of stallions waiting at the outgoing end of the small area. No words were exchanged with the pair beyond simple greetings, which Sunset appreciated, and she enjoyed the last of her plum in relative piece.

“So, how many, uh, artifacts are gettin' delivered, exactly?” Applejack asked, clearly to pass the time.

Sunset swallowed her last bite. “An even dozen, though they won't be in that many crates since only two of them are big enough to require it. There should be six shipping containers in total.”

Applejack frowned. “Well then I'm glad I came. Might need an extra set of hooves after all.”

Sunset made sure to turn her head before she rolled her eyes.

A loud whistle heralded the train's arrival, and the three of them got to their hooves off the benches in anticipation. They watched it as it slowed to a stop and the doors of the passenger cars opened; three separate ponies exited without fanfare, and the two stallions who had been waiting at the platform stepped on. Sunset, Twilight, and Applejack headed towards the only open cargo car, with Sunset taking the lead to meet the Steady Shipping Company ponies.

The first to step off the train was a brown pegasus mare in company uniform, which consisted of a dark blue vest and cap embroidered with the company's logo. She was holding a clipboard under her wing, and after briefly looking to the left and right her gaze came to rest upon Sunset. She consulted her clipboard, then asked “Are you Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yep,” Sunset said, craning her neck to get a better look inside the train car. She could see multiple ponies walking around inside; by the sounds coming forth she guessed they were loading the crates onto carts.

“Excellent,” said the pegasus mare – a name tag identified her as Autumn Gale. She winged over the clipboard and a quill pen, pointing to a blank line on the top form and saying “Please sign here to confirm the delivery.”

Sunset silently nodded, taking both items in her magic to do as instructed. Autumn Gale took the opportunity to turn around and walk back inside the train car, calling out “Okay, lets get these crates unloaded!” as she did so.

As she and Twilight and Applejack waited for the crew to do the next stage of their job, Sunset reviewed the forms she'd been given to verify everything was correct. She didn't find anything inaccurate, although she did cringe when she was reminded of just how much she'd had to pay for the flexible short-notice delivery schedule.

The sound of wheels on wood drew her attention back upward and she saw Autumn Gale directing a line of earth stallions off the train and onto the platform. Five in total, each pulling a cart behind him – and the rear stallion pulling two. It was less than what Sunset considered ideal, especially since she could see Applejack out of the corner of her eye moving like she wanted to help the last stallion, but Sunset didn't have any other option.

Still, once everything was on the platform and Autumn Gale was looking at her expectantly, Sunset stepped forward. “I'd like to check the contents and verify that nothing's been damaged, if that's okay.”

Autumn shrugged. “Fine with me,” she said, stepping aside to let Sunset check the first crate – which she knew from size alone contained the veritable crown jewel of her 'collection'.

She tapped the wooden side of the crate, and looked up at the top – it was tall enough that she wouldn't be easily able to open it, even briefly. Not unless she wanted to try teleporting directly on top of it anyway, which she didn't. Fortunately, she had planned ahead when overseeing the artifacts being packed up. “None of these have been opened since they were originally sealed, right?” she asked Autumn Gale.

“No, why?” the mare replied in a questioning tone.

Sunset gave her head a shake. “Just checking.” She lit up her horn and shaped a variant of her basic diagnostic spell that had been keyed to pass through the crates and the packing material and examine the artifacts within; it was a technique she and Twilight had developed under Princess Celestia's tutelage based on the new 'X-ray' technology, but not one she'd had much use for until now. But thanks to her previous research she knew the spell wouldn't have any noticeable effect on the artifacts she'd shipped, and as such could use it with impunity.

A few minutes of magically-enhanced vision later, she had confirmed that nothing was amiss inside the crates. Finally allowing herself to breathe a sigh of relief, she turned her attention back to the forms she'd been given and confirmed that everything had, in fact, made it to Ponyville safely.

“Okay, everything checks out,” Sunset told Autumn, floating the clipboard and quill back to her. “You all are good to get these to the Golden Oak?”

“Our orders are to take these to your place of residence, so yeah,” Autumn said, nodding. She looked at her crew and they nodded too, then she turned back to Sunset. “Lead the way.”

Sunset did just that, and with Twilight – and Applejack, after she'd been rebuffed from helping the stallion with the double load – began the wagon train back through Ponyville. The cart-pullers followed in single file after them, and Autumn Gale flew overhead to make sure none of them got off track or fell behind.

She had to give it to them, the Steady Shipping Company knew what they were doing. Though it was hardly surprising, at least if she was interpreting their cutie marks correctly – a clipboard for Autumn Gale, and wagons and crates and crowbars and the like for the rest.

More than a few ponies stopped to gawk at them as they headed down the streets, giving Sunset the distinct impression that they would soon be the talk of the town. But while she hoped it would be confined to idle gossip about the new resident, that was regrettably not the case. Especially since, after rebuffing the third random pony's questions regarding what the crates were for by explaining they were simply some of her possessions, the group was joined by somepony more persistent.

“Ah, good day, good day!” came the voice of Time Turner as he approached the mares at the head of the convoy. “Important delivery I take it, Miss Shimmer?” he asked Sunset.

“Pretty much,” Sunset replied, straining to keep a muted smile on her muzzle. “Just... the last few things of mine from Canterlot, that's all.”

He hummed and stroked his chin and nodded in what Sunset found to be far too appraising of a tone. “Yes, I see! Delicate research items, no doubt. I can smell the sheer history of the lot of them from here.”

Sunset was genuinely annoyed that he'd guessed correctly, unsure if it was because he somehow knew her current area of study or if his comment about smelling was more than just a bad joke. But she didn't want to dwell on it, or on Time Turner, so she just said “Yup” and kept moving in the hopes that he would be satisfied.

He wasn't. “Excellent!” he said with a bright smile, trotting into step alongside her. “I don't suppose you'll share what you have, will you? I have something of an interest in the various bits and bobs of our nation's history.”

Her ears twitched at the sound of Twilight and Applejack having some whispered conversation behind her, but she was too preoccupied to eavesdrop.

“That's... kinda private,” Sunset said without looking at him, hoping he'd take the hint.

He did, just not the one she'd dropped. “Ahh, yes, of course, my apologies,” he replied quickly and with more nodding. “Can't risk disrupting the general public and so on. Though I do hope you're taking the proper, ah, safety precautions for everything?”

Sunset's tail bristled. “Yes,” she told him, “I have. I wouldn't have had all this shipped out here otherwise.”

More nods. “Right, right, only natural. My sincerest apologies Miss Shimmer, I should have expected as such from one of Princess Celestia's personal students.”

And more bristling. “Yes. You should have.”

Time Turner didn't so much as pause his steps, but his next words were something of a relief. “Ah, yes. Well. If ever you find yourself in need of assistance in your research beyond Miss Sparkle or simply want another mind to bounce ideas off of, I shall re-extend my services to you. But unless there's anything you'd like assistance with at the moment...?”

He trailed off expectantly, but Sunset didn't so much as glance his way. “Then I shall bid you all good day.” With another round of bowing he thankfully, finally, departed.

Sunset sighed, continuing to move forward toward the massive tree that was already in sight. For a few moments she was afraid that Twilight, or even Applejack, would speak up and question her about Time Turner, but it seemed they'd actually managed to read her mood and didn't say anything. Directly, at least – Sunset could still hear the occasional whisper passing between them, and had no doubt about what they were talking about. She predicted a stern-yet-concerned talking-to from Twilight later on.

But for now, she decided to push her personal irritations behind her for the sake of maintaining a professional appearance. Once she and the rest of their caravan had gotten in spitting distance of the Golden Oak, she stopped and pointed a hoof at it. “That's the place,” she told Autumn Gale, the pegasus hovering down near her upon making eye contact.

“Understood,” she nodded, turning back to pass instructions along to her crew.

Within minutes they were at the library. “Pardon me,” said Twilight, darting ahead to both open the door and head inside. Sunset and Applejack followed her in, and helped her move the podiums and such by the entrance away to clear a path and space for the deliveryponies.

“Okay, bring 'em in,” Sunset called out to them once she decided the room was clear enough. One by one the stallions pulled the carts inside, where the trio of mares assisted in removing the precious cargo from the carts. It all went smoothly, until the very end.

Namely, the two biggest crates were too, well, big to fit through the front door while remaining on the carts. “So, how would you like us to do this?” Autumn asked Sunset after informing her of the problem.

Sunset bit her lower lip, gaze flicking between the two crates. “Uhh... this one is fine to be carried in on its side,” she said, pointing to the crate she knew contained what the uninformed would mistake as a simple wooden door. She stepped aside to let two of the stallions do just that, one of them rearing up to get a good toothhold on the top and then tipping it.

“And the other one?” Autumn asked, quirking a brow as she glanced at the other crate.

The Mirror. The most valuable magical object she'd ever touched, if the research she'd done on it was anything to go by. She genuinely didn't know how fragile it was, having never been willing to test it out and not being foalish enough to presume the ancient and powerful enchantments on it made it more durable – or less. True, it had been at a tilt when it had been taken into and out of her apartment back in Canterlot, and would have to be so here as well, but it didn't sit well with her nerves to let it be anything but upright for extended periods of time.

After all, it was easily the heaviest of the dozen and as such quite easy to drop if its handlers weren't prepared. And if it should break because of the impact, it would spell disaster to the unwarded town.

Still, it had to be moved somehow, and short of enlarging the Library's doorway there weren't many ways to do it. So Sunset took a breath, steeled herself, and nodded. “It can be tilted too, but be careful. You should probably have four ponies do it together, I don't want it dropped.”

Autumn nodded. “Sounds like a wise call.”

It was a couple minutes before enough of the workers were back outside. Sunset watched with bated breath as all five of them worked together to get the final crate off its cart, one holding the cart in place while the others pushed or pulled it to the loading edge. From there the two pullers brought it slowly into a controlled tip until it was firmly on the ground; the cart was pulled away, and the other two stallions picked up the trailing end as best they could. Autumn herself directed the leading pair as they backed into the library, and slowly but surely the crate was carried inside.

Sunset flinched as it was finally put to rest on the solid wooden floor and then tilted back upright, but a quick application of her see-through spell calmed her nerves. Sweeping her vision across the other five crates showed a similar lack of damage, and so with a satisfied sigh she shut off the spell. “Okay, looks like everything is still in one piece.”

“Good to hear it,” Autumn replied, winging over the clipboard and quill again. “Just sign off on the successful delivery, and you'll be good to go.”

“Right,” Sunset said, signing on the last few necessary lines. She returned the board and quill to Autumn, who gave the forms a quick scan and nodded.

“Alright boys, job well done,” she said to the rest of the crew. “Have a nice day, Miss Shimmer. I hope you consider the Steady Shipping Company's services in the future.”

“If I ever need something delivered, you'll be the first group I call,” Sunset replied, more out of polite habit than anything else. Though their service had been satisfactory, so she resolved to try and make good on the promise.

The six deliveryponies made their way out, leaving the trio of Sunset, Twilight, and Applejack in the main floor of the lobby with the unpacked crates. And Spike as well, the young dragon having come down at some point undoubtedly due to the commotion of the delivery.

“Awesome! Everything's finally here?” he asked the mares, walking towards them through the now-crowded room.

“Yup,” Sunset answered, already working on opening one of the crates. “Now all I have to do is get everything down into safe storage in my lab.”

“And, uh, how exactly do ya plan on doin' that?” Applejack asked.

Sunset stifled an eye-roll. “By unpacking them? It's not like they're as big as the crates or anything. Nothing that I can't levitate carefully down a flight of stairs.”

“Even the big one?”

And that made Sunset pause. Then look at the crate the Mirror was in. And then face-hoof. “Welp, I'm an idiot. Why didn't I pay those ponies to get everything to my lab instead of leaving everything here?”

Spike and even Twilight snickered a little, but to Sunset's mild surprise Applejack did not. “Well, what's done is done,” she said as she walked over. “Fortunately you got friends to help you out. I reckon with the four of us workin' together we can get all those relics of yours down to the lab just fine, no matter how heavy or delicate they are.”

Sunset groaned, eyes still clenched shut and hoof still on her muzzle. “It won't be that easy. Most of them, sure, but the M- the big one really isn't something I can just let anypony get exposed to. I mean, Princess Celestia herself had to get it in to and out of my old lab back in Canterlot!”

Even without looking at them, their silence told Sunset just how shocked they were. “Err, sorry, but what exactly do ya mean by 'exposed to'?” Applejack asked after several moments. “I thought all these artifacts or whatever were supposed to be safe?”

A sigh. “They... are, mostly, as long as nopony does anything stupid with them” Sunset explained. “But the... the big one has an enchantment on it that activates when it's looked at, and it's kinda unpredictable. It messed with my head the first time I saw it, and while I'm used to it now I don't wanna risk any trouble by letting you all look at it.”

She finally looked at them and saw they were all looking back, frowns on their faces. “Well shucks,” Applejack said first, “didn't think it'd be somethin' like that.”

“If that's the case, I understand if you'd prefer us not to get involved,” Twilight said next. “And if you'd like, I can ask Princess Celestia to come help out.”

“We can get the message to her before you know it!” Spike chimed in.

Sunset considered the offer, but only for a few moments. “Thanks, but if it comes to that I'd rather ask her myself.” She still had her personal linked journal up in the bedroom after all, something she had totally not forgotten to mention previously because it's such a routine thing so why wouldn't she have brought it to Ponyville with her?

She shook her head, then looked at the crate in question and moved her hoof to the underside of her jaw. “If there are any, I don't know, sheets or something that can cover it with we... should be fine to try getting it downstairs, maybe?”

“Spike?” Twilight immediately asked her assistant.

“On it!” he replied with a salute, scampering off no doubt happy to have delayed working with potentially-dangerous magical artifacts for a little while.

After watching him disappear in the direction of the stairs, Sunset turned her attention to the one crate she'd already started working on. “Well, tell me when he comes back with something,” she told the others as she finished lifting the lid off with her magic. “I'm gonna start taking things down to the lab.”

“Ya sure you don't want our help with the rest of these things?” Applejack quickly asked.

Too focused on digging through the shredded packing material inside the crate she'd opened, Sunset couldn't be bothered to look back at her. “I can handle it. Besides, you wouldn't even be able to get them into the lab. Authorized personnel only. There's a lot of safety regulations I need to comply with to work with some of these things.”

“Hrmm...,” Applejack murmured, and Sunset assumed she was displeased.

But she herself had finally unearthed the three artifacts the first crate contained – what looked to the untrained eye like a bronze goblet with mediocre red gems set into the side, a tattered book with a brass dip pen attached to the spine by a thin chain, and an antique navigational compass. Levitating each one in turn and inspecting them more closely to confirm the lack of damage, and nodding in satisfaction once she had, Sunset picked up all three and made for the stairs.

As she passed by Twilight and Applejack, the former turned to look at the latter. “So... can I get you anything to eat?”

Sunset didn't bother sticking around to hear the answer.

Slowly and carefully, Sunset took what were arguably the three most mundane among her best twelve artifacts down the curving stairway into the basement. Keeping one eye on them and the other on the floor was tricky, especially once the room opened up into Twilight's lab, but she kept her focus and made it all the way to the door of her own lab without incident. Once there she gently set the three relics on the ground, then once she was certain nothing was going to happen to or with them she summoned the magical key to her laboratory door.

Putting the key in the lock and turning it with a pulse of magic caused it to vanish and the door to swing open, at which point Sunset picked up the compass, the goblet, and the book-and-pen once more. She could feel the tingle of the heavy wards she'd set up the day before throughout her whole body, but just as designed she passed through them without issue.

She placed the compass on the the shelving unit stationed closest to her workspace, where she stored several tools and lesser artifacts she intended on using relatively frequently. The goblet and the book were placed on a separate shelving unit alongside the volumes detailing whatever research she'd done on them already as well as other relevant documentation.

She returned upstairs to find Twilight and Applejack eating muffins in the kitchen and Spike nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, she returned to the floor of the library and began on the next crate. Inside were a pair of fairly sizable wooden boxes, both unadorned and both locked with small but sturdy padlocks only she could open. They contained Sunset's two most deadly artifacts, in a matter of speaking; they weren't likely to cause any harm should the boxes be unlocked, but a responsible researcher keeps the magical weapons in her possession under magical lock and key at all times.

Making sure that none of the others were around, Sunset levitated both boxes – a not-inconsiderable effort given their combined bulk – and took them down to her lab as stealthily as she could. Once there she tucked them on a lower shelf in the 'back' of the area she used, trying to keep them as discrete as possible.

Halfway back up to ground level, Twilight called down to her that Spike had gotten a few of their largest spare sheets to assist with moving 'the big one'.

“Awesome, I'll be right there!” Sunset replied, taking a moment to ready herself before resuming her climb at a quicker pace.

She arrived to find Twilight and Applejack and Spike gathered at the crate in question, with Spike holding up a large white sheet for the mares to inspect. She walked over and gave it a thorough once-over herself, comparing it to how large she knew the Mirror was, and nodded. “This should do.”

“Alright, good,” Applejack said. “Now let's crack open that crate so you can cover up whatever's inside.”

“Again,” Sunset said as both she and Applejack started moving towards the crate, “this is really something I should be doing alone. I wouldn't want you to-” She stopped abruptly when Applejack turned around and gave a corner of the crate a swift one-hoofed kick.

The sides of the crate trembled briefly, then fell away as everypony but Sunset hastily averted their gaze and clenched shut their eyes.

“...see it by accident...” Sunset finally finished, eyes widened in shock. The packing material fell away in one big 'fwoomph', revealing the Mirror in all its glory, and Sunset let out a sigh.

As she picked up the sheet and flung it over the Mirror, Applejack chuckled. “You didn't need to do that,” Sunset told her, adjusting the Mirror's new cover to make sure it fit. She also quickly realized she'd have to secure the bottom of it so that the sheet actually stayed where it was.

“No,” Applejack replied, “I didn't. But it did make things go a tad bit faster, and not one of us saw whatever-it-is you're tryin' to hide in there so no harm done.”

Sunset just grumbled in response, not feeling up to a rebuttal at the moment while she tied the corners of the sheet together. “Sunset says 'Thank you',” Twilight then said for her.

Applejack chuckled. “Oh, is that what that means? Good to know.”

Which only irritated Sunset more, but she decided she'd make Applejack pay via physical labor rather than a verbal smackdown. Her knots tight and her prize sufficiently covered aside from its broad stone base, she took a calming breath and turned to face the others. “Okay, you can look now,” she told them.

As one, the three opened their eyes and turned to look at the sheet-covered object. “Wow, you really weren't kidding about how big it is,” Spike said first, walking up to it and craning his neck to look up at its peak.

“Well I did say I needed Princess Celestia's help to get it into and out of my old lab, didn't I?” Sunset replied. “It's too heavy to levitate by myself.”

“It think even the two of us working together couldn't lift this thing,” Twilight remarked, staring at the covered Mirror in a similar fashion to Spike.

“So how are the four of us gonna get it down to the basement?” Applejack asked, turning her gaze to the stairs across the room.

“Well for starters we can probably drag it across the floor on the bottom of the crate,” Sunset said, frowning. “Hrmm... but we'll need some rope...”

“Oh! I think I have some in the basement!” Twilight said, brightening up. She left without another word.

Her friends watched her go, then turned their attention back to the object at hoof. “Well, that'll get it to the stairs...,” Applejack said.

“But that's where the real problem starts,” Sunset finished despite herself. “It's pretty bottom-heavy, and we aren't exactly four workhorses...”

“Eeyup,” Applejack nodded. “Not that I ain't strong or nothin', but I don't think I'm that strong. And even with the rope to help tilt it, somepony is gonna have to hold up the bottom as we go down the stairs.”

“Once the room opens up we won't have to tilt it, at least, but that doesn't help much,” Sunset added, frowning as she puzzled things out in her head. “As much as I hate to say it, we might have to just... move it over and figure it out as we go along.”

None of them were satisfied by Sunset's 'solution', but none of them had any better ideas. While they waited Sunset got to opening the next crate, and as she lifted out the next pair of items – a broad, shallow leaden bowl and a relatively large black velvet jewelry box – Applejack and Spike decided to go see what was taking Twilight with the rope.

Sunset followed them through the room and down the stairs, carrying the leaden bowl in her magical grasp all the while. The velvet box was merely balanced on top of the bowl, Sunset confident that the artifact within it would stay put.

Her confidence was well-placed; even when she reached the open stretch of the stairs and saw Twilight tumble backwards after yanking free a length of rope, she didn't drop anything. She did, however, gasp in shock and fear and up her pace down the stairs. Applejack and Spike did similarly, reaching Twilight first and preventing a stack of miscellany from falling on her.

“You alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as she helped her friend to her hooves, and once again Sunset felt a surge of jealousy.

“Y-yeah, I'm fine,” Twilight replied, giving her head a quick shake. “Sorry. The rope was more buried than I thought.”

“Well, no harm done,” Applejack told her as she stood up.

“Guess we should take this back upstairs, huh?” Spike said next, picking up the rope.

Sunset took the chance to interject. “Just give me a minute to put these away first,” she told them as she walked past with the bowl and box. Once more she summoned the magical key and opened the door to her lab, and stowed the two items on the shelves with their associated research and documentation. Looking around briefly and seeing everything still in order, not that there had been any good reason to expect otherwise, Sunset returned to the main part of the basement to see the other three waiting at the foot of the stairs.

Pleased that they'd actually waited for her, she hurried over with a smile on her lips that was only somewhat forced. “Okay, let's go see what we can do.”

“This isn't going to work.”

Through the power of what Sunset called teamwork but the others insisted was friendship, they'd managed to attach the rope to the base of the crate that the Mirror was standing on and drag it through the room without issue. And once they'd reached the first set of stairs that led to the pre-basement hallway, it had been a simple matter for Sunset to reattach the rope to the top of the mirror, ostensibly so it could be controlled more easily during the descent.

But that was when they were forced to confront the first obstacle: much like the Golden Oak's entrance, the Mirror was simply too tall and bulky to enter such a tight space while upright. Applejack suggested they tip it; Twilight countered with a quick measure of the base using the excess rope and some basic math.

Applejack persisted, insisting that it would fit if they could just get it at the right angle. And Sunset, torn between the belief that it wouldn't work and her foalish, foalish desire not to have to resort to asking Princess Celestia for help again, decided to give Applejack a chance.

She regretted it immediately, though strangely not in time to make a difference.

“Sure it will,” Applejack said after Sunset expressed her doubts and began forcing the Mirror back upright, unopposed by the others. The farmer took a breath, then pawed at the exposed base with a hoof. “I don't s'pose this part comes off, does it? That's the only real thing holdin' us back, as far as I can tell.”

Sunset paused, actually surprised by the question. She gave the Mirror's base a questioning look, trying to remember anything relevant about it. Had it originally been part of the Mirror? If so, it couldn't be removed without effectively destroying the entire artifact. Such was the nature of enchantments: powerful, but more importantly permanent.

She came to the conclusion that she didn't actually know; the Mirror had simply always been on that stand in her mind, and none of the scant artistic depictions of it showed it otherwise. And it wasn't like she'd ever thought to check and see if they were technically separate objects from a magical perspective.

“Good question,” she finally said. She knelt a little and lifted up the bottom of the sheet slightly, and examined where the base met the rest of the Mirror. Or, rather, where it met the higher levels of the base that the Mirror actually rested upon.

Unfortunately, it didn't take much magical probing for Sunset to determine that the two round slabs of stone were effectively fused together. Even the curly metal pieces that adorned the sides of the Mirror were stuck to the base, meaning that regardless of how it had originally been crafted the entirety of the Mirror was now basically a single solid object fused together by the enchantments on it.

“Hmm... unfortunately, I don't think it's possible,” she told the others. “Removing the base would be like breaking the artifact completely, and trust me when I saw you don't wanna break this thing.” She sighed, and drew herself back up to her full height. “I'm gonna have to ask Princess Celestia for some help with this.”

She didn't even have to look to recognize the guilty groan of Twilight Sparkle. “This is all my fault. I should have taken measurements so you could make sure all your research artifacts could fit before you moved here!”

Sunset looked at her for a moment, her eyes closing and her ears drooping, then shook her head. “If this is anypony's fault, it's mine. I'm the one who decided to have everything shipped here before I'd even seen where I was going to be living. So don't, y'know, beat yourself up over this.”

Twilight took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and looked up at Sunset. “Right. You're right.” She stood up. “But still, anything I can do to help just say the word.”

Her expression was so adorably earnest, Sunset couldn't help but chuckle. “Thanks. But unless you know some spell to widen the stairway or open up a hole in the floor that I don't, I'm not sure what else you can do. Though to be honest,” she looked down the stairs, “even if we do get it to the basement we'd still have to figure out how to get it into my lab. Which, may I remind you, is already heavily warded.”

“Well, how did Princess Celestia move it?” Spike asked after twiddling his claws for a few moments.

“Teleportation,” Sunset answered without missing a beat. “Which normally wouldn't be a great idea for this thing, even ignoring its size, but, well, she is the Princess after all. She knows how to keep... things like this... uh, stable.”

As she turned to leave, she noticed Applejack looking thoughtful and rolled her eyes. “You aren't considering making a hole in the floor, are you?” she asked. “Cause that was just a joke.”

Applejack gave her a deadpan stare. “Yeah, I got that. But so long as y'all are resortin' to magic to move this thing, I figured the least I could do was try to think of somethin' that could help.”

Sunset's mild – and admittedly somewhat mocking – smile fell away. But before she could reply, she found her muzzle covered by Twilight's hoof. “We appreciate the help, Applejack. Did you come up with anything useful?”

“Well,” the farmer replied, looking back at the covered Mirror, “the two of you magical geniuses probably already considered this, but since the size is the problem what about just shrinkin' it? That's somethin' magic can do, right?”

Twilight lowered her hoof, and she and Sunset shared a look of genuine surprise. “Well, that could work in theory,” Twilight began.

“...but I don't know how that kind of magic would interact with the, uh, artifact's magic,” Sunset finished with a bit of caution. “That sort of compression could put too much strain on the vessel, or it could cause the individual enchantments to force-activate, or even degrade them entirely! And that's assuming the shrinking spell even works.”

Applejack frowned. “Well, I can see why you two have your reservations about doin' it that way. But I figure that if any two ponies can figure out how to do so safely, it'll be Princess Celestia's two students. And that goes for any way ya got of gettin' this thing down to your lab.”

Sunset and Twilight shared a look, and Sunset sighed. “Well, if I'm going to be asking Princess Celestia for help anyway, I might as well consult her about other possible solutions first.”

“I think I remember a book about shrinking spells in the library,” Twilight said next, looking to her assistant. “Let's go do some research, Spike.”

The four split up, with Sunset the sole one heading upstairs. Up and up, past the bathroom, and into the bedroom, Sunset immediately went to the little nook she had her 'bed' in.

“I seriously need to get a mattress,” she muttered as she picked up a thick journal off a nearby shelf. Her cutie mark emblazoned on the cover, it served as Sunset's personal link to her mentor in a similar fashion to Twilight sending and receiving letters via Spike's special dragonfire.

The lack of a glow and vibration told Sunset that she hadn't received any messages from the linked journal in Canterlot, but that was unsurprising. Grabbing a quill and an ink pot, she turned to the first blank page. She composed her thoughts, then put them to words.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have some questions about the Mirror. Not about how it works this time, though – we're having some trouble getting it into my new lab. Big surprise, right? But anyway, how do you think the Mirror would react to a shrinking spell? At this point, that's probably the best option that doesn't involve modifying the structure of the library or having you come over and teleport it again.

I suppose it would depend on the exact spell used, but I don't know of any off the top of my head that are designed specifically to keep previous magical effects on an object intact and stable. By my estimates a shrinkage as small as, say, 10% should probably be enough for our purposes, but I'm afraid even that could destabilize the portal.

Twilight and Spike are researching shrinking spells as I write this, but I don't want to solely rely on her finding something relevant when I barely know what books she has here. And... I probably should have looked over my own notes on the Mirror as well as what information about it you've already given me before asking you (sorry) but I'll go do so right now.

I hope you and Princess Luna are doing well!

Sunset

It had always felt weird to Sunset, signing off on her journal entries when it would be obvious to Princess Celestia who the message was from. And she couldn't even blame Twilight's habit rubbing off on her for it, she'd done so for years. But at the same time, a habit was a habit, and as the Princess had never commented on it there had never been sufficient reason for Sunset to get rid of it. She had better ways to spend her energy.

At any rate, once the message was sent she picked up her journal and went downstairs. She stopped at the library to check on her friends; even with Applejack there to ostensibly help locate books it didn't look like Twilight had found anything conclusive.

“Hey, I asked Princess Celestia about the shrinking spells,” she announced to the room at large. “I'll let you all know what she says, but for now I'm gonna go look over my notes. Maybe there's something useful in there.”

There was probably some sort of acknowledging response from them, but Sunset didn't stick around long enough to pay attention to it.

Once she was back in her lab, it didn't take long at all for Sunset to start sifting through piles of notebooks and file folders containing everything she knew about the Mirror. Most of it concerned the effects and magical inner workings of the reflection-affecting enchantment and the dimensional portal that was bound to the glass, but she was able to find some details about the structure as a whole.

Unfortunately, it was all things like materials analysis and notes of its construction rather than any serious study as to how spellwork affected the artifact as a whole. Which was unsurprising in hindsight; Sunset had been the first pony to seriously study the Mirror in centuries. Or at least the first pony who took good notes and didn't become consumed in some fashion by what the Mirror showed them. Or, in a few cases, moved on to other projects.

She ended up going all the way back to Starswirl the Bearded's original notes regarding the Mirror, or at least the copies she had been able to take with her to Ponyville. But even those didn't have any sort of experimental observations that seemed relevant to a question she presumed Starswirl had never needed to ask.

Just when she was about to temporarily call it quits and see if Twilight had seen anything, however, her personal journal began to glow and vibrate. Her heart practically leaped in excitement, and with a rapidly-growing smile she levitated the open book in front of her and read.

My faithful student,

I can certainly understand your caution regarding the mirror; there are many things about it that, as you are well aware, even I do not know. I still recall when Starswirl the Bearded told my sister and I about it after something of an incident involving a misfired shape-changing spell with fairly amusing consequences. He told us how important the mirror was, and how even he was uncertain how various magics would interact with it.

But I do not want you to take this as a warning against attempting to find your own solution to the problem you're faced with. I have full confidence that you and Twilight will be able to relocate the mirror to your laboratory without requiring my intervention.

My sister and I continue to do well. I believe it is only a matter of weeks before Princess Luna is ready to resume some of the more public responsibilities of her title.

You have my love and best wishes,

Princess Celestia

Though it had been mere days since she'd last seen her mentor, the familiar sight of her hornwriting evoked a wave of nostalgia in Sunset. The patient, instructive tone of it as well – while Sunset had not always appreciated it in the past, knowing that even now Princess Celestia was willing to impart some manner of lesson on her brought back warm memories. Before she knew it, she was even wiping away a few tears from her eyes.

But she knew it wouldn't do for the others to see her crying, not over something as meager as homesickness. So she gave the words one last warm smile before closing her journal and setting it on a lab table, then took a breath to compose herself. And as she walked back up through the basement, she dissected the Princess's advice.

Anecdotes were hardly uncommon in her lessons, and almost always were used to prove a point. In this particular instance, it was clear to Sunset that she was meant to interpret it as 'the Mirror was once hit by a shape-changing spell and it ended up being fine'. Whether this meant the spell had worked or not Sunset was admittedly uncertain, but she was willing to wager that it had at least in some form.

And shape-changing spells weren't that far removed from shrinking spells; the basic principles were the same, to the point that shrinking could be considered a sub-class of shape-changing. It's just that shrinking was more difficult, as it involved actually getting rid of some portion of the affected object's mass for the duration of the spell.

“But how am I supposed to get rid of the Mirror's mass without destabilizing the portal?” Sunset muttered, finding herself pacing back and forth along the curved walkway that served as a transition between stair flights. “Forget the normal enchantments, if that thing gets unanchored who knows what'll happen!”

She paused to take a breath, and closed her eyes to shut out anything that could possibly distract her. “Okay think, Sunset, think! The mirror pane itself is the most important part of the portal, so maybe if I just shrink the base it'll be fine. But is a partial shrinking even possible in this case? Urrgh,” she stomped a hoof, “why does this stupid thing have to have such a wide base?”

Sunset stopped, hoof about to stomp again as her eyes popped open. “Why does it have to have such a wide base?” she repeated, quietly, a smile forming. “Why not change it for a little while? Bunch it together or make it long,” she continued onward and upward with a spring in her step, “even a simple folding spell will do if we put enough force into it!”

Once she was back on the floor of the library, she didn't even bother looking to see what the others were doing before announcing “Hey! I think I-”

She was thus bowled over by an over-excited Twilight Sparkle carrying an open book in her magical grasp. “Sunset! I think I've found the answer! What if instead of shrinking it we-”

“-just changed the shape of the base?” Sunset finished, a hoof over her friend's muzzle and a smirk that would not be denied. She got back on her hooves and swished her tail. “Too slow, just like always Sparkle. But, uh, I do hope you've already found a few spells to try out.”

She made a show of looking around the cluttered room – Spike was practically buried under a pile of books and even Applejack was looking their way while reshelving – before 'noticing' the open text Twilight already had.

Twilight, for her part, pouted in annoyance before moving the book down so both of them could read it. “As a matter of fact, I have. Given the apparent material composition of the base of your, uh, whatever-it-is, I believe Jewelmane's Sculpting will allow us to reshape it while leaving its magical properties intact.” She finished with a precise and decisive nod.

Sunset took a moment to look it over, smiling. “Awesome! This looks like it'll work!”

As they turned to go back to the nuisance in question, they were rejoined by Applejack while Spike took over reshelving. “So, uh, what exactly is this 'Jewelmane' spell or whatever?” the former asked.

“It's an old shape-changing spell,” Twilight answered with a prim smile. “Specifically, one that was created to sculpt, repair, and modify magical statues. It's an interesting take on a classic spell, if I'm being honest.”

That just caused Applejack to raise a brow. “If it's a classic, then how come neither of you thought of it before?”

The two unicorns shared a look. “Well,” said Sunset, “shape-changing spells aren't exactly... useful.”

“I mean,” Twilight giggled, “how often do you come across something that really needs to have its shape changed?”

“Hrmm... good point,” Applejack said with a thoughtful look.

“They're mostly just used to teach first-year magic students the fundamentals of more useful spells,” Sunset added. Then she shrugged. “But I suppose every spell is useful some time.”

Twilight nodded. “Exactly. Now, let's get to work on that spell...”

It didn't take long for Twilight and Sunset to learn the new spell, especially once Applejack brought in a few stones from outside to practice on. After that it was practically trivial, in a lip-bitingly anxious sort of way, to lay the Mirror on its side and sculpt the base into a long shaft of stone. And with Applejack carrying said base on her back and guiding the whole thing down while Twilight and Sunset joint-levitated the Mirror itself, it took less than ten minutes to get the whole thing down where it needed to be.

With some reluctance Sunset allowed Applejack to help carry it into her lab itself, where they rest it on the floor just long enough to undo Jewelmane's Sculpting. Then with surprisingly little effort the three lifted it back upright, and moved it into the corner Sunset had already prepared for it.

Once it was in place, Sunset let out a breath of relief. “Okay girls, job well done. Thanks for the help, Applejack.” To her own surprise, she meant it.

“Happy to be of help, Sunset!” Applejack replied. “Now, I do believe you still got more things that need carryin'?” she asked with a knowing look.

Sunset chuckled a little. “Yeah, I do,” she said, turning and heading back towards the stairway.

The three of us, plus Spike I think after he was done reshelving?, went and opened the last two crates and took the last four artifacts down to the lab. It wasn't really interesting. Then we went out and had lunch at... I think it was the Sandwich Shack? Definitely one of the sandwich places. It wasn't anything special to be honest.

Applejack... I think that day was when I first started to actual see her as somepony I could enjoy myself around, at least to some minor extent. I won't lie, I was pretty jealous of how close she was with Twilight – how close all of them were with Twilight. It seems... pretty silly now. But I mean I am dating her now, so...

Anyway. Applejack was nice and helpful and I had trouble seeing that at first, much less appreciating it. Also, smarter than I gave her credit for – in some ways, anyway. She figured out what the Mirror was even with the sheet over it, and just didn't say anything because she didn't want to risk being 'cursed' or something by bringing it up. (Like I said, smarter in some ways.)

And the Mirror... A thorn in my side at times, and... well, mostly just a thorn in my side. But it's my thorn, and I'd rather I have it than somepony else. I don't regret studying it. It was the first Class A artifact I ever saw, and the first I ever got to work with as well. Helped give me my current interest in destiny, as well. Mirrors that let you occasionally see a possible future for yourself will do that to you. The fact that it also serves as the gateway to an alternate dimension every thirty moons is just the cherry on top, really.

Then there's my other Class As. The Thallid Thrasher is the most obviously dangerous one on the surface, being an actual sword (a minotaur short sword, to be specific) that animates itself (and attacks) under certain circumstances. Which sounds like it should be Class X, but it actually only animates around fungal-based lifeforms over a certain size threshold. The race it was apparently forged to be used against is long extinct, but there have been accounts of it attacking giant mushrooms, and in one case some poor minotaur that had gorged himself at an all-you-can-eat mushroom buffet. Fortunately it hasn't been activated in decades, though the magic is still present and waiting.

Another obviously-dangerous Class A is the unnamed crossbow used by the monstrous races during a war with early Equestria. It was allegedly a one-of-a-kind prototype that was enchanted to recall its bolts via teleportation and use them to reload. It's terrifying to think of a weapon like that, with a practically endless supply of ammunition and a high rate-of-fire, but luckily it was captured before it could be duplicated. The majority of the bolts linked to it were destroyed, with only a single blunt one remaining for testing purposes.

The Bowl of Wonders is another Class A, created shortly after the Discordian era. It's... pretty much just a big leaden bowl. Heavy, wide, kind of a pain to work with. Filling it to the brim with any sort of liquid produces unpredictable magical effects, ranging from the smell of flowers to an explosion. There appears to be some correlation between the liquid and the effect it produces, though, so that's what a lot of my research has been focused on.

The Harebound Journal (I didn't name it) is the youngest of my Class As, created only a century ago by some self-styled dark wizard who aimed to stage a coup against the Princess with it. He failed, of course, and rather miserably going by what Princess Celestia has told me, but the Journal is still a pretty impressive – and scary – piece of spellwork. It translates the thoughts of any being whose hair is threaded into the spine to text on its pages, allowing for easy eavesdropping at any range.

My final two Class As, as of my arrival in Ponyville, were actually a matched set – the Philosopher's Stone, and the Luddite's Stone. The former changes lead into gold, the latter gold into lead. They seem more dangerous than they really are, since they can only change the metals they touch and the change itself is only temporary, so there's not really any chance of them severely disrupting the economy or anything. As far as I'm concerned they're more like Class B nuisances than anything else, but others disagree – if word spreads of what they can do, there'll be a mass panic (or so they say). So that means the stones are Class A.

The two Class Bs among my favored dozen were the Jester's Goblet, a thousand-year-old prank item that vanishes any liquid placed inside it, and a gold locket named 'Folly' by its creator. Folly becomes incredibly heavy the moment it's worn, presumably as a way of dissuading thieves but in actuality just keeping anypony from actually wearing it. Considering it's caused some severe neck damage to the ponies who had it before me, I'm kinda surprised it was never upgraded to Class A.

And that brings me to the last three. Putting my unnamed crystal ball (I'm considering calling it 'Researcher's Bane') in Class C is generous, considering how useless it is. It does, technically, function as crystal balls are supposed to, which is to say it allows the user to see a distant location. The problem is that it's locked to one location, and not even a particularly interesting one at that. It's just some barren meadow outside of Baltimare. Nothing is there. Nothing has ever been there. Trust me, plenty of ponies have looked into it. And yet, somepony decided to make a heavy, fragile ball of glass specifically to watch it. Uggh.

Then there's the Class D New Moon Gate. Which is a door. Yeah. Still, when installed correctly it opens to some kind of extra-dimensional closet. But only during the new moon, hence the name. Which makes it technically useful and benign, but not at the level you really want from a Class D. The worst part is that some previous owner accidentally ended up using it as a pantry at some point, and the smell of spoiled food has never really left it. Turns out storing perishable food somewhere you can only access for a single moon each month is a terrible idea.

Which brings me, finally, to number twelve: the only one I discovered myself. I call it the Lotus Compass due to the lotus design on the back of it. I found it in an antique shop, the owner mistaking it for a regular compass that was simply broken. As you might expect, the needle of an enchanted compass does not necessarily point north; in the case of the Lotus Compass, it points at... something. I haven't been able to figure it out yet, and not just because I haven't had the time. It's just that nopony knows anything about it, not even the Princess; the best I have is that it dates back to early Equestria, but that's not helpful. The magic on it is... difficult to decipher, which is why I haven't figured out what it's pointing to. Which is irritating, because the needle does move. Extremely. Erratically. Which has made trying to follow it an adventure, to put it mildly.

So, yeah. Those are the twelve artifacts I got delivered on my third day in Ponyville. I also had a few small Class D and Class C trinkets lying around that I'd brought in the original move, but nothing worth mentioning.

Uhh... it's getting kind of late, so I guess I'm gonna call it done for tonight.

- Sunset Shimmer

First Impressions - Spa Day

The day after the tour, I ended up with a so-called 'spa date' with Rarity as an apology for her cat mauling me. Normally spas aren't my thing when I don't have some big event or some other reason to look my absolute best for, but Rarity was incredibly insistent. And, more importantly, asked me to be treated by her in front of Twilight. Who, naturally, thought it was a splendid idea.

Even though she herself wasn't interested in coming with us. Oh no, not when she still had loads of research to catch up on. Research that she'd missed the chance to do because she'd taken it upon herself to give me the tour.

Yeah.

Safe to say I had some... mixed feelings about the whole situation. On one hoof the more optimistic parts of me were saying that Twilight was just being as oblivious as usual, and really did just want to catch up on her research. Plus the spa was just as much a 'sometimes' thing for her as it was for me.

On the other hoof, the (much louder) pessimistic/paranoid parts of me were convinced she was purposely ditching me to get out of something she didn't want to do. Or that she was pushing me away, that she'd gotten tired of spending time with me again and was foisting me off on one of her friends.

The first hoof was right, obviously, but... But, well, regardless of her intent I still went through with it. Hoping, again, to get back in her good books or stay out of her bad ones.

“Okay, I'm leaving now,” Sunset told Twilight and Spike, who were occupying their early afternoon cross-referencing a variant shape-changing spell Twilight had found while studying the book they'd found Jewelmane's Sculpting in. The sullenness in her voice, hidden behind a weak smile, was lost on them.

Mostly, anyway. “Have fun, Sunset!” Twilight replied with a bright and genuine smile of her own. “I know Rarity can seem an awful lot like some of the ponies back in Canterlot, but she really is wonderful once you get to know her.”

Sunset bit back a reply that if Rarity was so wonderful then why wasn't Twilight coming too, knowing it was pointless. At most it would just inspire Spike to spend five minutes gushing about how beautiful Rarity was and so on, and Sunset had gotten her fill of that at lunch.

“Really wonderful,” Spike chimed in with a dreamy stare as if to prove her point.

“I'll... keep that in mind,” Sunset replied, keeping her tone as noncommittal as possible. “See you in a couple hours.”

She made for the door, Twilight and Spike giving her a parting “Bye!” before returning to their research.

With a heavy sigh and one last parting glance into the library behind her, Sunset closed the door and resigned herself to an afternoon of veritable torture. Gossip, social posturing, rumormongering; all of it Sunset had taken pride in once upon a time. Then she'd met Twilight, and slowly but surely it all turned to boring tedium. Boring tedium she was still good at, granted, but boring tedium all the same.

“Well, better get this over with,” she muttered, trudging off towards her appointment.

The Ponyville Day Spa was one of several buildings in town that sat isolated from the other buildings. Between that and its unique design, it certainly stood out – just like every other building with a similar position.

This particular edifice had spent most of its creativity in its roof – high peaks in the middle, lower peaks along the edge, and plenty of swooping in between. Hearts and diamonds and fleurs-de-lis and a variety of curls adorned the walls and spires, and over the front entrance hung a heart-shaped sign depicting a mare with luxuriously long, flowing mane and tail.

Nopony was around in more than a general sense, not even Rarity, and as Sunset stared up at the highest peak of the remarkably large building she debated whether she should stick around outside or head through the door. Or even just leave, despite the consequences she knew it would inevitably bring. Eventually she decided that going inside was the best option; Rarity had said to meet her there, after all.

Sunset opened the door, and was assaulted by a bouquet of smells both fruity and flowery. The waiting room, decorated in various shades and hues of purple, was gleaming; a single older mare was reading a copy of Manehattan Manes on a sofa, and more importantly the pony she was looking for was talking to the receptionist.

“...and so I really want you to be open for anything, you understand. I want her to have a good time here regardless of her preferences.”

“Yes, I understand Miss Rarity,” replied the receptionist in an accent that Sunset placed as being so far to the northwest she was surprised she'd made it out of the mountains alive. “Our service shall be perfect, as always.”

The receptionist noticed Sunset first; Rarity was halfway through thanking her before spotting the shift in her gaze. “Oh! Sunset! I didn't notice you arrive!” she said quickly, her eyes and ears alike perking up.

“Well, I didn't exactly announce it to the world,” Sunset said for lack of better replies.

“This is Sunset Shimmer, the friend I was talking about, Lavender,” Rarity told the receptionist. “As you may well know she's new in town, and I thought that no Ponyville welcome could truly be complete without a day at the spa.”

The few scratches on Sunset's legs and muzzle that hadn't fully healed yet begged to differ, but Sunset didn't voice the objection.

“Yes, of course, I understand,” said the receptionist Lavender. She picked up a bell with her mouth and gave it a ring, and with frightening quickness a new pair of earth mares arrived from a nearby open doorway.

“Lotus! Aloe! So good to see you, darlings,” Rarity immediately greeted the two, hugging each one in turn as though they were old and dear friends.

“So good to see you, Miss Rarity,” said the one with pink coat and blue hair, also in a northwestern accent.

“We will begin with your usual steam bath,” added the one with blue coat and pink hair. “Come right this way.”

The pair – Sunset was confident they were twins, though she could never quite peg down which one was Lotus and which was Aloe – turned and led them back through the doorway into a long hall. A few other ponies were in it; patrons with fluffy white towels around their manes and fluffy white bathrobes around their shoulders walking from one service to the next, employees dressed in fresh whites or extra-soft pastels.

“Let's see...,” said the pink one, who had produced a clipboard at some point while Sunset was admiring the décor, “steam first, yes?”

“That's right!” Rarity said in a happy singsong. “Followed afterward by facials, a massage, and, of course, a hooficure. As well as anything else Sunset would like,” she finished with a knowing wink at Sunset.

The spa ponies looked at Sunset, then back at the clipboard. “Yes, of course.” They reached a slender door adorned with a flower petal design and the blue one opened it, revealing it to be a linen closet. Towels and bathrobes were procured for Rarity and Sunset both, and once everything was on and comfortable the group moved onwards.

“Okay, here you go,” said the blue pony once they'd reached the threshold of a much larger room, or at least a larger door. There was a little semicircular window cut into the door with a colored dial behind it that currently red 'OPEN' in white letters against a green background. “We will come back when your time is up, or when you call for us, yes?”

“But of course,” Rarity replied, heading inside the steam room with confidence.

Sunset lingered behind, looking from Rarity to the spa ponies. “Enjoy your steam!” one of them told her with a wide smile.

“I will, thanks,” Sunset said automatically, finally entering as well. The door was closed behind her.

Rarity was already tending to the coals smoldering in the basin at the center of the room, slowly pouring a ladle full of water onto them and filling the room with more steam. She sighed dreamily as Sunset walked over, and sat down on the bench that lined the circular room. Sunset took a seat as well, several feet away from Rarity.

“Oh, come now, there's no need to be shy!” Rarity told her immediately and with a bright smile, patting the seat beside her. “We're all friends here, Sunset Shimmer!”

“Uh, right...,” Sunset murmured, reluctantly scooting over a few inches. Offering Rarity a bashful smile, fake though it was, she added “Sorry, just... I don't normally do things like this with other ponies.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity replied, her tone and the way she pursed her lips suggesting she didn't quite believe Sunset. “Well, the only way to get used to it is to do it, I always say.”

Sunset doubted that she'd ever uttered the phrase before in her life.

“So, Sunset,” Rarity continued once she was satisfied with the seating arrangement, “now that you've gotten settled, what do you think of our quiet little town?”

“It's... nice,” Sunset said, already seeing where the conversation was headed and wondering whether and for how long she should dance around what Rarity wanted to know. “It's certainly different from what I expected. Busier. More...” She rolled her hoof, genuinely trying to put to words everything she'd felt in her short time in Ponyville that had to do with the town itself rather than the reason she was there. “I don't know. Not exciting, just... Novel, I guess. The outdoor markets, the seeing the same faces again and again, the informality of everything... It's a lot to get used to.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose so,” Rarity said, fidgeting idly with the end of the towel wrapped around her mane. “Personally, I find it all dreadfully droll. But I am used to it, after all.” She adjusted how she was sitting, reorienting to face Sunset more directly. “But don't get me wrong,” she smiled, “your perspective is intriguing. I can't imagine how different Ponyville is from Canterlot.”

On a whim, Sunset decided to ignore the hook that Rarity had laid down. So it was with a subdued yet impish smile that she asked “Oh? You've never been, Rarity?”

That seemed to fluster her. “Oh, well, you know how it is. A trip here and there, always on business. I've never really gotten the chance to take in all the culture.”

Sunset smelled a lie, and it amused her. “Oh? What kind of business, exactly?”

“Ah, w-well, you know,” Rarity stammered, taken off guard once again. “Fashion shows and... and such.”

Then she sighed, and leaned back against the bench to stare at the ceiling. It, and the walls, had been painted to look like a cloudy – though purple – sky. “To be perfectly honest, it's been something of a... a dream of mine since I was a filly to own a boutique in Canterlot. And my boutique here in Ponyville is doing well, but I'm afraid I'm still quite a ways off from the funds I'll need to open up a second shop. I've been hoping that some of my designs would attract the attention of the Canterlot fashion scene and increase the number of high-profile jobs I receive, but alas it seems breaks like that simply don't happen much out here in Ponyville...”

Rarity had closed her eyes during her monologue, and Sunset was unsurprised to see her open them just a smidge at the end to give her a coy look.

Once again, it was obvious what she wanted. And having expected as such, Sunset had already decided upon her response. She sighed. “Well, good luck with that. I'm sure you already know from Twilight that we weren't exactly big in the fashion scene, so I doubt either of us could get somepony important to it to come out here just by asking.”

She didn't take as much joy from the deflated look in Rarity's eyes as she might have years ago, but Sunset didn't regret it. She'd met a few of Canterlot's Best Dressed at galas and garden parties and such, of course, but whatever bonds may have been forged back then had since been left to rot as Sunset's attention had been consumed by her studies with Twilight.

“Oh. Well. I suppose that's... how things are,” Rarity said, clearly trying to hide her disappointment and not doing a particularly good job of it. “I'm grateful for your consideration, Sunset Shimmer.”

The lull that followed lasted only long enough for Sunset to decide how exactly she wanted to keep the conversation pointed where she wanted it – at Rarity rather than herself. The decision came quickly. “Well, if all your work is at the level of what I saw in your boutique the other day,” she said, adding a bit more water to the coals, “I'm sure you'll get the attention you need the moment some bigwig comes out here for some inspiration or a photoshoot or something. You really are talented at what you do.”

Which was true enough, though Sunset's only means of judging dresses was whether or not she could see herself wearing it somewhere formal without being embarrassed. She left comparative fashion to the ponies who cared about it, like Rarity.

“Thank you, Sunset,” Rarity said, smiling again small though it was.

“So, how long have you been in the fashion business?” Sunset asked just as she sensed Rarity raring up a question of her own.

“Hmm? Oh, well,” Rarity said quickly, yet followed by a pause that told Sunset she was gathering her thoughts to answer the unexpected query. “For several years now. I suppose I started before I'd even gotten my cutie mark,” she mused, hoof on her chin as she stared up at the steam and ceiling, “designing costumes for school plays and festivals such, but my first real job was as an assistant to Bobbin Lace.

“She was Ponyville's top seamstress, you see,” she said, glancing at Sunset for just a moment. “I learned... well, not everything from her, but quite a bit. And when she retired, she gave the Carousel Boutique to me. I've been running it all on my own ever since,” she finished with a puff of pride.

Sunset chuckled. “Well, sounds like you've done a good job with it.”

A more bitter laugh from Rarity. “True, but, as I've said, I'd like to see it go even further. I want to share my designs with the world, Sunset Shimmer,” she declared, raising a hoof towards the ceiling as though grasping for something just out of reach. “And I can't do that while I'm stuck here in Ponyville.”

Another silence followed, though it was shorter than the last. “To be honest, I'm kinda surprised there hasn't been too much attention on Ponyville after what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“I know, it's dreadful!” Rarity said immediately, flushing when she realized how overdramatic she'd sounded. “I mean... a quiet life is all well and good, but I'd thought the press would be more interested in the ponies responsible for finding the Elements of Harmony and saving Princess Luna from, well, herself! But all we've had is one interview the day of the celebration, and it didn't focus at all on our personal histories! How is Equestria supposed to know who we are if nopony even asks?”

Sunset couldn't give her more than a shrug in answer. She strongly suspected that Princess Celestia had a hoof in the lack of news coverage; it was very much like her to want Twilight, Rarity, and the others to continue leading peaceful lives after their one-time act of heroism. Sunset's own feelings on the matter were uncertain; years ago she would have thrived on the attention such publicity would bring, but nowadays Sunset had little patience for ponies seeking to know her every thought and move. And that wasn't even taking her relocation to Ponyville into consideration. And, of course, she knew for a fact that Twilight would never want to face a pack of reporters if she didn't have to.

Her thoughts drifted to the fact that she was currently indulging Rarity, who was quite like the ponies she had no patience for. Briefly she wondered why, but her mind soon dismissed the matter as unimportant.

She realized the conversation was going in circles. Rarity was focusing on the attention, or lack thereof, that her boutique was getting, and Sunset had no real intention of trying to help her out despite what the fashionista so obviously wanted. She needed to steer the discussion into more interesting waters.

“Well, I'm sure you'll get what you need soon enough,” she said. “But anyway, what is there to do around here? Besides the spa, I mean. A girl can't do research and practice her spellwork all the time.”

“Hmm...,” Rarity mused, tapping her chin again. “Well, aside from my weekly spa visits my free time is typically spent reading romance novels or going to one of Pinkie's parties. Though I suspect you were seeking to hear about more, ah, community-oriented events, yes?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sunset allowed herself to chuckle.

Rarity sighed. “Well, I doubt our array of festivals and such can hold a candle to what goes on in Canterlot, but very well. Let's see... the school had its end-of-year Talent Contest the other day.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about that from Twilight,” Sunset said, smiling. “I was too busy to come myself,” due to making work for herself the moment she'd heard she would have to watch a schoolfilly talent show for four hours if she didn't, “but I heard your sister was in it.”

“Oh, yes, Sweetie Belle and her little friends did wonderfully even if their song-and-dance number wasn't quite befitting of what I suspect their talents are,” Rarity said with a distinct matter-of-factness in her voice. “I do worry about some of the things they get up to, but I suppose their journey towards discovering their special talents is their own.”

Sunset laughed. “Yeah, totally,” she said for lack of better things to say.

“Anyway, where was I...” More chin-tapping from Rarity. “Ah, yes. If I'm not mistaken the next major town event should be the Summer Harvest Parade.”

“Parade?” Sunset repeated, brow raised skeptically.

“Yes, that's correct,” Rarity nodded. “The whole town goes all-out for it. Nearly every farming family builds a float to advertise their goods, and recently several other groups have entered floats as well. They aren't always fashionable, but I can't deny they're a loving celebration of the town's heritage.”

“Wow, I can't wait to see it,” Sunset said with a smile even as a part of her imagined Twilight obsessively building her own float to enter and dragging Sunset in to help. It left her with an odd mix of dread and adoration.

“Well, you won't have to wait very long,” Rarity told her. “If memory serves, it should be a little over a week away. “There's always an announcement two months prior, you see, so that the townsponies have time to register and build their floats.”

“Right, right,” Sunset nodded, filing the information – both general and specific – away for later.

“There'll be a few minor celebrations after that as different harvests start to come in,” Rarity continued, “as well as historic dates and such. And that will basically go through the fall up until Nightmare Night. Hmm...” A troubled look on her muzzle, Rarity cast a far-off look at the smoldering coals. “I do wonder how that particular day will proceed now that Nightmare Moon has returned and been defeated? I can't even begin to imagine what Princess Luna will think of the whole thing...”

Sunset frowned, her brow furrowed in thought. “Good point. I'm sure Princess Celestia has figured out how to break it to her sister that there's a holiday practically celebrating her evil alter-ego, but... Maybe I should ask her about it later.” Despite her professed confidence in the Princess, Sunset also thought herself to know Celestia better than most ponies. And with how busy she had been after Luna's return, Sunset really did wonder if Princess Celestia had gotten around to telling her about Nightmare Night yet or if it was just being... put off.

“Oh?” said Rarity with an impish note in her voice that cut through Sunset's inner thoughts, bringing her attention – and mild dread – back to the present. “Are you talking about Spike, or dare I presume that you have a direct line to the Princess?”

Sunset couldn't do much but laugh awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, I do. It's no big deal, really. Just a pair of linked journals. She gave me mine when I became her student so we could communicate even when she was off on diplomatic missions or whatever.” Or when Sunset had come up with something late at night, or anywhere really, and she couldn't be bothered to go find the Princess herself.

“How fascinating,” Rarity said, looking at Sunset with an unnervingly wide-eyed stare. “Even knowing Twilight I can't even fathom what living in the Palace under Princess Celestia's tutelage must have been like.”

More hesitant laughter as Sunset cursed herself for letting the conversation get directed back towards herself. “Well, technically neither of us lived in the Palace,” she said. “Anyway, are all the festivals and events in town announced months in advance?” It was a somewhat feeble attempt at getting things back on a track that wouldn't force her to wade back into the annoying politics of Equestria's capital.

“Oh, yes, yes,” Rarity said with a quick wave of her hoof, her stare unrelenting. “Flyers, usually, or simply word of mouth. The Express typically reprints the announcements as well. But anyway,” she shifted her posture, orienting towards Sunset even more as her excitement renewed, “you simply must tell me more about Canterlot.”

Sunset tried to hide her sigh. “Well, what's there to know?” she said with a smile that felt more forced than she would have liked.

Rarity drew herself up, no doubt in preparation for a slew of long-held questions, but before she could launch them she was interrupted by a knock at the steam room door.

A second later it was opened, and one of the spa ponies stuck her head in. “Excuse me, Miss Rarity? I am so sorry for interrupting...”

“Oh my, is it that time already?” Rarity asked, looking aghast.

“Ah, yes, it is,” said the spa pony.

Rarity let out a surprisingly delighted sigh. “Oh well, I suppose it's a mark of good quality when a steam bath makes the time just fly by,” she said, getting off the bench. “Come, Sunset Shimmer,” she beckoned to Sunset, who slid off the bench as well, “it's time for a facial of a lifetime!”

Sunset couldn't help but smile and shake her head a bit at the drama she put into such an inane comment.

Out the door and down the hall, Sunset followed Rarity and the pink-coated spa pony to a larger room Sunset guessed was typically used for larger parties. A hot tub was the dominant fixture in the room, with several sunloungers and massage tables circled around it. A variety of potted plants both hanging and freestanding dotted the room, and a long, ornate water feature behind the hot tub provided ambiance.

It was empty save for the four of them, leading Sunset to believe that Rarity had either gotten lucky or gotten it reserved. She wasn't certain which, but felt that the fashionista would undoubtedly prefer to avoid the company of patrons besides the one she was trying to cozy up to. Briefly she wondered how much reserving the room had cost, and whether or not some of Rarity's business woes could be attributed to such infrugal spending.

But such thoughts left her head the moment she was directed to remove her bathrobe and lay on one of the chairs. She did just that, and the facial she was then given was remarkable in how similar it was to the scant other facials she'd been given in her life. Rarity's coos and delighted sighs became background noise to Sunset as she wondered whether or not there was some common technique or family of techniques between the Ponyville Day Spa and the spas back in Canterlot.

What ponies had come up with the idea of rubbing creams and lotions and the like on faces and muzzles for the sake of increasing skin health? Sunset had nothing more than a vague inclination it had come from the same mountainous regions as Aloe and Lotus, but didn’t feel certain about it. The obvious gap in her knowledge bothered her, and she resolved to at least try and fit in a cursory bit of research once she was back at the library.

And then she realized how like Twilight that entire train of thought was, and chuckled.

Rarity took quick notice, and though Sunset's eyes were covered with cucumber slices she still felt certain the other mare was 'looking' at her again. “Hm? I did I miss something funny?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” Sunset said, waving her hoof. “Just... reminded myself of something about Twilight. That's all.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rarity replied. “Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Perhaps we could turn this into a weekly thing?”

Sunset paused, deciding how best to word her dismissal. “...I don't know, maybe,” she finally said. “I'm not really a 'weekly spa trip' kind of girl. But I can see myself coming back here every once in a while, yeah.” Alone or with Twilight, preferably. Not that she'd tell Rarity that.

Rarity let out a forlorn sigh. “Very well, I understand. You know, I've been trying for some time to get the others to come here with me on a regular basis, but aside from Fluttershy none of them have taken me up on the offer.”

That wasn't surprising at all to Sunset. Twilight declining was obvious, though she expected her to agree eventually once the stars aligned with her schedule and interests. Applejack and Rainbow Dash didn't seem like they'd ever be caught dead in a place like the Ponyville Day Spa, and Pinkie Pie... Well, she seemed to Sunset more the type who would be politely escorted from the premises after making a scene or breaking something, at least if the spa ponies operated at all like the ponies back in Canterlot.

“Well, I suppose that's just how it is,” she told Rarity.

Another sigh. “Yes, I suppose.”

Sunset quickly filled the lull in the conversation. “So... how did you and Fluttershy and all the others become friends, exactly? No offense, but you all seem so... different.”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose we do, don't we?” Rarity said offhoofedly. “Well, you know how things are. You just find yourself sort of... gravitating towards other ponies over the years. We all just sort of... clicked, especially once Twilight was in the picture.”

“Huh,” Sunset murmured, a conversation she'd had with Princess Celestia shortly after the Summer Sun Celebration echoing in her ears. She wondered how much the six of them had really 'clicked', and how much of it was the magic of their apparent destiny as bearers of the Elements. It certainly seemed to be the latter to her, even if Rarity had no awareness of the matter.

“Well... how did you all meet?” she decided to ask next.

She heard Rarity give a vague sort of shrug. “Applejack and I have known each other since we were fillies, even if we weren't much more than casual acquaintances during our school years. Pinkie Pie just sort of... showed up one day when we were all little. I'm still not certain where she came from, exactly, or where her family is, but I do recall her throwing herself a welcome party that brought out the entire town. She's been our resident 'Party Pony' ever since.

“As for Fluttershy...” Rarity paused for a moment that Sunset took for thinking. “I suppose she just showed up one day as well, but as you can imagine it wasn't nearly a spectacle like Pinkie's was. As I recall, I ran into her at market one day. She looked completely lost, but once I finally got her talking I found out she'd been coming for weeks trying to work up the courage to buy food!”

“Wow,” Sunset said, nearly stunned as she imagined the scene in her head. She spent a moment wondering if Fluttershy had been living on her own tending animals even then. But she dismissed it as an idle question she didn't really need an answer for, and kept the conversation moving. “And what about Rainbow Dash?”

“Oh, well, she and Fluttershy were old friends from Cloudsdale Flight School, if you can believe that. A few years back Fluttershy invited her to have her birthday party in Ponyville, since that was around the time that Pinkie Pie's reputation as a top-notch party planner had been established. Rainbow Dash agreed, and the party was such a success that Rainbow Dash agreed to move to Ponyville on the spot.”

“Huh, must have been some party,” Sunset said, now legitimately stunned. “I take it she must've already been in the market for a job and place to live if she moved here just like that.”

“I believe so, yes,” Rarity replied in a tone that Sunset thought was growing awfully too mischievous for her liking. “As I recall she took up an open weatherpony position shortly after the move, though she brought that cloud home of hers with her. But more to the point,” she heard Rarity shift in her seat a little and what might have been her lifting the cucumber slices from her eyes, “she's not the only pony in town who's made such a dare I say impulsive decision regarding her place of residence.”

Sunset felt herself flush, and though she couldn't see Rarity's no-doubt-piercing gaze she looked away anyway. “W-well,” she said, “that's...”

Struggling to excuse herself from the unexpected question, she again allowed Rarity an opportunity. “That's what, exactly? I know you told us when you moved here that it was to be with your best friend and that you didn't have much in Canterlot tying you down, but forgive me for being skeptical! The journey isn't that long by train ride, and I'd expect that most best friends would be just fine taking different directions in their lives!”

Before she knew it, Sunset felt herself bristling. “Well, most ponies didn't have their best friend be sent off to oversee a ceremony,” she said through clenched teeth, “only for it to turn out that she was actually sent there to prevent the whole world from being taken over, and when she succeeds she decides to stay and not send any letters because she's too busy getting to know all her new f-”

She only just caught herself, but was quite certain she'd covered her mouth too late.

The room was quiet for what felt like ages after that, with only the burbling of the water features to be heard.

Then, finally, Rarity uttered a meek “Ah.” A few silent moments later, she added in a distinctly higher voice “I apologize for striking an unexpected chord with you, Sunset Shimmer. I hadn't... expected... Although obviously in hindsight... Perhaps we should...”

Sunset sighed. “No, no, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, it wasn't your fault.”

“Have... pardon my asking, but have you... talked to Twilight about...?” Rarity asked, voice thick with hesitation.

“Not... really,” Sunset reluctantly answered, shaking her head. “Not since, like, the day she came back to Canterlot.”

“Ah,” was seemingly all Rarity could say for a good long while. It left Sunset with the impression that she had been wholly unprepared for their spa day to take such a direction, which in turn left Sunset with mixed feelings about the mare. What, exactly, had she expected from such probing, personal questions?

“Well,” the dressmaker finally said, “you really ought to. I can't imagine it's healthy keeping those sorts of feelings bottled up inside.”

Sunset sighed again, deeper and longer. “Yeah, I guess,” she said, having no notion in her head to actually do so.

“Hmm.” It didn't sound to Sunset like Rarity was satisfied by her response, but fortunately it wasn't pressed. “Well at any rate, I am glad that despite any, ah, ill feelings you may have had towards our little group you've still seen fit to spend time with all of us.”

A noncommittal grunt was all Sunset had in her to reply with, and the room went quiet again.

“You know what I think will cheer you up?” Rarity asked with conviction Sunset felt was misguided. “A good massage. The masseuses here are absolutely divine, Sunset Shimmer, they'll work all that tension out of your body lickety-split.”

“If you say so,” Sunset replied.

She imagined that Rarity gave her a piercing look of some sort, because there was an unusually long pause before she called out “Aloe! Lotus! We're ready for our massages!”

This was answered so swiftly by the opening of a door that Sunset could only assume the spa ponies had been lying in wait this whole time. Her heart sank a bit, and she dearly hoped that nopony had heard what she'd said to Rarity.

“Right away Miss Rarity!” the two spa ponies chorused, and the room fell silent again.

“Err... for the record...,” Sunset spoke up after a moment.

“Yes?” Rarity replied all too eagerly.

“I would... appreciate it if you kept what we talked about between us.”

There was a pause before Rarity replied. “Why, but of course! I would never betray your confidence like that!”

Sunset had difficulty believing her; just trying to trust her at all left a sour taste in her mouth. Yet she felt she had no choice; blackmail and the like had been off her proverbial table for quite some time now. Not that she had anything she could use as leverage against Rarity anyway. All she could do was give her a half-hearted “Thanks...”

It was a thankfully short time after that the masseuses arrived. Or the first one anyway. Sunset lifted one of her cucumber slices to get a look at her, though she had to squint at first as her eyes readjusted. She was about the same as the rest of the staff: vaguely purple and dressed in pastels.

“Ah, hello Miss Rarity, Miss Sunset,” she said in a surprisingly local accent, and Sunset quickly noticed how tense she was. The way her eyes kept flicking towards the door or wall, how she seemed to almost creep forward as though something was about to jump out and scare her... It made Sunset herself tense just to watch. But she couldn't figure out for the life of her why the mare was so on edge in a spa of all places.

A glance at Rarity showed her looking similarly which only unnerved Sunset more; their eyes met, and in that moment they were absolutely united in their worry.

And then the door opened again, which oddly seemed to take the first masseuse off-guard. The pony that came through – with great difficulty – took Sunset off hers.

She was no stranger to large ponies. She'd spent most of her life under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, who was easily the tallest (and most graceful, and most beautiful) pony in the world. She'd met Big Mac and countless other similarly-large earth stallions, built tall and strong for the hardest of physical labor.

The stallion who'd just entered the room, grinning ear to ear and decked out in the finest of pale gray-blue spa scrubs, wasn't like either of those body types. For one thing he seemed to be about 98% muscle, and the rough size and shape of a large shipping container laying on its side. He was also albino, or nearabouts; white coat, red eyes, blonde mane and tail though it could have been dyed. His cutie mark was a dumbbell, and Sunset was simultaneously unsurprised and terrified that he was apparently a masseuse.

“YEAH! Who's ready for a MASSAGE?” he said with an enthusiasm and volume that nearly blew away Sunset's facial mask.

“Uhh...” was all Sunset could manage by way of reply. She looked at Rarity, who seemed to be working herself up to ask a question.

The first masseuse, who had apparently recovered from the shock of her coworker's entrance, cut her off. “Ah, yeah. Hello. I'm Almond Oil, and this is... Bulk Biceps.” She looked like she was trying not to wince as she said the stallion's name. Bulk, for his part, seemed happily oblivious.

“Yup, that's me,” he said with a chuckle, giving his chest a good thump.

“Ah,” Rarity said, the word short and crisp as she finally found a moment to speak up. “Pardon me. Are you, perhaps, new to the spa, Mr, ah, Biceps was it? Because I can't quite recall ever seeing you in this context before.”

Bulk puffed himself up with pride, and even rubbed the end of his muzzle. “Just started last week.”

“And he's been doing very good with the deep tissue massages,” Almond explained before shifting into a more apologetic tone. “But with Soft Taps on vacation, we've had to pull him in for some of the more-” she cast a quick glance at an oblivious Bulk and wince- “delicate treatments. I hope that won't be a problem, Miss Rarity.”

“Oh no, not at all!” Rarity replied, but Sunset thought her smile was rather forced. “Ah...” Her eyes met Sunset's, and Sunset quickly got an inkling of what she wanted to ask.

And before she knew it, she made a decision. “Alright big guy, you can do me,” she said, flipping over out of the chair she'd been lying in. Oddly, she didn't feel any real misgivings as to what she'd just volunteered to do; she wasn't exactly looking forward to it and she had every intention of making Rarity repay the favor at a later date, but Sunset didn't feel a trace of bitterness. If anything she just saw it akin to a chore to be completed, similar to so many other things she'd had to do lately because of Twilight and her new friends.

“Alright,” Bulk said, muscles still bulging with enthusiasm. He led Sunset to the nearest massage table while Almond Oil did the same for Rarity, and the two mares quickly got situated.

The first hoof jabbing into her back produced a jolt of pain that caused her entire body to spasm.

Bulk laughed. “Whoops, sorry about that. Guess I don't know my own strength.”

The second jab was much softer, and to Sunset's surprise she found the pain slowly fading as the massage progressed. Every so often there was a touch that was a bit too hard or not quite in the right place, but for the most part Sunset found herself begin to relax. And if the sound of her enraptured moans were anything to go by, Rarity was feeling quite relaxed herself.

Of course, lying silently on her belly wasn't Sunset's style. Neither was making smalltalk with the ponies servicing her, typically, but with them in the room she felt less comfortable trying to resume her chat with Rarity less it get steered in a personal direction again. So, her boredom ruled, striking up a conversation with the slab of meat that was currently tenderizing her back was the way to go.

“So, Bulk, what makes a big guy like you get into massage?” she asked, the first idle question that came to her mind.

Based on the pause that followed she guessed he hadn't expected the question. Then he chuckled and answered, “Hey, a guy's gotta pay the bills somehow! Plus, like, massage is mostly just hitting stuff and being good with your hooves. And I figured,” to Sunset's dismay Bulk's divided focus meant a definitively harder massage, and her pained grunts went unheard, “hey! I'm good with my hooves, and also at hitting stuff!”

“I like to think there's a little bit more to it myself,” Almond Oil chimed in. “But, well, ponies with the most relevant talents are hard to come by...”

Bulk laughed again. “Totally,” he said, the veiled insult apparently lost on him. “Ponies with massage cutie marks must be almost as rare as ponies with weightlifting cutie marks!” Or perhaps not.

“Hmm, true,” Rarity murmured from her nearby table. “I can't say I recall seeing another pony with a cutie mark quite like yours, Bulk.”

“There's a few of us,” Bulk said, “but we only really get together for the annual Equestrian Weightlifting Championship.”

“There's an annual weightlifting championship?” Sunset asked, her skepticism thick. In all her years at Princess Celestia's side, she'd never heard so much as a peep about any weightlifting competitions. She didn't even think they were an event in the Equestria Games!

“Oh yeah, totally,” Bulk answered without interrupting the massage. “There's, like, twelve of us. We get together in a big clearing and take turns lifting as much as we can. Winner gets to keep the Equestrian Weightlifting Association's trophy for the whole year. I've only won it once, but, I'm feeling confident about my chances this year. My mom won it, like, five years in a row, so it runs in the family.”

A thought had occurred to Sunset soon into his explanation, but Rarity was the first to ask the natural question. “Ah, pardon, but I can't help but notice how... unofficial it seems.” A beat, and she hastily added “Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.”

Bulk was silent for a few seconds. “Huh,” he finally said. “I guess I can sorta see why you'd think that. But nah, we've been doing it for decades, it's as official as anything!”

“Well, if you say so,” Sunset said, not caring enough to bring up any number of details she felt would dispute what he was saying. Like permits, or the Board of Athletics Associations, or actual records of the alleged Weightlifting Association's members and rules and so on. And probably some other things, too. Sunset was rusty on some of the specifics of Equestrian civil law.

“Anyway,” Bulk said, voice full of casual confidence that quickly petered out into a noticeable pause. “Uh, what was I saying again?”

“I believe we were discussing the, well, rarity of ponies with marks similar to yours before that little championship diversion,” Rarity said.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Bulk said, confidence returning and causing him to hit a pressure point in Sunset's croup that produced a surge of pain, in turn causing her to kick backwards with one leg. It hit Bulk in the stomach, and it felt to Sunset like kicking a brick wall. He didn't seem to notice. “So yeah, not a lotta weightlifting competitions going on means I gotta find work where I can. Like here!”

“Yup,” Almond Oil chimed in awkwardly.

“You know,” Sunset said after a moment once she'd relaxed again, “you could probably apply for a stipend. The Princess has loads of money set aside for ponies like you who can't find cutie mark-related work.”

“There is?” Bulk said with a distinct note of confusion, even pausing in his massage efforts.

“Yup,”Sunset answered. “Princess Celestia isn't about to let ponies go hungry because they can't find work. Or, you know, at all, but that's beside the point.”

“Huh...” said Bulk. He went silent again, and more importantly to Sunset did not resume her massage. It got to the point that Sunset actually propped herself up on one leg and sent an annoyed look back over her shoulder, but she stopped when she saw the almost cross-eyed look of deep thought on his muzzle.

She waited another moment, then perked a brow. “Uh, Bulk? You still there big guy?”

That got his attention, and he quickly shook away whatever was in his head. “Yeah, sorry,” he said, resuming the massage as Sunset laid back down. “Just thinking about the whole stipend thing. I don't think it's for me. I kinda like working here!”

“But... it would give you more time to, uh, practice lifting dumbbells!” Almond said, and if Sunset hadn't already pegged her opinion of Bulk the spa pony may as well have shouted it. “And maybe branch out into other, uh, things related to lifting dumbbells.”

Bulk laughed. “Like I need to! I got loads of dumbbells to lift in Ponyville, I don't think I'll ever run out!”

“Well, you could, uh,” Almond thought quickly, “use the time to, uh, work on achieving your dream!”

“Oh! You have a dream, Bulk?” Rarity asked, and Sunset nearly laughed at how genuinely eager she was.

“Yup,” he said proudly. “I guess it's kinda cliché, but I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt.”

“A Wonderbolt?” Sunset asked, the words already flowing while her mind was preoccupied wondering whether or not she'd missed something. “Don't you have to be, you know, a pegasus to join?”

The subsequent moment of silence told Sunset she had, in fact, missed something crucial. Even if she still couldn't figure out what.

“Uh, yeah, as far as I know,” Bulk said, sounding completely confused. “What's the problem?”

“Uhhh...,” was all Sunset could say, a certain impossible-sounding possibility occurring to her. Just trying to think about it was enough to make her cheeks become peculiarly warm, and a good portion of her gastrointestinal system had apparently decided it was time to sink away into nothingness. She chanced a glance at Rarity and saw both her and Almond Oil staring with secondhoof horror.

She laid her head back down, and spent a moment just wallowing in the mortification she was experiencing for the first time in... She honestly couldn't remember.

Eventually, she forced herself to say “You... are a pegasus, aren't you?”

“Well, yeah, what else would I be?”

Sunset turned her body just enough to look back at him, and saw him similarly contorted and giving the wings on his back a puzzled look.

“Whoa,” she said, having the presence of mind to at least add “How did I miss those?” no matter how stilted it probably sounded.

It was because they were small. Very, very small. She'd seen bigger wings on foals. They were small enough to give her doubts about his flying ability, and that was before factoring in Bulk's, well, bulk. Without knowing the equations describing pegasus flight off the top of her head, she could only fathom the amount of natural magic that it would take just to get him airborne as 'too much'.

And yet, his dream was apparently to become a Wonderbolt – in other words, one of the best fliers in Equestria. Sunset couldn't see him achieving that dream no matter how hard he tried, and while others would no doubt commend him for his lofty goals it only left a bad taste in Sunset's mouth. She'd pegged him as a bit of a dim light the moment she'd seen him, but talking with him had been amusing enough. But that had been when she'd thought he was an earth pony; knowing that he was a pegasus with actual, ridiculously unattainable ambition just made her uncomfortable at how stupid he apparently was.

She was pulled from her train of thought by the realization that the conversation had proceeded without her input. “...thought of it like that,” she heard Bulk say. “Huh. Come to think of it, most of the other weightlifters are earth ponies. Weird.”

Just glancing at Rarity and Almond Oil told Sunset how little they agreed. But it seemed that none of the three had any heart to break it to Bulk, so they remained silent.

“Well, regardless,” Rarity eventually said, “I'm sure you'll achieve your goal eventually with hard work and proper training.” Sunset couldn't tell if she was lying or honestly believed it.

Either way, she could sense the conversation was drifting too close to an area that would just make Rarity mope about her lack of spectacular business success, so Sunset decided to steer things away. Again.

“So, Almond, tell me about yourself,” Sunset asked, having decided she was good on hearing from Bulk.

Almond replied with a vague grunt, and Sunset thought she saw the mare shrug out of the corner of her eye while continuing to massage Rarity. “What's there to tell? I grew up just down the road from Ponyville, and moved here when the Day Spa opened up. I love my job, and I'm happy with my life.”

“Mm, I'm glad for you,” Rarity said. “Really, I am. It seems that our quiet little town is filled with ponies that are just as perfectly satisfied with their lives as you are.”

Sunset stifled a groan, both about where Rarity was obviously headed again and at her own failure to prevent it.

The dressmaker sighed. “I only wish I felt quite the same way. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Ponyville and my boutique, but I do have my own dreams to fulfill.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Bulk said, and Sunset was grateful to still feel his hooves pressing in to her shoulders. “It's like, there's so much more you wanna do with your life. You know?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Rarity said. “And I don't care what anypony says, there's nothing wrong with dreaming big.”

“Hey, can't argue with that,” Sunset said, a wave of recollection washing over her. Her thoughts drifted back to her own ambitions, the ones she'd had for as long as she could remember. She was going to be great. A unicorn so powerful her name would be known all around the world. Probably a Princess, too, assuming she could prove she deserved it before she was old and gray. Admittedly some of her ambitions had fallen onto the wayside lately, but as far as Sunset was concerned that was solely because she needed to focus on actually gaining the power and skill that powerful unicorns were known for.

There weren't any shortcuts for that kind of thing. Princess Celestia had told her that time and again.

“Oh, and what are your big dreams, Sunset?” Rarity asked, snapping her thoughts back to the present.

Sunset closed her eyes and shrugged while Bulk was preoccupied with reapplying massage oil to her back. “Oh, you know, just the next great unicorn wizard,” she answered, putting just enough cockiness into her voice that the others wouldn't think to delve deeper – sharing her ambition of becoming the next alicorn Princess would only make her seem egotistical. “Should be easy, what with being Princess Celestia's personal student and all.”

“Whoa, you're the student of Princess Celestia?” Bulk said, voice filled with an amount of surprise and awe that took Sunset off her guard.

“Oh my, didn't you know?” Rarity replied, and Sunset could hear her smile slyly. “Came here from Canterlot to live with a close friend of mine not that long ago.”

Sunset didn't know what she hated more, that Rarity was apparently using her position as a means to boost her own status with a pair of masseuses, or herself for practically walking right into it. Between the gossip her artifacts being shipped had generated and Twilight's extensive tour of the town, she hadn't realized that anypony didn't know who she was. But apparently Bulk Biceps was just that oblivious.

“Wow, you musta seen a lot of cool stuff,” Bulk said, still in awe. “Hey, you think you can get me a hoof in the door with the Wonderbolts?”

She spent a moment contemplating just what tone she should take with a pony who was starting to become annoying, but was also in a position to crush her spine. She decided any snippiness probably wasn't worth the risk, and settled for a private eye-roll instead. “Sorry, but I don't really know them well enough,” she told him.

“Huh,” he said, voice flat. “Guess I'll just have to audition like everypony else. Oh well. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the massage is done.” A beat. “You feel relaxed, right?”

It hadn't occurred to Sunset, but she did. At least her muscles were relaxed anyway; her mind was still worked up over the various conversations. “Yeah, I am. Thanks.”

“Awesome! No problem!” Bulk said, grinning as she sat up on her haunches.

From the next table, Rarity sighed. “My, time flies, doesn't it? Splendid job, though, Almond Oil.”

“Thank you, Miss Rarity,” Almond said with a slight bow. “We'll go get your hooficure artists and tell them that you're ready.”

“YEAH!” Bulk yelled to the shock of all. Almond sighed once she recovered, and the two went back to the door they'd come in through. Almond went first, and for good reason – Bulk got stuck when he tried going through again. “Come... on... you...!” Sunset and Rarity heard him grunt, sharing an astounded look before a mighty crack drew their attention back to the door.

Bulk had finally gotten through, but had taken the door frame – and a few pieces of wall – with him.

Rarity looked back at Sunset, eyes wide. “Oh my.”

“Yeah, I think understand why Almond Oil doesn't like having him around,” Sunset said, eyed glued to the gaping hole where the door used to be.

“Hmm... I suppose she was being more than just supportive of Bulk leaving to pursue his dream...” she replied, hoof on her chin as though she'd somehow only just had the thought.

Sunset sighed, and rested back down on the massage table. “Not the worst massage I've ever had, though, I'll give him that.”

“I'll take your word for it...,” Rarity said, her doubt showing through in the frown she was giving the ex-doorway. “To be honest, I've been having my doubts that you're enjoying our little outing.”

Sunset spent a good few moments thinking over her answer. Then she sighed. “I'll admit it hasn't been the best spa experience I've ever had, but it's had its moments.” She offered the dressmaker a smile. “Though I'll save my final judgment for after the hooficure.”

The hooficure ended up going perfectly fine, and despite repeated questions from Rarity about whether I wanted to do anything else at the spa, and assurances that she'd cover the entire bill, and the 'Oh but I'm not quite sure you've had the chance to truly relax yet', we called it a day shortly after that. I told her that I'd had a good enough time that I'd definitely consider returning in the future, but left out that the return was at an unspecified date and that I'd rather not go back with Rarity.

The trip... didn't really do much to change my initial impression of her, to be honest. Gregarious, talkative, concerned very much about her appearance and reputation over basically everything else. Maybe not nearly as power-hungry as I'd expected, but definitely a 'big fish in a small pond' kind of outlook. Her attempts at generosity that day (mostly just genuinely wanting to pay to let me have a good time) struck me more as an attempt to butter me up so I'd help her expand her business into Canterlot.

Never did end up talking much about Canterlot that day, I think. Part of me is proud of that, even though it's stupid. Obviously she was just going to pester me about it some other time. I wonder if even back then I had some subconscious drive to spend more time with her and the others. I don't know, maybe.

That... I feel like I should mention some of that resentment I had welling up in me at that point? I don't know. I'll get to writing about it eventually. I just... gotta get past some other things first. I'm sure there's some kind of cooking metaphor that would describe it. “Watched pot never boils”, that sort of thing.

Anyway. Despite not really befriending Rarity as much as she thought, the day was still pretty important since it's the first time I met Bulk. Strange to think that we're legitimately friends now. Though maybe not that strange, since I'm also friends with Pinkie now. What can I say? At first he ranged between a temporary amusement and a loud annoyance, but the loveable doofus just kinda grows on you. It helps that he's genuinely been there for me several times, along with my other friends.

He's gotten better at massages, which helps. Though I hear the deep tissue stuff is still his strong suit. And I still don't think he has a very good chance of becoming a Wonderbolt, not that I've ever had the heart to break it to him.

So... yeah. First big interaction with Fluttershy, first spa day with Rarity, first time meeting Bulk. Not a bad amount of writing for today, though I should really call it done since I have to go check on the Bowl of Wonders. (later update: for those wondering, I filled it with almond oil and got refried beans! I think I might be onto something!) (later later update: I wasn't.)

For the record, I do intend on keeping with the 'major events' theme for thenext few all subsequent entries. Although, uh, I guess 'major' may not be the best descriptor? Important? Notable? Something like that. But mostly right now I wanna follow the trend I set up with these last few stories and share some stuff involving Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

And then after that... Well, I guess I won't have any choice left. I'm not looking forward to it.

- Sunset Shimmer

First Impressions - Spectrum

Dear Diary,

Well, I've been doing I did some thinking last night about what I wanted to write about next, exactly, and I decided that I don't really have any big Rainbow Dash stories from the early days like I do with the others. (Except Fluttershy) I guess that's just how she is. She really only has two speeds that I've noticed: constant motion, and asleep. Fortunately I haven't had many reasons to need her to stay in one place for an extended period of time.

But anyway, regardless of my lack of big stories with her I do still feel the need to talk about her before I talk about Pinkie Pie. So, after racking my brain a bit and gathering some information about details I may have missed from the ponies involved (without letting them know what it was for, obviously) I came up with a few short tales about Rainbow Dash to share.

So, let's see, where to begin...

It was a hot and humid morning not too long after Sunset's initial tour of Ponyville. Nopony was happy about it, but the word from the weather team was that a big storm was being planned for the area and they needed to gather all the moisture they could get. And once the storm was over, they said, the weather would return to being warm and sunny like any good summer should be.

And so it was that Sunset Shimmer, barely into her morning coffee, staggered blearily out of the Golden Oaks in search of her morning paper. It was like walking into an unwashed armpit; even the cicadas that had taken a liking to the Oak's upper reaches seemed reluctant and miserable in their calling.

Sunset let out a long, put-upon groan, resolving then and there to spend the entire day in the relative coolness of her basement lab. Which, she reflected as she scanned the ground for the elusive Ponyville Express, she had already planned on doing anyway. Though perhaps she could convince Twilight to spend the day down there with her...

But first, she needed her paper. The six-page morning allotment of reports, notices, requests, and so-called 'pony interest pieces' weren't going to read themselves, after all.

“Where is that stupid thing?” she muttered to herself, taking a sip of coffee to steady her irritated nerves as she failed to spot the paper in the logical places it could have landed in – the front step, the flowers that flanked the front step, and under the sign. “Please tell me it came,” she added, whirling around to double-check where she'd already looked. “The last thing I need is to have to wait for the stupid thing on a morning like this.”

After failing to find it again, Sunset sighed and turned to the more troublesome places it could have been carelessly tossed.

She didn't have to search long.

“Great,” she said, neck craning up to see the newspaper sticking out of the hedge growing over the doorway. With a tired huff she took one last sip of coffee, before setting it down on the step and turning her magical attention to the elusive periodical. Her cyan aura quickly enveloped it and pulled, but to her continued irritation it didn't budge.

Pursing her lips and throwing away any concern she had for the hedge's integrity, she put more of her magic into the spell and gave the newspaper a good yank.

It came out not with the rip like she had expected, but the pop of a cork. “What the...?” she murmured, letting the paper fall to the ground so she could use her magic to hold the foliage open. Her prying squint was promptly rewarded with a steady flow of an oddly thin brown liquid, which doused her, her coffee, the paper, and the entire step.

Familiar, raucous laughter immediately rose up from somewhere above her, but in her new-found anger Sunset made her first priority discovering the source of the liquid. That was quickly determined to be a large brown glass jug that had been wedged into the hedge, large enough that the paper could be stuck into its mouth but small enough to remain hidden. The jug was unlabeled and the liquid was odorless, causing a good part of her pessimistic brain to run wild with all the things it could possibly be.

Her mouth, meanwhile, just patched in a direct line to her anger. “RAINBOW DASH!” she yelled upwards at the laughter, and sure enough the colorful pegasus showed herself from within the thicker leaves of the Golden Oak's crown.

“Hah! You shoulda seen the look on your face,” she said, flying down to hover over the dripping unicorn. “I got you good, Shimmer.”

“Don't you have better things to do in the morning than pull pranks?” Sunset spat. “I thought you liked to sleep in.”

“Normally, yeah, but what can I say?” She shrugged. “You're, like, always cooped up in that egghead 'lab' of yours. There's no other time I can really get you except when you get the paper!”

Sunset moved a lock of mane out of her eyes so she could glare better. “So let me get this straight. You woke up early, flew over here in the brief period of time between the paper arriving and me getting it, and set up your little 'prank'? All for what, drenching me with...” she shook a forehoof in a futile attempt to dry it, flinging drops of brown liquid everywhere. “Whatever this is?”

“Re-lax, Sunset!” Rainbow Dash said, waving a hoof. “It's just water.”

“Then why is it brown?”

She shrugged again. “I wanted to make it rainbow-colored cause, duh, I'm Rainbow Dash, but it turns out food coloring doesn't work that way. Who knew?”

Most ponies, thought Sunset. Most ponies with sense, anyway. And she was about to say as much to Rainbow Dash when the pegasus interrupted, no doubt due to one of typical whims. “Aaaaanyway,” she said, rolling her eyes and head in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion, “I've had my fun. See ya around, Sunset Shimmer!”

And then she flew off, leaving Sunset to stew in her anger and unwanted broth.

A quick glance told her that her paper and coffee were ruined, making an already crummy morning worse. And in that moment, deprived of caffeine and a ridiculously simple crossword puzzle, she vowed her revenge.

Lifting the mug, the paper, and – after a moment's thought – the empty water jug with her magic, she headed back inside and closed the door behind her.

Halfway across the main floor of the library she was spotted by Spike, who was coming out of the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks the moment he saw her. “Whoa, what happened to you? I thought it wasn't supposed to rain until tomorrow.”

“It wasn't,” Sunset said with a bitter smile. “Rainbow Dash just decided to have a little fun with me this morning.”

“Oh,” Spike said, his gaze turning blank. He leaned a little to the side to look around her and noticed the small drops of brownish water she'd dripped in, and screwed his face up in displeasure. “Am I gonna have to clean that up?”

“You can if you want,” Sunset said, having neither the energy nor the will to be reassuring. “But it's just water, so I wouldn't bother.”

She continued on into the kitchen, tossing the soggy paper in the trash. The thud it made when it hit the bottom was enough to get Twilight to glance up from her morning reading.

“What happened to you?” she asked. “I thought-”

“Rainbow Dash,” Sunset said as she set the empty jug down on the table, her words echoed by Spike as he entered behind her.

“Ah,” was all Twilight said, returning to her book.

Sunset put her coffee mug in the sink, then cast a simple self-drying spell that wasn't nearly as effective as she would have liked. Particularly because it garnered a snicker from Spike when her mane became all frizzy, though he covered it with his claws when Sunset turned a glare on him.

“Try not to take it personally, I don't think she means anything by it,” Twilight said, eyes still focused on her book. A quick glance at the title – 'Fun with Fractions' – told Sunset everything she needed to know; her friend was brushing up on the application of fractions to magic in preparation for a deeper study of thaumaturgic quanta. Which meant that, for once, she could actually talk and read at the same time.

“If anything, she does this to everypony she knows. It's just a sign that you're getting closer.”

“Great,” Sunset said, hiding her lack of smile by looking for another mug in their cupboards. And despite Twilight's words, Sunset's thirst for revenge wasn't quenched.

She had never been one to let an intentionally spoiled moment go unrepaid. Sure, she wasn't the type to ruin someone for a slight like she had been in her youth, but that hardly made her a pushover either.

Once she'd gotten a replacement cup of coffee and finished her breakfast, Sunset headed down to her lab for some private planning. She had a veritable arsenal of potential pranking supplies among her artifacts, and while it was technically irresponsible to use such valuable items in such a way Sunset wasn't in the mood to care.

Plus, she was confident that with a little bit of effort she could pass whatever she did off as an experiment. That way, no authority could justifiably penalize her for it. It was, in her mind at that time, the recipe for the perfect crime.

The question was, which artifact did she want to use? Walking through her lab examining the contents of her shelves, she identified several minor trinkets that could be useful. This one could levitate whatever it was attached to; that one could change the color of whoever wore it; that other one could release a small electrical shock on demand... There were a lot of possibilities, but it was clear to Sunset that it would take multiple artifacts to make a single worthwhile revenge-prank.

Turning her attention to her favored dozen, several more options stood out to her. The twin stones could be fun if Rainbow Dash owned anything made of gold or lead, though it would require Sunset finding a stealthy way into the mare's floating home. The locket 'Folly' was obviously out for being too dangerous – she wanted to humiliate Rainbow Dash, not give her neck damage. But the Jester's Goblet would be good, and with the right set up Sunset was confident it would take several minutes at minimum for Rainbow Dash to figure out its trick.

Of course, she realized, using the Goblet would require some kind of affair where Rainbow Dash would be inclined to drink from it without finding its antiquated style suspicious. She would need multiple, similar goblets, and a reason to pass them out. A party, perhaps? Sunset tapped her chin in thought, working out the logistics in her head,

Transfiguring a bunch of regular cups into near-identical copies of the Goblet for a few hours would be simple, as would making sure she remembered which was the original as she could just make each goblet's gemstones different. But ensuring that Rainbow Dash was the one who got the prank goblet would require direct intervention on her part, and Sunset wasn't exactly the party-throwing type. And now that she thought about it, wouldn't the hostess passing out specific goblets to each guest be strange?

Perhaps something more formal would work better. Assigned seating and place settings, with Rainbow Dash given the Jester's Goblet to drink from. But what event could she possibly use to justify gathering Rainbow Dash and a bunch of other ponies together? Twilight's birthday had passed, and her own wasn't for a few more months. Spike's was coming up soon, but Sunset doubted a formal sit-down event would go over well with him.

And even if she did find an occasion, where would she even have the party thrown? Certainly not in the Golden Oak, they didn't have the tables. It became clear to Sunset that she was going to have to do some more research if she wanted to pursue the Goblet option. And that was probably too much work to really be worth it.

Her eyes fell on the Lotus Compass last, its needle currently swaying back and forth in a vaguely south-by-southeast direction, and smiled a devious smile. An image formed in her head of her asking Rainbow Dash for some 'help' and presenting the compass to her, with a request to find out what the needle was pointing to. Explaining that Sunset was simply too busy to mount an expedition across Equestria to figure it out herself, but with Rainbow Dash's obviously superior speed she could follow it to its end in an hour, tops! A little more flattery, and off she would go on a wild goose chase to end all wild goose chases.

It was perfect.

Or at least she thought so, until she went to pick up the compass and happened to glance Folly out of the corner of her eye. She recalled the story of the locket, and how its creator had lost in it a swamp only for it to be found again decades later when the swamp was drained. Sunset looked back at the Lotus Compass, and had an image of Rainbow Dash, tired and frustrated, dropping the compass somewhere and failing to find it again.

Sunset couldn't let that happen. If she were going to set the pegasus on that wild goose chase, she wanted to make sure she lost nothing of value in the process. That turned her mind towards security measures; a magical beacon that would allow her to home in on the compass from a distance, or perhaps simply a spell to tether it to Rainbow Dash so she could guarantee it would return when the pegasus did.

But any of that would be tricky and unreliable considering how little she understood of the compass' enchantment. That wasn't enough to get her to set it aside as an option for her revenge, but it did get her to table it and reconsider other things.

In the end, I decided to do something else at the next party I got dragged to. But, uh, then I completely forgot about it, so I never really got my revenge. Whoops? It's probably for the better, though. The last thing I would've needed was to start a prank war between me and Rainbow Dash.

Now that I think about it, though, getting Rainbow Dash to follow the compass isn't that bad an idea. Maybe I'll talk to her about it once I have the time.

Moving on...

It was the day after Sunset's spa date with Rarity, and she had woken up with a crink in her neck yet again.

“Uggh, I have to get a real mattress today,” Sunset griped at breakfast. “Seriously. Ponies were not meant to sleep in sleeping bags for extended periods of time.”

“To be honest, I'm surprised you lasted this long,” Spike said, shoveling a scoop of gem-enhanced cereal into his mouth. He quickly swallowed, and added, “That set-up of yours does not look comfortable.”

Coming from a creature who slept in a literal dog bed, the remark stung.

“If we're getting you a new bed today, we might wanna consider getting something for the basement too,” Twilight remarked, spoon full of oatmeal floating in mid-air. “It would be a lot less work than lugging you up two flights of stairs every time you fall asleep in you lab.”

Spike snickered, and Sunset flushed. “Well, maybe I won't try to pull as many all-nighters if I have an actual bed calling to me,” she said. “And like you're one to talk. How many times have I woken up in the middle of the night to find you snoring at your desk?”

That got even more of a laugh from Spike, and for a moment Sunset was tempted to point out the baby dragon's chronic inability to stay up and help Twilight for as long as she needed it. But it felt both too easy and a little too mean considering his age, so Sunset decided to stay silent.

Eventually, the three decided that it was in fact time to see to Sunset's sleeping situation. Sunset took the liberty of measuring the bedroom and coming up with potential adjustments to the floorplan to account for a new bed while Spike and Twilight finagled the latter's schedule to make room for the trip, and after an hour they were finally ready to go.

Halfway to the furniture store (the regular one, not the one that only sold sofas, quills, and related items for some unfathomable reason), they encountered a snag.

A snag by the name of Rainbow Dash.

“Hey!” she called out, appearing above the three in an appropriately-colored blur. “Just who I wanted to see!”

“Good morning Rainbow Dash,” Twilight greeted with a smile, Spike offering a small wave from her back. “Did you need something?”

“Oh yeah,” Rainbow said with a grin that would, in time, come to inspire unease in Sunset. It was a grin that said she had A Plan.

But at the moment, Sunset was just struck with mild annoyance that she'd been delayed from getting something she wanted by one of Twilight's friends again. “Well, we're kind of in the middle of something, so...” Sunset said, deciding to be polite about it.

“Oh don't worry, it won't take long,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I just need you two eggheads to help me with a new move I came up with.”

Needless to say, she did not endear herself to Sunset with the request.

“Uhh, I guess we can do that,” Twilight said with healthy skepticism in her voice as she shared a look with Sunset and completely failed to pick up on how much she did not want to help. “What do you need, exactly?”

'What she needed' ultimately turned out to involve a lot of math, though none of them were aware of that until after Rainbow Dash had dragged them out to a clearing at the edge of town.

“Okay,” she explained, “so I came up with this awesome new trick for the Best Young Flyer competition that's coming up, but I'm having trouble getting the initial speed right. Yeah, I know,” she said in response to what she must have interpreted as dumbfounded looks, although Sunset at least had maintained a steady level of annoyance for the past fifteen minutes. “Usually I'm great with speed. But for some reason I can't quite nail the right speed, you know what I'm saying?”

Sunset was only half sure she was.

“So I figured I'd get a couple ponies to watch me and see if they can figure out where I'm going wrong.”

“Well, I guess we can try?” Twilight told her, answering for the three again.

“Awesome!” Dash beamed, zipping away to show off her stunt.

It involved, as far as Sunset could tell, a dizzying number of spins and mid-air loops that made use of a few clouds but nothing else. It was difficult for Sunset to follow but it admittedly looked impressive, at least until Rainbow Dash swooped past them low to the ground and attempted a hairpin turn around a tree, only to veer off course and tumble into the underbrush.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight gasped, galloping off to check on her friend. Spike hurried after on foot a moment later, and Sunset reluctantly brought up the rear. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm good,” Rainbow Dash said, her eyes still spinning as they came up to her, lying on her back against a bush. She shook away the stars, and quickly alighted again. “But do you see what I'm talking about? Everything up until the end is perfect, but for some reason I can never quite make that turn the way I want to. If I go too fast I can't make the turn and end up crashing, but if I go too slow then I lose all my momentum!”

“Well have you tried just... practicing the turn itself a few times?” Twilight asked.

“Duh,” said Dash, rolling her eyes. “But just doing that won't help since it won't take into account how fast I'm going from the dive and everything else.”

“So what, have you just been doing the entire thing from the beginning each time?” Sunset asked, incredulity breaking through her disinterest somewhat.

“I mean not, like, all the time,” Rainbow Dash told them, averting her gaze in a manner that made it hard for Sunset to believe her, “but yeah, pretty much.”

Sunset shot a look at Twilight, hoping that she'd find a way to get them out of this. She didn't appear to see it, instead looking down at the ground in obvious thought. After a few seconds, she looked back up and with a sorry frown said “Well, I don't really know much about flying, none of us do, so I'm not entirely sure where to begin helping you. Maybe if you showed us the routine one more time?”

Rainbow Dash nodded and did just that, and Sunset let out a sigh in the safety of her own head. She did watch the routine again, at least, and it turned out much the same as it had previously – though since Sunset, Twilight, and Spike hadn't moved far from the bush, Rainbow Dash ended up crashing into them before they could scatter.

“Urrghh... maybe next time you should make sure we aren't in the way first...” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” was all Sunset could say, the world still spinning around her.

The third try didn't go much better, though at least none of them were hit. But it was clear to Sunset that, as things were, they wouldn't be able to keep track of what she was doing long enough to figure out what she was doing wrong. Not that she was able to say as such, and thus get back to doing things she actually cared about.

“Maybe you should try, I don't know, doing it step by step,” said Spike, standing up and dusting himself off.

“How would that help?” Rainbow Dash asked, scrunching up her face,

“Uhh,” Spike mumbled, obviously flustered. “Uhh, maybe... do it in reverse?” he suggested with an awkward smile.

“...in reverse,” Dash repeated, skepticism rising.

Though to Spike's credit, Sunset could reluctantly see something useful in his suggestion. And against her better judgment, she spoke up about it. “Yeah. Like, maybe start with the dive into the turn and see how that goes, then keep adding the steps in backwards if things go well.”

“Uh, yeah, that's totally what I meant!” Spike quickly followed up.

“Well, I think it's a great idea,” Twilight told them both, causing both to puff up with pride though Spike in a much more childish manner.

The three turned to Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be mulling it over. Eventually she shrugged, and said “What do I have to lose?”

It took her a bit to fly up to the right spot to start her dive, which Sunset and the others used to get well out of the way. “Okay, here goes nothin'!” they heard Rainbow Dash call out, and shortly after they saw her swoop past them.

Sunset watched closely as she made a beeline for a tree to do her sharp turn around, and to nopony's surprise she failed to make it once more.

“Well, if nothing else I'd say we've narrowed the problem down to this part of the routine,” Twilight remarked as they rejoined the crashed pegasus.

“Great...,” she said in reply.

Once she was back on her wings, Sunset and Twilight began the process of debating which variable Rainbow Dash should change first: the starting point of the dive, or the angle of it. They quickly settled on varying the angle first, reasoning that varying the starting point would likely take too long due to a higher number of possibilities.

Then came the math. In order to vary the angle they needed to measure it, and as neither of them had any tools at hoof that meant they had to do a lot more guesswork and eyeballing than either was comfortable with. But after factoring in the heights of nearby trees, the length of Rainbow Dash's shadow, the position of the sun, their own positions as observers, and wind resistance, they managed to identify the angle as, approximately, an unexciting -45 degrees.

“Or two hundred and twenty-five degrees, if you were going from right to left,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, causing Sunset to smile and roll her eyes.

“Uhh, okay, can I do something now?” Rainbow Dash asked, having been hovering in the same position for several minutes now.

“Oh, yes,” Twilight told her. “Why don't you try doing the dive at a fifty degree angle next.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her blankly. “A what? I don't know what that means!”

Sunset glanced at Twilight, and in that moment saw her open her mouth with a familiar look in her eyes that told her she was winding up for a long explanation. Deciding that trying to teach a jock geometry was not a good use of her time, Sunset wisely stuck a hoof in Twilight's mouth.

“Just a little bit, uh, steeper,” she said, trying to hide the fact that she'd actually had to think of the right word to describe it.

“Steeper. Got it,” said Rainbow Dash. She adjusted her body slightly, and without waiting for the others to confirm the new angle she launched herself into the dive.

Through the air, swooping down, around the tree, hit the ground. Sunset winced at the crash – she may not have had any liking for the pegasus, but it didn't look like a pleasant experience.

And yet, Rainbow Dash didn't give up. She just brushed off the dizziness and the scuffs each time and kept going, letting Sunset and Twilight and Spike watch and suggest adjustments each time. And each time, Sunset grew a little more incredulous. Not because she couldn't comprehend such a hard-working spirit, of course; Sunset had worked hard and never given up and all that jazz all her life, and seen other ponies do the same.

She just hadn't seen anypony do it with such a physical task before. She was surprised the pegasus hadn't gotten herself seriously hurt yet, or even all that tired. Sunset sure knew she'd gotten tired just watching her.

Over and over again she went, using several angles and even starting points for the dive, and not once did she ever successfully make the turn. Which only meant growing frustration for Sunset, at Rainbow Dash for wasting her time and at Twilight for not calling it a day. It soon got to the point where nearly every fiber of her body was begging her to leave and only her stubborn insistence on staying by Twilight's side kept her hooves planted, until her stomach decided to let her know via public announcement that stewing in anger and resentment was hungry work.

“Oh wow,” she said before she'd even looked up at the sun to confirm its height. “Is it really lunch time already?”

“Is it?” Twilight asked, attention torn away from her flying friend.

Spike's stomach growled in reply, causing him to laugh and give it a pat. “Yup, sounds like it.”

“Yyyyyyeah, I was getting a bit done with this anyway,” said Rainbow Dash, back in the air after her latest crash. “To be honest, we didn't really figure anything out. But don't feel too bad,” she added, and Sunset hoped it was in response to her unamused look, “you did give me a few things to think about. So thanks for the help, but I can take it from here.”

The ego in her voice made Sunset's eyes twitch.

Rainbow Dash ended up joining us for lunch, and we basically just talked about her the whole time. Something about what she was practicing for, what she was hoping to accomplish, what other ideas she had, that sort of thing. I don't really remember it much to be honest, seeing how I really just wanted her gone the whole time. I'm pretty sure she never really apologized for taking up so much of our time.

I was... not the happiest pony going into the furniture store. But at least I finally got a real bed! A good one, too – just the right size, and plenty soft for the pampered city mare. It's served me well to this day.

Rearranging the bedroom to fit it was... not the simplest task, though thankfully nowhere near as bad as getting the Mirror into my lab was. Mostly we just had to force ourselves to move some of our personal books down into the library so we could take one of the bulkier shelves out of the room. We ended up storing it in Twilight's lab.

...Honestly, reading back, this was probably pretty boring to read. But, well, set in ink you know? I mean I could remove it if I wanted to, obviously, but... Ehh. Not worth it. Hopefully this last little story will make up for it.

Sunset had only taken a month or so to fall into a routine – wake up and talk with Twilight and Spike over breakfast, do whatever chores and errands were needed, do some research, have lunch, do some more research, have dinner, and finish up with even more research.

Sometimes she'd change things up by inserting some reading time when she was bored or her research had stalled; she had taken a surprising shine to reading outdoors at any hour of the day, regardless of whether or not Twilight was present.

And sometimes she'd change things up because she was forced to courtesy of the unruly, unpredictable mess her best friend had somehow allowed her life to become. For a mare who lived and breathed schedules, Sunset was surprised by how often she was willing to change things to accommodate other ponies. Far more than she had when it had just been Sunset in Twilight's life, she was sure of that, and just thinking about it caused one of her all-too-frequent bouts of jealousy.

On this particular day, Sunset had made the mistake of volunteering to do some shopping for the three of them alone due to Twilight having stayed up late studying the night before. Her list was simple, just whatever produce caught her eye, and so naturally the fates decided to mess with her.

She ended up in line behind Rainbow Dash. Why the pegasus was standing in line for lettuce of all things Sunset had no idea, but she didn't care to find out. The only thing keeping her from simply leaving the line was her own stubborn desire to see if the stall's claim of being 'The Best in Ponyville!!!' had any merit, as well as a slight hankering for some fresh lettuce.

Rainbow Dash seemed to be having other ideas. “Uggh, at this rate they're gonna be all out by the time we get to the front of the line!” she complained, loudly. She shared a look with Sunset as if to commiserate, and apparently saw what she wanted because she groaned and rolled her eyes and added a chummy, “Am I right?” that Sunset wasn't sure how to respond to.

Seeing how there were only five ponies ahead of them and she could still see heads of lettuce on display next to the stall, Sunset genuinely didn't know what Rainbow Dash was talking about. But, as the ponies ahead of them made their purchases and walked away with multiple heads each, Sunset got a sinking feeling that Rainbow Dash might actually have a point.

Which she did – the stallion in front of them bought up the last three heads without so much as a guilty glance their way, and trotted off with his head held high.

“Seriously?! I mean, seriously?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, hovering irately before the stall owner.

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” he said in a dopey sort of voice, drawing the strings on a fat coin purse, “that's just how things are! You're welcome to try again tomorrow.”

The pegasus landed on her haunches with an unceremonious huff. “Yeah. Sure. Totally.”

She didn't move even as the stall owner packed up and pulled away, and against her better judgment Sunset let her curiosity get the better of her. “Why are you so mad? It's just lettuce. I'm sure there's plenty of other ponies selling it today.” She looked around, and sure enough saw two separate stands selling just that in the market street.

“Yeah, but they're not the best lettuce in Ponyville,” Rainbow Dash countered. “How am I gonna be the best if I don't eat the best?”

Sunset looked in the direction the stall owner had gone, and saw him disappear into the bustling morning crowd. “...Yeah, I don't think that's necessarily how that works. And anyways, how do you even know that lettuce was the best?”

She looked back at Rainbow, and was met with a look of sheer incredulity. “Because that's what the sign said, duh! What kinda pony would claim to be the best if they weren't really the best? That would be, like, lying!”

Sunset raised her eyebrow at the self-proclaimed 'best flyer in Equestria', but the point was lost on her. “What?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe he just thinks his lettuce is the best. How would you even judge that?” She turned and began to walk away, hoping that Rainbow Dash would take the hint.

She did not. “Well, you'd need an eating contest, obviously, but I guess you can't really do those on such short notice,” Rainbow said, quickly following above and behind Sunset. “At least, not officially.”

“Mm-hm,” was all Sunset gave as reply, silently hoping something would distract the mare.

Naturally, it didn't. “So, seen any other 'best in Ponyville' produce around here?” the pegasus asked.

“Nope,” Sunset answered, eyes fixed straight ahead though not any anything in particular. “They must've all sold out already.”

“Yeah, you're probably right,” Rainbow Dash said, missing the sarcasm. “Stuff like that always goes fast around here. I hardly ever manage to snag any of it!”

“Really? I'd think you'd be able to get in line right away considering how fast you are.”

“You'd think that,” she said, missing the sarcasm again, “but it's trickier than it seems.”

Sunset had a good idea why, and wasn't in the mood to keep the thought to herself. “Maybe it'd be easier if you didn't sleep in all the time.”

So her surprise, that earned a chuckle. “Wow, you're really on the ball this morning aren’t you? But yeah, I probably could wake up a little earlier each day, but you know what they say: live hard, sleep harder.”

“Really?” Sunset asked, looking back over her shoulder with a look of faked confusion as she tried to call out the obviously-fake quote. “Who says that?”

“Ehhhh,” Rainbow Dash replied, trying to play it off with a drawn-out shrug. “It's kind of a pegasus thing. I doubt you woulda heard it.”

“I see,” Sunset replied, looking back ahead with a small yet satisfied smile on her lips.

“Aaaaaaanyway, between flight practice and the whole 'weather patrol' thing,” she said, briefly zipping ahead of Sunset, “I gotta get my sleep when I can. Maybe not being able to get in lines early is just something I gotta deal with because of it, but it's not that big a deal.”

Sunset raised her brow again. “Oh really? So then you wouldn't mind just settling for some regular, not best-in-town produce then.”

“Uhh, yeah, sure!” Rainbow Dash said, averting her gaze in the most transparent gesture of insincerity Sunset had seen in days.

“Well, you won't have to!”

The slightly familiar, slightly scratchy voice had come out of nowhere, as had the head of lettuce that was now being thrust in Rainbow Dash's face. The fact that Sunset hadn't seen the purple-and-orange filly approaching was unnerving, and she wasn't sure if it was a testament to Rainbow Dash's ability to distract her or the filly's ability to move around unnoticed.

Though from what little she knew of Scootaloo, she guessed it was the former.

“Uhh, what?” Rainbow Dash asked, apparently too confused by the lettuce being pressed against her muzzle to say anything else.

“It's that lettuce you wanted!” Scootaloo explained, a bright grin on her face. “The best in all of Ponyville! I bought some in case you weren't able to. Here!”

She pressed the lettuce more firmly against Rainbow Dash's muzzle, and the older pegasus finally had the sense to take it. “Really? Thanks, squirt!” she said, beaming at the head like it was a birthday gift.

Scootaloo squealed in delight. “Rainbow Dash thanked me! I have to go tell the others.” She darted off into the crowd after that, leaving Sunset with several unanswered questions.

Mostly whether or not she was aware of how creepy what she'd done was, and how she probably could have just... not bought one and Rainbow Dash might have been able to get one anyway. There was also the question of why Rainbow Dash didn't seem at all bothered by the encounter.

“Uhh, does that happen often?” Sunset ventured to ask the pegasus who was now staring at the lettuce head like she hadn't eaten in days.

“Huh? Yeah, happens all the time when you're as awesome as I am.”

Sunset gave her a look of disbelief, not sure if she was more stunned by the implication that Scootaloo gave Rainbow Dash gifts that often, or by Rainbow Dash apparently being completely oblivious to it.

“Welp, bottoms up!” Rainbow declared, snapping Sunset out of her thoughts as she opened her jaw almost comically wide.

“You're not gonna wait?” she asked, her disbelief managing to find the strength within itself to rise up to even greater heights.

It was nearly matched by the look Rainbow Dash gave her in response. “Duh? Why wouldn't I?”

So many replies – you don't know where it's been, we're in the middle of town, there's so many better ways to eat lettuce than just raw – flooded her head and were quickly subsumed by the sudden and overwhelming fact that she truly, genuinely, did not care and did not want to spend any more energy on Rainbow Dash. So Sunset said nothing, and just stared as Rainbow Dash bit into the gifted head.

She chewed. She swallowed. And she grimaced most of the way. “Okay, if this is the best lettuce in Ponyville,” Rainbow Dash said, giving the remains a look of disgust, “then we have some pretty bad lettuce around here. Total waste of money.”

Sunset's eye twitched.

And that's about it. We parted ways after that, her to track down that stallion who was selling the lettuce to complain and me to finally get my shopping done and try to forget about the encounter. Which, uh, I guess I didn't do too well.

Regarding the lettuce, it eventually turned out that the whole 'Best In Ponyville' thing was just a boast, but the lettuce itself wasn't that bad. Rainbow Dash just doesn't like it that much. And I guess she forgot about that in her quest to buy some? She was kinda unclear on that point.

But, well, that's Rainbow Dash for you. She loves pranks, flying, sleeping, and herself. Not necessarily in that order. Among Twilight's friends she's the one I understand can predict the least (after Pinkie Pie), but...she mostly means well, and once you get used to her it's pretty easy to get along. Of course, she's also the easiest to butt heads with, and I know from experience she's easy to rile. Like I said before, she's a pony that really only has two speeds. But I can definitely see why she's the Element of Loyalty.

Anyway... that's all I really wanted to say about Rainbow Dash. Which means next is Pinkie Pie... and boy do I have a story about her...

But I think it'll have to wait for some other time. Sorry, diary.

- Sunset Shimmer

First Impressions - The Start of a Bad Day

Dear Diary,

Well, I finally found time got a break from all my research and, uh, 'adventures' I guess with my friends, which means I can't really put it off any more. It's time for my Pinkie story, aka the lead-up to the first big argument between me and Twilight.

Well, since coming to Ponyville at least. I... kinda lost count of how many big arguments we had back in Canterlot, especially before we became friends. But those don't really matter right now.

What matters is... that it was our first big argument since the move. Duh. But I'm getting ahead of myself – I gotta tell the Pinkie story for the rest of it to make sense, I think. Unless I'm overthinking it

Anyway. Pinkie. The Element of Laughter. As you can probably tell by now, back then I just didn't want anything to do with the mare. She was annoying, plain and simple. But, unfortunately, I didn't always have a choice in the matter – Pinkie did as Pinkie pleased, and the ponies around her just had to live with it.

But sometimes? Sometimes her being around was my own stupid fault. Guess how this story starts...

“I'm sorry, she can do what?”

Sunset stood, eyes wide and mouth ever-so-slightly agape with shock, watching Twilight as she went about making her breakfast.

“Predict the future,” Twilight answered as calmly as if she were reciting the weather forecast. She spread some raspberry preserves on a piece of toast, and set it down on her plate.

“Pinkie Pie.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Can predict the future.”

“That's what I said,” Twilight said, finishing another piece of toast. “I know it's hard to believe,” she continued, levitating her plate and turning toward the table. “I know I was pretty skeptical when I first learned about it.“

“Tell me about it,” Spike joked, eating a bowl of cereal he'd garnished with a few small gems.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “But,” she said emphatically, looking back at Sunset, “I've already investigated it, and I've come to the conclusion that it's true.”

“But... but how?” Sunset stammered, and for good reason. Prophecies were... rare, to put it mildly, and were only known to come to unicorns. She didn't (yet) know of any spells that could possibly let a pony see even a glimpse of what was to come, and the only artifact she knew of that could do such a thing was currently locked up in the basement. And even the mirror was vague, and far from set in stone. So the idea that some random earth pony, even the destined bearer of an Element of Harmony, could somehow see the future was completely preposterous.

The shrug Twilight gave in response didn't help things. “I was never able to figure out how, unfortunately,” she explained, “but she does experience a variety of body tics which accurately predict imminent phenomena. That much I know for sure.” She took a bite of her toast, and smiled. “Mmm! Tasty!”

“...wait, 'body tics'?” Sunset asked once her brain had caught up. “What do you mean?”

“She calls it her 'Pinkie Sense',” Spike helpfully supplied. “It's just, like, twitches and stuff that tell her when stuff is about to happen. Doors opening, stuff falling out of the sky, that sort of thing.”

“Really?” Sunset asked, screwing up her muzzle as she tried to think back to all her interactions with the mare in question over the past several weeks. “I don't remember her doing anything like that...”

Spike shrugged, taking a scoop of cereal with a big chunk of topaz on top. “It's pretty unpredictable,” he said. He shoved his spoon into his mouth, adding, “Just like Pinkie!”

“It's a minor precognitive ability that only occurs in Pinkie,” Twilight explained. “It's not the sort of thing you really notice unless you spend a lot of time around her. I mean,” she laughed, “even when I was following her around specifically to investigate it, it would often be hours between instances, and those instances would usually only last a couple of seconds!”

“Huh,” said Sunset, turning her focus to her own toast. A minor precognitive sense wasn't what she'd expected from the words 'predict the future', but it was technically accurate. And still unprecedented, as far as Sunset was concerned. If she was interpreting her friends' explanation right, anyway. She trusted Twilight's judgment that the phenomenon was real, even if she was having trouble seeing how it wasn't just an example of a pony with extraordinary normal senses and, perhaps, a good intuition for pattern recognition. She presumed there must be other, more fantastical things that Pinkie was able to predict than simply something falling or a door opening.

“So, what sort of things can she predict?” Sunset asked on a whim. “And how far in advance? Is it only stuff nearby, or can she predict things further away?”

“Why do you want to know?” Twilight replied, brow raised. “Are you interested in studying it yourself? Because I'm fairly confident I was thorough in my own investigation.”

That gave Sunset pause: did she want to research this? For as much as Twilight was confident in her own research, Sunset was confident that hers would be more thorough. Her best friend was at home in libraries and could make just about anything work in a carefully controlled laboratory environment, but actually taking notes in the field was another beast entirely. Sunset could easily see Twilight getting distracted or focusing on the wrong things, especially if – as she suspected – she was more intent on proving the phenomenon false than anything else.

So it was that, with a shrug, she answered, “Maybe. If nothing else it'll get me out of the basement for a little while. I could use some exercise.”

To her annoyance, Spike chuckled. “I'll say.”

She stared him down for a second, then looked away. “Anyway, if you have any notes I'd be glad to look them over beforehoof.”

“I'll see if I can find them after breakfast,” Twilight told her, taking a sip of tea.

It didn't take very long at all for Twilight to find the notebook in question, as fastidiously organized as she was. Actually making sense of them took longer, but that's why Sunset made sure to retire to her lab first. What should have been mostly just a list of observations was padded by far too much commentary from Twilight, and of a far too critical nature as well. It became clear to Sunset that her friend really had been focused more on disproving the 'Pinkie Sense' than simply observing it as she should have.

Twilight hadn't even bothered listing all the different twitch-event pairs that she knew of, which would only make Sunset's job more complicated. She could at least glean some of them from the notes, but it was also clear that there were several that Twilight simply hadn't known about at the start of her study. Which was honestly a major oversight on her part.

Of course, getting the complete list of pairs (including the ones involving combinations of twitches, which were apparently a thing) would require asking Pinkie for them, so Sunset decided to cut her friend a little bit of slack. Sunset wouldn't have wanted to do that either. Although she would have to, if she actually wanted to do the study right.

“Do I really wanna spend half the day following Pinkie around, though?” Sunset asked herself in the privacy of her own lab. “Not really,” she decided immediately, and picked up Twilight's notes with every intent of returning them and shelving the matter entirely.

But...

A part of her really did want to know how and why Pinkie had her special 'Sense'. Not just because she didn't like leaving questions unanswered, but because she genuinely got the feeling there was some kind of magical breakthrough involved as well. If nothing else, if she studied it enough to figure out how it worked, then she might be able to replicate it in a spell or even an enchantment... And that was appealing.

So, placing Twilight's notes back down on her desk, Sunset set about transferring a partial list of 'Sense' twitches and combos to a field notebook of her own. Then she worked out a preliminary procedure for the observation period, including what she needed to do as prepwork and how she would write everything down, and once that was finished to her satisfaction she grabbed her saddlebags. In went her field notebook and an old pocket watch she could use to get a semi-accurate time for each observation and event. Also, her binoculars. And a pen, couldn't forget that.

That was probably all she needed, she decided. Once everything was packed and secure, she returned Twilight's notes and bid her farewell. She took a deep breath before leaving the library, hoping she wouldn't regret doing this.

It didn't take long for Sunset to run into her first problem: she didn't actually know where Pinkie was. She knew the mare at least nominally worked at Sugarcube Corner, but had seen her in enough odd places at odd times for odd reasons to put no stock in her having any consistent schedule. Which meant she had a lot more walking to do than she'd first expected.

Still, she decided to check Pinkie's place of work first – if anypony knew where she was, Sunset reasoned, it would be the Cakes. And, since the shortest route there used one of the town's main thoroughfares, there was a decent chance she'd be able to spot Pinkie's unmissably bright self in the crowds.

As it happened, though, she didn't. She saw Rarity, as well as Bulk Biceps, but neither of them had any idea where Pinkie was.

“If I know her, however,” Rarity offered, “then I expect she's busy planning something.”

“Planning what?” Sunset asked.

“A party, if we're lucky...,” was the answer, Rarity casting her eyes down at the carrots she was perusing. “But if there's none in her immediate schedule, then she'll undoubtedly be trying to make her own fun. And who knows what that might involve...”

With those ominous words echoing in the back of her mind, Sunset moved on to Sugarcube Corner. When she finally arrived she found it mostly empty with only a few customers; a cream-colored unicorn mare with a shocking blue-and-cyan mane and strange purple-lensed glasses walked out of the store carrying a pie just as Sunset entered, and two other ponies were milling about inside.

Mrs. Cake was at the counter, to no surprise – her twins were due any week now, so she could hardly do much else at the store.

“Good morning, Sunset,” she greeted warmly. “What can I get for you?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you knew where Pinkie was,” Sunset answered, provoking a perplexed look from the older mare. “I need to ask her a few things.”

“Isn't she right there behind you?” Mrs. Cake asked, looking just to Sunset's right.

Sunset froze in surprise, blinked, and looked behind her.

Pinkie was there, beaming. She waved. “Hi Sunset!”

It took longer than Sunset would normally admit to recover. “...Pinkie, how long have you been there?” were the first words she managed to say.

“Oh, I followed you in,” Pinkie answered chipperly. “In fact,” she giggled, “I've been following you for awhile!”

Sunset stared, dumbfounded. How could she have possibly missed Pinkie following her? And more importantly, “Why?”

She giggled again. “Because I wanted to, silly! You still haven't told me a lot about what you like, so I figured if I followed you around, then maybe I'd get to see what you like!”

Sunset face-hoofed. “The worst part is that it almost makes sense...,” she muttered to herself, before realizing she'd said it aloud. “Uh, what I mean is,” she said quickly while Pinkie still had an innocently blank look on her face, “I've actually been looking for you.”

“Really? Why?” Pinkie asked, but before Sunset could answer she gasped excitedly. “Oooh! Are you finally gonna tell me what your favorite dessert is?”

“Uh... no...,” Sunset admitted, averting her gaze for just a moment. “I was actually wondering about your 'Pinkie Sense'.”

Unexpectedly, Pinkie froze – but it didn't take long to figure out why. First her ears flopped, then her eyes fluttered, then her knees twitched, and with a gasp she darted away from the front door just before it was slammed open.

“I need ten cupcakes, stat! It's an emergency!” said the earth mare who promptly rushed in, shoving past Sunset to get to the counter.

Sunset shot her an unseen glare, and walked over to Pinkie. “So, I take it that was your 'Pinkie Sense' in action?”

“Yup-a-rooni!” Pinkie chirped. “Can I take it that Twilight told you about it?” she asked, before suddenly frowning in thought. “Or was it Spike...”

“It was Twilight,” Sunset answered, not wanting to waste any more time talking to Pinkie than was necessary. “Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be fine with me studying it for a little bit.”

“Why? Do you not believe it's real, like Twilight did before she did believe it was real? Because that was totally unexpected.”

Sunset blinked. “Uh, no, not exactly,” she said, hurrying to make sense of it. “I just... wanted to try and get a better understanding of how it works. That's all.”

To her shock and growing horror, Pinkie's eyes went sparklingly wide and an unnerving grin formed on her face. “You wanna know more about me!” she squealed excitedly. “It's like a dream come true!” She finished with a hug, glomming onto Sunset in a startlingly swift fashion.

“Uh, n-not...,” Sunset struggled to say against the tightness of Pinkie's misplaced affection. Eventually, she had to resort to pulling out her notebook and levitating it against the pink one's muzzle – not forcefully enough to hurt her, just to pry her off.

“It's not... really like that,” she said once she had the room to breathe. “I'm just doing some research, that's all.”

“That's okay,” Pinkie replied, unexpectedly happy. “Even if it's only research, you're still taking an interest in a friend. And what more could a friend ask for?”

Sunset had no genuine idea how to answer that. She had expected disappointment from Pinkie, not... whatever this was. Although she wasn't going to argue with not having to placate her.

“Good... point...?” she ventured, even adding a hasty smile; it seemed to work, as Pinkie let her go. “Anyway, I figured I should start off by getting a complete list of what your 'Pinkie Sense' covers. You know, all the little twitches and things and what they all mean.” She held up her notebook, opened to the partial list so Pinkie could see. “I already have all the ones Twilight knew, but I get the feeling that there's a lot more she never saw.”

“Ooooh...,” was all Pinkie said, practically gluing her eyes to the page.

Two hours.

Two.

Hours.

That was how long Sunset stood in Sugarcube Corner, listening to Pinkie go on and on about all the little details of her super-special sense. The meaning of each and every one of her hundred or so twitches and combos, of course, but also how she'd discovered each and every one of them. She spoke so fast at times and her explanations were so meandering and complicated that Sunset struggled to keep up with the flow of information, and she gave in to Mrs. Cake's suggestion that they take a seat at one of the tables after only the third time she brought it up.

But, eventually, Sunset managed to pick out all of what she needed from Pinkie's stream of half-remembered anecdotes and unbelievable foalhood stories (what in the world was a rock farm?) to form a complete list of Pinkie's predictive quirks. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief once it was over.

“Okay, now I guess I just have to... see them in action!” she announced, turning expectantly to Pinkie.

Pinkie stared back, a smile on her face. This continued for over a minute.

“Uh... aren't you going to go do something?” Sunset hesitantly asked. “I can't really research your Pinkie Sense if you don't go about your day.”

“Oh, sorry, I thought we were having a staring contest,” Pinkie giggled.

“We're... not...,” Sunset told her, face falling.

And even then, Pinkie didn't budge. “Okay, seriously, what are you doing?” Sunset asked, deadpan.

Pinkie giggled. Again. “I'm going about my day, silly!”

“What, you're just gonna... sit around here all day?” Sunset asked, waving an incredulous hoof around at the interior of the bakery. “Don't you have any plans or something?”

“Of course I do!”

“Yeah? What?”

“Follow you around, of course!” Pinkie answered, booping Sunset on the muzzle.

Somehow, Sunset's face fell even more. “So what you're saying is,” she said, “I'm trying to watch you,” Pinkie nodded, “while you're trying to watch me.” Pinkie nodded some more. “Do you see the problem with this?”

Pinkie blinked, then frowned thoughtfully. “Huh. Come to think of it, you're right. If I'm following you and you're following me,” she said, gesticulating unnecessarily, “then we're just gonna keep on following each other in circles and never go anywhere!” Forelegs successfully wrapped around herself and eyes spinning, Pinkie's next move was to fall over.

Sunset face-hoofed. “Yeah. Pretty much just that.”

“Bu~ut!” Pinkie said, recovering quickly. “I know how to fix it!”

“You do?” Sunset asked with healthy skepticism.

“Uh-huh!” she nodded. “It's easy! We just have to go somewhere else! That way, we can hang out and you can do your research! It'll be perfect!”

“Uh... huh...,” Sunset said slowly. It was, technically, a feasible idea, but she had been hoping for a little more distance for her observations. She considered calling the study off for the time being; she had the list of twitches and quirks now, so she could easily just switch to a more long-term plan and observe Pinkie off and on over the course of several weeks, or even months. It would probably be a bit more of a hassle, having to carry her notebook and stopwatch with her whenever she was going to be around Pinkie, but it would give her a greater variety of sampling conditions should she decide that weather was a factor. And it would allow her to control for the effects of her own presence – not perfectly, of course, but it would be better than trying to observe Pinkie while also hanging out with her.

“Maybe we should just—“ she began to say, before Pinkie interrupted.

“Go for a walk around Ponyville? That sounds like a great idea, Sunset!” And before Sunset could put up much of a protest, Pinkie was dragging her outside – after bidding an enthusiastic goodbye to Mrs. Cake and everypony else in Sugarcube Corner first, of course.

“Seriously, we don't have to do this right now,” Sunset tried to explain as they walked down Main Street, the direction having been chosen by Pinkie seemingly at random. “I can do my research another time!”

“Really? Then why did you ask me to do it today?” Pinkie replied, entirely innocent in her tone.

Sunset fumbled with her answer. Inside, she was screaming that she was an idiot and should never have ever even implied she wanted more than just the list of twitches, but thankfully she had enough self-restraint not to blurt it out. The same went for another truth of the matter, that being around Pinkie this long had already strained her nerves, and she felt like remaining in the company of her and nopony else was liable to make her go crazy.

“I just... just...,” Sunset stammered, “wasn't thinking about all the stuff that we both obviously have to do!”

That just earned a giggle in response. “That's silly. I already told you, I wasn't gonna do anything besides follow you around today. And I may not know all your favorite flavors yet, but I do know that you and Twilight are organized. And organized ponies never do something unless they're sure they have the time.”

There were... so many problems with that. For one, all her organization and schedules sure had never really stopped Twilight from rescheduling everything on a whim whenever something new came up. And also, Sunset didn't really consider herself that organized in the first place. In fact, ever since she'd moved to Ponyville and thus become free of the routine of Princess Celestia's direct tutelage, Sunset had mostly just been deciding what to do each day the night before. If that. Sometimes it just slipped her mind to do so; other times – as had been the case last night – she'd finished an experiment, and then not been sure what to do next.

But how could she explain all that to Pinkie? She should really just lie and say she'd forgotten about something she needed to do, maybe something she needed to help Twilight with. But then what if Pinkie decided that she wanted to help out too? Or even just decided to stop by later to see how they were doing? That would just catch Sunset in her lie, which would upset Twilight, which was obviously bad.

She couldn't afford to let Twilight know how little she cared for her friends. It had become more than tiring, having to constantly hide her disinterest in them, but slipping up risked alienating the one pony she cared about in town. Sunset had had a taste of being alone and had rejected it at the first opportunity; she wasn't going to go back now. She would continue to tolerate the five to the best of her abilities, no matter how dull or annoying they were. Twilight would not have to choose between her and them, and Sunset would not be forced to move her entire life back to Canterlot when she was inevitably cast aside.

Of course, none of that really had much to do with the poofy pink problem that was in front of her right now, and Sunset chided herself for letting her mind wander.

“Helloooo~?” Pinkie called, waving a hoof in front of Sunset's eyes. “Are you still in there, Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset cleared her mind with a quick shake, then said, “Yeah, sorry. I was just...,” her thoughts stumbled again, “thinking... about... how I'm really not that organized?” As it always did, Sunset's skill at thinking quickly did her proud – she'd made herself an opening. “In fact, I'm pretty much a mess compared to Twilight! Which is why I only just remembered I had something I was totally meaning to do today. Sorry.”

“Oh. Okay,” Pinkie said, surprisingly calm. “So what did you have to do?” she then asked, to Sunset's dismay. “Maybe I can help you with it!”

Naturally, Sunset's thought process came to a brief but screeching halt, then broke back out into a full gallop. “Uhh, I wanted... to... uh, check... my compass!” That was sure to work, she thought – the Lotus Compass was a stubborn enigma, and she'd have to try and watch its needle again sometime.

There was a problem, though. One that Sunset really should have foreseen.

Pinkie didn't know about the Lotus Compass.

The two mares spent a silent moment staring at one another, Sunset putting on a winning smile while Pinkie's brow quirked up. “Compass? Why would you need to check one of those? Did the directions all switch around or something, so that north is west and east is south-by-south-south?”

“Uhh...,” was the only word Sunset could get in before she continued.

“Cause if I didn't know any better,” Pinkie said, eyes narrowing, “I'd say that was just a bad excuse to get me to leave you alone!” Sunset's heart practically stopped at the accusation, but she was given no opportunity to defend herself. “But that must mean that...”

Pinkie paused, a thoughtful look flashing on her face. Then she gasped, so dramatically that ponies passing by stared at her.

And then, to Sunset's complete and utter surprise, she put on a mischievous grin. “Oh, I get it now,” she declared. “You just wanted to do your research from a distance, didn't you? That must be it, cause that's how Twilight did it! And if one super-smart unicorn wanted to do it that way, then it only makes sense that another super-smart unicorn would wanna do it that way too!”

Before Pinkie's bright eyes and friendly smile, Sunset's frazzled brain could only muster a weak, “Yup.” Somehow, things had taken a sharp turn back onto the track she'd wanted to be on to begin with, and Sunset didn't want to question it.

“Well, why didn't you just tell me?” Pinkie giggled, and Sunset fought the urge to groan.

With that, Sunset's half-formed whim of a plan for the day had finally reached the stage she'd wanted it to be in hours ago. She was now trailing several building-lengths behind Pinkie as she took a walk about town, making sure to keep to positions of cover as much as possible while still keeping the mare in sights. Pinkie had been strangely fine with the arrangement despite her professed desire to spend the time getting to know Sunset better; she could only presume that Pinkie in some strange way saw the study as a way for them to bond, even with the physical distance between them.

It felt like forever before her 'Pinkie Sense' finally went off, though, but fortunately Sunset was ready when it did. She saw Pinkie through her binoculars stop suddenly in mid-bounce, her eyes fluttering. And, sure enough, a pair of colts came out of a nearby house and raced by her not long after – 6 seconds to be precise, according to Sunset's watch. She eagerly jotted the observation down in her journal, and consulted the list to find that the predicted event did in fact line up with the observed twitch.

Then she looked back up at Pinkie, and gave a start when she found the mare staring back – from only about six inches away.

“Did you see? Did you see? Huh? Huh? Huh?” she asked excitedly, smiling widely.

“Err, yeah, I did,” Sunset answered once she realized what Pinkie was asking.

“So? What do you think?” she immediately followed up with.

Sunset's eyes darted to her notebook, vaguely wondering if Pinkie had seriously expected her to glean more information from a single point of data than was feasibly possible. “It's... certainly something,” she decided to say, not sure what else to tell her.

Pinkie seemed satisfied, based on her squeal. “I know! It's the something-est something that's ever something-ed!”

“...right...,” Sunset said, questioning her plan for the day yet again. “You know you don't have to check in with me every time your Pinkie Sense goes off, right?”

“Oh, I know,” Pinkie replied, waving a hoof dismissively. “But why wouldn't I want to see what my friend thinks about what I can do?”

Sunset had no answer to that.

Eventually Pinkie darted away, eager to continue their little 'game', leaving Sunset to continue with her research. Or try to, anyway – she quickly realized that Twilight hadn't been kidding about the long wait between instances of the Pinkie Sense going off, though fortunately her second one (a knee twitch-shoulder ache-tail twitch combo that apparently heralded an exceptionally strong wind, which was proven six seconds later when the wake of a speeding Rainbow Dash nearly tore her notebook from her magical grip) came less than an hour after the first.

Yet again, Pinkie took it upon herself to regroup with Sunset and ask her for her thoughts. And just like last time, Sunset didn't really have any – two data points hardly showed a trend. But Pinkie wasn't dismayed, and Sunset wasn't ready to stop no matter how tedious things had gotten.

She did want to stop for a lunch break, though. But that posed a problem – Pinkie was sure to want to join her, and Sunset could honestly say she didn't want her to. Going their separate ways would mean potentially missing a Sense activation, yes, but the short bursts of conversation throughout the morning had given her her fill of Pinkie for the time being. She didn't want to imagine how annoying it would be to try and spend an entire meal with only her for company.

But how could she get away from her? She couldn't just claim to be satisfied with the data she had, not when she'd already said it wasn't enough. And she could hardly just sneak off unannounced, either, not when Pinkie knew she was following her. Which basically left her with lying. And while she knew she could easily convince the gullible mare to leave her be for half an hour, she would have to be careful about where she actually ate lest her lie be seen through, or worse, reach the ears of Twilight. So with Pinkie chatting with some random pegasus she knew and seemingly unaware of anything else, Sunset took a chance on brainstorming excuses she could use without risk.

She'd barely dismissed the first one before she caught Pinkie freezing up out of the corner of her eye. Fearing that she was about to miss an observation her mind frantically switched gears, binoculars brought back to her eyes and pocket watch ready to be consulted.

The twitch never came. Sure, Pinkie looked down at her chest, or perhaps her forehooves, for a second, but there was no other obvious movement and certainly nothing of note that came just after. Instead, Pinkie just donned a happy smile, turned, and jauntily walked back towards Sunset.

“What was that about?” Sunset asked once she was close enough. “I didn't quite see what kind of twitch you experienced.”

“Huh? Oh, that was just my tummy getting all grumbly,” Pinkie answered.

“Really? What does that mean?” Sunset replied, furrowing her brow and consulting her notes for the sign she couldn't recall.

Pinkie giggled. “A grumbly tummy isn't my Pinkie Sense, silly! It just means it's lunchtime,” she said, and Sunset flushed as she realized her mistaken assumption. “Well, teeeechnically it means I'm hungry,” Pinkie quickly clarified, “but it's around the middle of the day, so that means it means it's time for lunch!”

Sunset stared at Pinkie. Pinkie stared back. “So, wanna go grab some lunch?” Pinkie asked.

“S-sure?” Sunset answered without thinking, cursing herself the moment her unwanted companion grinned.

“Awesome! I know just the place...”

“Great...,” Sunset groaned as she let herself be dragged off down the street.

Several minutes and several blocks later, they arrived at Pinkie's choice of restaurant: GT's Fryery. It wasn't exactly Sunset's usual fare, but the day wasn't hot enough to dissuade her in the face of good smells and open-air seating. They had no trouble getting seated, and Sunset settled in for an awkward meal.

“So, what are you thinkin'?” Pinkie asked, perusing the menu she'd been given.

“Uh, I don't know...,” Sunset answered truthfully, picking up her menu as well.

“Personally, I'd suggest the deep fried carrot,” Pinkie said. “It's really good. Oh!” Her gaze darted to another section of the menu. “But the deep fried pickles are really good too! Ooh! And the corn fritters! And the corn-on-the-cob! And the corn off the cob!”

Sunset allowed herself a small laugh. “You know, I kinda expected you to go for the sweet stuff first.” Her eyes turned to the deserts section. “Fried doughnuts, fried berry fritters, fried... candy bars?” She did a double-take at that last entry, but sure enough it was offered.

Pinkie giggled. “Those are all good too. In fact, I could really go for a fried doughnut right now! But sometimes,” she said sagely, “it's okay to have something that isn't super sweet.”

“You don't say...,” Sunset replied with a dry smile.

“Uh-huh!” she nodded. “In fact, back home we hardly ever ate anything sweet!”

“Right...” For a moment, Sunset wondered if she was going to launch into another unbelievable anecdote about her foalhood home. Luckily, though, she seemed too preoccupied with the menu.

When it came time to order, Sunset opted for a deep fried carrot with some corn fritters on the side. And, once she was done, Pinkie placed her own order: a fried corn cob, some hush-puppies, and, of course, two fried doughnuts. Their waiter didn't even blink, and Sunset wondered if Pinkie was a regular. Or perhaps fried doughnuts were just that popular? Sunset didn't know.

And, she reminded herself, she didn't really care either. The eating habits of other ponies were none of her concern, Pinkie's especially. Though she was a little grossed out by the enthusiasm with which Pinkie proceeded to eat.

Fixing her eyes on her own food and trying to ignore her companion as much as possible, Sunset decided her best course of action was to eat as speedily as reasonably possible.

“Why, if it isn't Sunset Shimmer!”

Be it fate or coincidence, she was unable to so much as bite into her carrot without interruption. Her annoyance at this shot up even more when she looked to the side and identified the new arrival as another pony she didn't want to be around: Time Turner.

“Oh no...,” she mumbled without thinking, though nopony seemed to hear her.

“And Miss Pie, as well,” Turner added as he walked over. “Wasn't expecting to see the two of you sharing a meal together.”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, causing Sunset to freeze up thinking of all the ways Time Turner could possibly answer that would make her look bad.

“Well, I didn't think your tastes in food would be all that similar,” was the answer Turner gave as though it were the most innocent thing in the world.

It made Pinkie giggle, at least. “Why should that matter? Just being friends is enough to bring anypony together.”

Turner smiled and nodded. “Well said.”

He only gave Sunset the slightest of looks, and without missing a beat Pinkie asked, “Would you like to join us?”

“Why, certainly!” came the reply, the words sinking straight to the bottom of Sunset's stomach and sitting their like heavy weight. She could muster no words of protest as Time Turner took a seat between the two and picked up a menu that had been left behind. “My my, they certainly do have quite the assortment, don't they?”

That earned another giggle from Pinkie. “I know! Isn't it awesome?”

“Well, I'm certainly awed,” Turner said, turning a page with his hoof. “A deep-fried candy bar, imagine that. You know, I've been working on some deep-frying technology myself.”

“Really,” Sunset deadpanned at the same time Pinkie squealed in delight.

“Ooh! Ooh! What are you gonna fry?” she asked. “Flowers? Sprinkles?” She gasped. “Cupcakes?”

Turner chuckled. “Nothing like that, I'm afraid,” he told her. “Although that does put me in the mood for some fried zucchini blossoms. But no, what I'm working on is a new method of frying. You see, the way that current deep-fryers work is to submerge the food to be fried in a considerable quantity of hot oil. Which, obviously, requires a lot of regular cleaning and maintenance, to prevent contamination and such.”

“Uh-huh,” Pinkie nodded, hanging onto every word even though Sunset thought she probably understood only half of them.

“Now, this is all dreadfully inefficient,” Time Turner continued, before being interrupted by the return of waiter, who had brought Sunset and Pinkie's drinks. “Ah, yes, my good sir, just in time. I shall have the...,” he quickly consulted the menu, “yes, the deep-fried potato salad, with a side order of onion rings, if you please.”

The waiter was silent, and glanced at Sunset. “Yeah, he's with us,” she sighed resignedly. The waiter nodded.

“Alrighty then. I'll be back in a jiffy with your order!” he replied. If nothing else, Sunset was glad they'd gotten one of Ponyville's many more casual waiters. Having to be waited on by a silently disapproving stiff while dining with a pair of oddballs would have only made lunch more unbearable.

“Now, let's see, where was I...,” Turner said once he'd left.

“Something about dread, I think?” Pinkie suggested, clearly uncertain. Sunset had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

“Ah, yes, dreadfully inefficient,” Turner replied all the same. “Now, what I've been working on is a fryer that uses half the oil for the same effect.”

Sunset did her best to tune out the subsequent explanation, not because she didn't think she'd understand it but because she just didn't care. It was all a bunch of nonsense, anyway, based on unproven theories of magicless combustion and more than a few misunderstandings about heat magic that Sunset was nearly tempted to correct.

Instead, she tried to decide how much longer she would actually conduct her observations of Pinkie for. She didn't want to end the day with only two data points, but with an unknown amount of time between instances she couldn't exactly count on the tens of points she had foalishly expected at the start. A solid five would be a good goal to shoot for, she decided, assuming she could get them before either dinner came or her patience fully ran out. And—

“—set? Sunset, can you hear me? Is everything alright?”

The sudden sound of her name snapped Sunset back to reality, and with some embarrassment she turned her head to see both Turner and Pinkie looking at her. “Uh? Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,” she said, floundering. “Just... thinking about some stuff.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Time Turner nodded, “I get that way all the time.” Sunset doubted that on principle. “And you know, I find it always helps to discuss things with somepony trusted.”

His implicit request was so blatant it was almost sickening, but in truth Sunset didn't have anything she wanted to tell him. “It's nothing, really,” she said with a small, bland smile on her lips. “Just a few idle thoughts about my research. Nothing worth talking about.”

“Nonsense!” Turner quickly countered, slamming a hoof on the table. “There's no such thing as research that's not worth talking about!”

“Really—“ Sunset tried to say, before Pinkie interrupted with a giggle.

“I'm pretty sure she doesn't wanna say anything because she doesn't think she's found anything yet,” she said. “Which is kinda silly if you ask me.”

“Perhaps, perhaps,” Turner nodded sagely. “At any rate, it's certainly worthwhile to talk about what you're trying to find. I mean, look at me – I've barely had any success with my deep-frying experiments, and yet I've spent a great deal of time telling you all about them!”

“Hey, that's right!” Pinkie exclaimed, the sound nearly grating at Sunset's ears.

“So, what have you been researching lately, Sunset Shimmer?” Turner asked.

Pinkie giggled before she could reply. “Oh, I can answer that!” she declared, earning Turner's undivided attention. “She's been researching me! Or my Pinkie Sense, anyway.”

“Is that so?” Turner looked back at Sunset. “Looking for a mechanism, I assume?”

Sunset sighed, deciding she might as well answer. “Yeah, something like that. Although I'm only observing it right now, I don't have any hypotheses yet.”

“High-pot-a-what now?” Pinkie asked, brow raised.

“Hypotheses,” Sunset dully corrected.

“It's the plural of 'hypothesis',” Turner interjected. Sunset suppressed a groan, and tuned him out as he explained that part of standard research methodology to Pinkie Pie. Using examples.

Why he bothered, Sunset didn't know. But then again, she wasn't really the teaching type.

Turning her gaze towards the open door of GT's Fryery, Sunset tried to will their waiter into returning with Turner's food so that he would shut up. It didn't work, obviously; she would have needed a stupendous amount of magic to do so, and it would only have worked if the food was done. The waiter did, eventually, come out, though – right as Time Turner finished teaching the experimental process to Pinkie Pie.

The idea of Pinkie doing science scared her more than it should have. Sunset could only hope it didn't interfere with her own research, and decided to double-check her wards and locks once she was back in her lab.

For now, though, she concentrated on the wonderful smell of fried food, and finally dug in to her much-awaited meal. The deep-fried carrot was as delicious as she'd hoped, as were the corn fritters, but more importantly they gave her another reason to avoid conversation with Pinkie and Turner.

Not that it stopped them from trying, of course.

“Wow, you really like that carrot, don't you?” Pinkie said. “I bet you like carrot cake, too.”

“You know, Sunset, I wonder if you might like to help me with my frying project,” said Time Turner.

“On a scale of the most yummy thing in the whole wide world to totally super blech,” Pinkie asked, feigning a retch, “where would you put carrot cake? With and without frosting, if you please.”

“I'm certain your background in magic and artificery would be most invaluable” Turner continued, apparently oblivious. “Insights into thermodynamics, coefficients of heat diffusion in various materials...”

“Was that gross-y food-scarf-y noise a good gross-y food-scarf-y noise, or a bad gross-y food-scarf-y noise?”

“...engines, thaum-proofed tubing for the oil and grease, of course...”

“I'm just gonna mark it as a medium-good, okay? Okay.”

“...insulated plating, you can never have enough insulated plating...”

“Now, what about carrot cupcakes? I know, they seem like they're just miniature carrot cakes, but they totally aren't, trust me.”

“...and, obviously, advice on which oils would be most suitable for my needs!”

“You know, it's awfully hard to understand you with your mouth full, Sunset Shimmer. How am I supposed to know your feelings on carrot cake and carrot cupcakes if you never stop long enough to answer?”

“Not to mention how little you've been able to express your thoughts on my project.”

“Ooh, maybe she has been expressing her thoughts, just through eating!”

Sunset struggled not to choke at that remark.

“What, like some sort of interpretive... well, eating, I suppose?”

“Exactly!”

“Well, if that's the case then I'm afraid I'm at a loss on how interpret it all.”

“Hrmm... Well, maybe when she goes like this,” she mimed a few big, slows chews, “it means she's happy!”

“I suppose it's possible, but what if the whole thing is meant to be more, ah, metaphorical? As in, her zest for her deep-fried carrot symbolizes her enthusiasm for what we've been asking about.”

“Ooh, I like that! And maybe the way she's glaring at us right now symbolizes the harsh work we'll all have to do to meet our goals in life.”

“A fair bet, I'd say!”

They were wrong. So, so, very, annoyingly wrong. Her 'zest' in eating symbolized nothing more than her desire to ignore all other things, while her glare marked her irritation at their persistent questioning at the expense of their own meals, meaning that she would be trapped in their company for longer than was necessary.

Also she hated them. But that wasn't a metaphor so much as the running subtext of the past half-hour of her life, not that she could forgive them for missing it.

Realizing that she'd eaten her way through the entire barrier separating her and their conversation, and also as a sidenote that she was probably going to feel bad later for eating so much so quickly, Sunset forced herself to finally reply to them and to behave while doing it.

She sighed. “No, no, look. Carrot cake is fine, and I guess I haven't had enough carrot cupcakes to make an informed decision or whatever. And I'm sorry, Time Turner, but deep-frying really isn't in my area of interest. Besides, I kinda have a lot of things I'm already researching.”

“Ah, perfectly understandable,” Turner said, completely unshaken.

“Totally,” Pinkie added with a sage nod.

“Although I do wonder how you intended to convey all that simply through eating,” Time Turner added, and Sunset couldn't help but face-hoof.

“I didn't,” she said. “I was just... hungry.” It was a lie, mostly, but it was a believable one.

“Huh,” Pinkie said with a thoughtful expression. “I've never noticed you eating that fast before...”

Because they don't spend that much time together, is what Sunset wanted to say.

“But, I guess I've just never seen you this hungry before!” Pinkie soon concluded, to Sunset's unspoken relief.

“I... guess so...” she mumbled, hoping to get the subject changed quickly. To that end, she took a breath to steady herself and said, “Anyway, not to rush you two or anything, but I was kinda hoping to get back to my research.”

“Oh! Well, there's no reason you can't do that while we eat!” Pinkie said happily, finally biting in to her fried corn cob. “Mmmm, tasty! Not as hot as I'd like, though.”

“Mine as well, I'm afraid,” Turner remarked as he crunched a bite of fried potato salad.

“You don't say...,” Sunset deadpanned, resigning herself to the fact that she was trapped.

At least the two were finally eating, though. Conversation didn't slow as much as Sunset had hoped, of course, but fortunately she managed to get out of talking about her non-Pinkie Sense research by saying it would take too long to explain, and of course she didn't want to keep them from their meals since she was sure they'd have questions. Which didn't dissuade Turner so much, but she was able to stall him until something fortuitous happened.

“Oh, there you are Doc!” came the somewhat goofy voice of a wall-eyed pegasus mare, gray of coat and blonde of mane. “I've been looking all over for you!”

Sunset could vaguely recall seeing the mare about town once or twice, but nothing more. So her sudden appearance and addressing of their motley group was confusing, as was the implication that one among them was an actual Doctor – Sunset had received easily the best education in the land, but even she wasn't a Doctor of anything yet.

Bafflingly, it was Time Turner who answered. “Hmm?” he grunted, lifting his head towards the new arrival and quickly swallowing his mouthful of food. “Oh, yes, my sincerest apologies! I'm afraid I got a little waylaid by lunch with these fine young ladies here.” He motioned to Sunset and Pinkie, of course, but that was the only thing that Sunset wasn't entirely lost on. To make matters worse, even Pinkie seemed to understand what was going on.

She gave Turner a questioning look, and naturally he misinterpreted it. “Ah, of course, my apologies Miss Shimmer. This is my assistant—“

To make the moment even more bizarre, at exactly that moment a loud crash came from behind Sunset, completely drowning out the mare's name. And, because Sunset had glanced backwards to see what the cause was – some other waiter tripping and falling into the table he'd been delivering a very large meal to – she hadn't even been able to try and read Turner's lips.

“It's nice to meet you,” the mystery mare said with a dopey smile, drawing Sunset's attention first back to her, and then to the fact that none of the others seemed to have realized she hadn't heard the mare's name.

Sunset immediately tried to rectify this, but all she got out was, “Uhh—” before Time Turner obliviously took control of the conversation again.

“So, what's brought you here in such a state?” he asked his assistant. “I thought I had you supervising the last of the long-term frying experiments from a safe distance!”

“That's just the thing,” she said, “all the experiments have finished baking!”

“Baking?” Turner repeated, confused. For a moment Sunset thought his assistant had simply flubbed the word, but then his eyes widened. “Baking! By Jove, this is an emergency! My sincerest apologies, Miss Shimmer, Miss Pie,” he turned and told his lunch companions, hurriedly scarfing down what remained of his meal, “it's been a pleasure dining with you, but I simply must attend to this posthaste. Here,” he procured a small coin purse from his saddlebags and placed a few bits on the table, “this should cover my portion of the bill and gratuity. But for now, I must bid you both good day.”

He stood and turned, and took off with his assistant with a cry of, “Tally ho!”

Sunset – and, probably, most of the other fryery patrons not involved in recent accidents – was left speechless for a good long while. And when Sunset did find her voice again, her only word was a flat, “What.”

Pinkie giggled. “I really like those two. They're funny.”

Sunset's words left her again.

So, yeah. In hindsight, this wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought at the time. Pinkie (and Turner) were just being friendly, and, well, I wasn't up for it. All of it was absolutely my fault though.

Anyway, after Time Turner and his assistant [unintelligible scribbles] left, Pinkie finished her lunch and we went back to 'research'. Not a lot happened so I'll spare you the details; we walked around town for a couple more hours, Pinkie talked to a few ponies and kind of embarrassed me by pointing me out to them while I was trying to stay somewhat hidden, and I got a few more data points for my Pinkie Sense research.

Oh yeah, and for the record, Pinkie's sense did go off to warn her about that waiter tripping, I just didn't see it. So. Sucks to be me, I guess.

Oh, also, in case anypony cares: my initial observational research of the Pinkie Sense continued off and on for a while, but didn't really yield much in the way of results. The best I figured out was that most of the twitches happen an average of six seconds before the event they predict, and I'm pretty sure the longer waits all involved multiples of six. So, chalk another one up for the Prime Magical Number, I guess. Probably should've predicted it beforehoof, but whatever.

Anyway. I think I stopped once I hit six observations? And went home, tired and annoyed, to Twilight.

Which is where the trouble really started...

First Impressions - From Bad to Worse

So. There I was, at the tail end of a long and grueling irritating? day researching Pinkie's special 'Pinkie Sense'. I was incredibly annoyed with myself for having decided to go through with it in the first place, and had no honest intention of ever following through with the halfhearted agreement to 'do this again sometime' I'd made before parting ways with Pinkie. I had nothing to show for my time except a distinct feeling that I'd just wasted half a day I could have spent better on anything else, and was in no mood to be argued with.

Unfortunately, everything tends to look like an argument when my patience has worn that thin.

Sunset trudged into the Golden Oak, not even bothering to close the door behind her. She didn't care. And it was still technically operating hours for the library, so it wasn't like it even mattered. Everypony could already come and go as they pleased anyway.

All she really wanted to do was rest her aching legs, and have dinner with Twilight and Spike. And with her nose informing her that she'd apparently come at the right time, she followed it into the kitchen where she found the others hard at work making dinner.

Well, Spike hard at work at least. Twilight, naturally, had a book open on the table.

“Okay, Spike,” she said, eyes glued to the page. “The recipe calls for exactly three radishes. And make sure they're finely minced.”

“Does that really matter?” Spike replied even as he put the radishes on a cutting board. “These radishes aren't even the same size to begin with, I don't think it'll make a difference how small of pieces I chop 'em up into.”

“Of course it matters, Spike!” Twilight retorted, finally looking up at him. “The recipe is finely tuned and calibrated to account for the flavor, texture, and nutritional content of each ingredient! Not following even a single step to the letter could throw the entire thing out of balance!”

“If you say so...,” her assistant mumbled, grabbing a knife and starting to mince.

Any other day, Sunset would have found the exchange to be kind of cute. Today, though, she didn't really feel like sitting through Twilight insisting upon doing every little thing by the book when it wasn't necessary.

“Personally, Sparkle,” she said, alerting the others to her presence as she walked into the room, “I think you're over-thinking things. So what if we have some chunky radishes in whatever Spike's making?”

“Hah!” Spike laughed, a smile on his face. “I knew I wasn't crazy.”

As he went back to chopping radishes, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well hello to you too,” she said dryly. “So, how did your research go?”

Sunset pulled out a chair, and responded with a heavy sigh as she sat down. Twilight giggled. “Not too well, I take it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sunset tiredly replied.

“Yeah, I felt the same way when I tried studying it,” Twilight said, annoyingly enough smiling more out of what seemed like fondness rather than sympathy. “Getting so worked up about it at the time seems silly now, although all the stuff Pinkie's sense was warning her about happening to me didn't exactly help anything.”

“Neither did the hydra,” Spike chimed in, sliding the not-quite-minced radishes off the cutting board and into the pot he had bubbling on the stove.

Twilight laughed again. “That too. The point is, Sunset, that I completely understand what you went through. It's never a good feeling to have nothing to show for all the trouble you went through.”

Sunset sighed, slumping forward until her chin was on the table. “That's not really what happened though. Like, nothing really bad happened like when you tried to researching it.”

Though she didn't see it, Sunset could guess that Twilight and Spike shared a concerned look. “So what did happen?” Twilight asked.

“Several hours of walking and occasionally talking, unable to keep nearly as much distance between us as I would have liked.” Sunset huffed. “And... yeah, only like six data points to show for it, so that's the same at least.”

“I don't understand,” Twilight said. Sunset looked up just enough to see her frowning. “I can see how that would be tiring, but you're acting like it was something totally awful!”

Sunset knew she should stop there, backpedal a little bit and make herself seem like she was just being overdramatic. Or at least just wave it off as nothing she had an answer for. But, for whatever reason, she just couldn't bring herself to muster the effort. The clearest thought in her head was that if she kept deflecting, her situation would never get better, and that is what her whims expressed.

“That mare is exhausting, Sparkle. Seriously. She never turns off. It's just... high energy, all the time. Going on and on and on about things I didn't ask for and don't care about, never giving me a chance to just... keep my distance and do a little thinking. To be honest, I can't see myself trying to get more data again anytime soon.”

“I... I can understand you wanting to take a break if it was really that tiring for you,” Twilight said, growing more and more concerned, “but quitting the project entirely? That doesn't seem like you, Sunset. Are you sure nothing else happened while you two were out together?”

Once again, part of Sunset knew that she should stop, back up, deflect, anything to get her off the path she was on. But the feelings she'd been suppressing since coming to Ponyville were beginning to stir, and weren't going to let this chance slip away so easily. Before Sunset knew it, she was already voicing her reply.

“Aside from Time Turner imposing himself on our lunch, which I didn't really wanna have with Pinkie to begin with? Not really.”

“W-well, maybe it was just a... a bad day for you to be doing research outside, then? I don't think Time Turner meant anything bad by imposing... And... and you really didn't want to have lunch with Pinkie Pie?” Twilight's voice was growing higher and more frantic, and the way she was stumbling around trying to make sense of what Sunset had said reminded her of all the times she'd picked apart one of Twilight's research projects and pointed out everything that was wrong, already done, or just ill-thought-out. Sunset could almost see her friend's mind pulling itself every which way trying to analyze — and over-analyze — every word and detail, trying to work out what she'd overlooked.

Part of Sunset felt guilty knowing how much Twilight was working herself up over this right now, and another part was panicking at how close she was to revealing everything. But a part of her that had long been dormant felt no small amount of petty vindictiveness that Twilight was now being faced with the consequences of what she'd been putting Sunset through. And yet another part of her cared about nothing beyond getting the truth off her chest, no matter the consequences.

“...and I still don't understand why you specifically didn't want to have lunch with Pinkie!” Twilight's increasingly-panicked rambling came to a momentary halt, making Sunset aware of the fact that she'd zoned out and missed some of it. “I mean, I know she's hard to get used to at first, and maintaining observational distance in order to reduce the influence you have on a research subject is important for a study like yours, but you're friends now! None of that should matter!”

Even then, Sunset could have easily stopped herself. But, again, she did not – perhaps even could not. So it was — with surprisingly little hesitation — that Sunset finally sighed and said, “But that's the thing, Twilight. We aren't friends.”

The room fell silent. For a moment, it seemed like even the pot bubbling on the stove had paused itself in shock at what Sunset had said.

Eventually, though, Twilight found her words again. “Wha... what do you mean you're not friends with Pinkie Pie? You two spend time together all the, well, time!”

“Only when you're involved,” Sunset countered.

“But what about today?” Twilight retorted. “You specifically sought her out!”

“Yeah, for a research project,” Sunset replied, getting testy. “And look how well that turned out.”

“But... but...” Twilight stammered, “but surely you've gotten to know her by now! How could you not be friends? I'm friends with you, and I'm friends with Pinkie, so it logically follows that you should be friends with Pinkie!”

“Well clearly it doesn't work like that, Sparkle,” Sunset said. “Sometimes, getting to know a pony only makes you realize just how much you don't like them.”

I wanna say that's obviously false, but I don't really know if it actually is or not. But in this specific case, it was me being an idiot and not recognizing/wanting to admit that you can't really get to know somepony you've already decided you didn't want to like. So... yeah.

“You don't like her?!” Twilight exclaimed, holding her head in her hooves in panicked disbelief. “How can this be? How could I have not realized that two of my closest friends don't like each other?! Spike,” she turned to her assistant, “did you know about this?!”

“No, this is all new to me!” the dragon replied, all thoughts of food preparation evidently forgotten.

“It's all new to me too!” Twilight said. “I just don't understand how this could have happened,” she continued, turning a blank gaze down at the open cookbook, “I thought everything was going perfectly! But if I was wrong and everything isn't going perfectly, then what else could I have overlooked?” She gasped, sharply. “Ohmygosh, what if I've been wrong about everything?!” She looked up at Sunset with fear in her eyes, and asked, “Do you like any of my friends?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Sunset replied, hoping her friend would back down and reconsider, but knowing she would not.

“Yes!”

The answer had been obvious, after all.

That, more than anything else, was the point of no return for Sunset. If she lied, she would keep Twilight's freak-out relatively contained, focused entirely on her relationship with Pinkie. If she told the truth, her best friend's emotional state would reach critical mass, and while Sunset wasn't sure exactly how things would play out she was confident that it would end with her being forced back to Canterlot and out of Twilight's life for good.

She knew she should lie. There was really no good reason not too, not with the cost of the truth being so high. And it really wasn't that big a lie; sure, she didn't like any of the others, but the rest of Twilight's friends weren't that bad. Not as Pinkie, at least. And Sunset was confident that she could continue her charade of pretending to care about them for a good long while, if not indefinitely.

It was an easy decision to make. Even the pre-friends-with-Twilight her could have seen that: just take the option that preserved your social status the way you wanted it. The only downsides were that she would have to continue to be around ponies she didn't like, which would really be the same no matter what happened, and that she was lying to someone important to her, but it wasn't like she hadn't before so what difference did it make?

The choice was obvious.

“Then no, I don't.”

But for reasons she could not comprehend, she did not take it.

The room went silent again. Spike dropped a wooden spoon in shock; Twilight gaped and stared at Sunset as thought she'd spontaneously changed colors, her words failing her.

“But... I... you... what do you mean you don't like them?” she finally said.

“What do you think I mean?” Sunset replied, her irritation – and therefore voice – rising despite herself. “I don't like them, Sparkle! None of them!”

“But all of them are great! What's not to like about any of them?”

Sunset let out a heavy sigh, now more annoyed that it had come to this than anything else. She could have asked if Twilight was sure she wanted an answer, but felt it would be pointless. “Well for starters,” she began, “Pinkie is annoying.”

“No she's not!” Twilight immediately interrupted.

“Yes she is!” Sunset countered just as swiftly. “She's obnoxious and clueless, and completely unable to figure out when a pony – like me – doesn't actually want to spend time with her hanging out or whatever.”

“She's just being friendly!” Twilight argued.

“Yeah, well, she's not very good at it,” Sunset said, putting her hoof on the table. “Now do you want me to actually answer your question or not?” The stare from Twilight that was rapidly becoming angry was all the reply she needed. “Okay. So. Rainbow Dash is annoying too.”

“What?!”

“You heard me, Sparkle. She's annoying. All she can talk about is herself, I swear, her ego's bigger than mine was back in school. And she doesn't even have the talent to back it up!”

“Yes she does! Rainbow Dash has done some amazing things, Sunset! And she trains hard every day in order to accomplish her goal!”

Sunset barked out a short laugh. “Yeah? And what about all the goofing off and pranks? Doesn't seem like training to me!”

“Just because she likes to have fun doesn't mean she's not a hard worker!”

“Yeah, sure, right,” Sunset deadpanned. “I'm sure the weather crew feels the same way. But enough about Rainbow Dash,” she said, quickly, before Twilight could retort again, “she and Pinkie aren't the only ones who annoy me: Rarity's not exactly easy to be around either.”

She could almost hear the mare in question gasp and faint in an overdramatic fashion in the back of her mind. And she could definitely hear Spike nearly do the same thing. “Hey, you take that back! Rarity is absolutely perfect!” he snapped.

Sunset rolled her eyes and ignored him. Well, she didn't look at him, anyway. “She's just like all those annoying ponies back home, more concerned with wealth and social status than anything of actual substance.”

“She is not!” Spike argued. “If you knew anything about her you'd know how much she cares for her friends more than anything else in the world!”

“Coulda fooled me,” Sunset snorted. “Every time I've talked to her she's been pretty transparently trying to get me to introduce her to somepony in Canterlot. She wants to be like them so much she even tries to talk like them. How can you even stand a pony like that, you hate those puffed-up so-called 'nobles' just as much as I do!”

“I can 'stand her',” Twilight said testily, putting her own hooves on the table, “because apparently unlike you I can see past her outward appearances to the smart, caring, and generous pony underneath!” She paused, and sat back down in her chair. “And I don't hate anypony. I'll admit I don't like the upper class social scene back in Canterlot, but that doesn't mean I don't like the ponies involved in it.”

Sunset knew that was only because her brother and Cadance were, technically, involved in that scene but had nothing against them and thus had no desire to bring them up while she was, essentially, throwing her own life away out of stubbornness and pent-up resentment.

So she just gave her friend another dismissive snort and pressed onward. “If you say so. Though to be honest I don't even have that much to say about the last two. They're not so much annoying as they are boring.”

“Boring?!” Twilight said, outraged. “How are Applejack and Fluttershy boring?!”

“Sparkle, one of them is an apple farmer and the other one has zero presence,” Sunset answered. “All either of them ever talk about, to the extent that Fluttershy does talk, are their professions, neither of which are at all interesting. Therefore, they're boring!”

Twilight sat there gaping for a few seconds, before composing herself enough to speak again. Well, only sputter, at first, but she didn't take too long to find her words. “Buh... wha... th... None of that's any reason to dislike somepony, Sunset! Just because they have their own interests doesn't mean you can't still be friends! And on top of that, just because you don't actively like anything about a pony doesn't mean you automatically have to feel dislike!”

“Hey, you know how I am, Sparkle,” Sunset shot back, feeling unexpectedly defensive. “I can play the social game with the best of them when I'm in the mood, but it takes a lot for me to actually warm up to other ponies. And I'm sorry,” she said, though it was clear to all that she didn't really mean it, “but those new friends of yours just don't make the cut. Maybe I'd be more neutral to some of them if I didn't have to be around them all the time, but as it is they're just gonna keep getting on my nerves.”

A sudden thud from the library – ominously heavy, as if it had occurred not too far from them – caught the trio's attention, and they silently agreed to put the argument on hold to investigate. Sunset's mind in particular was shifting gears completely, a pit of guilt forming in it that reminded her of how she'd left the front door open, and of how a thief could have wandered into their home in search of valuables...

It didn't take them long to figure out that it wasn't thieves, though. It was something worse: Pinkie Pie, flopped down on the ground just outside the kitchen doorway as if she'd leaned too far out of her hiding place and paid the price. Her lips were trembling, and she was looking up at Sunset with wide, tear-filled doe-eyes that made her feel guilty to look into.

And to make matters worse, she wasn't alone. With the magical lights still illuminating the whole of the library's main room, it was more than easy to spot – and hear – the four ponies still trying to stay out-of-sight.

Sunset took a step back, panic flaring up inside her as she realized that she'd been overheard. Twilight, as usual, took no notice of what Sunset had seen, and stepped forward obliviously. “Pinkie? What are you doing here?”

Pinkie sniffed, and the others took that as their cue to step out into the open – Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity without fear, hard and angry looks in their eyes with a single obvious target; Fluttershy reluctantly, moments later.

“Girls?” was all Twilight could say, even more dumbfounded than she had been.

“On behalf of all of us, Twilight, I'd like to apologize for eavesdropping,” Rarity began, the steadiness in her voice betrayed by the clench of her teeth and the glare that did not move away from Sunset. “The five of us each had our own reasons for coming over, and met up by coincidence just outside. The door was open, so we thought there would be no issue in our entering unannounced, though that changed when we heard raised voices coming from in here. I'm afraid our natural curiosity took over after that, although I can't say I regret it.”

Sunset, who had managed to steel herself despite her panic and doubts, returned Rarity's gaze without flinching.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash barked, flying up and over her friends, and into the face of the current target of her ire. “If we hadn't, we never woulda heard what little Miss Thinks-She's-So-Hot over here really thinks of us!” Sunset stayed silent despite meeting the mare's eyes, which only spurred her on more. “Oh, what, now that you know we're listening you don't have the guts to diss us anymore? Is that how you're gonna be?” She snorted in disgust. “I can't believe I ever thought you were cool...”

“Ya really don't got anythin' to say for yourself, do ya Sunset?” Applejack asked coldly as Rainbow Dash flew back a length or so to make room for her friends' harsh looks. “Probably for the better, seein' as how what we all heard sounded an awful lot like you takin' a load off your chest. Now, if you don't like us, then that's your choice even if I think it's for some awful stupid reasons. But lyin' about it and actin' like you really do like us is somethin' I can't abide by. Especially since it's Twilight you're tryin' to fool the most, who I know you really care about. Ain't nothin' good was ever gonna come of it.”

That struck a nerve with Sunset. “Don't act like you know what's best for me,” she said at barely more of a whisper, her voice controlled and her stare dead at Applejack.

She just snorted. “Don't act like you're so much better than me just 'cause I grow apples for a livin' and you're some fancy research pony,” she countered. Sunset had no reply that she felt was worth saying.

“C-come on, girls, can't we all just... talk this over?” Twilight said, her previous anger towards Sunset replaced by a palpable anxiety.

“Do you really think that's gonna work, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash shot back immediately. “You heard her better than we did, she wants nothing to do with us. Why should we bother with a pony who doesn't wanna bother with us? Some 'best friend' she turned out to be...” Her voice filled with loathing, Rainbow Dash turned and flew away.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” Twilight called after her, but it was too late – the pegasus had left the library.

“Sorry, Twi,” Applejack told her, “but I gotta agree with Rainbow on this one. All of us have done our best to make friends with Sunset, and we all really thought we had. But if all of that was really a lie, then there ain't much more that we can do. I came down here to invite y'all to somethin' goin' on at the farm in a couple days, but I can see that now's not the time so I'll be seein' myself out. See ya later, Twilight. You too, Spike.” She, too, turned and began to leave, pausing only to shoot one last cold look at Sunset. “And you, Sunset Shimmer, oughta take a good long look at yourself and what you want outta life.”

Another nerve was struck, but this time Sunset just let her anger and resentment simmer as the mare walked away.

Another silence fell, but it was a short one – lasting only a few pointed seconds before Rarity turned to Sunset. “You know, Sunset Shimmer, if you had only aired grievances against myself, then I may have been able to overlook it,” she said. “I would have been hurt, of course, but I fully believe I would have forgiven you. I must confess that my intentions really weren't as pure as they ought to have been when we first met, and obviously that impression of me is what stuck with you. However,” her gaze sharpened, “I can not abide by you slandering my friends. As has been said, all of them are simply wonderful ponies who do not deserve the remarks you made.”

Sunset snorted, certain that she'd heard Rarity say similar things about the others in the heat of the moment, particularly about Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She wasn't about to take the scorn of a pony she'd decided was a hypocrite very seriously.

It earned a huff from Rarity. “It's obvious that you don't feel a shred of guilt for stringing us along and talking about us behind our backs. And until you do, I won't be speaking to you again. Good day.” With a melodramatic flip of her mane, she turned and exited with her muzzle in the air as though it would be some great loss to Sunset, who felt nothing of the sort.

In fact, she just rolled her eyes and looked at the last two mares – Pinkie was still lying on the floor, mane limp and eyes teary, while Fluttershy was just sort of awkwardly looking at her hooves. “So, are either of you gonna say something before storming out?” Sunset asked harshly.

“Sunset!” Twilight hissed in response. Sunset ignored her.

Pinkie whimpered, then got back on her feet. Her knees continued to tremble for a second, but once they were stable she turned her big doe eyes back upon Sunset. “I just want you to know that even though you never liked me, I always liked you,” she said, her voice quivering as though she were about to burst into tears. “But I guess I made a mistake somewhere. Sorry.” She sniffed. “I came here because I had another doozy,” she added, gaze drifting downward, “and I thought you'd wanna know. Guess I was wrong.”

She turned, and began to trudge towards the exit. “Worst doozy ever...”

Which only left Fluttershy. Sunset looked at her expectantly, but it took a long time for the mare to do more than rub her forelegs anxiously and avoid eye contact.

“Umm...,” she finally said, barely at more than a whisper, with no hint of anger or even sadness in her voice beyond normal. “I don't really have much to say. I'm sorry that nopony realized how uncomfortable we were making you sooner. I'll leave you alone now...”

Though something felt a little off about what Fluttershy had said, Sunset was in no mood to care as the pegasus turned and flew – actually flew – away from them. The most she did was lean forward a bit to see her land next to Pinkie, who had slumped back down to the floor halfway through the library, and put a wing around her. And once both were on their feet, they finally left the building – with, she vaguely noted, Fluttershy shutting the door behind them.

A moment passed, and Twilight said, “Well I hope you're happy, Sunset. Not only have you been lying to all of us, but now you've hurt everypony's feelings, too.”

“Hey, it's not my fault they were eavesdropping,” Sunset shot back, anger returning. “I mean, seriously! Why were they even there?! It's too ridiculous to be a coincidence or deliberate!”

“Well, if you'd been listening to them,” Twilight snapped, “you would have realized that Applejack and Pinkie Pie had very good reasons to be here, and that Rarity implied the same was true for the rest. And regardless, all of them were perfectly welcome to stop by, because they're my friends. I thought they were our friends, but clearly I was wrong.”

“Yeah, you were,” Sunset replied, unwilling to back down.

Twilight huffed, then turned and headed back into the kitchen. “And you know what makes this even worse? That you never even told me you didn't like my friends.”

“And what exactly would you have said?” Sunset said, her voice rising as she followed Twilight back. She put on a fake smile and mimicked the other mare's voice, saying, “Oh! You just need to spend more time getting to know them all, and that will magically fix everything! Never mind what you want to do, this is all about me now so you're just gonna have to deal with the fact that these random strangers are now the most important ponies in my life!”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock, turning to face her old friend. “Sunset, if you think that I care more about the others than I care about you, you're wrong!”

“Really?” Sunset replied, bitingly. “Because you could've fooled me!”

Twilight gaped at her for a moment, then said, “Sunset, what have I ever done to make you think that way?”

And there it was, the moment Sunset hadn't known she'd been waiting for. Almost immediately she felt a new rush of emotions welling up, her long-bottled sadness at being forgotten and the resentment and jealousy that had joined it when she'd finally realized just who she'd been forgotten for.

“Oh, I don't know,” Sunset replied, voice stilted under the pressure of the tears that wanted to spill forth, “maybe that time you completely ignored me for a month just so you could be with them!”

Twilight recoiled from the force of the accusation, eyes wide and ears pressed flat. “I... I thought we'd gotten past that!”

“I thought so too,” Sunset said, every word bitter. “But now I think I was just desperate for things to go back to how they were before, when it was just us. So desperate that I went along with your plan to move here, thinking I could just entertain your fixation with a bunch of other ponies for a little while until you moved on to other things and things went back to how they were supposed to be. But that never happened, and obviously it never will.”

“Sunset, I'm still sorry for not contacting you for a month, but right now friendship isn't some... some research topic that I'm focusing on to the exclusion of all else,” Twilight replied, anger coming back to her. “Yes, I'm learning everything about it that I can, but that doesn't make my friendships with the others any less real than my friendship with you! And if you're expecting me to apologize for making friends with other ponies, then I'm sorry but that just isn't going to happen!”

“Then what am I supposed to do, huh?” Sunset retorted. “Just stay in my lab all day, alone and ignored? Or would you rather I just keep being forced against my will to be around ponies I really don't care about!”

“Sunset, you're being ridiculous!” Twilight said, face-hoofing.

“No I'm not!” Sunset countered, the heat of the moment keeping her from realizing just how close that was to being the biggest lie she'd ever told.

“Yes you are!” Twilight countered right back. “You're acting like being around them is torture when they aren't bad at all to be around!”

“For you!” Sunset instantly shot back. “I don't know what kind of crazy stuff really happened the night before the Summer Sun Celebration, but whatever magical connection the six of you share is unique to you. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the only reason you can stand being around any of them. The Twilight Sparkle I knew before never would have bothered with those five.”

“Yeah, well, the Twilight Sparkle you knew before has grown up,” Twilight said, defiance in her eyes. “And I think it's high time that you grew up too, Sunset Shimmer.”

The two held their stoney stares for several second before Sunset looked away. She snorted. “Grown up? As if. If anything, you've regressed – back into a little filly, who cares about nothing more than playing around with a bunch of nobodies...”

“Okay, now that's also completely ridiculous,” Twilight said. “You know I was never like that when I was a filly.”

Another snort. “Yeah, well, you're making up for lost time now.” Then she sighed. “Seriously, why did you have to go and ruin the life we had by making friends with all of them...”

“Well it's not like I intended to do that,” Twilight said, circling around to look Sunset in the eye again. “I mean, what was I supposed to do? Ignore Nightmare Moon?”

The words stung. As much as Sunset wanted to say 'Yes, you should've come back and asked Cadance for help, or your brother, or me,' she couldn't bring herself to do it. She still remembered Princess Celestia's words that day – the task was Twilight's destiny; if she had failed, then nopony would have been able to beat Nightmare Moon. The best Sunset would have been able to do is help other ponies get into hiding.

If Twilight noticed the sadness the thoughts had brought to Sunset's eyes, she gave no indication of it. “No,” she laughed, half-desperately, “I bet you would've preferred I just ignore them instead, wouldn't you? Just go back to Canterlot, and act like I never even met them.”

Without a hint of hesitation, Sunset stared her straight in the eye and said, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Uggh! I can't believe you!” Twilight exclaimed in disgust, turning and walking away. “This should've been a great thing for both of us, but—”

“But it was never going to be that, Sparkle!” Sunset interrupted. “That's what you don't understand! You're so caught up in your magical friendship land that you can't see that I don't want other friends! I don't want to spend the rest of my life in some insignificant little town!” She paused there, taking a few heavy breaths. “All. I want,” she continued, no longer fighting against the trickle of tears welling up, “is to be back home, studying magic under Princess Celestia with you. I want to be able to wake up in the morning, hang out with you and Spike, and go about my life without having to worry about some other ponies barging in unannounced and whisking you away for one stupid reason or another. But obviously,” she sniffed, “I don't get to have that anymore.”

Another silent moment fell, before Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, Sunset, I suppose you don't. I wish I knew what to say to you,” she added, looking at her again. “If you really aren't happy here, then I won't stop you from leaving. But I do hope that you'll reconsider and stay.”

Sunset let out a single, miserable laugh. “Yeah, I'll pass. I...,” she swallowed, the words sticking in her throat, “I know when I'm not wanted. I'll... I'll go...”

She didn't think after that. All she had was an impulse, no, a desire, to get as far away as possible. Her legs, shaking and stumbling from the anxiety, carried her out of the kitchen, out of the library, and into the oncoming night. She didn't look back, not even as Twilight called out her name.

Yeah, I'm a melodramatic idiot. I won't deny it. though I do really really hope I didn't misremember anything

At the moment, and for a long time afterward, I wasn't really sure what came over me when I decided to just reveal everything I'd been keeping pent up like that. But now, in hindsight... I can't help but wonder if that was some kind of destiny thing. Like... had I not done all that, I don't think I would've been able to move forward. I don't think we would've been able to move forward. So maybe I just... got a little extra push, to get everything out into the open.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Trying to rationalize or excuse away my actions that day, to make them seem less... embarrassing.

But I can't help but feel that there's something there, at least. I think... destiny can be subtle like that.

But anyway...

First Impressions - A Fitting End

It's... not one of my prouder moments. I mean, obviously, right? I had a big argument with the mare of my dreams (even if I didn't think of her like that quite yet), and ran out thinking I was no longer wanted in Ponyville.

It was... really, really stupid. And for a number of reasons, too, not the least of which was that I had no real idea of what to do next. Well... strictly speaking, I guess that isn't true. But my idea was a stupid one, so...

Sunset kept her muzzle low and her eyes on the ground. She had no idea where Twilight's friends had gone after they'd left the Golden Oak, and the last thing she wanted was to see them – or be seen by them – as she was leaving in disgrace. They had won, Sunset had lost, and she could not bear to see the looks on their muzzles when they realized it.

She just wanted to slink shamefully back to Canterlot. Nowhere else felt like home to her right now — or, truly, ever. She just needed to find her way to the train station and take the next one to Canterlot. Simple.

A few thoughts gave her pause, though. The first was the issue of fare: it was by no means expensive, but Sunset honestly wasn't sure if she had even a single bit with her. She hadn't exchanged anything in her saddlebags after her disastrous Pinkie research, after all. But then she recalled lunch, and allowed herself to relax a little – she should still have her coin purse with her, and therefore more than enough money to get back home.

But the relief of that thought was soon overwhelmed by a string of others, as she imagined what would happen when she arrived. Her old apartment would be perfectly welcoming, but it would only be a matter of time before she had to face Princess Celestia again.

She couldn't stand to think of how disappointed she would be to hear that Sunset and Twilight had broken up as friends, not after how much she wanted them to bond in the first place. And would she comfort Sunset, and tell her she was right to act as she had? Or would she side with Twilight, and lecture her about the virtues of friendship again?

Sunset was afraid she already knew the answer.

But even so, even if Princess Celestia didn't understand what she was feeling, Sunset knew her mentor would allow her to move back to Canterlot all the same. Even if she did so sadly, and even if Sunset felt guilty the entire time for not living up to her expectations.

But then there would be the matter of moving everything she had back to where it had obviously always belonged to begin with. Would Sunset have to return to Ponyville to pack everything up herself? She didn't think she could stand doing so. But she didn't want to force Twilight and Spike to pack up everything to be shipped themselves. And she certainly wouldn't trust any other ponies to do the job if she weren't there herself to direct them.

“Maybe I should just leave everything there...,” she muttered to herself as she tromped down some unfamiliar street. “Twilight can have it all, and I can just... try researching something else, or something.”

It was around this time that Sunset walked head-first into the side of a bridge. Fortunately not in a way that damaged her horn, but it still stung quite a bit and, more importantly, startled her out of her daze.

She looked around, and a single thought came to mind: “Where the heck am I?” It wasn't a section of Ponyville she recognized, though the same could be said for about 90% of the town. As best as she could tell in the rapidly-enveloping darkness it was a residential neighborhood, and obviously there was a small-ish creek running through it, but none of that meant anything to her. She didn't even know which road she was on, and that meant she was lost.

She wasn't even certain how far she'd gotten from the Golden Oak, or how or where she'd turned since leaving. Her best hope, she decided, was to locate a landmark she recognized or a street she knew. And with the buildings tall enough – and sky dark enough – that she couldn't see any of Ponyville's most noticeable sights, Sunset resigned herself to more wandering.

It didn't take long for her to regret everything she'd done that day. “Why'd I have to try and study Pinkie's stupid sense, anyway?” she muttered to herself, uncaring of the occasional stare she received from other ponies that were actually enjoying the night. “I should've known it was just going to annoy me, it wasn't worth the risk.” She sighed. “Sweet Celestia, what was I thinking saying all that stuff...”

It wasn't that she didn't mean any of it, but rather that she felt she should have known better than to actually say it aloud. But obviously she didn't have as much self-control as she thought she did, and it had now ruined her life.

In her depression, Sunset lost track of where she was going again. This time, however, she ended up bumping into another mare. An earth mare, to be specific, with a light gray coat and a darker mane. She had, as best as Sunset could tell, been headed in roughly the same direction as Sunset had, so how they'd collided was anypony's guess. It probably involved Sunset veering off-course in an embarrassing manner.

At any rate, the mare was quite startled and let out an indignant sort of gasp. “Do you mind?” she said sharply in a distinctive, if unexpected, Trottingham accent.

“Sorry, I guess I wasn't looking where I was going,” Sunset said, trying to figure out where she'd seen the mare before. Certainly not around town, but there was a certain familiarity in her appearance that rang a number of bells in Sunset's head – particularly the long, swept-aside bangs and the pink bowtie.

“Obviously,” the mare replied, though with less bite – it looked like she was trying to figure out where she knew Sunset, as well.

After a few seconds of mutual silent staring, Sunset was ready to dismiss it as a trick of the light and leave. Then the other mare said, “Pardon, but you wouldn't happen to be Sunset Shimmer, would you?”

Random ponies knowing who she was had never been all that surprising, but Sunset had thought that her personal novelty to the locals had worn off weeks ago. But, then, the mare in front of her wasn't a local, was she? She must have only just moved to Ponyville from the Griffish Isles.

Or had she? On second thought, a new arrival probably wouldn't know that Sunset Shimmer, the Princess's personal student, was living there now. Meaning the mare had been in Ponyville for long enough to catch the gossip, or already knew Sunset by sight alone. Which could only mean she had lived in Canterlot at some point.

Canterlot – that was the keyword that Sunset's mind needed to latch onto. Memories of galas, garden parties, concerts, and numerous other formal events welled up in her head, all of them venues that had been played by some portion of the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra. And among them, a certain award-winning cellist...

“You're... Octavia Melody, right?” Sunset replied, absentmindedly forgetting the question she'd been asked.

The mare blinked. “Well, yes.”

She gave Sunset an expectant look, and it only took a couple more seconds for Sunset to catch on. “Oh! Right, sorry, yeah, I'm Sunset Shimmer,” she said. “Uh, sorry about before. I, uh, have a lot on my mind.” Obviously, she wasn't about to go spilling her whole story to a complete stranger. But it still felt important to present an excuse for her little... mishap, if only to keep herself from developing a bad reputation with the most renowned orchestra in Equestria.

“Think nothing of it,” Octavia said with a dismissive hoof-wave, but she didn't turn and leave like Sunset expected her to. Rather, she seemed to titter on the edge of doing so, and even in the dark Sunset could see it in her eyes that Octavia's curiosity had been piqued.

Sunset really had no reason to oblige her; what use was there in confiding in a stranger? But Sunset couldn't deny being curious herself, about the cellist and her presence, and the socially-minded part of her thought an in with the Canterlot Philharmonic would be handy indeed.

“So...,” she began, trailing off as she finished composing her thoughts. “What brings a Canterlot girl like you all the way out here?”

Octavia laughed, and at some unspoken signal the two resumed walking down the street. “Oh, well, the same thing as you I expect,” she answered with a smile, turning her gaze skyward. “Fresh air, open spaces, a break from the hustle and bustle of city life... I've been living in Ponyville for about a year now, and I've been quite enjoying it. And you?”

Sunset couldn't do much more than let out a short, awkward bit of laughter. “Well,” she admitted, trying to be careful about what she said, “I can't say my reasons for moving here are the same. And I definitely don't think I've gotten the hang of the quiet country life yet.”

That prompted another laugh from Octavia. “Yes, I suppose it is quite a lot to get used to, isn't it? There's a different sort of energy, I think, in this town; a sort of purity to everything, a simple life without all the complications of the capital, while still having a complexity all its own. I hate to be so trite, but it's like the difference between a concerto and a folk song.”

“I... think I can see what you're getting at,” Sunset said, not nearly as confident as she sounded.

“And of course the ponies here are practically a breath of fresh air in and of themselves,” Octavia continued. Sunset tensed a bit, but it seemed to go unnoticed – the other mare seemed to be recalling something herself. “Although admittedly I haven't found myself seeing eye-to-eye with all of them. My roommate in particular...”

Sunset laughed without thinking. “Yeah, I kinda know how you feel...”

“Oh?” Octavia asked, looking at her. “Anypony in particular? Pardon my intrusion, of course, but you did say that you were preoccupied earlier.”

Sunset swore to herself, she'd been caught in the mare's trap. Or nearly so, anyway. “Ahh... well, it's not something I really want to talk about. You understand.”

“Hmm,” Octavia replied, pursing her lips in disappointment. “To be honest, I've always felt it was best to get such things off one's chest. Venting, and all that, you know?”

“Hah,” Sunset laughed, idly wondering why she hadn't just left already. But the answer was obvious: for whatever reason she had entered a sort of mental sparring match with Octavia, and backing down would be the same as losing. “Well in that case, why don't you vent first?”

“Fair enough,” the cellist hummed after a moment. “To be honest, though, there's not much that needs to be said. I don't suppose you've heard of a 'DJ Pon-3', have you?”

“I... think so?” Sunset replied, quirking an eyebrow as she thought, recalling the name from a few flyers and posters for events around town. “She's that DJ who always plays the latest dance music at parties and stuff, right?”

“That's correct,” Octavia nodded. “She also plays at a number of clubs and other venues in Canterlot. And, as you may have guessed, she's my roommate.”

“Ah,” Sunset said, though she only had a vague idea of what the problem between them could be.

“As you can imagine,” Octavia continued, no longer looking at Sunset, “she and I have quite different tastes in most things. Music, home décor, general aesthetics, just about everything, really. It made it quite difficult to get along with her – and honestly still does, on occasion.”

“So then why don't you just move out?” Sunset asked, now genuinely confused. “It can't be good for either of you if you just keep trying to live together.”

Octavia sighed. “Well, it isn't as though I've never looked into it, but there are reasons that I stay. As frustrating as she can be at times, I do consider her a friend. Her somewhat... unique perspective has helped me with a number of musical projects, and she's taught me a fair number of things about the technical side of productions. And, of course, her attitude is somewhat a refreshing change of pace from what you usually see in the orchestra business.”

“...huh,” Sunset said, at a loss for other replies. She'd just never really considered anything like that before; to her, if she didn't see eye to eye with another pony then Sunset did her best to get them out of her life once she had everything she may have wanted from them. Twilight was the sole exception, the only pony she'd given a chance after her initial dislike of them, but that was a special case. Twilight had proven herself, and nopony else had. Certainly not Twilight's friends.

“You sound as though I've struck a chord with you,” Octavia said.

Had she? “I guess,” Sunset hesitantly replied. “But honestly, my situation is totally different. I like my roommate. It's her friends I... I'm not fond of.” Sunset caught herself too late, and while she'd shifted tracks slightly to soften things she'd still essentially revealed the truth to a stranger.

“Is that so?” Octavia said, trying to sound idle when a single sidelong glance showed Sunset the curiosity in her eyes. “Any big fallings-out with them recently, or were you just out wandering aimlessly to get away for a few moments? Pardon my asking, of course. I completely understand if you'd rather keep things private.”

'Keep things private' was exactly what Sunset knew she should do. How much benefit could there possibly be in venting to the mare? How could she possibly understand what Sunset was going through, having been spurned by her first and greatest friend? Who was to say she'd even take Sunset's side, and not just repeat Twilight's empty assurances that everything would turn out fine if she just forced herself to get along? Who was to say that, even if she did agree with Sunset, she'd be able to help in any meaningful way?

And who was to say she wasn't just fishing for gossip about a fairly well-known pony, with every intent to tell half of Canterlot that the great Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia, had been reduced to such a pathetic state?

Evidently her mind had been spinning its wheels for quite some time, as the next thing she knew Octavia was quietly saying, “Private it is, then.”

Sunset found herself looking at the mare, and asking, “Why?” She smiled, despite herself. “Why does it matter to you? We don't even know each other.”

Octavia gave a sort of half-shrug. “I'm not entirely certain, to be quite honest. I'm not usually the type to open up to others, or talk to them when they're feeling down. I suppose I simply thought you might be a kindred spirit, as fellow city-ponies adjusting to life in the countryside.” She let out a short laugh. “And, well, I suppose I shouldn't deny how curious I am about the life of a pony with a status as high as yours. Though if it's discretion you're worried about, I can assure you that I would never tell anypony anything that was told to me in strictest confidence. Engaging in such gossip would only discredit my reputation as a professional musician.”

Sunset let out a laugh of her own; if nothing else, the mare was clearly familiar with the most important tenet of Canterlot culture: reputation was everything. A promise could be empty of all other things, but so long as the promiser's image was at stake then it may as well be magically binding. Sunset had learned that quickly and used it to her advantage many a time in her younger years, and while she hadn't cared as much for her own reputation recently she still respected the significance of using it as a bargaining chip.

Perhaps Octavia hadn't been so far off in calling them kindred spirits...

She sighed, but it wasn't an especially depressed one. “Fine,” she said. “If you really wanna know...,” she hesitated for a moment, “my roommate and I got into a fight earlier about me not liking her friends. And, uh, they overheard it, which made things worse. It's pretty clear that my roommate prefers them over me, which, uh... stings, since her and I were friends first.”

It was pretty heavily edited, and definitely downplayed at parts, but only because she didn't want to focus too much on all the negativity and sadness right then. It was still an accurate picture of what had happened, anyway, so she didn't think it would matter. Especially to a stranger.

“I see...,” Octavia replied. “So then I suppose you showed yourself out to cool your head and think things over, then?”

“...something like that, yeah,” Sunset said, the thought of admitting that she had intended on just going back to Canterlot being a little too embarrassing at the moment.

Octavia nodded. “Well, I can certainly understand that. Why, after my first big row with my roommate, I stormed out as well!”

“Yeah? What did you do?” Sunset asked, trying to keep the dryness out of her voice even as her mind filled in the obvious blanks – Octavia had ended up returning home and made up with her roommate, and blah blah blah now they were friends.

“I ended up staying the night in a inn, is what I did!” Octavia laughed. “I was too stubborn and embarrassed to go back, and of course I wasn't about to just sleep outside.”

“Huh...,” was all Sunset could say at first, before the obvious question occurred to her. “So you never, like, considered going to Canterlot or something?”

“Why, of course not!” Octavia laughed, as though the sheer thought was absurd. “And not just because I had next to nothing on me, either. Paying to go all the way to Canterlot for a more expensive hotel just wasn't feasible for me. I may have some amount of fame, but that doesn't mean I'm made of bits, you know.”

“Mm...” It was certainly an understandable point, even if it didn't really apply to Sunset herself. “But, uh, what if you'd had the money? Or at least a place to stay for free?” she asked, trying to make it sound as if it were just an idle thought and probably failing. “Do you think you would have gone then?”

Fortunately Octavia wasn't looking at her directly, so she didn't seem to catch on and, indeed, seemed to be thinking about it seriously. “You know what? I'm not certain. I feel as though I was just furious enough that I would have gone through with it, which may have caused me to rethink Ponyville entirely.”

Sunset nodded along, feeling vindicated that her own inclination to leave hadn't been some ridiculous overreaction.

“Of course,” Octavia continued, unaware of Sunset's internal celebration, “I don't believe that would have been the correct decision to make.” An internal celebration which had just ground to a halt.

“Y-you don't?” Sunset quickly asked. “Why not? It would have given you another chance, maybe to find a roommate you mesh with better or something.”

“Perhaps,” the cellist acceded, “but it might also have caused me to move somewhere even worse, and then I'd probably end up doing everything all over again.”

It made Sunset's heart sink a little to hear it. What if she went back to Canterlot and just ended up wallowing in her bitterness again, never feeling happy and never making a name for herself? She couldn't deny that it was a very real possibility, the memory of the first month of summer still fresh in her mind. That's why she'd moved out to Ponyville in the first place, hadn't it? To get away from that horrible state of being?

Her train of thought was interrupted once again by Octavia, this time as she sighed. “I suppose there's no real point in considering all those 'what-ifs'. Nothing can change the fact that I didn't leave Ponyville that night, nor can it change the fact that the morning after I went home in a clearer state of mind and made up with Vinyl. And even if I could change it, I wouldn't.” Her voice firm, she turned to look at Sunset. “As frustrating as it is at times, I really don't regret the path my life has taken.”

Her gaze turned forward again as she rounded some nameless street corner, but Sunset didn't make it. She was once again lost in her own thoughts, bouncing like a ball between visions of herself wallowing in Canterlot and remaining in Ponyville.

Neither option was palatable. She didn't want to sink back into bitter loneliness, yes, but could she really stand the embarrassment and humiliation that would come from crawling back to the library with ears flat to try and make up with Twilight? Especially since it would mean pretending to reconcile and get along with her friends, too? She couldn't see herself enjoying their presence in her life any more than she could see herself enjoying being alone again.

But were there any other choices? If there were Sunset couldn't see them, and not for the first time that evening she wondered if she would ever be allowed to get what she wanted again.

“Miss Shimmer?” Octavia's voice rang through the air like a bell, snapping Sunset out of her head again – she realized just how far behind she'd gotten from the other mare, and hustled to catch up. Octavia met her partway, saying, “You really do have a lot on your mind right now, don't you? I do hope I haven't made things worse by sharing my experiences.”

“You haven't,” Sunset replied automatically, unsure of how much of a lie it was. “I just...,” she floundered, “have a lot to think about, like you said. Don't worry about it.”

Octavia seemed to consider this for a moment. “Hmm. Very well then. In that case I suppose I'll hope that things work out for you. But at any rate,” she turned around, and the two resumed walking, “we've just about reached my home. It's right up there.”

She motioned down the street with a flick of her muzzle, and it didn't take long for Sunset to single out the building she was talking about.

In fact, she would have had to be blind to miss it. At the very end of the narrow cobblestone path they were now heading down was what, structurally, seemed to have originally been a house like any other in Ponyville, thatched roof and all. But the two musicians had made their mark on it, with a topiary in the shape of a musical note standing out front and what Sunset could barely make out as keyboard-themed flower boxes under the windows.

But its most noticeable feature was the color scheme, or rather schemes. Thanks to the light coming from the windows Sunset could tell that the building had been divided cleanly in half, aesthetically, with the dividing line running straight through the door. The left half used the shades of brown that Sunset associated with most string instruments and used lighter-colored straw for its roof; she guessed that side was Octavia's, the presence of what looked like organ pipes jutting out the top only strengthening her suspicion. The right half, in contrast, had a darker roof but lighter walls, shades of purple and lavender with large cobblestones and musical notes carved into the wood. That, she surmised, must be 'DJ-Pon3's' half.

Sunset stopped a few yards before the final bend in the path, unsure of what to do next.

“Well, I suppose this is goodnight, then,” Octavia said, looking back at her once she'd reached the front door. “Unless...,” she seemed to hesitate a bit, “you'd like to come in?”

“Oh, no. Thanks, but no thanks,” Sunset said almost automatically. The chat with the mare had been decent in a way, she supposed, but that didn't mean she had any interest in getting to know Octavia any further.

“Right,” Octavia replied, moving once again to open the door but stopping herself quickly. “Erm, pardon my asking,” she said, looking back at Sunset once more, “but you do have a place to stay for the night, don't you?”

“Er...” Sunset quickly tried to decide what to tell her. On one hoof she could repay her for the talk with honesty and just admit she was going to Canterlot, but that might cause the mare to judge her harshly after what she herself had been through; on the other, she could just lie and say she was going to stay the night at a hotel or something, but that could be awkward if she asked for specifics or, even worse, decided to check up on Sunset in the morning or something.

Unfortunately, she took long enough that Octavia reached her own conclusion. “You don't, do you?” she asked with a smile that Sunset couldn't help but find to be a little bit condescending. Then she sighed. “Well, I suppose that's at least partly my fault for chatting with you. If you'd like, I could ask my roommate if she'd be okay with you sleeping on our couch tonight.”

Sunset practically paled at the thought of spending the night with complete strangers. “Oh no, I, I couldn't,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I, uh, I wouldn't want to impose! I'll just, uh, go find an inn somewhere.” She mentally lauded herself for her quick thinking and well-crafted truth: she would go find an inn somewhere, just not in Ponyville.

To her relief, Octavia seemed relieved as well. “Completely understandable. Such a thing would hardly be appropriate considering we've only just met, but I thought I'd offer anyway. Ponyville spirit and all.”

“Right,” Sunset nodded, happy to just go along with it.

“If you'd like, though, I can give you directions to the inn I stayed at,” Octavia continued, walking back down the path a few steps.

“Oh, uh, sure,” Sunset replied, unable to come up with a reason to refuse.

“Right.” Octavia made a move like she was going to pull something from her saddlebag, only to realize she wasn't wearing any. “Err, sorry, I'll just be a minute,” she told Sunset, turning around and heading back towards her home.

Out of curiosity Sunset followed, though she stopped just outside the open door. From what she could see the interior of the house matched the exterior; Octavia's side had an elegant, refined aesthetic while her roommate's was more colorful and wild.

“Good evening, Vinyl,” she saw the mare say to somepony out of sight, vanishing to the left as well. Sunset could only assume that 'Vinyl' was 'DJ-Pon3', the latter probably being a stage name.

“Yes, sorry, I just need to draw a map for somepony,” Octavia added as though in reply, though confusingly Sunset hadn't heard anypony else say anything. “It's, well, it's not really my place to tell. Just a pony who needs directions to an inn.” Regardless of who it was, exactly, that Octavia was speaking with, Sunset was glad she was being discreet about things – and that she herself hadn't stepped far enough inside to be noticed.

“No, I already offered, but she turned me down,” Octavia continued, her voice noticeably muffled – she probably had something in her mouth. Then, after a moment and sounding more flustered, she added, “I said nothing of the sort! Now excuse me for a moment while I go pass this off.”

Hoofsteps followed, and soon enough Octavia was walking back into view – she had a folded piece of paper held primly in her teeth, and smiled a little when she saw Sunset at the door. Sunset promptly took the paper in her magic. “Sorry about that,” Octavia said. “My roommate can be somewhat nosey at times.”

“It's fine,” Sunset replied in a voice she hoped was quiet enough that anypony inside wouldn't be able to hear. “Thanks for the directions. Good night!”

“Good night!” Octavia replied, waving her hoof as Sunset turned and walked back down the front path. “And best of luck!”

“Thanks!” Sunset called back. “You too!” It was a bit awkward as far as replies went, but it worked well enough that she didn't really care.

The map was simple enough for her to read by the light of her horn as Octavia had helpfully labeled her home, the inn, and a few other landmarks that Sunset vaguely recognized by name. It didn't take long to get oriented, though she set off down the path with every intention to ignore the directions she had specifically been given.

After all, she wasn't about to stay in Ponyville any longer. Why would she, when she knew she had a place to stay back in Canterlot? Octavia sharing her story hadn't changed that; it hadn't made Sunset any more inclined to believe that things would just... magically work out if she stuck around, even if that's what had happened with Octavia.

That was just wishful thinking, Sunset knew. And it wasn't even a very good wish. The idea of palling around with Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, and all the others... It gave her mixed feelings, none of them good ones. Dread. Anxiety. Even a little bit of guilt after their reactions earlier, though she tried her best to ignore it. It was clear as day that trying to be friends with them would be a bad idea; she'd probably have to change so much about herself for it to work. And they probably even wouldn't want it anyway.

No, no matter what Octavia had been through, Sunset knew she was better off just going back to Canterlot and trying to make a new life for herself. Forget all about Twilight, and just move on to better things.

That's what she repeated to herself as she walked the streets of Ponyville, a pocket of gloom in an otherwise warm and pleasant night. It wasn't easy, but she managed to muster enough resolve to keep herself focused on following the map she'd been given back towards familiar territory, and then off towards the train station.

She didn't encounter anypony of any significance for several blocks, enough that her spirits began to climb a little at the prospect of being so close to her goal.

Until fate intervened.

“Ohhh, where could she be?!”

“I don't know, we've checked everywhere!”

A pair of very familiar, very worried voices caused Sunset to freeze in her tracks. They came from just around a building, and Sunset quickly ducked behind the first piece of cover she could find – a rain barrel.

“She wasn't at the train station and nopony there has seen her, so we know she's still in Ponyville.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But she's not staying at any of the inns nearby, so where could she be?”

“Maybe she found somepony else to take her in for the night?”

Silence passed. Sunset could feel the stare through it.

“...yeah, probably not, huh?”

“More like definitely not! You heard her, Spike, she doesn't like anypony in town! She wouldn't want to spend the night in somepony else's home! But that doesn't leave anywhere else she could be!”

The sound of heavy breathing that made Sunset cringe with guilt.

“Whoa, calm down Twilight! We probably just... missed her!”

“Missed her?”

“Yeah! You know how she is, always cooped up in her lab! She barely ever goes out and walks around town! I'm sure she just got lost when she ran out earlier.”

“Lost?!”

“Err, not totally lost, just, like, took a couple wrong turns here and there! She probably just got turned around trying to find a hotel or the train station. Or maybe she just went back home to the library!”

Heavy, but slowing, breathing. “Right. That's... right. She probably just got turned around on the way to wherever she was going! Which means we just have to keep checking everywhere until we find her!”

“Err...”

“No time, Spike! She might be checking in to the Comfy Pillow as we speak!”

A yelp, and the sound of a sudden gallop. Sunset ventured just the briefest of peeks out from hiding, just enough to catch a glimpse of Twilight – Spike barely clinging to her back – galloping down the road she had been about to turn onto.

Sunset spent ages frozen there, torn between going after them and making a dash for the train station. The fact that, even after everything that had happened, Twilight was still worried about Sunset quickly ate at her. How could she have just run out on her best friend like that? How could she have let her emotions get the better of her like that, when she should have just brought some bedding down to her lab and made arrangement to move out the next morning? Twilight had obviously gotten over her anger and was now worried sick. Knowing her, she would be out roaming the streets of Ponyville searching for Sunset until she dropped of exhaustion.

So there was a definite part of her urging her to chase after, to call out, to apologize and make amends.

But the rest of her knew better. What could possibly come from it? The chance of them making up enough to be back on reasonably good terms while still allowing Sunset to move out seemed infinitesimally slim. More likely, that part of her thought, they'd either end up resuming their argument – and probably in public this time – or Sunset would cave to Twilight's wishes and stay in Ponyville. Which would involve a lot of awfulness, like apologizing to ponies she didn't care about, and an awkward return to the status quo except it wouldn't really be the status quo because everyone would remember what she'd done, and it would only make things worse for her.

Yeah. Once again, Sunset was faced with a choice that had no good option. So she forced her pragmatism to take over, and choose the least-bad one.

With a heavy breath and one last look down the street Twilight had gone down, Sunset turned and galloped off the other way.

“What do you mean there's no more trains to Canterlot?” Sunset asked the station's attendant, trying her best to keep her voice at an irate hiss and having mixed success.

“I mean exactly that!” the stallion replied. “Last train was a couple minutes ago, next one ain't til mornin'! Schedule's right there if ya want it!” He nodded at the wall of the station, where Sunset could clearly see a glass case with the train schedule posted inside it.

Sunset let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, what am I supposed to do then?”

The attendant shrugged. “Well, if ya just wanna leave town, there'll be a train comin' out of Canterlot in about fifteen minutes that'll take ya down south! But if it's Canterlot ya gotta go too, I'm afraid yer outta luck! I can give ya directions to a nice inn to stay at if ya'd like!”

Another, duller sigh. “No thanks. I can find one myself.” She began to walk away, picking up the pace when the thought occurred to her that Twilight and Spike might be racing towards there at that very moment.

And then stopping at the door and looking back for the same reason. “If anypony comes looking for me,” she told the attendant, pausing to decide exactly what she wanted to say, “tell them... tell them I'll get in touch when I'm ready. And don't say anything about where I went, got that?”

“Will do!” the attendant replied with a cheesy grin and quick salute. Sunset couldn't bring herself to trust him to keep his word, but she wasn't about to waste bits on a bribe either. After one last lingering stare, she turned and left the train station.

“Welcome to the Ponyville Inn! How can I help you tonight?”

The young mare working the front desk was bright-eyed and cheery, annoyingly so, but Sunset put on a pleasantly neutral smile and soldiered onward. She had no idea where the 'Ponyville Inn', creatively-named as it was, ranked on the list of places to stay at in town, but she didn't care. It was the one that Octavia had given her directions tom so it was the one she was going to stay at.

She just had to do so quickly, in case Twilight and Spike showed up.

“Yeah, I just need a room for the night,” she said, levitating her coin purse out of her bags.

“Okay, sign here and that'll be ten bits,” the mare said, sliding a clipboard across the counter. Sunset quickly signed it, and then pulled her coin purse from her bag.

“And, uh, by the way,” she added with no small amount of hesitance, her bits extended but not passed off to the earth mare. “I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anypony that I'm staying here.”

The mare stared at her in confusion for a moment before comprehension dawned on her muzzle. “Oh! You must be the one that other pony and that baby dragon were looking for!”

Sunset said nothing, refusing to verbally confirm it. She did, however, level a harsh glare that quickly made the other mare sweat. “I mean, uh, sure!” she said, her cheer now sounding a little forced. “We can totally do that for you!”

“Good. Thanks.” Her words terse and her mood unforgiving, she managed to get the attendant to grab a spare room key and hoof it over before she could even blink. She jammed it into her bag and turned to leave, pausing again after only a step.

She thought things over, sighed, and then took out a few more bits. “For the trouble,” she said, passing them off to the mare at the front desk.

A short silence followed, but Sunset neither looked behind her nor around the deserted lobby. Then, finally, “Okay! Have a nice night, miss!”

“You too,” Sunset replied without heart, checking the room key and then heading up the stairs.

Her room was numbered 206, and she found it easily enough. It wasn't much to look at – a bed, a desk, a bathroom, a chest of drawers – but it was enough. Sunset uttered a thanks that the door had an actual lock on it, used it, and then promptly flopped down on the bed.

So... yeah. Honestly, writing it down makes it feel so much more, I don't know, dramatic than it did when it was happening. I mean, seriously, all I did was wander around blindly for a little while until I stumbled into Octavia (and what a good first impression that was...)(oh, and for the record, she herself was out that night just because she enjoys the occasional walk. So, yeah. Just in case anypony was wondering.)

Anyway. I was being stupid, and stubborn, and probably a whole lot of other bad things. But at least I got sidetracked for long enough that I missed the train out of Ponyville. I can't even imagine how things would have turned out had I gone through with that stupid plan.

I doubt I'd be very happy right now, at least.

But I didn't, which is good. I spent another night in Ponyville, and that turned out to be...

Hmm.

It was important, I know that. But I don't think I can write about the next part right now. At least, not yet. I need to go talk to somepony about something first...

So, uh, until then, I guess?

- Sunset Shimmer

Part I: First Impressions

Dear Diary,

My name is Sunset Shimmer, though you should already know that if you've read the inside cover. I've decided to start keeping this diary because my marefriend and her friends started keeping one of their own, and while I don't intend on limiting the scope of these entries to what I learn about friendship I still have a lot of thoughts and feelings that I'd like to write down. Partially just to work through them, but also as a way of chronicling what I've been through for the sake of future generations. Right now, I'm having doubts I'll be able to get into the history books any other way.

I've always been a proud pony who sought to be the very best and to stand out among the crowd, so it pains me to say that the most straightforward way to define who I am is not by my own accomplishments but by my relationships with the two ponies I love the most. I am the starco-star pupil of Princess Celestia alongside my marefbest friendmarefriendPrTwil Princess Twilight Sparkle. Though I guess she's not really Princess Celestia's student anymore.

Yeah. There's a lot I haven't lived up to. A little over a year ago I was confident I had it all: a good life as Princess Celestia's student, a good friend and rival in Twilight, and a sure future ahead of me. I was so confident, so certain that I was on the path to greatness. At worst, I was destined to be the next great unicorn wizard. At best (and more likely, in my mind), I'd be the next alicorn Princess. I was... pretty arrogant. But I'd climbed my way up to that point from nothing, and all I could see was up.

Then came the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what happened then – Princess Luna returned, and Twilight Sparkle took the first big step on the path towards her destiny. As for me, that was the day my life came crashing down. For a couple weeks, I even thought it was over entirely – ponies that had once lined up just for a chance to get an in with the Princess' Star Pupil now treated me like a disappointment, a nopony. And even worse – much worse – the only two ponies I ever cared about just didn't have time for me anymore. Princess Celestia was too busy with her little sister, and Twilight had stayed in Ponyville and promptly forgotten about me. All I had left was my research, and while I threw myself into it as much as I could, it just wasn't the same when nopony cared about the results.

It was one of the lowest points in my life, so it's no wonder that when Twilight finally came back and apologized I accepted it without hesitation. Not only that, but I agreed to move to Ponyville with her! I honestly think that at that point, if she or Princess Celestia had suggested I do anything I'd have done it in a heartbeat. But my best friend asked me to pack up my life and move in with her so she'd never forget about me again, and I agreed.

Little did I know just how big a life change that would end up being for me. But hey, that's why I started keeping this diary: to write down my experiences and sort them all out. And let me tell you, I haven't even spent a year in Ponyville yet and more stuff has happened to me than in all the rest of my life put together.

So I'll say it again: My name is Sunset Shimmer. I'm the co-star pupil of Princess Celestia, and the marefriend of Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'm a polymath with a special Talent in magic, and within that field I've been specializing in ancient relics/artifacts and the related enchanting techniques. I also dabble in the magic of friendship (how could I not with Twilight around?) and, more recently, destiny.

There's so much I want to say about destiny, by the way: about Twilight's, about my own or lack thereof, and about whether that means I truly matter in the grand scheme of things or not (probably not). But I guess I'll have plenty of time to write about that later. For now, I should probably start at the beginning. Or a beginning, at least.

A few days after Twilight Sparkle came back into my life, I found myself on a train to Ponyville...

The car was empty save for her, Twilight, and Spike sitting across from each other; something Sunset could only assume was a rarity given the time and day, as she hadn't ridden the train much before. It didn't afford her much to distract herself from Twilight's continued gushing about her new friends and new home and how much Sunset was sure to love them both. The scenery outside the windows was mostly just the inside of the rail tunnels that threaded through the Canterhorn with occasional glimpses of the world beyond it, and the monotonous rattling of the rails themselves were hardly something Sunset could lose herself in.

“...and that's when I realized that shy ponies like Fluttershy could have stronger wills than I could ever have imagined!” Twilight said, finishing up a tale about how she and her friends had dealt with a snoring dragon that had been threatening the area a couple weeks ago.

“Mm hmm...,” Sunset murmured noncommittally, failing to disguise her boredom but feeling confident that Twilight wouldn't pick up on it. Things like that were all the mare had been able to talk about since they'd gotten the go-ahead from Princess Celestia to move Sunset to Ponyville, and while part of her did genuinely appreciate Twilight's intention of sharing that sort of information with her, she could barely bring herself to care.

Sunset was making this move so she could spend more time with Twilight, not so she could spend time with the ponies who had stolen Twilight away from her. Important shared destiny or not. Other ponies would no doubt think less of Sunset for feeling that way, but that too was something she could barely bring herself to care about. She was a mare who knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was her best friend. Sure, she may not have been as ruthless at attaining her desires as she once had been, but that didn't mean she was just going to let other ponies worsen her life.

Her ears picked up on Spike making a joke about how if he ever snored like that they should just hit him with a pillow, prompting him and Twilight to laugh. Sunset joined in, though halfheartedly, and to her mild surprise Twilight managed to notice it.

“Is something wrong, Sunset?” she asked, worry in her eyes. “You're acting like you don't wanna be here...”

Sunset shook her head and offered a small smile. “It's not that,” she said. “It's just that this whole move is a pretty big change for me, and it's all happening so suddenly. I wanna do it,” she clarified at Twilight's still-worried expression, “it's just...” She leaned towards a window and waved her hoof vaguely in the air. “Something I need to get used to. It barely even feels real right now.”

Twilight returned the smile, and Sunset couldn't help but feel grateful for having such a cute mare in her life. One who was naïve and over-focused and overall frustrating at times, but still cute.

“Well,” Twilight said, “we'll do our best to make sure you feel right at home. Isn't that right, Spike?” she asked the dragonling next to her.

“Right!” he echoed with a cheery nod. “I bet everything will feel a hundred percent real before you know it, Sunset!”

Sunset stared at him for just a moment before letting herself chuckle at the sheer absurdity of the statement. “Yeah, you're probably right. I just gotta... take things in stride for now.” She turned and looked out the window just as they exited the tunnel to the rolling plains at the base of the mountain.

“It'll all turn out okay in the end,” she told her reflection.

The remainder of the short train ride passed in a similar fashion, and Sunset couldn't help but wonder how much Ponyville and it's residents would live up to Twilight's view of them. She'd never exactly been a perceptive when it came to other ponies, after all. But on the other hoof, Sunset knew well enough how devoted Twilight could be to learning everything she could about her current subject of interest. It was entirely possible that she'd stumbled into social awareness by one of the most circuitous routes Sunset could imagine.

Perhaps Sunset could bring herself to care about those other ponies than she'd expected, if only to test Twilight's perceptions of her new friends.

Sunset's first impression of a town she was only seeing up-close for the first time was that it was thoroughly unimpressive. No big buildings or statues or anything else that stood out, just a core of houses and small businesses surrounded by farmland and the Everfree Forest. In short, it was a complete departure from the city where Sunset had grown up. No castle dominating everything in sight, no class of nobles vying with one another for control and prestige, no ever-present display of opulence and wealth.

At least, as far as she could see from the train. But what she could see meshed well with what Twilight had told her of the town, as well as her own independent research, and so she felt entirely justified in her assumption.

And as the train finally came to a stop, Sunset was able to get a better look at the five ponies – the only five ponies – waiting at the station. Between them matching the physical descriptions Twilight had given her as well as the uncharacteristically excited look on Twilight's muzzle, it was immediately obvious to Sunset who those ponies were.

“Look! There they are!” Twilight told her, pointing out the window as Sunset walked over. “Ooooh, I can't wait for you to meet all of them!”

“Mmm,” Sunset replied through a bland, closed-lips smile.

Once they felt the train come to a stop, they began to gather up their luggage – mostly Sunset's belongings as she was the one moving, but Twilight and Spike had also packed several things they'd left behind in their hurried departure before the Summer Sun Celebration. Sunset allowed herself a few thoughts of longing for the artifacts and research she'd had to leave in Canterlot, the mirror included, until she fulfilled the various requirements to have it all transferred to Ponyville; then she took a breath to steel herself, and followed Twilight off the train.

They hadn't even set their bags down when Twilight got accosted by a pink blur.

“Twilight! Spike! You're back!” the earth pony said, pulling the two into a hug. “Ohmygosh it's been forever!” Between her color and her energy, Sunset didn't need to guess twice to know who she must be.

“Pinkie, it's only been five days,” Twilight answered with a light laugh, the other four mares quickly gathering around her. If anypony else had wanted to get off here, Sunset silently noted, they would've had considerable difficulty just stepping through the door.

“I know!” the pink one replied, bugging her eyes out as she broke the hug. “But this was like the longest five days in my life! And believe you me I've had some pretty long five days, like that time I got lost in the caverns under my family's rock farm, or that other time I got lost in the caverns under my family's rock farm, or that time I had to throw five separate birthday parties back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back!”

She spoke so quickly nopony else could get a word in edgewise, and finished her verbal run-on gasping for breath. “But this was the longest five days out of any five days ever!” she added with extra emphasis.

'Five days? Try being forgotten for a month and get back to me...' Sunset thought to herself, rolling her eyes while she was still overlooked.

A loud whistle shook them out of the flow of conversation, and eight pairs of eyes watched the train pull away with no new passengers to show for its trouble.

The lull that followed was quickly filled. “Well, hyperbole aside,” said a white-coated unicorn with a purple mane in an accent that Sunset surprisingly couldn't quite place, “we have missed you, dear. It simply hasn't been the same around Ponyville without you!”

“I'll say,” said the pegasus that had been hovering above them for some time now. Her distinctive rainbow mane was all Sunset needed to identify her, though if she was being honest with herself none of Twilight's friends were at all difficult to name. “Nothing has happened this week, like at all,” the pegasus continued. “I'm pretty sure you took all the adventures with you when you went back to Canterlot.”

Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes. “I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, Rainbow Dash.”

“Well, it has been awful quiet around here lately,” the other earth pony present drawled in some miscellaneous country accent. “But personally I think that's for the better. We don't need that kind of excitement, not after everythin' else that's happened this summer.”

“Oh, definitely...,” said the grounded pegasus in the back, speaking so softly Sunset wasn't entirely certain she'd heard everything.

The earth pony in the hat nodded at her, then looked back at Twilight. “Still, all of us did miss ya, sugarcube.”

“And I missed all of you,” Twilight told the five. “But I had to go back to Canterlot once I realized what I'd done.” Sunset straightened up and put on a smile when Twilight looked her way again, the others following her gaze shortly after. “And who I forgot. Everypony, I'd like you all to meet Sunset Shimmer.”

“Hey,” Sunset greeted with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, waving blandly at the five mares. “It's... nice to meet all of you.” It wasn't, not considering what the five mares represented to her, but Sunset wasn't going to ruin Twilight's mood by being hostile to her new friends right off the train.

She did, however, struggle to maintain her composure when she suddenly found herself muzzle-to-muzzle with the pink earth pony.

“Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!” she said with cheer to spare. “Normally I'd ask you what your name is, but I guess I don't have to do that because Twilight already told us!”

“Uh... yeah, she did,” Sunset replied, trying to maintain her smile while looking around for an out. It didn't look like anypony was going to give her one just yet, which meant she'd have to make one herself. “Sssssooo...”

“...I think we're going to be the best of friends?” Pinkie finished for Sunset with an eager grin. Then she giggled. “Thanks! I think so too! I also think you're gonna love your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party,” she continued, becoming thoughtful for a moment as she said “Even though it's not a surprise party like Twilight's was. At least not for you, anyway. How could it be a surprise party if I just told you about it? That'd just be silly. If anything it should be a surprise-d party, since all of us are surprised that you're here!” She giggled to herself again, but resumed talking before Sunset could capitalize on the gap. “By the way, what would you say your top ten party foods are?” she asked, pulling paper and pencil from her curled and poofy mane. “I'm asking for a friend. The same goes for party decorations, party favors, party times, party-”

She was, thankfully, interrupted by a sharp yank on her tail that pulled her away from Sunset. “Simmer down there, Pinkie,” said the orange earth pony. “We don't even know how long she's gonna be in town yet.”

“Actually, Sunset's moving in with Spike and I,” Twilight answered with a bright smile on her muzzle and not a second of hesitation.

Her friends looked at her with surprise, then back at Sunset. “Well I'll be, guess we got ya fer good then huh?” the orange earth pony said. She chuckled to herself, then shook Sunset's hoof adding “How d'ya do there, Sunset? The name's Applejack. A friend 'a Twilight's a friend 'a mine, so gimme a holler if ya need help with anythin' here in Ponyville.”

The shake lasted longer than Sunset liked and was considerably more vigorous, but she still managed to smile and say “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.” Luckily that seemed all that Applejack wanted to say, since the next pony stepped forward without hindrance.

“Simply wonderful to meet you, darling,” said the unicorn with the odd accent, and a bit of a hoof-flourish. “I'm Rarity, of course. I do hope Twilight has told you something about us all...?” She looked every bit as hopeful as she said she was.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Sunset admitted, sharing a quick but needless look with Twilight. She sensed the question Rarity definitively hadn't asked, and answered it out of habit – after all, all her years in Canterlot had taught her to never let a pony know how much you dislike them when you first met. “All of it good, and all of it true from what I can tell,” she said, looking each of the five mares in the eyes. She made a note of how quickly the quiet pegasus had averted her gaze.

“Oh, but of course,” Rarity said with complete self-assurance. She then paused, making a show of mentally searching for the most tactful words, then finally said “I hate to say this, though, but I'm afraid dear Twilight didn't tell us all much about you before rushing off to, I presume, apologize. May I ask how the two of you know each other?”

Sunset quickly glanced at Twilight and noticed an appropriate level of embarrassment on her cheeks, then looked back at Rarity. “Oh, well, we just studied together under Princess Celestia,” she said with as much nonchalance as she could muster. “It's no big deal.” She had a hunch about Rarity that she wanted to test.

She was rewarded with raised eyebrows and an all-too-familiar gleam in Rarity's eyes, just as expected. “J-j-just studied together under Princess Celestia?” Rarity repeated, stammering in shock. “That's hardly 'no big deal'!”

A mischievous smirk formed on her lips, and she shrugged. “Well, I don't wanna brag or anything,” she told Rarity, and even without being able to see him she was certain Spike rolled his eyes. Possibly Twilight too. “It's just... how things are. Sparkle and I have been Princess Celestia's personal students for years. It's a pretty lofty position, but it's normal for us.” She gave a quick glance towards Twilight, noting her friend looking somewhat confused in a thoughtful sort of way. Knowing her, she was mulling over whether or not it really was all normal for her.

“Oh, certainly, certainly,” Rarity closed her eyes and nodded. “A pony with talents such as your own would undoubtedly feel right at home in such a life!”

“W-well,” Twilight suddenly spoke up, “it's not like being the Princess' students is easy or anything.” She laughed awkwardly. “In fact, I'd say it's pretty stressful at times.”

“But we can handle the stress. And you know you wouldn't trade such a major part of our lives for anything,” Sunset pointed out with a somewhat pointed smile.

“True...,” Twilight conceded with a tilt of her head.

“Well, darling,” Rarity said to Sunset, regaining control of the conversation again, “you simply must tell me about life in Canterlot some time.” That simple statement, and her apparent catching of the faux pas that followed, confirmed quite a lot about Rarity's character to Sunset. “N-not that Twilight and Spike haven't, of course,” she said with an almost anxious smile.

“Of course,” Sunset echoed with a patient smile of her own.

“It's just that the added perspective is always appreciated,” Rarity finished.

“Yeah, I get it,” Sunset told her. “We'll have to find some time to talk after I settle in.” Sunset decided she would hold herself to it; it wasn't likely to be enjoyable, but putting it off would likely lead to something more annoying.

“Yeah yeah yeah, you're a bigshot, we get it,” the hovering blue pegasus interrupted, impatient and belligerent. “What I wanna know is, do you know the Wonderbolts?”

“Rainbow Dash, I presume?” Sunset asked with a smirk and arched eyebrow.

“The one and only!” Dash answered, chest puffed out proudly. If that didn't tell Sunset everything she needed to know about the mare, then her quick and blunt follow-up would. “So do you know 'em or not?”

Sunset replied with a coy look. “I may have talked to them once or twice in my career.” She let the implication simmer, and it seemed that Rainbow Dash picked it up.

“Hah! Awesome!” she cheered, flying up a little higher in celebration.

“Wait, you really know the Wonderbolts, Sunset?” Twilight asked, looking utterly skeptical.

“Hey, I keep telling you to go to the formal stuff,” Sunset told her. “You'd be surprised who you meet there.”

And then came an unexpected, unwanted, and surprisingly outspoken question from Spike. “Do you actually know them, or did you just talk to them a couple times at parties?”

It was enough to throw Sunset off, leaving her with nothing left to do but laugh awkwardly at being caught red-hooved. “You caught me!” Denying it when he knew her so well wouldn't get her very far, after all.

“Still,” Rainbow Dash said, back at hovering-level, “you've talked to the Wonderbolts. That's pretty cool.”

“Yeah, well,” Sunset said, sliding back into her nonchalance, “like I told Rarity, that sort of thing is pretty normal for me.” Especially since she had always made it a point to know famous ponies to at least some extent; connections were power in Canterlot and Sunset had always wanted to be on the rise.

“Hmm...” The murmur from Applejack quickly caught the attention of Sunset. “If all that fancy Canterlot stuff is so normal to ya, then why're ya movin' all the way out here to Ponyville? If ya don't mind my askin', that is.”

Sunset cocked her head to the side as she constructed her answer. On one hoof she wanted to make it clear that she was only going through with it so that she wouldn't have to go through life having been forgotten about by her best friend anymore. But on the other hoof, she didn't want to sound desperate – and thus weak – in front of a group of ponies she barely knew and would likely be competing with for time with Twilight. There was also the matter of not making Twilight feel guilty over what she'd done; while Sunset had hardly forgiven it even though she was trying to move on, she didn’t want to keep reminding Twilight about it either.

Eventually, she just shrugged. “What can I say? I missed my best friend, and there wasn't really anything tying me down to Canterlot.”

“But what about your studies with the Princess?” asked Rarity, looking concerned.

Sunset shrugged again. “She's been pretty busy with her sister lately, so I've mostly just been doing independent research and I can move that here pretty easily. And I can stay in touch with her pretty easily too.”

“Wow, you're really picking up your entire life to move out here to Ponyville to move in with Twilight?” asked Pinkie, appearing in Sunset's face without warning and making her take a step back out of surprise. “You must be super close to her then!”

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, well, after all the stuff we've been through-”

“Like super duper close!” Pinkie interrupted. “Like, most ponies would be fine just going to visit the friends they missed, but you're moving in with her! Which must mean that Twilight is like superly-duper important to you! Like, best friend important!”

“Uhh,” Sunset chuckled more nervously in the face of the pink one's bulging eyes, finding it surprisingly hard to avert her own. “Yeah, I guess so...”

Then Pinkie let out a sudden and dramatic gasp, startling Sunset even more. “But Twilight didn't say anything about you until she was all-” she repeated her gasp- “and told us she forgot all about you and ran off! Which means you had to spend an entire month thinking you'd been forgotten by your bestest friend in the whole wide world!” Abruptly, she plopped down on her haunches and looked up at Sunset with a trembling lower lip and wide, teary eyes. “And that's just so sad!”

“Yeah. It was. Thanks for reminding me.”

Sunset regretted the words the moment she spoke them, both for their own harshness and for the bluntness with which she said them. But that regret was tempered by the fact that Pinkie had worn away at her patience with surprising speed.

Pinkie, who now looked even sadder, was quickly moved aside by a nervously-laughing Rarity. “Don't mind her, she only means well...”

Which led to Sunset sighing and placing a hoof over her eyes. “Yeah, well... Sorry for sounding harsh, but it's an issue that's already been settled.” She lowered her hoof and caught the eye of Twilight, who was moping behind most of her friends – though Spike and the quiet pegasus were silently comforting her. “I'd really rather not talk about it.”

No ambiguity, no door left open for future conversation, just like she wanted it. Sunset was pleased to note the five mares made no protest, though all of them looked like they wanted to.

But it left an awkward silence in its wake, so Sunset put on a smile and filled it. “Hey, you think we can get moving? This boarding platform is nice and all, but I'd kinda like to see the rest of the town, too.”

Twilight looked like she was about to agree, but stopped upon seeing the pegasus on her right out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, but you haven't met everypony yet!” she told Sunset, nudging the pegasus as their other friends stepped aside.

The pegasus did not seem to appreciate the sudden attention at all, retreating behind her long pink mane for a moment when Sunset tried to make eye contact. “Oh... don't mind me... I don't want to interrupt anything...” she said in a voice so soft Sunset had to strain to hear it. And even then she wasn't entirely sure she'd heard the mare right.

Fortunately, Sunset knew what to do about it. “You're Fluttershy, right?”

That got the pegasus to look at her for just a moment. “Oh, umm, yes. I am,” she answered, still softly and without making eye contact. “How did you...?”

“Like I said before, Twilight told me a little about all of you before we got here,” Sunset answered immediately, looking around at the others.

“Oh! Right... of course... I should've remembered...,” Fluttershy mumbled, shrinking back a little. “Well... umm... it's... umm... nice to meet you,” she added slowly and with a gulp in the middle; from what Sunset could tell she'd needed the time not to deliberate over each word but just to work up the courage to say them.

“Thanks,” Sunset replied with a polite smile. Then she let the silence hang in the air for just a split second, took a breath, and looked around. “Well, I guess that's everypony! Let's get going, okay?” Not wanting to leave room for another delay, Sunset picked up as much of her luggage as she could in her magic – mostly the ones containing her most valuable or fragile possessions – and made a show of locating and moving towards the nearest path.

“Fine with me!” Twilight chirped, gathering up the rest of the luggage with the assistance of Spike's eager claws and willingness to carry several times his weight. Her friends each offered to carry one or two things each, which Twilight graciously accepted, and the eight were soon headed into Ponyville.

“Woo! Moving In Party!” Pinkie jumped and cheered barely two steps down the street, somehow not losing any of the luggage that she'd balanced on her head. Her friends laughed at her enthusiasm, but Sunset?

Sunset just quietly pretended to smile.

I gotta say, diary, my first impressions of the girls wasn't exactly the best. Sure, Twilight had told me a lot about them on the train ride over – names, talents, professions, that sort of thing – but hearing about a pony and meeting them are two very different experiences.

Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. Party planner and part-time baker operating out of a local sweets shop. Said to be incredibly energetic, prone to overreaction, and hard to understand at first, but also has a big heart and is super fun once you get to know her. To me, right then, she just came off as foal-like and annoying. More a nuisance than a prospective friend, she was the one I had the least desire to get to know. I honestly couldn't see her being that good a party planner, she just didn't seem professional enough.

Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Helps run the apple orchard Sweet Apple Acres with her two siblings and grandmother. Part of the main branch of the Apple family, one of Equestria's largest farming clans and a leading producer of apples and apple products (obviously). They've apparently been a fairly wealthy clan for a couple generations, their growth starting at the founding of Ponyville itself. But with that wealth split over so many orchards and members (and a big chunk of it having financed the founding of Appleloosa less than two years ago), they've never really been able to exert much influence in so-called high society. Though I don't think they would, even if they could. Twilight had told me that Applejack herself was strong, hard-working, and trustworthy, and even then I couldn't see anything to contradict that. She had definitely made the best impression out of all of them when I first met them, but to be honest that wasn't hard nor did it exactly mean I would be jumping at the chance to get to know her better.

Rarity, the Element of Generosity. A talented dressmaker and designer, though an unknown in the fashion world at the time. To be honest, when I first met her she struck me as being so much like the Canterlot 'nobility' that I couldn't fathom why she'd been chosen as the Element of Generosity. I wrote her off pretty quickly as the type of power-hungry pony who thinks they're a big fish in a small pond, and dreams of moving somewhere they have more room to swim among their so-called equals and grow. I mean, just look look(?) at her accent! I wasn't able to place it at first, but it's pretty much what happens when somepony from Ponyville tries to imitate the accent of the Canterlot uppercrust without actually having spent time around them. And from what I understand she's been talking like that since she was a filly; even now I don't think she's able to talk any other way without effort.

Safe to say, I viewed Rarity as more of a potential resource to be held at leg's length rather than friend material at first.

Then we have Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. The head of Ponyville's weather team (though even back then that was mostly in name only), but her talent's in flying. Which even now is like the most stereotypically pegasus thing I can imagine. I mean, a pegasus who's good at flying and weather control? It's like an earth pony that's good at farming, or a unicorn who's good at magic. I could totally see her, Twilight, and Applejack being the main characters of a foal's picture book. Rainbow herself didn't actually leave much of an impression at first, which seems weird in hindsight. She just didn't strike me as particularly interesting, just another Wonderbolts fan.

And lastly Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. An animal caretaker, which is pretty unusual for a pegasus? But it suits her, obviously. Not much to say about her, she seemed like a total non-entity when I first met her. A doormat that would be easy to manipulate, if I was still inclined to doing that sort of thing. Despite what Twilight told me about her, it's hard to see the hidden depths of a mare too shy to make eye contact.

And yet... here I am now, friends with all of them. Which is a whole bunch more stories I should probably tell. But for now, I guess my main takeaway from this is not to judge a book by it's cover and I'm starting to sound like Twilight because you know, they might surprise you with what's inside. But only sometimes? Some ponies are only covers. But I feel like that might be getting ahead of myself right now?

I don't know. I'm just going to move on.

Author's Note

For the sake of clarity the early parts of this story are set between the final two chapters of Time Goes On. The final chapter of that story will likely be re-adapted in some form here, and then this story will continue onward to detail the eventful year leading up to Sunset starting her diary.

Was that clear? I sure hope it was. :twilightblush:

Anyway, thanks as always to Applety for helping me polish this up a bit. The second chapter should be up a week from now.

First Impressions - The Cottage at the End of the Road

Dear Diary,

So, it's been a couple days since my last entry. Sorry about that, I guess? I don't know why I'm apologizing to a diary. Or, uh, anypony who might read this in the future. Nopony's gonna care if I don't write every day.

Anyway, I was busy with some things. Nothing worth writing down here, at least not right now.

AnywAlso, it kinda took me longer than I'd like to figure out what to write next. See, I don't wanna just keep doing the day-by-day run-through that I've been doing because most days were pretty run-of-the-mill and thus forgettable. Plus a lot of my research notes already cover anything of interest that would've happened most of the time.

Also, the next big 'event' that happened was technically the tour of Ponyville that Twilight gave me but, uh, like 95% of that took the following form:

Twilight: “And this is [insert name of store/restaurant/whatever]! I've only been in here once, if at all.”

Spike: [insert generic remark/failed joke]

Me, trying to pretend I'm interested despite the rapidly-increasing tedium: “Sounds good!” [or similar]

Repeat that for every place in town, over a period of six days. So, yeah. Nothing that bares repeating for the most part. For the rest... Well, here's the main stuff that sticks out to me right now:

Met the Mayor, who I still think has a weird name even if I'm never gonna say it to her face;

Saw Rainbow Dash crash into a lettuce stand after failing to do some flying stunt;

Saw, but did not go into, the Everfree Forest;

Heard about, but did not meet, Zecora, the zebra shaman who lives in the Everfree Forest;

Spent half an hour trying on dresses at Rarity's boutique, until I got mauled by Rarity's cat;

Visited Ponyville's incredibly small schoolhouse;

Got roped into promising to give a presentation on magical history at said schoolhouse once summer break was over (which Cheerilee did NOT forget about over the summer, I might add);

Met the so-called 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' (Applejack's sister Apple Bloom who I'd already met, Rarity's sister Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, who would dearly like to be Rainbow Dash's sister);

Was relieved of the Cutie Mark Crusaders by Rainbow Dash, who crashed into the schoolhouse after another failed stunt;

And visited Fluttershy's cottage.

So, yeah. Maybe if that had all happened on the same day it would be worth writing about, but... It doesn't really appeal to me if I'm being honest.

But I really should share the cottage visit since it was the first actual interaction I had with Fluttershy. But I'll keep it brief.

So...

After several days of tedium, Sunset had not woken up that Monday morning expecting to have a particularly enjoyable day. The main thing keeping her going was that Twilight's 'tour' of town would finally be over tomorrow afternoon, after which Sunset would finally be free to focus all her energy on her research for what would likely be the first time since the move.

Of course, that was still two days away, and no amount of daydreaming about her plans was going to make time flow faster.

The current item on Twilight's agenda was taking her to visit Fluttershy's cottage, and so Sunset found herself, Twilight, and Spike walking down a solitary path on the outskirts of town. Sunset genuinely didn't know what to make of such a meek pony living so close to the wild, untamed Everfree Forest, much less the description of her home she'd received from Twilight and the others, but she dearly hoped the visit would be brief.

She wasn't even going to begin to consider the possibility of something interesting happening. In the scant few times she'd seen the mare – always walking, never flying – Sunset had never managed to hear more than a few words from her, regardless of topic or company. The only thing keeping Sunset from just assuming that Fluttershy was an antisocial hermit who kept getting pony interaction forced on her by the others is that, apparently, she was enough of a 'friend' to Twilight and the others to be able to use one of the Elements of Harmony.

Granted, that caveat was based on several assumptions about how the Elements worked that Sunset had yet to be able to prove, but she felt they were reasonable.

As they walked, Sunset noticed a steady increase in the number of animal homes along the path, and even more further into the sparse woods surrounding it. Looking ahead, she saw an oddly steep hill that the way seemed to end at; a squinting second look as the clouds above shifted caused her to gasp when she saw windows sticking out from it.

Twilight laughed. “You saw it, didn't you?” she asked. “Fluttershy's cottage.”

Sunset's mouth gave a false start before she managed to reply with “That's where she lives?”

“Yup!” Spike answered, sitting on Twilight's back as usual. “I was pretty surprised the first time I saw it too. Never expected the home of a pegasus to look like that.”

“Y... yeah,” Sunset managed to say.

Rather than an oddly-shaped hill, as she drew closer Sunset could more easily make out the shape of a genuine house under all the grass and shrubbery. It was as though somepony had built a smaller version of one of Ponyville's standard homes, but had made the roof from the local turf. And with all the bird houses, nest, dens, burrows, hutches, and other assorted animal homes around it, it gave Sunset the impression of being the central hub of a genuine community of wild animals.

As they crossed a remarkably stable bridge over a small brook, Sunset even noted a small beaver lodge in a neighboring pond.

And as for the various birds and rodents and other animals that lived in the homes, well, they were watching the three with keen interest – and from a safe distance. More than a few ducked into hiding as Sunset's gaze passed over them, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was due to an innate distrust of ponies, or the effect of their alleged caretaker.

Either way, it didn't stop Twilight from casually strolling up to the front door and giving it three quick, precise knocks. “Fluttershy! We're here!” she announced with a smile, Spike sliding off her back to stand by her side.

Sunset kept to the back, and waited for what felt like far longer than it probably was for Fluttershy to open the door. And when she finally did, she did it so slowly Sunset could practically feel the reluctance radiating off of her.

“Umm... hi...,” she greeted meekly, looking Twilight and Spike in the eye and Sunset in the hooves.

“Hi!” Twilight replied without losing a speck of cheer or, from Sunset's perspective, noticing how uncomfortable her friend seemed to be. She and Spike invited themselves in, leaving Sunset with little recourse but to do the same. Fluttershy continued to not look at her as she entered.

A quick look around left Sunset feeling yet another round of surprise at how different Fluttershy's home was from what she expected. Or, more specifically, how different it was from the impression its exterior gave. There were certainly plenty of things she expected of a professional animal caretaker – food bowls, toys, additional housing – but beyond that it just seemed like a fairly quaint little cottage. In fact, without the signs of animals – as well as the few animals themselves that were even now watching the trio from various perches around the sitting room – Sunset felt like it would be an astoundingly boring place to spend her time.

Enough awkwardly silent seconds passed with the four of them just sort of standing by the front door that even Twilight seemed to take notice. Sunset caught her eye twitch just a little bit before she said “So! The tour!”

“Oh! Right!” Fluttershy said, apparently just remembering why they were there. She looked around a bit, then vaguely waved a forehoof at the room and said – to Twilight - “Umm... This is my home!”

Another awkward silence followed, punctuated by Fluttershy attempting a wide smile – at Twilight.

Twilight face-hoofed. “And it's really lovely, but Sunset,” she jerked her head towards the mare in question, finally causing Fluttershy to reluctantly look at the other unicorn in the room, “was really hoping you could show us around.”

Sunset was hoping no such thing, but she also wasn't about to contradict Twilight right then. So instead she put on her calmest fake smile, and said “Uh, yeah! I mean, not that I don't like what you've done with the place,” she waved vaguely at an armchair coated with animal fur, “but I was more interested in, uh, the stuff you do with animals!”

She smiled, inwardly hoping she hadn't just made a terrible mistake. Judging by the attention that Fluttershy was finally fixing her, she wasn't so lucky.

“I didn't know you were an animal lover,” Fluttershy said.

The logical leap took Sunset briefly off-guard, and a quick side-eyed glance at Twilight and Spike told her they felt similarly about their friend's 'inference'. But Sunset was nothing if not able to think on her hooves, and so smiled and said “Yeah! Totally!”

Then she cursed herself for having definitely made a terrible mistake.

In an instant, Fluttershy's entire body language had shifted – head up, ears forward, eyes wide and friendly, mane out of her face. Even her wings ruffled and readjusted themselves. “Well, in that case I'd be glad to introduce you to all my little and not-so-little animal friends!” She turned and trotted happily into the room, and Sunset could see the animals in question start to come out of hiding. “You can come out now! Sunset Shimmer won't harm you!” Fluttershy told them all with an encouraging smile, and even more heads began to poke out of the various nooks and crannies of the room.

Mice and rabbits, squirrels and ferrets, birds of all shapes and sizes; in seconds, they had claimed just about every conceivable square inch of sitting room and were now chirping and chittering and staring at the new arrivals with interest. It unnerved Sunset.

Though not as much as the great big grizzly bear did when it leaned its head out of what Sunset presumed was Fluttershy's kitchen, blinked, then walked out with a big pot of honey in its paws. The other, smaller animals scooted over to make room for it, completely unafraid. A few of the birds even alighted on its head and shoulders.

Sunset saw Fluttershy looking around with a look of concentration on her muzzle; by the way her lips were silently moving she guessed the mare was doing a head count. This was confirmed to Sunset when Fluttershy's brow furrowed just a smidge and she said “Hold on, where's- oh, there you are Angel!”

Her expression had changed into one of pleasant relief when she saw a small white rabbit push its way out from between a beaver and a raccoon. In sharp contrast, Sunset noted, the rabbit looked angry – an unusual expression for a rabbit, she decided. It was dragging a wall calendar behind it, and once close enough to Fluttershy it held the thing up – opened to the current month, of course – and repeatedly slapped the day's date, which had been circled. Upon closer look, Sunset realized that every Monday had been circled.

“I'm sorry, Angel,” Fluttershy told it with a genuine frown. “I know we had plans for today.” She put on a smile again. “But there will be plenty of time to play together after I give my friends a tour.”

The rabbit crossed its forepaws and tapped a foot impatiently, and gave Sunset, Twilight, and Spike what could only be described as a hateful glare.

“Oh no,” Twilight said, frowning. “We aren't interrupting something, are we?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “It's okay. I know how important you tour is thanks to the party the other day. I don't want to make you reschedule because of us.”

“That's kind of you, really, but-” Twilight tried to say.

“If she's willing to give us the tour now, I say let her,” Sunset spoke up, shrugging mildly when they looked at her. This, she decided, was a good idea. Better to get it over with than have to come back later and go through Twilight desperately trying to reschedule something else.

“Okay,” Fluttershy smiled and nodded. She looked thoughtful for a moment, then said “I suppose we should start with introductions! Mostly for Sunset Shimmer's sake, but I'm sure there's someone here that you two haven't met yet.” She looked at Twilight and Spike as she said that, and the two of them struggled to maintain their smiles.

Fluttershy didn't seem to notice, turning her focus back to Sunset. “Well, for starters, that's Angel Bunny,” she pointed at the rabbit, who defiantly turned up his nose. “He's a bit grumpy right now, but he's really sweet once you get to know him.” She put a hoof to her jaw and looked around at all the other animals trying to decide who to introduce next. “And, umm...”

I'll spare you all a lengthy introduction scene since for the most part none of the animals except Angel were ever relevant to anything I've pretty much ever done. That I can remember, anyway.

Also, I forgot most of their names anyway. Can you blame me? There were, like, fifty of them! Even I can't remember that much information given to me all at once. Especially when half of them either rhyme with or are a pun on the animal's species, and thus everything starts to blend together into one big head-spinning mess.

I'm pretty sure the bear's name is Hairy, though. Or possibly Harry, I don't think I ever got the spelling.

Anyway...

Once the introductions were finally over with – Sunset was proud of herself for having successfully pretended to maintain interest all throughout it without her eyes glazing over – Fluttershy moved on to the other parts of her cottage. Which was basically just kitchen, washroom, bedroom, and storage.

Then she led the group, including about a third of her animals friends, outside. And introduced about two dozen more of her increasingly-implausible charges.

Sunset genuinely had no idea what a solitary flamingo was doing in this part of the world, much less an actual seal.

“Wow,” Sunset said as she watched What's-His-Name the seal sort of slump off into a pond located around the back of the cottage. “How do you handle taking care of so many different animals at once?”

“Oh, it's really no trouble,” Fluttershy answered, picking up a standalone bird feeder that had been knocked over. “It's mostly just a matter of making sure everyone is comfortable. Which means food, water, shelter, and space for every creature great and small.” She eyed the seed in the feeder – it seemed rather low even to Sunset's thoroughly untrained eye – then turned and opened her wings.

She took more of a long jump than true flight considering how short the distance was, but she landed gracefully all the same next to a series of large and securely-locked wooden chests. Where she produced the keyring from Sunset couldn't tell, but soon enough she was humming softly to herself and opening up one of the chests. She took out a small sack of birdseed, turned back around, and seemed to be momentarily startled by Sunset, Twilight, and Spike as though she'd forgotten they were there.

With a faint blush and a noticeable stare Fluttershy crept back over to the bird feeder, and only finally looked away from the others when she bumped into it. “Right,” she said softly as she looked up at it, several birds shifting impatiently on their perches around her. Without preamble she flew straight up with the sack in her hooves, refilled the feeder, and dropped back down.

“See?” she told the others, smiling again as the interested birds began to fly over. “No problem at all!”

Sunset looked at the birds, a few of which seemed to her to be squabbling over the new food source. “Uh huh.” She looked back at Fluttershy, who had turned back to return the seed sack to storage.

Feeling the inexplicable need to fill in the lull in conversation, Sunset poked at the grass until she thought of something to say. “So, uh, do you have food for all of your animals in there?” she asked just as Fluttershy finished locking the birdseed away.

“There's a little something for all of them, yes,” she answered as she turned around to face them. “But they don't get all of their food from me.”

Sunset raised a brow. “Really? I didn't think any of them would want to venture out into the Everfree from all I've heard about it. I thought they all relied on you.”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy said, looking mildly aghast and shaking her head. “I'd never be able to help all of them if they needed everything from me!” Her expression shifted into a satisfied smile, and she nodded. “I'm simply a safe place to rest and recuperate from the struggles of life.” She knelt down and nuzzled some sort of weasel, who nuzzled her right back. “Sure, many of the little critters like to stay here for most of the year,” she said, looking back at Sunset, “but even they leave some times. Not always to the Everfree Forest, of course, but there's plenty of wild spaces around here worth visiting.”

“Huh,” Sunset said, oddly satisfied by the answer – she chalked it up to her general intellectual curiosity. “Cool. So, uh,” she continued, looking around, “do you do anything more than just give them food and shelter? Like, first aid or anything?”

Fluttershy giggled. “Sometimes, if there's an emergency, but I'm not an actual veterinarian. Oh,” her eyes widened slightly in realization, “but I do work fairly closely with Dr. Fauna, who is an actual veterinarian.”

Vaguely recognizing the name, Sunset looked to Twilight for confirmation. “I think we met her when we went to the animal clinic yesterday, remember?”

“Yeah, that's what I thought,” Sunset said.

“Still don't get why we went there when none of us have any pets,” Spike muttered.

“A good tour is a thorough tour, Spike,” Twilight told him matter-of-factly, and Sunset snickered.

“Never know what we might need in the future,” she added in a slightly-mocking singsong.

She looked back at Fluttershy just in time to catch an almost unnervingly blank look pass across her muzzle. “None of you have pets?” she said, and immediately Sunset could tell it wasn't really a question. The pegasus donned a thoughtful look, furrowed brow and all, and murmured “Well I suppose that makes sense... None of you have been in Ponyville for very long... And I'm sure I'd have seen one by now if you had one... Why didn't I notice this before?”

Sunset, feeling something in her stomach that was far too similar to growing dread for her liking, glanced at Twilight; Twilight shared the look, more or less, but her brain had evidently settled on confusion as her reaction to Fluttershy's statement.

“Uhh...” was all either of them could get out before Fluttershy looked at them with uncharacteristic resolve.

“Well, if any of you want a pet,” she told them, “I have plenty of wonderful options for you to choose from.”

Sunset and Twilight shared another look, both now confused. “A... pet?” Twilight repeated, skeptically.

“That's right,” Fluttershy nodded. “I know that Sunset's only just gotten settled, but I don't think there's ever truly a bad time to adopt a pet. All it takes is a little planning and care.”

A third look shared between the two unicorns, and Spike now as well, all three leaving their skepticism and uncertainties unspoken but visible. “I'm... sorry, Fluttershy-” Twilight began to say.

Sunset cut her off with a sigh. “We appreciate the offer, but we're really not looking for any pets right now.”

Fluttershy frowned. “But... I thought that since you loved animals-”

“Uhh, from a distance,” Sunset hastily 'clarified'. “Neither of us has ever actually had a pet before, unless you count Spike.”

“Which we don't,” Spike said rather pointedly, crossing his arms and nodding and generally making it clear that the matter had long been settled.

“Exactly,” Sunset said. “And with the labs, and the research, and everything,” she added, looking up and giving her hoof a few rolls for good measure, “I just don't think we'd be able to give a pet the time and attention it needs.” She put on her best apologetic face for that line, momentarily surprised that there was actually some sincerity behind it.

It didn't seem to faze Fluttershy. “Well, maybe you only feel that way because you haven't met the perfect pet?” She looked around at the various creatures that were still assembled in the outdoor area. “I'm sure there's someone around here that would be a good fit. Maybe even one that could help you with your research!”

A vision flashed through Sunset's mind of various animals running amok in her lab, messing with her artifacts, and causing a chain reaction that led to an unprecedented magical disaster, destroying half of Ponyville.

She shuddered, almost despite herself.

And then she realized she'd shuddered in front of Fluttershy, and her eyes snapped open. “Uhh,” she laughed, her mind desperately racing for a way out that wouldn't further offend Fluttershy and thus jeopardize her relationship with Twilight. “Yeah, sorry, bad memory. Princess Celestia has this pet bird who... well, she's kind of a troublemaker. She's messed with loads of our research, right Twilight?” She looked to her best friend in the entire world, hoping that she would actually play along.

She was met with a quizzical look. But, to her relief, it only took a few eye gestures for Twilight to get the hint.

“Oh, right, right,” she finally said with a pretty desperate-looking smile. “Philomena sure was a hoofful!”

“I'll say,” Spike chimed in with a hint of sullenness, and Sunset was grateful for it. Her hasty cover story wasn't technically a lie, but as Philomena was a phoenix and thus more intelligent than most animals, it felt like an exaggeration to compare her deliberate antics to the trouble a more average pet could get into.

She looked back at Fluttershy to see her frowning in a rather sad way. “Oh, I see. Well, I'm sorry your experiences with the Princess' pet has spoiled you for getting a pet of your own. But if you ever change your minds,” her frown disappeared, replaced by a sweet and understanding smile, “you know where to find me.”

“Yeah, we'll definitely keep that in mind,” Sunset said, putting on a smile of her own despite, once again, saying something to one of Twilight's friends that she absolutely did not want to act upon in the future.

She turned to Twilight. “So, how are we doing on time for the rest of today's tour?”

Twilight responded by levitating a brass pocket watch and a piece of parchment out of her saddle bags; after consulting the two, she stored them away. “We're right on schedule,” she answered happily. “So long as we leave in the next three-and-a-half minutes, anyway. That'll give us plenty of time to get to the first antique store just as it opens.”

Sunset nodded. “Okay then. Sorry Fluttershy,” she then told the pegasus, “looks like we have to go. It was nice meeting all your friends and seeing the place.” It mostly wasn't.

“Yup!” Twilight chimed in with notable sincerity even as she turned to leave. “Goodbye, Fluttershy.”

“See ya later!” Spike added, hopping onto Twilight's back.

“Goodbye!” Fluttershy replied, waving them off alongside many of her animal friends. “It was nice having you over!”

Sunset, Twilight, and Spike left after that, walking around the cottage and back onto the path.

And that's basically it. I might've missed a few details here and there, though. I definitely remember Spike getting attacked by birds at some point, but I'm not sure if it was then or during some other visit.

Fluttershy... I think that's when my impression of her went from 'doormat non-entity' to 'quiet animal-lover'. Or I guess 'doormat quiet animal-lover', since it took me way longer to realize that she wasn't just somepony who would bend over backwards to do what other, stronger wills told her to.

She has some definite confidence problems, even now. I've tried giving her some pointers but, uh, turns out my method of inspiring confidence works best with junior research partners and such. Who knew?

Oh well. We all have our problems, I guess, and she has closer friends than me to help her with them. Less busy ones too.

...I say that, having already put aside a big chunk of the day to write diary entries. Not exactly what most ponies would consider work.

Anyway, moving on to more important things...