Ashes to Inferno

Chapters

Aftermath
Night Part I: Dark Magic Leaves Scars
Night Part II: Words and Food
Nightmare
Rhea
Return
Drama
A New Future
Forgiveness
Chestnut
Electric
Looking Glass
Fire
A New Start
Colors
Phoenix
The Gift of Truth
Magic Analysis: Unstable
Not the Brightest Decision
Friendship Games Part I: The Past Repeats
Friendship Games Part II: Games We Play
Friendship Games Part III: Inferno
It's Never Pointless
The Mystery of Closets
Everfree Part I: Some Problems are Human
Everfree Part III: There Is No Midnight Sparkle
Everfree Part IV: Crystal Memories
Memory Part I: Mind
Memory Part II: Body
Memory Part III: Heart and Soul
The Magician and Judgement
Everfree Part II:Same Magic Time, Different Magic Channel

Aftermath

Sunset sat in the Principal’s office. Her hair was a wreck, her clothes were torn, and her back still felt like it was on fire. Yet she didn’t care. She deserved more than that, and she waited for it to come from the two women with her.

The Vice Principal stood nearby, waiting for the Principal to speak. For a moment, she sat behind her desk, staring. Sunset couldn’t look her in the face, but she heard a drawer and papers rustling.

“It is an understatement to say we are disappointed in you,” the Principal said.

Sunset said nothing.

“You should know some things, before we continue,” the Principal sighed. “First of all, I, we, knew exactly who and what you and Twilight are.”

“How?” Sunset managed to choke out.

Instead of answering, the Principal pulled out a book. No, a Journal, like a smaller version of the one Sunset had, and with the Princess’s Cutie Mark on it.

“I have known about the existence of the other world for quite a while,” the Principal said. “Since I was a student at this school. My own Counterpart gave me a way to contact her, for emergencies. Unfortunately, it and her advice were forgotten for a while.

“That is,” she continued. “Until six years ago. She told me of her student having fled into this world, and asked me to keep an eye on her.”

“You knew…” Sunset started. “You knew and you never said-“

“I never said anything,” she interrupted, “Because you didn’t seem like you needed it. By the time I realized you did, another message had already come. But perhaps you should read it for yourself.”

The Principal stood, handing the book to her. Sunset stared at it or a moment, trembling hands tracing the Cutie Mark. With that, the Principal headed to the door.

“Once you read that,” the Principal gave her parting words, “Luna will discuss your punishment.”

The door slammed closed, and Sunset shook. With the Vice Principal staring at her, she opened the book. It took a moment for her to register the words.

Dear Celestia Immortalem,

I wish to be writing under better circumstances, but I regret to say that one of my subjects, my Student, has made her way into your world. It will be another three years before I can send anyone to look for her. However, if you should run across her, I would ask you to look out for her. Sunset Shimmer is still young, despite the mistakes she’s made. She may need help.

Unfortunately, I do not know how she will react to you, because of me. She may hate you on sight, or she may latch on to you as a replacement. This is partly my fault. She left because of me, because she could not reach her own goals as quickly as she wanted, and took to other paths. Still, I have a responsibility to protect her. Please, look out for her.

From, Princess Celestia.

Sunset turned the page, reading the letter written a few years later.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have run into your Sunset Shimmer. I have begun a new job as Principal of a school, and she will be one of my students. She seems to have started a new life here, though I assume what little paperwork she has is forgery, I cannot fault her for surviving.

I have talked to her a little, but I did not tell her what I knew. I merely asked her about ‘who I reminded her of’. Her answer seemed honest, saying that I reminded her of ‘a teacher and mother figure’, one who she never truly knew, but saw glimpses of. Glimpses of someone in need of a friend.

When I heard that, it struck a chord. It reminded me of my siblings, how I lost them because I could no longer connect to them, despite your advice. But her words reached me, and it helped me reconnect with Luna, and hopefully the other two soon. Perhaps what she needed was a friend to reach out to her as well. I cannot, being her Principal, but I hope others can. She seems to be getting along well, but I will try to lead her as best I can.

From, Celestia Immortalem

There was no response. Sunset shook, looking to the last message. One from only a few days ago.

Dear Celestia Immortalem,

I regret to say, but Sunset Shimmer returned for a few hours last night. While she was here, she stole an important Magical Artifact called the Element of Magic. I will be sending its owner, Princess Twilight Sparkle, to retrieve it. While I would like to say just apprehend Sunset and take the Element back, I would like to give Twilight a test and Sunset a chance. I am sure you can come up with a suitable situation, while allowing Twilight into your school for the next few days.

However, should something go wrong, apprehend her or send a message to me. The Element of Magic can be dangerous, if in the wrong hooves. As Sunset was willing to steal it from Equestria, I doubt she will be able to use it correctly, even if she had good intentions.

From, Princess Celestia

“A-a test,” Sunset cried. “She set this up as a fucking test?”

“Language,” the Vice Principal warned.

“Does it matter?” she wondered. “I never had a chance. She never gave me a chance.”

“You are the one who transformed into a demon,” she said.

“Not of my own free will!” she snapped, glaring at the woman. “I wouldn’t expect you to know how Magic works, but go ask Twilight if you want a rundown. I expected that what happened to Twilight would happen to me, and that I could go home! Instead, I had so much negativity the Magic turned Dark and overtook me.

“Do you honestly think I’d turn to that under normal circumstances?” she asked, before dropping her head. “It doesn’t matter. Because the Princess does. It’s so clear now. I was chasing after a mare that didn’t exist."

The Vice Principal walked over. Leaning against the desk, she sighed. Sunset looked up, waiting once more.

“I can see that many things happened,” Luna said. “I do not know of my sister or her Counterpart, but I believe you when you say what you wanted. But you did many things here, and as Vice Principal, we do have to discuss punishment.”

“Whatever it is, I’ll do it,” Sunset agreed. “I don’t care.”

“Well, I will work with you here,” she said. “Punishments are supposed to teach lessons, but you have already learned your lesson. Technically, our laws have no say in Magical incidents, and the theft of this ‘Element of Magic’, would be out of our jurisdiction. As are you in general, being from another Dimension.”

“So,” she continued. “The punishment must come from someone with jurisdiction. Twilight Sparkle is a Princess in your world, is she not?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “But Princesses Celestia and Luna still have more authority.”

“Princess…” she mused. “I was not aware of my Counterpart existing, much less being a Princess.”

“Well, your sister is one, so why wouldn't you be?” she said. “But your Counterpart had become Nightmare Moon, trying to bring about Eternal Night and was banished for one thousand years. She’s only come back this past year. Because of Twilight. Again.”

“Hm,” she said. “Interesting to know. But while, normally, my counterpart and her sister would have more authority than Twilight, I think here Twilight has more power. The way I see it, she was sent to this world as a representative of sorts, so she handles all Magical Crimes that happen here.”

“So you’re going to ask Twilight what to do with me?” she wondered.

“I don’t have to,” she replied. “While her words can be reinterpreted, I see that she wants you to stay here and become a better person, or Pony. Think of it as a form of rehabilitation. You aren’t imprisoned, but you are under watch and being taken care of by those we trust. “

“But what about-“ she began.

“I will handle Celestia,” she said. “At least this world’s version. Should the Princess decide to overrule, I believe Twilight will stand by us.”

“I…. Thank you,” she hung her head.

“Unfortunately,” she sighed. “We do have to work out some sort of ‘actual’ punishment. If only to keep students from demanding more. Some have already suggested you rebuild the front of the school, but you are still a teenager with no building experience, so that would be ridiculous and worse trouble if you did it wrong.”

“I can help pay for repairs,” she offered quickly. “It’s not really a punishment, but I want to fix what I can. If it’ll help, I’d gladly-“

“Okay,” she said, putting her hand up to stop her. “We will…. Debate about that once we see how much repairs will cost. For your actual punishments, first you will be banned from the rest of the dance. Not bad, as you probably do not wish to go. Secondly, some time in Detention. I am unsure of how long, but at least all of next week.”

“Alright,” she nodded.

Luna’s face softened a little. She knelt down, taking the book out of Sunset’s hands. She gave a soft smile, trying to be comforting.

“Those five other girls will be helping you,” Luna said. “Some of the staff will as well. Myself, of course, and this Celestia as well. You can also trust Discord and Cheerilee. And I’m sure Mr. Birch still feels indebted to you.

“But I will warn you as well,” she sighed. “That some students, and perhaps even some staff, will not take this as such a simple matter of letting us punish you, or letting you be better. Some may say things, or try to harm you. We can only do so much to protect you, so make sure you’re always with someone you can trust, alright?”

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “I have at least one of them in every class. I-I’ll be fine.”

Author's Note

And here begins this part of the story! Not sure how far until it ends, but it's at least going past LoE so who knows I might have them finish out the year.
Side note, some scenes will be skipped due to having full fics about them in this continuity, but they'll be linked when it happens and given a summary if necessary.

Night Part I: Dark Magic Leaves Scars

Author's Note

Warning: This is one of the very few scenes with blood, but it's very minor. Also a little bit of non-sexual and non-descriptive nudity.

Night Part I: Dark Magic Leaves Scars

Luna talked to her a bit more, before she was allowed to leave. Sunset walked down the halls, hating how quiet it was. Unfortunately, there were some students already out of the dance.

It was the six, of course. Saying goodbye to Twilight. Sunset only watched long enough to see the portal close once more. She’d debated about running through, if only for a chance to see her family again, to apologize to them.

As soon as it was gone, she headed out to the parking lot. Her motorcycle was still there. If everything had gone as planned, she would have given it to Flash. She would’ve explained what she had done, whether he hated her or not, before she left. She would’ve given him the book in her locker, hoping it could contact the other world just to keep in touch.

She hoped she’d be able to go home without any trouble, but she heard someone call her name. Trying to ignore it, she hurried to the parking lot. She knew she couldn’t out run them, even if she didn’t hurt, and she knew it would take too long to start up the motorcycle. Yet she tried.

She wasn’t sure which one reached her first, but she was surprised to not find pain. Instead, there was something comforting, almost like an old song.

“If you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, if we have unearned luck now to scrape the serpent’s tongue, we will make amends ere long.”

“You’re not the one they’re hissing at,” Sunset replied, almost laughing at the familiar lines. “I don’t think Shakespeare quotes will help.”

“No,” Pinkie nodded, still holding her shoulder. “But you’ve apologized. A lot. So it’s time to make up.”

“Apologies only go so far,” she said.

“I know,” Applejack agreed as the rest caught up. “You’ll have to work for it, and some’ll forgive you quicker than others. But it’s a start.”

“Why?” she asked. “What’s the point? I know you have to hate me, I hated you for so long. So just because Princess Twilight says you should ‘help me’ you’re going to?”

Oddly enough, it was Fluttershy with the answer. She ducked under Pinkie and took Sunset’s face in her hands. There was an odd glow to her eyes, a stare that held her yet felt so soft. It had a confidence she’d only seen in her twice.

“We’re not doing this because of Twilight,” Fluttershy said, her voice firm. “We’re doing this because you need it. People, and Ponies, deserve Kindness. As long as you want to be better, we’ll help you along the way. So we’ll stick by you as much as we can, and help you figure this out.”

“Which is why we’re sort of inviting ourselves over to your place for a sleepover,” Pinkie said.

“Wait, what?” Sunset asked, breaking out of Fluttershy’s stare.

“What she means,” Rarity began, giving Pinkie a look, “is that we want to make sure you actually have a decent place to stay, even if it means taking you in. After all, how an Interdimensional Unicorn gets a home….”

“Exchange rate,” she answered. “But why a sleepover?”

“Well,” she glanced away. “That is, we, how do I put this?”

“My turn,” Rainbow shrugged, moving forward. “You’ve been through some shit.”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy chastised.

“It’s true!” she defended. “You’ve been through Hell tonight, literally. All sorts of things are running through your head, and you’re going to be thinking about it. That can lead to a lot of dark places. And if you’re alone through that? I don’t know if you’d show up at all, let alone Monday morning. So we’re not just going to leave you alone.”

“I hate to say it, but she’s right,” Applejack sighed. “She could’ve put it better , but she’s right. Overall we’re going to try and be your friend, but for now, we’re going to make sure we get the chance.”

“I….” Sunset began. “Fine. I can’t promise anything. I’m not good at this, at least not in a real way. And I’m not really prepared for guests. But you can come over, if only to babysit me. The real question is, do any of you have a car?”

“Yes,” Rarity answered. “It’s back at my boutique however, along with Applejack’s truck. Is it far?”

“Not really,” she said. “But I want to get my motorcycle home. Not everyone’s as nice as you.”

“This is a lovely house,” Fluttershy said.

“Kinda big,” Applejack remarked. “You live here alone?”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. “Younger me thought ‘I have the money so why not live in a castle?’. Sounds pretentious now.”

“I can appreciate the sentiment,” Rarity said.

“So, how do you have money?” Rainbow asked. “You said ‘exchange rate’?”

Sunset nodded before heading to one closet. Inside was a small safe she had bought, with a Sapphire infused with Obliviousness on top giving off a minor illusion, making it appear like nothing is there. If you don’t expect to see it, you won’t see it.

Unlocking it, Sunset took two items out and walked back to the group. She placed them on the kitchen table the girls had surrounded. One was a coin the size of an Oreo, the other was a large stone.

“This is Equestria’s currency,” Sunset explained. “Bits and Gems.”

“I don’t think there’s a currency exchange for that,” Rarity said, picking up the bit.

“Not directly,” she nodded. “But that coin you have there? It’s gold. Not just gold-plated, but solid gold. I had a backpack full of those and gems when I came through.”

The five stared at the coin, mouths open in shock.

“Yeah,” Sunset almost smiled. “And the stone is-“

“Oh my stars!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That’s- how- Holy Hot sauce Christmas cake!”

“Pinkie, calm,” Rainbow said.

“Usually, I would!” she replied, picking up stone. “But that’s a Pink Diamond. Like, it looks a lot like a Pink Diamond, but I’d have to actually test it and stuff but-“

“How can you tell what it is?” Sunset asked.

“Family business,” she chirped. “My parents and sisters are all in rocks and gems and crystals! Any of them could tell you better, but I know a few and that definitely looks like a Pink Diamond but it’s enormous!”

“It is,” she confirmed. “Precious gems and metals are a lot more common in Equestria. I’m just lucky the portal gave me everything in Hammerspace when I came through. And… no offense, but I’m going to lock those back up until I need them.”

“Aww….” She frowned. “I wanted to show Maud.”

After tugging the Bit out of Rarity’s hand, Pinkie reluctantly handed the gem back. Sunset began to put them away, but was surprised to feel a Light Spell in the gem. Odd, she hadn’t done that. She probably didn’t have the cheeriness for that. But…. Pinkie couldn’t have, right?

Shaking her head, she decided that was a mystery for later. Instead, once her money was secure again, she headed back and glanced upstairs. Stairs seemed like a bad idea.

“Hey, girls?” Sunset began. “Uh, it’s probably not part of your ‘sleepover plans’, but I could really use a shower before you figure everything out. But if you want to, I don’t know, order pizza or something while I’m in there…”

“I’ve got it covered!” Pinkie replied, grabbing Applejack and Rainbow. “We’ll be back!”

“Pinkie, there ain’t a pizza place open!” Applejack pointed out as she was dragged off.

It was a bit entertaining, a little like her last ‘friend group’ had been, before she ruined it. If it hadn’t been ruined at the start.

She pushed that idea out of her head, refusing to think down that path right now. Instead, she made her way upstairs to her bedroom to get clothes for after her shower. Debating for a moment, she chose a blue pair of pajamas with her Cutie Mark on the hem of the shorts. Even after all this time, it felt weird to not wear her Cutie Mark somewhere.

There was a creak from the stairs, and she looked down the hall. Rarity smiled a bit sheepishly up at her. Sunset pushed down the mixed feelings the whole situation brought, the old hate, the older crush, the newer worry.

“Do you need something?” Sunset asked.

“I wanted to check on you,” Rarity answered, coming up the last few steps.

“It’s only been a minute,” she sighed.

“Not what I meant,” she said. “It’s just… You look like you’re hurting. Walking up the stars seemed like a lot of effort. I wanted to know if there was… if you needed help.”

“I- I just hurt,” she said, looking away. “Usually a Magical transformation won’t hurt, it’ll just feel very strange. But Dark Magic is…. Different. It will hurt, and it can tear your body apart. That’s why it’s used as a last resort.”

“A last resort,” she parroted. “That in itself tells me you’ve gone through a lot.”

“My own fault, apparently,” she said.

“Yes and no,” she said. “Yes, you made bad decisions, but something had to put you in the situation where the bad decision was an option. For now, do you think you’re okay enough to get undressed for your shower?”

“I….” she trailed off. “I think I can, but help would be better. Just don’t panic if…. If I’m hurting from more than muscle pain.”

Hesitantly, Sunset walked into the bathroom and let Rarity help her out of the jacket. It did hurt, but it was quicker with Rarity gently tugging the sleeves off her arms. Once free, she rolled her shoulders. It was still painful, but at least her jacket was off.

Rarity gasped, dropping the jacket to the floor. Before Sunset could think to ask, she had hurried to the hall and called down the stairs.

“Fluttershy, can you get up here?” Rarity called, keeping the panic from her voice.

“Don’t!” Sunset exclaimed, closing the door back. “Rarity, whatever it is, she doesn’t need to see it!”

“Usually I’d agree,” she swallowed. “Just look in the mirror for me.”

Stepping away, Sunset took a look over her shoulder. The back of her shirt was much darker, though not damp anymore. She could imagine what they might find under it.

“Futtershy is the closest thing we have to a doctor,” Rarity said. “She can’t do anything major, but she can at least tell us if we should take you to a real doctor or not.”

With a sigh, Sunset nodded and let her in. Fluttershy began to ask if she was okay, but let out a squeak in surprise and possible terror. Pulling herself together, she looked over the situation

“Okay, um,” Fluttershy took a shaky breath. “We need to see what exactly we’re dealing with. Considering that there’s probably pain, it’d be easier to cut the shirt off, but if you want to save it…”

“Dear, I don’t think that shirt can be saved,” Rarity said. “But don’t worry, I’ll make you a new one.”

“You don’t have to-“ Sunset began.

“I know,” she nodded. “Now, do you have a pair of scissors up here, or shall I go dig around the kitchen?”

After being directed to some scissors, Sunset’s shirt was cut off. One of them undid her bra as well, apologizing in advance. She waited for one of them to say something. Neither did.

She risked a glance, seeing both of their expressions. It was terror, Rarity looking about to throw up. Despite their protest, Sunset turned to the mirror to look for herself.

There were two symmetrical tears between her shoulder blades. Each one was long, running down half her back. Looking lower, there was a third scar at the base of her spine. This one was more circular, as if something had pushed its way in. Or out.

“Wings and tail,” Sunset muttered, peeling off what was left of her top. “How bad is it?”

“Not-not too bad, I think,” Fluttershy said, filling up the sink with warm water. “But we should clean off some of the blood first.”

“Not too bad?” Rarity asked. “Her back is….”

“I didn’t mean that,” she said. “It’s pretty bad, and probably worse. But considering they stopped bleeding, they can’t be that deep.”

Sunset started to say something, but jumped when Fluttershy put a wet washcloth against her back. After a round of apologies from both, Sunset stood and let her continue. The warmth felt nice, comforting.

“This is odd,” Fluttershy muttered.

“What is it?” Sunset asked.

“I’m not an expert,” she reminded, “But these look like they were pretty deep. Like what I’d expect from a transformation that had wings and a tail ripping out of a body.”

“That is what happened,” Rarity nodded.

“Well, yes,” she said. “But they look decently healed. If it weren’t for the blood, I’d say you got these weeks ago. Hm... Do Ponies have any healing abilities?”

“We don’t heal faster than Humans,” Sunset said. “Unicorns have healing spells, but they take a lot of energy. Anything that can be easily healed usually isn’t worth the energy it takes to do so, so it’s only used in life-or-death situations.

“But something like the Elements of Harmony,” she continued. “I could feel it, when you blasted me. It’s not powered by basic energy, it’s powered by emotion, which is near-infinite. You six more than canceled out the Dark Magic, and considering you wanted to help, I think it took the initiative.”

“Then why heal you part way?” Rarity asked. “And why is there still blood?”

“Healing spells are quick but not instant,” she said. “That’s probably what was there before it healed up. And even healing spells will leave scars.”

“You’re taking this rather well,” she commented.

“I think the breakdown is delayed,” she said, turning back to them. “Watch, I’ll be all fine, and then months later I’ll end up in a breakdown. So, how is my back doing in general? Do we need to go to a hospital? Because I barely have much on records, and these can’t be explained. Besides, who even knows if I have a Human blood type!”

“I think you’ll be fine,” Fluttershy said, averting her eyes and blushing red. “Uh, just keep them clean and maybe take some painkillers. I think they’re healed enough to not reopen, but try not to do anything strenuous to be sure.”

“Right,” she nodded. “But a shower’s fine?”

“Yes,” she said, much more quiet.

“You alright?” she wondered.

Fluttershy nodded.

“She’s fine,” Rarity said, her own cheeks quite a bit pinker. “But you are, ahem, casually holding a conversation while topless.”

“Oh, right,” Sunset said, looking down. “Wait. Now that everyone knows I’m an Interdimensional Unicorn, I can complain out loud. Oh my stars your culture is weird about clothes!”

“And just how are clothes weird?” she demanded.

“It’s not bad, just so different!” she laughed. “As a Unicorn, we have our own coats. We have no need for everyday clothing, so really it’s only for extreme weather, uniforms, or formal events. If a pony wears clothing every day, it’s a sign of status. It says ‘I’m rich enough to waste money on something so unnecessary’.

“But here?” she continued. “Humans don’t have a coat, so they needed to make clothes to wear everyday. And eventually it evolved into the idea that you must have clothes and any form of nudity is blatantly sexual. I can understand covering the, uh, lower half, but why can’t a woman go topless? And don’t get me started on pockets!”

“I won’t,” Rarity laughed. “Now, take your shower. You can continue your rant about cultural differences later.”

“I…” she stopped and smiled. “Thanks, both of you.”

“You’re welcome,” the girls chorused.

Night Part II: Words and Food

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Nightmare

She screamed. Everything hurt, as if she were being torn apart. It burned, as if her blood had turned into molten silver, her tears as well. She couldn’t stop.

She saw darkness and blood. She saw them, looking as burned as she felt as they lay on the ground. She laughed, she was laughing but it wasn’t funny. She stepped through, seeing them on the other side. They tried, but it didn’t matter. They didn’t expect her, they didn’t think it possible.

Everything was crumbling. The sky had neither Sun nor Moon, and not even Chaos had survived. Nothingness, it was nothingness. No Seas, no Storms, no Forests. No Magic. No Life. And she didn’t care at all.

She screamed, the sound unnatural. She screamed until she couldn’t breathe.

From the darkness came voices. She couldn’t register them, but they sounded oh so familiar. So familiar they were mocking. She shook her head, begging for it all to stop.

One voice took over. It spoke words she knew, words she could respond to on instinct. She spoke back, and as she did, blue came back into her world.

“This falls o-out better than I could d-devise,” Sunset said, her voice shaking. “But hast thou y-yet latched the Athen-Athenian’s eyes with the love juice, as I-as I did bid they to do?”

“I took him sleeping,” the voice returned. “That is finished too. And the Athenian woman by his side, that, when he waked, of force she must be eyed.”

Sunset returned her line, and tough the voice switched scenes, she returned every line. Still shaking, her breath returned, her skin no longer held its fire. She could see more than blue. There was pink surrounding blue eyes, someone holding her still as she trembled.

Everything came back. Everything that had really happened in the last few hours came rushing back, and once more she couldn’t breathe. She kept rattling off lines, words that she’d spent hours memorizing.

Though she still trembled, and her breath was near gasps, she was far more aware. By that time she broke scripts.

“Can you hear me?” Pinkie asked, her voice quieter than she thought possible.

Sunset nodded.

“Do you know where you are?” someone else asked. Was that Rainbow?

Sunset nodded again.

“Are you okay?” it was Fluttershy now.

Sunset shook her head.

“Can you talk?” Pinkie asked.

“Y-yeah,” Sunset managed. “I’m sorry.”

“Good,” she smiled. “You weren’t responding earlier, but I figured your old lines would be, like, muscle memory or something. Enough to get you to focus. Glad it worked.”

“Thanks,” she swallowed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she wondered.

Sunset stared at the five, all concerned for her. There was no use pretending nothing happened. As she began to register more of her surroundings, she could feel her body again. Her hands were locked in a claw position, nails digging into Pinkie’s forearm.

“Sorry,” she muttered, unclenching her hands.

“Didn’t hurt!” Pinkie waved it off, despite the deep marks. “So, do you want to talk? Because I’m sure we can distract you if you don’t want to.”

“I-it’s okay,” she nodded. “Just a nightmare. I guess I can expect a few of those in the future. It was just… what might have happened. What I could have done if you hadn’t stopped me. I’m not going to describe it all, but I’m going to thank you again for blasting me into a crater.

“It’s strange to say ‘you’re welcome’ for something like that,” Rarity said.

“But you’re welcome,” Rainbow said, once more not thinking.

“It’ll be okay, Sunny,” Pinkie said. “We can work on this. Soon enough you’ll be right back to dreaming about cookies and far too much whipped cream!”

“I think you overestimate my dreams,” Sunset laughed.

“Who knows,” she shrugged. “But it’ll be okay. We can chase the nightmares away, and then you’ll wake up smiling every time instead.”

“If you need to talk, we’re here,” Applejack nodded.

“Even if we’re not the ‘best’ at talking,” Rainbow shrugged.

“I know a few people who could help,” Fluttershy said. “I know you avoid doctors because you don’t know how ‘different’ you could be physically, but my mom can help you find a therapist that could, uh, maybe overlook the differences?“

“And even if you don’t want to talk to someone,” Rarity added, “We’ll be here.”

“I… thanks,” Sunset sighed with a smile. “Thank you.”

Author's Note

Had to have some nightmares, of course. And some more Midsummer. Don't worry, there won't be more play quoting. I think.

Rhea

As much as they wanted to stay, to make sure she wouldn’t have another nightmare, most of the girls had to leave Saturday morning. Rainbow had a soccer game, Applejack had to help out with the family farm, and Rarity had work to do along with a sister to babysit while her parents left again.

Sunset assured them it was alright, that she had enough presence of mind to call them if things got worse. Pinkie and Fluttershy stayed, both with little to do today.

At first, it had been a continuation of the movie marathon. Pinkie had insisted on showing Sunset many ‘nostalgic’ movies, sure that they’d be a new experience. At first Sunset assured her that she’d already seen a lot of movies that people their age saw as nostalgic.

Naturally, Pinkie had to prove her wrong, as Sunset had only watched the popular nostalgic movies, not the ones that were amazing but lost to the due to being animation other than a Disney Musical and not getting sent to Merchandise Hell. It lasted long enough for Pinkie to realize she should probably space out the amazingness.

“We should go somewhere!” Pinkie suggested, still upside down on the couch.

“No offense,” Sunset began, “but I don’t think there’s many places we can go. At least not without running into someone from CHS, and I don’t want to face them yet.”

“Are you going to be okay on Monday?” Fluttershy asked.

“No clue,” she said. “But I at least have time to prepare myself for that.”

“What if we found somewhere to go where no one would be?” Pinkie asked.

“Maybe,” she relented.

“There’s usually no one we know at the animal shelter,” Fluttershy offered. “And it’s hard to be sad when you’re covered in kittens.”

“Sure, why not?” Sunset shrugged.

It was a thankfully short trip, one they didn’t even need a car for. The animal shelter was as expected, a lot of animals that, while well taken care of, needed a home. Though it was on the small side, at least as far as staff was concerned.

The few employees seemed to know Fluttershy rather well, as she did spend a lot of time there. And they were glad that even if they weren’t there for a full volunteer session, they’d at least have some help getting the dogs their exercise.

It was only a few minutes before they were overrun. Pinkie was giggling under a pile of puppies as they licked her face, and Fluttershy tried her best to get them off. Sunset, meanwhile, sat on the floor with a large golden retriever in her lap and laughed at the duo.

“So,” Pinkie began, finally free from the pup-nado. “Is it everything you’d expected from a bunch of dogs?”

“Well, they’re dogs,” Sunset said. “I’m not sure I could expect anything less. It’s kind of hard not to adopt all of them though.”

“You, uh,” Fluttershy started. “If you wanted to you could get a dog. Or a cat or a-well, have you ever had a pet before? What kind of pets are in Equestria anyway?”

“Mostly normal ones,” she answered, gently petting the dog’s head. “Though I’ve heard of a few more exotic ones. My parents had a dog when I was little, but he was old and died back when I was still too young to understand death. My brother got a cat before I left, though I didn’t meet it much. And, well, she’d hate if I called her a ‘pet’, but I did have a Phoenix.”

“A Phoenix?” she asked. “Like a fire bird?”

“Yep,” she nodded. “She’s not actually made of fire, but she has fire magic and does the whole ‘dies by bursting into flame only to be reborn in the ashes’ thing. Phoenixes are also highly intelligent, even if not on a Sapient level. But she wasn’t exactly a pet.”

“How isn’t she a pet?” Pinkie asked.

“Because she was a Familiar,” she answered. “A powerful Companion with a magical bond to a Spellcaster. They’re pretty unusual, especially nowadays, but the Princess gives one to all her students. Philomena was mine, but I left her when I came here. She probably would’ve hated it here anyway. Still, I hope she’s okay.”

“I’m sure someone’s taking care of her,” Fluttershy said.

“Totally,” Pinkie nodded. “I bet she’s-woah!”

They laughed as Pinkie was once more taken down by overzealous puppies. It was the definition of adorable. Sunset stood up, stretching herself out and debating about rescuing her.

“I don’t think I’m ready for a pet,” Sunset said. “I mean, I’m going through a lot right now, and a new creature to take care of probably isn’t the best idea.”

“Well, it could be if you get the right pet,” Fluttershy said. “Perhaps not a little puppy, but a dog. They’re not as high-maintenance. And, I hate to say it, but we won’t be around all the time. The girls and I would love if we could have sleepovers every night, but we can’t unless we all really move in together.”

“You always could move in with me,” she joked. “I think I could spring for a few extra beds. But you guys would have to contribute to the food and utilities.”

“Not quite yet,” she laughed. “But what I meant was that there are times where you’ll be alone. And I don’t know if you’ll have more nightmares like…. Like last night. While a pet isn’t a complete replacement for Human, or Pony, interaction, they can be a comfort. And nothing brings you back to reality like a lick or a cold nose.”

“I… you have a point,” she mused. “I don’t know if I should jump into that.”

“You don’t have to,” she smiled, her grin so soft and warm like a hug. “But it’s something to think about.”

As Fluttershy left to help Pinkie with the puppies, Sunset thought. While part of her screamed that it was a bad idea, another part of her truly debated. And the dogs were cute.

Two hours later, Sunset, Pinkie, Fluttershy and a golden retriever walked back through her front door. Fluttershy set down the bowls and toys, while Pinkie easily carried a large bag of food to the kitchen.

“I’m not sure how you carried that home,” Sunset said as she watched her easily bounce through the room.

“You should see me at Christmas!” Pinkie chirped in response. “I have a lot of trees.”

“You mean a lot of ornaments, right?” she asked.

“No,” Fluttershy sighed. “So, are you going to give her a different name? Azalea is pretty, but if you want to change it, you should train her to respond to it now.”

“I might,” she said, kneeling down and smiling as the dog licked her face. “I still can’t believe I just got a dog, but once that settles I have a few ideas. Mostly Greek Myths.”

“So, Cerberus?” Pinkie asked.

“Nah, he’s a bulldog,” she answered, trying to figure out how to talk past the dog licking her face.

“What?” both girls asked.

“Right, ‘myths’,” she rolled her eyes. “I got really into Greek Myth when I found out how many things it had in common with Equestria. Most similarities are just creatures, well, monsters. But Pegasai architecture resembles your Greek architecture, and our whole Underworld system has a lot of crossover as well.”

“Not to sound rude,” Fluttershy began, “But do you mean you know for a fact that the… the Underworld exists as an afterlife or is it a religion?”

“And how do you know it exists and what Cerberus looks like?” Pinkie asked.

“It actually exists,” Sunset said. “Though it’s more of a pre-afterlife for those who either need to or want to stay in the world before fully moving on to who knows where. By the way, Equestria doesn’t have any exact religions like this world does. Mostly because the Princess is the closest thing to a God we have, but she insists she’s not a Goddess. Some do believe she is one anyway, but even then there’s very little actual worship.

“However,” she continued, “The perks to being the personal student to a sort-of-goddess is access to powerful magic and strange places. Along with interesting field trips, like to the Underworld. Of course I wasn’t allowed to see the Fields of Punishment and I was kept well away from Tartarus, but the Asphodel Meadows were nice and Elysium was beautiful.”

At their silence, she looked back up to them. Both girls stared, though Fluttershy’s was more wide-eye confusion. Laughing, she got back up and went to the couch.

“Have I mentioned how weird this is?” she asked. “Just talking about my actual life, not making up fake schools and fake events that match what a Human had experienced? I can say things like “I took a field trip to the Underworld’ or ‘back when I was a Blank Flank’ or even ‘I’d bet my horn’.

“I’m an Interdimensional Unicorn,” she snickered. “And now I can actually say that to people. Sorry, you probably think it’s nuts, but I feel like I could talk for days about it all.”

“Totally get it,” Pinkie said.

“We’re here to listen,” Fluttershy nodded.

They spent the night again, helping Sunset test out names for her new dog and teaching her little tricks. Pinkie already managed to help the dog figure out how to open the fridge. Somehow. Thankfully, Sunset kept her chocolate in the freezer instead.

There was another nightmare, different from the first yet oh so similar. Fluttershy had been right. As soon as Sunset jerked awake, still panicking, the dog was there to comfort. Pinkie and Fluttershy followed after, but even just the dog helped to ground her.

The next day was like before, but with Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejack stopping in for a bit at a time. Each were excited to see the new dog, and glad that she was moving forward in a way. Sunset didn’t know if it was truly ‘moving forward’, but it was something.

By the time all had left and the two were alone for the night, Sunset had decided on a name. Hopefully the dog did too. Both walked up to the bedroom, and she prepared herself for another round of nightmares.

“Come on up, Rhea,” Sunset said, patting the side of the bed.

Rhea seemed to like her name, because she hopped up, licked Sunsets face again, and settled on the bed. It was good to have someone, even if ‘someone’ was a dog.

Author's Note

Listen. I'd been stuck on this chapter a while back, but then I watched a certain person's videos and I'm like 'Sunset should get a dog'. I know the EQG shorts gave her the gecko but she always seemed more like a dog person to me.

Return

Sunset didn’t take the motorcycle. It would’ve been easier, but she didn’t trust that nothing would happen to it while she was in class. If only she could bring Rhea, because she could really use the comfort.

She’d waited, out of sight, until the girls got there. They surrounded her, creating a barrier before they walked in. Applejack was in front, height and stubborn determination keeping the others a bit hidden. Sunset walked behind her, with Pinkie and Fluttershy next to her, talking as if this were normal while locking arms with her. Rainbow and Rarity took up the rear, keeping an eye on others. Some students stared, many whispered, but the two girls fought back with perfected glares.

Sunset tried to ignore it, at least as much as she could. Pinkie and Fluttershy kept her talking, kept her mind on their weekend instead of the words. Pinkie in particular seemed to be trying to drown out everything else.

It worked fairly well. Of course she still knew that people were talking about her, but she couldn’t hear the exact words. Morbid curiosity did make her wonder, but the girls kept her from wandering too far down that metaphorical rabbit hole.

Classtime was harder. Sunset didn’t have all five of them in any of her classes at once. The most she had was English with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow, but that was right before lunch. First in the day was Math with Rainbow.

Rainbow switched seats with the guy who sat next to her, Thunderlane if she remembered right. The guy seemed nice enough, and didn’t seem to judge Sunset like the girls to his left did, even if he didn’t stop them.

Strange. She’d expected anger from everyone, but it seemed a few were more neutral. Of course there still were those who talked. Luckily, even if Rainbow couldn’t distract her while class was being taught, it also kept the others from talking.

“Hey, uh, Dash?” Sunset asked, tentatively using the nickname.

“Yeah?” Rainbow replied, nodding at the use.

“Okay, this might come out rude,” she began, “but I know you have problems in classes and-“

“And you’re offering to help,” she finished. “Fair enough. I know you’re wicked smart, so I was thinking of asking anyway. Numbers aren’t really my thing. Or words for that matter. Any chance I could bribe you to do my homework for me altogether?”

“I think I have a better chance of getting Timberwolf kindling,” she replied. “Sorry, was that an acceptable level of snark or was it rude?”

“Snark,” she nodded. “Don’t worry too much on that. Just go for funny, watch our reaction, and apologize if we react badly. Works for me. So, were you serious about helping? Because jokes aside, numbers really aren’t my thing.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I mean, I’m trying to be nice and we’re going to be around each other for a while, so I might as well be helpful instead of just beating you at Mario Party.”

“You only won because you had Pinkie on your team,” she stuck her tongue out. “Just remember, do it because it’s good, not because people will like you. But don’t be paranoid that you’re doing good things for the wrong reasons. Wow that’s a clusterfuck of contradictions. But you get it, right?”

“I-I think,” she nodded.

It was a bit strange. Doing something just to do it, not because others would like you. Sunset wasn’t sure when was the last time she’d done something like that. For years it had been about making Celestia like her, and when it wasn’t about that, it had been about making other Students like her. Some of what she’d done as Flash’s ‘girlfriend’ might have counted, but considering it happened because she’d made Flash her ‘boyfriend’ to do so, it didn’t count. Even her first few years had her trying to be ‘Human’, which included doing things others would like her for.

Of course, she did want others to like her again. But it felt different. She didn’t want them to like her just to like her, she wanted to be someone they would like. Perhaps that is the difference.

Class ended all too soon. It was back to the freedom of the halls. They had agreed to accompany Sunset between classes, even if it was only one of them. Rarity met them half way to the science classroom, but Applejack’s first class was further away, and she wouldn’t get there until right before the bell. That wasn’t too bad, Rainbow could stay a bit. Even with two, it was enough to stop the whispers and stares from bothering her.

“Hey, can I talk to Sunset for a minute?”

The trio looked up, and Sunset saw someone she hadn’t expected. Brawly Beats looked almost as bad as he did during finals week last year. Which is to say exhausted, though this seemed to be only stress-induced exhausted instead of sleep deprived.

“Depends on what you want to talk about,” Rainbow answered with a glare.

“Rainbow, it’s okay,” Sunset said.

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “But we’re staying here.”

“So don’t try anything!” Rainbow threatened.

Sighing, Sunset tried to look apologetic. Both took one another in for a moment. After all, they hadn’t really talked since summer break. And Brawly definitely looked nervous. His hair was a mess, he was unconsciously playing with his necklace, which was rare. So it had to have been a rough few days.

“Are you okay?” Sunset asked.

“Think I should be asking you that,” Brawly said. “I’m fine. Just tired. Flash and Thunder are fighting and I keep getting dragged in.”

“Those two, really?” she wondered. “Is… Is it because of what I did?”

“No, well, yes. Kinda?” he answered. “It’s a lot of things. But it’s been going on since you started with the whole… you know? Thunder and I kept saying we should talk to you, but Flash insisted that you had to make the first move. And the last few days Thunder’s been refusing to talk to him at all, even making us get a last minute replacement in the band. He still thinks we should talk to you though.”

“Thunder thinks you should talk?” she repeated. “Think he’d be the most against any chance of Flash ‘getting back with his ex’.”

“He has other things to worry about,” he rolled his eyes. “Purple things.”

“Is this about Flash’s thing for Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

“Rainbow, don’t intrude,” Rarity chastised, batting at her with her hand. “Sorry dear, go on.”

“To answer the question, it kind of is,” Brawley said.

“It’s been a year,” Sunset groaned. “Haven’t they figured this out already?”

“To be fair, until a few weeks ago, Flash was with you,” he pointed out. “And you have to wait a bit before asking out someone who just went through a breakup.”

“You know that means absolutely jack," she groaned. "I might've been 'the girlfriend', but I spent all of Junior year telling him to go for it!"

“Told him too,” he nodded. “And now Flash sort of had that thing for Twilight. And he’s low-key confused about liking both of them. But Thunder’s getting jealous even though, you know, the guy can’t even ask him out so he has no right to be. So yeah, there was already a lot of tension before everything went magical. You just happened to be on the list of disagreements.”

“If we were on speaking terms, I’d call them idiots,” she said. “But we’re not because I was a major bitch.”

“Sunset,” Rarity said, putting her arm around her. “You weren’t… okay, you were, but we’re working on it.”

“So, why’s Flash being stubborn, and why do you and Thunder want to talk?” Rainbow asked.

“Flash is being stubborn because I hurt him most,” Sunset said. “I’m not even being sad here. I know it hurt him more than you two.”

“Yeah, that’s part of it,” Brawly nodded. “I think Thunder said something about knowing the ‘real you’, since we hung out together a lot. But for me, I know when someone’s doing bad things because they think it’s their only option.”

“How do you…” she trailed off.

“I was a bit of a bully back in Elementary school,” he shrugged. “Sure, I was the ‘beat the hell out of you’ type instead of the manipulator, but it counts. Not sure what your story was, but I was taller than everyone else and ‘dumb’ because no one around me knew what Dyslexia was. The way I saw it, I could either be bullied for being ‘dumb’, or make everyone afraid to insult me. Got some sense smacked into me in middle school.”

“I honestly couldn’t have guessed any of that,” she said. “Sorry that happened though.”

“It’s in the past,” he said. “But because I’ve been somewhere similar, I can tell the difference between a complete ass and someone who thinks it’s their only option. It doesn’t make up for it, again I’ve been there, but I’m on board with another chance. I just wanted to tell you that, let you know someone’s still on your side. But you do seem to have a good group.”

“Yeah,” she smiled, looking at her companions. “I kinda do. Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said. “I’ll keep working on Flash and Thunder though. They’ll probably come talk to you eventually. I think they might talk to you before they talk to each other. Oh, but I need to go. Class and all.”

“Right,” she nodded. “Again, thanks.”

Brawly waved and hurried off to his own class. Applejack showed up, Rainbow hurried off too. Everyone ignored the stares her group got.

Author's Note

So far, it's going better than expected. Happy almost Christmas by the way!
...I have way to many headcanons about the guy whose only line was to point out the talking dog.

Also! Glowing Embers now has some cool cover art!

Drama

Sunsets next classes had been largely uneventful, other than learning more about her new group. Applejack was oddly good with both Science and History classes. Apparently, to her, you understood farming better if you knew the science behind it, so she’d gotten interested a while back, and her grandmother was full of stories about the local history, since she grew up when the place was founded.

Rarity seemed to be decent at science, but much better at English. Fluttershy was good at any part of English that didn’t involve reading out loud. Rainbow, on the other hand, seemed to be just as bad in English as she was in Math.

Remembering her talk with Brawly this morning, Sunset snuck in her phone to ask Rainbow a few questions. When Sunset brought up the actual word ‘Dyslexia’, the girl just bit her lip and stared ahead. She wondered if this was too soon in their friendship to ask.

Lunch was just like the morning walk in. They kept her in the middle of the group, away from stares and whispers. She did smile when Brawly waved, though both Flash and Thunder were a little too occupied when she waved back.

Their table was unfortunately in the middle of the room, but the group placed her between Applejack and Rainbow. It was a clear message. ‘Mess with her, and get hit’. Even so, they relaxed.

The strangest thing was that people still talked to them. Sunset had wondered if the fact that they were with her would isolate them, but they seemed to be doing fine on their own. A few came up to talk to them, and it was just so normal. Very few brought up Sunset, but those that did got four stares while the girl they were talking to changed the subject.

There were three classes after lunch. Chorus with Fluttershy, and then Theatre and Art with Pinkie. The first had gone fine, fantastic even. The teacher had let the two sit together, brushing it off as ‘you sound better near one another’. Sunset was sure it was a lie, since her own voice was a good bit deeper than Fluttershy’s and they normally would be far apart, but they were moved to the edge where their sections met.

Fluttershy was a wonderful singer, though she blushed furiously when told so. She confessed that she’d love to do a solo part, but the stage fright was barely manageable in a group setting. Sunset assured her that she’d be great anyway.

It was after that class that they ran into a problem. The Chorus and Theatre classes were right next to one another, along with the band class. They were all in the auditorium building, which was separate from everything else. Fluttershy’s next class was across campus, as was Pinkie’s last class. Both girls barely made it on time most days, even when hurrying across.

The moment they realized this, Fluttershy stared at her in that same deer-in-the-headlights look she was known for. She couldn’t stay, and Pinkie wouldn’t be here yet. Even if she decided to be late for class, what about tomorrow?

“I-I’ll be fine,” Sunset swallowed. “It’s five minutes, and not much can happen in a classroom.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. “I can stay, if you want me to.”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “But you can’t stay here all the time. You’d be in detention in three days, and as much as I’d love the company, you shouldn’t.”

“Maybe we can talk to Vice Principal Luna?” she suggested. “Maybe she can make an exception?”

“She’s bent enough rules,” she said. “It-it’ll be fine. You should go before you’re late anyway.”

“I-okay,” she nodded. “It’ll be okay. No one should try anything in a classroom, and if they say anything ignore them. We-we’ll think of something for tomorrow. It’ll be okay.”

With plenty of hesitation, Fluttershy left. Sunset took a step through the next door, with just as much hesitation.

The students that were trickling in glared at her. As she went to one of the seats, she could feel it, even if she wasn’t looking. The aura of the room shifted when they realized she was alone.

She couldn't help the feeling as they watched. It was cold, like pinpricks on her skin. She tried to ignore it, to rifle through her backpack and pretend she was looking for something.

“Hey,” one of them kicked the back of her chair. “What are you still doing here?”

“Shouldn’t they have expelled you?” another asked.

“More like ‘shouldn’t they have arrested you?’. Or maybe banished back to that dimension you came from.”

“You mean Hell?”

“No, the one with the horses.”

“Aw, she’s not talking. What’s wrong? Horse too dumb to talk?”

Words started to meld together. Her hands shook. She tried harder to drown them out, but it was getting more difficult.

“Bitch.”

“Demon.”

“Who know what else she’s done.”

“Maybe that’s why those five are with her. They’re her guard.”

“Look at the little prisoner.”

“What, don’t want to fight back? I think you did plenty already.”

“Oh, maybe being blasted into a fucking crater hurt. Well, you know what happens when a horse breaks its leg. Maybe you should do us all a favor and-“

“Stop that right now!”

That wasn’t a student voice, that was a teacher voice. The students backed up while Sunset was met with a face. Gray, with red and yellow eyes, white hair falling over an oddly concerned expression.

“Are you okay?” Discord asked, his voice way to soft and kind. It was almost out of character.

Sunset nodded.

“Is she okay?!” one of the students screeched. “You know what she’s done!”

“See, there’s a difference here,” Discord mused, his usual mirth having disappeared. “What I see is two kids saying despicable things to their fellow student. Now, both of you to the Principal’s office.”

“What?” another student gasped. “She’s the one who made this school hell for the last few months!”

“True or not, you don’t get to decide her punishment,” he glared. “And you most certainly do not get to tell anyone, regardless of their past, that they should kill themselves.”

“But she-“ one of them started.

“You do not, ever, get to say that,” he said, his voice nearly a growl of barely-contained rage. “Nothing you can say can justify saying that to someone. You want to tell her that, just remember that even the Demon treated you with more respect. To Principal Celestia’s Office. Now.”

They tried to protest more, but Discord stared them down, standing tall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. It was strange to see their usually chipper and joking teacher actually be a teacher. It was even stranger to see him be intimidating. It was the first time she'd noticed how tall he was, towering over everyone else.

Yet it was the expression on his face that scared her. The stare, not quite cold, but blazing instead. Sunset had the distinct feeling that the only thing holding him back was legal ramifications.

The duo reluctantly made their way out, attempting to glare at her. Thankfully Discord stood between them, blocking her from view. The moment the door closed behind them, he whipped out his phone.

“Students incoming,” Discord spoke into the phone. “Yes, it had to do with Sunset. Celestia, I’m not going to give you the full rundown when I have a class to teach in two minutes, but Codeword Mirror. Yes it was that bad. Fine. I’ll tell you later.”

He hung up, and turned back to Sunset. His expression and demeanor much more calm and soft than she’d ever expected from him. Picking at the wrist brace on his left arm, he sighed and tried to smile.

“Are you alright?” Discord asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I kinda of expected that. After everything I did-“

“Your next words better not be ‘I deserved it’,” he warned. “I’m banning you from using that phrase.”

“But-“ she began.

“Nope,” he said. “Banned. No matter what, you don’t deserve that. And even with the stuff I’ve heard from Celestia and Luna, though I know it’s not everything, you don’t deserve any of that. Now, they said you’d have your friends as a guard, so what happened?”

“Class happened,” she said. “Fluttershy’s next class is across campus, just like Pinkie’s last class.”

Discord sighed again and looked like he was literally biting back a swear.

“Okay,” Discord nodded. “From now on, between classes you’re sticking right by me. Only until this all calms down and you can have five minutes to yourself.”

“I… you don’t have to do that,” Sunset said.

“I don’t ‘have to’ do anything,” he said. “Technically, I don’t even have to be here. But I am, so I will. What’s worse, having me in arm’s reach for five minutes, or dealing with them every day? Well, Tia might say the first.”

“Okay, you’re right,” she sighed. “But I’ll have to face them on my own eventually.”

“Only when you’re actually ready,” he nodded. “As a teacher I’m not supposed to say this, but take it from the guy who screwed up a lot as a teen. And in my twenties. And last week. And this morning. Sincere apologies and working to fix things will go a long way. Not everyone will forgive you, but they won’t hate you.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “That helps a bit.”

Before either could say more, Sunset was nearly tackled by something pink and talkative. From what she could gather, still being new to translating Pinkie’s hyperactive rambling, she’d only realized that Sunset would be alone when she walked by the pair of girls on their way to the Principal’s office and she’d happened to overhear their complaints.

As Discord left to make yet another call about the situation, Pinkie checked over Sunset.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Pinkie asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, but it’s all the way across campus and I tried running before but the teachers yell at me and make me stop for a lecture on it and it’d take even longer so I couldn’t even do that! I don’t want to leave you alone, but I can’t get here faster but Flutters can’t stay but we-“

“It’s fine Pinkie,” Sunset said. “I’m okay. And I think we have a situation figured out.”

“You do?” she asked.

“Pretty much,” she nodded. “Apparently Discord’s on our side too. So since I can come here right after Chorus, he’s going to keep me nearby until you get here. I’m… happy he’s helping too.”

“Everyone’s happy for help,” she nodded. “But I call dibs.”

“What?” she stared at her.

“Come on,” she rolled her eyes. “You can’t tell me you don’t think he’s pretty.”

“That’s not the problem?” she raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me you’re not actually considering-“

“Oh, well, in ‘reality’ no,” she shrugged. “I might not be the sharpest tool in the chandelier, but I know that trying to get with a teacher while I’m still an underage student is a bad idea for many a reason. But, like, say a while after graduation when I am a one hundred percent adult and not his student… who knows?”

“That’s… better I guess,” she relented. “I’m learning a lot about you people today. Not sure I wanted to know that last bit though.”

Author's Note

Merry Christmas... kinda wish I had a happier chapter for today but no. At least you get a laugh in Pinkie's taste in men.

A New Future

Detention was different this time around. The last time Sunset had been in detention was sophomore year. Back then, she just sat in a room with Vice Principal Luna for an hour. So, expecting the same, she asked Fluttershy to swing by her house to check on Rhea before heading over to the office.

However, when she reached the room, Luna directed her elsewhere.

“Why?” Sunset asked. “You said I was supposed to be here for detention.”

“Plans change,” Luna replied. “The two Discord sent up earlier also have detention for the next week. Considering the circumstances, it would be a terrible idea to lock you in a room with them.”

Looking past Luna’s shoulder, she saw the duo from her theatre class. Swallowing hard, she looked back up at the Vice Principal.

“Okay, where to then?” Sunset asked.

“Cheerilee’s class,” Luna nodded. “She’s agreed to work with you today.”

“Work with me?” she parroted.

“Yes,” she said. “I told you before, that punishments are supposed to teach lessons. For some students, punishment means putting them in a room to do nothing for an hour. For others, it is community service.”

“Okay, I’ll head over then,” she said.

Cheerilee’s class was thankfully close. Of course, as soon as she got there, the math teacher dragged her off to the library. For today, she was supposed to help clean up the place.

Simple enough, just clean up any trash and put the books back on their proper shelves. Perhaps a bit of a mindless task, but it was still helping. She was mostly left to herself, other than Cheerilee occasionally popping in to make sure she’s not slacking off.

An hour of replacing books passes quicker than one thinks. Sunset stretched, wincing a little. While her back had mostly stopped hurting by Saturday morning, there was still some soreness in the muscles. Seems like a day of school and detention was a little much. Nothing unmanageable though.

“Sunset,” Cheerilee began, poking her head around a shelf. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Isn’t that what I’m here for?” Sunset joked. “Er, right, yeah we can talk. What do you need?”

“I happened to hear your conversation this morning,” she said. “Offering to help Rainbow Dash with her classwork.”

“If you’re worried about cheating, it’s fine,” she assured. “I’m trying to help, not do it for her.”

“No, I know,” she said. “But I was thinking, you are one of our brightest students. I was wondering if you thought about joining the school’s tutoring program.”

“I don’t think many people would sign up if I did,” she said, putting another book away.

“Possibly,” she mused. “But you could help those who do. Your friend for example, I can’t help her. I can try, but I have six classes of twenty students. I can’t take the time to help individuals, which is why I try to get anyone who can to sign up for the program. Besides, it might help you find a plan for your future.”

Sunset frowned at the way that was worded. Putting another book away, she took a pause and turned to the teacher.

“My future?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, your future,” Cheerilee said. “From the things you said during the Formal, you had planned to return to your world hadn’t you?”

“I did,” she said, looking down. “I thought…. It doesn’t matter what I thought, but you’re right. I had planned to be going back to Equestria. Seems silly now, doesn’t it?”

“Wanting to go home is never silly,” she said. “But since you thought you would go home, I can assume you haven’t made any plans for this world. Now that you will be here for a while, you should start thinking of what you want to do here. Not just in your quest to be a better person, but for a career.

“Someone like you could do many things,” she continued. “You have fantastic grades, and the extracurricular classes you’ve chosen through the years show that you’re good in both academic and art fields. With that, you have a lot of options. You could get into any college you wanted, perhaps even with a scholarship.”

“I’d never thought about that,” Sunset admitted. “But I don’t know what to do.”

“The right calling will find you,” Cheerilee smiled. “When I was a kid, I couldn’t imagine myself as a teacher. But then I ended up tutoring someone a few grades younger than I was. I remember the way his face lit up when I helped him get through a test. It was then I decided to be a teacher.”

“Problem is, I already had that happen,” she said, giving a sad smile.

“In what way?” she wondered.

“In my world, we have something called ‘Cutie Marks’,” she explained. “It’s a magic symbol that appears on a Pony’s body when they find their Talent, but it’s more than a talent. It’s their passion, what they love, and also them at the same time. Humans don’t have them exactly, but from what I’ve seen, everyone here wears a symbol in their outfit that probably belongs to their Interdimensional Counterpart. If I had to guess-“

“The flowers,” she guessed, looking at her own skirt.

“This,” she nodded, pointing to the sun on her shirt, “is my Cutie Mark. My brother and I were having a backyard camp out, and he wanted to make a bonfire so we could do smores and such. He did the smart thing and went to get matches and adult supervision. I was the kid who decided to try spellcasting.

“I know, dumb kid doesn’t realize how dangerous it can be,” she laughed at Cheerilee’s expression. “Well, luckily for me, I used a spell to make fire, not one to set things on fire. The difference is that Magic Fire is still Magic, it just mimics fire. It only burns if the Spellcaster wants it to.”

“So you lit the campfire?” Cheerilee asked.

“Sort of,” Sunset nodded. “Once I realized what I had, I tested the limits. I watched how it moved, and I made it move. Can you imagine, fire flying through the air, perfectly controlled. It was like art, with fire as my paint, Magic as my brush and the night sky as the canvas. And a feeling of indescribable happiness as I realized what I could do.

“And I wanted more,” she continued. “Because this was so wonderful, and I was just a kid with so little training, but I could do this. It was then that I knew what I wanted, that I wanted to know how to do anything and everything, to study all sorts of Magic until I could cast anything. I wanted create new spells, I wanted to be as influential to Magic as Starswirl the Bearded, and I wanted help make Equestria better...”

“I can’t even imagine that,” Cheerilee shook her head. “You really do come from another world.”

“Yeah,” she smiled a bit sadly. “I’ve screwed that up quite a bit. And I’m moving forward, but I don’t think I know what to do just yet. Everything I’d ever wanted was so wrapped up in Magic, that I can’t even begin to try and find something similar here. I’d have to find something new entirely.”

“You don’t have to just yet,” she said. “As one of your teachers, I’ll try to help you figure it out. But you don’t have to go into it just yet. You can go through the rest of the year. We still have a band competition coming up, the Friendship Games, the Senior trip, the Spring Fling, and even Graduation left. And some people like to take a year off before college.”

“So, figure out what I want but take my time?” she said.

“Sort of,” she said. “What I mean is that, while I’m not going to pry into your life, you’ve spent a while doing everything for one goal. You’ve done a lot for other goals, changed parts of who you are to fit what you needed. Now, you want to change and be a better person, but it might take a while to figure out what needs changed.”

“I think it can be summed up in ‘everything’,” she rolled her eyes. “I’ve been kind of a terrible person.”

“While you did bad things, it doesn’t mean you have to change it all,” she said. “You’re intelligent, and ambition itself isn’t a bad thing if you can keep it in check. Friends are good for that. They keep the balance between encouraging you and keeping you from going too far.”

“If you tell them what’s going on,” she mused. “Thanks. For, well, everything.”

“No problem,” she smiled. “It should be the goal of any teacher to help their students be the best they can be. If you need advice, I’m usually in here after class.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she nodded. “And maybe I’ll take you up on the tutoring offer. Not now though. Let everything calm down first.”

Forgiveness

Detention was different every day. Tuesday, she helped Mr. Birch prepare his lab for the next day. Wednesday was with Cheerilee in the Library again. Thursday was quite interesting. Prop making with Discord.

In between said detentions, class was normal. One of the girls was by her side constantly, and thankfully no one said anything that wasn’t immediately met with five glares. She would go home, take care of Rhea, and talk to the girls online.

Nightmares were still happening, but thanks to Rhea they weren’t enough to send Sunset into a full panic attack. She’d wake up scared but aware. Sometimes she’d cry, but Rhea was there to lick her face and make sure she was okay. Rhea got extra pets for that.

It was after her detention on Thursday that she was met with a change. Rarity had waited for her to get out before dragging her to her boutique. The place was big and quite fancy. It sort of reminded her of Canterlot, Equestria’s Canterlot.

“Stand up there, would you dear?” Rarity asked, gesturing to a small platform surrounded by mirrors. “And take your jacket off as well.”

“Why?” Sunset wondered, doing as she was told.

“I still owe you a top for the other day,” Rarity answered, digging through supplies and grabbing a pair of glasses.

“I told you,” she sighed. “You don’t have to-“

“Yes yes,” she rolled her eyes. “However, I want to. While Pinkie will show her affection with parties and hugs, I am more partial to gifts. I sort of wish we were friends sooner, because then I could have made you a dress for the Formal as well, but I guess we will have to wait for the Spring Fling.”

“Yeah, I-“ she stopped and stared at her. “What do you mean ‘made me a dress as well’?”

“Oh, well I might have made all of our dresses,” she admitted, fussing with the measuring tape. “Twilight’s was a bit more difficult as it was last minute but-“

“Hold up,” she interrupted. “You mean to tell me you made six dresses in one night?”

“Oh, no,” she laughed, taking the measuring tape down Sunset’s arm. “I’ve been working on quite a few designs for them over the summer. I am only one girl after all. Hm. Twilight said my Counterpart in her world was a Unicorn, do you think she can conjure a dress with a spell?”

“You can’t conjure something out of nothing,” she said. “Even if she could, it would waste so much energy. It would probably be easier to just use telekinesis to give herself an extra set of hands, er, hooves, and work on multiple outfits at once. At that point, it’s just a matter of Magical Ability and how much she can divide her attention between projects.”

“That’s almost better,” she laughed. “While I would love to have a dress in an instant, I do have fun actually working on them.”

“So it took you a while to make the dresses,” she mused. “But… I made you hate the others. You were all fighting and stopped talking. Why would you make dresses for people you hate?”

Rarity only smiled, writing on a small notepad. Taking the measuring tape once more, she wrapped it around Sunset’s waist. Once she wrote that number down, she poked her side. Sunset jumped, nearly falling over at the surprise.

“Sorry,” Rarity laughed. “But to answer your question, I did it because they’re my friends.”

“That- that doesn’t make sense,” Sunset frowned. “They weren’t your friends then. I broke you up, and it was only the day before that you managed to get back together. Why would you spend all that time on people you didn’t even want to talk to?”

“The same reason you’re here now,” she answered. “Forgiveness. For example, let’s say it really was Pinkie sending those unappreciative emails. If she had come up to me and apologized, then worked to fix her mistakes, I would have forgiven her.”

“You would?” she wondered. “But why?”

“I already told you,” she said. “Friendship. Pinkie, and the others, are my friends. And sometimes friends will do stupid things, sometimes they end up hurting one another. Accidently, of course, but it still hurts when it happens. But part of Friendship is caring that you hurt them, and making up for it. Giving second chances.

“And the thing about forgiving friends,” she continued, “Is that it’s quite easy. You know them, you have a history with them. You know that they will make up for it. I expected us all to make up, because we’ve had fights before. While this lasted much longer than other fights, I kept making outfits and offering to be there for them because as upset as we were, we still cared about one another.”

“And what about people who aren’t your friends?” Sunset asked.

“It’s a little harder,” Rarity said. “It takes a bit longer. But in the end, there’s a new friend waiting.”

“I guess,” she nodded. “I’m… I’m sort of glad that you didn’t fully hate them because of me. I’m not sure if I feel better about it, but I’m still glad.”

“As am I,” she smiled. “So, speaking of friends being mad at one another, you were once part of Flash Sentry’s group, and I hear two have come around. It’s a bit of the same there. They knew you, so they can forgive easier.”

“Brawly and Thunder have,” she nodded. “But Flash is still….. I don’t know how to deal with that, you know? He’s the one person in this world who knew the most about me, but even then, I kept so much. Even though it was the whole ‘I’m a Unicorn from another Dimension and if I said that you’ll think I’m crazy’ thing, I felt bad about it.”

“I think he can understand that part,” she chuckled. “But I do have to ask, you mentioned trying to set him up with someone else while you were with him. Can I take it as your relationship wasn't quite as romantic as you let on?"

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s a long story on the how and exactly why, but basically it was a social boost. I wanted people to like me, and having him as a boyfriend made me more likable.”

“So, was there anything more after it?” she wondered. “And, sorry to bring it up, but I have to ask how you felt about his thing for Twilight. Curiosity killed the cat and all that.”

“Satisfaction brought it back,” she mumbled. “I can admit to some jealousy, because I did care about him, and it hurt to see Twilight win him over so quickly. But it was never romantic. He’s not really my type.”

“And what exactly is your ‘type’?” she asked.

“Take a guess,” she rolled her eyes. “Let’s start with the fact that you fit into the category.”

“Ah,” she laughed. “Well, if you want to keep that bit a secret from others, I’ll be happy to fake my own obliviousness.”

“Probably better,” she mused. “Don’t want people to have more to use against me.”

“Not quite what I meant,” she said. “The girls would be okay with it. Though, I won’t deny it’s a smart idea with other students. Now, pink or blue?”

“What?” she tilted her head.

Instead of answering, Rarity set down the measuring tape and grabbed a few pieces of fabric. She held up several near Sunset’s face, looking at each with concentration. A few got a hum, others got a head tilt, and a couple got a disgusted face and were tossed to the ground.

“Blues seems to be better,” Rarity mused, talking more to herself. “The contrast with your hair and skin but matching your eyes. But some pinks can look great with you. Hm…. I think I’ll go with the pink for this one. We have a few too many blues already.”

“This one?” Sunset asked.

“For the first outfit I’m making you,” she said. “Before you protest, I’m not making you a full wardrobe at once. But hopefully we’ll be friends for quite a while, which means I’m going to end up making several outfits for you over time.”

“Several?” she wondered

“Hm, in just the forseeable future,” she began, “there’s this dress, something for Christmas, probably the Spring Fling, and Halloween is coming up soon as well, so you might want to think about costumes. And who knows what other events could pop up over the year?”

Sunset tried to wrap her head around that idea. She wondered how Rarity managed that. After all, several outfits a year for each of her close friends, on top of school and the outfits she makes on commission, and she still manages to do well on her homework and hang out with her friends for extended periods of time. Did she ever sleep or was her blood replaced with espresso?

But above all, it was the why that she tried to understand. Because, even if they were friends, why would one spend all the time, money, and energy on this? Sure, it’s ‘nice’, but you can be nice in much easier ways.

The answer came rather quickly. She had barely complimented the sketch Rarity had shown her, just smiled and said it looked good. Yet the way her face lit up, not because Sunset loved ‘her work’, but because she would love her gift.

It reminded her of Hearth’s Warming. How you are more excited to see others open their presents than you are to open your own. Because you love the way they light up when they see what you got, whether it be a simple kid’s art project or that expensive item that was a good few months of allowance. And somehow, it made such a lack of time management make so much sense.

Author's Note

The beginning of what I call "Gee Sunset, how come your writer lets you have six girlfriends??"

Chestnut

“You’re doing this to torture me, aren’t you?” Sunset groaned.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Applejack said.

“Aren’t you supposed to be Honesty?” she jokingly glared.

“Yep,” she nodded. “But I still don’t know what you’re talking about. After all, it ain’t my fault that you came to a farm and forgot it had animals.”

“I didn’t forget there were animals,” she defended. “I just didn’t realize you would have….. ‘horses’.”

Applejack snickered and leaned against one of the many trees. Pouting, Sunset leaned against the tree next to her. Somewhere in the distance, the cursed animals seemed to be trotting around.

“So,” Applejack grinned. “I bet they didn’t have horses on the farms back home, did they? Actually, jokes aside, did y’all have animals on farms, or were y’all vegetarians considering you seem to be a talking pony? Because Granny was wondering about it since she’s making dinner so…”

“Ponies are omnivorous,” Sunset answered. “We can and do eat meat, though non-meat products are much more common. Earth Pony Magic helps crops grow more food than animal farming does, and we can be fully healthy without meat, so most of our meat products are exports. Farm animals are mostly they’re used for things like eggs and wool.”

“Huh,” she nodded. “Makes sense when you put it that way. Still, I have to ask, is there some different meats y’all eat compared to us? Like, do cows talk so they’re off limits, or do y’all have steak?”

“Well cows talk but they’re not sapient,” she explained. “Some non-Sapient creatures have figured out things like speaking, but think of it like a parrot. Or that gorilla that learned sign language. Being able to speak doesn’t mean ‘Sapient’. Cows, for example, will still get spooked and stampede like an animal, but they’ve figured out speech and the whole ‘if I give a pony this round, shiny, thing sometimes I get food’.

“But to answer your question,” she continued, “we pretty much eat the same stuff when it comes to meat. It’s actually in non-meats where our diets differ, since we can eat a lot of things like hay or most flowers.”

“That makes things simpler, don’t it?” she smiled. “Well, one more question.”

“What?” she wondered.

“Want to meet a horse?” she asked

Sunset stopped and stared up at her. She had to be joking right? However, that dumb grin said anything but.

“No, I don’t want to meet a freaking horse!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Come on, it’ll be fine!” Applejack laughed. “You already said that Humans had that ‘Uncanny Valley’ thing. Why’re horses so different? They’re just the animal version of that.”

“I…..” she tried to think of a proper excuse. “You have a point.”

“Of course I do,” she laughed. “Now, come on!”

Before she could protest more, Sunset was dragged off down the farm. Any other time, the sight of a ton of farmland would be beautiful. But knowing what was ahead only made her panic.

As they neared, Applejack finally let go of her arm and went off to bring one of the horses over. The moment she saw her grab the reins, her panic skyrocketed. And it moving closer didn't help. She stared up at the creature that was now close enough to reach out and touch.

“This one’s Chestnut,” Applejack said, gesturing to the appropriately-colored horse.

“H-hi?” Sunset stammered out. “Uh, I didn’t-I didn’t realize they were so big.”

“Most don’t,” she said. “Think you were smaller as a Unicorn? To be fair, you use ‘pony’ a lot, which basically means ‘small horse’, so-“

“Definitely smaller,” she said. “I’m pretty sure I’m the same size as a Unicorn.”

“Yeah, Chesnut’s about sixteen hands,” she said. “Assuming you’re the same height-“

“No, not height,” she shook her head. “Size. Imagine a Human on all fours. Stars, I’m not even sure if the Princess was that tall! This is a world of giants.”

“The statue at school was pretty life-size,” she pointed out.

“Sure,” she nodded. “But statues don’t have to be life-size. I’m just glad that thing isn’t anatomically accurate!”

“Rumor says it was,” she shuddered. “At least until about twelve years ago. Some sort of prank gone wrong.”

“They probably got tired of looking at it,” she said.

“Probably,” she agreed. “But just go ahead and touch the horse.”

Sunset looked between her and the horse. It was still terrifying, but Applejack was right. Uncanny Valley or not, it was just another animal. Taking a breath to calm her fear, she put her hand on its withers.

The horse’s coat wasn’t exactly like what she expected. It was thinner than her own as a Unicorn. The mane was much coarser as well, since her own had felt much like a Human’s. She wasn’t sure if the differences helped or hurt the Uncanny Valley effect, but as she went on, she felt herself calm a bit.

“Ain’t that bad, huh?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah yeah,” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“Maybe one day you’ll be good enough to ride a horse,” she laughed.

“I’m not even going to think about that,” she groaned. “And I swear, don’t point that out to Rainbow because I will never hear the end of her innuendos.”

“Good point,” she said.

“Still,” she sighed. “Thanks for this.”

“For making you interact with a horse?” she wondered.

“For talking,” she said. “Just letting me be scared and talking through it rationally until I could face it. I feel like anyone else would’ve either said I was being dumb or been too understanding and just let me keep freaking out over it.”

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “I don’t know. You were right to be freaked out, but you could handle it. All I did was tell you that.”

“It helps though,” she smiled. “I guess I just needed to be reminded.”

Author's Note

Sorry this was late. My sleep schedule is really out of whack.
Next chapter gets a bit more interesting.

Electric

Sunset shook as she walked through the halls. Despite the fact that Vice Principal Luna had ordered that she not be alone for a while, her History teacher insisted that she would be just fine if she took her bathroom break without her ‘escort’.

There wasn’t much she could’ve done. Applejack protested, and did say that she would go talk to Luna about this, but that still had left Sunset in the dilemma of having to either go alone or wait and try to use the bathroom between classes. The bathroom won out.

Just getting there had been nerve-wracking. As if empty school hallways weren’t terrifying enough. Looking in the mirror, she debated about going back. Perhaps she could lock herself in the stall until Applejack came looking after class. Instead, she reached in her pocket.

Over the last few days, Sunset had been taking time in the morning to infuse a crystal with a feeling of Calm. It was just to help her keep it together during the day just in case someone said something she couldn’t handle. It helped a bit, though knowing it was just a crystal did lessen the effect.

She headed back, keeping the crystal in her hand as she walked. Every sound made her jump, but it helped her stop from bolting down the hall. Its Aura let her breathe, let her remember that the sounds were just from students in class.

Her fears weren’t as completely unfounded as her History teacher seemed to think. Half-way back to her classroom, she felt someone grab her arm. Next thing she knew she was pinned to the floor in a side hall, the wind knocked out of her.

The one who had grabbed her was a guy, vaguely familiar. She couldn’t recall his name, but she could remember what she’d done to him. Why he would be upset.

“You have no idea how many people want to get you alone,” he growled.

“I think I have a good idea,” Sunset replied, trying to free her arms.

“I don’t think you do,” he said. “You ruined my relationship!”

“All I did was tell her you were cheating on her,” she said. “You’re the one who-“

“Don’t you dare,” he cut her off with his hand on her throat. “You were just being petty since I couldn’t help your blackmail.”

“I have standards,” she managed to say.

“Says the Demon,” he scoffed.

Sunset wanted to protest, but the hand pressed harder, making it difficult to breathe. So many thoughts filled her head. So many scenarios of what could happen. Panic hadn’t quite set in yet, but trying to move her arms was difficult.

“Those girls broke you down,” he said. “They parade you around like their little pet. I bet you’re just waiting for a chance to escape, but they have you so tightly on their leash. All you can do is run to the end and bark.”

“That’s not-“ she began, just now noticing his hand had moved.

Before she could say anything else, he pulled her up to standing. She tried to step away, but she was slammed into the wall, both hands held behind her back.

“They should let someone else have a turn with the leash,” he said. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to go somewhere where we’ll have some time to ourselves. And you’re going to do exactly as I say.”

She tried to refuse, to come up with some witty way to tell him off while he pushed her forward. Because she could handle pain, she could handle if he just hit her, but she couldn’t be sure she’d make it back if they left. She froze, panic overtaking when she felt his hands shift.

Some part of her mind remembered spells and reached for them, though none came. Another part of her remembered when her brother decided to join the Guard, remembered short sparring sessions that taught them both how to fight.

She dropped to dead weight, ignoring the pain as he tried to hold on. The drop shook him enough that she got a chance to move. She tried to get up, but he grabbed her by the waist, taking her back down.

Scrambling, trying to pull herself up while kicking him off, her hand hit something. The crystal. She had dropped it at some point, back when she was first grabbed. Taking it, she pushed whatever magic she had through it.

Flipping back, she aimed and let it go. There was a loud crack and a flash of light, followed by a scream. She kicked him again, managing to get up this time. She ran, only to hit something solid.

Without thinking, she hit whoever she ran into. What stopped her from hitting again was that the voice was feminine and familiar. It was then that the realization of the presence of a crowd hit her. Someone, the person she’d run into, led her away and into an empty classroom.

Sunset collapsed into a chair, just now remembering to breathe. She felt safer, realizing it was Rainbow who had led her off. Of course, she couldn’t fully relax. Rainbow looked upset, like a fierce anger burned just under her skin, but she couldn’t place why. For a moment, the girl spent her time blocking the door with a chair and its window with tape and paper as other students tried to peek in.

“What the hell happened?” Rainbow demanded, turning on Sunset. “Where’s AJ?”

“I-She-bathroom break,” Sunset stammered. “Teacher thought I-I’d be fine alone. He attacked me on-on the way back.”

“Actually attacked you, or you thought he was going to?” she asked.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” she glared.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “That you’re understandably jumpy as hell? I expected someone to get actually hit or judo flipped, but seriously? You armed yourself with some sort of Magic? How’d you even get any Magic again?”

“I think I’d know the difference considering what he did!” she snapped. “And I didn’t ‘arm myself’, I used what I had on hand! But thanks for telling me I’m just paranoid!”

“I’m trying to make sure!” she snapped back. “All I saw was the fact that you burned one of my teammates before kicking him in the face! If Streamline did anything, or had any reason to attack you, it’s news to me! So explain what happened so I know!”

“You want explanation?” she growled. “Fine! Let’s start with the fact that your ‘teammate’ hates me because I ‘ruined his relationship’ by telling his girlfriend that he cheated on her! He saw me alone for the first time in two weeks, and decided this was his chance! I’m just walking by when suddenly I’m pinned to the damn floor! And then-“

“Sunset,” Dash interjected.

“He starts in on the threats!” She continued, ignoring her. “Not to mention getting me to shut up by choking me! And then-“

“Sunset!”

“-I’m supposed to just ‘go quietly’ with him wherever for ‘alone time’! To who knows where and have who knows what happen! And then he-“

“SUNSET!”

“What?!” she glared.

“Y-your leg,” Rainbow pointed, her voice having lost its anger.

Tearing her eyes away from the girl, Sunset glanced down at her leg. She swore under her breath, seeing blood welling up on her thigh. She looked around for something to stop the bleeding, only for Rainbow to snatch a box of tissues off the shelf in the back.

Muttering her thanks, Sunset began wiping away what she could. Rainbow grabbed someone’s water bottle to help too, but unfortunately some had already made its way to her skirt. She made a note for later, to ask if Rarity had any backup outfits.

“Are… Are those nail marks?” Rainbow asked, her voice wavering a bit.

“Must’ve happened when I tried to get away,” Sunset replied. “He made his intentions very clear. That’s why I zapped him.”

“Zapped?” she repeated.

“I can use Magic if I have something to focus it through,” she said. “Crystals work with Emotional Magic. I had…. I had been using it to keep myself calm during classes. But when he…. Fear creates a Lightning spell.”

Rainbow glared at the marks, as if willing them to go away. Getting up, she walked off a few feet before letting out a scream and kicking the trash can across the room.

“Why do I suck at this!” Rainbow screamed.

Sunset stayed quiet, wondering what was going on. She felt like apologizing, but she wasn’t sure what for. After a moment of heavy breathing, Rainbow came back, putting her head on the desk. That fierce anger was still there, but it wasn’t dangerous. No, that wasn't quite right. It was as if someone had dumped gasoline on a bonfire, but somehow, it felt safe to her.

“I-I’m sorry,” Rainbow whispered. “I just… I wanted to make sure this time.”

“Make sure of what?” Sunset asked.

“That something actually happened,” she swallowed. “I lost Applejack as a friend for months, just because I felt so betrayed that I refused to talk to her, when the whole time it wasn’t something she’d done. I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t some misunderstanding before I lost…. I feel sick calling him a ‘teammate’, much less a ‘friend’ now.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “If I hadn’t-“

“No, don’t even go there,” she cut her off. “Yeah, you made me think AJ had screwed me over, but I’m the one who refused to talk to her about it. Even when I was being rational and thought ‘maybe she just mistyped the date’, I didn’t do anything. And it’s not your fault that I can’t read a situation. Because… fuck… you’re supposed to be my friend now. Shouldn’t I just trust you?”

“I… I think I get it,” she nodded. “You were right. All you saw was the last two seconds of the fight, not the… not everything else. And the idea of me arming myself isn’t totally out there. And I really should’ve told you about what Magic I could still do. “

“But that’s not…” she groaned. “Yes, I saw it like that. But I feel like an ass because of how wrong I was! I feel like even more of an ass because I should be able to trust you about things now. And I feel sick knowing that I accidently defended a guy who wanted to-“

“And now that you know, you’re going to do what you can to fix it,” she cut her off.

“Oh hell yeah,” she replied. “The fucker’s dead. As in ‘if you don’t come with me to the Principal’s office to toss his ass in jail, I might actually kill him’.”

“I will,” she smiled. “But I think I understand why you do what you do. Why you were so mad at Applejack, even though it might’ve been a mistake.”

Instead of responding, Rainbow crossed her arms and leaned back. She nodded, waiting for her to explain.

“It wasn’t about you,” Sunset said. “It’s never about you when you’re actually angry.”

“I think my temper and ego speak for itself,” Rainbow said. “I know I’m awesome, and I know I can acknowledge it too much. And there's many I've punched in the face over the years.”

“Sometimes,” she nodded. “Your ego is well deserved, as you are pretty amazing. And if someone says something to you, you’ll just yell and hit them and that’s that. A quick little snap, and it’s over, nearly forgotten within an hour. But that’s only when you’re the target.

“When you thought Applejack messed up the date,” she continued, “It wasn’t about you showing up on the wrong date. It was about getting your team, your friends, involved. And you have trouble fully trusting me, because I also hurt your friends. And here, you wanted to believe the best in both your sort-of-friend and a teammate.”

“There’s no ‘sort-of’ about it,” she stated. “You’re my friend. And I’m sorry I wasn’t… you know?”

“I get it,” she nodded. “On that note, think you can help me get to the nurse’s office before getting the Principal? I should probably get a bandage on this.”

“Right,” she nodded.

The halls were thankfully empty once more, students having been herded back to class. Sunset absentmindedly searched for the crystal she’d had, but couldn’t seem to find it. It wasn’t an expensive one, so that wasn’t too bad, but it was sentimental, which is why she’d chosen that one instead of the others for a calming spell.

Vice Principal Luna was already in the Nurse’s office when they got there. Thankfully, her attacker wasn’t there, as he ended being sent to the hospital due to a broken nose and electrical burns. When asked, Sunset told them about what little power she had, and how it was used.

Luna was still Vice Principal, and had to remain neutral and ask questions as if she didn’t already figure out the answer. They avoided most of them the moment Sunset stopped and asked for Redheart to bandage her leg. Deciding she could fill in the blanks herself, Luna had only one question left.

“At the very least he will be expelled,” the Vice Principal stated. “Usually I would have already called the police, but considering your circumstances, I don’t know if you want to try that. Explaining how you defended yourself without saying ‘Magic’ might be difficult, and while we may have ‘overlooked’ your lack of records with our ‘outdated systems’, the Legal System might not.”

“Good point,” Sunset nodded.

“We can’t just let him walk!” Rainbow shouted. “Sure, expel him, but that’s it?”

“I will look into it,” Luna said. “My niece’s boyfriend is a cop, so perhaps he can think of something. In the meantime, I think we should update your History teacher on safety precautions.”

While Luna offered to write a pass allowing Sunset to go home early, along with a pass to let Rainbow make sure she got there safely, but she declined the offer. It wasn’t supposed to be a stubborn show of bravery. She just didn’t see the point in leaving, considering her usual support system would still mostly be in class.

As a compromise, Luna pulled Applejack from class to head over and be with them. Well, she had Celestia do it. Because the Principal is much better at that ‘oh so sweet’ reprimand, reminding their history teacher of what exactly she meant when she said ‘this student is in danger and I do not want her to be alone’. Rainbow called it awesome, Sunset called it terrifying.

Other than the obvious, Sunset wasn’t sure what upset her more; the fact that the bandage could be seen poking out from her skirt, or the fact that her skirt was already kind of ruined with blood. She had spent time in the office bathroom, trying to wash it a bit before her next class.

A few minutes in, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, Rainbow’s hand poked in, holding her own skirt out to her. Rainbow’s shorts were technically within school rules, and while the skirt was a little too small for Sunset, it was enough for the rest of the day.

By the time they met Rarity and Fluttershy for their next class, they’d already heard there was a fight and guessed it had something to do with Sunset. They were even more upset when they heard the full story.

When lunch came around, they learned just how far rumors had been flying when they assured Pinkie that, no, Sunset didn’t fight off a ‘gang of ninjas’ with ‘Sith Lightning’ and a ‘Samurai Chop’.

While that had been one of the more… interesting rumors, a lot more down to earth ones were being discussed. A few versions were as expected, saying that Sunset had ‘randomly attacked’ a student. Yet she was surprised to find more of the ‘accurate’ versions floating around.

Some were a bit toned down, saying that she’d only thought there was an attack. Others were far exaggerated, claiming worse things had happened. And though no one could properly explain the ‘explosion’ sound, they all agreed that Sunset had looked absolutely terrified.

Even so, other than the bandage rubbing against her leg, Sunset was able to ignore it. She’d gotten used to ignoring the whispering, so why was this any different? It lasted until the tail end of Theatre class.

“Can I…. Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Sunset was sure that Pinkie and Discord had actually materialized at her side, since they were there in the time it took Sunset to turn around. The girl speaking to her had been one of the two who had harassed her on her first day back. Yet, today, she didn’t look aggressive.

“What do you want?” Sunset asked, hoping that didn’t come out as impatient as she thought.

“Just… to apologize,” the girl said. “About… about what Viola said the other week. About what I said too.”

“What changed your mind?” she wondered.

“Nothing and everything,” she sighed. “But mostly Viola. I still don’t like you. And honestly, it would take a lot for me to even be generally friendly. But some things that have been said… and done recently, they cross the line. I probably crossed the line too, but I convinced myself you deserved it.”

“I… thanks?” she said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. For, well, everything I did before. Both what I meant for, and for all the, you know, ‘turning into a Demon and brainwashing the students and staff’ bit. You might not believe me, but I didn’t want that to happen. But it did, so I’m sorry.”

“I think I do believe it,” she nodded. “Thanks for that though. Oh, I almost forgot.”

The girl reached into her pocket, before holding out a small object. Taking it from her, Sunset was surprised to find the crystal she’d lost earlier.

“How did you-?” Sunset began.

“I was, uh, in the crowd,” she said. “After the… you know. I didn’t know it was yours at first, but it shocked me when I picked it up so I figured it had to be.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “Just… I know you said you still don’t like me, and I really get it. But I’m trying to be different, you know? Better. Just… thanks again. And sorry, but I don’t think I ever caught your name?”

“Masquerade,” she nodded. “And good luck with the whole being better thing.”

With a small wave, Masquerade headed off the stage and back to her project. Looking to her sides, Sunset found both Pinkie and Discord to be relatively confused, but pretending that they were ‘totally just working on something and not at all eavesdropping’. She was glad to be making some form of progress, even if she wasn’t sure what kind.

Author's Note

Woo! Another Chapter! This is probably the 'darkest' I guess? Maybe. IDK. Next will be a lot more lighthearted.

Looking Glass

Things had calmed down, in a way. People were still wary, not talking to her and avoiding her if a teacher asked the class to pair off. Yet stares and whispers were less common, only cropping up when she was the subject of attention instead of whenever she entered a room.

It wasn't so much that everyone stopped hating her, more like the hostility of it dwindled. She no longer felt afraid to walk alone, though she didn't quite feel confident enough to risk that feeling to be truth.

Even her nightmares had become more sporadic. By the end of October, usually nightmares only came if she'd had an emotionally draining day. It definitely improved the mood at sleepovers. Sunset could only hope that the one for Halloween night would be free of nightmares. Or at least only filled with the usual nightmares one gets after binge watching horror films into the night.

Of course, that still left the rest of the night. And one thing about friends, is that they tended to want to do things together on such a holiday.

“Isn’t this a bit much?”Sunset asked.

“Well, you did agree to a group costume,” Rarity said. “And you did say ‘surprise me’!”

“Okay, but Alice in Wonderland?” she questioned, looking down at the iconic dress she wore.

“Well duh,” Pinkie giggled. “You are the one who ‘went through the Looking Glass’ into a ‘strange world’.”

Four groaned at the joke, but Rarity smiled with false innocence. After all, it was she who made their costumes, all themed after the Alice series. Some parts fit, like Sunset as Alice, Pinkie as the Mad Hatter, Rainbow as the Dormouse, and Fluttershy as the White Rabbit. Others were based more off aesthetic, like Rarity’s costume as the Red Queen, or Applejack as the Cheshire Cat.

“Just be glad she had to make these school appropriate,” Applejack said with a glare.

“You make a mistake on the neckline one time,” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“At least this world makes more sense than Wonderland,” Sunset conceded.

“So,” Rainbow began. “Did you have Halloween in your Magic Dimension, or do we have several years to make up for it? Because I know a lot of the best trick or treat places….”

“Like you weren’t going to drag us around anyway,” Applejack retorted.

“Let me sound nice,” she waved her off.

“We sort of had Halloween,” Sunset said. “It had different myths and origins attached, but we still wore costumes and went around getting candy.”

“What kind of myths?” Fluttershy asked. “I-I mean, are they myths or real or…?”

“A combination,” she said. “Remember what I told you about Vice Principal Luna’s Counterpart becoming ‘Nightmare Moon’?”

“You did mention it,” Rarity nodded.

“Very spooky,” Pinkie added, wiggling her fingers for emphasis.

“The holiday was called Nightmare Night,” Sunset explained. “At first it was a way to remember and cope with one of our Princesses becoming the embodiment of Nightmares. Ponies would put on costumes of what they feared, to face their own ‘Nightmare’, and to remember what we all could become. The Princess even kept the Moon up to simulate Nightmare’s Eternal Night. But over time it warped into her being more of a boogeyman figure.”

“How does that happen?” Applejack asked.

“A thousand years is a long time,” she shrugged. “But by the time I was a kid, the story was that you wore disguises so Nightmare didn’t ‘come eat you’, and you could appease her by offering up some of your candy.”

“That sounds vaguely cult-ish,” Rainbow pointed out. “The whole ‘candy sacrifice’ bit I mean.”

“Fair enough,” she said. “But it was actually really clever and kind of sweet. The ‘candy offering’ didn’t go to Nightmare, obviously. The adults gathered it up and gave to kids in hospitals who couldn’t go out and get their own. Most kids figure out it’s not really ‘Nightmare Moon’ taking the candy, but it’s part of being scared so they’re happy to do it.”

“That’s actually adorable,” Rarity smiled.

“And less cult-ish,” Rainbow said. “On that note, who’s ready for candy?”

“Spooky Scary Skeletons,” Pinkie sang, making the music blast out of her phone.

It was fun. It was a lot of fun. So why didn’t Sunset feel right? Sure, they called her a friend, they trusted her more. Maybe it was just her own feelings. As much as she loved being here, loved being with them, it wasn’t her world. Just like Alice, she'd stepped through the Looking Glass and was in a world not her own.

But, then again, it was different. Last time, she pushed away the closest things to friends she had because they could never know her, because she couldn’t tell them about Equestria and the first thirteen years of her life. There had always been that barrier, keeping her from fully being with them.

These five however? They knew. They knew she was from another world, and they didn't care. Or rather, they did care. About her, all of her, including her full past. And perhaps that was the difference. Being allowed to know all of someone, even if you didn't quite know all of it yet.

She didn't care about the Dimensional difference either. They were friends, and that was more important than what world she was from.

Author's Note

Short chapter for today, but the next one or two are going to be long because guess what's next? That's right, time for Rainbow Rocks. It's going to be similar to how I did with the first movie in Glowing Embers, aka more of Sunset's inner thoughts during the scenes.
That said, I'm warning now that some canon things will be adjusted slightly because of this universe. As this is part of the Cornerverse-MLP Universe, some things that were written before certain other Canon material have changed certain parts of the story. Nothing 'major' or anything that derails the plot, but just a few different origins or explanations of what things are have changed. I'll explain in more detail as those things come up, or you could message me here or on my Tumblr for more clarification.

Fire

Magic seemed to be seeping into the world. Sunset wasn’t sure exactly how. She’d been here for six years. If her presence had something to do with it, it would’ve started years ago.

But she couldn’t deny that it was happening, seeing the five girls ‘Pony Up’, as they had called it. It happened whenever they played their songs, whenever they sang. Some people knew, and of course talk began to spread, but Rainbow thought she could keep a lid on it to win the Musical Showcase.

Applejack called it cheating. Sunset pointed out that unless the Magic was hypnotic, which it didn’t seem to be, it was no different than any special effects they could set up. Besides, it wasn’t a competition, so there wasn’t even anything to win.

Sunset thought about asking to join their band, but she knew it would be a bad idea. Even if they let her in, she’d probably bring the whole thing down. While things had gotten better, she didn't want to bring the mood down by preforming.

Start small, right? Sunset had been getting better at being, well, better. Perhaps interacting with someone outside her group might be productive. There was a group of three, her own group’s little sisters. Not only were they Freshmen, who didn’t know her as well and wouldn’t have much of a grudge, but their older sisters could vouch for her.

“Want some help?” Sunset offered, picking up a paintbrush.

“Uh, no thanks,” the one girl, Applebloom she believed, said. “We’re good.”

“Oh,” she said, trying not to sigh. “Okay.”

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. While her five knew she was getting better, everyone else was still scared of her. And trying to interact, only to be rejected for that, it hurt. She understood, but it still hurt.

“I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting events we’ve had at CHS since the Fall Formal!”

Luna sighed and rolled her eyes, nudging the Principal with her elbow. Realizing what she’d said, Celestia glanced to Sunset and gave an apologetic smile. It had been accidental, of course. One of her usual sayings. Still, it didn’t help the looks she was already getting, so instead Sunset groaned and put her head down.

“Someone is quite the smitten kitten,” Rarity giggled, before dropping the smile and turning to her. “Oh, sorry. I always forget that you and Flash used to be an item.”

Sunset wanted to smile at that. Rarity had agreed to keep that part secret, but she could read between the lines. ‘Are you okay?’. While it hurt that he didn’t even look at her when he walked in, she understood all too well.

“It’s okay,” Sunset said. “Flash is a great guy, but I never liked-him liked him. I was just using him to become more popular. Old me really was awful, wasn’t she?”

While there were agreements and reassurances that she was better now, she still stuck on it. She wanted to be able to talk to him again, to go back to that summer on the beach. But even then, she hadn’t really earned any friendship he gave her. It was all started from a lie.

The three new girls were… interesting. Sunset’s first thought had been ‘pretty’, as they were all very beautiful. As she walked, she learned a little about them.

The blue one almost reminded her of Pinkie, energetic but not quite paying attention all the time. If she introduced them she wasn’t sure the world wouldn’t implode. The purple one was a little too grumpy for her, she didn’t seem to smile much. It was the yellow one she found really interesting, though perhaps it was because most of the moves she made seemed flirtatious.

But after the first look, there was something about them. She couldn’t place it, exactly. It was a feeling, like a tingle in her fingers, oh so familiar. She’d felt it twice in this world, once when she met Princess Twilight. The other was just a girl she’d walked past her first day in this place, one that she was sure had to have been Lyra, but she didn’t have a twin like that girl had.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, until she heard them sing. It was Magic, good old Equestrian Magic. Well, perhaps not good. The feeling that had once been a warm tingle in her fingertips now sent cold shivers down her spine. And the effect they had on the students?

She knew Dark Magic better than anyone, but this time, she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her friends.

“Dark Magic?”the Principal smiled, almost serenely. “I find that very hard to believe. Those girls came into my office earlier and were absolutely delightful.”

“Perhaps Sunset Shimmer is just eager to make someone else out to be a bad element,” the Vice Principal nodded, “so that her actions at the Fall Formal will become old news.”

“I could see why you might think that but-“ Sunset began.

Thankfully, Rainbow cut her off. Because she couldn’t see why Luna would think that. They knew about Magic, even Dark Magic. They’d been helping her get through everything.

Those girls had already gotten to them. She didn’t know how to feel about that, because she didn’t know what spells those girls could do. Were the Principal and Vice Principal just hypnotized, or were they speaking their own thoughts? She couldn’t tell yet.

She was scared to find out.

Sunset had no idea if her journal would still work. She thought it might, as Principal Celestia had used a similar one to talk to the Princess. But Sunset never tried it herself, and of course the Princess wouldn’t have wanted to talk to her.

It was almost even more terrifying if it did work. Because what would the Princess say? What would she do? Her mind thought of so many things, and yet the worst answer was nothing at all. While she had given up on making Celestia like her, she thought it would at least be something if Celestia was angry or sad. If she would ust yell and scream and call her a monster.

If she had to face that calm neutrality once more…..

Princess Twilight had come to the rescue. It was probably the best case scenario. Yet Sunset had noticed her hesitation. It was so much like when she first started hanging with the girls, and she understood that. Princess Twilight hadn’t seen her since the Fall Formal, so of course she would be at step one with her.

Still, it hurt a little. It hurt more hearing her new title, ‘Princess of Friendship’. Just another item on a long list of how she’d done everything better, even if Sunset was barely starting to understand how. It hurt more seeing the other five flock to her, talk to her so easily even though they barely knew her. Once again, she understood, but it still hurt.

Instead, she focused on Twilight’s news of what the girls might be. Sirens. She questioned Twilight’s information, though she couldn't blame her for her sources. Most ponies not in beach towns didn't know of Sirens, and even Sunset only knew of them from a chance encounter on a vacation when she was eight. She couldn't blame the fact that her only source was a book.

Sirens weren’t monsters, like her book said.They were just another group of Sapient Beings in Equestria. Magic users too, though they channeled their spellcasting through Song. Actually, in terms of Magic, they were most like Dragons, as their Magic contains a Berserk Mode, activated by Desire instead of Greed.

Then there was the ‘banishment’, and why that didn't fit for this group. While there was word of Starswirl having banished a trio of Sirens, it couldn’t have possibly been these three. How he got rid of those Sirens varied between stories, since it had happened two thousand years ago. Many other stories had him calming their Desire, some darker versions said he was forced to kill them.

Very few said Banishment, and even if it did, it would have been two thousand years ago. If Starswirl had banished a trio of Sirens to this world, they would have died two thousand years ago. As powerful as they could be, they weren’t Immortal. When Sunset had left she knew of only one Immortal in Equestria. Now she had heard of three, possibly four Immortals, but none were Sirens.

As she thought it over, Sunset was scared for them. Because the Sirens were her age. Even if they had come through the portal the last time it was open before the Formal, the oldest of them would have been sixteen. Just kids like her, but while her faults were her own, they had the actual excuse ‘our minds are not our own’.

As much as she wanted to bring all this up, every time she opened her mouth, she saw the way they looked at Princess Twilight, the way they were all sure she’d figure it out. She decided that, even though it hurt, she wouldn’t say anything. It would be fine. Even if Princess Twilight didn’t know what was really happening, as long as she got the job done it didn’t matter. She wouldn't hurt them.

Yet it did matter, because there was the Aftermath. Not everyone would understand it wasn’t their fault, and she knew what that felt like. Hell, it’d probably be her fault if people were even worse to them.

Sunset promised herself, once this was over, she’d give them a way out. A second chance, just like her friends had once given her.

They were arguing again. It wasn’t just their usual bickering. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what. Maybe it was just her imagination, since Princess Twilight didn’t seem to notice. If the Princess of Friendship didn’t see anything wrong, maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Instead, she just assured them.

When she had talked to her last night, for a moment, she thought they connected. She saw that, while the reasons were different, neither wanted to let anyone down. While they were still a bit cautious of one another, they were getting closer.

And for a moment, she could see her grin and laugh as if the pressure wasn't weighing down on her. She wanted to say she was cute when she smiled, but that felt like it might be a little early to say. Even though the stress came back the next morning, it was nice to see for a little while.

She’d been trying for another friend, and while it might take more work, she was glad they could help one another to smile.

She wanted to talk to them. The idea that she could get through to the real them was ridiculous at best, but she had to try. She waited in the hall, the one where the lights never worked properly. After being here long enough, one learns that everyone wanders into this hall at some point.

“You’re never going to get away with this,” Sunset began as they walked down the hall.

“Why?” the ‘leader’, Adagio if she remembered correctly, asked. “Because you didn’t?”

Sunset stiffened at the comment. They weren’t supposed to have heard about her past, they weren’t supposed to know what she was. But as the blue and purple girls, Sonata and Aria, began circling her, like sharks, she felt herself frozen in place.

“Oh, we know all about you, Sunset Shimmer,” Adagio smiled. “You’ve got quite the reputation at Canterlot High.”

“I’ve changed!” Sunset defended on instinct. “I’m in a much better place now!”

“Waiting in the wings while your friends have all the fun?” Aria smirked.

“Oh yes,” Adagio laughed. “You girls are so tight. And yet…. They didn’t ask you to be in the band.”

Sunset tried not to respond to that.

“Probably afraid no one would want to see them play if she was in the group,” Aria added.

“Too bad!” Sonata shrugged with a smile. “So sad!”

“If it’s any consolation,” Adagio said, leading the others off, “no one is going to remember you at all by the time we’re done.”

Sunset waited until they had turned the corner to collapse. It burned, the fact that they had a point. While she hadn’t asked about joining for those same reasons, none of them had asked. She understood, but it still hurt.

Taking a breath, she promised herself to talk about it later. To ask later, because with everything going on, they didn’t have time to fix smaller problems. But once they were back to normal, it’d be fine.

They were her friends, and she could talk to them, could tell them anything, even her fears.

This pain felt cold. It was worse than the fact that her friends were upset at her. That she could fix, she could just apologize and say it was a mistake, that she hadn’t had time to think of closing curtains or unplugging an amp. She could point out that either of those options could be seen as a ‘fit of jealous rage’ just as much as the flying tackle had.

But she couldn’t even bring herself to. Because one voice had stood out among all those jeering at her. With the Siren’s spell, they were free to say whatever they felt. Whatever they Desired to say.

“Now that’s the bad girl we all love to hate!”

She’d hoped he’d come around, that they could talk again. But Siren Spell or not, it came from somewhere. Maybe she’d just never realized how much she hurt him.

She felt it, like the bite of electricity. How Princess Twilight could handle being trapped in the room with all of it, she didn’t know. But their Magic had shifted, it was turning Dark, and opening them up to Desire.

She had to say something. They were letting small things tear them apart. Little bickering had turned to anger. Sunset looked around, felt their Magic and realized something.

While she didn’t feel like it was her job, she had to do something to help them.

“Stop!” Sunset shouted. “You have to stop! This is what they’ve been after all along! They’re feeding off the Magic inside you!”

“How can they be using our Magic?” Applejack demanded. “It’s the Magic of Friendship.”

“Ever since you started this band,” she said, forcing herself to speak, “you’ve been letting little things get to you. I never said anything, because it didn’t feel like my place. Not when I’m so new to this whole ‘Friendship’ thing. I still have a lot to learn. But I do know that if you don’t work out the smallest problems right at the start, the Magic of Friendship can be turned into something else!”

“I can’t believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn’t realize it,” Twilight sighed. “I’m supposed to be the one with all the answers. And all I’ve done since I got here is let you down.”

That’s when it hit her. Twilight wasn’t like the Princess. There was no “Princess” and “Twilight”, like she’d been thinking of her as. There was just Twilight Sparkle, a mare who happened to be Princess, a mare who could make mistakes, but wasn’t supposed to.

Twilight might be Princess of Friendship, but she was still learning, just like Sunset was. Because it’s not just something you can learn once and do over and over again.

And now, here, she could see exactly the differences between them. It’s not about similar interests or being ‘likable’, it was being there, whatever ‘being there’ meant for them. Friendship was different, with everyone. It was even different with the same Person, or Pony, as time changed them.

And they had changed a bit, in just the time it took. Sunset had been terrified of screwing up, so she did what she stopped trying to do what she didn't know she could do right. Twilight was just as scared, but she pushed forward. But Sunset had learned to let her friends to catch her, to teach her. She saw the girl who thought she was supposed to know everything, who had forgotten that she's allowed to ask for help.

“I don’t think anyone is supposed to have all the answers,” Sunset said, taking Twilight’s hands. “But you can count on your friends to help you find them.”

“I think you already have,” Twilight smiled. “Come on, we need to get out of here!”

The microphone landed at her feet. Picking it up, she stared for a moment before looking at everyone else.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight called. “We need you!”

She looked to the Sirens, their Magic growing wild. The crowd of students, of people who hated her, but people she had come to care about despite that. And her friends, near collapsed from the last attack, and it tore her heart to see them in danger. Tearing off her jacket, because even in this situation her flare for the Dramatic popped up, she stepped between them.

It was then that she felt everything. It started as something warm, like a gentle push to say ‘you can do this’. Words and notes came to her, as if she’d always known them. It was a gift of sorts, but not of a spot in their ‘band’, just in the fact that they cared. Lyrics floated up to her mouth, begging to sing of what she felt. And what she did feel was safe, surrounded by Friends, and a burning desire of her own. One to protect them.

“You’re never gonna bring me down,” Sunset sang, “You’re never gonna break this part of me! My Friends are here to bring be ‘round, not singing just for popularity!”

She took Twilight’s hand, helping her up and sharing the microphone. Everything felt warm, too warm, but wonderful at the same time. Like long ago campfires.

“We’re here to let you know, that we won’t let it go,” they sang together, voices mixing and becoming lost in one another. “Our music is a bomb and it’s about to blow. And you try to fight, but we have got the light…”

The tingle in her fingertips began to thrum. It was like a drum beat, no, like her own heart. And as she waved her hand, she felt Magic rush through her. A rainbow of light unlike anything she’d done burst forth, just the sight of it making her grin uncontrollably.

“Of Friendship on our side!” the seven of them belted out, and she felt it all. “We’re here to blow this thing apart! And together, we will never be afraid of the dark!”

By the time Sunset realized she was floating above the ground, she was smiling so hard it didn’t matter. Because she felt it, just like they did. She could feel the six of them, their Souls with her own. She could feel a few others click with her, but she also felt the echoes of their Souls resonating with that of everyone they cared about. And through that, she could feel not just her friends, but all she could possibly have.

Sunset had felt the Spark before. The first times were simple, and created their own small Flame. The second Spark, she’d tried to light but it never did. As she fanned the Glowing Embers, the first Flame died down. On the third Spark, she’d smothered it herself, never letting it grow no matter how much it begged.

This Spark had started weeks ago. A stray Spark falling from their own crackling Flame. Since then it wasn’t just her that kept it going, but the other five, and now six, Friends as well.

However, it was not a Spark she felt. It was a blazing Fire, she was a blazing Fire, and it was unlike anything she could imagine. It was more than her, more than Magic. It was Everything.

The white void was expected, though this time she was on the other side. She saw three girls, trapped by Desire. With little hesitation, she threw everything she had at the emotion keeping them. Others did too, she felt them do it.

Soon enough, the Desire broke, taking the void with it.

Author's Note

The first of the minor-ish changes. Really, it's only in 'what the Sirens are' because not only their Immortality but the idea that there's only three creatures who were made specifically to feed off hate makes no sense. Again, doesn't change the plot at all. But it's there.

A New Start

Sunset had let Twilight and Flash have their moment. She still wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was confusing on several levels, and right now, she’d rather ride out the rest of her Magic.

That made her stop and laugh. She had Magic again, full Magic instead of just crystals. And it was better than ever.

But what she loved most, was the difference it made with others. She’d been okay with letting everyone else take the spotlight, but the girls kept sending people to her, saying she could answer their questions much better. The first few had been tentative, but it was hard for them to deny she was different, better. After all, she had the ears and Magical glow, just like the other six.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Sunset was getting used to that phrase, but she’d given up on hearing it from him. As if sensing the shift, the people around her quickly made their way elsewhere. And for the first time in months, Sunset was alone with Flash.

“I… uh... sure?” Sunset said.

Flash looked just as awkward as she did. Since she didn’t know where to start, she waited.

“I just wanted to say I was sorry,” Flash began. “For that ‘bad girl we all love to hate’ thing. It wasn’t….”

“It’s fine,” Sunset shrugged. “Kind of warranted, since I was a terrible person before. Sorry about, well, all of that. I didn’t expect you to say it, but you know, Siren Magic and all that. They kind of wanted you to hate us since we could stop them.”

“Sunset, you know I’m smarter than that,” he sighed. “Saying ‘it’s fine because you were hypnotized’ might work on others, but not on me.”

“What makes you think you weren’t hypnotized?” she asked.

“Because it was different from-“ he frowned and stopped himself. “You’re probably tired of people bringing up the Fall Formal, but it was different from when you hypnotized us. You made us like puppets. What those girls did, we weren’t doing what they said. It was like-“

“Like you wanted something,” she filled in, looking down. “A Desire that would make you say anything, do anything to get it, no matter who got in your way. But you’re aware enough that you can break out of it if it makes you Desire to do something you really don’t want to, or at least if you realize it.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You knew?”

“Flash, I’m a Unicorn,” she gave a sad smile. “Huh, so many years and I can finally say that to you. Bet your ‘Pegasus Dreams’ make a bit more sense now. Just seeing through the eyes of your Interdimensional Counterpart. It’s pretty rare, I think.”

“Then again, no one questions a reoccurring Pegasus dream,” he said.

“But yes,” she sighed. “I grew up in a world of Magic, and I was trained in things most could only dream of. What Sirens work with is Emotional Magic, specifically Desire. They can make you want things, and they gain power from that. “

“Desire, huh,” he said. “That makes almost too much sense.”

“Because of what happened with Twilight the other day?” she asked.

“A bit,” he nodded. “I thought she’d come back just to help the Rainbooms with the competition and-“

“It hurt that she didn’t come back for you,” she finished. “Your Desire was upped, so it hurt even more. I’m guessing you already apologized for that.”

“Yeah,” he said. “But I needed to apologize to you too.”

“Why?” she asked. “I was terrible to you. While I don’t want to be hated, I understand why you do.”

Flash was quiet for a moment, and Sunset followed suit. They watched others wander, talking with their friends. It was strange to be self conscious of her ears again, worried about what emotions they’d show. Even if Humans didn’t understand the nuances, they could guess.

“I wanted to hate you,” Flash admitted. “After everything that happened, I wanted to hate you. Because none of it felt real.”

“Well, obviously I lied at the beginning,” Sunset said. “It was only one third a lie, but still a lie.”

“Which third?” he asked.

“My parents know I’m gay but they don’t want to kick me out,” she said. “You can probably guess now, but my parents are also Unicorns. Back in Equestria. I lied about that, to get you as a fake boyfriend.”

“I kind of figured that out a while ago,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not the Unicorns thing, but that you lied to get me with you.”

“Really?” she asked. “How? When?”

“The first time we went to your place,” he answered. “You told me your parents were ‘always on business trips’. Absent parents can’t figure out their daughter is gay.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” she wondered. “Why’d you stay?”

“Because I didn’t know why you lied,” he said. “I didn’t know what you got out of it. I had thought you might’ve done it to get me as a boyfriend, but you kept it strictly platonic. It would’ve been so easy to say ‘hey, since we’re pretending, why don’t we play the part and make out?’, but I can count on one hand how many times we fake kissed in three years. All of which were initiated by other people saying 'the couple should kiss'.

“And it didn’t matter,” he continued. “Even if it started from a lie, for whatever reason, you were a friend. Hell, you were family. Goldie and Bramble loved you. As far as they were concerned, you were another kid to them. They kept suggesting to bring you over, to let you know you could always live with them if you needed it. I was sure that any day they’d say ‘yeah you’re young, but just propose so we can have an official daughter-in-law!’.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really,” he nodded. “But then everything went down. All the bullying and blackmail. And then the Fall Formal… you said it was because you ‘had to’, but why?”

“Desire,” she almost laughed at the answer. “A burning Desire that makes you do nearly anything to get it. Except I mostly didn’t have the excuse of ‘out of my mind with Magic’. I… I never wanted the Fall Formal to happen like it did. I just wanted to go home, but I wanted it for the same reason I left. Because of what I couldn’t have.”

“And I see it so clearly now,” she continued. “Everything I screwed up. Everyone I hurt. Everything I could've done better. And I figured you’d hate me, so it’s not really a surprise. I’m just sorry it happened.”

Silence again. Sunset searched for what to say, how to tell him everything in a span of a few minutes. How to prove she wasn’t lying again, or make it all not sound like an excuse.

“I don’t…” Flash stopped and sighed. “I want to hate you. Because I should. You were terrible at the end, and it made me question everything we’d done together. Because it felt real. While it started from whatever lie, it didn’t matter because by the time I figured it out you were my friend. But I wasn’t sure if the real Sunset Shimmer was the girl I thought I knew, or the girl who bullied and blackmailed her way into things.

“But because of the good times, I couldn’t hate you,” he continued. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t. And when the, well, ‘Desire Magic’ hit, it made me want that more. So when I saw you tackling Rainbow for what seemed like no reason, all I could think was ‘there, that’s proof that it was all a lie, that you’re just as terrible as people say’.”

“It probably would be easier if you hated me,” Sunset said. “Then I’d at least know what to do about it.”

“I don’t know either,” he said. “Can you answer one question?”

“If I’m not honest, may Applejack hunt me down,” she joked, holding a hand up. “Uh, go ahead. Sorry.”

“Was any of it real?” he asked. “I know you lied to get me as your fake boyfriend, and this isn’t about what happened when we stopped talking. But all the time we were hanging out, everything with Thunder and Brawly and Goldie and Bramble. Just a couple of kids having fun.”

“Other than the beginning,” she said, “the only things I lied about were things I couldn’t explain without telling you about Equestria. Things like where my parents really were, or just my past in general. Everything else? I was scared, and thought that what I felt didn’t count since out friendship was based on a lie. Even without the fake relationship thing, I never thought I could tell you about Equestria. I didn’t think we could really be friends if I had to hide all of that. But everything else? That was real.

“And I’m sorry I ruined that,” she shook her head. “And a part of me wants to go back to before that, back to when we were just kids on the beach at night, where I could forget about Unicorns and Magic and Princesses.”

“But we can’t,” he sighed. “Because that would include ignoring everything that happened.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “But while I wish it happened differently, I’m glad you know about it all now. About who I am, what I am. And I want to fix things. I know things can’t be like before, but this time around, I think I can do it right. No lies to start it, and I’d be able to tell you everything about me.”

“We can work on that,” he said. “And Goldie and Bramble will too. I never told them about why we stopped talking. They’ve heard a bit about how CHS has Magic, but they don’t know your part in it.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “While it might be easier to have you talk to them, I think I want to do it myself. Not just yet though. Think you can do me one favor though?”

“What?” he wondered.

“Get your shit together and make up with Thunder already!” she exclaimed. “Or make out with him! I don’t care! You two need to get over your teen angst bullshit!”

As expected, that earned her a playful shove. She snorted with laughter as she stumbled sideways, and smiled more as she felt her own Fire growing brighter.

Author's Note

Happy New Year! Let's start this out with one of the scenes that started me on writing this whole thing! So, yeah, this is the second change from Canon. It changes some scenes in the next two movies, but not the main plot.
Seriously though, in Canon they waited until LoE to have them talk and they did absolutely jack with it.

Colors

“So,” Rainbow began, giving Sunset a mischievous grin as soon as Twilight was through the portal. “What’s up with you and Flash now?”

“What’s up?” Sunset yawned, the excitement of the day before finally catching up with her. “We’re talking?”

“I think she means ‘are y’all going to get back together’,” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Bad idea,” Pinkie nodded. “Like, okay, Twi’s probably never going to actually get with him because dimensional stuff but you got to give time before you try and make out with your friend’s sort-of ex.”

“Technically, he was Sunset’s ex first,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Okay, but there’s like a bunch of rules with that,” she said. “Like, Twi and Sunny weren’t friends yet when that started, and does it even count if the relationship was fake anyway?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sunset cut them off. “Because Flash and I never were, and never will be, romantic.”

“No possibility at all?” Fluttershy wondered.

“Really,” Rarity interrupted. “I think after she says it once, we could perhaps lay off for a moment?”

“That’s…. odd,” Rainbow frowned.

“Yeah,” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Usually you’d be first in line to set them up.”

Rarity didn’t answer. She only shrugged before giving Sunset a look that held a clear message. ‘Should I tell them or…’

“Okay, let’s clear this up easily,” Sunset sighed. “Flash and I will never be together because I am gay. Like, very very gay. Never been interested in a guy, Human, Pony, or otherwise. That puts the breaks on any romance.”

There was a beat of silence, before everyone came to the same phrase.

“Well then.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Figured you all would be okay with that.”

“Don’t worry, we are,” Applejack assured.

“We can have a little ‘coming out’ party later,” Pinkie said. “Or at least a colorful cake.”

“So,” Rainbow began, going back to that grin. “What you’re saying is we should go for the other corner of this love triangle and try to set you up with Twilight.”

Everyone else groaned, before turning and walking to their respective houses for some actual sleep.

Monday was a lot like the Battle Aftermath. And Sunset loved it. Okay, there was still a handful of wariness since it doesn't go away in one blast of Magic. But for the most part, their classmates seemed to be reacting to her like they did anyone else.

“Sunset,” Rarity began. “You look… different.”

“Well, I’m happier,” Sunset replied, waving to some other students. “It’s kind of easy when people actually like you again.”

“No, she’s right,” Applejack said. “I can’t place my finger on it.”

“Is your outfit different?” Fluttershy asked. “It looks a bit darker.”

“No,” Sunset said. “It’s still my usual. Though maybe I should update it.”

“Did you get a haircut?” Rainbow guessed.

“That’s it!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Your hair!”

“But I didn’t get a haircut?” Sunset said, hand instinctively reaching for a curl near her ear.

“Not cut, color!” she insisted. “Usually your hair is #DC002A with #EBE226 stripes, but now it’s #D3374C with #E8F18F stripes!”

“Did you…..” she stared at her. “Did you just list the Hex Code for my hair off the top of your head?”

Pinkie only nodded. Ignoring more of her strangeness for the moment, Sunset inspected a lock of her hair. She was right. Well, who knows about the exact color, but it was different. Yet at the same time, it was so familiar.

She had remembered her hair being lighter, back when she was a kid. It had gotten darker as she got older, which happened to a lot of Ponies. But for it to change back overnight was unheard of.

“I don’t….” Sunset tried to think of something to say. “I didn’t dye it.”

“It’s probably some kind of Magic,” Rainbow shrugged.

“This is actually perfect!” Rarity grinned. “I had an outfit ready for you, but I ended up using the blue instead, and I think it will fit much better with this color!”

Sunset wanted to protest, because Magic didn’t change hair colors on a whim. Then again, the Magic she knew didn’t cause minor transformations whenever used. And very few Magics were activated by song.

Perhaps there was something different about this world.

Author's Note

I had to address the color change. I think the 'why' might be obvious down the line, though I'm not sure how to explain the 'how'.

Phoenix

New hair, new outfit, new everything. She’d gone up to the roof of the school, long after classes were out. High places were nostalgic, a side effect of growing up on a city built into a mountain. Canterlot High’s rooftops were the closest thing to the view, though it was still far too flat for her tastes.

It was a place to think, but thankfully her thoughts were far happier. While the path that led her here was terrible, mostly from her own fault, she was happy for the place she had now. The fire inside her could be almost the perfect metaphor, how it Sparked and sputtered before roaring to life.

And even though her friends weren’t with her at the moment, even with Twilight in another Dimension, she could still feel it within her.

The fire under her skin wasn’t rage, it was a Hearth. Perhaps that was how ‘Hearth’s Warming’ got its name, from the Fire that became Home, and the Love shared there. But it was more than just ‘feeling’. She could smell the logs burning, the warm soup of cold winter nights, being held close and watching the snow fall.

She could almost hear a song, on she’d never heard but sounded so familiar. There were no words to make up, because she already knew them as they came.

“Power,” Sunset let herself sing. “Was all I Desired. But all that grew inside me, was the Darkness I acquired. When I began to fall, and I lost the path ahead, that’s when your Friendship found me, and it lifted me instead.”

It looked so simple now, as she sang what she somehow recognized as the ‘chorus’ of the song. The path of her life. When the Princess rejected her, she had come here. She’d met Flash, and his friends and family.

The only thing that kept her from happiness was herself. It wasn’t about forcing someone to return feelings, or pretending to be someone else so they like you. It wasn’t even about knowing everything about someone. It was just to care, to be there for them, and to let people be there for you.

“Ambition,” she let the next verse begin. “Is what I believed would be the only way to set me free. But when it disappeared, and I found myself alone, that’s when you came and got me and it felt like I was home. “

Home. That word was in itself confusing. What was ‘home’? For a long time, Equestria was home, but now it was just where she came from. But this place wasn’t home either.

Because Home wasn’t a place. It was the flame in her heart. Equestria, the Human World, or any other place. As long as she was with someone she loved, she would be Home.

Of course, there were some people, some Ponies, she had to fix things with eventually. A bird too. She wondered if Philomena would be mad at her, for leaving her behind. She laughed at the coincidence, feeling the chorus start up again, how perfect it was.

She wasn’t the little Unicorn, angry at a mare who she felt never loved her and scared of the world she was now in. Yet she wasn’t the Human girl, pretending to be something she wasn’t, and turning into the monster she never wanted to be.

She was Sunset Shimmer, someone who had changed so much over the years. And it was so much like the Phoenix. She had burned to ashes, but was now blazing with her own new Fire.

“Like a Phoenix burning bright in the sky,” she belted out, not caring who heard. “I’ll show there’s another side to me, you can’t deny!”

Reaching for Magic was so easy now. It sprung to life, and she felt herself lifted off the ground with a warm glow. The energy within her was begging to be used, and she didn’t dare deny it.

“I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say: That my past does not define me, because my past is not today!”

Out of the corners of her eye, she saw reds and oranges, as if the Fire was bursting out of her. And as she explored her own Magic, it seemed just as new as she felt. She could see connections, like tied strings between her to her friends throughout the town, and connections through the Portal.

It meant more to her than anything else, than ideas of what could have been, and even the thought of what could be.

The Gift of Truth

Sunset had procrastinated a bit. Okay, it wasn’t technically procrastination. She did need to swing by her house and pick up the last few presents, since two were technically not allowed on school grounds. And Rhea did need to go out for a walk, and as cold as it was dogs had a thing for needing to do their business in several different spots.

But it felt like procrastination because she dreaded actually doing this. Even so, knowing she had to eventually, Sunset found herself standing in front of a familiar house. Thankfully, her timing was right as there was only one car and a motorcycle out front.

Despite everything telling her to run, Sunset reached out and rang the doorbell. Too late to back out. Still, she jumped when the door opened, seeing the surprise on a familiar face.

“Hi,” Sunset gave a nervous wave.

“Sunset!” Goldie exclaimed, immediately pulling her into a hug. “It’s been months! How are you?”

“I-I’m good,” she said. “Better, in fact. I came over because I- I need to talk to you and Bramble about some things. A lot of things, actually.”

“Well come on in!” she smiled. “We were just making some cookies for the holidays. They’re best when they come right out of the oven.”

Before Sunset could protest, she found herself dragged into the house. It was warm and beautiful. Christmas decorations filled the hall, and the smell of cookies wafted in from the kitchen. She could hear carols coming from the speakers, loud enough to be heard around the house, but low enough that they’d been able to hear the doorbell.

“Bramble!” Goldie called as she dragged Sunset to the couch. “You’ll never guess who dropped by!”

“I think I can, considering I could hear your joy from here!” Bramble chuckled as he walked in. “Good to see you, Sunset. Though I never expected you to embrace the Wondercolt Aesthetic!””

“The what?” Sunset wondered as she was pulled and lifted into another hug.

“Guess you forgot about the headband,” he said, pointing to her head.

Sunset reached her hand up, even though she knew what she’d really forgotten. She was still in her ‘Pony Up’ form, ears and all. That had been lasting a lot longer nowadays. Perhaps it was just the Holiday Spirit, since it was activated by Friendship and Togetherness.

“Something like that,” Sunset said.

“So, how’ve you been?” Goldie asked. “Flash hasn’t told us much.”

“Wouldn’t even tell us why you broke up,” Bramble added.

“I asked him not to,” Sunset said, all too aware of how her ears reacted to emotions. “It’s… a long story. How much has Flash told you about the weird things going on at Canterlot High? Like, the Fall Formal and the Band competition?”

“Well, he hadn’t at first,” Goldie said, sitting on the couch. “But word spread around town. He mostly only clarified what was fact and what was rumor.”

“But we get the gist of it,” Bramble nodded. “Another Dimension of Magic, Ponies, and Princesses. Some cause a good bit of trouble, but a small handful of students can now use that Magic.”

“It sounded a bit ridiculous, at first,” she said. “But with so many witnesses, it’s impossible to not believe.”

“Well, it’s true,” Sunset said. “There’s a portal at CHS that goes to a world of Magic. And everything Magical that happened recently is kind of all my fault.”

“Sunset, you can’t take the blame for everything,” Bramble said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “A magic dimension is a bit out of anyone’s hands.”

“Or hooves, if the thing about ponies is right,” Goldie joked.

“In most cases, you’d be right,” Sunset swallowed. “While I didn’t create the Magic Dimension, Equestria, it’s my fault that it’s interacting with this Dimension. Uh, where do I start with this?”

“The beginning is always a good place,” she said.

Sunset looked between the couple, seeing how curious they were. A part of her was saying ‘just give half-truths, tell them of Magic but not of you’. But she had to. They had grown to love her, but it wasn’t ‘her’. They loved the girl she pretended to be.

While the girl she pretended to be was still mostly her, while she never lied about anything other than the unexplainable, it wasn’t all of her. She refused to let herself call them friends, call them family, unless they knew both the good and the bad. Taking a breath, she found a place to start.

“I’ve known about Magic and that world for a long time,” Sunset said. “I know a lot about it actually. But that’s.... I know about it because I’m from there.”

She waited for that to sink in. She watched the confusion and surprise on their faces. Ignoring the anxious flick of her ear, which they still had yet to realize wasn’t a headband, she waited for a question.

“How?” Goldie asked. “Okay, I can guess how, but why?”

“A lot of things,” Sunset said. “I wasn’t the best type of person, well, Pony. I thought I deserved more than I had, and I got so frustrated with the situation that I ran off. I ended up here, and I just restarted my life.”

“Alone?” Bramble asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I hadn’t planned to run off, and until recently the Portal only opened every three years in the fall. By the time anyone would’ve figured out where I went, the Portal would’ve been closed. That was six years ago.”

“Six….” Goldie whispered. “You were just a kid. You’re still a kid.”

“Not my best decision,” she said. “But not the worst decision. My next terrible idea happened during freshman year. And I know it was terrible and I’ve faced that, but I just…. I wanted to be liked, you know? I thought of ways to make people like me, and one was getting a boyfriend. Flash knew it was all a lie, just a fake relationship. I was terrible, but I wasn’t…. I didn’t want to actually lead someone on, but I couldn’t say ‘fake date me so people like me’, so I made up something else.

“But I didn’t realize how far that went,” she continued. “Because I hadn’t fully thought it through since I spent so long debating over doing it in the first place. But I spent time with Flash, and we ended up as friends. Then Brawly and Thunder became friends, and then you two…. I know you two cared about me, but it started from just one selfish lie.”

“Sunset,” Bramble said. “It’s okay.”

“We could tell some parts were a lie,” Goldie said.

“You could?” Sunset wondered.

“We tend to have a sense of when a child is lying to protect themselves," she gave a sad smile. “Let me guess, the story you told him was that your parents would kick you out for being gay?”

“How did….” She began.

“Because that’s what we had guessed was happening,” Bramble said. “You two weren’t romantic, and you never talked about your family. We weren’t going to say anything unless we had to, but we tried to drop some hints. We wanted to make sure you knew that you could always come here.”

“And I can understand doing dumb things to be more popular,” Goldie admitted. “Teens tend to do that. You even said yourself that you didn’t want to string someone along. And considering you’re telling us, you probably already mentioned all this to Flash, so how did he take it?”

“By saying he knew,” Sunset sighed. “He didn’t know why I made up the story to fake-date, but he knew most of the time. But the whole thing started as a lie. Any care you have for me sprung from that lie and-“

“I’m going to stop you there,” she held up her hand. “You’ve owned up to the lie, and it wasn’t that big of a lie in the first place, especially if Flash knew most of the time. We care about you because you’re you. And screwups from a few years ago aren’t going to change that.”

“What about a few months?” She asked.

They waited for her to continue, but she wondered if she should. It hadn’t effected them. But they needed to know everything, what she’d done. She clenched her fists, trying to keep her hands from shaking.

“It started last year,” Sunset said. “I thought I found a way to go home. Not just to my Dimension, to the life I’d left behind, but to the life I’d wanted before I ran away. But to do that, thought I had to tear a group of friends apart. And in doing that, I tore the school apart. I hated it, but I thought it was my only chance. And I began to think they deserved it, because of stupid jealousy.”

“Sunset,” Goldie began.

“But then I….” she shuddered at the memory. “When I tried to finish my plan, at the Fall Formal, everything went wrong. I hadn’t expected Dark Magic, and that twisted everything. It heightens the worst parts of you, and it turns you into a monster, one that would do absolutely anything to get what they want, no matter why you wanted it. And I can make all the excuses of ‘mad with Magic’ that I want, but it doesn’t…. it doesn’t erase what I did like that. What I did with anger and jealousy and hatred pushed so far that I was alone.

“I… I could’ve killed them,” she choked out. “I nearly did, before some still-here part of me pulled back for fraction of a second. It was dumb luck that they figured out how to stop me, to bring me back. And what I did, what I tried to do when I stopped caring about anything, that’s always going to be a part of me now. And while I want to fix things, you need to know exactly what I’ve done, and decide if you even want to fix things.”

They took a few minutes to process all that. She knew it would take a while to decide, but the time dragged on. Every second that ticked by fed her anxiety. Her ears flicked, trying to hear the answer before it came. Adrenaline built up, the fight-or-flight response telling her to run like hell.

The worst part, was their glances. Not at her, but at each other. Sunset had noticed it more often lately, the way people who knew each other so well could have a conversation completely without words. They were talking, but she couldn’t hear them, not even whispers to give her any insight into what they said.

However, she could tell when they reached agreement, as they turned back to her. Still, she couldn't read them. Anxiety and desperate hope mixed whatever she saw, so she waited and tried her best not to run.

“Sunset,” Goldie took the lead. “It’s obvious you regret what happened, and I can assume you’ve taken responsibility for it?”

“Yes,” Sunset nodded. “I’ve been trying to be a better person. And I’m getting there. I’m in a lot better of a place now, in many ways. The girls I tried to destroy are my closest friends now. And maybe that says more about them and forgiveness than me, but I’m doing what I can to make up for what I’ve done, even if I don’t know what I’m doing half the time!”

“Then there’s your answer,” Bramble said.

“What?” she wondered.

“Just the fact that you’re fixing it,” Goldie explained. “People will sometimes do terrible things, especially kids who think it’s their only option. But you’re fixing it.”

“As for the Magic stuff,” Bramble said. “I won’t pretend to know everything about it. But it sounds like it made you do things you never wanted. And sure, you can’t just handwave the blame because of it. But-“

“But it’s not all your fault either,” she finished. “And perhaps it sounds like we’re just forgetting about everything you said and trusting blindly, but we’re not. Because there are other people to trust.”

“Flash, for one,” he said. “Those girls you called friends a moment ago as well. They got to experience you at your worst, but they still gave you the chance to fix things. I think it’s safe to do the same.”

“I….” Sunset began, words quickly becoming lost. “Thanks. For everything. I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Worry about making it up to yourself first,” Goldie said. “Now, I know you’ve never stayed for Christmas before, but if you want to this time….”

“Thanks, but I have plans,” she said. “As in, actual plans. The girls and I are sort of having two weeks of slumber parties. I’ll see if I can drop by during break though. Oh, but I did buy presents for you!”

Christmas morning was usually supposed to be peaceful, barring the company of small children. As the youngest person currently in Applejack’s home was thirteen, no one expected a sudden awakening so early in the morning.

Sure, it wasn’t exactly ‘early’, but the whole group had stayed up far too late, and she suspected someone had spiked the eggnog. Probably Granny ‘if you’re old enough to be saving the world you’re old enough to have a damn drink’ Smith.

So when Pinkie’s phone began blasting some epic rock remix of Carol of the Bells, Sunset flipped over and groaned. Surely her gift to herself could be another few minutes of sleep. But the Universe had other ideas, as Pinkie’s phone was suddenly in front of her face.

“It’s for you!” Pinkie said, in a voice far too chipper for having just woken up.

Sitting upright and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Sunset took the phone.

“Hello?” Sunset yawned into the device.

“Did you get me a sword for Christmas?” Flash’s voice asked.

“Merry Christmas,” she answered. “Why’d you call Pinkie’s phone?”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” he said. “I called Pinkie because out of the numbers I have for you and your group, she’s the only one I knew I could wake up. Now back to my question, did you buy me a sword for Christmas?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “It’s Magic. The blade only appears when you want it to. So it won’t, like, slice something you don’t want. It does have a slow reaction time though, so be careful swinging it around.”

“That’s what he said….” Rainbow sleep-mumbled.

“I figured that out,” Flash said, oblivious to the previous comment. “How did you…. That has to be custom made.”

“Equestria,” Sunset answered. “It’s not that custom. I mean, I had to ask Twilight to find one, but she's a Princess and her brother used to be Captain of the Solar Guard, so it wasn't that hard to find. The pommel's custom though, but custom Cutie Mark items are really common over there. The real hard part was getting the spells to work for someone that wasn't a Unicorn, but in the end it was just linking the activation to Cloudwalking instead of Spellcasting. I figured since other you is a Pegasus it’d work. Glad it did.”

“You got me a sword for Christmas,” he repeated.

“Yep,” she said. “Oh, and Bramble’s bracelet is a shield. And Goldie’s necklace can make music. I had to guess with them, but I’m pretty sure their Counterparts are both Unicorns so that makes it a little easier.”

“Okay, but why a sword?” he asked.

“First off, swords are cool,” she said. “Secondly, you could learn to use it. I mean, considering every other month seems to have some kind of Magical something or other attacking the school, it might be a good idea to learn some defense.”

“It only happened twice,” Applejack interjected, loud enough for both to hear. “It ain’t like it’s a pattern yet!”

“That’s what Twilight said about her family’s wedding curse,” Pinkie retorted. “Next thing she knows, the bride’s been replaced with an evil Changeling Queen and the city is under attack.”

“Wedding curse?!” Sunset and Flash chorused.

“Guys!” Rainbow shouted. “I love you all, but please shut up! Let me have another hour of sleep!”

“You sure you want to sleep more?” Fluttershy piped up. “After all, it is Christmas morning.”

That woke her up. In fact, it got her up and running down the stairs, knocking Rarity over on the way.

“I think we’re getting into full swing here,” Sunset laughed into the phone. “I’ll try and stop by later. Tell Goldie and Bramble I said Merry Christmas.”

Magic Analysis: Unstable

A new year, and new problems. Not anything specific, but Sunset was curious by nature. Magic in this world was strange, to say the least. The only way to figure it out was research, but wasn't going as expected. She’d started with something she was sure would work, and had decided to test it out while everyone was still transformed from band practice.

“Sorry dear,” Rarity said, handing the Sapphire back. “I don’t think I can figure this one out.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Sunset sighed, her confusion already creating an Ice Spell in the gem. “It’s just focusing Magic through the gem using emotions.”

“Sorry,” she repeated. “Perhaps it’s just a lack of practice.”

“No,” she frowned. “I can feel it. It’s like your Magic isn’t built for it, but I don’t know why. It’s like Unicorns aren’t compatible with it. I might as well be asking you to fly.”

“Aren’t you a Unicorn, too?” Applejack asked, turning so she sat backwards in the chair.

“Yeah,” she said. “But I don’t think it’s a Unicorn ability. When I used gems for spellcasting, I’d focus a specific spell through the gem. But here, I’m focusing emotions through it and it becomes a spell. Does that make sense?”

“I think an art studentsaid something like that,” Rainbow said as she tuned her guitar. “Something like ‘sometimes I go to paint trees, and other times I chuck paint at the wall and it looks like trees’.”

“Exactly!” she said. “I don’t know how I’m doing it! And I figured if any of you could do it, Rarity could since her Counterpart is a Unicorn too. But apparently it's not because I'm a Unicorn, so why can I do it?”

“Who knows?” Pinkie shrugged, plucking the Sapphire out of her hand. “But this thing is really pretty, and you really should let me show these to Maud. She’d flip. Also, this one’s really cold. Huh. Usually when you hold a gem it warms up, right?”

“Cold?” Fluttershy repeated.

“Let me see that,” Sunset frowned.

She didn’t get a chance. When Pinkie tossed it, the gem began to glow. Within the time it took to blink, a small flurry of snow blasted the room. It lasted seconds, but the six were covered in white.

“What in the hell was that?” Applejack demanded, shaking snow off her hat.

Sunset picked up the Sapphire, having not caught it when the storm begun. It wasn’t cold anymore. Biting her tongue in thought, she came up with a theory.

“Pinkie,” Sunset began. “Can you hold this again?”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Rainbow asked as Pinkie took the Sapphire.

“Not-not to be rude,” Fluttershy said. “But I agree with Rainbow. That was weird.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset assured. “Pinkie, can you think of something sad? Like, a scene from a book that makes you cry?”

Pinkie stared at the Sapphire for a moment, thinking of a scene to choose. Her hair lost a bit of its curl, and Sunset could swear that her colors turned just a bit darker as the frown formed on her face. Tears were on the verge, but she seemed to be holding together.

Gently, Sunset took the sapphire back, telling her it was okay to stop. The gem itself was as she expected, full of a water spell.

“And that’s even stranger,” Sunset mused.

“What is?” Fluttershy wondered.

“She can do it,” she answered, gesturing to Pinkie. “The whole gems-emotional-magic thing.”

“So the snowstorm was her?” Rainbow asked.

“Sorry,” Pinkie chuckled nervously.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Sunset muttered. “I’m a Unicorn, and your counterpart is an Earth Pony. Our Magic should be wired completely differently!”

“Are you sure it’s because of Equestria?” Applejack asked.

“Well, the Magic came from there,” she began.

“True,” she nodded. “But this is another world. I bet y’all don’t gain magic from singing.”

“Well, no,” she admitted. “Only Sirens, but even then singing doesn’t give them magic, it’s just how they cast spells and-“

“And,” she cut her off, “Maybe it’s different. Maybe this gem magic ain’t because of a Pony ability, but something Human.”

“Even if it was, I’m still a Unicorn,” she said.

“Of course,” she nodded. “But you’re kinda Human too.”

“She does have a point,” Rarity said. “You did say that Humans usually can’t use Magic because we’re not ‘wired’ to do so. Perhaps, while we can access magic now, our abilities are based on some traits other than our Counterpart’s? After all, you don’t have a horn when you Pony Up. And Neither do I or Twilight.”

“I….” Sunset frowned. “Maybe. I’ll work on figuring it out.”

Her further attempts were just as confusing. On one hand, she couldn’t explain what music had to do with anything or why only she and Pinkie could use Crystal Magic. But on the other hand, their Magic mimicked Equestria’s so well. Her other abilities, like being able to feel another’s Magic, proved that well enough.

Rarity’s was built like a Unicorn, made to cast spells even though no one had figured out how to channel said spellcasting yet. When Twilight was over, her Magic felt like an Alicorn, which is to say all over the place. Sunset’s own Magic felt a little off. Now that she was looking for it, she could feel what was ‘Unicorn’ and what was something else. But it wasn't new. It had always been there, but she hadn't thought that she had other abilities, so it didn't read differently until now.

Others were expected and unexpected. Rainbow and Fluttershy both got wings, and felt like Pegasai. However, Fluttershy seemed to be part something else, a Hybrid. Not a full Hybrid, as her Pony Counterpart looked Pegasus enough, but possibly a grandparent. Oddly enough, that 'something else' was Siren.

Applejack was easily Earth Pony. Her Magic actually sort of screamed it, in a way. Pinkie’s was Earth Pony too, but not quite all Earth Pony. Like Sunset’s, there was something else, whatever let her use Crystals.

It took a moment for her to put it together, but it was similar to Hybrid Magic. As if the two of them weren’t completely Unicorn and Earth Pony. Even so, she’d never heard of a creature who could do what they could, nor felt anything like this Magic.

Even if that mystery was both more and less of a mystery, there was still a lot to figure out. Like why those that should have horns don’t, or why Music makes them transform.Some she could brush of as ‘we don’t completely know how the Magic of Friendship works, as no one’s studied it’.

Overall, this world’s Magic felt ridiculously unstable. Not the ‘it will blow up in your face’ unstable, but more like that of a foal. It did what it wanted, what it needed. Sunset couldn’t force it to work with her, that caused a ‘tantrum’ of sorts, but she could coax it into doing what she wanted. It needed to protect this world, so it gave the girls a way to use some Magic. They managed to talk it into giving them Magic when they sing.

It almost seemed alive. There had been a few Magics like that, back in Equestria. But the ones she remembered most were the Magics the Princess had used every day.

The Magic she used most often had felt like the Sun itself; it had been warm, a gift to light the way, but also a bit mysterious, as you could never look directly at it. It was not some hidden powers, but Celestia’s Magic itself. It was almost as if she and the Magic were one, not that it was a part of her like any pony’s Magic, but as if she were the Magic itself, truly come to life.

But twice a day, there was another Magic she used. It was softer, though not in strength. Instead of showing power through an intense simplicity, it created a dramatic display of what it could do. It lit the way through the dark and fought off those that hid in shadows.

That was the Magic of the Moon, just as alive as the Sun. The Magic of Friendhship was like that too, as was Dark Magic oddly enough, along with everything in the Everfree Forest.

The Magic of this world seemed to be alive as well. But if it were, then saying it was like a foal was very accurate, as the Magic was only a few months old.

She only hoped it would stabilize itself soon.

Author's Note

So, has anyone guessed the thing?

Not the Brightest Decision

“Dash,” Sunset sighed. “Why are you pulling me into an impromptu concert?”

“Because she wants to impress the new kid,” Pinkie answered over her.

“No,” Rainbow pouted. “I just want to prove him wrong!”

“Back up,” Sunset sighed. “What happened?”

Rainbow slowed to a stop, leaning her guitar against the lockers. Pinkie just gave her that ‘knowing smile’ Rainbow usually used when talking innuendos. With a glare to the pink girl, she sighed and began to explain.

“We got a new kid in our class,” Rainbow said. “I thought it was weird that a kid transferred half-way through Senior Year.”

“So she starts flirting-“Pinkie began.

“I did not!” Rainbow cut her off.

“Come on, Dashie!” she giggled. “You said, and I quote, ‘he kind of looks like a male Daring Do’. I mean, I disagree because his skin’s a bit more sand-colored and he had green eyes instead of pink, but the hair’s pretty right.”

“And you think she was flirting?” Sunset asked.

“Well, she pointed it out before she went to talk to him,” she said, despite Rainbow’s protest. “And she did that ‘be impressed with me’ thing that was different than her usual ‘I’m awesome’ thing, just like-wait, you didn't meet AJ's cousin in Freshman year, but ask the other girls it was like that thing she did then. Besides, I know that Daring Do is on her List.”

“What List?” she wondered.

“The list,” she said. “The ‘I’m not usually into girls but I’d make an exception because you’re you’ list.”

“Wait,” she said, turning to Rainbow. “You have a list of girls you’d like to date?”

“No,” Rainbow corrected. “First off, that’s not the list. The List is gender neutral. It’s more like a list where if they came up to me and offered a no repercussions, no strings attached, one night stand I’d take the opportunity because it’s someone who’s that awesome I’d love the bragging rights. It’s saved for people like celebrities, fictional characters, important people like that. Half of the Wondercolt Captains from the past ten years are on that list.”

“Wait, then what’s the other list?” Pinkie asked

“You have two lists?” Sunset sighed more than asked.

“The other list is less official,” Rainbow answered. “It’s more a list of people I’m not currently into, like, romantically, but if they fell in love with me I’d give them the chance. It’s people like you two, you know? People I already know and like even if it’s not in that way.”

“That’s a bit complicated,” she said. “I mean, I get it, but I never felt the need to actually list it. And what does any of this have to do with the new kid and this little concert?”

“Oh, right,” Pinkie said. “So Dash was flirting with this guy-“

“I wasn’t flirting!” Rainbow protested.

“And she mentioned the Rainbooms,” Pinkie said. “And she totally forgot the fact that people from out of town probably don’t know about Magic and would think she’s crazy if she says ‘We’re an awesome band with magical powers’.”

This time, there was only minor pouting from Rainbow. Oddly enough, it brought her onto Pinkie’s side in this.

“So he got kinda uppity about that,” Rainbow said. “I mean, okay, yeah, bad on me for forgetting. But come on. You have twenty some students and even the teacher telling you that I really do have Magical Abilities and you’re still kinda skeptical? No.”

“Which is why you dragged me out of history class,” Sunset said. “You do know that ‘proving a point’ is not a magical emergency, right?”

“Well, yeah,” she said. “But Mr. Birch is petty. Anything for a learning experience.”

She followed them into the classroom, rolling her eyes the whole way. The classroom was pretty usual, since it wasn’t a Lab Day. Most students were waiting in mild amusement, and the teacher looked up at them with an almost wild smile.

“Good to see you Miss Shimmer!” Mr. Birch grinned.

“I just saw you, like, twenty minutes ago,” Sunset replied.

“Yes, well, sometimes people can make it seem longer,” he replied. "I'll let you handle this."

One of the kids in the back groaned, causing the rest to stifle some snickers. Sure enough, there was a new face just like Pinkie had described. She could see why Rainbow thought he looked like a male Daring Do, but he didn’t look like the adventuring type. Though that was mostly because ‘adventurers’ don’t wear red glasses.

Sunset grabbed an empty chair, pulling it over to the kid. Deciding to go more relaxed by sitting backwards, she offered her hand.

“Hey there,” Sunset greeted. “My name’s Sunset Shimmer.”

“Bright Heart,” he introduced, shaking her hand. “Let me guess, you’re in on the whole ‘magical band’ thing.”

Most of the class snickered, but Sunset kept a straight face. She’d point out later how they all had reacted to learning that Magic was real.

“It’s not just the band,” Sunset said. “Well, it kind of is, as the other Rainbooms are the only Humans that can use Magic.”

“Right,” Bright nodded, raising an eyebrow. “And you sound like you’re excluding yourself from them, Miss Shimmer.”

“Well, I am part of the band,” she said, trying not to question the formality in his voice. “But I’m not Human. I only look Human in this Dimension, but I’m actually a Unicorn.”

Bright looked up at the rest of them, his expression asking when the joke will be over. As no one went ‘surprise, we’re kidding’, he looked back to her.

“Okay, okay,” Sunset said. “A guy like you needs proof. Well, I don’t think this warrants tossing you through the portal to see what kind of Pony you’d be. But Rainbow here is just dying to show off. Got that thing tuned yet?”

“I’ve been ready for the last few minutes,” Rainbow replied.

Rainbow had grabbed an acoustic guitar this time, since she hadn’t wanted to set up amps for her usual electric guitar. Within the first few chords of ‘Awesome As I Want To Be’, she had started to glow. A few students ducked so that she didn’t slap them with her wings.

Bright, for his credit, didn’t faint. He was definitely confused and surprised, but he seemed a little skeptical still.

“How’d you do that?” Bright asked, met with much groaning.

“It’s Magic!” one of the other students shouted.

“You can fake a light show,” he glared at them.

“Can you fake wings and ears?” Sunset asked, oddly much calmer than everyone else despite being the Unicorn.

“Your school is quite known for its headbands,” he countered. “And I have seen items that move on command like that. They're expensive, but considering how many you have in on this, if you pooled your money together you could manage.”

"Ah, Human stubbornness," she smiled. "You need a metaphorical slap in the face to realize Magic exists, but after that you'll just shrug and say 'yeah, sure. Sounds possible'. And perhaps forget how strange it seemed in the beginning."

That last part had been said with a pointed look over the shoulder to the rest of the class. To their credit, they did get the message and look decently ashamed. Rainbow, on the other hand, had already gotten that message and was now getting decently frustrated.

“Okay,” Rainbow huffed. “Follow me. You want proof of Magic? You’ll get it!”

Upon realizing that something entertainingly stupid was about to happen, Sunset just sat back and watched. Rainbow stomped over to the window, tossing it open and checking the height from this floor to the ground. As soon as she put one foot on the sill, Bright ran over to her.

“Miss Dash, don’t you think this is a bit extreme?”Bright asked, slightly panicked. “You should really get-“

His warning turned into a slightly strangled scream as Rainbow grabbed him before jumping out of the window. That got a bit more alarm from the rest of the class, as very few people had actually been carried by her. Sunset wasn't too worried. Someone like Rainbow would have the wingpower to carry someone their own size. Bright actually might be smaller, considering the muscle weight of the star athlete.

“So, how do you like flying?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t!” Bright shouted, clinging to her waist. “Put me down!”

“Alright,” she sighed, hovering closer to the window. “You’re fine. I wasn’t going to drop you.”

“While I appreciate that intention, you are literally dangling me from the second story!” he retorted.

It was relatively easy for him to swing back through the window once she got close enough. Pinkie and Sunset made sure he didn’t straight up collapse. He seemed to catch his breath for a moment, but after that he readjusted his glasses and turned back to the window.

“Y-you’re flying….” Bright muttered, realization only now setting in.

“Yep,” Rainbow nodded. “Magic and stuff. I get wings and I can fly. Pretty fu- pretty freaking cool, right?”

“You’re flying,” he repeated. “That- I- what?”

“Yeah, most people have that reaction,” Sunset said. “You get used to it pretty quick, apparently. A few days and you'll just be like 'yeah, this is happening now'.”

“So,” Pinkie grinned as Rainbow landed through the window. “What do you think?”

“What do I think?” Rainbow wondered.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “About Bright.”

“Is this about the supposed flirting?” she pouted. “I wasn’t flirting. And I will never flirt with him. He’s frustratingly stubborn!”

“Frustratingly stubborn!” Bright scoffed, snapping out of his bewilderment. “Says the girl who dangled me from a second story to prove a point!”

“It did the job, didn’t it?” she retorted. “You see a girl suddenly grow wings, and you say ‘oh it’s a trick of the light’.”

As they continued to bicker, Sunset slid over to where Pinkie was watching. The girl looked almost gleefully smug at the events.

“It’s kind of like watching her talk to a mirror,” Sunset said.

“Well, if that mirror looked totally different,” Pinkie said. “And there’s the whole jock-slash-nerd thing.”

“Glasses doesn’t mean nerd,” she pointed out.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “But you know me and looking into people. Good grades in classes, taking the online college courses that CHS offers, and a heavy leaning towards medical? Total nerd compared to our Dashie.”

“Should I ask how you managed to find out what classes he’s taking?” she sighed.

“I have my ways,” she said, giving a mysterious shrug.

Author's Note

First things first: Someone's probably going to point out the similarities between Bright Heart and Quibble Pants. Bright was an established OC of mine for like a year before Quibble showed up, and Bright's overall a better person so I kept him. Quibble is like, store brand Bright Heart.
Secondly, we'll be starting the Friendship Games Arc soon! I might post it in multiple chapters, due to some scenes.

Friendship Games Part I: The Past Repeats

Once again, it was the time of year for the Friendship Games. February was still a little too cold in Sunset’s opinion. While the first half was usually inside, most of the audience members envied the competitors since their exercise was keeping them warm. Oh well, at least she’d have the bodywarmth of the crowd.

She had never really paid attention to how the competitors were chosen. After all, only the Senior Class could compete, and she hadn’t expected to even be in this Dimension for her chance. But this year was a bit different, considering she qualified.

Not everyone could compete, even after it had been limited to the Seniors. They then narrowed it down only to students with higher grades or athletic ability, which dropped the pool to about half. After that, it was more like a popularity contest. Students voted on the twelve who would compete, and though ability was taken into account, people who were more likable tended to win no matter what.

Sunset wasn’t surprised to find that her friends all qualified in one way or another. Nor was she surprised when her own name showed up on the voting ballot. And of course she wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the girls and Flash all made it onto the team.

However, she was ridiculously confused as to how she made the team. For a moment she forgot about the strange person she saw near the portal, and found herself walking to the front office.

“Hello, Miss Shimmer,” the Principal greeted. “How can I-“

“How did I get on the team?” Sunset cut her off.

The Principal kept her calm, not quite as neutral as the Princess but not a visible reaction.

“I do not know what you mean,” the Principal said.

“I mean, how did I make the team for the Games?” Sunset repeated. “Did you or VP Luna rig this? And if so, does this have something to do with Magic? Do you expect me to use it to our advantage, or to keep the girls from ‘cheating’ with it?”

“Miss Shimmer, I assure you,” she began. “Those were the results. Though you do have a point about Magic interacting with the Games. I will have to talk with Luna over whether that could be considered cheating or not.”

“Well, depends on how we use it,” she answered. “I mean, I don’t think anything we would do normally would count as cheating unless it was sabotage and-wait, that’s not my point! If you hadn’t even thought about Magic, why am I on the list?”

“Really,” she gave a softer smile. “Is it really so out there to think that you got there on your own?”

“Yes,” she said, leaning forward on the desk. “I was very recently the most hated person in this school. And while I’ve made a lot of progress, not enough people would vote me in.”

“I will admit, you were barely on the team,” she said. “However, while you have not been popular with the students lately, you do have a lot to offer to winning the Games. You are one of our best in academics. I’d have to check the records on where you stand, but depending on how the rest of the year goes, you have a chance of being Valedictorian.”

“Really?” she wondered. “I didn’t think I-“

“And,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard her. “While you are not on any sports teams and finished your Gym credits a while ago, you are seen keeping up with Miss Dash, Miss Pie and Miss Applejack. Not to mention that perhaps the other students believe your Magic will give CHS and advantage.”

“I….” she sighed. “I guess. Sorry for thinking you rigged it.”

“That’s quite alright,” she smiled. “Now, do you have any other questions about the games?”

“One more,” she said. “Is it true that the last time CHS won was back when you were soccer captain?”

Dropping the smile into a thoughtful frown, Celestia tilted her head and stared. For a moment, Sunset felt like she asked the wrong question, like it was somehow too personal. It was far too familiar to ‘Celestia’, her Counterpart.

“Where did you hear that?” Celestia asked.

“I read it,” Sunset answered carefully. “Back when I first got here, I found an article from the online version of the school paper. Captain Spitfire said you had led them to victory, but even Applejack’s brother can’t remember us ever winning so that had to be the last time, right?”

“I believe it was,” she said. “Though do not take that wording to heart. While I was the soccer Captain back then, there were eleven other people on that team. I would not have made it without them.”

Despite the curiosity growing in her, she backed out of the room. There was something about the sad smile on her face, so much like the other Celestia. Part of her felt scared of that, of the memories she held onto for so long, and of what path prying into that look had sent her down. But another part of her wanted to find out.

Sunset ended up staying in the library a little longer before going to the pep rally. The computers were a bit outdated, and the site-blockers were very annoying, but the school’s website was easy to access.

This was a mistake, and she knew it. But she also knew that she could only go so far down a path, that she could stop herself, and that if she couldn’t that others could. Because Curiosity killed the cat, and because satisfaction brought it back.

School newspaper archives were easy to find, but scrolling back far enough was the real problem. It had been nearly ten years, and it wasn’t like the files listed headlines. She assumed it would probably be early February, and began there.

Eventually, she found the page she had been looking for. Celestia was closest to the camera, and the one who had been interviewed. But the other students on the team were just as interesting. She could see Luna in the group as well, and Discord, who looked kind of funny as it was before he had grown the beard.

Speaking of beards, there was a student who was the shortest of the bunch yet very familiar. Sunset couldn’t place him until she looked at the outfit, a dark blue coat patterned with stars and moons, and bells sewn onto the hem. Starswirl the Bearded, though a much younger Starswirl than the paintings in Equestria depicted. Even the famous beard was only in the beginning stages and made him look more like that guy who was too tired from cramming for finals to trust himself with a razor.

A few of the other people looked familiar as well. One looked a lot like Cadence, and she couldn’t figure out why another reminded her of Blueblood. There was another who was labeled with the name ‘Chrysalis’, but looked little like the Changeling Queen that Twilight once described.

The strangest part was last names. Last names were still strange to her, as Equestria didn’t have a system like that, but she had learned a bit about them. Usually sharing a last name meant they were part of a family, though occasionally there are coincidences.

But eight out of twelve competitors with the last name ‘Immortalem’? Hardly coincidence. Though it made sense, in some ways. After all, for the Princess to have niblings, there must be a sibling with children. She tried to recall old legends, like those of Nightmare Moon, looking for what was lost.

Sunset closed down the computer, not wanting to think about that. She told herself it was because she was going to be late for the pep rally. While it was true, it wasn’t right. This was getting too close to her past mistakes, to looking into the Princess's history. That's not a path she was ready to go down again.

She’d never been more thankful for a distraction before she passed Flash in the hall. Pushing everything else from her mind, she waved.

“Hey,” Flash greeted. “Think we’ll win the Games this year?”

“Let’s be optimistic,” Sunset said. “But I don’t think we can expect Magical help this time.”

“Take all the fun out of it,” he rolled his eyes. “That could be a good thing though. I mean, imagine if they actually did make Mario Party one of the events! Someone’s getting vaporized.”

“I can’t believe you remember that!” she snorted, playfully shoving him forward. “How do you remember that!?”

“That was an important day for me!” he protested, dropping to deadweight so that she was supporting him. “It was the day my life came together!”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure,” she rolled her eyes as she ducked out and let him drop. “The day you learn that bisexuality is a thing, and the most memorable moment is a one-off joke about Mario Party!”

He had been about to retort when there was a sound of knocking on a locker. Looking down the hall, they saw a teacher, one Sunset didn’t know the name of, standing there with a glare.

“No horseplay in the halls!” the teacher reprimanded.

They tried. They really tried not to snicker at that. But it took a half-second glance at the other for both teens to burst out laughing.

“Wha-I-just-“ the teacher sputtered upon realizing the accidental pun. “Just stop flirting or whatever it is you’re doing and get to the pep rally!”

They both made a face, but quieted down and headed down the hall. Despite her own reaction, she did wonder about his. Instead, she pushed it down.

“Wow,” Sunset laughed. “You date a guy for three years, and suddenly everyone thinks you’re flirting with him!”

“Does that actually bother you?” Flash asked. “People thinking we’re ‘together again’ or whatever?”

“No,” she answered. “Yes? Maybe. Does it bother you?”

“Not too much,” he said. “It could get annoying, but unless it actually caused problems-“

“Like ruining your love life?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But that’s not why it bothers you, is it?”

“No,” she sighed. “It’s just this dumb-ugh. It’s like, for obvious reasons I don’t want to actually date you, but when your reaction is immediate rejection, I’m concerned with whether it’s a general rejection or because of me.”

“You want to be more clear on that?” he asked.

“It’s just my brain being dumb,” she said. “I’m used to you not liking me, so my automatic reaction is to think ‘oh, he’d reject me because of that’ instead of the more rational ‘neither of us are into one another romantically’ thought. Either way it’s ridiculous, but when you spend so long with one mindset, it takes a while for things to click.”

“I get it,” he nodded. “Does it help if I assure you it’s just that I’m not romantically into you?”

“I think this is the only case it would,” she snickered.

“Well, it’s true,” he said. “This past fall aside, you’re practically family by now. And by ‘practically’ I mean in pretty much all but legality, since Goldie and Bramble would probably adopt you if they could. Too bad Unicorns don’t have legal records.”

“I…” she smiled. “Thanks. I bet I’m the big sister you always wanted.”

“You say that like you’re that much older,” he pouted.

“Well, I am older,” she stuck her tongue out.

“Well then, I’m taller!” he retorted.

“Not by much!” she defended.

“Because you wear heels all the time!” he said.

“I like my boots!” she said. “And not for the height. It’s actually since I’m more used to it since it almost mimics Pony anatomy when I walk. Not that it matters because age beats height!”

They both started to laugh again, but for a second, Flash froze.

“Oh my stars,” Flash said. “You know what I just realized?”

“That you’re in a losing battle?” Sunset guessed.

“No,” he shook his head. “We sound exactly like Discord and Principal Celestia.”

“I….” she stopped to think. “You’re not wrong. Okay, that’s it. We need to find a Luna to reign us in.”

“Someone younger and shorter than both of us who can call us idiots,” he agreed.

“Or to say she’s better than both of us anyway despite that,” she nodded.

“We need more friends that are shorter than us,” he said.

“Maybe you, but I’m actually tall for a Unicorn,” she said.

“And the cycle continues,” he sighed.

Author's Note

This went places. Mostly places that are part of the overall Continuity. AKA, this relates to other parts of this Universe and helps to connect them.

Friendship Games Part II: Games We Play

Right. Vice Principal Luna wants her to figure out how this world’s Magic works and keep it in check during the Friendship Games. Easier said than done, considering that the girls are starting to Pony Up without being part of the band.

Oddly enough, while the girls seemed to 'Pony Up' more often, it did seem as if the Magic was becoming more stable. She couldn't quite describe how she knew, it was something she could feel through the Magic itself, something that only she would know to look for. Even so, this level between stable and unstable wasn't ideal for 'keeping it in check'.

But at least for tonight, it was time for distressing under a pile of dog. She was going to go in, compete tomorrow, and do everything she can to keep things from blowing up in their faces.

Of course, sometimes the unexpected happens. Like the unpredictability of Twilight Sparkle.

“This is going to be a headache,” Sunset groaned as she leaned against the lockers.

“Gameplan going rapidly downhill?” Flash guessed.

“More than you can imagine,” Applejack nodded, leaning against the locker with her.

“Come on, it’s not that bad!” Pinkie insisted.

“Really?” Rarity sighed, still looking a little tired as she leaned against Applejack. “What would you call the Interdimensional Counterpart of a close friend being at Crystal Prep of all places?”

“A chance for a lot of new friends?” she replied.

“No offense Pinks,” Rainbow said. “But Twilight or not, we’re currently her rivals which isn’t really good for friendship.”

“Well, Sunset was her rival and now she’s a friend,” Fluttershy defended.

“What’s going on?” Flash interrupted.

"This world’s Twilight is on Crystal Prep’s team,” Sunset clarified. “Which means that we’re playing against her. And she seems to be investigating something or other but I can’t figure it out yet.”

“Wait,” he frowned. “Glasses and hair in a bun, right?”

“You ran into her?” she asked.

“She might’ve wandered around,” he nodded. “So half the school probably confused her by saying hi. And she probably thinks I’m a complete tool.”

“Thought she was our usual Twi and started flirting?” she smiled.

“Like you wouldn’t do the same!” he defended.

“Possibly,” she shrugged. “Let’s hope she doesn’t completely destroy us in the Games.”

“Do you really think she’d be that bad?” Fluttershy asked.

“Maybe,” she mused. “Not maliciously, but again, we are her competition. And we definitely aren’t her friends yet. She has no reason to hold back.”

“Well, we won’t hold back either,” Rainbow agreed. “We’re going to win the Games, and then we can do the usual Friendship thing.”

“Or do it during the Games,” Pinkie suggested. “Since, you know, that’s the point of 'Friendship Games'!”

While they debated over what to do, Sunset thought up her own plan. She knew one person who could help her figure out Magic and also help handle this Twilight. Well, she knew one Pony.

This was bad. This was very very bad. Not only did the Portal seem to disappear, but her Magic had been messed with. Drained. That wasn’t too much of a problem, she could replenish her energy with food and rest. But it was the fact that her Magic had been drained in the first place was the concerning part.

She’d wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible, but the culprit, the other Twilight had run off before she could figure it out. After that, she’d been dragged away by Rarity to put on the new outfits for the pre-game get together in the gym. At least there she’d have a chance to figure things out.

Sunset could handle this. She had to. The others were looking for her to lead, and without access to Princess Twilight she couldn’t even get any guidance there. Making her way through the gym, she found this world’s Twilight.

“Twilight,” Sunset said, getting the girl’s attention. “What have you been up to?”

“Me?” this Twilight shrank back a bit. “O-oh, I was just, uh-“

“Who wants to know?” a blue-haired Shadowbolt cut her off, getting in Sunset’s face.

“Um, we do!” Rainbow answered, getting in the girl’s face.

Sunset watched as it devolved into the usual school rivalry. But more importantly, she watched Twilight. She was strange, acting little like the one she knew. The way she shrank back and hid away was more like Fluttershy on a bad day.

The only other one not getting caught up in the rivalry was Pinkie, who instead nudged Sunset’s side before sliding over to Twilight. At least she could try and talk to her.

Whatever was happening was definitely because of that other Twilight. Acting strange or not, she was draining their Magic energy and had disrupted the Portal. The only question was why? What was the point of that?

It would be difficult to do anything about it until after the first round of the Games, so Sunset opted instead for sticking to playing the game, so to speak.

As expected, Twilight did just as well as she did during the academic parts. Better, in fact. Sunset slipped somewhere on the math. She’d started to go over the equation when she remembered that there were more important things. She ran off stage in time to see Flash seemingly strike out.

“Well, she won’t even talk to me,” Flash sighed as she walked up.

“To be fair, I think she has something else on her mind,” Sunset frowned, watching the girl walk off. “You’re not actually going to try and flirt with her just because she looks like Princess Twilight, right?”

“I’m a teenage boy but I have some self-control,” he pouted. “At this point I’m just being a friend. She looked like she needed it.”

“I was half-joking,” she sighed.

“I know,” he elbowed her side. “But you’re also kinda right. I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t pretty, but I get that she’s not the Twilight we know, even if it’s taking a little longer to see it.”

“But you do see the differences, right?” she asked. “She’s not….. confident.”

“You’ve seen how Crystal Prep is,” he said. “It’s hard to be confident without support. I know you’re worried about what she might be dong, but you can balance that with being a friend.”

“You’re right,” she said. “But that’s what scares me.”

“Being a friend?” he asked.

“Her lack of friends,” she clarified, shaking her head. “Friends can help you, encourage you to reach for your dreams, but they’re also there to keep you in check. It’s obvious she’s trying to do something with our Magic, but if there’s no one to remind her of the limits, she could end up like I was.”

“Do you really think that?” he asked.

“Somewhat,” she said. “As she is now, her mindset’s a bit better. Hopefully the lack of confidence keeps her in check until we can talk to her, but if something other than confidence pushes her over the limit…”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Well, best way to cut that off is start the friendship part early.”

“I’ll gather the girls,” she said. “We’ll try friendship, but we need a backup plan as well.”

The triathlon was a disaster zone. Twilight’s device had drained Applejack’s Magic, and sent everything haywire. Miniature portals popped into existence, bringing plant creatures that had to be from Everfree.

At least the danger had been contained. With Rainbow distracting the plants, most of the crowd had been able to evacuate the stands. By the time Sunset crossed the finish line, winning a point for CHS in the process, the portals had disappeared as well.

And that freaked her out. She didn’t know what this world’s Magic was doing now, and even if she did, how was she supposed to do anything about Portals? Especially with her Magic getting drained? Any of them could’ve gotten hurt, or worse.

“Um, excuse me?”

Sunset looked over to where the girl, the other Twilight, was, and her skin bristled. She tried not to be mad, because while a Counterpart could be different, it was still Twilight at heart. Whatever she was trying to do, it wasn’t what happened.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” Twilight began. “I just wanted to learn about the strange energy coming from you school. I didn’t know that it was Magic, or… how it works.”

“That’s okay,” Rainbow shrugged, instinctively stepping forward to comfort. “Neither do we.”

The device around her neck began glowing, and Sunset watched in fear as Rainbow’s Magic drained into it. Without thinking, she ran and caught her as she fell. Why was this happening?

“I’m sorry!” Twilight shouted, trying to get a handle on the device. “It just started absorbing energy on its own! But I’m not sure how!”

“What do you mean you don’t know how?!” Sunset shouted.

She tried to close the device as well, but it shot a beam into the sky. Above them, another Portal opened, this one thankfully somewhere less dangerous than Everfree.

“It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear!” Twilight continued. “But I don’t know how that works either!”

She didn’t know. There was no grand plan or anything, she was just too curious for her own good. And perhaps that was better. But instead, it hit far too close to home for Sunset.

She knew exactly what happened when you messed with Magic you didn’t understand, and especially when you messed with this Magic without the best intentions. And while a rational part of her said ‘this isn’t your Twilight, she doesn’t know how Magic works’, another part of her said ‘she should’ve been safer’.

Because even though she’d decided to forgo safe experimentation, she didn’t stop messing with it, even after seeing it had bad effects on them. But above all, because of what could have happened. And maybe that was hypocritical, considering her past, but she’d been too far gone when she realized what happened, while this still had a chance.

“Is there anything you do know?!” Sunset snapped. “Like how to stop this? Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?!”

“Equestria?” Twilight muttered, shrinking back again.

“You’re supposed to be so smart!” she said, grabbing and closing the device. “But did you ever think you shouldn’t be messing around with things you don’t understand?!”

“But I want to understand!” she insisted, a small burst of confidence pushing forth.

“But you don’t!” she shouted. “And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!”

Sunset didn’t realize how loud she’d been, how angry, until after the girl ran off with whispered apologies. Rainbow’s hand was on her shoulder, not as reprimand but as comfort, but she still felt terrible. While she needed someone to tell her exactly how far down the rabbit hole she was going, a rant full of rage probably wasn’t the best.

Then again, it was her own fault too. If she could figure out this world’s Magic better, figure out how to Stabilize it, then none of this would’ve happened. She tried to stop her thoughts from going further, from pointing out how Magic in this world at all was her fault.

She just hoped she could stop this, before anyone else made her mistakes.

Friendship Games Part III: Inferno

Sunset had thought it would be fine, that she could fix things with this Twilight as soon as the Games were over. It would be fine.

But then she felt it, when Twilight had stepped up, ready for the next round in the Games. She felt it in how scared she looked. Terrified not of Sunset, but of her Team, of her Principal. The way they looked at her, not of encouragement but like a sort of hunger that made her breath hitch in her throat.

Sunset realized too late what the tingle in her fingers meant, the moment it turned into a cold electricity down her spine. Surging forward, she tried to stop it, she had to stop it, but the energy blast knocked her off her feet.

Everything froze as the girl rose up from the ground, a ball of Magic glowing in her hands. She struggle, cried, screamed for help, but Sunset couldn’t get her legs to move. She wasn't sure if she could feel what the girl felt, or if she was only feeling the ghost of her own pain. Either way, she knew what was happening, what would come next.

It was not a Demon that burst forth, but a Dark Angel, though the differences were only in physicality. Gleefully mad with Magic was a term that could be used to describe her. Her smile just a bit too wide, her teeth just a bit too sharp, hair going wild and eyes aglow.

Within seconds, the girl destroyed a statue and sent a blast at her. Sunset barely thought to dodge it, watching as Portals opened up to places all over Equestria. Students panicked and ran as more Portals opened, but some stayed frozen in place.

Sunset was one of the ones left frozen. She stared as the world literally began to fall apart. Despite fear and pain, she pushed through and walked up to the source of the destruction.

“Twilight! You can’t do this!” Sunset called up to her.

“Why not?” the girl grinned maniacally back at her as she opened another Portal. “There’s a whole world right there, and it’s just filled with magic!”

“But you’re destroying this world to get it!” she shouted.

“So what?” she wondered. “There’s more Magic there, and I want to understand it all!”

Sunset dodged another blast, jumping to the side. Landing hard, she opened her eyes to see the device Twilight had used earlier. As much as she wanted to chuck it through a window, she was more focused on the portal opening up from where they’d been and the people in danger of falling in.

Her friends had grabbed those that fell, though even they were barely holding on. She watched other students surge forward to help, school rivalry quickly snuffed by a need to help others. By budding Friendships that would’ve existed if it hadn’t been for this stupid competition turning them against one another.

It was then that she felt that tingle in her fingertips again. As the device she picked up went wild, she saw her friends all feel the same thing, saw them all glow. Magic. The Magic of Friendship coming through the need to protect, to keep friends, partners, family, and even strangers from being hurt.

She knew what to do. Holding the device tighter, she turned back to the girl floating above her.

“This isn’t the way!” Sunset shouted. “I know you feel powerful right now, like you can have everything you want! I’ve been where you are, I’ve made the same mistake you’re making! I put on a crown and, just like you, I was overwhelmed by the Magic it contained! I thought it could get me everything I wanted!”

“Oh, you’re wrong,” the girl shouted back. “Unlike you, I can have everything I want!”

“No, you can’t,” she said. “Even with all that Magic power, you’ll still be alone!”

Sunset held up the device, and let her own Magic go wild. Her friend’s Magics reacted, melding with hers, bursting into a thrumming heartbeat that matched her own. She called out each Element as she felt it well up within her.

Kindness was care. It was warm soup and holding someone close in the night. Soft, but a firm shove that you need, belief that you can do anything.

Honesty was blunt, straightforward. It was words bubbling up in her throat and spilling from her mouth. It was trusting someone with the truth, confiding Dreams and Fears.

Loyalty was fierce, fighting to protect those you love, and the ruthlessness of that protection. But it is also Family, feeling safe in their presence.

Generosity was a gift itself, things given without thought of personal gain and chosen through Love. Time and Energy given to others for nothing, no matter how long it takes.

Laughter was happiness. It’s a song in your ears that resonates through your soul, smells and tastes that make you smile. It is the thing that chases away the Nightmares and cheers you up on a bad day.

Friendship was everything, the Spark and the Fire it lit. Love of all kinds, of Family and Friends and Romance, even of Self. It’s the potential that every stranger brings, and a bond that transcends Time, Space, and Dimensions.

“I understand you, Twilight,” Sunset said. “And I want to show you the most important Magic of all….The Magic of Friendship!”

The device was smashed to the ground, pieces scattering to who knows where. Magic welled up in her. It was not a thrumming heartbeat or a fire, but the roar of an Inferno.

The Magic had transformed her, though she couldn’t tell how. She felt her Pony ears, even if she was sure the wildness of her hair would hide them anyway. But there was more, her horn existed as well, glowing brightly with Magic, as did wings made of flame, Magic Fire.

She held her Magic, wielding it far more calmly than the other girl. She reached out with it, sending it to close the Portals around the school. She felt the students' fear settle, knowing that she was fighting back.

The girl rushed at her, but Sunset put up her own Magic to block her. Both staggered back before the girl sent a blast of energy. Returning her own Magic, Sunset fought on.

But it wasn’t quite enough. Perhaps it was because the other girl had a power boost from the Portal, or perhaps it was because the other girl had no hesitation. Sunset knew all too well that Dark Magic tended not to care if someone got hurt, while she was still trying to keep it even.

Then the girl faltered. It was just a second, but was enough. It was Twilight’s hesitation, realizing she did not want to do this.

Sunset pushed her Magic forward, trusting in it. It was her Magic, her Friendship. It was a power that could do anything, except harm. Something made of Love could never hurt.

She was met with a white void. So familiar, having been here twice before. Yet this time, the emotions she felt were different.

The feelings of Friendship were still there, but so was everything they stood against. Fear, betrayal, hopelessness. All of it emanating from the girl in front of her. The scene was far too familiar, though the roles were in some ways reversed. Continuing the familiarity, she sent her own emotions into the void, and offered her hand.

“Take my hand, Twilight,” Sunset said. “Let me show you there’s another way, just like someone did for me.”

Fighting through hesitation, Twilight took her hand. Sunset’s Magic surged, calming all the emotions that the Dark Magic fed off. As the void cut out, she used the last of her Magic on a healing spell, knowing all too well how Dark Magic leaves other scars.

A new friend, and a few disasters diverted. All in all, a pretty typical day for your typical Interdimensional Unicorn. Perhaps Sunset was getting too used to this, but a picnic lunch with the girl who, just a few hours ago, had been mad with Magic and tearing this Dimension apart was just the sort of thing you get used to.

Other things a typical Interdimensional Unicorn gets used to, is a typical Interdimensional Alicorn Princess suddenly bursting through the Portal to interrupt said picnic.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner!” Princess Twilight exclaimed. “I didn’t get your messages until just now because I was caught in this time travel loop and, honestly, it was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to me!”

Sunset smirked, watching her face fall into shock at the other Twilight. The rest of the girls, being so very used to this, just kept eating.

“Make that the second strangest,” Twilight said with a small chuckle.

Author's Note

Friendship Games Arc is over!! Oh, but don't worry, even though we've reached Inferno, we'll still have more. After all, we have to get to Midnight and the LoE Arc.
That said, there is something weird happening here. So, I have various other stories, all part of the same continuity. Both Lack of a Reflection and Returning Home take place right after Friendship Games, aka, right after this chapter. So the next chapter will skip to right after those, and give a small summary in case you don't want to stop and read them like I did with Anon-A-Miscommunication.
However, at the time of posting this Returning Home is unfinished. I know how it will go, but some chapters aren't posted yet. And the next chapter of this will be, in some ways, a major spoiler. It's kind of weird, but I don't want to put this story on hiatus until I can write the rest of RH, because that has at least four chapters to go. I mean, it's not like I'm writing this continuity in chronological order, so technically one story always spoils another but you know?

It's Never Pointless

Author's Note

I mentioned it in the last author's note, but inbetween last chapter and this chapter is the events of both Lack of a Reflection and Returning Home. They're not necessary reading, but they give further context.

It's Never Pointless

It was strange to say that only a week had passed since the Friendship Games. Then again, Sunset hadn’t even been in her own house since the night after. No, she had to end up going on a roadtrip, meeting her Interdimensional Counterpart and said Counterpart’s girlfriend, while accidentally helping the cops catch a local crime lord. Oh, and she almost forgot the fact that she helped Pinkie meet her Counterpart’s girlfriend’s sister, who was now Pinkie’s girlfriend. Apparently.

And that had just been the weekend. She’d spent the last few days back in Equestria, making new friends and fixing old relationships. She hadn’t even been home long enough to pick her dog up from Fluttershy’s place, though she did decide that Rhea would have to wait until the morning, which she was sure would make Philomena truly reconsider staying with her again.

For a while, she stared at the journals in front of her. There was the original, of course, but three new ones as well.

The first was for Twilight and her friends, Sunset's friends too, now that she’d met them. She couldn’t go to Equestria all the time, and even though she suspected that Pinkie would just pop over whenever she wanted, this gave them a way to talk.

The second was for family. The book’s other half would be with Lance and Flare, but she could have them forward messages to her parents. That one already had a few pages used.

The third was nearly a duplicate of the original. One for Celestia. Though both admitted it would be used the least and perhaps not even necessary, she was still given the option.

But it was this third one that scared her, that confused her. In the end, she needed to talk to someone. The question is who? Philomena nipped at her ear comfortingly, but Sunset decided she needed a Human to talk to, someone who understood a little better. Not that she’d tell the bird. Poor dear could get a bit jealous.

In the end, she decided on the one who knew the least, despite the forgiveness. The number in her phone was almost second nature by this point.

“Hello?” Flash’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Hey,” Sunset swallowed. “Uh, can-can you come over today?”

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “I just need someone to talk to. I…. It’s not ‘bad’, but I think…. I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Already in the car,” he said.

Hanging up, she took one last look at the books before heading back downstairs. Everything was too quiet.

She sat in the chair, waiting. Philomena tried to be comforting, perched on the back of the chair and occasionally giving her a gentle tap with a wing.

Philomena heard him first, looking to the door and squawking softly. At this point, he didn’t need to knock. Sunset gave an effort for a half-smile, but Flash was focused a little higher.

“When did you get a bird?” Flash asked.

“Her name’s Philomena,” Sunset said. “She’s…. an old friend.”

Philomena ruffled her feathers and squawked in annoyance.

“You are too old,” Sunset retorted. “I know for a fact you went through a Rebirth while I was away.”

“It’s a Magic bird from Equestria?” Flash guessed.

“A Phoenix,” she clarified.

Philomena hopped off her perch and flew over to Flash’s shoulder. He was more than a little uncomfortable, especially as he probably didn’t expect her to be so warm. The bird didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, she poked at the side of his face before turning back to Sunset, tilting her head, and then nodding emphatically.

“Mena, you know my type,” Sunset said, giving the bird a deadpan stare. “You really think that’s changed now?”

The Phoenix seemed to shrug.

“What’d she ask?” Flash asked. “And how can you understand her?”

“She asked if you were my boyfriend,” Sunset said. “Again, no. As for understanding, some of it is Magical. She’s a Familiar, which means there’s a Magic Bond between us. It’s not a direct translation, more like I get a feeling and my mind fills in the blanks.”

“Magic is still so weird,” he said, cautiously raising a hand to pet the Phoenix.

“I bet,” she sighed. “Mena, do you think you could leave us alone for a bit?”

The Phoenix tilted her head again.

“Not like that,” she huffed. “You’re worse than Rainbow. Seriously, Mena…”

Nodding, the Phoenix hopped over to a windowsill, tapping on the glass.

“Fine,” she said. “I know you can handle any creatures around here, but don’t agitate the machinery.”

Philomena seemed to roll her eyes, but did nod in understanding. After letting her out, Sunset sat back on the couch, everything coming back to the forefront.

As she wondered where to start, Flash sat next to her. She debated about what to say, or if she should say anything at all. But this was… she needed to talk. Maybe it would help.

“What’s going on?” Flash asked.

“I…” Sunset swallowed. “I went back. To… to Equestria.”

“Pinkie mentioned that,” he nodded. “Well, I think it was Pinkie.”

“Please tell me they didn’t both go to school,” she sighed.

“Both Lyras too,” he nodded. “Though at least those two figured out a ‘which is which’ system.”

“I can only imagine what they got up to,” she said.

“And while they were here, what did you get up to?” he asked.

Even though that was the point of all this, she hesitated. Because part of her wanted to push it all down. She wanted to just tell him about meeting the girls counterparts, or her family, or even the less expected meetings. But she couldn't.

“A lot,” she answered. “I got to see my family, even a little sister I didn’t know about. And I made some new friends, even if most of them were just the Pony versions of my friends here.”

“Did you meet the other me?” he asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “I didn’t go up that way. But…. How much have I told you about everything? About why I left?”

“Some,” he said. “I haven’t pushed, because you didn’t seem ready to talk about it with me. But you mentioned being a gifted Spellcaster and student to a Princess.”

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s… her name was Celestia, our Principal’s Counterpart. She’s different from the Principal in many ways, but most are Magical. She’s Immortal, and she controls the Sun. That feels wrong to say. It’s more like she is the Sun itself, its Magic condensed into a consciousness. She doesn’t just rule the country, she keeps the cycle of Day and Night.”

“Wow,” he breathed. “I can’t even imagine something like that.”

“Even for Equestria, it’s easy to forget,” she said. “It’s easier for older Ponies, since they can look back and say ‘she hasn’t aged since I was a foal!’. It’s easy to forget that she’s a little more than two thousand.

“But it also makes it harder to remember she’s a Pony,” she said. “Even just being the Princess, there’s this level of separation. The same way we can forget that celebrities are real people, we forget that she is as well. But combined with the fact that, while she refuses the title for several reasons, she’s one of the closest things to a ‘god’ we have, it becomes harder to see a Pony there.”

“And you had her as a teacher,” he said. “Did that change your perspective?”

“Somewhat,” she said.

Her hands shook, and she clasped them together to make it stop. A nervous habit she’d forgotten in years of being in this world was absentmindedly playing with the Magic around her. Now that feeling sprung back up, running through spells but never actually casting one.

“You can see it with the Principal, right?” Sunset said. “There are times where she’s being the Principal, because it’s her job. She smiles, or frowns, because it’s what a Principal is supposed to do. But there are other times where you can see her as a person, usually with Luna or Discord. And you can tell that she’d be a great friend if you got to know her like that.”

“I hadn’t thought about it,” Flash admitted.

“The Princess was an extreme of that,” she said. “Smiles that never met her eyes, reprimands not because she was upset or disappointed but because it was what she was supposed to do. And-and compliments when I did well because that’s what you say when your student masters a spell. But it never felt genuine.”

“Maybe I would’ve been okay with that,” she continued. “She was a teacher and a Princess, after all. But I saw those small moments, moments I now understand, where I saw the Pony. Most of the time, she was sad. But I began to see her almost as two Ponies, ‘The Princess’ and ‘Celestia’. And with every small slip, I wanted to know more about ‘Celestia’.

“But I couldn’t get through to her. Nothing I did worked. And at some point, I thought it was because I wasn’t a Princess. And that led to the conclusion that I had to become a Princess too. So I pushed everyone else away, I studied everything I could and mastered every spell, and more than once I got into a fight with someone who thought I couldn’t do it. I pushed everyone else away, even my family, just for a chance to get that.

“For years I got stuck in a loop of ‘I’m not good enough’ and ‘why the hell aren’t I enough?’. I got lost along the way, of what the point of it all was, but I ended up being desperate enough to break into the Dark Magic section of the library. Of course the Princess found out, and we fought before she kicked me out. The portal was open, so I ran through it here.”

“Sunset, that’s….” Flash stopped for a moment. “Wait, I met you in Freshman year. How long-“

“Six years,” she swallowed. “I was thirteen when I came here. I was ten when all of this started. It’s why…. You asked ‘what it was all for’, everything that led up to the Fall Formal. It was all for that.”

“How?” he asked. “Well, more like why?”

“Because I thought I could,” she said. “Because as much as I loved being around you and everyone, I couldn’t be happy if I had to hide thirteen years of my life from you. And because of Twilight. She got everything I’d wanted. She was able to do things that made Celestia truly happy, and she became Princess because of it.”

“So you figured if you could do the same, you could have that,” he guessed.

“Yeah,” she said. “But the problem was that the Magic of Friendship is just that, Friendship. We’ve said it before, but there are several ‘Elements’; Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Kindness, all combined to create Friendship, to create Magic.”

Perhaps she was stalling for time, but she stood up. Flash took her hand, almost as if keeping her from running. Taking a shaky breath, she tried to hold together a bit longer. She tried to give a reassuring expression, though it didn’t seem to have warned.

“This is going to be awkward,” Sunset warned. “Because it involves taking off my shirt, but there’s something you need to see.”

“I trust you,” Flash responded.

Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, he let her go. With little hesitation, she began to pull up the edge of her top. She almost laughed when he looked away, reminded of Humans and their weird clothing culture. It did little to help her nerves, but it did some.

The blue fabric caught her hair for a moment, but she quickly pulled it free. To spare him a little bit, she kept the shirt on her arms, covering her front. Though she quickly realized how cold it felt, having not properly turned the heater on earlier due to Philomena’s body heat.

Her legs felt like they might give out, so she opted to sit back down, turning so that he could see her back. Words stuck in her throat, though she doubted he fared much better.

She jumped a little, feeling his hand on her back. After a moment, he tentatively ran a finger down the length of the scar.

“When…” Flash asked, despite knowing the answer.

“The… The Fall Formal,” Sunset choked out. “Dark Magic is just like the Magic of Friendship, running on emotions. When I used it, I became everything I’d done, everything I’d felt. A transformation like that leaves scars.”

“Does it hurt?” he asked softly.

“Not anymore,” she said. “I forget it’s there most times. But I needed you to know it’s there. Because I need to talk about what happened when I went home… When I saw the Princess again.”

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, tugging her shirt back on. “But I have to try.”

“You know I’m here for you,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said. “When I went back, I didn’t know what to expect from her. Even Twilight’s assurances sounded strange. ‘She was concerned about you’, ‘she was glad to hear you were okay’. While I knew she cared for Twilight, and could be genuine with her, I couldn’t fathom her being like that to me.

“And then I met her,” she continued, breath turning shakier. “She-she hugged me, told me she was proud of how far I came. She- she was crying, happy crying, because of me. And it was so… so different. Because it wasn’t like she’d changed how she acted or what she said. All of that fit with what I remembered. But this time, it was real. And honestly it freaked me the hell out.”

“Isn’t… Isn’t that a good thing?” he asked. “Or are you upset because it’s what you wanted?”

“Neither,” she choked out, shaking her head. “Because I asked her. I had to know why. What had I done that made her change? What could I have done differently back then? Not in the ‘don’t be a dick’ way, because I know I made a lot of bad decisions, but in what she had wanted for me, what would have made her proud back then and I-“

She stopped, a sob bursting forth. As tears began to fall, Flash pulled her close to him. She tried keeping calm enough to talk, letting him gently run his fingers through her hair.

“It-it wasn’t me,” she said. “It was just- can you imagine Immortality? Everyone she ever cares about will die long before her. And the three other Immortals? One ran off to who the hell knows where, one was trapped in stone, and one banished to the Moon! All for things that she blames herself for! And that was a thousand years ago! Can you imagine that? Not only watching everyone you love die, but the only ones who were able to stick by you had to leave because of what you did? Or what you didn’t do?”

“No,” he whispered. “I can’t.”

“But that’s her life,” she sobbed. “And when that’s your life, you figure out how to go on. For her, she became detached. At first it was just refusing to connect with anyone, but over time she was unable to connect. And it wasn’t until a combination of me leaving, her losing a nephew, Twilight becoming her new student, and the realization that Luna could come back to her that made her get some actual help. As in a legit therapist that got her to connect again.

“But that’s the problem!” she shouted, her breath coming in gasps. “There wasn’t-there wasn’t anything I could’ve done! I was ten! I was fucking ten years old! By the time I ran away I was thirteen! I was a kid!I was just a kid trying my best, and I thought it was my fault! And sure, I did some shitty things, a lot of shitty things, but I wouldn’t’ve gotten to the point where I did that if it weren’t for that!

“And I just-just-I can’t blame her. She wasn’t doing it to hurt me. She wasn’t even doing it on purpose. And I know that I could've made better choices. But I was just a kid that ended up alone in another Dimension and torn apart by Dark Magic because I was trying for the impossible!”

She stopped trying to hold back, letting herself crumble into full sobs. Breaths that had been gasps seemed to stop. All thought seemed to stop as she shuddered. She felt like she might be sick from how intensely she cried.

There was barely any awareness. She was aware of how she felt, and of some rational part saying ‘pull yourself together’. And she was aware of Flash still there, speaking kind words and giving comfort.

She wasn’t quite sure when it stopped, when sobs became sniffs. Despite the pain in her throat, she knew her voice had returned.

“It-it feels pointless,” Sunset whispered. “Everything that led me here, was for the impossible. And while I’m glad I got to meet everyone in this Dimension, even with the bad circumstances, it feels pointless.”

“I don’t think it was,” Flash said.

Gently, he pushed her upright. Before she could protest his hands were on either side of her face, turning her to him.

“Let me ask you something,” Flash began. “If, back when you began as her student, Princess Celestia had told you outright that she had this problem, explained that it was difficult for her to emotionally connect with you, would you have stopped trying?”

“No,” Sunset answered without hesitation.

“Then there’s your answer,” he said. “Maybe knowing would have made you make better choices, but no matter what, you would’ve tried to be her friend, because it would’ve made both of you happy if you succeeded. And that isn’t pointless, even if it failed.”

“Do you really think that?” she asked.

“I know so,” he said. “It’s not the same, but it’s how I feel with us. Yes, everything you said and felt was real, but you couldn’t consider me, or anyone here, a friend because you couldn’t tell us about Equestria.”

“But that’s not because of-“ she began.

“I know it’s different,” he said. “But we couldn’t fully be friends until you told me about everything. But those three years, everything we did, even though it was impossible to be friends, I don’t find it pointless.”

“I….” she sighed. “Thanks. And I’m sorry for not telling you about Equestria before everything.”

“I get why you didn’t,” he said. “If I ended up in your world, I probably would’ve done the same. And while it would be great if we could’ve met under much better circumstances, it’s in the past. And short of doing some time travel shenanigans you can’t change that.”

She didn’t respond for a moment.

“Please tell me you’re not considering some kind of time travel spell,” he sighed.

“No…” she mused. “Maybe a bit. Not in the serious way, but in the ‘I wonder what that Timeline is like’ way.”

“Can I just point out the fact that we’re causally discussing Time travel?” he asked. “Because I was joking, but you sound like there’s an easily accessible spell for that.”

“Well, not easily accessible,” she said. “I’d have to pick a few brains to figure out the version that would let me go back more than a week, and that would involve going through Twilight so-“

“Wait,” he cut her off. “I’m going to stop questioning that before I get hit with the realization that this is my life now. Oh, too late.”

“Yeah yeah,” she snickered. “Seriously, bad decisions or not, I’m glad we ended up here.”

“Me too,” he nodded. “Do you want me to stay?”

“If you’re not supposed to be home,” she said.

“I’ll text Bramble,” he shrugged. “For now, I think you should let your bird in.”

“Huh?” she replied.

Of course, that was the moment she heard tapping on the window. Looking up, Philomena was on the other side of the glass. The bird had a look that almost said ‘you cool now, or do you want me to let you have more alone time?’. She knew what she meant, but Sunset made a note to herself to make sure she understood.

“Can you let her in?” Sunset asked, heading to the kitchen. “I’ll get us something to eat. Preferably warm. Are you in the mood for tea or hot chocolate?”

“Chocolate,” Flash answered, heading to the window. “Also, did you just ask me to ‘give you the bird’.”

She rolled her eyes, even with a smile playing across her face.

The Mystery of Closets

As she got to know this Twilight more, Sunset realized that comparing her to Fluttershy was a little accurate. It was more like if Fluttershy and Princess Twilight fused together.

With a group of friends supporting her, she was more confident. But she didn’t take the lead, and if someone questioned her she went into a mumbled ramble of her thought process interspaced with apologies. While she knew Princess Twilight could have her anxieties, she was much more confident in her ability that they weren’t as much of a hindrance.

Princess Twilight would worry about terrible outcomes, but fight tooth and nail to stop that bad outcome. This Twilight seemed to freeze in her tracks. It was so strange, having met multiple Counterparts to find one so different. The closest she had seen to such differences were the Celestias, as the Principal could connect emotionally, but that was because Sunset met her in the Recovery Stage. And even then, the Princess was much closer than she had been when Sunset first left her.

At first, she thought Twilight’s differences might be because of what had happened. Because of what the group had officially titled ‘Midnight Sparkle’. But when she mentioned it to Spike, he said this was pretty normal for her.

Even so, the group did keep an eye out. Sunset knew that the girl had nightmares the night after the games, though that was only because Princess Twilight had been with her and asked if Sunset went through the same. She didn’t know if the nightmares continued. She hadn’t when they were in the hotel, but that could have been because no one really got much sleep.

If it were anyone else, she’d ask. But Princess Twilight suggested that, if it were her, she’d want them to wait until she was ready to talk. So she promised herself that she’d only bring it up if it became a real problem. Like if her lack of sleep caused problems. Then again, Twilight seemed like someone who was used o functioning on no sleep. Stars, that girl probably had her blood replaced with coffee by now.

“So, uh,” Twilight began, “Why did you decide to… to use Magic for this?”

Sunset looked up from one of the many suitcases Rarity had packed. Twilight was sitting on the other side of the room, oddly without a dog as Fluttershy had offered to take Spike and Rhea out for a walk.

“Because it’s a lot easier,” Sunset said. “I mean, this world’s Magic has stabilized enough to give me my horn back when we ‘Pony Up’. Why shouldn’t I use it?”

“But you…” Twilight trailed off. “You’re uh, just packing for the trip.”

“True,” Applejack nodded, catching something Rarity chucked out of the closet. “But knowing Rares, this would take her forever.”

“You’re absolutely right!” Rarity said, poking out of the closet to put something in Sunset’s telekinetic grasp. “Friends help, but an extra pair of hands comes in handy!”

“Well, there’s that,” Sunset admitted. “And the fact that I was thinking about putting a Hammerspace spell on a suitcase or two. You know, so that your stuff can actually fit on the bus.”

“Are you saying I could, in theory, bring my entire workshop?” she asked, eyes lighting up.

“Well, maybe not the whole thing,” she said. “I mean, the downsides to tying Hammerspace to an object means you’re limited to what you can fit through the ‘entrance’. So a few bolts of fabric would be fine, but the sewing machine and mannequins wouldn’t fit. And you’re also a bit more limited on space, as you need to be able to reach in to grab things easily.”

“So just a few suitcases,” Pinkie clarified.

“Is there a way to unlimit it?” Rarity asked, all too obvious in her thought process.

“Sort of,” she said. “Tying Hammerspace to an object is a lot harder than using the spell directly. Either way, it depends on your own Magic ability for how much you have, but you can put objects of any size inside as long as there’s room.”

“You know what?” Rainbow sighed as she walked back in. “I don’t even want to know what you’re talking about. But look what I found!”

She held up an occupied hanger. It was a deep pink sleeveless dress, with a tiered skirt and a purple and white sash tied into a bow around the waist. Most girls in the room tilted their heads.

“Is that Twilight’s dress?” Applejack asked.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Other Twilight,” Rarity clarified. “And it is. I found it back in here after the Fall Formal. How it ended up here when she went through the Portal in it, I have no idea. The stranger thing is that her other outfit stayed too, but when she showed up the last two times she was wearing it again!”

“You’re telling me,” Sunset muttered. “After the band competition, I found her bra in my couch cushions. But when she came through the other week, she definitely had a new one.”

“Wait,” Pinkie said. “Why was her bra in your couch cushions?”

“And how do you know it was hers?” Rainbow asked, giving her a smirk.

“W-well, I, uh,” Sunset stammered, feeling her face heat up. “I-I don’t exactly know why it was there, but I found it because…. Well…. Okay technically…. Technically Flash found it.”

“That’s beautiful!” she snorted with laughter.

“No it’s not!” Twilight protested.

“Come on, it’s a bit funny,” Applejack snickered.

“I…” she sighed. “It’s weird because she’s the other me, so… you know?”

“I get it,” Rainbow said, putting one arm around her while the other waved the dress around. “It’s personal because it’s other you, but it’s also not you so you can laugh!”

“That still leaves one question,” Pinkie frowned. “How’d you know it was Princess Twilight’s?”

“Did she have a specific reason to take it off?” Rarity asked, having a particularly Rainbow-like smirk as she did.

“Just the sleepover,” Sunset said. “And I knew it was hers because it wasn’t mine, and it was too big for you, Rainbow or Flutters, but too small for Pinkie or AJ. And the only other person to be in my house was Flash, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t his either.”

“You never know,” Rainbow said. “It could be.”

“And now I’m going to have that visual in my head for all eternity,” she sighed. “Can we get back to packing?”

“You’re right,” Rarity sighed dramatically. “We do still have a lot to do. Pack that dress though, we might need it.”

“We’re going camping,” Applejack said, giving her a look. “We’re going to be in the woods. No one’s going to need a dress.”

“So you say,” she replied, waving her hand dismissively. “But if we did need a dress, wouldn’t you rather we had one?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “Maybe there’ll be a need for emergency cross-dressing.”

“Ugh…”Sunset groaned. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Never,” she grinned.

Author's Note

We're coming up on the LoE arc pretty quick, but that's because most of the 'in between' stuff was in LoaR and RH.
Speaking of those two stories, LoaR had been written right after Friendship Games premiered, and it's going to change some of LoE. Not derail the plot, but minor things. The inclusion of the Unicorns having their horns, the fact that Sunset and Flash's friendship is more of a thing here, and the discussion of what 'Midnight Sparkle' exactly is.
Long story short, that arc will have a good bit of changes but it'll be fun changes!

Everfree Part I: Some Problems are Human

“Hey, are you okay?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Twilight answered. “I’m fine.”

Droning out Pinkie’s marshmallow talk, Sunset focused on Twilight. Her breathing was still more rapid than usual, and her eyes still wide. And the way she’d been mumbling and beginning to thrash in her sleep just now? Classic signs of a nightmare.

Sunset bit her lip, debating on whether to bring it up or not. She promised not to, but it had been more than a month since the Friendship Games and Twilight had yet to open up about it.

Perhaps she was being paranoid about it. After all, her own nightmares of the Fall Formal had slowed to sporadic after the first two weeks. Perhaps Twilight was just having an unlucky nap. Either way, she’d find out soon enough.

They were spending a week together at a camp with a chunk of their peers. Every year the Senior class of Canterlot High got the chance to go on a week trip to ‘Camp Everfree’ for Spring Break, a fun bonding and learning experience for all. But if Twilight was having nightmares, then it would be easy to see when someone was sharing a tent with her.

For now, she tried to relax. Her own nerves were getting the better of her. It was just the fact that this was the Everfree Forest. In Equestria, while it was known for how wild and out of control it was, it was still heavily saturated in Magic. Old, ancient Magic that was almost alive.

When she mentioned it, Pinkie called it a 'Fae' feeling. The concept of 'otherworldly magic' was a little to on the nose for an Interdimensional Unicorn, but it did fit the feeling well enough.

But this was the Human World. Sure, Magic was more common, but it was pretty limited to CHS. Unless there was another random threat from Equestria somehow hiding in the trees, she’d be fine. It was highly unlikely, as Princess Celestia seemed sure that the only other beings who had been tossed through the portal would be dead by now. Even so, Sunset couldn’t help but wonder.

Camp Everfree itself was pretty nice, actually. It was a pretty cool looking campsite, even if it was still pretty much what she expected of a campsite. But hey, you can’t go wrong with trees and a good lake.

After getting her bag out of the bus, Sunset watched the Principal and Vice Principal walk up to a woman. She was pretty, several shades of raspberry pink, but very young. She couldn’t be more than twenty two, but the way Celestia and Luna talked to her, she had to be in charge.

Of course, before she could think more on that, she was metaphorically smacked in the face with second-hand embarrassment. The kind of second hand embarrassment that comes from Flash attempting to flirt with Twilight. Emphasis on ‘attempting’. Deciding to help out a little, she waited for him to walk off before coming up beside her.

“Right,” Sunset sighed, putting her arm around Twilight. “You know how there’s that girl who looks just like you when she’s here but lives in another Dimension and she’s a Pony princess?”

“Uh-huh,” Twilight nodded, raising an eyebrow.

“Flash kind of… had a thing for her,” she said. “Not that he doesn’t like you as you. But you two haven’t directly interacted and I think that was his way of trying to say ‘I had a thing for the other one but that’s not why I like you’. Because how do you say that to someone?”

“Oh,” she said. “I… He’s nice and pretty cute, but I don’t think I’ve actually had a full conversation with him.”

Okay, this was a bit more awkward than she wanted. Thankfully, she was saved by the PA system.

Sunset had several questions, but most of them weren’t her business. She didn’t really need to know why a local business man was showing up, or why the camp staff seemed to hate him. And she really tried to ignore how that 'fae feeling' was enhanced around said staff. Still, there were other questions that need answering.

“Uh, miss?” Sunset said, walking after the raspberry woman.

“Oh, hello!” the woman greeted. “And you can just call me Gloriosa!”

Sunset was a little unsettled by how chipper she was. She could almost hear the exclamation point on the end of the sentence.

“I just had a couple of questions,” Sunset said, trying to remain casual. “Well, specifically about your other staff member. He’s your brother, right?”

“Yeperooni!” Gloriosa smiled. “I usually say it during the opening speech! Did I skip that this time?”

“Maybe?” she admitted. “I was a little focused on what my friends were doing at first so I might’ve missed it.”

“Sorry about that,” she said. “But yes, he’s my brother. Most people can’t tell, since we don’t look much alike.”

“It’s the eyes,” she replied, gesturing with her hand. “And that little bickering thing you did on stage. But my question was, well, how old is he?”

Gloriosa seemed to recoil a bit, though not out of concern. More like surprise. That was good, at least.

“Why?” Gloriosa wondered, actually managing to give a thoughtful frown instead of a smile.

“Nothing major!” Sunset assured. “Just, well, a few of my friends think he’s pretty cute and might’ve been flirting with him. And I wasn’t sure if, well, age and all so if he was flirting back…”

“Oh,” she said, coming back to the grin. “Well, he just turned eighteen back in December, so considering you’re all Seniors I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“So, no rules against flirting with campers?” she wondered.

“It would be a bit hypocritical,” she laughed. “After all, if staff weren’t allowed to flirt with campers, then Timber and I wouldn’t even be here…..”

“Oh?” she said. “Oh! So, uh, it’s-it’s a family business then?”

She expected another quip, or some over-enthusiastic ramble about ‘this camp’s been in the family for generations!’. But instead she got silence. Gloriosa’s body language shifted dramatically, shoulders slumping as she crossed her arms. Her eyes looked off at something else, almost lost.

Perhaps on instinct, Sunset reached out to put her hand on her shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting, but perhaps so much time on a bus had charged her up with a bit of static. Her thumb must have brushed against the necklace clasp or something, because there was a jolt up her arm.

For a fraction of a second, she swore she heard crying. She wondered who it was, why they were crying. But it had to have been her imagination. No one else would be crying, and it definitely wasn’t Gloriosa, as she had jumped back with the shock and looked nowhere near tears.

“Are… are you okay?” Sunset asked.

“Sorry about that!” Gloriosa chirped, smile returning. “I think I’m just a little tired from all the fun things I’ve set up for you to do! Don’t worry about it! I’m just going to go get another cup of coffee before we really get into everything! You’ll see!”

Before Sunset could protest, she sped off in another direction. For some reason, she wanted to run after and talk to her. Though there was no reason why. Whatever crying she’d heard wasn’t ‘real’. Probably just forest sounds or someone’s squeaky suitcase. So why did her heart ache?

Well, this was a predicament. She’d been trying to have a little friendly teasing with Twilight, but that led into quite a few revelations.

Firstly, that she was definitely having nightmares. She’d started on being comforting, she was going to lead into her own experiences to say she understood, but that it was better now. But then they got distracted by Magic.

Twilight’s Magical abilities seemed to be developing, though it was strange. Like the fact that she didn’t ‘Pony Up’. It was as if she was focusing the Magic through something other than a horn, but she shut it off too fast for Sunset to investigate.

But that was another problem. Shutting it off. She seemed… scared. Maybe it was just her general anxieties, not wanting to ruin the trip. Okay, maybe it was general anxiety combined with wanting to atone for nearly destroying the Dimension. Still, something felt off, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

Perhaps it was the fact that, despite being in the middle of nowhere, she still had cell service. A mystery all its own.

“Guess I can’t get too jealous, right?” Flash sighed.

“About what?” Sunset asked with false innocence. “The person you like being mostly oblivious to it while they get their flirt on with someone new and perhaps a bit mysterious?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

Sunset bit her lip, trying not to snicker at Thunder’s expression. Brawley failed, but mostly because he’d been mid-way through a drink and started choking instead.

“I know we didn’t have much,” Flash continued, completely oblivious this time. “But-“

“I get it,” Sunset reigned in her laughter. “You liked the other Twilight, but this one is different from her.”

“Exactly,” he said. “Does that make sense? I mean, they’re sort of the same person, but they’re different?”

“Listen, as someone who has met many Interdimensional Counterparts,” she began, “you’re right. There’s a lot of similarities, but even so they’re different. It’s easier to see with both Twilights though. The only Counterparts I can’t tell apart is Pinkie, but that’s because she got the upgraded version of Interdimensional Dreaming, so she can talk to her other self so one knows exactly what the other knows. I’m still not sure we got the right one back.”

“Is it wrong to say I like this Twilight better?” he asked.

“Not ‘better’,” she corrected. “But differently. And again, they are different people. Just like the other you is another person. Maybe he likes Princess Twilight too, or maybe he already found a cute blue Unicorn to make out with.”

She loved her timing, getting Brawly to choke on his water again before giving up and wandering somewhere where he couldn’t hear her passive-aggressive comments.

“That was oddly specific,” Flash said. “Was that a hint to give up on either Twilight?”

“Not exactly,” she coughed. “I’m not going to lie and say ‘oh, this is totally a RomCom where the protagonist fights to win back his lady love from the exciting new guy’. But I will say that it’s okay to like multiple people. It’s also okay to be in a relationship with multiple people, as long as everyone knows and is okay with it.”

“Are you-“ he raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying ‘go up and ask to share’?”

“Well, have some tact man!” she laughed. “I just meant that you can think about it, but if she rejects you or if Timber gets upset about ‘sharing’ then give up. And if you, oh, I don’t know, happen to have someone else you might be interested in, then maybe you should also talk with them about it?”

“I still feel like you’re dropping hints,” he frowned.

“Absolutely not!” she said, slowly edging away. “Totally not dropping hints to you or anyone else! I’m just going to, uh, go check on Rarity real quick. See you later! Oh, and if Rainbow says something about Emergency Cross-dressing, it has nothing to do with me!”

She said that last part mostly because Brawly was taking another drink, and she wanted to be three for three on making him shoot water out of his nose. Everything else was her actually trying to help.

Okay, she was dropping a lot of hints. Especially since she left him with Thunder. But hey, at least she wasn’t dropping eaves.

She really needed to stop learning phrases from Pinkie.

“So, you don’t think that this ‘Gaia Everfree’ could be from Equestria?” Applejack asked.

“Not really,” Sunset said, breathing in the lingering smell of firewood. “Even if she was, then not only would she not have had Magic as no one did until I got here, but she’s also probably be dead by now and definitely not a problem for us.”

“What if it was a Counterpart situation!” Pinkie suggested. “Like, maybe there’s a legend in Equestria and this one mirrors that?”

“I’m sure Sunset would’ve thought of it,” Rarity said.

“Well…” Sunset trailed off.

“Come on,” Rainbow sighed. “Might as well tell us now.”

“It’s not a legend, per say,” she said. “But Equestria’s Everfree Forest has a lot of mysteries and strange Magics. I don’t know about something like the ghost story, but I did read something about a mare named Gaia who was researching Everfree a long time ago. She supposedly disappeared in an accident involving her Timberwolf research.”

“So there is a story that could be related?” Applejack asked.

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “But if it is, then the Pony Gaia was the victim, not the monster. Maybe his version of the story got mixed up over the years. Really though, either way I think ‘Gaia Everfree’ will be the least of our problems.”

Author's Note

Since I wrote Sunset and Flash being friends by this point, I had to change their scenes together. And also push my ships because I gave up being subtle back in 1996, so why not go all out and write stuff I like?

Everfree Part III: There Is No Midnight Sparkle

She’d lost him, but she did find the rock quarry. Most importantly, she had Twilight and Spike as backup. But the cave they’d entered was far too interesting.

“This place is beautiful,” Twilight said, staring in awe.

Crystals covered the walls, glowing brightly. Right at the end was a pedestal of sorts, made of more rocks and crystals. But upon the pedestal seemed to be two different crystals, and empty places where more should be.

More importantly, there was an all too familiar tingling in her fingertips. She could feel it reaching out to her, begging to be used.

“There’s Equestrian Magic here,” Sunset said. “I can…. I can feel it.”

“Wait,” Spike said. “I thought Timber was just faking there was a magical nature creature. Are you saying it’s real?”

“Timber?” Twilight wondered, looking between them. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

“Nothing.”

The trio jumped, turning to the voice that had spoken. Gloriosa was leaning against the cave wall, glaring at them.

“It was all me,” Gloriosa said.

“But…” Sunset said, thinking things over. “I was sure he was the one trying to make it seem like ‘Gaia Everfree was back. It was you trying to scare everyone away?”

“I would never try to scare anyone away from Camp Everfree,” she replied, walking past them.

Sunset grabbed her arm, trying to keep her from reaching that pedestal at the center. She knew those crystals were the source of the Magic in the cave, and she didn’t want anyone to touch them without knowing what they were.

But as soon as she did, she felt herself slipping into the shifting colors of Memory. She cursed the fact that her power would act up now, but thanked the fact that no time seemed to actually pass when she went in.

The first scene she saw was that man from the other day, Filthy Rich, standing in what looked like Gloirosa’s office. He talked of the money the camp wasn’t making, of how it was getting sold anyway, unless they got the money before the end of the month.

The next scene had Gloriosa crying. And Sunset could feel every bit of it. Loss. The kind of loss that left you hollow inside, until you weren’t sure you could breathe. It felt like more than just losing the family business, losing the home. There was another loss underneath that, but not one Sunset knew, not one she’d felt before.

She watched as Gloriosa found this cave, found the crystals full of Magic. And she felt the spark of Hope light in her chest, but also sorrow. The next scene told her why. Because Gloriosa couldn’t fix their problems with Magic, but she could make the last campers have the best week possible.

Sunset felt the desperation within her, as she manipulated vines around to try and help. And she felt how that desperation grew frantic as her attempts backfired.

She saw the conversation Gloriosa had with Timber, the full version. Not only loss and desperation, but confusion and abandonment. No, not about the camp, about something else. Because he wouldn’t help her, why didn’t he understand how important this was to her? Did he not care about them? But Sunset wondered who ‘they’ were that he didn’t care about.

“Timber wasn’t talking about letting go of the camp,” Sunset said as she came back. “You were-you were using those crystals to do try and make things better, with Magic. And every time you fixed something, you caused other problems. He wanted you to stop. He… he was covering for you!”

“How do you know about that?” Gloriosa demanded, snatching her arm back. “How do you know about Magic?”

“Did you not notice the talking dog?” Spike muttered.

“Because I can see things,” Sunset said. “Feel things. Because I have Magic too. And so do my friends.”

“Gloriosa,” Twilight stepped forward, “Timber wasn’t wrong. Maybe you should stop using Magic. Too much of it can be dangerous if you can’t control it.”

Sunset turned for just a moment. Because for half a second, she wanted to tell Twilight the full truth. That it wasn’t about control or ‘how much’. But that half second was all Gloriosa needed to step closer to the crystals.

“Oh, I got this,” Gloriosa said, reaching for the crystals. “And I’m going to use it to save my camp! I just need more power!”

Sunset tried to step forward, but she was stopped by vines around her legs. She couldn’t move, and the vines had pinned her arms to her sides before she thought to use them. All she could do was watch as Gloriosa took the last two crystals, as the Magic began to transform her.

Somehow, that felt different. While she felt the desperation, she couldn’t feel any Dark Magic radiating off her. Even so, it changed her. Her skin grayed, a magenta mask-like mark appearing around her eyes. Pink hair turned blue, parts glowing brightly, and even her outfit morphed into a green dress with gloves and boots, all having leaves and vine themes.

“Sorry girls,” Gloriosa grinned. “I know what I need to do. But I feel like we’re not on the same page, so…”

Before either girl could try to talk some sense into her, Gloriosa floated past them, moving the rocks to keep them in the cave.

The hardest part of getting out was keeping Twilight calm. As much as Sunset knew she was scared of Magic, she’d needed help moving the rocks. But it was the dome of vines that nearly stopped them.

“Twilight,” Sunset grunted, using her own Magic and hands to try and keep the vines open. “I need some help here!”

“I don’t want to use too much,” Twilight said. “Midnight Sparkle could take over.”

“Twilight!” she snapped, wanting to scream. “Our friends are in there, and I can’t do this alone if she’s fighting me!”

“O-Okay,” she said.

With orange and magenta auras pulling at the vines, it didn’t take them long to get in. She could see what damage had been done.

Vines were everywhere, trapping students in their grasp. Some had been sliced, now laying on the ground. Despite hope, she found a familiar sword hilt dropped and its owner out of sight. Picking it up and tucking it into her belt, she saw that the girls were the only ones still fully free.

Determination rising, she moved forward. As the girls ran over to them, happy that they were okay, Sunset and Twilight stepped up to a trapped Timber, still trying to talk some sense into his sister.

“It’s going to be okay!” Sunset assured him, tearing at the vines.

Despite her comments, he kept shouting for her, tears dripping as he did. It didn’t take Magical Empathy for Sunset to feel for the guy. And it didn’t help that she had to pull Twilight away as the vines took him.

They dodged around the vines growing from the ground, but it seemed everywhere now. It was like they were being herded into a group. Rarity put up a shield, a dome around them, but the vines kept pushing, creating spiderweb cracks in the Magic.

“I can’t keep this up forever!” Rarity said.

“Twilight,” Sunset said, grabbing her by the shoulders. “It’s up to us. We can tear the brambles apart and get the crystals away from her!”

“No!” Twilight protested. “There’s too many of them! It would take too much Magic! I can’t!”

“It’s the only way!” she insisted. “I can't do it alone with it fighting me! You have to embrace the Magic inside you!”

“What if she takes over?” she cried. “What if instead of saving everyone, I turn into Midnight Sparkle and only make things worse?!”

“That won’t happen!”she shouted. “It can’t happen because there is no ‘Midnight Sparkle’!”

For a moment, there was silence from everyone. Only the creaking of the vines against the shield punctuated the emptiness. Sunset really wished she’d done this sooner, or that she could do it later, but she hadn’t thought it was that bad, that fear could override love.

“What do you mean ‘there’s no Midnight Sparkle’?” Rainbow demanded.

“Sunset, we were all at the Games,” Applejack said. “You can’t tell me that was just an illusion or something.”

“Yes, it happened,” Sunset said. “But ‘Midnight Sparkle’ isn’t some other person here to take you over through Magic! It was never about how much Magic you had, it was about what you were using and how you were using it!”

“She has to be real!” Twilight said. “You saw what she tried to do! I wouldn’t do that! You know I wouldn’t! She was controlling me!”

“That’s not how it works!” she said. “It was Dark Magic, not possession! And you’re right, normally you would never do that. But you tried to use the Magic of Friendship, a Magic that takes what you’re feeling and ramps it up to eleven! Friendship is made of five Elements: Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, and Laughter. Not just from within, but from those around you.

“What did you feel during the games?” she continued. “Your Principal, someone you should trust, was blackmailing you into competing. The classmates that should have been your team turned on you, saying you would be to blame should they lose. The only reason they even paid attention to you was because you could help them. You were terrified! Stars, you were crying as you walked to us! You were alone!

“And that’s what turned it into Dark Magic! It made it worse, it made you feel it all as if it were something that could actually hurt you! And when you’re in a state like that, nothing matters except your goal! You wanted to learn about Magic, and if you were already abandoned by everything in this world, what did it matter if you tore it apart?”

“But I couldn’t,” Twilight said. “She’s- I can feel her there! And every time I try and sleep she comes and taunts me! If she weren’t real then how is she doing that?”

“Fucking post-traumatic stress disorder!” Sunset said. “Flashbacks and nightmares and panic attacks are standard for when you go through something like that! But if you want more proof? Then you are the one who stopped yourself from destroying everything!”

“I didn’t,” she shook her head. “You blasted her.”

“Someone possessing you wouldn’t have stopped,” she said. “You were the one who stopped when Spike called out to you. You hesitated, breaking through everything you felt. Do you remember the white void? I offered my hand, I offered to show you a better way. You could have rejected it, and then my Magic would have canceled yours out, but you took it. ‘Midnight Sparkle’ wouldn’t have taken my hand. That was you.”

“And that’s worse!” she cried. “Because what’s going to stop me from doing it again?! If I could do that once, why wouldn’t I do it again!”

“Because of us!” she said. “You’re no longer alone. You have us, and you care about us just as much as we care about you! The only reason you were like that is because your state of mind turned your Magic into Dark Magic, but as long as you’re with people you love you can’t use it! No matter how angry or scared you get, we’ll be here for you!”

“And how do you know?” she said. “What if I use Magic again, and as soon as I feel that powerful I go right back to what I tried to do the first time?”

“Because I’ve been there!” she said, grabbing her hands again. “I know exactly what you felt.”

“You can’t!” she pulled her hands back. “You can just pop into my memories and feel what I felt, but you can’t just pretend like that’s ‘understanding’.”

“I’m not!” she snapped.

Forgetting about danger and usual rules, Sunset reached down and pulled off her shirt. The others all made several comments, but she didn’t care. Shutting it all out, she turned her back to Twilight. She heard a gasp from the girl as she saw the marks on her skin. Scars from something that felt like a lifetime ago, even though it had been just months.

“I know you have them too,” Sunset said. “Dark Magic leaves scars, both mental and physical. I’m not saying I understand because of a similar situation. I know what you’re going through because I’ve been through the exact same thing.

“It wasn’t about ‘learning about Magic’ for you,” she continued, pulling her shirt back on. “It was never about that. You wanted to be happy, and you thought Knowledge was the way to get it and thought that everything was okay since you’d eventually be happy. I thought I needed Power, and it didn’t matter what happened to get it because I’d be happy in the end.”

“Sunset…” Twilight whispered.

“But that’s why I know you won’t fail,” she said, taking her hands once more. “Because you’re happy now, and you know that ‘becoming Midnight’ won’t make you any happier. Because I was torn apart by Dark Magic, and my Friends helped me find actual happiness.

“And I know you won’t, because I’ve been on the other side too,” she continued, smiling softly. “The moment I took in the Magic of Friendship to keep you from tearing this world apart, I was more powerful than I had been when I used Dark Magic. But I didn’t care, because the people I loved meant more to me than some illusion of ‘happiness’. And I know that as scared as you are, we mean more to you than anything you had wanted back then. If we didn’t, you’d have already become what you fear.”

“We’re here for you!” Pinkie said, pulling Twilight into a hug.

“And we’ll be there for you,” Applejack added, laying her arm over Pinkie’s shoulders.

“You’re a light, darling,” Rarity said, taking one of Twilight’s hands so that she could keep the barrier. “A force for good.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow grinned, mirroring Applejack by putting her arm around Sunset. “You can kick the Darkness’s ass.”

“We believe in you,” Fluttershy added, slipping under arms to pull in a group hug.

“You’re you,” Sunset said. “There’s no ‘Midnight’, just ‘Twilight’. Anyone can get to that dark of a place, but with Friendship, you’ll never be there again. I promise that, with everything I have.”

Sunset reached for her Magic, the power that could feel others emotions. She could feel all of them through the contact they had. But that wasn’t why she did it. Instead, she pushed it outward.

Her emotions, everything she felt for all of them, practically poured out of her. There was a hint of fear as Rarity’s Magic gave out, as the cracks in the shield grew quicker. She didn’t bury it, she let her fear fuel her love, because her love was why she was scared.

And in return, she felt their fears calm. They knew they would be okay. Because even Twilight’s fears became little more than a shadow in the Light.

“There is no Midnight Sparkle,” Twilight said, her magenta aura bursting forth. “I am Twilight Sparkle. And the Magic I carry inside me is the Magic of Friendship!”

The familiar glow of transformation took her not a moment too soon, as the shield shattered around them. Twilight had the ears and a horn just like Sunset and Rarity, but she didn’t have wings. It took her all of a second to figure out why. There was no Ascension, at least not yet. This Twilight was still a Unicorn, not an Alicorn like the Princess.

Both took the vines in their magic, magenta and orange melding together as they tore it apart. Sunset cast spell after spell, some far more complicated than just telekinesis, as she dodged around attacks. All of them fought with what they could, trying to keep anything from harming their friends. But the vines fought back just as hard. Almost as if…

“That’s it!” Sunset shouted.

“What’s it?” Rainbow asked, kicking more vines before zipping out of reach.

“We’re not fighting the vines!” she shouted. “We’re fighting Gloriosa who’s controlling them. If we get through to her we can stop this!”

“We can’t get through to her!” Applejack said, swinging a bench at more vines.

“Her brother already tried,” Pinkie said, chucking sprinkles everywhere, some turning to lightning and fire as she went.

“If Timber couldn’t get through to her, we can’t,” Twilight said, tearing away more vines.

“You can’t,” Sunset said. “But I can. Emotional Magic, remember? No matter how far gone she is, some part of her doesn’t want this! I just need to reach that, and it should make her hesitate long enough for you to get to her and take the crystals!”

“Are you sure this will work?” Rarity asked, doing her best to keep shields up for even seconds.

“It will,” she nodded. “Because it has to. Just cover me!”

As she cast more spells, she reached out with her Magic again. The girls had been channeling their Magic through those same crystals Gloriosa was using. It was why they hadn’t needed to Pony Up to use Magic. But she could use them too.

She poured her Magic into them, and let loose with her Emotions again. Everything she felt was radiating out of her, like a scream. All of her fears, and all she would do to keep that fear from becoming real. And for just a moment, she felt the hesitation she wanted. Twilight broke the vines around the girl, using her own Magic to pull the crystals away.

The second the crystals were out of Gloriosa’s grip, they began to glow brighter and brighter. Seven crystals flew to the seven girls, each glowing a familiar color. Each holding a familiar Magic.

Sunset felt another transformation as the crystal’s Magic melded with her own. It didn’t change her, just her outfit. Almost like one of those Magical Girl shows Pinkie had shown her. She saw the other girls go through something similar, each getting their own ‘costume’.

As soon as all were done, an oh so familiar Rainbow of Magic burst forth, dissolving the vines. Everyone who had been trapped pulled themselves up. Most brushed it off, being far too used to Magical Shenanigans from Canterlot High. But there were two who hadn’t previously had the wonderful experience of being saved by Magic.

The seven were quickly applauded. Sunset found it strange exactly how used to all this they were. But she brushed it off as Spike jumped into Twilight’s arms.

“You did it!” Spike cheered, before poking at the crystal around her neck. “Whoa. Nice bling.”

“What…” Applejack frowned, toying with her own crystal. “What are these?”

“I have some ideas,” Sunset smiled. “But clearly we’re connected to them.”

“I almost don’t care what they are!” Rarity exclaimed. “They are gorgeous! And will totally go with the other collection I was working on for the camp fashion show! That’s… probably canceled, isn’t it?”

“For now,” Principal Celestia said, walking up to the group. “How about we put that Magic of yours to work and clean up the camp?”

All seven groaned, but complied. As did the rest of the students. Before Sunset could start, she felt Flash pull her into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Flash said.

“Come on, you knew I’d be fine,” Sunset said, messing up his hair.

“Yeah yeah,” he rolled his eyes. “This is only the third Magical Disaster you’ve dealt with.”

“In this Dimension,” she retorted. “But okay, you’re not quite used to it. Speaking of which, I guess three months of sword practice does little about vines.”

“Well, if everyone else had a magic sword…” he began.

“Wait,” Rainbow inturupted. “Can we get Magic Swords? Because that’d be cool.”

“That seems like a bad idea,” Twilight groaned.

“I think you do well enough without the sword,” Sunset said, returning the hilt that somehow hadn’t disappeared in her outfit change. “You still haven’t figured out your lightning powers yet.”

“My what now?” Rainbow asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

Before she could hear any more on that, the group was quickly silenced by the only two people who hadn’t been through a Magic Disaster before. Gloriosa looked tired, leaning on her brother a bit as they walked up.

“So…” Timber began, still supporting his sister with one arm. “What’s with the….”

Twilight blushed furiously, her hands automatically going up to cover her Pony ears. Snickering and rolling her eyes, Sunset stepped up and held out a hand.

“Hi, I’m Sunset Shimmer,” she reintroduced. “I’m actually a Unicorn from another Dimension, and I accidently brought Magic with me. So now my friends get to save the world occasionally. Oh, they’re all normal Humans though. I think. We might’ve switched Pinkie with her Interdimensional Counterpart a few weeks back. But don’t worry about going nuts and nearly destroying everything. I did the same thing a few months ago and they’re all pretty cool with it now.”

“That explains why everyone was so calm with all….” Gloriosa said, gesturing to everything.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Other than the fact that I’m realizing I went nuts, yeah,” she sighed. “Tired though.”

“Wait, you’re not, uh, hurting anywhere?” Twilight asked.

“No?” she tilted her head. “Should I be? I didn’t hurt before.”

“Now that’s weird,” Sunset frowned, feeling what Magic was left in Gloriosa. “I thought it didn’t feel like Dark Magic, but the fact that you actually weren’t using Dark Magic…. It feels like regular Magical Exhaustion, though your Magic doesn’t read as anything I know. Huh. I’ll have to ask Twilight-the other Twilight- about that one.”

“There’s another Twilight?” Timber asked.

“Yep,” Sunset grinned, much to the current Twilight’s annoyance. “She’s an Alicorn Princess from another Dimension! There’s also another one of you, and your sister, and pretty much everyone you’ve ever known!”

“Sunset,” Luna interjected. “Perhaps you could save the life-changing revelations about Magic and Alternate Dimensions until after miss Gloriosa has rested a bit?”

“Oh, right, sorry!” she said, a bit sheepishly.

“I’m the one that’s sorry,” Gloriosa sighed. “I only wanted this to be the best week Camp Everfree has ever had, and instead I’ve made it worse. Maybe it’s for the best that I’m losing the camp to Filthy Rich.”

“No, it’s not!” Celestia insisted. “This camp has meant so much to so many people, my sister and me included!”

“Why do you think we bring our students here every year?” Luna asked.

“We can’t let Filthy Rich take this place away!” Twilight said. “If camp meant so much to you two, maybe it meant as much to the other campers who came here in years past!”

“And maybe we can get them to help save it!” Sunset added.

“Like a fundraiser?” Applejack suggested.

“Or a ball!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Our band could play,” Rainbow offered.

“I could write a new song for the occasion!” Fluttershy added.

“Those are all good ideas,” Gloriosa admitted. “But where would we hold it?”

“We could hold it in the crystal cave,” Sunset answered.

“A crystal ball!” Rarity gasped, not realizing the pun as others snickered. “I love it!”

“Hold it, can I ask a question?” Flash interjected.

The group energy came to a halt for a moment. The pause gave them time to notice the other students, ones who had begun to clean up and stopped to eavesdrop, but now pretended they hadn’t. Sunset had a feeling that things could go sideways, and not the Magic kind of sideways.

“What question?” Sunset took the lead and asked.

“Okay, before I ask, I’m not trying to be a jerk,” Flash warned. “But what good will a fundraiser do?”

“Well, save the camp for one?” Rainbow said.

“No, he has a point,” Applejack said.

“What point?” Flutterhsy wondered.

“That a fundraiser won’t do much,” Flash answered. “If you’re not making the money to keep the place going, then a fundraiser will only prolong it. Sure you’d save the camp now, but a few months down the line you’ll be right back here. If you can’t get the business to keep it in the first place, why try and keep it for just a few more months instead of cutting your losses?”

Five girls dropped their energy, thinking of that. Twilight, Gloriosa, Celestia and Luna all froze, knowing the reason but afraid to say it. Three because it wasn’t their place, and one because saying it made it all worse again. Sunset could still feel enough to tell what could happen next.

Timber was the one who moved, taking a step forward while Flash took a step back. It was easy to see the expression, and the tension that accompanied it. Sunset acted on instinct, grabbing his arm to keep him from starting anything.

Her Magic let her feel everything he felt. Rage and loss she didn’t understand hit her like a slap to the face, her legs giving out from the intensity and dragging him down with her. It stopped the fight, but now they were concerned over her.

“Calm,” Sunset said, looking directly at Timber as she reversed the Magic and put her own emotion in. “Whatever it is, he doesn’t know. I don’t know, but I can guess. You don’t have to tell us everything, but just enough to get the point.”

“Fine,” Timber sighed, before glancing up at Flash. “Sorry for...It’s a lot. I get what you were saying, but it hurts.”

“It’s alright,” Flash nodded. “I figured it’d come out bad. But I didn’t think there’d be an answer with that reaction. Obviously I was somehow out of line, even if I don’t know how.”

“Do you want me to say it?” Gloriosa asked, putting a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “It might be easier…”

“No,” Timber took a shaky breath. “I’m fine. But to answer, the camp makes plenty of money usually. But… things happen. The type of things that leaves a twenty two year old woman in charge of the Family Business, and sucks up any money that you manage to earn because at least one can be fixed.”

“I-I’m sorry,” several voices said as they put the pieces together.

“That’s why a fundraiser would help,” Gloriosa said, her voice sliding in pitch as she held together. “Because we just need the boost to catch up from… from all of that.”

“Makes more sense,” Flash nodded. “Again, sorry about asking.”

“You did have a point,” Timber said. “You didn’t know.”

“Well,” Pinkie interrupted, somehow more chipper than everyone but not quite her usual chipper. “Best way to feel better is to get the fundraiser up so we can keep this place going!”

“Pinkie, not everything needs a party,” Rarity chastised.

“Which is why I didn’t say party,” she pouted. “Like, the fundraiser will be a party but it’s totally unrelated because it’s not a ‘everything sucks so let’s forget’ party, it’s a ‘everything sucks but we’re going to fix it’ party! The difference is one includes less guests and a lot more heavy drinking.”

“As you said earlier, ‘she has a point’,” Gloriosa almost laughed. “But now that reality has been pointed out, can we even get a fundraiser together? We only have the rest of the week…”

“Don’t worry,” Flash spoke up. “If anyone can put a party together in that short a time, it’s these girls. And I don’t mean that metaphorically. Pinkie’s pretty much always ready to set up for a giant party. She has cannons that shoot confetti.”

“You didn’t bring those, did you?” Luna sighed.

“No……” Pinkie said unconvincingly. “But I totally don’t need them! The Party cannons are for instant parties that are just general parties. A Crystal Ball-ha! Anyway, that’s a big event with a theme and an important cause, so we need a bit more planning.”

“I’m going to stop questioning this,” Timber sighed. “Just tell us where to start.”

“Okay!” she chirped, before dropping into her Serious Mode. “First, invitations. If you’ve got a printer handy that’d be great, but if not then we’re snagging all of the arts and crafts supplies and a lot of glitter. Dashie can deliver, since she’s super fast now. Next is decorations. Rares, Twi, and Sunny you’re on that, but drag out any decorations the camp usually has. Shy, work on that song you mentioned. Aj, catering.”

“On it!” the group nodded.

“We’ll round up everyone who isn’t eavesdropping,” Luna said, much to the surprise of their audience.

“I’ll leave this in your hands,” Celestia nodded. “Tell us where you need us and we’ll direct them there.”

“Think it’ll work out?” Gloriosa asked.

“Without a doubt,” she replied with a smile. “These girls are, quite literally, magical.”

“What if that Filthy Rich guy shows up?” Sunset asked. “He seemed… really confident that this place would be his.”

“To be fair,” Gloriosa sighed. “As much of a jerk as he is, legally…”

“Leave him to me,” Applejack said, crossing her arms.

“Please don’t punch the business guy into the lake,” Fluttershy whispered.

“If you do can I watch!?” Pinkie asked.

“What? No,” Applejack rolled her eyes at them. “Listen, Rich ain’t that bad. Trust me, if y’all told him the whole story, he’d be a lot more sympathetic to your cause. I won’t say anything, because it ain’t my story to tell, but I’ll make sure he knows this place isn’t going back up for grabs anytime soon. Just hope he don’t bring his wife because let’s just say I’d rather face the Magic Tree Witch again.”

“You know him?” Timber frowned.

“Family friend,” she shrugged. “We’ve been doing business for a few generations. So he’ll listen to me when I tell him something. And if he don’t, then I get to send Granny after him.”

Ten people shuddered at the idea of an angry Granny Smith.

Author's Note

Hoo boy. You know, I've been wanting to write some version of 'There Is No Midnight Sparkle' since the movie came out, and I'm glad I waited for this one. Because honestly, I didn't like how in 'canon' they made Sunset's Demon form to be her 'darkside' while Midnght was possession, while also trying to say that it was the same thing.

Everfree Part IV: Crystal Memories

The fundraiser was in full swing, and they’d already raised enough money to save the camp. And it was still early, so who knows. They might get some extra for repairs. Stars know the dock needs fixed already.

The band was taking a break, getting drinks and dancing and talking. Or in one case, trying to talk before their partner got dragged off.

“So,” Sunset grinned, elbowing Twilight in the side. “You and Timber, huh?”

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed. “You’re not upset, are you?”

“Why would I be?” she wondered, taking a drink.

“Well, you did sound like you were trying to set me up with Flash so…” she said.

“Point taken,” she gave in. “I still say you could make it work. I mean, people can have multiple partners at once.”

“You mentioned,” she nodded. “I don’t know. Even if I did like him back, I kind of feel like I’d be comparing myself to the other me. I mean, she is a Princess and all.”

“Yeah, but you’re you,” she countered. “The rest of us are your friends because you’re you, not because you’re like the other you. Trust me, I've made friends with a handful of counterparts, and they're all different enough. Jokes aside, even Pinkie has some differences. But you're all different enough that there isn't a comparison. Besides, even if you didn’t end up liking Flash, I think he’d still find a happy ending.”

To emphasize the point, she gestured to the dance floor. Flash and Thunder were at least dancing with one another, even if Sunset wasn’t sure on the exact relationship status. Though, it was a little funny to see Brawly waiting on the sideline like a concerned parent.

“Fair enough,” Twilight smiled. “Can I… can I be really honest with you for a minute?”

“About romance?” Sunset raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I, uh, just wanted you to know that for a little while there I did kinda have a minor thing for you? Like, it wasn’t big and it was at least half ‘hero crush’ and I’m past it by now and not at all in love with you. But I felt like you should know.”

“Huh,” she said. “I honestly have no idea how to feel about that. But thanks for telling me.”

“It seemed right,” she said. “But thanks, for everything. For helping me with what… with what I did back at the Games.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve heard you have a nightmare since.”

“I haven’t,” she confirmed. “The whole thing was about control, but now that I’ve realized I can control it, it’s not as bad. I still… I’m still scared of what could have happened, but I know it won’t happen again. Does that make sense?”

“Completely,” she said, putting an arm around Twilight’s shoulders. “You might still get them, but it won’t be as often. For now, we just have the Mysteries of the Universe to figure out.”

“Mysteries of the Universe?” she wondered.

“Okay, maybe not the Universe,” she laughed. “But come on, I’m wondering what’s up with the Magic Crystals in the cave. They’re obviously related to Equestria, but why so far away from the Portal?”

“I don’t know,” she mused. “It’s still new to me. But I did find something that could be a clue.”

“Lead the way, Velma,” she said.

“Wait, why am I Velma?” she demanded.

“Because while we’re both nerds, you’re the one with the glasses,” she answered, downing the rest of her drink. “And I think I can pull off ‘Daphne’ a little better.”

“You’re kind of the leader so wouldn’t you be Fred?” she said.

“Maybe,” she said. “But you’re the one who actually owns the dog so if we’re meddling kids….”

“Yeah yeah,” she sighed. “How about we compromise and say we’re both Nancy Drew? Just come on.”

Glad to see the newfound confidence, Sunset followed Twilight through the dance floor. She waved at people as they walked, trying to figure out where they were going.

The stopped eventually, finding the pedestal-like rocks that the crystals had come from. Back when they had set up the party, they’d been unsure what to do with the rock formation, and ended up setting the stage up in front of it. Sunset began to ask what to look for when she saw Twilight slip behind it.

“This,” Twilight said. “Definitely strange, right?”

The spot she was pointing was the back of the rocks. A strange pattern was carved into the stone. No, not a pattern. It was letters and symbols, eight ‘sets’, though two did not have symbols.

“That’s probably just some kids carving initials,” Sunset said. “Seems like one of those dare spots. You know, ‘go in the haunted cave and carve your initials for the next generation of brave fools’.”

“That’s what I thought too,” she said. “But look here.”

Following to where her finger pointed, she saw two familiar symbols. She checked the letters beside them, just to be sure. ‘C.I.’ with a Sun, and three spaces over ‘L.I.’ with a Moon, and one set in between them was 'D.I.' without a symbol.

“That is weird….” Sunset agreed. “But… if they are initials, they all end in ‘I’.”

“I don’t suppose we can just ask them, can we?” Twilight pouted.

“You can always try.”

Both girls jumped. It was understandable, considering the last time someone had snuck up on them in this cave. Though thankfully, it was only Luna.

“Sorry to scare you,” Luna smiled.

“No you’re not,” Sunset muttered.

“I did have to check on you though,” she said, ignoring the comment. “Strange circumstances aside, you were two students sneaking off somewhere.”

“Ah, right,” Twilight said, suddenly interested in the floor.

“Just investigating,” Sunset defended with a cough. “So… you do know something about these carvings?”

“It’s no use pretending I don’t,” Luna said. “Canterlot High’s Senior Trip has been at Camp Everfree for many years. We already told you about the Sundial, remember?”

“So the class came in and carved a rock?” she wondered.

“Not the class,” she said, shaking her head. “Just us eight. This place felt…. Right somehow. And yes, being teens we decided to carve initials into the rock.”

“A rock that would one day hold Magic Crystals,” Twilight said.

“I do not know if this were coincidence,” she shrugged.

“Was it the same group from when you were in the Friendship Games?” Sunset asked.

“How did you…” she frowned.

“School newspaper archives,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but…. Last names aren’t something we have in Equestria. And even here they’re only used in formalities, but they’re supposed to be for family names, right?”

“Correct,” she nodded. “And I suppose you have a few more questions with that?”

“A good few,” she said. “Like, why do the eight of you share the name ‘Immortalem’?”

“And wait,” Twilight frowned. “Isn’t Principal Celestia your older sister? How were you both in the same Senior Class?”

“The answer is the same,” she said. “Not all family is made through blood. Eight children, all either abandoned, orphaned, or just seemed to appear from the ether, stuck together in the same home when they were too young to remember anything else.”

“A big group of orphans,” Sunset said. “Strange. Not the orphan bit, but that the counterparts aren’t known. I mean, I know a lot about Equestria and its legends, but I don’t think I read half of these names.”

“I guess not all of us are immortal,” she said. “I should have guessed. Our worlds are mirrored, so a death in one world is a death in another.”

“Oh,” she said. “That’s…I’m sorry. I guess it’s because your timelines are condensed here, so I can find record of people who died recently far easier than Ponies that died more than a thousand years ago.”

“That makes sense,” Twilight nodded. “Sorry for bringing it up.”

“It is alright,” Luna said, placing her hand on the carvings. “I assume you were trying to figure out why there was Magic here, so far from Canterlot High, correct?”

“Yeah,” Sunset said. “I mean, while apparently the school’s been going here, there shouldn’t be Magic this far out.”

“Unless someone brought it here,” Twilight said. “Maybe there was something to that Gaia Everfree story.”

“No there wasn’t,” she sighed. “Timber made it up to cover for Gloriosa.”

“I was wondering why he changed the tale,” Luna mused.

Both teens stopped and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Luna looked back, but her expression was clear she only paused for effect. Perhaps she should switch with Discord and be the theatre teacher instead. Then again, ‘Vice Principal Discord’ was a terrifying thought.

“Was the story different when you were here?” Twilight asked, playing into the drama.

“Just a bit,” Luna said. “The way it was told, Gaia Everfree was not a monster who threatened those on her land.”

“Knew it,” Sunset grinned. “Was she a girl who went missing from a monster attack?”

“No,” she shook her head. “One of the siblings could probably tell you better, but I remember it from having heard it. Supposedly Gaia was a Spirit of sorts, protector of the Forest. One day, a man decided to build his home in the trees, despite the warnings of its protector. The story goes on and on of their meetings. How the Spirit wouldn’t attack him before he did so first.

“However,” she continued. “Every time the man showed kindness to the forest. He used only the trees needed to build a home and keep him warm, he apologized to the game he hunted and the forest he took it from. In time, they fell in love, began a family, and word says that the decedents are spirits as well, still protecting the forest.”

“Not much of a ghost story,” Sunset said.

“Pretty much the opposite,” Twilight said. "A supernatural romance novel."

“Well, I did not give into the theatrics,” Luna said. “When Terra, Timber and Gloriosa’s mother, told it back then, she was great at the theatrics of campfire stories. And while it’s not ‘scary’, it still tells of the supernatural in the forest that set plenty of campers on edge and made them respect the trees. Or sent some of them on an adventure to find said spirits only to find a cool cave and carve their initials in the rock.”

“At least we didn’t do that,” Sunset said.

“We should probably get back to the party,” she smiled. “I’m sure your friends are looking for you.

Both nodded, and everyone headed back. Sunset had made it a few feet before she felt something crunch under her foot. It was probably just a stray rock, or maybe a discarded drink cup that had made its way backstage. Even so, she stopped and looked.

The item was half-buried in dirt. Not unusual, since as much as they had tried to clean the place it was still a cave. However, as she picked it up, she found a bracelet with a blue, heart-shaped charm made of crystal. The chain was broken, once at the clasp where her heel had crushed it, and once in the links, most likely why it was dropped on the cave floor.

“Twilight, I think you dropped this,” Sunset said. “I think I broke it more, but I can fix it with a little Magic.”

“It’s not mine,” Twilight frowned, looking to the item in her hand.

“Really?” she said. “I thought maybe you’d borrowed it from Cadence.”

“Why Cadence?” she wondered.

“The Charm,” she pointed. “It’s like her Counterpart’s Cutie Mark. I figured that since everyone here wears items like their Counterpart’s Cutie Marks….”

“Okay, I can see it,” she frowned. “Well, I’ve never seen a ‘Cutie Mark’, but that heart she wears is similar. But if it was Cadence’s it would have those little gold things on it.”

Luna had come back, to see why they had stopped. The sight of the bracelet had frozen her, eyes going wide. Sunset didn’t dare to speak, to ask why.

With a shaking hand, she took the bracelet from Sunset’s grip. As she did, Sunset felt a shock of emotion. Sadness and loss, but also a sort of nostalgic acceptance.

“You two are good at finding the forgotten,” Luna said, giving a sad smile.

“It was from one of them, wasn’t it?” Sunset asked.

“Yes,” she nodded. “This was Azura’s. She lost it, back when we came here for our trip. We searched for an hour, but we had no idea if it was here or in the forest.”

She smiled at the bracelet, running her hand over the crystal charm, trying to clean off some of the dirt. Closing it in her fist, she took a deep breath and handed it back to Sunset.

“What?” Sunset asked, pushing the bracelet back. “You just said-“

“I know,” Luna said.

“But it’s important to you,” she insisted. “I could feel it. Sorry about that, by the way. I’m getting better at not reading the emotions of everyone I touch, but if it’s strong enough I can still get it. And everything you just-“

“Trust me,” she smiled. “While I’d love to have another token, Azura would rather you have it. When we couldn’t find it, she rambled on and on of the idea of someone eventually finding it and taking it on adventure after adventure, all around the world. And then one day running into this person, seeing the bracelet, and learning where they’ve been. Perhaps she was just tired, as it was around four in the morning by then, but I feel that she would be glad that it found its way to the one who could take it farther than she ever could.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give it back to her,” she said.

“Maybe not,” she shrugged. “But I still believe that she would agree that you should have it.”

Sunset hesitated to agree. This was another time she weighted logic and heart. Reluctantly, Sunset took the bracelet.

“I’ll make sure it sees some interesting places,” Sunset smiled. “I can think of a whole world of adventures.”

“Thank you,” Luna sighed. “And as a favor, I’ll turn a blind eye to the fact that Mr. Sentry has managed to somehow get his hands on a magical sword.”

“Well, it was at least a useful Christmas present,” she chuckled nervously.

Author's Note

You know, I didn't mean to get into my conspiracy theory stuff, but here we are.
As for this story, unlike the previous chapters, I don't have the next ones completely written yet. That will come as it gets written, so we won't have the 'a chapter a day' updates we've been having lately. But this isn't the end! I know where/how I want to end this, but I need to 1. write that and 2. write some inbetween stuff.

Memory Part I: Mind

One of these days, Sunset was going to find and strangle whoever it was that decided she couldn’t have one weekend without some kind of ridiculous shenanigans. All she wanted was a day at the beach to be, well, a day at the beach! Simple, easy, the only ‘shenanigans’ should be from splashfights, forgetting to put on sunscreen, and the fact that sand gets freaking everywhere!

But what should she expect by now? If the day began with what she could only describe as a ‘Selfie Drone’, then whatever was causing the girls to stare at her as if she were crazy had to be ridiculous.

“Am I missing the joke here?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow.

“The only ‘joke’ is whatever this is you’re playing on us!” Rarity retorted, sounding as if she were genuinely angry. “Acting all ‘nice’! Like you’re our friend!”

“And it’s not funny!” Fluttershy agreed, from her place cowering behind the group.

“Because you’re not nice!” Rainbow added, her glare fierce enough to make Sunset take a step back.

“And because we ain’t friends!” Applejack finished.

“Wait, what?” Sunset stared back at them, in an almost disbelief.

This couldn’t be a prank. None of them would be this mean-spirited if it was. Well, okay, Rainbow could be a jerk of a prankster because she doesn’t think things through. However, her getting the other five in on it? Impossible considering who they were.

And not to mention, even acting ability couldn't explain the emotions they were giving off. No, not quite emotions, she’d have to touch them to feel that. They were tapping into their Magic through a want to protect each other… from her.

“You got applesauce in your ears?” Applejack demanded as Sunset stepped forward. “I said, we ain’t fu-”

Ignoring the comment, and how much it should sting, she took Applejack’s wrist and held tight. Even if they no longer felt the same, she still loved them, she could feel it, with every part of her. She held onto that as well, the feeling she knew was real. It was enough for her to use her own Magic, wishing to not only protect, but to save her friends.

But as she looked through Applejack’s memory of the past few months, she began to question it. She saw events, watching them line up with her own, except for one difference; Sunset wasn’t in those memories. She didn’t exist in them, as if their friendship never happened.

For a moment, she almost gave in and believed it. After all, what made more sense: that they’d all forgotten, or that she’d truly gone insane and imagined herself with them, wishing she really could be like that?

No, there were too many things that didn’t make sense. Even in their memories, there were too many missing holes, holes only she could fill. It was like…

“It’s like I’ve been erased,” Sunset said, staring wide-eyed.

“What are you talking about?” Applejack demanded, tearing her arm away.

“I can see your memories,” she explained, realizing that she wouldn’t know. “I’m not in any of them.”

“And exactly how is it you can ‘see our memories’, if you don’t mind me asking?” she frowned.

“Magic,” she replied, before reaching to the crystal around her neck. “You have to- no, of course you wouldn’t remember when I got this.”

“It’s obviously a cheap knockoff of ours,” Rarity scoffed, reaching for her own necklace.

“We got them together!” she insisted. “You were there!”

Okay, that wasn’t working. While Fluttershy questioned why she was still talking to them, Sunset thought. Perhaps being more specific would help? Something… something she was there for.

“Pinkie Pie,” Sunset said, turning to address the girl in question. “What about when I came to your sleepover before the Battle of the Bands?”

“Ha!” Pinkie laughed. “The closest you’ve ever come to a party of mine is Freshman year, when you pretended to be Applejack and texted me, “Your party is lamer than a hungry duck in snowboots”!”

“That’s… wrong on two accounts,” Sunset frowned, tilting her head. “I came to at least one of your parties, because you asked the Knights of Dawn to play.”

“The Knights of what now?” Twilight asked.

“I...remember that,” Pinkie said, smile now a thoughtful frown. “That was Flash’s band, before he and Thunderbass got in that big fight. But I… Huh. You’re right. You should be there. But you’re not. It makes more sense that you would’ve shown up with your boyfriend to a party, if only to make sure everyone knew he was ‘yours’.”

“Can we please not refer to Flash as my ‘boyfriend’?” Sunset said, making a face. “Not to mention, that I didn't even start faking texts until Junior year. I didn’t have any reason to back then.”

“I’ll give you that point,” Applejack said, a little sheepishly.

The whole group stared at her. While Sunset was glad for the reprieve, it was a little surprising.

“Oh come on,” Applejack sighed, inching the bridge of her nose. “This was our first week of knowing one another, it’d been a hell of a day, and you were texting every thirty seconds to ask me to come over!”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to be a dick,” Sunset said.

“Okay, you’re right, I’m sorry about sending that text,” she said, before raising an eyebrow to Sunset. “Wait… why are you lecturing me on when it’s okay to be a dick?”

“Because I’m not a dick?” she answered. “Okay, I was. But we’ve had several months for me to try and fix this! And yet none of you remember!”

A few of the group began to speak, but Rainbow cut them off. She stepped forward, almost shielding the others from her. While her glare was less intense than before, Sunset still felt a bit of terror as she met it.

“Fine,” Rainbow said. “Prove it to us. Tell us something that only a friend would know.”

“That’s going to do jack all,” Sunset sighed. “I already told you I can read memories. If I told you some secret thing, you’d say I only read your memories.”

“She’s smart,” Pinkie smirked. “Really smart!”

“Well then, how do we prove it?” Rarity asked.

“Can’t AJ go all ‘Honesty Mother Fucker’ on her?” Rainbow suggested.

“That depends on if she’s crazy or not,” Applejack said, tilting her head. “If she believes what she’s saying, I don’t think Honesty will work.”

“So we stop and think,” Sunset said. “Do you have any memory of me being helpful at all? Preferably something from after the Fall Formal.”

“Not that I can think of,” Fluttershy admitted.

“Exactly,” she replied. “So, back during the Battle of the Bands, after you realized the Sirens were using Dark Magic, you contacted Twilight, Princess Twilight. Do any of you remember how?”

There was a length of silence as the girls searched for an answer. A few opened their mouths, beginning to speak, only to close it and lapse back into a train of thought. It would be funny if it weren’t so worrying.

“A journal,” Rarity spoke up. “There was a journal. But…”

“Where’d we get it?” Fluttershy finished her thought.

“From me,” Sunset answered, reaching into her bag. “This isn’t the original. I got new ones because of… Okay, that’s a long story that I shouldn’t have to explain because you should remember it. But that brings up a point, what do you remember from the Friendship Games?”

“I remember you yelling at me,” Twilight said. “I mean, I kind of deserved it. I was messing with Magic and that probably could’ve knocked you off your bike with the plant monsters and all. It still hurt.”

“And I apologized for that,” she said, tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder. “But since you don’t remember, I’m sorry again.”

“Wait,” Rainbow frowned. “What do you mean ‘knocked her off her bike’?”

“Er, well,” Twilight gave a nervous chuckle. “You remember the whole thing with the portals opening and-”

“No,” she cut her off. “About Sunset being on a bike?”

“Oh,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “She was in the motocross of the second event.”

“What?!” the other four exclaimed.

“She couldn’t have been in the games,” Rarity said.

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded. “I’ll give Chinch a point in saying that CHS picks its competitors in a ‘popularity contest’. Even though the only ones we can vote for do qualify, you have to be popular enough to get in the top twelve. After the Fall Formal there’s no way Sunset would’ve been on the team.”

“But who was the last teammate?” Pinkie pointed out. “Shy and AJ were in the Archery, Rares and I were speedskating, and Dashie was on motocross. But who was on Motocross with her?”

“Sunset was,” Twilight answered tentatively. “But why do I remember it when you don’t?”

“Theoretically,” Sunset mused, “The only memories of yours that were affected were of me being a friend to you. But how far back... Pinkie?”

“Yeah?” Pinkie answered, snapping to attention.

“What night-rule now about this haunted grove?” she asked.

There was a chorus of ‘what?’ from the rest of the group. Something Sunset was quickly getting used to. Pinkie, on the other hand, launched directly into ‘actor mode’. She quoted her next lines, waving her hands dramatically as she had once done on stage.

Of course, she stopped at the end, waiting for a next line. Yet Sunset didn’t return her own line. Pinkie’s body language dropped as realization hit her like a truck. Her hair seemed a little straighter, a little darker.

“You- you were Oberon,” Pinkie whispered, slowly lowering herself into the sand.

“As in the Faerie King?” Rarity asked. “Wasn’t that the play you did last year?”

“Yes,” Sunset said. “Pinkie, you’re the only one of them I interacted with back then. As more than just chance encounters at school. Do you remember me at any rehearsal? Do you remember anyone playing Oberon last year?”

“No,” Pinkie sniffed, hands pulling at her hair as she tried to keep tears in check. “I can see it. I remember the play. But even-even on stage, with the laughing audience, I’m talking to an empty throne, answering lines I can’t hear.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, ignoring the girls’ hesitation and kneeling down to pull Pinkie into a hug. “The rest of you though, when I brought up the Games, I meant to ask about after that.”

“After the games?” Rainbow tilted her head.

“Yeah,” she nodded, gently stroking Pinkie’s hair. “That weekend, you all took a trip. Do you remember where it was? Who you met?”

“Of course,” Applejack nodded. “We went up to Hollow Shades for…”

“Shimmer,” Fluttershy said, her eyes wide as her own tears began. “We wanted to find your Counterpart.”

“Wait,” Rainbow frowned. “Why would we call the other Sunset by ‘Shimmer’? Wouldn’t we just have called her Sunset? Or said ‘the other one’?”

“Because Sunset was there,” Pinkie cried, her breathing a bit short. “That’s-that’s my system. Because of Heartstrings. When Lyra and I met Heartstrings, we agreed- we agreed that the one who belonged in this Dimension k-kept their name. But I wanted to keep it fair. So the next Counterpart should’ve- should’ve flipped that. The ‘guest’ gets to keep their name.”

“Wasn’t I next?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I- I was looking forward to calling you ‘Sparks’ and ‘Sparkie’. But everyone-everyone thought ‘Sci-Twi’ was a good name. And after that we met Shimmer. So Sunset had to have been with us.”

“It makes more sense,” Applejack said. “Alright, you have a point. There’re too many unanswered questions. I’m trying to think of certain things, events and all.”

“I can’t believe this makes sense,” Rainbow groaned. “But you’re right. There’s no way we got through some of that stuff alone. You got me thinking on the Friendship Games, and I can’t remember what beat Midnight Sparkle.”

“Me either,” Twilight shuddered at the remembrance. “But we need a set of six. I… don’t know how I know that, but you needed six for the Elements to work.”

They all looked to Sunset, confused, a bit scared. Lost. She was the only one who seemed okay, yet even she wasn’t sure how much of her memories were real. After all, if they could forget her, who was to say she played the role she remembered?

That didn’t matter. At least not right now. Because she knew what she felt. It tore her heart to see them like this. It seemed to be hitting Pinkie hardest, as the girl still sobbed into Sunset’s chest, but the others were just as upset.

Even if their friendship was fabricated somehow, it didn’t matter. All she cared about was them, and fixing all of this.

“We need to know more,” Sunset said carefully. “We need to know if it’s just us who’ve been affected.”

“How?” Rainbow asked. “Listen, with how angry I was a few minutes ago, I don’t think heading into school on Monday is an option. I have restraint. Somewhat. Point is, if everyone hates you, then not everyone’s going to see it like… Fuck!”

“What?” Fluttershy asked, jumping back from the outburst.

“Fucking-,” she let out a noise close to a growl. “Streamline! Was that-”

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded, feeling sick at that particular memory. “But don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on waiting. You might not remember, but I have more friends than just you. Pinkie, I need to reach my phone, okay?”

Pinkie nodded, shifting slightly so Sunset could get the bag that had ended up stuck between them. She hesitated, too scared of what she would find, what she would hear, if it was more than just the seven of them involved. Taking a steady breath, she hit the call button.

There was no answer. Actually, there was a clear answer. A decline. She tried again, and got declined again. Three times was pretty clear, so she prepared herself for the worst.

“Pinkie, can I borrow your phone?” Sunset asked. “Where is it?”

Pinkie muttered something that sounded vaguely like ‘backpack’ and gestured toward a pile of bags. She moved to get up, but Sunset held her in place. Though the girl had stopped sobbing, just moving seemed to take too much effort for her. And Sunset definitely wasn’t imagining the straighter hair or darkened colors.

“It’s alright,” Sunset said. “You don’t really feel like getting up, do you?”

Pinkie shook her head. Taking a breath, Sunset felt for her Magic. As she let out the breath, she let the Magic come forth, her ears and Unicorn horn appearing. It was so familiar that she nearly forgot it wouldn’t be to them.

“How can you Pony Up?” Applejack asked.

“The same way you can,” Sunset answered, levitating Pinkie’s backpack over to her. “I can do it on command easier though. Probably because I’m a Unicorn and all. It’s more natural.”

Pinkie’s phone rang, and she made sure to put it on speakerphone. Partly to prove what was said, partly because she wanted backup in case something she couldn’t handle was said. The phone picked up, and she swallowed down her fears.

“Hello?” Flash’s voice answered.

“Flash, whatever you do, don’t hang up!” Sunset commanded.

“Sunset, what-” he began. “How’d you get Pinkie’s phone? Is she okay?”

“She’s…” she wasn’t sure how to respond.

“I’m not okay!” Pinkie shouted. “Some kind of Magical bullshit made me forget one of my best friends! How the fuck am I supposed to feel?!”

“I think she’s entered the ‘angry’ stage of grief,” Rarity answered.

“Isn’t that for death?” Rainbow asked.

“The rules apply to a lot of griefs,” she said.

“Okay, apparently a lot is going on today,” Flash said, and Sunset could imagine him rubbing the side of his face in exasperation.

“Listen,” Sunset said. “Since you declined my calls three times, I’m guessing you have no memory of us making up.”

“Is this connected to what Pinkie shouted?” he asked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. But if this is some kind of trick-”

“No tricks,” she said, ignoring the pain this brought. “Flash, I know you don’t trust me right now, because you can’t remember me earning your trust again. But think for a moment. Who gave you a sword for Christmas?”

“What kind of question is that?” he asked.

“A legitimate one,” she said. “For Christmas this past year, you got a sword. It’s Magic, the blade only appears when you need it to. The pommel is in the shape of your- Of the shield and lightning design you like. Who got it for you?”

“It was…” he trailed off. “I can’t remember.”

“I figured,” she said. “But I got it for you. I also got Bramble a bracelet that turns into a shield and a necklace that plays music for Goldie. More Magic items. But it’s proof that you’re missing some memories.”

“Okay, fine,” he admitted. “That’s suspicious at best.”

“Just trust a little, will you?” Applejack snapped.

“Girls, a little more calm,” Fluttershy said. “We’re going through a lot, and yelling at each other won’t help.”

“She’s got a point,” Flash sighed. “But what I meant was that since it’s been pointed out, I can tell there’s a lot missing. A lot to do with you. I can remember all the bad things that happened, but the good seems to disappear. Hell, I can even remember that all of my bad memories of you are connected to good ones, but I can’t remember the good ones. Does that make sense?”

“Too much,” everyone answered.

“I can’t even remember meeting you,” he mused, as if he hadn’t heard them. “So, what do you want me to do?”

“Huh?” Sunset answered.

“You want me to trust you, fine,” he said. “If you’re going to fix things, then tell me how to help.”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” she said. “I only needed to test if it was related to my connection to the girls or something bigger. Obviously something bigger.”

“Okay,” he said. “Keep me updated, and tell me if I can help.”

“As long as you answer when I text,” she said. “Actually, can you do me a favor?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“You should still remember where my house is,” she said. “You probably don’t remember the animals though. The dog is Rhea, and the bird is Philomena. If you could swing by and check on them…”

“Some kind of Magical Crisis is going on, and you want me to pet sit?” he deadpanned.

“Just for the afternoon, please?” she begged. “With this going on I might be too preoccupied to come home until really late. Just take Rhea out for a walk and make sure all food and water bowls are full.”

“Okay, fine,” he sighed.

“Thanks,” she said. “Oh, and if Philomena bursts into flames, don’t panic. She just wants attention, but she knows better than to actually burn the house down.”

“What in the hell-?”

He was cut off as the phone hung up.

“So, what do we do?” Rainbow asked.

“We try a second option,” Sunset answered, the journal already in her Magic as she found a pen. “If Flash was affected, I’m willing to bet a lot of other people are too. But now we see if this carries across dimensions.”

Twilight, this may sound crazy, but are we friends?

She flipped through to previous pages while she waited for the answer, looking at previous messages to Twilight and everyone else she’d met in Ponyville. It was somewhat comforting to see. Reassuring that her memories were right, that she wasn’t going crazy.

At the same time, knowing that she wasn’t going crazy terrified her. Because she doubted the girls and Flash had all just happened to get very selective amnesia last night. Someone or something was doing this.

The book glowed, and she quickly flipped to the page. Words appeared on the page, though Sunset didn’t stop and wait for her to finish writing before reading.

Of course we’re friends! Are you okay? What’s going on?

Taking a breath, Sunset thanked whatever was out there that Twilight wasn’t affected. Equestria in general was likely unaffected as well. Picking up the pen again, she wrote a message back.

Kinda hard to explain. Might be easier in person. Well, not ‘person’, so to speak…

“Are you girls up for a short trip?” Sunset asked.

“Where?” Applejack asked.

“To the portal,” she explained. “Maybe through it. Just for a short time, to see if Twilight-Princess Twilight-can help fix this.”

Thankfully it didn’t take long to go. Everyone had been mostly dry for the picture, not to mention wearing something decent since it was technically a school picture, so it was really just a matter of getting to the car. And shaking off as much sand as they could.

Pinkie was reluctant to let go of Sunset, as if the moment she let go she’d disappear. None of them blamed her. They all piled into Applejack’s van, letting the pair have the back seat to themselves.

Sunset found herself doing a mental headcount of everyone the whole way. Logically, she knew they wouldn’t just disappear, or that she wouldn’t remember if they did disappear. Yet she kept it up. The other girls did too. Rarity, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight kept turning to look at her, worry clear. Applejack’s eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror, and she felt Pinkie hold her a little tighter every time she counted.

Being a saturday, Canterlot High was empty, save for a few staff and maybe some clubs. It gave the whole place an otherworldly feeling. Perhaps it was fitting, as there was a portal to another world here, but it was all too eerie. Haunted, but she didn’t know by what.

The statue stood in front of them now. Taking her hand across its surface, Sunset watched as stone rippled like water. The Portal was open, and now all she had to do was step across.

“I don’t know how long this will take,” Sunset warned. “While I could bring Twilight here, we’ll need to access her library to try and find a spell that could’ve done this, and how to reverse it. Not to mention that… I don’t want her affected by this. She could forget me too, or you might forget her.”

“It’s alright,” Rarity nodded. “I think it’s a good idea if she doesn’t cross over until we know what happened.”

“Thanks,” she sighed. “But… do you girls want to come with me?”

“Can we?” Fluttershy wondered. “I-I mean, wouldn’t that cause some problems over there?”

“I’m not leaving you,” Pinkie stated, still holding onto Sunset’s arm. “Even if you told me to stay, I wasn’t going to. Not until we fix this.”

Sunset both hated and loved the look in her eyes. It was sad, but determined, maybe a little fierce, and fueled by emotions she didn’t remember. Reaching with her free hand, she brushed Pinkie’s nearly-straight hair out of her face.

“Alright,” Sunset nodded. “It’s okay for you girls to come over. It might be better, since we can test out any spells you find.”

“Then I’m coming too,” Rainbow said.

“I think it’s safe to say we’re all going,” Applejack agreed.

There was a resounding confirmation from the rest, and it made her feel a bit better to know that they’d do this even though they didn’t remember their friendship.

Author's Note

Of course I had to do something with Forgotten Friendship. And as you can tell, this one's going a bit of a different route than the show. Partly due to 'fix it' rewrites, and partly to fit certain things into the universe.

Also, did you know that when you want to add color to these fics, you're not limited the color pallet from the button. You can just slap any hex code in there.

Memory Part II: Body

Sun set stepped forward, Pinkie stepping with her. The feeling of going through the portal was all too familiar, the way it pulled and stretched her. It didn’t hurt, of course. This transformation never hurt.

Even so, there was a moment of terror. Pinkie’s hand slipped out of hers. She knew it was because you can’t hold hands when you have hooves, but after all that happened, it scared her for a moment. Sunset wasn’t sure she could breathe until her hooves touched crystal, and she could see pink in her peripheral vision.

As Pinkie reattached herself to Sunset’s side,her heart caught in her throat as she saw her hair-her mane and tail laying far flatter than should be possible without a straightener. It was not fully straight yet, but enough that Sunset couldn't brush it off as 'imagination'.

“I’m so glad you’re here!”

Pushing aside her questions about Pinkie's mane, it took her a moment to register Twilight’s voice, and another to realize that she’d been pulled into a hug. Sunset looked around, glad to see that they were already in a library.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, looking to Pinkie as she realized she was there. “I-is Pinkie… are you okay?”

“Not really,” Pinkie answered. “But we’re getting there.”

“But what-” she began.

Her question was cut off by the sound of Rarity and the other Twilight, who they all agreed to nickname ‘Sci-Twi’ when the pair were together. Both had, quite literally, fallen out of the portal. Just as they began to get up, Rainbow and Fluttershy fell on top of them and all four went down.

“That’s why I told y’all to wait,” Applejack said, having only stuck her head in.

“Shut it!” Rainbow retorted.

“As long as you hurry out of the way,” she said. “Being half-in this thing is weirding me out, but I ain’t going to stay standing around alone back here.”

The four of them scrambled out of the way as best they could. If it were any other day, Sunset might’ve laughed at them a little. Good natured laughing of course, but still. Seeing a bunch of Humans trying to figure out walking on four legs in a matter of seconds is pretty hilarious.

While Applejack came through and took her turn testing out her legs, Twilight was already inspecting the group. As nothing seemed wrong, she looked to the necklaces. Thankfully, all seven Crystals had made it across fine. As had the bracelet Sunset wore, on it’s first ‘adventure’ into Equestria.

“As much as I’d love to believe you all came here just to say hi,” Twilight began, “What’s going on?”

“Someone or something’s been messing with our memories,” Applejack answered.

“What?” she asked.

“Exactly what she said,” Rainbow said, giving up on ‘legs’ and deciding to hover in the air.

“To be fair, she can’t really be much clearer,” Rarity added. “But sometime between leaving school yesterday and arriving at the beach, we all somehow forgot Sunset was our friend.”

“How do you ‘forget’ a friend?” Twilight asked.

“Well, it’s not like we forgot,” Sci-Twi answered. “It’s more like any instance of her being our friend was erased from our memories.”

Twilight stared at them in some combination of shock and confusion before rubbing her face in exasperation.

“Okay…” she sighed. “This is going to be a long day, so start at the beginning. You said Sunset was erased from your memory?”

“Not all of her,” Fluttershy said. “Just the, uh, good parts. We can remember the bad well enough.”

“But everything since the Formal,” Applejack added. “It’s just gone.”

“Or doesn’t match up,” Rainbow said. “Sci-Twi remembers Sunset competing in the Friendship Games, but we don’t.”

“We’ve narrowed it down somewhat,” Sunset said. “Whatever this is, it only erased memories of me being their friend. And it’s not just them. I talked to Flash before we got here, and he couldn’t remember us making up or anything.”

“So everything after the Fall Formal is gone?” Twilight said. “Wouldn’t that leave large gaps in memory?”

“No, it’s like she’s been taken out of it,” Rarity said. “We remember things happening the same, but she doesn’t exist when we recall it!”

“That’s how she got us to believe her,” Applejack said. “Because we couldn’t answer questions like how we got the journal to talk to you, or why we went up to Hollow Shades to look for Shimmer.”

“You remember Shimmer, but not Sunset,” Twilight mused.

“And it only took memories of our friendship,” Sci-Twi said. “That’s why I can remember her during the Games, but not when she… I have no idea what you did to stop me, I mean, ‘Midnight’.”

“You’ll remember,” Sunset said, giving as reassuring a smile as she could. “But they also don’t remember anything from before the Formal that involved me being a friend. Well, mostly Pinkie, since she was the only one I was relatively ‘close’ to and she considered us friends.”

“Is that why she’s…” Twilight wondered, gesturing to the pink mare.

“If I let go of Sunset I might forget again,” Pinkie said, shuddering a little. “Have you ever forgotten a friend?”

“Not like this, no,” she answered honestly. “I’ve had moments of ignorance, or in some cases outright stupidity, where I didn’t realize I had friends. But nothing like this. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” Sunset said. “I was hoping that maybe there’s some kind of spell like this in your library.”

“Not that I…” she trailed off, and it was easy to see the gears turning in her head. “Not in my library, no.”

“Did you think of a spell?” Fluttershy asked.

“Please tell me it’s an easy one,” Rainbow near-begged.

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “But I need to know one more thing. When you remember something that involves Sunset, how ‘erased’ is she?”

“Hold on,” Sunset said, before turning to the mare at her side. “Pinkie, I don’t want you to think about it again, but do you mind if I show her?”

“I-it’s fine,” Pinkie nodded. “As long as it helps.”

As Pinkie had yet to let go of her, that already provided some physical contact. However, on the other end, Twilight was a bit too far to reach. She offered her hoof, which was taken with a raised eyebrow.

Sunset took her into a Memory, one of their Midsummer Night’s Dream performances. While Pinkie played her part well, entertaining the audience and feeling exhilaration at the laughs she got, she spoke to an empty throne. All of her movements were as if someone were there, poking and pointing and even stretching across the seat as if in someone’s lap, yet no one was in the chair with her.

She jumped forward to Pinkie’s memory of the Friendship Games. Everyone was in their places, just as they should be. Except the Wondercolts seemed down a teammate. Rainbow stood with two Shadowbolts, waiting for the first two rounds to finish. Yet there was no second Wondercolt bike.

Jumping forward even more, she saw Camp Everfree. Sunset was still nowhere to be found. No one helping them learn their Magic, no one talking sense into Sci-Twi to help her get over Midnight. Seven crystals were taken from ‘Gaia Everfree’, but one disappears.

And then they were back, hooves touching crystal. Pinke held her tighter, while Twilight’s face had already become a thoughtful frown.

“I think I know what spell did this,” Twilight said. “But I don’t know it well enough myself to help you.”

“Do you have a book on it?” Sunset asked. “It’s better than nothing.”

“I don’t have a book,” she said. “But I do have something better. Someone, actually. Do you mind if I get her?”

“Should we come along?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t think anyone wants anyone disappearing just yet,” Applejack explained.

“I understand,” Twilight said. “But walking through town might cause confusion. Besides, it’ll take me only seconds to teleport to her and bring her back. I promise it’ll only be ten seconds at most.”

Hesitantly, they agreed. Despite fear in the back of their minds, it was the best option. Promising once more to be quick, Twilight lit her horn and teleported. Keeping her breath even, Sunset counted out the seconds.

It felt like longer, but she’d made it to ‘three’ in her countdown before Twilight appeared back. She wasn’t alone however. A very familiar mare had appeared by her side, though she looked as if teleportation didn’t quite sit well with her.

“Twilight, dear, you know I love you,” she said, using a chair to stabilize herself. “But I was in the middle of something. You can’t just pop in, shout at me, and then teleport me! Not to mention that I still get dizzy when I’m prepared to teleport and-”

She stopped, finally taking in the audience around her. An audience that includes two Twilights, and another her. The confusion was only momentary, as she put the pieces together when she saw Sunset.

“And now you’ve got me seeing double,” she joked, with a pointed look at Twilight. “Hello, er, everyone.”

“Hello, Rarity,” Sunset said, being the first to find her voice.

It was at this point that the Human Rarity seemed to figure out how to function again. She quickly walked forward, investigating her Counterpart. The Unicorn did the same, the two almost circling one another.

Thankfully, while identical in every basic aspect, they could tell the pair apart. The Unicorn had her mane tied back and a pair of red glasses, a telltale sign that she had been sewing an outfit together before Twilight dragged her out.

“This is incredibly odd,” both Raritys sighed.

“Yeah,” Sunset smiled at them. “No matter how prepared you are, it’s always strange to meet the other you.”

“I have an idea,” Rainbow said. “How about we start with the nicknames now instead of going in circles with ‘this Rarity’ and ‘That Rarity’?”

“An excellent idea,” the Unicorn smiled at her. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“Pinkie chooses,” the other five Humans-turned Ponies said.

“Hm,” Pinkie said, staring at both Raritys. “We’re still taking turns with it, so we’re back to ‘your Dimension, your name’.”

“So the Unicorn Rarity keeps her name?” Twilight asked. “Wait, shouldn’t we be on the ‘Guest’ turn?”

“You and Sci-Twi don’t count because I didn’t pick the name,” she answered. “Rarity’s difficult though, because you only have the one name. So it has to be a full nickname.”

“I’m not opposed to it,” the Human Rarity agreed. “Just don’t make it ridiculous.”

“Hmm…” she thought. “Have a choice, Elusive, Ivory, or Clarity.”

“All wonderful choices,” she said. “However, I believe I’ll go with Ivory. Clarity sounds a bit too close, and Elusive, while mysterious, doesn’t fit me quite as well, don’t you think?”

“It’s great,” Applejack said. “However, we are here for a reason.”

“I can tell,” Rarity said, her eyes flicking to Pinkie for a moment before looking to Twilight again. “Although, I still don’t know with what.”

“Someone erased me from their memory,” Sunset explained. “Not completely, but just memory from when they thought of me as a friend.”

“I think it’s the spell you used for the chandelier,” Twilight said.

“Chandelier?” Ivory asked.

“Actually, that might have done it,” Rarity mused. “So, would you like me to imitate you and explain how it works?”

“Yeah, just ‘imitate me’,” Twilight said, giving a sarcastic laugh.

Rarity only rolled her eyes, and gave her a soft smile. Her horn lit, and summoned a crystal. Some sort of spell was cast on it in that moment, but Sunset couldn’t tell what it was.

Instead, the crystal was held up and displayed, shown to all of them. As it neared her muzzle, she saw an image inside. It looked like Sci-Twi-no, this was Twilight. She could tell by the body language, but it was Twilight as a Unicorn, wearing a blue dress with several stars, and walking around a familiar ballroom.

“Is that the Grand Galloping Gala?” Sunset asked.

“What!” Twilight gasped, tugging the crystal out of Rarity’s Magic grip. “Rarity!”

“Sorry dear,” Rarity smiled a bit too innocently. “I had designs on the mind, and I assumed that this would be a beautiful way to show off the spell.”

Twilight didn’t have a proper response. She mostly just turned red, shuffled her wings awkwardly, and attempted to form a sentence. Not changing her expression, Rarity moved her gaze to Sunset, and suddenly she understood Twilight’s reaction all too well.

“A-Anyway,” Sunset said. “I don’t think I’ve seen a spell like that before, and I know a lot of spells.”

“There’s a good reason for that,” Rarity said. “I found it a while back, when the Crystal Empire first appeared. We had been searching through the Crystal Library for- actually, that’s too long of a story. But the spell isn’t truly a Unicorn Spell, it’s a Crystal Pony spell.”

“‘Crystal Ponies’?” Ivory gasped, looking awed at the thought. “But-how-oh stars!”

“I had the same reaction,” she laughed. “However, this spell is supposed to be like a moving picture. It is supposed to copy a Pony’s Memory, using Light and Emotional Magics to form the image in a crystal.”

“Wait,” Sci-Twi interrupted. “If it’s a Crystal Pony Spell, how can you use it?”

Twilight began to ramble, but found that her mouth was being held closed by Rarity’s Magic.

“I believe they are in a hurry, so if you could go for the short, simple version, please?” Rarity asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes, but nodded all the same.

“This is what I get for surprise teleportation,” Twilight grumbled. “But the short version, is that Unicorn Magic is one of the most versatile of Magics. A talented Spellcaster can mimic a lot of other Active Magics, and even some Passive Magics if they know the spell.”

“I’m more concerned about the power it takes up,” Sunset frowned. “Not to mention the trial and error of transferring one of those spells.”

“Oddly enough, it doesn’t take much energy,” Rarity said. “Really, the Backlash from the incomplete spell was worse than actually using it. Don’t misunderstand, it is a very complicated spell, but the complication comes from the actual casting than the power needed. If you do it incorrectly-”

“You can erase memories?” Pinkie guessed.

“And y’all went through testing it out anyway?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “For a chandelier?”

“It was a beautiful gift and perfect for a place called the ‘Castle of Friendship’,” Rarity defended. “While I might not be as naturally talented in spellcasting as Twilight or Sunset, I'm still a Unicorn. I know the basics of learning a spell and how to be careful with it."

“How?” Fluttershy asked. “Er, wait, I’m sorry. Did that come out wrong?”

“I understand,” she smiled. “But to answer your question, I did ask for volunteers, and Rainbow, this world’s Rainbow, agreed. I only tested it out on memories she would be alright with losing. In her own words, she said she didn’t mind losing the memory of the Daring Do books so she could read them for the first time again.”

“You know what, I take back what I said,” Rainbow grinned. “Maybe some amnesia isn’t that bad.”

Most of the group glared, waiting for her to realize exactly what she said. To her credit, she did look sheepish.

“So…” Pinkie searched for something to ask. “Are you sure this is the spell?”

“From what you described, yes,” Twilight said. “Sunset is the only thing missing from your memory, but it’s more like she was taken out of it. And she’s the only thing altered.”

“This spell is very specific,” Rarity said. “When I tested it with Rainbow, I saw a few variations. Sometimes it took her memory of the books entirely, sometimes it took her memory of Daring Do the Pony, and leaving gaps in her memory during those adventures.”

“Wait, Daring Do is real here?” Rainbow gasped.

“Long story,” Twilight said.

“Other times it could be more specific,” Rarity said. “Since the Chandelier was for Twilight, I the memories I copied were related to her. However, the spell could tell the difference between memory of Twilight as a Unicorn, and as an Alicorn. Each form was treated as two different beings, because I was thinking of her as she is now or how she was before.”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Sunset mused. “The spell didn’t erase memory of Shimmer, my Counterpart. We’re both ‘Sunset Shimmer’, and anyone else going through our Memory wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I wonder-”

“This is interesting and all,” Applejack cut them off. “But since you know the spell, can you fix it?”

“I...,” Rarity sighed, her posture dropping a little. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything for it.”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, voice wavering a little as Sunset held her tighter.

“Because I don’t have your Memories,” she answered. “The Spell put your Memories in a crystal of some kind. If I don’t have them, I can’t give them back to you. You would need to ask whoever took them, or at least get the crystal to me.”

“Well, we needed to find whoever did this anyway,” Rainbow shrugged.

“But…” Fluttershy spoke up. “What if-what if the crystal with our memory breaks?”

“Can they-” Pinkie swallowed. “Can they be erased completely?”

“Don’t worry,” Rarity said. “I don’t know of a way to erase the memory completely, only transfer it to crystal. And I doubt anyone in your world has the know-how to change that. And if the crystal breaks… well, the memories should be fine.”

“Should?” Ivory asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “A few crystals broke when making the chandelier, and the memories seemed to go back to their origins. But that was the complete version of the spell. I’m not sure what the incomplete version would do. I can’t promise they’d go back correctly without someone’s Magic to guide them.”

“We’ll deal with that if we have to,” Sunset nodded. “Now we just have to figure out who did it.”

“You can narrow it down,” Twilight said. “It has to be a Counterpart to either a Unicorn or Crystal Pony, decently powerful considering the spell’s complication. It’s also likely someone at Canterlot High. I mean, it could be coincidence, but you do have a history…”

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “And you’re right, that’s likely. They’re also likely in the same year. Sure, someone younger might hate me, but it’s only the Senior Class that really knew my bad times firsthand. Unless I hurt an underclassmen personally, I don’t think they’d do something. But narrowing it down more…”

“This may sound strange,” Rarity said. “But you need to look for someone you don’t remember.”

“Your right, that does sound strange,” Ivory agreed.

“Sarcasm aside,” she said “This is a complicated spell, and whoever is doing this is using the unfinished version against you. It’s likely that they tested it out before, and also likely that their first uses were accidental. Most who wish to erase memory usually erase personal things, embarrassing moments and such. But without a proper handle on it-”

“They’d erase a lot of Memory,” Sunset mused. “Okay, so a student we can’t remember. But we have to find them.”

“Most schools keep records,” Sci-Twi pointed out.

“Most schools also frown on breaking and entering,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Weren’t you the one who suggested breaking and entering last time we had to find someone?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Not the point,” she said.

“Besides, we don’t need breaking and entering,” Pinkie said. “I-I remember everyone. At least everyone who wasn’t… erased. Just get me last year’s yearbook, and we’ll be good.”

“Good idea,” Sunset said. “I don’t have one, but the closest would be the school’s library. They have yearbooks archived.”

“Didn’t we just agree on not breaking and entering?” Applejack sighed.

“Teleportation spells don’t count,” she said. “What are they going to say? Seven girls just appeared in the school library? Besides, do you really think Principal Celestia would call the cops on us for fixing Magical Shenanigans?”

Nearly everyone gave a noncommittal shrug accompanied by a noise Sunset could only describe as ‘fair enough’. Twilight and Rarity however, stepped forward.

“You say that like we’re not coming with you,” Twilight said, intention obvious.

“Because you’re not,” Sunset said. “Before you protest, yes, I know you want to help. Hell, I’ll probably be paranoid that I’ll forget you while we do this. But if something goes wrong, you’re the backup plan. If whoever did this erases the progress we made, you two can tell us what we already figured out.”

“Fine,” she sighed, wings shuffling with concern. “But update us. If you find a name, write it in the journal. Check in often, until you find them.”

“I will,” she nodded. “Come on, everyone. Back through.”

Though all were hesitant to leave, they did go back through the portal. On the other side, once she’d firmly taken Sunset’s hand again, Pinkie did try to lighten the mood by pointing out that at least they didn’t need nicknames. It didn’t help much, though it was mostly due to Pinkie’s own mood.

Her hair had gotten a little of its curl back, but it was still far from her usual bounce. Sunset made a mental note to ask Twilight about that. Maybe it was just the rule of ‘don’t question Pinkie’, but neither Pony had seemed surprised that her hair was flat.

Shoving that thought out of her mind, Sunset focused on her Magic. Thankfully the portal had returned her still in her ‘Pony Up’ form. Warning them all of teleportation, she conjured up an image of the school library and took hold of them all in her Magic.

“Is it strange to say that I think I’m getting used to that?” Rarity asked, holding onto the nearest bookshelf.

“It’s your third teleportation,” Sunset said. “And the only one I really warned you about. Again, sorry.”

“We’ll find the book while you stabilize,” Pinkie said.

Finding old yearbooks was easy. They were kept on a shelf near the front, organized by year. And, for a moment, she was a little in awe of how much history was there. Perhaps she should be used to it, as she was used to history books in general.

Yet, there was something about old yearbooks. Perhaps it is because it was focused on one year at one place. Or perhaps it was because, unlike history, these were created by the people who were there, their view of the year colored by their experiences.

Thankfully, they only needed one. Last year’s yearbook had most of the current Senior Class, save for the handful of transfer students that would have only heard rumor of her past problems.

The rest of the girls had recovered by the time they got back. Pinkie sat in a chair, opening up the book to their class and scanning down the pages.

The difficult part was waiting. Every photo her eyes passed over, every line she ran her fingers down, every page she turned. Any of those faces could be the culprit. And the worst part was that Sunset couldn’t eliminate any of them.

There were too many people she didn’t know. Sure, some she knew a little bit about through either mutual friends, eavesdropping, or her former actions against them. And most faces looked familiar enough to put a name to, but she never stopped to learn the names and basic likes or dislikes or birthdays of every person.

Sunset didn’t really think that was a bad thing. Not out of malice, but because she couldn’t comprehend it. Oddly enough, memory was the problem there. She didn’t know how Pinkie could remember all of that about everyone she meets, even if she doesn’t know literally everything about them. As nice as Sunset was now, if she wanted to learn and remember that sort of thing, she’d have to spend a lot longer interacting with them.

“This one!” Pinkie shouted, tapping her finger against the book.

“Wallflower Blush?” Rarity read over her shoulder.

“With a name like that, you sure you just didn’t forget her?” Applejack asked.

“She knows Fluttershy,” Rainbow pointed out.

“I feel like I should be upset at that,” Fluttershy sighed. “But as good a point it is, she did meet me through you.”

“I know what I’m talking about,” Pinkie said, looking through her phone. “See! I have her info written down! But I don’t remember her face or even getting her number!”

“To be fair, I still have no idea how you got my number,” Sunset said. “But you’re sure it’s her and not just someone you met but don’t remember?”

“Trust me,” she said, gesturing to her phone. “If someone’s in this, I’ll remember them. Even if it’s just a name and face, I’ll remember.”

That look on her face was back. Determination with a fierceness that could match Rainbow’s anger. Once more, it somehow made her happy and broke her heart at the same time.

Instead, Sunset focused on the yearbook, on ‘Wallflower’. The picture was more than a year old, but it wasn’t likely that the girl had changed all that much. Both skin and hair were green, the hair being a few shades darker, and face splashed with freckles.

“You said you had her number?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah,” Pinkie nodded. “Do you want me to call her?”

“Once we get back outside,” Sunset said. “Let everyone recover from teleporting. Just… don’t confront her on the phone, and don’t mention me. Ask to meet somewhere. Are you ready?”

There were various murmurs of agreement, though none really wanted to teleport again. They seemed to do better this time around, as no one felt the need to lie down or hold on to a chair. Though, Applejack still looked worse off than the rest. Earth Ponies usually were hit worst, as they don’t like not having their hooves on the ground.

Well, usually, as some seemed unaffected. Pinkie was already on the phone, her voice far too chipper for her expression. Trying not to think about that, Sunset took out the journal to update their friends through the mirror.

We think it’s a girl named Wallflower Blush. Any chance you know her?

Sorry, I don’t know her. Or her Counterpart.

I think I have a dress order for someone by a similar name, but she’s yet to come in for a fitting.

Thanks anyway.

“Okay,” Pinkie nodded, hanging up the phone. “She suggested meeting us at the school’s garden.”

“The school has a garden?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s by the trees,” Applejack answered.

“What did you tell her?” Twilight wondered.

“Not much,” Pinkie admitted. “I said we were done at the beach and wanted to have a small party, but I figured I should invite people I hadn’t talked to in a while.”

“How’d she sound?” Sunset asked. “Was she suspicious or anything?”

“Not suspicious,” she said. “Maybe confused, but I don’t know if it was regular confusion or the ‘me-related’ confusion.”

Everyone could agree to that, so they let Applejack lead them to the garden area. When asked how she knew about the place, she admitted she wasn’t sure. There was a vague remembrance of a gardening club that had once asked her for tips, but she couldn’t remember more than that. Likely more Memory Interference.

The garden itself was beautiful. Flowers of every color were arranged around the stones and trees. It was well taken care of. No weeds or fallen petals in sight. Honestly, with the scenery and open space, it’d be a nice place for a picnic with friends. Or maybe a date.

Sunset tried to come up with a plan. Something foolproof, something that would keep them all safe. Yet there wasn’t much to plan, not much to do except talk. Because, sometimes, that’s all there is left to do.

Even so, there was some of a plan.

“You’re not going to like this idea,” Sunset began.

“You’re good at plans,” Twilight said. “I mean, probably. I honestly can’t remember if you ar or not, but you seem like you should be and-”

“We get it,” Rainbow cut her off. “What’s the plan?”

“Surprise,” Sunset said. “If she sees me with you, she might just zap us and run. So I need to be hidden, just long enough to get the upper hand. Keep her here. But if I’m hiding, you won’t be able to see me either.”

For a moment, Pinkie’s grip on her hand tightened. Then, ever so slowly, she untangled their fingers. Sunset had forgotten how cold a hand could feel.

“I trust you,” Pinkie said, swallowing her fears. “It’s not random events, it’s a person doing this. You won’t disappear at random. And-and if we do forget again, you can fix it!”

“Don’t worry,” Sunset nodded. “As long as I’m here, I won’t stop trying to get back to you all. And don’t worry, I’ll only use an invisibility spell. I’ll still be here, and if you get too worried, you can still hear and feel me.”

“It’s alright,” Rarity assured her. “As Pinkie said, the unknown is terrifying. But having something to focus on, to fight against, is far better.”

Sunset nodded, and lit her horn. Within moments, she disappeared. Invisibility spells were always strange. One never realized how much of oneself they could see until it wasn’t there. Her nose, the hair framing her face, her hands, all invisible.

Just to assure them that she was still there, she took a bit of Pinkie’s hair. It was harder than usual, as she couldn’t completely tell where her hand was. Curling the pink strands around her fingers, she watched the group relax a moment.

Now, she just had to wait. The girls talked amongst each other, but Sunset kept quiet unless called. She tried focusing on anything else, and ended up trying to guess all the flowers.

She didn’t have to wait long. She heard a lot of loud, almost over exaggerated, hellos from the girls. Turning her attention to them, she then followed their gazes to the girl in question. Despite anger running through her, she tried her best to remember that the girl was likely not evil, despite what she might’ve done.

Wallflower looked a lot like her old picture. Her hair was longer, and she had grown out of her gangly teenage phase, but there hadn’t been any drastic appearance changes. The only odd thing was her sweater, though that was likely just due to the juxtaposition to the girls still in beachwear.

“Hi,” Wallflower greeted, coming to a stop still a few feet away. “Why, uh, why am I here?”

“Well, we did ask you to come,” Applejack said.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “But how…”

“If you’re wondering how Pinkie got your number, we have no idea,” Rainbow said. “Pinkie tends to do her own thing.”

“You get used to it after a while,” Fluttershy assured.

“No, it’s not…” Wallflower paused, looking over their faces.

Sunset decided it would be better to do this quick. As quietly as possible, she stepped beside Wallflower. Dropping the spell, she took the girl’s hand and activated another before she could realize what happened.

The colors shifted as usual, when she fell into Memory. While sometimes Sunset was led directly to a memory, she saw small flashes of other scenes, going back a while. Yet, all were so similar.

A girl so alone, no one to talk to. Sure, she interacted with a handful of people, yet they never talk about anything real. They don’t know her. Do they want to? After all, most people tend to forget about her unless they have to talk to her often. Usually classmates, the few who joined the gardening club, but none of them stayed.

Then, it became literal. Sunset watched as no gardeners showed up one week. When Wallflower had gotten the courage to ask why they weren’t there, their answers confused her. None of them knew a gardening club existed, they thought she had just set it up, even though they had just come last week. And then…

“We could text to find a date that works for all of us!” one girl, Roseluck, smiled. “What’s your number? Er, actually, what’s your name? I don’t think we’ve met before?”

Wallflower had run. At first, she was hurt, furious even. It had to be some cruel prank. They pretended to be her friend, just to drop her and laugh at the whole thing. And it seemed almost like the whole school was in on it.

Then, a teacher had asked her name. The hurt had paused, replaced by confusion. A teacher wouldn’t be in on a prank. And as she went through more, even people who she had met in elementary school couldn’t even remember her.

The only saving grace was her parents. They still knew her, they hadn’t forgotten about her. Perhaps, because she’d never wanted them to?

How many times had she wished ‘I wish I could erase awkward moments, when I say the wrong thing or screw up somehow’? In some ways she had wanted to disappear, but not like this. Never like this.

The answer that it was caused by ‘Magic’ was easy enough. All things considering, it was a logical jump. But to practice, to figure out how she was doing it and how to stop it, that was almost hellish.

It wasn’t a tingle, not in the way Sunset felt it. It was more like when your leg fell asleep, cold pinpricks. Wallflower could feel the energy as she took the memory now, and it answered more questions than she realized.

Pain, an ache in her body that had she had brushed off as too much time bent over in the garden. Wallflower thought it was just a part of Magic. Sunset knew it was Backlash from an unfinished spell.

But now that she had this, why not use it?

Having seen enough, Sunset came out of the Memory. She decided anything more could be asked directly. Even so, she tried to keep her glares and bristling rage in check.

Wallflower, on the other hand, was not as good at keeping her emotion from showing on her face. She quickly went from surprise, to confusion, to shock. All of it quickly turned into terror as she took in Sunset’s ears and horn.

“You erased their memories,” Sunset said, barely keeping her words from a growl.

“Uh…” Wallflower’s face hardened as she jerked her hand out of Sunset’s. “Yes. Fine. No use pretending.”

“Why?” Rainbow demanded.

“I don’t even know you!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Exactly!” Wallflower snapped. “No one does!”

She backed up glaring at all of them. It didn’t take Magic for Sunset to know what she was feeling. Pain and anger were plastered on her face. The way she grit her teeth and let tears drip down her face.

“Wallflower, we can fix this,” Fluttershy said, taking a small step.

“No, you can’t!” Wallflower said, backing up more. “Even without the Magic, no one knows me!”

“I understand that,” Sunset said. “I know what it’s like to be alone, and I-”

“You’re nothing like me!” she shouted. “You-you were horrible! To everyone! Sure, you’re not now, but why does everyone love you? I’ve always- I was always nice! As nice as I could be! But you got to be popular and loved, while no one even cares about me! I don’t have anyone!”

“What about me?!” Pinkie said, stepping in front of everyone. “I considered you a friend! You could’ve talked to me!”

“You don’t count!” she snapped. “You call everyone a friend! But you’re only ever around a few people! You can’t just call someone a friend because you know their name!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?!” she cried, her own tears starting up again. “I wish I could know everyone and be just as close as I am with the girls! But it takes time! I know I can do things that seem impossible, but I’m just one person! I can’t do everything! I can’t be everywhere at once!

“But I do what I can,” she continued, shaking as she spoke. “I-I try to be friends. I open the door for them, let them decide to be my friend or not! And I keep that door open, because even if I don’t know someone as well as I'd like, I want to be there for them! Because other than memorizing a list of names and favorites, it’s all I can do!

Wallflower’s face seemed to soften a little. Yet no one dared to move. What little curl had returned to Pinkie’s hair earlier was quickly fading out.

“Y-you could’ve come to me,” Pinkie said, far more quietly as she choked back a sob. “I would’ve been more of a friend, learned about you, invited you to personal parties. Or-or if you didn’t want to be closer to me specifically, I could’ve found someone you would like. But I couldn’t- I couldn’t help you.”

“You have to want help to get it,” Wallflower said, averting her gaze. “I-It’s not your fault. I didn’t think-"

“I get it,” she nodded. “But you need to fix this. Please. Please give the memories back. I-I want to remember the good times with Sunny. Please.”

“I-I can’t,” she said. “If I could, I would’ve done it when I started this, when everyone forgot me. I-I’m sorry. But… I can still fix this. We can start over. And maybe it’ll be better.”

Sunset felt it, the shift in the air pressure around them. Instinct took over, lurching forward, trying to stop it. All she could do was tackle Pinkie out of the way.

Magic washed over her, sending that cold pinprick feeling through her body. Sunset fell hard, rolling over the grass and into a patch of pink flowers. As she pulled herself into a sitting position, tears fell and quickly turned to sobs.

Author's Note

I feel like I should elaborate on some of the changes here. I didn't involve the Celestia plot because in this Universe Sunset already reconnected with her in between FG and LoE, so it would've been less of an event.

Clover the Clever and the Memory Stone were left out for a few reasons. First, several plot holes surrounding the stone. But mostly because Clover was already established in this Universe and would not have fit in with the rest of this.

So, since I had to change the Clover plot, I remembered the chandelier made in Castle Sweet Castle, along with my headcanons on Rarity's spellcasting ability and Magic Backlash. I also wanted to change the 'lesson', since it was my biggest problem with Forgotten Friendship, yet also make Wallflower's actions be more relatable.

Memory Part III: Heart and Soul

It hurt. Everything hurt. Sure, nothing was physically wrong, even the rough landing was barely enough to register. Yet she still felt like crying, like screaming until her voice gave out.

It was not physical pain, but emotional. Something that hurt so much that it became an ache across her body. It was why Sunset Shimmer had run, even with no idea where she was going. Because it hurt too much.

“Sunset!” someone screamed. Several someones.

Momentarily snapping to attention, Sunset looked up. Everything stopped as she scrambled back through the carnations.

“Sunset are you okay?” the closest one asked.

“N-no,” Sunset managed. “How do-How do you know my name? Who are you? What- What are you?”

Why did these creatures look so scared, so sad? The girls, or at least she assumed they were feminine from their appearances, all gave various gasps and choked cries. Some glared at the green one, but others stayed focused on her.

“What in the hell did you do?!” the orange one demanded, stomping over to the green one.

“I-I’m sorry,” the green one squeaked out. “I was trying to fix it!”

“You call this fixing it!” the rainbow-maned one retorted, gesturing at Sunset.

“It was all I could do!” she protested. “I can’t put your memory back, so I… I figured the next best thing would be letting you start over. Without good or bad. I didn’t think-”

“No, you didn’t!” the purple one snapped. “Now, how about we refrain from doing anything more drastic and you hand over that crystal?”

“What crystal?” she asked.

“Wallflower,” the white one said, a bit more calm yet easily reigning in her anger. “We did look into this stuff. You have some sort of crystal or gem, and that’s what’s letting you do this. The memories are in that. If you give it to us, we can fix it.”

The green one, Wallflower, nodded. Muttering more apologies, she reached into her shirt and pulled out a pendant. With trembling hands, she took it from her neck and held it out.

“Thank you, now-” the white one stopped. “Pinkie! What are you-!”

The pink one, Pinkie apparently, had reached her first and taken the pendant. Sunset didn’t understand why it was important. It was just a crystal, a clear Quartz in a sort of oval shape. And yet, the way Pinkie looked at it… something in the girl broke.

“It’s… It’s not here,” Pinkie said.

“What do you mean it’s not there?” The purple one asked.

“Nothing’s here!” she cried. “No Memories, no Spells, nothing! It’s just a rock!”

“I-I told you I couldn’t fix it,” Wallflower said. “I already thought it might’ve been like your necklaces. But it... there wasn’t anything.”

“You’d better find a way to fix this!” the rainbow-maned girl growled.

Wallflower looked abou to run, but the rainbow-maned girl was faster. She grabbed the front of her shirt, keeping her there while a fiery rage emanated from her.

Sunset tried to move, but her legs didn’t want to work right. Even so, she did what she could and reached for her Magic. A barrier appeared between them, knocking the girls apart.

“Don’t hurt her!” Sunset shouted, standing between Wallflower and the rainbow-maned girl.

The rainbow-maned girl only stared at her, with that same sadness everyone else had when they looked at her. Another girl stepped forward, this one yellow with a pink mane. Sunset strengthened the barrier, and the girl moved slower, her hands up in a universal ‘I mean no harm’ gesture.

There was something about her eyes, almost a glow to them. Something soft and comforting, yet somehow firm. It made Sunset want to believe her, but experience told her how deceiving kind smiles could be. She kept the barrier as the girl knelt down to her eye level.

“It’s okay,” the yellow girl said in a quiet voice. “Rainbow wasn’t going to hurt her. She’s just upset.”

“I can understand that,” Sunset said. “But we can work it out, right?”

“We’re trying,” Rainbow sighed. “But if she won’t cooperate-”

“Rainbow, hush,” the orange one said. “Wallflower’s cooperating as best she can. Yes, it’s her fault. But she’s trying to fix it. And, I hate to say it, but it ain’t her fault it all disappeared. She knows less about Magic than we do.”

“I can help with that,” Sunset said.

“Sunset, do you know what’s going on?” the purple one asked.

“Well, no, not really,” she admitted, letting the barrier drop. “But it’s Magic, right? Okay, sure, this is a weird place, but my barrier spell still worked so your Magic’s probably similar. I’m very talented with Magic and figuring out how to work with it. After all, not anyone can be the Princess’s student. Could have been her Student. Guess I’m not anymore. I-I’ll have to get used to that.”

“Get used to that?” the white one parroted.

“It’s… a long story,” she said, her ears laying back. “I don’t really want to talk about it just yet. Or at all. It still hurts too much. Let’s-let’s just talk about your problem, okay? See if I can help?”

“Sunset…” the orange one said, her voice much more hesitant. “When… How old are you?”

“Okay, I get it,” she pouted. “Yes, I’m thirteen, still technically a kid. But everything I said is true! I’ve mastered more spells than half the graduates from CSFGU! I can totally… why isn’t that reassuring?”

They were all staring at her, even more terrified than before. No, it was more than a sadness, almost despair. She could swear that she could feel it. Yet, just as she was about to ask why, she heard a familiar ringing.

While she’d noticed the transformation, she hadn’t realized she was wearing an odd saddle bag. Lighting her horn, she noticed something else strange. The Magic Aura digging through the bag was orange, not her usual turquoise. As it wasn’t the strangest thing she’d seen in the last few minutes, she looked to the journal instead.

It had gone quiet now, since she’d picked it up. It looked the same, the brown cover with her Cutie Mark. Yet, somehow, it looked different. Newer. Not that three and a half years wasn’t ‘new’ for a book, but she’d used it a lot. The cover wasn’t as worn, and there wasn’t the circle of dried tea, or the mysterious stain that had appeared last Nightmare Night.

Still, it was her journal. And she hesitated to open it. The only Pony who could be writing was the Princess, who she really didn’t want to hear from. Her message would be one of two things; either a final goodbye, or begging her to come back. Sunset wasn’t quite sure which option she dreaded more.

Swallowing her fear, Sunset let her curiosity take over and open the book. Yet, there wasn’t a message from the Princess. She didn’t even read the message, all she could focus on was the script.

Sunset’s own script was recognizable, but she didn’t remember writing those words. And there were more messages, in various scripts. There had to be at least seven Ponies writing to her, but she didn’t recognize any as she flipped through the pages. None of them were the Princess.

“What’s going on?” Sunset gave a panicked whisper as she tried to read the words. “I don’t-! What is-? How-?”

It didn’t make sense. This wasn’t the journal the Princess gave her. That couldn’t be her script. It felt as though the world was spinning out of control, and all she could do was get caught in the whirlwind.

Then, there was a hand on her shoulder. It almost seemed to balance her, in a way. Keep her form fully going wild. Tearing her eyes away from the pages, she found that Pinkie had managed to come up and kneel beside her.

“Sunset…” Pinkie said, her voice barely a whisper. “Please. If the memories aren’t in the cyrstal, you have to have them somewhere, right? I- I just want you back. I want all of this back. Please remember me?”

“I-I’m sorry,” Sunset choked out.

She was hugging her now, silent tears that Sunset still didn’t quite understand. Yet, she still felt it. She wanted to calm her, to tell her it’s all okay, to make her smile again. But she didn’t know how. A shiver of Magic went through her as Pinkie began to sing.

“We’ve come so far together,” Pinkie sang between sobs. “Got memories to-to treasure. I look at you, st-stories come back to life. And if I need re-if I need reminding, I know-I know…”

“I know where I can find you,” Sunset found herself singing along. “In these pages, you’ll last forever.”

Pinkie had straightened up, staring at her with something almost like hope. Did she always have those ears? She could’ve sworn they were different a moment ago.

“Did you remember?” Pinkie asked.

“N-no?” Sunset said.

“Then how’d you finish the song?” the orange one asked.

“I-I don’t know,” she shook her head. “I could feel it? It’s like the words weren’t in my mind, not the way memories are. More like… like a voice echoing in my heart. Okay, that doesn’t make sense, but it’s the best I can explain it.”

“I think I get it,” the yellow one said. “It’s like in the song.”

“And the sound that we hear in our hearts, makes a crescendo,” Rainbow sang.

“And the light that ignites in the dark, it makes us all glow,” Sunset joined her.

Now that was odd. As Sunset felt another surge of Magic, Rainbow seemed to transform a bit. Her ears went from the small ones of the other girls, to Pony ears like hers, like how Pinkie’s were. However, she also gained a pair of wings. Like a Pegasus.

“We need to figure this out,” the purple one said. “Sunset, do you trust us?”

“I... “ Sunset tried to find an answer. “I’m not sure. Everything I know, everything I remember, tells me not to. That it’s too soon to trust anyone after…”

“After the Princess,” the white one finished for her. “But what does your heart tell you?”

“It’s different,” she mused. “I can’t explain it. I don’t even know half of your names, but every other part of me is screaming out, wanting to trust you. When you sang, I could feel it resonate in me, as if your Magic was a part of mine, and the words and notes came from there."

Someone else was hugging her now. Wallflower, crying even though Sunset still didn’t completely understand why. In an attempt to be comforting, she tried to pet Wallflower’s mane, but she didn’t quite know how to work her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Wallflower whispered. “I didn’t want this. I was scared, and alone, and I didn’t understand why. I still don’t know why. But I do understand that you don’t deserve to be alone either. It doesn’t make up for what I did, even when I tried to fix it.”

“It’s okay,” Sunset assured.

“It’s not,” she said. “But trust them. If anyone can help, they can.”

“I will,” she tried to smile. “Hurt or not, you all care about me far more than- well, you care.”

“We do,” Pinkie said. “And we have two more friends on the way to help.”

Sunset began to ask what she meant, then noticed the journal. Had Pinkie somehow taken it when she was panicking? Or did she drop it earlier?

She tried not to snatch it away from her, but Sunset did light her horn and take the journal back. Looking over what Pinkie had written, she noticed the script again. Pinkie’s script was one of those in the book, lines on random pages inter spaced with the rest. Yet, somehow, the other messages didn’t feel exactly like her.

The recent messages, one including someone named ‘Twilight’ who wrote the most, didn’t give much context for today. Sunset had already put together most of the information for herself, that her memories had been affected. Yet, she didn’t know how long it had been.

Pinkie’s message said that everything after Sunset went through the portal is gone, that she ‘thought’ she was thirteen again. How old was she now? Had it been just a few months? A year? Did she feel bigger because of the Portal’s transformation, or because she’d gotten older?

Sunset’s thoughts were interrupted by a sound. Looking up, she found two new members joining the group. Oddly familiar members.

“Twilight, please,” the one said, leaning against her companion. “I’m not quite used to this!”

“Sorry, Rarity,” Twilight said, a bit sheepishly. “Kinda forgot you haven’t been here.”

The new pair looked remarkably similar to the white and purple ones. This purple one, ‘Twilight’, was a little taller than the other, a little more toned, and didn’t wear glasses. However, the only difference between the white ones were outfit and the fact that one had her mane tied back.

“Are we going to use the nicknames again?” the original white one asked.

“Come on, you like being called ‘Ivory’!” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, as much as I like being ‘Sci-Twi’,” the original purple one said. “Honestly, your ‘Twilight’ and ‘Sparkle’ nicknames sound better.”

“Yeah, but it kinda stuck,” Rainbow shrugged, putting her arm around her.

“Girls,” the yellow one said. “Can we get back on track?”

“Right,” Twilight nodded. “Sunset, are you okay?”

“Kind of?” Sunset said. “Still kind of processing everything. Well, not everything. I’m pretty sure I’m delaying a breakdown or existential crisis, since I’ve apparently already gone through that. Hopefully you can do whatever with the memories so I can just skip that.”

Twilight only stared at her with some form of exasperated confusion. It seemed like an expression she was used to.

“Actually,” Rarity smiled. “I’m the one here to fix it. Er, how do I use Magic in this world?”

“They did it by singing,” Sunset said, pointing to the rest of the group.

“It’s a little easier if you’re Equestria-born,” Twilight said. “Try to reach for you Magic like usual, though it’s harder to find.”

“I’d almost rather sing,” Rarity said.

Even so, she reached for her Magic. It took a moment, but she was soon illuminated by light as a Unicorn horn and much more Pony-like ears appeared.

“That’s better,” Rarity smiled. “I never thought I would miss having my ears, of all things!”

“Trust me, I know,” Twilight sighed.

“Although,” she mused, looking over her shoulder. “It is quite strange to not have a tail either. While I'm sure not having a tail would cut down the time and money I spend styling it, I can't imagine-"

“Rarity, focus,” the orange one said.

“Oh, right, sorry Applejack,” she said. “So, you said the crystal was not working?”

“Not just not working,” Ivory said. “Pinkie says the crystal doesn’t have any Magic in it.”

“It doesn’t,” Pinkie shook her head. “There’s nothing.”

“And you’re sure it’s the only one?” Twilight asked.

“It is,” Wallflower said.

The two both jumped at her voice. Almost as if neither had noticed Wallflower was there. She seemed used to it, and just gave a sheepish wave.

“Sorry,” Wallflower said, a bit quieter. “For all of this, really. But I only wear the one necklace. Maybe I have another in my jewelry box back home, but I don’t think it’d work if I wasn’t wearing it. But Pinkie’s right, there’s no Magic in the crystal.”

“Please don’t be mad at her,” Sunset asked, using her own Magic to find the dropped necklace.

“Can’t promise that,” Twilight said. “It’s hard not to be. However, I can promise I won’t do anything to her.”

“Trust me, she won’t,” Rarity deadpanned, poking at the crystal with her Magic. “She’s far more likely to forgive you and make you another friend. She’s forgiven worse.”

“Worse than erasing memories?” Wallflower asked.

“Far worse,” Twilight shrugged. “You’re probably in the top ten, but there’s a large gap between you and the rest of the ten. I mean, you didn’t do anything that could’ve destroyed the world!”

“Well,” Sunset mused. “I guess I missed a lot when I jumped dimensions.”

“Twilight, I think y’all have a problem,” Applejack said.

“Yes, because you never forgave someone who almost destroyed the world,” Sci-Twi deadpanned.

“Point taken,” she sighed. “We all have a problem.”

“Hopefully I can solve some of your problems,” Rarity said. “There’s good news and bad news. The latter being that Pinkie was right. Your memories are not in this crystal.”

“Then what’s the good news?” Rainbow demanded.

“That they never were,” she said. “This crystal only has residual Magic from myself and Sunset, due to the Levitation spell.”

“You can tell that?” Sci-Twi asked.

“Every Magic Signature is different,” Sunset answered. “If you know the spell, you can test to see how many ponies held something in their Magic recently, and even what spells were used on it in the last few days.”

“She’s right,” Twilight frowned, looking at Rarity. “But that’s not a spell most Unicorns would know. When and where did you learn that?”

“Give me some credit,” Rarity smiled, tapping Twilight on the nose. “I might tease you about your tendency to ramble, but I do listen when you explain a spell.”

“But if that crystal isn’t it,” the yellow one said, “Where did the memories go? Were you wrong about the spell?”

“I was correct,” she said. “And I do know where your memories are, but it might sound strange. Or feel strange. Wallflower, could you hold still for a moment?”

Her horn lit, and Sunset saw a flicker of violet blue out of the corner of her eye. As Sunset turned her head, she noticed the sudden coldness on her shoulders. Wallflower had begun to fall back, but was now suspended in Rarity’s Magic.

Before anyone could shout or protest, there was a light. No, a projection. It was like a scene playing out, yet no sound accompanied it. Despite the situation, the scene itself was something so mundane that it was almost odd.

A girl that Sunset assumed was herself, and three guys she couldn’t remember just goofing off at a campsite of some sort. So normal, compared to everything she could remember.

The projection flickered out, as did the rest of Rarity’s Magic. Wallflower scrambled back, checking herself over in a panic. Despite finding nothing wrong, she still kept away.

“Sorry dear,” Rarity said. “I did say it might feel strange.”

“What did you do?” Wallflower whispered.

“I thought you said there wasn’t another crystal,” Rainbow frowned.

“Rainbow, chill,” Twilight commanded.

“There isn’t another crystal,” Rarity explained. “Because Wallflower herself is the crystal. Or, more accurately, she is a Crystal Pony. Their Magic includes mimicking the abilities of an enchanted crystal or gem.”

“Wait,” Sunset held up her hands. “What is a Crystal Pony?”

“A very long story,” Pinkie interrupted. “But you can fix it now, right?”

She had barely nodded before Pinkie began bouncing with excitement. The moment where Sunset was sure she was imagining things was when Pinkie’s hair seemed to fluff up and become curly. Even for a Unicorn from another Dimension, that was strange to see.

“What are you waiting for?” Pinkie asked. “Light her up, ladies!”

“Is it going to feel weird again?” Wallflower asked.

“A little,” Rarity admitted. “But I promise it won’t hurt, and that I’ll be as quick as possible.”

Reluctantly, Wallflower nodded. Violet blue Magic enveloped her again, though no projections appeared. Sparks of Magic burst forth in too many colors to count, each flying off in it’s own direction.

Sunset had expected something bigger. Remembering the phrase ‘my memories flooded back to me’, she wondered if she would get to watch the moments as they flew by. Instead, it was more like a switch. The moment the Magic melted into her, she remembered everything.

As the glow faded out, Rarity stumbled a little. Twilight caught her, but within the next second Sunset was beside her, her own horn lit and checking her over.

“I thought you said that spell was low-powered,” Sunset said.

“It is,” Rarity said, waving off her concern. “But returning memories to the correct places was a bit much, all things considering. Glad you're back."

After that, Sunset was nearly mobbed with group hugs. It was hard to hear exactly what everyone said, as the all spoke at once. But she could guess from the joyful tears.

However, there was one girl not celebrating. Wallflower stood back, watching the display of affection. Despite keeping her expression unreadable, it didn’t take a lot to guess.

“Girls,” Sunset said, getting their attention. “We can celebrate in a bit. But before that, can I talk to Wallflower? As in, alone?”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked.

Despite everyone else’s warriness, she assured them that she’d be fine. She suggested showing Rarity around a bit, since this was her first visit. Pinkie immediately took her up on the offer, and herded the group out.

Sunset felt a pang of guilt as she saw Wallflower kneeling beside one of the flowerbeds. It was the one she’d fallen in, and trampled when she had forgotten where she was. Petals were crushed and stems snapped in the disturbed soil, and she was trying to clean it up and save what she could.

Sunset stepped next to her, lighting her horn again. Orange Magic held the flowers, and as they watched, stems mended themselves as petals reattached. Those that couldn’t be fixed were replaced, Magic bringing forth new pink carnations that bloomed in moments.

“Sorry,” Sunset said, letting her Magic cut out. “You probably wanted to do that yourself, but I figured I should fix it, since I messed it up.”

“How did you-?” Wallflower stopped and sighed. “Right. Magic. Must be great to live in a world where anyone can just summon flowers.”

“Not anyone,” she corrected. "We might have Magic, but some of us are born with more raw power or ability. Instant flowers are a bit tricky, so usually only higher-level Unicorns learn that. Not to mention it’s not the most productive. It would take more energy to grow a bouquet than I could gain back by eating said bouquet.”

“You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?” she wondered.

“Nah, it’s fine,” she laughed. “Er, well, I wasn’t kidding earlier, when I forgot the past six years. I am one of the most powerful Unicorns to have lived, and I used to be student to a sort-of-goddess.”

Wallflower stayed quiet, curling up and hugging her knees to her chest. There was no protest as Sunset sat next to her. The girl looked like she wanted to disappear. Using the silence to find a place to start, Sunset decided on the beginning.

“I meant it when I said that I know what it’s like to be alone,” Sunset said. “Imagine you moved to a new town, with no one you know. Not even family members. Just you, and a chance to start your life over.

“Except, there’s a catch,” she continued. “You can’t tell anyone about your life. Even if you make a friend, or find a new family. Even if it’s a romantic partner, you have to hide it from them. No matter how honest you are, they never know the real you.”

There was no response from Wallflower, other than curling up tighter.

“For stars’ sake, I’m a Unicorn!” Sunset laughed. “This time last year, if I had said that, no one would believe me. Now we have Magic popping up at random.”

“Have…” Wallflower whispered. “Have you really been here six years?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, other times it feels a lot longer.”

“I never realized that,” she admitted. “Any of that. How long you were here, or that you couldn’t tell anyone, or-”

“Not your fault,” she shrugged. “Before the formal, everyone thought I was Human, just like them. After that, most people thought I was the Demon. Because no one can imagine the girl who did that was once a kid. By the time people saw the good side of me again, they were so used to the fact that I’m a Unicorn that they didn’t think past it.”

“Still, I should’ve,” she sighed. “But it was more than six years, wasn’t it? You had to have had a reason for coming here. What kind of thirteen year old runs away into another Dimension?”

When Sunset didn’t answer right away, she looked away and hung her head lower. It’s not that she didn’t want to tell her. But it was difficult to explain without going sitting there for a good half-hour.

“A very alone thirteen year old,” Sunset answered. “I had wanted one specific Pony to care about me, but she didn’t. At least not in a way that she showed to me. I got into a cycle of trying to prove I was worth something, and the rage of wondering why I wasn’t enough. Eventually we fought, and I ran through the Portal.”

“So, in a way, you’ve been alone for more than six years,” Wallflower swallowed. “Then you finally found people who care about you, and I tried to take that away. Out of what? Jealousy?”

“Could be worse,” she shrugged. “You could’ve turned into a Demon that nearly destroyed the world.”

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Wallflower groaned and buried her face in her hands. She leaned back, flopping into the grass while Sunset tried to find a better way to put that.

“What I mean,” Sunset began, “is that I’ve been somewhere similar. I’m still mad, of course. You did something terrible. But I understand why. As mad as I am, I’m not going to hate you for that. And neither will the others.”

“Do you really think that?” Wallflower asked, voice muffled by the hands on her face.

“They forgave me,” she said. “And while I was pretty bad, Twilight was right about forgiving worse. But the thing about it, is that she only forgives those who want to be better. You’ve already showed plenty of remorse. And, well, I do have an answer for your earlier question, but it might not be one you like.”

Wallflower moved her hands so that Sunset could see her expression. She’d raised an eyebrow, and tilted her head as much as one could on the ground.

“You asked why I had friends,” Sunset said. “I did horrible things, but you were always nice to everyone. Yet I had friends, and even before Magic came into play few people remembered you.”

“I get it a bit more now,” Wallflower said. “It’s not all black and white. You did terrible things, but you’re not a terrible person. Pony. Whatever.”

“That too,” she nodded. “But it’s also because it’s more than just being nice. It’s part of it, but it’s not about just that. Friendship is caring about someone, being there for them. Learning all you can about them and their life, and letting them know you just as much. And you can’t do that with just Kindness, as it takes time and energy dedicated to that person. Loving them.”

“But not romantically?” she guessed.

“Sometimes,” she said. “Those two forms of Love have a decent amount of crossover.”

“Forms of love?” she asked, sitting up again.

“Right, Humans,” she smiled and rolled her eyes. “Where I come from, there are five forms of Love, and most of them have some crossover. There’s Romantic Love, of course, but Friendship is another type.

“Then, there’s Love of Family,” she continued. “What one feels for their parents, children, siblings, and so on. And also Self-Love. Not narcissism, but valuing oneself, having confidence in who you are, without compensation from what others think.”

“And the fifth?” Wallflower asked.

“Selfless Love,” Sunset said. “Loving others without any familiarity, and for the potential relationship they might bring. Pinkie is a good example. She cares about everyone she meets, and opens the door for them to be something more in the future.”

“That sounds ridiculously complicated,” she shook her head.

“In some ways it is,” she said. “Self-Love and Selfless Love are the hardest for most. But the thing about Love, in all its forms, is that you don’t have to understand it. You feel it. You just have to go forward and try.”

Sunset stood up, brushing grass and dirt off her skirt. When Wallflower didn’t follow, she held out her hand. She only got a confused blink in response.

“Come on,” Sunset smiled. “As I said, you need to reach out to make friends. Maybe this wasn’t the best way to do it, but you have a group that’s willing to be there. Or help you find others, if you want.”

Hesitantly, Wallflower took her hand and pulled herself up. The pair wandered off a little, looking for the others as Sunset assured her that it would be okay. She tried to keep her mind off it, normalize everything, ask her if she liked the beach.

They found the girls back at the Portal. Rarity looked a bit better, though Sunset knew that they both should eat something after the Magic they used. The whole group looked better, actually. As if this were just a normal day. Then again, it kind of is for them.

“Glad to see you’re all good now,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, we’re getting there,” Sunset replied. “So, I was talking to Wallflower about joining us at the beach. If you two want to join…”

“As much as I’d love to,” Rarity said. “I have made other plans. Though I also need Wallflower for said plans so-”

“What?” Wallflower asked, hesitantly stepping back.

“Your flair for the dramatic is getting a bit too ominous,” Applejack sighed.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean anything bad!” Fluttershy quickly assured.

“Strange to see it from this side,” Ivory mused.

Rarity blinked for a moment, but gave a dramatic sigh and rolled her eyes as she realized. Twilight and Sunset tried not to laugh, though it didn’t quite work. Not to mention that none of it reassured Wallflower.

“To clarify,” Rarity said, taking the conversation back. “I wish to make sure that spell won’t cause any more accidental trouble.”

“It won’t!” Wallflower said, a little panicked. “I-I’ve pretty much gotten down how to not use it!”

“And I believe you,” she said. “However, the best way to make sure you don’t, is to make sure you have the spell down.”

“Wouldn’t learning the spell make her more dangerous?” Sci-Twi asked.

“Actually the opposite,” Twilight said. “Not only does practice yield more control, but she was using an unfinished spell, which causes strange effects. But once you know the full version, it’s pretty hard to mess it up, even on purpose.”

“Unfinished?” Wallflower asked.

“The finished version only copies Memory,” Rarity said. “It shouldn’t take it away. Besides, we need to do something about the Backlash Effect, and I highly suggest a spa day!”

“Okay, wait,” Rainbow said. “I feel like I’m going to regret asking, but what backlash and how does a spa day fix it?”

“Magical Backlash,” Twilight said. “One of two dangers to spellcasting, the other being Burnout, using too much energy. Backlash happens when someone casts a spell, but they do it incorrectly or are interrupted, then it causes the energy to recoil on the caster. Most symptoms are pain and-”

“Twi, you’re scaring them,” Sunset sighed. “Backlash isn’t that bad. Okay, it hurts. But it’s relative to how much Magic you used, and even the worst of my misfires only caused a large headache. Burnout is hard to do accidentally. You push past your limits out of stubbornness or a need, but rest and food help get you back on your hooves quicker.”

“You ever notice how you default to Pony Language when Twilight’s here?” Pinkie asked.

“You say that like you wouldn’t,” she pouted.

“As I was saying,” Twilight interrupted. “While the best cure for Backlash is to eat something and then sleep off the headache, most spas in Equestria have treatments that target the Magical pain in the same way the target muscle pains.”

“Which is why I suggested it,” Rarity said. “So, would you like to go?”

“Well, I, er…” Wallflower stammered, her eyes flicking to Sunset.

“You’ll be fine,” Sunset assured.

“Okay, I guess,” she nodded.

“Great!” Rarity grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. “In that case, no time like the present! Sorry to leave so soon, but I’ll try to come back at some point!”

“Huh? Wait!” sh exclaimed. “I didn’t realize-!”

There was a squeak of fear as both slipped through the Portal. Most laughed, as the one Rarity still here made a comment about the lack of nicknames. Sunset gave an exasperated smile before turning to Twilight.

“You’re going to make sure she doesn’t go wild, right?” Sunset asked. “Or should I pop over and ask Spike to keep an eye on you two?”

“I can take care of this on my own,” Twilight said.

“Sure,” she nodded. “You’re telling me you’re not the mare who forgot to write back for two days because of a date?”

“That was one time!” she protested.

“Must’ve been some date,” Applejack teased, elbowing a snickering Rainbow.

“Very exciting, right?” Pinkie grinned a bit too wide.

“Yep,” Twilight smirked. “Going through a two thousand year old castle full of traps.”

“That actually sounds fun,” Sci-Twi said.

“Your idea of romance,” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean,” Twilight said. “But I’ll make sure she doesn’t keep Wallflower too long. She’ll be back before night. Although, I should probably head over and remind her that there should be an adjustment period.”

With that, she gave her goodbyes and stepped through the Portal as well. Now down to the original seven, they headed back to the car.

“So,” Applejack began. “Am I driving to the beach again? Or do we want to go somewhere else for the picture?”

“Yeah, kinda forgot about that,” Pinkie said. “Feels like that was, like, a week ago.”

“Perhaps we should move locations?” Rarity said.

“We’ll see,” Sunset mused. “I actually have a few more ideas for the yearbook now. Actually, Pinkie? Think you can organize everyone at the school into one picture on Monday? I think a school-wide one would be nice.”

“I have a yearbook delivery for Best Gardner!”

It had been a few days, but Wallflower was still a little jumpy. She did look better though, brighter somehow. Maybe it was because she’d got the gardening club back, or just that, while difficult, she was following Sunset’s advice about going out and interacting more. Not to mention that since she wasn’t going through Backlash, she wasn’t as cold and had switched to a Tshirt instead of a sweater.

“Hi,” Wallflower greeted, catching her breath.

“Sorry for the scare,” Sunset laughed, handing a book to her.

“It’s fine,” she said. “And thanks for the yearbook.”

“I figured you’d like to see a few pages,” she said.

Opening the book, Wallflower flipped to the club pages. The Gardening Club had barely gotten their picture in on time, no thanks to Magical Shenanigans, but the did make it. Various gardeners all surrounded her, all smiling.

“Thanks,” Wallflower grinned. “Can’t believe I almost screwed it up.”

“We all have that, occasionally,” Sunset nodded. “How’d that go, by the way? Explaining to the others how they forgot the entire club?”

“It’s…” she looked over at the group and gave some of a grimace. “I’m not sure how to explain it. So far they brushed it off as normal forgetfulness. I know I should explain it all, but where do I start?”

“Not sure,” she shrugged. “The beginning’s always good, but you can step back a little to figure out how. And you don’t have to tell them the entire story just yet.”

“Wasn’t ‘Honesty’ part of your lesson?” she asked.

“I didn’t say lie,” she nodded. “I still think you should tell them that you got some Magic that accidentally made them forget. But you don’t need to tell them how much they forgot past that, or how far you went with it. Not until you’re ready for that.”

“That makes more sense,” she said.

“Besides,” she smiled. “For now, you should flip a few more pages.”

Tilting her head, Wallflower’s gaze went back to the yearbook. Pages turned until she got to one section, at the very end of the Superlatives. The left was labeled ‘Best Friends’, and had a chunk of text surrounded by images of pink carnations. The right looked blank.

“It folds out,” Sunset explained.

Wallflower nodded, adjusting the book so she could hold it with one hand. Her other unfolded the page, and Sunset had to laugh at her shocked expression.

The folded out page was a large group picture, the one Sunset had taken on Monday of the entire student body and a handful of staff members. It was far less formal than most, everyone sitting with who they liked, and smiles a bit less forced than most in the yearbook. Sunset easily picked out herself near the front, holding her journal in front of her chest.

“Why?” Wallflower asked. “You seven won ‘Best Friends’. Why put everyone-”

“Read the text,” Sunset said, tapping the page.

She turned back to the book, and slowly a smile came to her face. Sunset already knew what it said. She’d written it after all.

Yearbooks are supposed to capture a moment in time. Every picture in this book is from this year, and how we want to remember it. Clubs, classes, and events of all kinds will be memorialized in images and text that we can look back on years later.

However, Friendship cannot be captured in a moment. It transcends Time, Space, and Dimensions. Though we have those we love now, all of us began as strangers. We don’t know what will happen in the future, or who we will love when it comes, but we can always remember the past. We must never forget one another.

The title of ‘Best Friends’ belongs to all of us. Friends, Family, Romantic partners, ourselves, and all of the strangers who have the potential to become more than we ever thought possible.

“That’s beautiful,” Wallflower said.

“Thanks,” Sunset smiled. “But while I could’ve gone without the amnesia, it wouldn’t be in there without you.”

“Yeah,” she agreed a bit sheepishly. “I do like the carnations though.”

“I figured you’d get that,” she laughed. “What better decoration than a flower that can mean ‘I’ll never forget you’?"

Author's Note

Sorry this ended up posted a bit late. There were Easter Shenanigans, and I did debate on a joke chapter for April Fools.

But what do you expect from me?

The Magician and Judgement

Author's Note

While it's not 'required reading', this is in the same universe as Anon-A-Miscommunication, and the events of that are relevant to this chapter. Again, not required, but if you have questions then go there.

The Magician and Judgement

Christmas Time was interesting this time around. Well, perhaps it was a bit of a disaster at first, with the whole Anon-A-Miss debacle. Thankfully it got shut down rather quickly, but it started a new step for Sunset: being able to make friends outside her friend group.

In the two days since that all went down, she’d done extra shopping. Well, technically, she’d had Twilight do her shopping for her. She wasn’t quite ready to return to Equestria yet, but she wanted to get everyone gifts from there. Just to make it a little more special. Some were harder than others, especially since some ended up being custom jobs, but oddly enough it’s easy for a Princess to find ponies willing to work for it.

After getting the first six presents, she thought about getting some for other people. She wasn’t sure where she stood with Flash now. On one hand, when they talked they fell into old patterns. On the other, both were still hesitant. It took time, and Sunset wasn’t sure if buying a present would’ve helped or hurt. And that went double for anyone else.

But then Anon-A-Miss happened, and it sent a clear message. Sure, she helped save them, but the students in general still didn’t fully trust her. Not through any fault of their own, but because she’d really only become friends with the five girls who were told to by Twilight. And it wasn’t like they were sitting around waiting for reasons to hate her.

It had been easier for three girls to believe that she’d brainwashed their sisters than it was to think that they were people who made mistakes. And they pointed out how Sunset’s five friends all had a Magic connection, how they could feel what she felt for them through the Magic they shared while everyone else couldn’t.

She had felt the potential Friendship in everyone who had been at the Battle of the Bands, but she’d done very little with it. The Spark was lit, but it was her choice to turn that into a Fire. She had to work and make friends the old fashioned way, instead of just becoming the Hero. And she had a few starting points, which is why she had sent Twilight on a second gift spree.

Most of the presents were going to be brought to the Apple Family Christmas and Sleepover, since nearly all of them would be there. However, there were six extra presents she was delivering the Friday before Winter Break. Two had been slipped into open backpacks, and three were being delivered once she swung by her house to get them.

However, one was probably being opened early. And it was one she’d wanted to talk about. So after another round of Carols that ended with everyone having ‘Ponied Up’, Sunset found herself walking up to a blue girl at her locker.

“Hello Trixie,” Sunset greeted, perhaps a bit too chipper.

“What do you want?” Trixie demanded, glaring as she shoved things into her backpack.

“A truce of sorts,” she answered.

“A what now?” she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

“Listen, I know you still don’t like me,” she began. “And I know you’re upset about everything that happened at the Battle of the Bands.”

“Considering I was cheated out of my win, I think I should be allowed to be upset,” she pouted.

“Firstly, that wasn’t our fault,” she pointed out. “It was the Siren’s Magic that got them to first place, and they put us at second for reasons even I don’t get. Secondly, you dropped us through a trapdoor.”

“I….” she tried to think of a response. “I don’t suppose saying I was under their Spell will work on you?”

“Somewhat,” she shrugged. "Their Magic made your Desire go wild, and it’s hard to snap out of that since it works with what already there. Even the Principal and Vice Principal couldn’t break out of it, as it preyed on their Desire to see the best in their students. For them, it became dismissing any accusations of cheating or Dark Magic. For you, it made you slip into doing anything to win. But hey, I’m not really one to judge when it comes to going nuts with Dark Magic. Though I find sincere apologies work wonders.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is sorry for, well, dropping you through a trapdoor. And everything I said during the competition. Though I still stand by that I should’ve won the competition under non-Magical circumstances.”

“Thanks,” she nodded. “And who knows, maybe there’ll be another band competition where we can try without magic.”

“Considering you get ears every time you play,” she said, pointing to Sunset’s head.

“It doesn’t actually make our music sound better,” she said, Pony ears flicking for a second. “Well, maybe we can hear better so we can adjust our own sound more precisely, but other than that I’m pretty sure it can qualify under stage effects.”

“Except half of my effects are banned from school,” she said.

“How long until Magic ends up in the official rulebook,” she laughed. “But seriously, your song was great. I keep thinking of that one line. ‘I’m a six course meal, and you’re just burnt toast’. I added that to the box of creative insults. Oh, that reminds me…”

Digging through her bag, Sunset pulled out a small wrapped box. She held it out for a moment, smiling a little at Trixie’s skeptical expression. Reluctantly, she took the box and looked it over.

“What is this?” Trixie asked.

“Well, it is the time for gift giving,” Sunset shrugged. “Merry Christmas or Hanukah or whatever it is you celebrate.”

“Most people say ‘Happy Holidays’,” she pointed out. “And not to be suspicious, but how can I trust this is a gift and not something that will turn my hair purple for a month?”

“Friendship?” she replied. “You can open it early if you want. That way if it does, my hair would be purple too.”

Trixie only raised an eyebrow.

“I won’t tell Santa if you don’t,” Sunset joked.

Rolling her eyes, Trixie complied and tore at the corner of the package. Blue paper came off in mostly one piece, leaving the item itself. She turned it over a few times, inspecting it.

“Tarot cards?” Trixie deadpanned.

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “I don’t know you enough to be more specific, but I figured since you’re a Magician I could get you something related to that. It’s actually from Equestria. I don’t know if that makes it more magical.”

“I…. thank you,” she smiled. “Even if it’s not more magical than my other decks, it might help the aesthetic.”

“Exactly,” she said. “I had been thinking of a standard deck, but one of the Ponies Twilight knows made this one. Twilight said that the artist dropped by and said ‘These are technically a spoiler since they don’t come out for a few more months, but your friend will need them now’ right before I messaged her. Not quite sure what she meant though.”

“Maybe it’s just early release?” she tilted her head. “Why would a person-a Pony- who doesn’t know either of us go to the trouble?”

“Friendship?” she guessed. “Then again, it is a tarot deck, so maybe she knew the future. Besides, once I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you.”

“Why?” she wondered.

“Look through the Major Arcana,” she smirked.

Trixie flipped the box over, carefully sliding the deck out. Sunset found herself smiling as she watched her shuffle through the cards. Her expression dropped into a confused frown, seeing a few familiar faces. But one card made her stop.

She studied the card, almost entranced by it. Having looked through it before, Sunset knew which one she’d found. It was simply labeled ‘I-The Magician’. The artwork itself was quite detailed, despite being so small. A blue Unicorn stood on stage, wearing a purple hat and cloak as fireworks burst around her.

“She… she looks like me,” Trixie whispered.

“Interdimensional Counterparts,” Sunset nodded. “There’s a few of them in there. But I thought you might be interested to know that someone in Equestria thinks your Counterpart is involved enough that she ended up in a deck with literal Royalty.”

“It’s quite accurate too,” she smiled.

“Well, you are a Magician,” she said.

“No, I mean,” she shook her head. “How much do you know of Tarot?”

“Not much, oddly enough,” she admitted. “When I was kind of terrible, I never put much effort into learning that branch of Magic. I couldn’t tell you card meanings, but I understand the concept of readings.”

“Well, each card has two meanings,” she said, holding up her card. “If it shows up in a reading normally, The Magician represents willpower and desire, using everything to mold the world into what you want it to be.

“But if it shows up reversed,” she continued, flipping the card upside down, “Then it becomes illusions and trickery, using your ability for self-gain. Now, I know I have a bit of an ego problem-“

“You don’t speak in third-person much anymore,” she said.

“Yes, that,” she huffed. “I will do a lot to get what I want, but there is a point where I go too far. Like dropping the competition through a trapdoor.”

“Trust me, I get that,” she smiled. “You know, ‘turning into a Demon to get what I thought I wanted’.”

“True,” she said. “But I do find your card interesting.”

“My card?” she wondered.

Shuffling through the deck again, a new card was held up. Another Unicorn, but in oranges and reds stood while tendrils of magic swirled around her. Looking close, one could barely make out a pair of phantom wings in similar colors, like fire. At the bottom, it was labeled ‘XX-Judgement’.

“This one is you, is it not?” Trixie asked.

“Y-yeah,” Sunset nodded.

“This card is for Reflection,” she explained. “For evaluating your life, and having the realization that will lead to a Rebirth of sorts. But it warns of judging oneself too much, focusing on the bad parts of your journey.”

“Oh,” she mused. “That’s…. actually very weird. Accurate, but how would someone I’ve never met be that on the nose?”

“Who knows,” she shrugged, putting the cards away. “But again, thank you. I will… try to get along better with you and your friends.”

“And isn’t that the best present we can ask for?” she smiled. “I have a few more gifts to drop off, so I need to head out. Happy holidays though!”

“Same to you,” she said, waving as they parted.

Everfree Part II:Same Magic Time, Different Magic Channel

After another bout of nightmares and Magical outbursts, Sunset tried. She knew Twilight didn’t want to ‘ruin the trip’, but if she was going to be freaking out every time, that would be worse than Magic itself.

And while it was strange, her using Magic through a different channel, it was still Unicorn Magic. Sunset could teach her that much.

“Hey,” Sunset began. “I know you don’t want to, but I really think we need to figure out what’s going on with your Magic. If you could learn to control it-“

“But that’s just it!” Twilight snapped. “I’ll never be able to control it!”

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, to tell her it would be fine. Instead, it turned into a gasp of surprise as she watched a boat zip across the lake and crash into the dock. Everyone seemed fine, though wet and disoriented. Still, it sort of steals the spotlight.

“What happened?” Rainbow asked, running up behind them.

“I didn’t mean to!” Twilight apologized, heading directly into panic mode.

“We didn’t see anything,” Sunset reminded her, trying to calm her fear. “So we don’t know what happened.”

While she wanted to help calm her fears, Sunset had to choose. At the moment, people who just crashed into a dock were of a bigger priority, so she checked on them.

By the time she’d fixed that, Twilight had disappeared. It wasn’t difficult to guess what she was thinking. And okay, yes, the boat thing could have been her fault. It seemed unlikely, considering she hadn’t seen the magenta aura around the boat when it crashed, but possible.

Either way, if she wanted to stop the Magical outbursts, she needed to learn how. The problem was finding her. She hadn’t been around camp, but if she’d gone into the forest that would be a problem. Especially since people tended not to care which direction they wandered when upset.

Sunset debated about going into ‘Pony Up’ mode and casting a locate spell. But with the strange way Twilight’s Magic was acting up, she doubted she could track her through that. She’d have to go back to the tent to use an item of hers for the spell. Of course, that implies that her own Magic wouldn’t backfire like Twilight’s was.

Then again, what was the one thing better than a locate spell? A talking dog that could easily sniff out the girl he knows best.

Of course, by that time, it looked like Twilight had found something else to occupy her time. Or rather, someone.

“I guess we can help Twilight deal with the Magic stuff a little later,” Sunset said, sharing a smile with Spike.

“Something at camp must be making this happen,” Sunset said.

While Fluttershy was quick to blame ‘Gaia Everfree’, Sunset thought differently. And made a mental note to keep Fluttershy away from the rest of the ghost stories. Because even if, in hypothetical, ‘Gaia Everfree’ was real, she would have very little to do with the girls' Magic going haywire.

She really wanted to investigate this. Partly out of curiosity, but mostly because this could be a problem if they let it go unhandled. Twilight did have a point. Magical Outbursts could be dangerous, but with no one wanting to do it…. Well, it should be fine. Part of the Outbursts is that it’s unconscious, so as long as they’re thinking ‘don’t’, they should be fine.

“I think we should try to figure it out,” Sunset sighed. “But if letting it go for now is what the rest of you want….”

They agreed. Sunset still thought it was a bad idea, but she’d let them have it. She’d step in if she needed to, but for now, they could relax.

It was a noise that woke Sunset up that night. She thought it was just Twilight having another nightmare, but when she looked over the bed was empty. At first, she thought that perhaps the girl had just left to use the bathroom. Then she saw that it wasn’t just Twilight missing, but all of her stuff and Spike as well.

Looking out, she saw purple in the distance running to the trees. She left? Why would she leave? Without stopping to think, Sunset tugged on her boots and ran after her. It didn’t take long to catch up.

“Twilight!” Sunset called, as soon as she was close. “What are you doing out here?”

“We’re…” Twilight began, shrinking back a bit. “We’re meeting a cab to take us home.”

“She thought you’d talk her out of it,” Spike said, answering Sunset’s next question.

“Because I would,” Sunset said, putting her hand on Twilight’s arm. “Twilight, you can’t leave.”

Before she could ask her next question, Sunset felt a shock. Not static this time, but Magic jolting through her. It felt as if she was matching Pinkie’s sugar binge, as colors and sounds and even smells began to shift and change.

Next thing she knew, she was back at the docks, back when it had crashed. But she wasn’t ‘her’. She was watching as it happened around her.

“You don’t think it was the spirit, do you?” Pinkie asked.

“No,” Twilight whispered. “It was me.”

Sunset could feel the guilt stab through her chest. Not her own, but Twilight’s. It was more than just being sorry for what might have happened, it was almost fear. As if she thought she was doing it on purpose, as if she were somehow dangerous.

The scene shifted again. This time, she saw the benches and lanterns from dusk. A conversation between Twilight and Spike.

“I think it’s Midnight Sparkle,” Twilight had whispered. “She’s still a part of me. I can feel it. And I think her Magic is infecting my friends.”

This was more than guilt she felt. Sunset knew because it she could feel it tear at her heart as if it were her own emotions. She was more than scared of Magic, she was downright terrified. Because of ‘Midnight Sparkle’, because she thought it was happening again, as impossible as that was.

The shifting came to a halt, dropping Sunset back into reality. Thoughts whirled through her mind, figuring out what she’d seen. Figuring out what to say.

“Twilight,” Sunset said, keeping the lingering emotion from shaking her. “There’s no ‘Midnight Sparkle’. There’s only you.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Twilight gasped, pulling away.

“I saw it,” she answered. “When I touched your arm. I could see flashes of memories, and I felt what you felt then. I… I guess I did get some Magical outburst too. Weird though. I'm not sure what the whole memories thing is, but it's kind of cool.”

“No, it’s not!” she exclaimed. “I’m infecting you now!”

“Twilight, you’ve got to stop looking at this as a bad thing,” she said.

“Easy for you to say!” she replied. “Magic turned you into something beautiful! The last time I tried to use it, it turned me into a monster. I… I’m just so afraid it’ll happen again.”

“Yes, last time I turned into something amazing,” she said. “But I’ve let Magic turn me into a monster too. So if anyone understands what you’re going through, it’s me. I can help you, Twilight. And the rest of our friends can be there for you, too. But not if you run away.”

“I’ll stay,” she sighed. “But I still don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be near the rest of our friends right now. Not until we know why this is happening.”

Sunset wanted to tell her that it would be fine, but she knew that wouldn’t work. Not without going into why it would be fine. But she realized exactly what the problem was, when she fell into Twilight’s Memories. And she wasn’t sure Twilight was ready to face that truth just yet, not with the guilt she already carried.

“Understood,” Sunset nodded.

Just as she was going to suggest going back to the tent, there was a rustling in the bushes. She moved to put Twilight behind her, only to see the glint on an ax in the moonlight. Instinct screamed ‘put up a shield’, but since her Magic didn’t react she was the one screaming instead.

She stopped when she realized the guy with the ax was screaming too. And that he was decently familiar. Perhaps she should ban herself from ghost story night when she banned Fluttershy.

“Wait, Twilight?” Timber asked, lowering the ax.

“Timber?” Twilight sighed. “I’m so glad it’s just you! Wait, what are you doing out here?”

“With an ax?” Sunset added, pointing at the offending weapon.

“I was chopping down firewood,” Timber defended, pulling a wagon of logs into view.

“In the middle of the night?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We needed more for tomorrow night’s campfire,” he explained. “And if I didn’t take care of it tonight, it would be one more thing Gloriosa would add to her list. ‘I’ve got this!’.”

Both girls snickered at the impression of his sister, understanding a younger sibling’s loving annoyance far too well.

“What about you two?” Timber asked. “Why are you hanging out in the woods in the middle of the night?”

Twilight froze, glancing to Sunset for an answer. As much as Sunset didn’t want to lie, she did think that covering for a friend in front of a guy she likes might get her a pass.

“I was sleepwalking,” Sunset shrugged, hoping he didn’t ask how sleepwalkers put on shoes. “Twilight found me and was bringing me back to camp.”

Twilight nodded.

“Come on,” Timber said, though she wasn’t sure if he believed them. “I’ll walk you guys back.I’ll protect you from ‘Gaia Everfree’.”

“Come on,” Sunset rolled her eyes at his antics. “That’s obviously a spooky story for the campfire.”

“On no, it’s legit,” he nodded. “How else would you explain what happened at the docks? And that weird thing where the earth shook? Come on, I know a shortcut back to the tents.”

He offered a hand to Twilight, which she gladly took. Sunset debated about saying anything about Magic that was definitely not part of his scary story. Of course, as the pair walked off, that’s when she noticed the glitter trail coming from Timber’s pocket.

“Legit, huh?” she smirked at Spike, picking up a handful of glitter. “I think we just found our ‘Gaia Everfree’.”

“But why would he work so hard to make us think she was real?” Spike asked.

“You heard what he said about wishing his sister would sell the camp,” she said. “If nobody wants to come here because it’s home to some angry ancient nature spirit, it sure would help the cause.”

“We should tell Twilight,” he said.

“Not yet,” she said, keeping him from running off. “She’s obviously going through a lot right now. We should probably be one hundred percent sure before we tell her the guy she likes is trying to run everyone out of camp.”

“Uh-huh,” he agreed.

“Besides,” she said, standing and brushing the dirt and glitter off her hands. “Maybe it’s not as sinister as I think. It could be a secret camp activity. You know, get everyone to play Scooby Doo and find the Monster in the Mask. ”

“Well, we do have meddling kids and a talking dog,” he laughed.

“Exactly,” she said. “Maybe it’s just getting out of hand. If it gets too out of hand we’ll bring it up, but for now? Let’s wait and see.”

This was…. Agonizing to watch. Rainbow barely tip-toeing her way across the dock, Applejack lightly tapping nails, and the disaster of diving for cover and Rarity’s shields knocking the girls over when Pinkie forgot to think and chucked a box of nails.

“What?” Pinkie tilted her head. “Oh! Did you think the nails would explode like the sprinkles? Wow! Glad that didn’t happen, huh?”

“Sorry girls,” Rarity sighed, helping Rainbow and Fluttershy up. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t know how to control this.”

“It’s okay,” Rainbow said.

“None of us do,” Fluttershy agreed.

“Which is why we shouldn’t pretend this isn’t happening,” Sunset pointed out.

“Do you have them now too?” Rainbow asked.

“It started last night,” she nodded. “When I touch people, it’s like I can feel what they’re feeling, and sometimes I’ll see memories.”

“Oh! Fancy!” Pinkie exclaimed, popping up next to her. “Try me! Try me!”

Pinkie grabbed her hand and practically slapped it against her face. Sunset felt herself slipping into the whirl of colors and sounds.

This was less of a ‘Memory’ and more a ‘state of mind’. Some upbeat, catchy, pop song blared while Pinkie skipped around a world full of colors only bees and art students can see. Not to mention that even Mind!Pinkie was on a sugar binge.

“That explains so much,” Sunset mused as she came back to reality.

“Yep!” Pinkie chirped

“Girls,” she said, shaking off that weirdness. “We can’t just brush this off because it doesn’t seem like an ideal time.”

“I guess you’re right,” Applejack sighed.

“Life never likes being simple,” Rarity said. “As long as I don’t get behind schedule, I think this should be fine.”

“So what do we do?” Rainbow asked.

“First, we need to figure out some of the why,” she said. “You’re using Magic, but you’re not transforming to do it. So first things first is figure out why you’re doing that.”

“Any ideas?” Fluttershy wondered.

“On why or how to do it?” she said. “I’m not there on the first, but I have an idea on the second. If we can get one of you using your Magic, I could use my usual Magic to feel out where you’re channeling it. I think I can control that much.”

“Simple enough, if we can get the stuff on command,” Rainbow said.

“Let’s start with Applejack,” she said. “Think you could try and lift something decently heavy?”

Applejack nodded, looking around at the items around the dock while she let Sunset ‘Pony Up’. In the end, she walked to one of the posts that would be used for the sign. She took a deep breath before bending to pick it up.

For a moment, it seemed like just her normal strength, built up from years of farmwork, letting her lift it a bit. It was still heavy enough that usually another person would need to help.But then there was a shift, like a change in air pressure. Suddenly, she was lifting the post on her own.

Sunset took the opportunity, playing with Applejack’s Magic and poking around. Her Magic itself felt normal, like the way it always did. And that was exactly the problem, but not the cause.

“So, I figured out what’s going on a bit,” Sunset said. “It’s just your usual Magic.”

“Uh, Sunset?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve ever done this before.”

“Exactly,” she replied. “Have you tried to lift something while using Magic before?”

“Probably?” she said. “Though, now that I think about it, other than my bass I don’t think I have.”

“It’s your Magic,” she explained. “Your Counterpart is an Earth Pony, so you have the same abilities. Earth Ponies’ Magic is mostly passive. One of the things it does is add to the Pony’s physical ability. They’re stronger and have a lot more stamina, though they can get more muscle and such through thing like exercise or, well, farm work.”

“So she’s just strong because of Magic?” Rainbow asked.

“Magic that works with her own strength,” she frowned. “The weird thing, is how you’re channeling it.”

“Channeling it?” Applejack parroted.

“How’s she channeling it?” Pinkie wondered. “Shouldn’t it just channel through her since it’s her own Magic? That’s what other-me does?”

“That’s the weird thing,” Sunset said, ignoring Pinkie's knowledge of the other world. “The reason we ‘Pony Up’ is because Human Bodies aren’t supposed to channel Magic, so it transforms us to do so. But right now you’re channeling through something else.”

“Like that thing you and Pinkie can do with gemstones?” Rarity said.

“Not exactly,” she frowned. “There are two ways I can channel through a Gem. The way with channeling emotions, and by using it the same way I would use my horn which is channeling a spell. I’m sort of doing both when I use the gem. Channeling magic through the gem is the ability I’m using, but my Human Form isn’t made for it, so I’m using the gem to get around it. It’s a Pony ability, but I’m not sure why Pinkie and I have it.”

“This is complicated,” Rainbow sighed. “So what about the rest of us?”

“Is it all just regular abilities?” Fluttershy asked.

“I think it’s the same,” Sunset said, thinking it over. “I know the other Fluttershy can talk to animals. Judging from the way your Magic feels, I’m pretty sure she’s about one eighth Siren, so it’s a form of Voice Magic becoming Universal Translation.”

“But Rarity’s shields?” she continued. “It seems like a usual spell. You wanted a barrier, and you created a barrier. Think you can pull one up?”

Hesitantly, Rarity raised her hand. Another blue gem-like structure appeared in front of her, hovering in the air. Sunset ran her hand along it, feeling out its Magic just to be sure.

“Yep,” Sunset nodded. “It’s not a real gem, just Magic solidified into a barrier. It just looks like a gem because of your aesthetic.”

“Too bad,” Rarity said. “It would be nice if I could conjure actual diamonds.”

“Wouldn’t we all love to,” she smiled. “But it’s one of many spells you can use. I can teach you a few more when we get home. Or at least once we figure out what’s going on with the channeling. Because like AJ, you’re channeling through something else as if it’s your own horn.”

“So, are Pegasai super fast or…” Rainbow began.

“You are though!” Pinkie said.

“Yes and no,” Sunset said. “One part of Pegasai Magic is passive, like Earth Pony Magic. It helps enhance their flight abilities to let them fly faster with better accuracy and vision. I think your Magic is just confused.”

“Confused?” Applejack asked, finally putting down the post.

“How does one fly without wings?” she replied. “Since Rainbow doesn’t have wings, that part of her Magic has to go somewhere. I think it’s ‘getting the wires crossed’ with the Pegasai’s cloudwalking ability, causing you to run fast instead of fly fast.”

“Okay, so how do I control it?” Rainbow asked. “Aj can relearn her strength, Rarity can just not, and Fluttershy’s not doing anything that could be dangerous.”

“Not quite sure yet?” she admitted. “Try to see if you have a ‘cruise mode’? At the very least you should have the reaction time as well. Sorry, I don’t have all the answers. I still don’t know why I can see memories, but considering it’s emotion-based it might be related to the crystal thing.”

“So what about Pinkie and explosions?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, that’s totally not an Earth Pony thing!” Pinkie added.

“You’re right,” Sunset said, ignoring the headache of how much Pinkie knows. “It only happened with the sprinkles though, right?”

“Well, the nails didn’t work,” she listed while everyone sighed. “AndI was twirling a stick earlier that didn’t go off when I tossed it. And I tossed a ball back to Trixie earlier and it didn’t explode.”

“Have some more sprinkles?” she asked.

“Of course!” she grinned.

She pulled a small container out of her hair, something everyone was far too used to to question. Thankfully, she had the forethought to chuck a handful toward the lake instead of the dock. It was quick, but Sunset had enough time to explore what she was looking for.

“Yeah, that’s the crystal thing,” Sunset said. “Sugar crystals.”

There was a collective ‘oh’ from the group.

“That’s also even stranger,” she frowned. “Because explosions are frustration.”

“Does this look like the face of frustration?” Pinkie asked with an almost manic grin.

“Yes actually,” Rarity said, stepping back.

“You kinda look like that Gloriosa girl when you do that,” Applejack said. “I mean, both of you are pink and far too chipper.”

“Maybe her frustration is rubbing off on me,” Pinkie said.

There were several snickers at that. Rainbow even fell off the dock and into the lake. Sunset figured it was a combination of karma and the sign from the universe to ‘cool off’.

“Well someone’s frustrated,” Pinkie frowned. “I can’t pinpoint it, but I know someone’s upset. I think I’m putting that in the sprinkles though. Probably won’t make them taste good.”

“We’ll figure it out later,” Sunset sighed, reluctantly dropping the ‘Pony Up’ transformation. “Just try to… not be frustrated. For now, let’s see if we can manage to put a dock together.”

The dock looked great. And now with magic under control, hopefully there will be less damage. But what Sunset wanted to focus on was Twilight. Maybe seeing that it could be controlled, seeing that they can use it to make something great, could convince her to try for herself.

The trouble was finding her. She’d been avoiding the girls most of the day, but she had to be somewhere in the camp. As Sunset neared the boat house, she heard voices yelling.

“I just wish you didn’t tell them that ridiculous story!” Gloriosa’s voice shouted.

“This is all too much for you!” Timber’s voice shouted back. “You have to let it go!”

This was weird. Was… was he actually trying to get her to get rid of the camp? It couldn’t be part of an act, since no one was supposed to hear this. Trying to sell the camp was the only possibility.

The door slammed open, smacking Sunset in the face. Thankfully both siblings were too angry to notice her, each storming off. Once they were clear, Sunset made her way back and nearly ran over Flash in the process.

“Hey, I was just looking for you,” Flash said.

“For what?” Sunset wondered, trying to find either sibling in the crowd.

“To ask if I’m an idiot,” he said.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” she said.

“About…About Thunder,” he sighed.

“Oh,” she said. “Then yes. Yes you are. What was it we said about ‘being oblivious while flirting with the mysterious new person’?”

“I get it,” he groaned. “I really get it. And it’s confusing, even with your advice. Because I did like him, and I’m only just now realizing why you kept encouraging me to ask him out Junior year. But both Twilights showed up.”

“Look on the bright side,” she smiled. “Thunder already knows you’re an idiot. But as frustrated as he can be with that, he still likes you.”

“And you knew about it,” he groaned. “You know, every time I said ‘no, he probably doesn’t like me’, you could’ve just smacked me and told me the truth.”

“I decided watching in frustration was a better option than revealing that,” she shrugged. “Besides, I was encouraging! So, now that he’s apparently told you, how does he feel on the Twilight situation?”

“Complicated,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “He said he’s open to trying out the whole ‘me dating two people’ thing if Twilight were on board. But if she’s not on board then I have to choose one of them.”

“And if Twi rejects you then he’s ‘second choice’?” she guessed.

“He says he wouldn’t think of it like that,” he said. “But I would. Honestly, the whole ‘dating multiple people’ thing sounds weird to me, but it’s a good option if it works out.”

“Well, there’s your answer,” she said. “See if it works out. Get to know this Twilight a bit more, and if she does end up liking you then you all can figure it out from there. And if she does reject you, remember that whoever was there ‘first’, ‘second’ or not at all doesn’t matter. If it did matter, everyone would only be in love with their first crush. All that matters is you like them both.”

“That… helps a bit,” he said. “Thanks. And you know, if you ever need any help with romance….”

“No offense, but you’re not my ‘go to’ for romantic advice,” she deadpanned. “For several reasons. But you can be my wingman if you want.”

“You sure you’re not having romance problems?” he wondered. “Because you seem upset about something. And don’t try and say you’re not.”

“Well, nothing romantic on my end,” she said. “Just the whole Magic situation you probably noticed. And that something might be going on with someone one of my friends likes, so I’m trying to figure out what to do with that without hurting her in the long run.”

“Don’t know about that,” he said. “But hey, whatever’s going on, you can figure it out. They’ll understand that you’re trying to help.”

“Thanks, I…” she trailed off.

Over his shoulder, she noticed Timber again. Despite the campers running around, she watched him slip into the trees. Chopping firewood at night was one thing, but sneaking off while he’s working? Even if he wasn’t trying to get his sister to sell the camp, that was suspicious.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Sunset said. “I need to go do something.”

Before Flash could respond, she raced off toward the forest.

Author's Note

Working with the Magic in this was difficult. Because back in LoaR I gave them all access to their normal Magic, so I had to figure out how to deal with this stuff.
Well, next is the Climax of the movie. Let's have fun.