Home Sweet Home

It was the day after the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot. Shining Armor had gotten a decent night's sleep after he had heard that everypony was okay. He was relieved when he received the letter from his sisters detailing that they were okay, and that they would be visiting him the next day, along with some extra news. As soon as he arrived at home, he reassured his parents, before they all turned in. Though he was nearing his promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard, he still stayed with his family at times. Yes, he could stay at the barracks, but the guard was encouraged to have some time with their families, as it would lighten their burden, while still reinforce what they were fighting for, should the need ever arise. Shining mostly went there on special days, but sometimes showed up for a surprise visit. This visit was important because he needed to be with his parents, to reassure them.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Shining Armor reminisced on the previous night and its events. Nightmare Moon had not attacked Canterlot, and he was able to reassure the ponies of Canterlot. Though there were a few incidents, it was no more than what was expected. He made his way down to the kitchen, and looked around, but before he was able to decide what to do, he heard a knock on the door. He looked at the clock, and wondered who could be there at this hour. He wasn't expecting Sunny and Twi until about noon. Nevertheless, he opened the door, to a pink princess. "Cadance!" he exclaimed, before hugging her. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

Cadance hugged him back. "I wish I could have told you, but Princess Celestia told me not to tell anypony, not even you," she said.

"It's okay. She sent a letter telling me that you were safe. But that didn't keep me from worrying. But, since I knew you were safe, I was more worried about Sunny and Twi," he explained, finally breaking the hug.

"I know," Cadance replied gently.

"You do?" he asked. "About Sunset and Twilight?"

"Yes," she admitted. "But I was only truly told before I left. Celestia seemed to think that it was the only way to stop Nightmare Moon and bring Luna back to being, well, Luna."

"Wait, you knew about Nightmare Moon being Princess Luna?"

"Yes, I found out about her during the first few days of when Sunny arrived to Equestria."

"And you had to keep that all to yourself? Unable to share it with anypony else?" Shining said, concerned, not angered.

"Yes," Cadance said, starting to cry. "I wanted to tell you so many times, but that could have put lives at risk, according to Celestia, and I see that she was right."

Shining hugged her. "It's okay, you don't have to keep it a secret now. Princess Luna is back, and Sunset and Twilight are safe," he comforted.

She hugged him back. "Thanks, Shiny," she said, her tears drying up, and a light smile upon her face.

"So, where did you go?" he asked.

"Up north. Celestia said an empire might return, and that, if somehow Sunset and Twilight didn't succeed, I would have to use this empire against Nightmare Moon. But, now that Celestia is back, I don't think we'll have to worry about it for a while at least," she replied, assuring him.

"I hope not."

The two continued to talk for a few more minutes, Night Light and Twilight Velvet eventually joining in. They had a nice breakfast as well. Around noon, as they were talking, Sunset and Twilight walked in, Spike on Twilight's back.

Shining was the first up. "Twilight! Sunset!" He immediately hugged them.

The two mares and dragon came in, and hugged the rest of their family. Then, Sunset and Twilight came to Cadance.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" they sang as they danced, before hugging.

"So, we actually have some big news," Sunset said.

"Yes. Apparently you had to have us wait," Shining said with a smile.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Twilight and I have decided that we're moving to Ponyville," she said. "This was not a decision we came to lightly. There were multiple factors. First, Twi and I now have friends in Ponyville. We never got out much here, and honestly, we want to get to know them better. Second, we haven't spent much time at home anyways, since we were either at school or at our library. It is around that time for us when ponies do grow up and move out, and this, well, it felt right for us. Yes, we do promise to visit, and we'll write."

Everypony stood there dumbfounded. Night Light finally spoke up, "this is a big change. Are you two sure you're up for it?"

"Yes dad, we're sure. I even made a list, but Sunset and I agreed to let her do the explaining, as apparently sometimes I get long winded," Twilight replied.

"My fillies are grown up," their mom cried out, before going to hug them again. "They grow up so fast."

"We knew this day was coming," Night Light said, before joining the hug. "But we didn't know it would come this soon."

"Mom, dad, it's okay. It's only a few hour trip, and we have Spike, so our letters will be as fast as texting," Sunset said.

"Texting?" Cadance asked.

"It's a human thing," Sunset said.

"Oh, okay."

"Just, just stay safe, and write everyday," Twilight Velvet said.

"Yes ma'am," the two girls replied.

After the hug was broken, and everypony had calmed down a little back, Shining asked, "So where will you be staying? I know you stayed in a library, but will you two get an actual house there?"

"It doubles as an apartment basically, so we're good to stay there," Sunset said.

"And the books," Twilight said enthusiastically.

Twilight Velvet smiled at them. "As long as you're sure," she said.

"We're positive," Sunset replied.

"Yes, we're sure," Twilight Sparkle said.

"So what are these new friends like?" Night Light asked.

"They're varied, but all are pretty positive, especially given the circumstances. Had they not been with us, well, I don't want to think about what would have happened," Sunset answered, somberly, before perking back up. "But, I can't wait to get to know them better."

"And I'm sure they can't wait to get to know you two better as well," Cadance said.

"Speaking of, how much do they know?" Shining asked.

"A little," Sunset said. "Not anything about another world, but they know I was adopted and that I've had to deal with the loss of my birth parents. Speaking of which, the mirror opens in eight moons, so I'll make sure to be ready for that."

"Have you thought about telling them?" Shining inquired.

"No, I haven't, at least not yet. I don't think I know them well enough, and I don't know how well they'll react."

"Well we trust whatever you do," her mom said.

"Thanks mom," Sunset said, hugging her.

A few hours later, Sunset and Twilight were on the train to Ponyville, this time with all their stuff. They had decided to leave a few things back at their parent's house. Spike was sleeping, as the events that had happened within the past few days had completely messed up his schedule.

Sunset broke the silence. "A big change, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Twilight replied. "I've never actually moved before," she admitted.

"They're never easy," Sunset said. "But, they can sometimes turn out for the better."

"Like when you moved in with us when we adopted you."

Sunset smiled. "Yep. Though I've had a particularly hard one as well. It was when my father and I moved to Canterlot City. I had a friend in Hollow Shades, Starlight was her name. She was really my only friend at the time, but her parents were pretty nice too. Moving away from her was hard on me, and I wasn't even able to communicate with her. I wonder if she's still living there, I might go look her up the next time I'm over there. But, back to the point, that being that we'll still be able to talk to mom and dad, and that we'll be able to visit them regularly. And that we already have friends in Ponyville, so we won't be that out of place."

"I guess we have Pinkie to thank for that," Twilight laughed.

"Yes we do," Sunset said, before looking up in thought. "Hmm."

"What?"

"I was just thinking, what is up with these naming conventions? Across both worlds even. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer. What next? Dawning Twinkle?"

Twilight laughed. "I hope not. But, I suppose it is one of the ways to name ponies, and people too I guess. Others could be color and something their good at. But, maybe we're figure that out when we're older."

"Perhaps. Just a thought."

Spike then yawned and woke up. "Hello?" he muttered.

"Hi Spike," Twilight said.

"About how far are we from Ponyville?" he asked

"Not far. It's a pretty short ride, about an hour. You passed out only a few minutes after we boarded," Sunset replied.

"Actually, there's the train station now. We're coming up on it," Twilight said.

"Five bits says that Pinkie is going to throw us a 'Welcome to Your New Home' party," Sunset said.

"I am not taking that wager. She probably will, from what I've seen of her," Twilight replied with a smirk.

"Fair enough."

When they arrived at the train station, they got off, with all of their bags. Sunset made Twilight ship her books, as they would have occupied too much place in the train.

"Surprise!" Pinkie exclaimed. Above her was a banner that read: "Welcome to Your New Home, Twilight and Sunset and Spike!"

Twilight and Sunset looked at each other and giggled.

"Who all was invited to this one, Pinkie?" Sunset asked.

"Just the five of us, plus you two," Rainbow said, flying up to them.

"Yup! Since you already had a welcome to Ponyville party, and since you've become close with all of us, I decided it might be a bit better to have something a bit smaller," Pinkie said. "And it's better for a moving party, in more ways than one! Because we'll be moving to your house, and you'll be moving in!"

"Thanks Pinkie," Twilight said.

"Let us help y'all with those bags," AJ offered, taking up one of the bags.

When they arrived at the Golden Oak Library, they went upstairs to the bedroom. "Do you want to do this alone?" Fluttershy asked.

"Actually, yes," Twilight said. "It will mostly be organizing, so Sunset, Spike, and I will have a system."

"Besides, we wouldn't be able to surprise you all with how it looks when it's done," Sunset said.

"Okay. And if you need any help, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and I have all moved before, too, so we could give you a few tips," Rainbow said.

"Thanks for the offer," Sunset said. "And I've had to move, myself, so I think we'll be good."

After goodbyes and a few hugs, Twilight, Sunset, and Spike went to work.

"So, this is our new place. It's a lot roomier than one would think a library would be," Sunset said.

"I'll have to do some research into that, along with how one can even make a tree into a library. I mean, it can be done, but this is huge for any tree."

"I suppose you will. But after we're done setting up."

Once they finished, the sun had set, the twilight had come and gone, and night was upon them, so they decided it would be best to go to bed. And they hoped that some crisis wouldn't wake them up the next morning. Or Pinkie, she might do that as well.

Author's Note

Huzzah, I finally have an editor, AilingStar. Many thanks for editing this chapter.

I hope everyone enjoys the fact that this isn't recapitulation anymore, but actually original. Most of what will be coming out now is original.

Apologies for the late update, Life is hectic.

But, enjoy the read. Lightning Striker out! ⚡