Chapters The dismissal bell rung as the Mane 7 rushed out of their classrooms. They arrived at their lockers and gathered in a circle formation. “Finally it's the end of school!" Rainbow Dash punched a fist into the air in excitement. Her friends nodded agreement.
“After band practice I have to go to the animal shelter,” Fluttershy whispered softly, hiding her excitement. “Yay.”
“Hey, maybe-” As Rainbow said a reply, a booming voice from the microphone cut her off. “Good afternoon Canterlot Wondercolts! It’s the end of another school day. I know that the end of the year is coming, and you’re all excited for the holidays, but that doesn’t mean you can talk in class. That will end up with you having your grades lowered, so don’t you all relax just yet. Well anyway, remember to study your finals next week!” The radio box cracked once before becoming silent.
"I just cannot wait for band practice!" Pinkie Pie squealed, jumping around her friends in circles, spraying some rainbow confetti.
Sunset Shimmer brushed some confetti away from her face. "I suppose." she mused to herself. But it was enough for her friends to hear. "What's wrong, darling?" Rarity placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder. Sunset shrugged it off. “It’s nothing..."
"Really, darling. Every one of us can see something's wrong," Rarity sighed.
"Come on, let the cat out of the bag," Twilight urged. The girls looked at the amber girl with pleading eyes.
Sunset put her hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. I suppose there's no point hiding it now. The end of high school is coming, and all of us is starting to apply for college, including some of you. But you would have noticed that I haven't applied for anything. I haven't made up my mind about something…” Sunset trailed off, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.
Twilight's eyes widened in realisation.
"Yes, I think you know what I'm saying, Twi. I don't know if I should stay here, in the human world or go back to Equestria."
“You should have told us, Sunset. We could have helped you!" Applejack gasped.
Sunset shook her head. “If I go back, I wouldn't be able to see you all for a period of time. If I stay here, I would be able to stay with you all, but I wouldn’t be able to use magic, or see my parents, Princess Celestia, and maybe even Princess Twilight as well. I know that I was born in Equestria, and I’m a unicorn pony, but if my heart decides to stay here, I will. You all are very important to me, even if you don’t know it, and I can’t bear the thought of leaving you all, so I would like you to help me.” Sunset looked at her friends as some of their eyes teared up.
After looking around at her emotional friends, Fluttershy stepped forward with a stray tear rolling down her face. “I…I never knew you thought of us like that.” Sunset nodded and walked towards the school doors.
The rest of Mane 7 exchanged nervous glances before following along.
***
Sunset pushed open the door to her apartment. She sighed. I’ve been living here for so long, but it still looks the same. She stripped her shoes off and went to the narrow kitchen to get a drink of water.
The apartment wasn’t very big, but it was enough for an average person to live in. It had a kitchen near the door, a living room with a dining table and chairs, a toilet and lastly a bedroom. Sunset ran to her bedroom. She launched herself onto the bouncy mattress and laid down with her facing the ceiling. What should I do? She thought. I want to see Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight again, but I don’t want to leave my friends. We’ve gone through so much together, and we’re literally best friends. Hmm… I wonder what they’re going to do in the holidays…maybe they’re going to go to the theme park. Hey! Maybe we could hang out there together, all seven of us. Ooh, maybe we could ride the Ferris wheel, or take photos in the photo booth…..
Her mind wandered far and wide, and before Sunset knew it, half an hour had passed, and it was nearly time for the Rainboom’s band practice. Her yellow phone vibrated, and jolted Sunset out of dream-world. “W-what?!” She rubbed her eyes and reached her hand to grab her phone. With one eye opened, she looked at the screen.
“Oh no, I’m almost late!” Sunset pushed herself off her bed and grabbed her guitar case. She rushed to the front door, put her shoes on desperately, and sprinted out of the door towards Canterlot High.
***
Meanwhile, the Rainbooms had already set their instruments up, and were ready to play. “Ugh, where is Sunset? I thought she would be here already,” Rainbow complained, tuning her guitar.
“We’ll have to start without her,” Applejack replied, glancing up at a clock hanging on top of the door. Precious time was ticking away as they waited.
“Be patient, and wait a bit longer. Maybe she’s still having a headache about returning to Equestria.” Rarity said, playing some scales on her white key tar.
Suddenly, Sunset burst through the doors, panting with exhaustion. Everyone jumped. “Finally….” Sunset panted, “Can we begin….now?” Pinkie Pie threw some confetti into the air. “Yay, Sunny’s here! Now we can start!” She snatched her drumsticks and jumped onto her seat. “Let’s begin! One, two, three, HEY!” Pinkie yelled.
“Applejack!”
Applejack had ran over in time and had taken Pinkie Pie’s drumsticks away just as she was about to play. “Nope,” Applejack waved the drumsticks, “Wait ‘till Sunset explains why she was late. She’s never late, rightttt?” She glared at Sunset, still panting a bit.
“You owe us an explanation for wasting our time.” Rainbow lashed out. Sunset flinched back. “Don’t be so rough,” Sunset said, holding her hands up in defence, “I was daydreaming about going back to Equestria. You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with this.” She glared at Rainbow. The latter just shrugged. “Let’s start. We have 45 minutes left. We’ll play….. Awesome as I Wanna Be.” Rainbow pondered.
“NO!”
“Rainbow, We can’t play Awesome as I Wanna Be every single time, Rainbow,” Annoyed, Twilight expressed, putting her hands on her hips.
“Ugh, fine! We’ll do, hmmmm…..Better Than Ever?” Rainbow looked at her friends. They didn’t object. Rainbow sighed with relief.
The Rainbooms walked towards their positions. Rarity gestured at Pinkie to count.
“One, two, three, four!”
There was a time we were apart But that's behind us now See how we've made a brand new start And the future's lookin' up, Ah-oh, ah-oh And when you walk these halls You feel it everywhere
Yeah, we're the Wondercolts forever, Ah-oh, yeah! ......
The Rainbooms played one song after another, until their rehearsal time was over. Even if they had a good time, there was still a problem unsolved.....
Author's Note
This is my first story, and I'm so excited! Remember to stick around for the next chapter.
Credits to Daniel Ingram for Better Than Ever
“Coast is clear.” Sunset crept over to the Canterlot High School portal, while checking for strangers around. “Luckily there’s no one here,” She whispered.She placed a hand on the portal. Lights flashed as part of her hand disappeared inside it.
She recoiled back, suddenly feeling hesitant to step through it. “You can do this, Sunset.” Sunset whispered to herself encouragingly. She slowly reached her foot through the portal, and closed her eyes shut as the gleam of the portal engulfed her vision.
After a dizzying moment, she opened her eyes. It was pitch black, and the only thing Sunset could see was her own body. Sunset wobbled a bit as she realised she wasn’t standing on solid ground. She looked down, and gasped at the sight of the void that stretched out of her vision.
“Where am I?” She thought out loud as she beheld the strange view of the black void she was standing in. There seemed to be nothing but herself in this vacant space. Otherwise, Sunset couldn't see it.
“What have you done to me, portal?!” Sunset yelled in rage, stomping her foot, temporarily forgetting that she was in a void.
“Woah!” Her foot slipped, and Sunset collapsed onto a seemingly solid piece of invisible ground. “What in the name of Celestia -AH!” Sunset screamed as she her left leg was now a yellow hoof, just like her pony self. She glanced at her other hand, and covered her mouth with it. Luckily, it was still normal. Well, maybe it isn't that lucky.
“My hand! Why is it a hoof?!” She waved it around in confusion. "What's going on with me?"
A flash of light came from behind her. “I’ve been waiting, Sunset Shimmer.” A familiar, but annoyingly calm voice rang out behind her. Sunset gasped as she realised who it was. “Principal, um, I mean, Princess Celestia! Can we go back to Canterlot? Wait, where did the portal go? Well that doesn't matter right now. Boy, I’m so glad to see you.” Sunset rambled, too excited to see a recognisable face.
Celestia laughed, and put a hoof around Sunset’s shoulder. “There’s no need to ask so many questions. We must go back now. Back to Canterlot.” She whispered, gesturing towards a yellow portal, which flickered to life in front of them.
Sunset looked at the portal, with eyebrows raised. “You sure about this, Princess?” Celestia gave her a nod, and led Sunset to the direction of the glowing portal. “Twilight and the others are waiting for you there. They can't wait to see you. Especially Twilight.” She gave the muddled pony a wink mischieviously. Sunset returned a smile. The two ponies walked towards the portal.
“Sunset, wait! where are you going?” They turned back to see Twilight Sparkle, known as Sci-Twi to others, plunging through a purple coloured portal, and rushing towards them. Twilight slid to a stop in front of them, somehow still in human form.
“Why would you chose to leave us like that?” Twilight asked anxiously. “We’re your best friends, we’ve been through so much together. I know you're going back to Equestria, but please stay.” Twilight begged. Hearing her words, Sunset felt like her heart was shattering into pieces. “I don’t…I didn't mean....” Sunset only managed to stutter out a few words, too shocked to reply.
“You must decide now,” Celestia urged. “There is no time.” As she spoke, white light flashed on the side of Sunset’s vision, getting brighter each second. She glanced between the two in distress.
“But…I don’t know!” Sunset cried desperately.
“There's no doubt that you're coming with us. Come on.” Twilight grabbed Sunset’s hand, and pulled her towards her end.
“No, she’ll come with us.” Celestia lit her horn, and Sunset was dragged towards her. Twilight tugged back with all her might, but Celestia didn’t let go.
“Stop it! Both of you!” Sunset yelled, pain rising in her arm. They ignored her. The white glow slowly swallowed all of them, blinding Sunset until she couldn’t see a thing.
***
Sunset sat up in her bed in a flash, cold sweat dripping down her forehead, gasping a bit. She blinked rapidly, her eyes still getting accustomed to the darkness. She brushed it away with a few swipes of her hand. Her clock on her nightstand ticked once as the minute hand struck twelve.
Sunset glanced at the clock. It was exactly 4:00 in the morning. She lay back down. Luckily it was just a dream, She thought. But it was so realistic….. I need to talk to Celestia. I need to go back to Equestria.
Author's Note
More of this will be coming out soon.
Sunset arrived at Canterlot High after an hour of restless sleep. She needed to tell her friends she was going back to Equestria, but not that they would go find her immediately. “How can I stop them from freaking out while I go back?” She questioned herself, padding to the student lockers.
It was around 5 am in the morning, and no students were in school yet. Sunset opened her journal. It was shared with Princess Twilight in Equestria. Gonna tell her I’m coming back now… She scribbled a short message on the journal and without waiting for a response, she shut the journal.
Now I just got to inform my friends. But how can I do it so they won’t just panic and dive in the portal? Sunset rubbed her chin. She pondered that for a moment before an idea came up in her mind. “I know! They would need to use a bit of time to crack this…”
Sunset smiled and pulled out a pen and some sticky notes. “I’ll give them a little puzzle….” She smiled again before heading into the school.
***
Many hours had passed after Sunset Shimmer had gone through the portal to Equestria, and another day of school had ended. The Mane 7 was at Applejack’s place to hang out. Twilight and Fluttershy had arrived together after a study group. Applejack was waiting outside the barn with a plate of tart apples. She waved at them. “Finally ya here. Uh, welcome to the barn, Ah guess.” She led them in the barn where the other girls were waiting.
Applejack placed the tart apples on a hay bale before sitting down between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The six sat down on the floor in a loose circle. Someone was missing, but no one seemed to have noticed just yet.
Twilight took in a deep breath before beginning. “Has anyone seen Sunset Shimmer?”
Although she asked, she already knew the answer. Everyone shook their heads. “Maybe she’s just late. Or she could be talking to Princess Twilight.” Applejack suggested.
“That could be true. But she wouldn’t be that late.”
“Ya know that she could spend around half an hour or more talking to the Princess, am Ah right, y’all?” Applejack’s gaze swept across the circle. Everyone nodded.
“Let’s call her.” Rainbow Dash already had her phone open. The girls leaned closer to eavesdrop on their conversation. Rainbow put the phone near her ear for a few moments before frowning. “No answer. Oh yes! I need to show you something odd.”
She pulled a slightly crumpled yellow sticky from her pocket and held it up. On it was one number, 19, in Sunset’s straight handwriting.
“Ooh! Ooh! I have one too!” Pinkie Pie yelled. She put a hand in her pink hair and moved it around until she found another sticky, similar to what Dash had, but a different number was written on it, 5. The rest of them gasped. “I have one as well! I already forgot about it until Rainbow Dash reminded me.” Twilight also took out a sticky note. On it, there were numbers 5 and 17.
The girls who had not shown theirs took theirs out in addition. Rarity’s had the numbers 9 and 1, Applejack’s had the number 18 and ultimately, Fluttershy had 20 and 21.
“UGH! Is this a test from Sunset or something?” Rainbow blurted in her disappointment. Rarity shot her a questioning glance. "Really, Rainbow Dash?"
“Oops, sorry about that.”
“Wait,” Twilight said. “You might be onto something. It might actually be a test.”
Rarity’s eyes widened in surprise. “Darling, that certainly cannot be true. Rainbow Dash just said that at random.” Twilight nodded.
“But it’s not like her to leave us quietly, am I right girls?” Rarity continued.
“Ah know, but some unexpected things happen, and we’re dealin’ with it head on!” Applejack remarked, crossing her hips.
“I Wonder what they stand for though,” Fluttershy whispered softly.
“WHAAAAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” Pinkie half yelled half asked Fluttershy. The girls covered their ears frantically and Fluttershy buried her face in her hair with an soft “Eep!” The sound echoed through the barn as Rarity glared at Pinkie Pie.
“Brace yourselves,” Rainbow whispered.
“Excuse me,” she said icily, standing up. “The girls and I nearly suffered a permanent hearing loss just now.” She raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for an apology.
Pinkie just shrugged, still as cheerful as ever. Twilight could see the exasperation in Rarity’s eyes. Pinkie was Pinkie Pie, and no one could ever change that. Twilight cleared her throat and flashed the two girls a look. It was enough to make Rarity move back into her seat.
“Ahem, back to the original topic, the puzzle ,” Her gaze swept over the group. Somewhere, there was an idea, or clue that could lead them to the truth.
Applejack sighed. “Really, Ah still can’t see wha Pinkie Pie always act like this. Well anyways, on with this conversation. What were ya sayin’, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy was fiddling with a lock of her pink hair. Twilight knew something was on her mind.
The pink-haired girl whispered something inaudible to the group. Applejack raised an eyebrow.
Pinkie opened her mouth, but Rarity covered Pinkie’s mouth before she could say anything. With her free hand, she waved a disapproving finger.
Applejack sighed in relief before leaning her head towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy whispered the message again into her ear.
Applejack nodded. “She said that the numbers might stand for something.”
“But what?!” Rainbow Dash apparently could not hold it in any longer.
Twilight considered that. “That could be a puzzle, a game, whatsoever. There are so many possibilities of what the numbers could stand for. Could you all write a list of those numbers for me, please? And leave them the way they are. Maybe I do know what they stand for. Oh yes, Pinkie? You have all the keys for all the houses, right?”
Pinkie Pie squealed.
“Can you go check if Sunset left her journal behind, or maybe some helpful things? That might lead us closer.” Everyone nodded before splitting into groups for the different tasks.
***
Princess Twilight Sparkle paced around the portal in circles. Is the portal not working? What’s taking her so long? Spike rolled his eyes. “She’s going to be fineee.” Ignoring him, Twilight continued her anxious pacing.
“I don’t know about that.”
Suddenly, white light shot out from the portal as Sunset Shimmer emerged through the portal. She wobbled on two legs, temporarily forgetting she was in the pony world, and collapsed onto the floor in a heap. “Ouch.”
The Princess stepped out and hugged her friend. “So great to see you.” Twilight greeted her. In return Sunset dipped her head and stood up. “Thanks for letting me come back.” Sunset uttered.
“You’re welcome to stop by anytime, and you know that,” Twilight remarked. “Sooo, what was the problem you had?”
Author's Note
Sorry about that, folks. Lots of work to catch up on, I think.
(I just happened to be reading this chapter when I spotted the mistake. Sorry about that
List of numbers to help:
Restart and Redo
Fluttershy stepped out of her van, with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie following suit. “This is her apartment, right?” Rainbow asked.
“Of course it is, silly,” Pinkie pointed to the door, “Let me grab the keys first.” She stuck her hand into her messy pink hair, and pulled out a large string, full of keys. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Um, Pinkie, you sure you can find the key to Sunset’s apartment? We don’t have all day.”
“Nope!” Rainbow tapped her foot impatiently as Pinkie examined each key. But Pinkie didn’t take very long. “AHA! Found it!”
She jumped as she put the key into the keyhole and turned it clockwise. The pink haired teen pushed the door open and turned to Rainbow. “See? I told you.”
Fluttershy shrugged. Pinkie Pie was Pinkie Pie.
“Look around and tell me if you can find it.” Rainbow was already on Sunset’s couch, sitting cross legged. Fluttershy glared at her. “This is important business. No fooling around.”
“Fine.” Rainbow forced herself up and the three spread throughout Sunset’s apartment.
Sunset’s apartment wasn’t very big, just 3 rooms; a living room that included a kitchen set, a small bedroom and last, a washroom. Rainbow was opening drawers and closets in Sunset’s bedroom, Pinkie was popping around the house with a detective suit that appeared out of nowhere, and Fluttershy was in the living room.
“No journal.” Fluttershy addressed. The others nodded in agreement and disappointment. “Let’s go back. Maybe Twilight would have figured something out.” Rainbow suggested.
Without a word, they retreated out of the apartment. Pinkie locked the door before hopping into Fluttershy’s van. Fluttershy stepped on the accelerator. The engine roared, and the van took off the way it came from.
***
Rarity wrote the numbers down while Applejack read them out. Applejack had decided not to disturb Twilight, as she was crouched down in a corner, her lips pressed tight.
She walked to her agitated friend and knelt down next to Twilight. “Ya alright, sugarcube?” Twilight shook her head, worry lines creasing her forehead. Applejack actually felt sympathetic for her for being the brainy nerd of the group, having to do all the thinking.
“Not yet….” Applejack was reminded of Princess Twilight stuck in the same situation, when they were thinking of a counterspell against the Dazzlings, or rather the Sirens to save their school from under their spell. She shrugged her shoulders and sat back down next to Rarity.
“What now?”
The fashionista shrugged, in a very unladylike way. But, she didn’t seem to mind. “Wait,” she answered simply. Applejack lowered her hat over her face.
***
The roar of a car engine could be heard as the sound grew louder and louder. Applejack knew that her friends had returned. Maybe they have some good news , she thought.
She stood up to greet her friends. Unfortunately, Rarity had beat her to it. “You’re back!” Rarity rushed over to the three teens and hugged them.
“Did you find the journal?” Applejack asked, but her friends’ stern expression gave her the answer. Looking at them, she noticed that Pinkie’s hair seemed to have lost a bit of color. She sighed. “Nothin, Ah suppose.”
Pinkie Pie nodded with a frown that didn’t pop up very often. Actually, it almost never comes out. This is one occasion. “So what other clues do we have except the journal?” Rainbow Dash piped.
Applejack wanted to force her brain to think faster, but her brain was at its limits. “Oh, horseapples,” She muttered out loud, “Why can’t Ah think of anythin’?”
“I kinda hope the sticky notes can help though.” said Rainbow, fiddling with a pen on the ground.
“Hey everyone! There’s something on the back of my sticky!” A yell from Pinkie Pie startled everyone. They jumped as Pinkie giggled. “What is it?” Applejack peered over Pinkie’s shoulder. “Another message? It says…. Tip: 1- 26. What the hay does she mean?”
“What includes 1 and 26? Bruh, I can’t even use English correctly now, I might need to relearn the alphabet!” Dash uttered.
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted her friend. “Did you just say the alphabet?” A hesitant nod confirmed her suspicions. “Ohhhh, so that’s what she meant. The alphabet! We’ve been barking up the wrong tree this whole time! We just need to know the number of the letters in the alphabet! Then we can see what they spell out and then we will be able to see where Sunset went off to! Oh, why didn’t I think of this earlier.”
Everyone just looked at Twilight, demented. “Err… care to translate?” Applejack asked.
“It’s pretty simple once you understand it,” Twilight explained, “So for example, the letter A is first in the alphabet, so it is the number 1. The letter Y however, is second last in the alphabet, so it is the number 25, since there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I certainly think so.” Rarity replied.
“Uhm, I don’t really get it, sorry.” Rainbow Dash answered.
“Well, brains aren’t everything, but in your case, it’s nothing.” retorted Rarity.
“Ooohh, roasted!” Pinkie cried, laughing bubbling out of her mouth. Applejack had to put a hand over her mouth to hide her snickers.
Dash’s face was crimson red. She had to fight the urge to slam her fist into Rarity and create a nice “body structure” for her. Rarity gave her a smug smile.
Twilight chuckled. “Now, let’s match the letters to the numbers. Even if it is a childish game, it is essential in order to find out where Sunset’s been, alright?” Everyone nodded, including Dash, despite the fact that she didn’t understand.
***
“Ah got it!” A shout from Applejack announced the completion of their task. “Fluttershy, show her the letters we’ve got.”
Fluttershy read the letters out. “We have two Es, one I, A, U, T, S, R and Q. Nine letters in total.”
“Interesting. Let’s try and figure out all combinations of those letters, and see if we can find a reasonable word.” Twilight announced.
A FEW MOMENTS LATER……
“You know, there are very little words with the letter Q in it, and I just remembered something. The word “Equestria” has the letter Q in it!” Twilight shouted.
“Hooray,” murmured Fluttershy. Sometimes you can never tell if she’s happy. “Should we go to the portal?” she suggested. “If you all can’t wait.” She shared a smile with Applejack.
Twilight glanced at her watch before saying: “I don’t think we should….it’s pretty late. 10 past 9.” She began to stand up. Rarity and Fluttershy also dismissed themselves.
***
The first rays of sunlight were getting brighter by the minute, but the sun was still nowhere to be found. The sky was a mixture of dark blue of night and orange gold of day, the line between both colors a faint orange and yellow.
The Mane Six , stood in front of the Canterlot horse statue. This time, no vehicles were parked around in order to stop suspicion. “Alright girls, you ready?” Rainbow asked, sweeping her gaze across the group.
Twilight almost thought that her eyes had shone with blue light, but shook the thought away. It isn’t important now. Seeing the others nod, she also did as well. “Good.” Dash sounded a bit like the leader of the Wonderbolts Spitfire while giving orders. “Even if I really want to all charge in at once, let’s go one by one . I’ll go first.”
Twilight had to be impressed. Wow, she thought, Rainbow Dash would do anything for her friends. No wonder she’s the Element of Loyalty. She watched as each of her friends followed her friend inside.
A hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked back to see Fluttershy with a worried face. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Just unsure. I kind of wish I brought my device with me to get some findings.” Twilight replied.
Her friend didn’t reply. Fluttershy gestured her hand to the portal and stepped inside, with her eyes tightly closed. Twilight also shut her eyes and lifted her hand to touch the portal.
Author's Note
List of Alternative Names for EqG Fanfic:
(Deciding on title names is a hard task
