Equestria Girls: Two Sunsets

by moviefan-92

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Slice of Life, Drama, Pinkie Pie (EqG), My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash (EqG), Comedy, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Main 7 (EqG)
Length: 77680

CHS is having a talent show, and the girls are eager to join. But then the human Sunset Shimmer suddenly appears. They try to befriend her, but she's shy and reserved, and seems to be hiding something magic. Is she evil like her counterpart once was?

Canterlot High School is having a talent show, and the Rainbooms are eager to join in. However, things get complicated when the human world version of Sunset Shimmer suddenly makes an appearance. After much confusion and several mix-ups, she finally meets her counterpart and her friends. Unlike her counterpart, however, she's shy and reserved. The girls try to befriend her, but this Sunset doesn't seem to be too interested in friendship. She is, however, very interested in the rumors of magic surrounding Canterlot High, and seems to be hiding something magic related herself. And when magical mishaps begin to occur, the Equestria Girls begin to suspect that this new Sunset may be behind them. Is it possible that she's evil and power hungry the way her counterpart once was, or is there something else at work?
STORY COMPLETE

Published 2019-05-26 23:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-16 20:35:04 UTC

Chapter 1: Twilight News

Author's Note

Ok, this is a first for me, but I promise it's gonna be a good one. I've been a writer on FanFiction.net for a while now. Recently though, my cousin begged me to write an Equestria Girls, and so I did. One of my readers suggested that I post my story here as well, so I figured, why not? So, yeah, this is for you, cuz. It's not just a story for the sake of a story though, I take my writing very seriously, especially if it's a request, and usually those stories turn out better than many of my other stories. I'd also like to thank my friend, Silverbuller, on DeviantArt for letting me use the image for this story.

IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ!!! Just so everyone knows, even though this is an Equestria Girls story, there will be mentions of the Mane Six throughout it. In order to avoid confusion, I decided to italicize the names of Mane Six and other residents of Equestria when they're mentioned. The same goes for Sunset Shimmer's human counterpart.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Story originally posted on 4/10/19 at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13257605/1/Equestria-Girls-Two-Sunsets.

Equestria Girls and other human world residents: …Normal Font…

Mane Six, human Sunset Shimmer, and other Equestria residents: …Italicized Font…

Chapter 1: Twilight News

"EQUESTRIA GIRLS: TWO SUNSETS"

Chapter 1: Twilight News

A pair of purple eyes stared from behind large glasses down at the phone held by a lavender colored hand as they read the text message for the umpteenth time. The words were still the same, no matter how many times they were read, and the owner of said phone was still trying to process what this meant.

No, it was obvious what it meant. Coming to terms with what it meant and how to deal with it would probably be a better way of putting it. And so absorbed in their thoughts was the phone's owner that they failed to see the telephone pole in front of them until they walked into it.

"Ow!" she cried, her hand going to her head, rubbing the spot where she banged it. "Who put that there?"

From inside the backpack she wore, a small lavender dog poked its head out and raised an eyebrow at her question. "Um, Twilight, it's a telephone pole. It's been there for quite a while."

A groan escaped Twilight Sparkle and she glanced over her shoulder at her dog as she continued rubbing her forehead. Ordinarily, a talking dog would raise many questions in her ever-curious brain, but she had learned not to question things so much, especially when magic was involved. All it would do was lead to headaches and even more questions. Besides, she had much stranger things to worry about right now.

"Sorry, Spike," she told the dog, not sure why she was apologizing. "I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around this."

The dog, Spike, gave her a strange look. "What? You mean that text you got? Don't worry about it so much; it's not a big deal."

"Maybe not to you!" Twilight exclaimed, her anxiety rearing its ugly head. "But how am I supposed to deal with this?"

Spike just rolled his eyes, still not seeing what she was freaking out about, but he still tried to be supportive. "Um, just like normal?"

Twilight resisted the urge to groan. She couldn't just act normal, because this was not a normal situation. In fact, this was high up on the 'awkward' scale, and she didn't know what she should do about it.

She once again read the text to make sure she wasn't mistaken, but the message still hadn't changed. She was still thinking about what this meant for her as she entered the doors of Canterlot High School and began making her way to her locker, all but moving on autopilot as she continued to stare at her phone.

After she got what she needed from her locker, still not taking her eyes off her phone, she closed the door and turned around, and would have walked into the person in front of her if they hadn't cried out, "I SAID, GOOD MORNING, TWILIGHT!"

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Twilight briefly juggled her phone before she managed to grasp it securely in her hands. Looking at the person who had screamed, she saw her ever-cheerful friend Pinkie Pie standing in front of her with a big smile on her face. She wasn't alone either, the rest of her friends, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were there as well, but Twilight's attention was on the pink-skinned, pink-haired girl in front of her.

"Pinkie Pie," she complained, "what was that for?"

"Whaaaat?" the hyperactive teen asked with genuine innocence. "I said 'hi' to you like a bazillion times, but you didn't notice."

Twilight blinked. "You did?" She hadn't heard her at all. Feeling embarrassed, she put on a bashful smile and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, guess I'm a little distracted this morning."

"I'll say," Spike mumbled, poking his head out of her backpack.

Frowning, Sunset gave her a look of concern. "Is everything alright? Did something happen?"

Twilight glanced at the unofficial leader of their little group. Despite the biker girl look she favored, Sunset Shimmer was actually one of the nicest people she knew, though from what she had heard, that hadn't always been the case; Twilight actually had a hard time believing that though. But Twilight trusted her friends more than anyone, and knew that she could count on them.

She had met them about half a year ago, back when she was still a student at Crystal Prep Academy. She had been a loner back then, with no friends, caring only about her studies. All that had changed when she met the six girls before her. She had bonded with them very quickly, and soon found herself changing her priorities, and even transferring schools and moving into a dorm.

Her life had improved significantly after that. She now had friends and a place she felt like she belonged. Though she still loved to study, she now found other enjoyments in life. She had even joined her new friends' band, the Rainbooms. What more, she had even learned about magic, and had learned how to wield it herself.

Strangely enough, that very magic seemed to manifest whenever she and her friends played songs together, usually causing them to, what they called, 'pony-up', where they obtained pony ears and ponytails. It was for this reason that their little cliché had gained the unofficial name the Equestria Girls from the other students in the school. With their power, they had solved several instances where magic had run rampant in and out of the school, causing various problems for all those involved.

The problem Twilight was currently facing, however, was not a magical one, but a personal one, and she let out another sigh as she glanced at her phone again. "I got a text message from Shining Armor last night. Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied studying for today's test that I forgot to plug it in, and my phone died. I got his text while it was charging, and didn't see it until this morning."

"Everything alright?" Applejack asked in her heavy country accent.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine, it's just… look."

She held up her phone, and Applejack leaned in to read it. "Ok, lets see now. It says, 'Hey, Twily, guess what. Tonight I asked Cadance to be my girlfriend, and she said yes. We're now officially a couple'."

Twilight lowered her phone. "That's what's wrong. My brother and Principal Cadance are actual boyfriend and girlfriend now."

They waited for her to say more, but, apparently, that was the whole issue their brainy friend was dealing with.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so? What's the big deal? Isn't this good news?"

Twilight wanted to scream out her frustration. "The big deal is that I'm trying to deal with the fact that my big brother and the former dean-turned-principal of my old school are now in a relationship. I mean, he told me he was dating someone, but he didn't tell me it was Principal Mi Amore Cadenza. Of all people, why did it have to be her?"

"Could be worse," Sunset said with a joking smile. "He could be dating Abacus Cinch."

Twilight nearly gagged at the thought of her brother and the former principal of Crystal Prep together. "Guys, this is serious. What am I supposed to do around her? How am I supposed to act? Every time she comes over, I'm going to feel like I did something wrong and was sent to the principal's office. And what about my Crystal Prep friends? How am I supposed to act around them knowing my brother is dating their principal? What if it affects my friendship with them?"

A light chuckle escaped Rarity. "Darling, I think you're overthinking it a bit."

"Like always," Spike chimed in. "But does she listen to me? No."

Twilight gripped her head, resisting the urge to yank her long dark violet hair. "It's just so weird. How am I supposed to act? What do I even say the next time I see them?"

Pinkie Pie rushed up next to her, getting a little too close into her personal space. "How about congratulations?" she suggested happily.

A frustrated groan escaped Twilight. "Pinkie Pie, this is serious!"

Applejack placed a hand on her shoulder. "Settle down, sugar cube. Just relax. I really don't think it's as bad as you're making it out to be."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? How would you feel if you were suddenly told that your brother and Principal Celestia were dating? No, not just dating, but were actual boyfriend and girlfriend?"

The apple-loving farm girl's eyebrows rose up as she tried to picture Big Macintosh with Principal Celestia. She had to admit that it did seem a little strange. It had been awkward enough when her little sister, Apple Bloom, had tried to hook up their brother with the librarian/teacher, Cheerilee, so they would both have someone special for Valentine's Day.

"Ok," she conceded honestly, "I admit that it would be a little weird, but as long as he's happy, then I'd be ok with it."

If there was one thing Applejack could be counted on, it was honesty; there wasn't a single dishonest bone in her body. But would she really be ok with her brother and Principal Celestia dating, or did she just think she would be because it was a hypothetical situation?

Twilight sighed. "I do want him to be happy, and I really like Principal Cadance. She's beautiful, she's caring, she's kind, but it still doesn't make it any less awkward."

Fluttershy finally spoke up, her voice quite and uncertain. "I'm sure it will be ok. It'll just take some, um… getting used to."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie agreed, as if the situation were one big, fun-filled game. "It's not like they're getting married."

Twilight's eyes widened. Married? Shining Armor and Cadance married? That was what relationships tended to lead to. How had that possibility not occurred to her? The very thought made her inhale deeply.

"Getting married," she repeated with wide eyes. "Getting married! What if they do get married? That's what happens to couples eventually, right? If they do, that would make the principal of my old school my sister-in-law!"

Spike rolled his eyes as she started breathing heavily. "Oh boy, now she's going to start worrying about that now."

Reaching out, Rarity comfortingly patted her hyperventilating friend's shoulder. "Relax, darling. You said they just made it official last night. Even if they do get married someday, it could be years away."

Sunset tapped her chin as she thought back to one of the conversations she'd had with Princess Twilight via the magic journals they wrote into to send messages to each other. "Well, you know, there is a very strong possibility that it will happen one day. After all, that's what happened to the Shining Armor and Princess Cadance back in Equestria."

All heads turned to her. Twilight seemed to stop her overreacting as she gave her friend a curious look. "What do you mean?"

Sunset gestured behind her. "According to Princess Twilight, her brother and Princess Cadance in Equestria are not only married, but have a daughter as well."

Twilight's mouth dropped open at this revelation. "A d-daughter?"

Sunset nodded. "Yup, little Flurry Heart I believe she said her name was."

"You mean…" Twilight grabbed at her head, "I'm an aunt!?"

Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up behind her. "Well, the you in Equestria is."

"I can't be an aunt yet!" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm not ready! This is all happening so fast! I feel so old!"

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash practically shouted. "Calm down. You're not really an aunt."

"Not yet anyway," Spike added. "We don't know when that'll actually happen. It's like Rarity said, it could be years away."

He looked to Sunset for confirmation, and the red and yellow haired girl shrugged. "Yeah, it could be. There's really no telling."

"But just to be safe, you should start planning for their baby shower now!" Pinkie Pie declared, throwing handfuls of confetti in the air. "I'd be happy to help with that."

A frown crossed Sunset's face as a thought occurred to her. "No, better not. It's probably best not tell your brother and Principal Cadance what I told you about Flurry Heart. I probably shouldn't have said anything at all; it could end up altering fate or the intended future or something here."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "But it's supposed to happen, right? I mean, this world pretty much parallels that one, doesn't it? It even has alternate versions of us."

Sunset thought about it for a minute before deciding that she didn't have enough information to provide an accurate answer. "I really can't say. There are a lot of similarities, yes, but there are a lot of differences too. Maybe the Shining Armor and Cadance of this world won't stay together. People could end up with different people here than they do in Equestria. For example, according to Princess Twilight, there seems to be a little something going on between the Rarity and Spike of that world, at least on Spike's end, but I don't exactly see that happening here."

Rarity scoffed. "Surely not. I mean, nothing person, Spikey-poo," she scratched behind the dog's ears, "I do love you dearly, but anything between us would be quite impossible." She flipped her hair back and clasped her hands together, looking dreamily up at the ceiling. "The man I marry will be handsome, suave, dignified, refined. Like… Principal Celestia's nephew."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "You mean Blue Blood?"

"But of course," Rarity declared. "You've seen his picture in Principal Celestia's office, haven't you? Now that is a true prince." She sighed dreamily. "I do hope to meet him one day."

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, biting her bottom lip in thought. She had been about to tell Rarity that according to Princess Twilight, the Blue Blood of Equestria was far from princely, and had fallen well below that Rarity's expectations. However, she just couldn't bring herself to rain on her friend's parade, and decided that maybe it would be better for her to find out for herself. And who knew, maybe the Blue Blood of this world wasn't as bad as the one in Equestria. Somehow though, she doubted it.

"What I was getting at," she said instead, "is that the two worlds and the residents are quite different despite their similarities, so there's really no telling what may or may not happen."

Rainbow Dash glanced at the doors leading into the school, knowing that outside, the destroyed remains of the statue of what had once been Canterlot High's mascot stood with only the base left intact. It was that base that contained a magic portal that led to the pony world of Equestria, kept open by a magical machine Princess Twilight had created to keep the portal open indefinitely rather than once every 30 moons.

"I kind of wish we could go there," she said with interest. She imagined herself riding on the back of her Pegasus counterpart, flying through the air at top speed. "Just for a visit. It'd be awesome to meet another version of me."

She dropped her fist in her hand as she suddenly remembered something "Which reminds me. I've been wanting to ask, but I kept forgetting." She looked back at the red and yellow haired girl. "Sunset, you're originally from Equestria. Wouldn't that mean that there's another version of you walking around somewhere? The one from this world?"

And there it was, the unspoken question that would undoubtedly have been asked eventually. Sunset crossed her arms as she leaned back against the lockers as she thought about her friend's question. Truthfully, she had expected them to ask this long ago, but it had surprisingly never come up before.

"I've actually been wondering about that myself for a while now," she said truthfully. "In theory, I guess there could be, but I've never seen her." She shrugged. "But then again, it is a really big world. She could be out there somewhere and we've just never met."

"That would be awesome!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "It'd be like having a friend times two! I'd love to see how alike and different the two of you are. As much as the two Twilights are the same, they're both pretty different too."

A feeling of awkwardness fell over Twilight as she thought back to her meeting with her Equestria counterpart, her anxiety from earlier completely forgotten in light of the topic of their conversation. "Yeah, it was definitely interesting seeing a mirror image of myself, minus the glasses I mean."

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, like I said, in theory there could be. But we've already established that this world is different from Equestria in many ways, so maybe there's not. There do seem to be people in this world and Equestria that don't have counterparts." She shrugged again. "Or maybe there was another me, but she lived long ago already, or maybe she's not even been born yet."

Twilight now looked confused. "What do you mean? We were all born around the same time as our counterparts. Wouldn't it be the same with you?"

Another shrug. "Maybe, maybe not. For example, back in Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are over 1,000 years old. I'm pretty sure Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna aren't anywhere near that old."

Rainbow Dash held up a hand. "Whoa, hold up! They're really over 1,000 years old? What, are alicorns immortal or something?"

Rarity looked horrified. "I can't even imagine living that long." Her hands came up to touch her face. "Just think about how many wrinkles I would have. I may be good at maintaining beauty, but I can only do so much!"

Sunset chuckled; that was such a typical Rarity reaction. "No, alicorns are not immortal, although ones as powerful as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do have lasting youth and longevity; they are practically goddesses after all. For their lifespan, I believe it was 50 years for us is only one year for them. But look, the point is, it's possible that this world's Sunset Shimmer, if there is one, was actually born at a different time than me, or will be."

Fluttershy glanced at the members of their group. "But we all came together, just like the pony versions of us."

Pinkie Pie shook her finger at her. "Ah, ah, that's not exactly true. We didn't meet this world's Twilight until much later."

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, that's true. I think that there was some kind of magic at work that brought us all together, just like in Equestria. Maybe it was destiny, or fate." She shrugged. "So who knows, if there is another Sunset Shimmer out there, then maybe whatever brought the seven of us together will eventually bring her to us too."

"It'd be like adding Sunset's identical twin sister to the group," said Rainbow Dash.

For some reason, a small frown found its way across Sunset's face as she thought about the possibility of meeting this world's version of herself. She didn't know why, but it brought forth a nagging worry. That is, until Applejack noticed her forlorn expression and draped an arm around her shoulder reassuringly. "Course, no one could ever replace our Sunset Shimmer, no matter what world they're from."

"Most definitely not," Rarity agreed. "Just like no one could replace either of our Twilight Sparkles or Spikes."

The dog in question blinked. "Oh, yeah, I have a counterpart too. You said he was a dragon in his world, right? Does that mean that if I ever went to Equestria that I'd become a dragon?"

Sunset just stared. "Um… I guess. Traveling between the worlds does seem to change you into a creature of that world. So, yeah, you probably would."

"That is so cool. I mean, I love being a dog, but it'd be really cool to see what it'd be like to be a dragon for a while."

"And we'd all be ponies, right?" asked Fluttershy curiously.

Sunset gave her a smile. "Well, you and Rainbow Dash would be pegasi. Pinkie Pie and Applejack would be earth ponies, and Rarity and I would be unicorns." She glanced at her bespectacled friend. "Twilight… um… I guess you would be either a unicorn or an alicorn. Since Princess Twilight was originally a unicorn, I'm guessing that you would be one as well since you have to become an alicorn by earning it."

Twilight smiled uncertainly. "I'm not sure I can handle all that. We have a hard enough time handling the Equestrian magic that manages to slip through to this world, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be in a world full of magic."

Sunset chuckled. "Well, it's not for everyone. Sometimes the power can be a little much." Her smile faltered as she thought back to her darker days when she was a different person. "I should know."

Realizing where her friend's thoughts were going, Rarity waved this off. "Oh, psshaw, that old story again. That is soooo in the past. Besides, everything worked out. You even got to make up with Princess Celestia, didn't you?"

Her words rang true, as Sunset thought back to that day where she had returned to Equestria to seek help in lifting a memory altering spell that had made all her friends hate her after removing all the good memories of their time together, leaving only the bad memories. But as horrible as that incident had been, it had finally allowed Sunset to apologize and reconcile with her old mentor, which may never have happened otherwise. It was for that reason that Sunset would be glad to have gone through that hardship, and it had also helped her realize just how truly important her friends were to her once she no longer had them, and that she cared for them even more than she had thought she did.

"Yeah," she said with a smile in answer to Rarity's question. "I did. I'm glad too. Not being able to apologize to her had been one of my biggest regrets."

Suddenly, the bell rang, indicating that they were to make their way to class unless they wanted to be late. And none of them were interested in getting chewed out by Principal Celestia or Vice Principal Luna.

As they made their way to class, however, Fluttershy brought up something that had crossed her mind from time to time. "Um, Sunset, there's something I've been wondering about too."

"Sure, what's up?"

The shy pink-haired girl shifted uncomfortably. "Well, um… it's just that, I was wondering, ever since you made up with Princess Celestia, did you ever think about, maybe… going back to Equestria?"

Sunset stopped walking. The others did too, and turned to look at her. An unreadable expression was written across Sunset's face as she stared at the ground. "I would be lying if I said that the thought never crossed my mind. To go back and maybe pick up where I left off."

Pinkie Pie suddenly pushed the others aside and rounded on Sunset with a horrified look. "Say it ain't so, Sunset!" She grabbed her leather jacket and began shaking her violently. "Say it ain't so!"

Feeling dizzy from being rattled, Sunset placed her hands on Pinkie Pie to stop her. "Pinkie, calm down. I'm not going anywhere." She breathed a sigh of relief when the hyperactive girl let her go. "I thought about it, and I realized that Equestria's not my home anymore. This place is. It may be nice to go visit every once and a while, but I'm much happier here than I've ever been back in Equestria. It doesn't even feel like my world anymore, this world is my world. It's my home, here, with all of you."

"But what about your family?" Applejack asked. Being from a very big family that was very close, family meant everything to her, and she couldn't fathom not being able to see them whenever she wanted, let alone being a whole world away. "Don't you miss them?"

Sunset sighed deeply. "I said before that I was never close to my family. My relationship with my parents wasn't exactly healthy. They really only saw me as a way to promote themselves as Princess Celestia's student. She was more of a parent to me than my real folks. Besides," she gave them a smile, "you girls are my family. I can't imagine life without you. I love you guys."

"Aww, we love you too, dear," Rarity told her.

"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "no matter what happens, we'll always be together."

"Best friends forever," Applejack agreed.

"Group hug!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and all but threw herself at Sunset, who suddenly found herself in a seven person hug before they lost their balance and they all toppled over into a big pile on the floor and burst out into laughter.

A pair of shoes suddenly appeared in their line of vision, and they slowly looked up into the disapproving face of Vice Principal Luna.

"The bell was to get to class," she said sternly, "not to start a wrestling match."

The girls quickly jumped to their feet and scurried away, giggling all the while, all thoughts of their earlier worries and concerns forgotten.

Chapter 2: The Second Sunset

Chapter 2: The Second Sunset

Mere seconds after Twilight Sparkle had walked through the doors of the school to the eventual conversation she would have with her friends about her brother and his new girlfriend, a lone figure stepped onto Canterlot High grounds.

Blending in as just another student, they were dressed in simple jeans with rips that had been deliberately made across the knees and a dark red hoodie. On the back of the hoodie was the design of a red and yellow sun. The hood was currently up, concealing most of their face as they looked up at the high school from which the rumors spoke of that claimed to have actual magic at it.

Reaching up, the hooded person pulled back their hood, revealing an amber-skinned teenage girl with turquoise eyes. A portion of her bright red and golden yellow hair was tied up in a bun while the rest hung down past her shoulders. Around her neck she wore a black choker decorated with small dark red gems that shimmered in the sunlight, much like her namesake, and her hand came up to touch it.

"So this is the place," she said curiously, looking at the school with interest. "It looks ordinary enough."

Appearances could be deceiving though, and she wondered how much of what she had heard was true. Rumors had been circulating that there was magic at this school, and not simple parlor tricks, but real genuine magic. The school was apparently trying to keep quiet about it, but people still talked.

Not that anyone really believed the rumors; there was no such thing as magic after all. For the most part, like most of the general public, she too had been skeptical of the rumors. But unlike those others, she, for her own personal reasons, had come to see how much of the rumors were true, if any at all.

"Doubt I can just ask around," she said to herself as she eyed the students entering the building. She wondered if she would be able to sneak in and pass for one of them while she investigated.

She wasn't entirely sure what she should be looking for though. Some type of magic, obviously, but what did that mean exactly? One thing was sure though, she would never get any answers standing around staring at the place.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to look as inconspicuous as possible as she headed for the main entrance. No one seemed to be paying her any attention so far, presumably thinking she was just another student, but there would be no telling what would happen once she walked through those doors; it was supposedly a magic school after all.

She stopped at the double doors, and stared at them for several long seconds. Was she really going to find what she needed here? She hadn't been led astray so far. Maybe she would-

"Morning, Sunset! Excuse us!"

"CMCs, coming through!"

"Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, wait up!"

Her thoughts were interrupted as three younger girls darted past her and into the school. The doors closed behind them, and she blinked in surprise. Had one of them… had they just called her 'Sunset'? No, that wasn't possible. She didn't know anyone here. And while she hadn't gotten a good look at them, she didn't think she'd seen them before. Had she?

No, she didn't think so. She must have misheard them. That's right, they must have thought she was someone else with a similar sounding name and she had misheard them. That was the only logical explanation.

So absorbed in her thoughts she was that she didn't notice someone come up behind her until they spoke. "Sunset Shimmer? You ok?"

Letting out a surprised yelp, she turned around. Standing behind her was a boy she didn't recognize. And what had he just called her? She may have misheard the girls, but there was no mistaking it this time, he'd definitely called her 'Sunset Shimmer'.

Her eyes looked the boy over. He had amber-colored skin, a lighter shade than hers, spiky blue hair, and light blue eyes. He was pretty cute she decided, and probably very popular, but she definitely didn't recognize him. So how did he know her? And by name too.

The boy cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Everything alright? You seem kind of distracted."

She blinked, coming out of her daze. "What? Oh, um, no, I'm fine. Just…" she rubbed the back of her head bashfully, "trying to figure out what's going on."

She'd said it more to herself than him, and he appeared confused by her words. He seemed to shrug it off though as he looked her up and down. "That's a new look for you," he said in reference to her hoodie. "Usually you wear your leather jacket. New hairstyle too. It kind of looks like it does when you put it up for your job at that sushi place."

Sushi place? She had never worked at a sushi restaurant. And what leather jacket? She didn't own a leather jacket. This situation was getting weirder and weirder. This boy seemed familiar with her, but she didn't know him; she would definitely wouldn't forget someone as handsome as him.

A look of concern crossed the boy's face. "Hey, you sure you're alright? You look a little out of it."

"I… um, I…"

She what? What was she doing? Making a complete fool out of herself, that's what. She'd come here in search of magic, and instead found people she didn't know who knew about her. Was this part of the magic? Did the school have divination or clairvoyance or something?

Before she could respond, to the boy's question, two more boys came walking up to them. The first was a light amber-skinned boy with green hair in dreadlocks who looked like a borderline hippie, complete with a recycle button pinned to his shirt, and the other resembled a stereotypical nerd, complete with glasses, with violet skin and dark gray hair.

"Hey, Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer," the green-haired boy greeted. "How's it hanging?"

"A very good morning to you both," the nerd chimed in.

The blue-haired boy, who was apparently named Flash Sentry, turned to them and gave them a smile before high-fiving them. "Sandalwood, Micro Chips, what's up, guys."

"My grades, of course," said the nerd, whom Sunset assumed was Micro Chips. "It's not easy being the smartest student at Canterlot High, but one does what one must."

"I don't know about that," Sandalwood replied. "Didn't Twilight Sparkle score higher than you last time?"

Micro Chips adjusted his glasses. "A minor setback, soon to be amended. I was elected the most likely to discover cold fusion over her for the yearbook."

Sunset stared at them, still trying to piece this whole thing together. From the way they greeted her, it was as if they knew her too. She didn't recognize either of them, or their names. And while she considered herself to be very smart, though apparently not quite up to this Micro Chips or Twilight Sparkle's level, she was beginning to feel pretty dumb right now, like everyone else knew something that she didn't. She wondered if she should ask how they knew her, but that only made her feel even more foolish.

Pushing his glasses further up his nose, Micro Chips held his chin up high. "I suppose only time will tell whether she or I will be Canterlot High's top student. Good day gentlemen, my lady. I shall see you inside."

He walked past Sunset and Flash with his head proudly held high. Sandalwood smirked at the nerd's confidence before returning back to the other two and nodding to the doors. "You guy's heading in?"

"We'll be there in a bit," Flash told him.

They would? Sunset didn't think she was quite ready to go inside anymore. Her head was spinning. Why were they talking about her like she belonged to the school, like they were old friends? How did they even know her? And if they knew who she was, did they also know what she had planned in coming here? This was not how she expected this day to go down. She needed to get out of here and rethink this.

"So, Sunset," Flash began, scratching his head in what appeared to be nervousness, "I don't know if you have any plans this weekend, but I got these tickets to this new movie that I think you'd like, and I wanted to ask if-"

"Sorry," she interrupted, "I gotta go!"

She took of running, away from the school, leaving a slightly bewildered Flash behind at her sudden departure. He recovered quickly though and waved to her retreating form as he called out to her. "Ok, cool, I guess I'll catch you later!"

With a sigh, he turned away and kicked at the ground in disappointment. Coming up behind him, the cross-eyed Derpy Hooves patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Sunset, meanwhile, had hurried away and ducked behind the remnants of the school statue. She needed a minute to collect her thoughts without being surrounded by people who she didn't know but who seemed to know her. She hadn't known what to expect from a school that supposedly had magic, but it hadn't been that.

Sighing, she rested her head back against the base of the statue and closed her eyes. On the other side of the base, the glossy surface briefly glowed with magic. With her eyes closed, Sunset didn't notice as the gems on her choker flashed in response.

By the time she opened her eyes, the glowing of both her choker and the statue had stopped, and she turned her thoughts to what had just happened. "Ok, so either there's a big chunk of my memory missing where I met a bunch of people I don't remember, or there are people who know me even though I don't know them."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of two girls heading towards the school. The one on the left had curly pink and dark blue hair and light yellow-green skin, and the one on the right had long somewhat spiky greenish-blue and hair and light bluish-green. Would they know her too if she approached them?

Sunset hesitated for a moment before rushing over to them. "Hey, sorry to bother you," she said, coming on much stronger than she meant to. "This may sound a little strange, but do you by any chance know who I am?"

The two girls stared at her as if she had a second head. They exchanged bewildered looks before the curly-haired one on the left spoke. "Um, yeah. You're Sunset Shimmer. Everyone in school knows you."

Sunset's mouth dropped open. "Everyone?"

"Um, yeah, pretty much," the other girl replied before giving her a look of concern. "Are you feeling ok? Maybe you should go see Nurse Redheart."

Sunset ran a hand through her hair as she tried to process the fact that two more complete strangers knew who she was, as did the rest of the school according to them. "No, I'm fine. It's… been an unusual morning."

The two girls continued to look at her strangely as she stared out into space. They exchanged another confused look before shrugging and walking past her.

"Ok, well, I guess we'll see you later," said the one on the left before whispering to her friend. "That was weird."

"Yeah. Hope she's not getting sick."

Sunset barely registered their departure. She now had even more questions than before. How was it that everyone knew who she was? This just didn't make sense. She had never been to this school before. She had never even been to this town before, having lived most of her life in the city. How did they all know her?

Were the students here psychic, and they had predicted her coming? Was that what the "magic" here really was? No, she had been led to believe otherwise, and the rumors she'd heard had never mentioned anything about psychic powers. Besides, that display didn't point to psychic powers; more like knowledge of the unknown. Wait, wasn't that part of being a psychic? Maybe. She didn't know.

One thing was for sure though, there was definitely something mysterious about this school, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The bell rang, signaling it was time for lunch. The Equestria Girls meet up with each other in the hall as they headed for the cafeteria. Not all of them were cheerful though. Applejack's shoulders were slumped in disappointment while the others attempted to cheer her up.

"It's only one test," Twilight told her. "You can make it up. I'll even help you study."

"And besides, the retest is always easier than the first one," Rainbow Dash added cheerfully.

The blonde farm girl raised an eyebrow at her multi-colored haired friend. "Is that why you're so cheerful? 'Cause you scored even lower than I did."

Rainbow Dash just waved this off. "No sweat. Now that we know what exactly is gonna be on the test, we can focus on those topics specifically and we'll score even higher than we would have even if we did pass the first time."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side curiously. "That almost makes it sound like you failed on purpose."

Lifting her chin up proudly, Rainbow Dash grinned arrogantly. "It's my new study method! Don't worry about the first test so you don't stress out, find out what's gonna be on it the first time around, then cram it all in and blow away the retest."

Sunset wasn't sure if she was in complete agreement with that strategy. "Um, Rainbow, you do realize that this is Mr. Cranky Doodle you're talking about, right? He's probably going to make the retest extra, extra hard. And he'll probably change the questions too."

Rainbow Dash stared at her blankly for a few moments before slapping her forehead. "Oh man, why didn't I think of that?" She rounded on Twilight, grabbing her shoulders a little too tightly. "Twilight, you gotta help me study!"

Applejack held up a hand. "I'd appreciate the help as well."

Reaching up, Twilight gently extracted Rainbow Dash's hands from her shoulders. "I'd be happy to help. In fact, we can all have a study session at my place if you want."

"Lets make it my place instead," Rarity offered. "It's much bigger, and you can all spend the night."

"Slumber party!" Pinkie Pie declared loudly. Reaching into her frizzy raspberry-pink hair, she seemingly magically pulled out a cupcake. "I'll bring snacks."

As they began to make plans for their study session/slumber party, they continued on their way to the cafeteria. Along the way, they crossed paths with Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings, who greeted the group.

"Howdy, you two," Applejack said in response to their greeting. "Having a good day?"

The two girls nodded. "Yeah, pretty good," Sweetie Drops replied.

"How about you, Sunset?" Lyra asked. "Did your morning get better?"

Sunset raised a questioning eyebrow. This had been the first time she had seen the two of them today. Had someone told them that she had been having a bad morning? "Um, yeah, it's been fine."

The two girls looked relieved. "Oh, that's good," said Sweetie Drops. "Glad things got better."

With that, the two walked off, and began whispering to each other. "Did she change clothes since this morning?"

"Yeah, and she went back to her usual hairstyle too."

Not hearing their whispers, Sunset turned back to her friends. "That was pretty weird."

"They seemed worried about you," Fluttershy noted. She gave Sunset a concerned look. "Did something happen this morning before school?"

Sunset shook her head. "No, it was a pretty normal morning."

Suddenly, there was a gasp from Rainbow Dash, and they all turned to her. The rainbow-haired girl was staring at a flier on the wall, her hands pressed to either side of it as she read the notice excitedly.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Did you guys see this? The school's having a talent show! Individual or group acts are being accepted. How long has this been up? How'd we not see it before now?"

The girls gathered around and started reading the flier. It must have been up for a while and they just had been walking past it, because the date was only a couple weeks away, and the deadline for participating was coming up.

"Ooh," said Pinkie Pie as she saw the signup date, "good thing we saw this when we did, or we may have missed the deadline."

"Maybe someone was taking them down so there wouldn't be much, um… competition," Fluttershy suggested hesitantly.

"Mmm, 'someone' being Trixie?" Rarity asked, voicing all of their thoughts.

"That would have been pointless," Twilight stated. "Principal Celestia would have most likely made an announcement for a last chance to sign up before the deadline."

Sunset beamed excitedly. "You guy's thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That the Rainbooms are gonna rock down the school!" Rainbow Dash declared. "We gotta get in some extra band practice."

Rarity cleared her throat. "I believe you're forgetting something. You and Applejack need to study for your retest."

Rainbow Dash just waved this off. "Won't be a problem. We'll jam out at my place for a while, then head to your house for some good old studying before we have our slumber party."

Twilight gave her a look of mild disapproval. "I think you have your priorities a little mixed up."

"Nah. We'll rock out a bit to de-stress so we'll be good and ready for our study session, then we'll have the rest of the night to do whatever we want."

"Homemade s'mores!" Pinkie Pie declared, and suddenly had a bag of marshmallows, a chocolate bar, and a box of graham crackers in her hands.

Fluttershy glanced at the flier again. "I hope there weren't a limited number of spots, otherwise they might be all filled up."

"I'm sure there's some spots left," Twilight reassured her. "Otherwise they would have made an announcement, or at least taken down the fliers. But we should still sign up soon, just in case."

"Better reserve the music room so we can practice after school too," Rarity suggested.

Spike, who had poked his head out of Twilight's backpack, was considering the flier curiously. "You think I can enter? A magical talking dog would be sure to steal the show."

Sunset chuckled. "Sorry, Spike, but I think it's students only."

"What's students only?"

They turned around to find Flash Sentry walking up to them. Sunset smiled and raised her hand in greeting. "Hey, Flash. We were just talking about the talent show."

His gaze shifted to the flier. "Oh, yeah, I saw that too. Looks like fun." He glanced back at Sunset and frowned slightly. "Hey, did you change your clothes since this morning? And your hair?"

Sunset blinked and glanced down at her clothes, then at her friends questioningly. They shrugged in confusion, and she turned back to Flash. "Nope, same clothes and hair since I left the house this morning."

Looking confused, Flash scratched his head in bewilderment. "I could have sworn that…" He shook his head. "Never mind, it's not important."

Rarity, however, felt the need to address the issue. "On the contrary, it most definitely is important. You see, girls, this is the problem with owning so many copies of the same outfit. And while that does tell me that you all know what you like, I keep telling you that you still need to have a greater variety in your wardrobes. In fact, I insist that we all go clothes shopping this weekend at some point for some new outfits. And not just additional copies of the same ones you already wear again. We can go before heading over to Rainbow Dash's for band practice."

"Speaking of this weekend," said Flash. He glanced briefly at her friends before shrugging. "Sunset, I was trying to ask earlier that I got these two tickets for this new movie I think you'll like, and I wanted to know if you'd like to go with me."

She gave him an appreciative yet apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I'll have to take a rain check. It seems like this weekend is going to be pretty busy. The girls and I are planning on having a study session and getting in some band practice for the talent show." When Rarity cleared her throat, she rolled her eyes, looking amused. "And go clothes shopping."

Flash sighed in disappointment. "Yeah, that does sound like a pretty busy weekend. I guess I should probably get in some practice too."

"Oh?" said Fluttershy with interest. "Are you entering in the talent show too?"

Smiling, he gave her a thumbs-up. "You know it. I'm already signed up. Got a new song for it and everything. Hoping to bring home the grand prize."

"Oh yeah?" Sunset teased jokingly. "Think you can beat the Rainbooms?"

Giving her an equally as playful smile, he crossed his arms. "What? You think I can't?"

"Well, they did dominate everyone at the Battle of the Bands." Her smirk widened. "And that was before I joined them."

Flash chuckled. "Touché, Miss Shimmer. But in my defense, I was under an evil siren spell at the time, which turned me into a real jerk and probably affected my performance. Besides, lets not forget who taught you how to play the guitar in the first place."

Sunset playfully punched his arm. "Touché yourself. But I think it's safe to say that the student has surpassed the teacher in this case."

Flash gave her a small bow. "I look forward to the challenge, my lady. See you around." He turned to leave before smirking back at her. "And I'll hold you to that rain check. Later."

Sunset chuckled and waved goodbye before turning back to her friends. Much to her bewilderment, they were all huddled together with big goofy grins on their faces, staring at her in anticipation.

Sunset blinked in confusion. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" Applejack practically cried.

"Is it not obvious, dear?" Rarity asked. "Flash Sentry is totally into you!"

Sunset's mouth dropped open, and heat flooded her face. "What? No, we're just friends."

"He was totally flirting with you," Rainbow Dash insisted.

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Mmm hmm, mmm hmm. And you were totally flirting back."

"And I'm pretty sure that that movie invite was him indirectly asking you out," Twilight added.

Sunset thought back to the playful banter she had just had with her ex and realized that she had been flirting with him. And the movie invite, had he really been asking her out? He hadn't used the word 'date', but he had only asked her. She'd thought that it was because it would be a movie that her friends might not like, and he had claimed to only have two tickets.

More heat filled her cheeks, and she shook her head in denial. "No way. We already did the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing, and he was the one who broke up with me, remember?"

"Mmm, yes, darling," Rarity muttered in reluctant agreement before she countered with, "but that was back when you were still the school bully. You can't exactly blame him for wanting to break up with you back then. You were so mean that no one wanted anything to do with you."

Sunset cut her eyes at her. "Gee, thanks."

Pinkie Pie picked up from there. "But now that you're not a big meanie anymore, it looks like he wants to get back together with you."

"Old feelings are being rekindled," Applejack agreed.

"I think we're forgetting to ask the big question here," said Rainbow Dash before giving Sunset an expectant look. "Sunset, do you want to get back together with Flash?"

The girls stared at her eagerly, excited looks on their faces. Sunset was suddenly feeling very embarrassed at being put on the spot. She liked Flash a lot, sure, but after she had screwed up their relationship with how awful of a person she had been, she needed more time to think before she jumped back into anything. And her friends' interrogation was not making that easy.

"I… I…" Her eyes darted around for an escape route, and they landed on the flier again. She quickly tore it down and held it out to her friends. "There's no time to think about that right now. We should go sign up for the talent show while we still can. It's like Fluttershy said, we don't know how many spots they have left open. Don't want to take any chances."

She gave them a big hopeful grin. The other girls' faces had gone from excited to frowny with hooded eyes, and they exchanged looks. It was more than obvious that she was trying to dodge the question, but they decided to let it go… for now anyway.

"Alright," Applejack conceded, taking the flier from her. "Lets go sign up. It says to see Principal Celestia."

Sunset sighed as she and her friends headed for the principal's office. Today was certainly turning out to be a day of surprises.

Going by unnoticed, the girls walked past a window, just missing being seen by a pair of turquoise eyes that peeked through the window.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Principal Celestia looked up from her paperwork when she heard the knock on her door. She called for whoever it was to come in, and smiled when she saw that it was the Equestria Girls. As principal, she knew that she wasn't supposed to play favorites, but she had to admit that she had a certain fondness for the seven of them.

Her smile widened further when she saw the flier for the talent show in Applejack's hand. It was easy enough for her to figure out what they wanted, and she wondered what had taken them so long to sign up.

Folding her hands in front of her, she tried to keep her smile neutral. "Hello, girls. What can I do for you?"

The freckled farm girl held up the flier. "Principal Celestia, we're interested in signing up for the talent show."

"If there are still spots available," Fluttershy added hopefully.

The principal's smile widened. "Of course there are still some spots. I was actually wondering when you girls would come see me about it. I'm assuming it's for your band."

"You know it," Rainbow Dash declared, and began miming playing the guitar. "The Rainbooms are about to make the talent show 20 percent cooler."

Celestia chuckled as she reached into her desk and pulled out a clipboard with the signup sheet attached to it. "I'm sure you will. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to add a rule for your band."

Twilight frowned slightly. "Um, what rule?"

Celestia held up a finger in warning. "No magic allowed. That gives you an unfair advantage over the other students."

Applejack rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, that might be a bit of a problem. We can't always stop ourselves from ponying-up. It just kinda happens."

She gave Celestia an apologetic yet hopeful grin, and the principal crossed her arms as she considered this. "Hmm…"

Sunset quickly jumped in. "Principal Celestia, I want to assure you that we have no intention of using our magic as a means to win. We may pony-up, but we want our performance to be about our music, not our magic."

"Hmm…" Celestia muttered again, tapping her chin in thought. "I suppose that will be ok. We'll have to make it clear that your band is the talent portion of your act, but as long as you promise not to actually use your magic, I think we can overlook your pony-girl transformations."

"Wahoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "It's a promise. A Pinkie promise."

Celestia smiled and handed over the clipboard. Sunset gave her an appreciative smile of her own before writing down their band name with all their names in parentheses. "Thanks, Principal Celestia."

"Don't thank me," she said, unable to completely hide her favoritism from the group. "I was really hoping you girls would perform, I wish you the best of luck."

Rainbow Dash punched the air. "This is gonna be awesome! We're gonna rock the whole school to the ground. I'll book the school music room for us at the end of the day so we can practice."

Celestia glanced at the clock. "Just make sure you girls leave yourselves enough time for lunch." Her smile widened knowingly, and she decided to tell them the special treat since they would find out soon enough anyway. "They're selling cupcakes in the cafeteria for dessert."

This prompted exactly the type of reaction she expected. Pinkie Pie practically pushed her friends aside as she all but pounced at the principal. "What!? They're actually selling cupcakes!?"

Celestia couldn't help but to let out a light chuckle at the dessert-loving girl's reaction. "Chocolate and vanilla. And for 50 cents extra, red velvet."

Pinkie Pie's eyes practically popped out of her head. "To the cafeteria!"

Whirling around, she grabbed the two of her friends nearest to her, which just happened to be Fluttershy and Rarity, and took off at a speed that could rival Rainbow Dash's magical speed. The other girls stared after her for a few seconds before smiling knowingly and following after their friends.

Chapter 3: Song Selections

Chapter 3: Song Selections

The school day had just ended a few minutes ago, and the Equestria Girls had begun gathering in the music room to discuss what they were going to do for the talent show. Currently, they were waiting for Pinkie Pie, who made a grand entrance when she burst into the room.

"I have the best idea ever!" she practically shouted.

The others looked up from getting their instruments ready to regard the pink-haired girl warily. Pinkie Pie was indeed a lot of fun, but her ideas could sometimes be a little… much.

"Ok," Applejack relented, "what's your idea?"

Looking giddy, Pinkie Pie moved in closer and lowered her voice. "If we win the talent show, I say we all celebrate by getting tattoos!"

The others' mouths dropped open. Out of all the crazy ideas they had been prepared for, that had not been one of them.

"See," Pinkie Pie continued, "I thought it would be fun if we all got a tattoo of our pony selves' Cutie Marks. That way it'd be like we're connected. I'm thinking on our lower backs, or maybe on our ankles if we want them to be less visible, but we should all get them in the same spot. What do you think?"

Sunset bit her bottom lip uncomfortably and glanced at her friends. They too wore similar expressions on their faces. Worst of all, they were looking at her, seemingly to give their hyperactive friend an appropriate response.

"That's… an interesting suggestion," she said carefully, not wanting to hurt Pinkie Pie's feelings by completely knocking down her idea, "but I think we're still a little young to get tattoos. Maybe we'll revisit that idea when we graduate from college or something."

Pinkie Pie looked disappointed, her hair deflating as if it were a balloon. "Aww, but I wanted us to do something special and memorable if we won to mark the occasion."

Sunset quickly waved her arms. "We still can! We can… um… uh…"

Rarity quickly came in to assist her. "How about we throw a big party instead? Um, different cakes themed?"

Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped open and her eyes got so wide that her friends were afraid that they would pop out of her skull as her hair poofed up again. "That idea's even better!"

The girls relaxed and chuckled at how easily their friend could be distracted at the mention of sweets. Although too many sweets may in fact be part of the reason why she was so hyper all of the time. But only part of the reason.

"Um… perhaps we should talk about what we're going to do for the show before we talk about what we're going to do if we win it," Fluttershy suggested.

Rainbow Dash scoffed at that. "As if we could lose. But you're right; we should pick a song. We can only do one, right?"

"Mmm. I'm afraid so, darling," Rarity told her. "Otherwise there won't be enough time for all the acts."

"Anyone know anyone else besides Flash who's entering?" Sunset asked curiously.

Applejack held up her hand. "I talked to Apple Bloom earlier. Turns out she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are doing something in the show, but she wouldn't tell me what it was, only that they were sure to win."

Rarity gasped in indignation. "What!? Sweetie Belle didn't say anything to me about entering."

Spike snickered. "Probably trying to reduce the competition, 'cause she knew you girls would win hands down."

Pulling out her phone, Twilight began looking up their band's profile on their webpage. "Lets just pick a song. I suggest we look at which ones have the most fans."

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared over her shoulder to look. "Ooh, let me see."

Rainbow Dash joined them. "Good call. Leave it to the Bronies and the Pegasisters to tell us."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "The what and the who now?"

Twilight held up her phone. "Oh, those are the new fan-names our followers are going by now because of the whole pony theme our band has. Now, lets see what they're saying…"

As the girls moved in to take a look at her phone, Sunset held back and smiled at the sight of her friends, a feeling of warmth and comfort filling her. There were no words to express how grateful she was to have them in her life. Whether it was just hanging out, spending the day going out, playing in their band, or whatever else life had in store for them, she simply couldn't imagine life without them.

Speaking of their band, the Rainbooms were becoming increasingly popular, and their number of followers was growing. Their popularity had really taken off after their appearances in the latest Daring Do movie, and their prize winning song, Dance Magic, playing everywhere certainly helped, bring their number of followers into the hundreds of thousands. And thanks to their newest friend, Vignette Valencia and her connections, their popularity only continued to grow.

Of course, despite how popular they were, they held no illusions that they would become world famous like those really big bands that made millions of dollars at each appearance. Each of them had dreams and aspirations of their own, and it wasn't hard for Sunset to see where each of them would end up.

Applejack would undoubtedly take over as an apple farmer for her family. There was really nothing she enjoyed more, not to mention it was a bit of a family tradition. And her magical strength would aid her with the more physically challenging jobs working on a farm consisted of. She was easily the hardest worker Sunset knew, and loved to be kept busy.

Rainbow Dash would probably go on to be a professional athlete or sportswoman, and not because of her magical super speed. Most likely, she would end up being a star soccer player, though she was equally as skilled in several other sports. But even if she didn't make it big, she would still undoubtedly end up doing something sports related, maybe as a professional coach or a personal trainer.

Fluttershy would, of course, end up working with animals. Her magic ability to talk to them would make it very easy. She would likely open her own pet shop or animal shelter. Or maybe she would end up as a pet groomer/animal photographer. Or, if she had the stomach for it, she could be a vet since she was essentially a real life Dr. Doolittle. Or perhaps she would be a zoologist if she decided to move up to the more wild animals. Whatever she did choose though, it would definitely be animal related.

Rarity was a no-brainer. She would go on to be a fashion designer, and a world famous one at that with her skills, and would probably open her own boutique right here in town. She would most likely model her own designs too, and even be her own makeup artist; she had the looks, talent, and ambitions for all three. Sunset could even see her working with Photo Finish as her photographer. Or maybe she would take a different route and be an actress; she had expressed interest after their appearance in the last Daring Do movie. However, Sunset didn't think she would ever be able to walk away from fashion.

For Pinkie Pie, there was no question. She was going to be an event and party planner. The girl loved to have fun, and make sure others did too, taking pleasure in decorating and planning, usually going a little too far, but she definitely had the talent for it. There was never a dull moment when she was around. She'd probably end up opening her own bakery or pastry shop or café on the side as well. It didn't seem like the girl ever got tired.

With as smart as Twilight was, she had a number of possibilities open to her. The girl was a certified genius. She'd most likely go on to become a great scientist and/or inventor. She already had plenty of inventions of her own, even having made Spike a robot dog girlfriend. Knowledge and learning were her forte, and her love for science was undeniable. Her love for books was equally as great, so if she wanted a more modest job, she could always be a librarian, but Sunset saw her going on to do something much greater. After all, she was determined to prove last year's superlative wrong and beat Micro Chips in the invention of cold fusion. Or maybe she would follow a similar path of her counterpart and become, not a princess, but a school principal, much like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's counterparts. Maybe even of Canterlot High when Principal Celestia eventually retired.

As for Sunset herself, well, she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do. She didn't want to toot her own horn, but she was very smart and talented, and thus had a lot of options available to her. And though she wasn't on Twilight's level, she was rather skillful in science, so being a scientist was an option for her as well. She also enjoyed solving the magic mysteries she and her friends encountered, so maybe something like a detective or a private eye was optional; her magic ability to read people's thoughts, memories, and emotions would definitely come in handy with that. But if she had to pick now though, she thought that she would pursue a career in art. She was rather skilled, and had already gained quite the reputation as the street artist, Flanksy, despite keeping her identity secret. She even created an entire comic of her and her friends using their magic to be superheroes to stop a jewel thief.

But there was no need to rush anything right now. They still had plenty of time before graduation, and they could always change their minds in college. One thing was certain though, no matter what their future held, they would always be best friends forever.

Smiling, Sunset closed her eyes and thought about how she had gotten to this point. If she had been asked a few years ago, she never would have expected to end up where she was. She had been a unicorn back in Equestria studying under Princes Celestia, greedy, arrogant, and power hungry. She'd made a lot of mistakes over the years and had many regrets, but to have ended up where she was now, it was all worth it. She would have like to have done a number of things differently, particularly back in her darker days, but in the end, those events had helped her become the person she was now. As had the people she had met. And she would always be forever grateful to-

"I SAID, HEY, SUNSET!"

Eyes snapping open, Sunset jumped as she found Pinkie Pie's face right in front of hers. "Pinkie! Don't do that."

Pinkie Pie just smiled innocently. "Well, we were talking to you, but you weren't answering. You must have been having a reeeeeeally deep thought. What were you thinking about?"

Sunset glanced at her friends. They were looking at her curiously too. Just how much of the conversation did she miss? "Never mind, it's not important. Um, what were we talking about again? I kind of zoned out a bit. Sorry."

Rarity sighed in mild irritation. "We were talking about which song we were going to do for the talent show."

Sunset snapped her fingers. "Oh, right. So what did we decide on? Which song got the highest rating?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wow, you really weren't here. Well, we decide not to go with that. Instead, we're each nominating our favorite song, and we're gonna vote from there."

Rarity held up the notepad and pencil in her hands. "So, Sunset, which of our songs is your favorite? It must be one we all sing, no solos or duets."

A big smile grazed Sunset's face. It was a no-brainer for her. There was really only one song. "Oh, that's easy. I mean, I love all our songs and think they're all great, but my favorite would have to be the one Fluttershy wrote, The Music In Our Hearts."

Fluttershy looked surprised by this. "My song?"

Sunset nodded. "It was a really great song. And not only did we beat the sirens with it, but it was when we sang that song together that I truly felt like I had become a part of the group and truly gained real friends. That song will always hold a special place in my heart because of it."

The others stared at her, slightly caught off guard at how deep and meaningful her choice was.

"Wow," said Applejack, sounding touched, "that was beautiful."

Rarity sniffled emotionally. "Yes, truly touching," she agreed, and wrote down Sunset's choice. "Ok, with that, the nominees are Friendship Through the Ages, This Is Our Big Night, Dance Magic, The Legend You Were Meant To Be, Perfect Day For Fun, Shake Your Tail, and The Music In Our Hearts. You only get to vote for one, and you can't vote for the one you submitted."

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms. "It's too bad we don't have a new song we haven't played yet. If we busted out a new song for the show, we'd win hands down."

"That would be pretty cool," Applejack agreed, "but I doubt we'll be able to write a new song, come up with music, and practice it enough in time for the show."

Sunset tapped her chin in thought. She had been meaning to present something to her friends for a few days now, but had yet to do so. Now seemed as good a time as any. "Actually, if you guys are interested, I do have a new song that I finished recently."

All heads snapped in her direction at the unexpected news. An excited smile lit up Rarity's face, and she immediately tossed her pencil and notepad away. "Why didn't you say so earlier, darling?"

"Show us, show us!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Smiling at her friends' eagerness, she began going through her backpack. "I've been working on it for a little while now. I wanted to write a song about how great you guys are as friends. Ah!" She pulled out a few sheets of paper and handed them to her friends. "I have to be honest though, I used a few of the lyrics from the cafeteria song you guys sang to get Twilight elected as the Princess of the Fall Formal. I hope you don't mind."

Rainbow Dash snatched the papers out of her hand. "I don't mind. That just means that we contributed."

"And I was afraid that song would go to waste after that one time," Applejack admitted.

"Pfft," Pinkie Pie scoffed. "Waste nothing. Didn't you notice how many people were filming us on their phones? And the videos of us they posted online completely went viral. If the events around the Fall Formal with Sunset taking Twilight's crown and her trying to get it back were made into a movie, that cafeteria song would have easily been the best part."

Twilight looked confused. "Wait, when was this? I was never elected as… Oh, wait, you meant the other Twilight. Of course!" She rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "Sorry, my bad."

Sunset waited anxiously as her friends read her song. It wasn't the first one she wrote, but it was still always a little nerve-wracking to show your work for the first time. However, when they finished reading, they looked back up at Sunset and were all smiles.

"Sunset, this is quite good," Rarity commented her.

"I like how you incorporated our group name in it," said Fluttershy.

A big smile spread across Sunset's face. "You really like it?"

"I think it may be one of your best song yet, sugar cube," Applejack told her honestly.

"Just one thing though," said Rainbow Dash. "On these parts here and here, when you talk about how awesome we are, why didn't you include yourself?"

A chuckle escaped Sunset, and she crossed her arms. "Well, I said it was about you guys. It'd be kind of weird if I wrote about myself when singing about how awesome my friends are."

Rainbow Dash wobbled her head. "Yeah, I guess that's a good point."

"I know," said Twilight, "we can make those parts a solo section for Sunset to sing. That will make her stand out in the song too."

"Works for me," said Applejack.

Excitement began to bubble up inside Sunset. "Does that mean we can use it for the talent show?"

Rainbow Dash looked up from the song sheet. She glanced at her friends before fixing Sunset with a serious look. "Alright, we'll use your song, but on one condition."

The smile faltered from Sunset's face as she wondered what it could be. "Um, ok. What?"

Rainbow Dash continued to look at her seriously for a few moments before her expression shifted to a mischievous smirk. "The next time you write a song about how awesome we all are, you have to include yourself in it too."

Realizing that she was being messed with, Sunset beamed. "Deal."

"Splendid!" Rarity exclaimed delightfully. "Now we have a brand new song for the show."

"This is so exciting," said Fluttershy, lightly clapping her hands together.

Twilight took another look at Sunset's song, and the wheels in her head began turning. "Actually, I think we have more than that. I think that this might be the song we're looking for."

"You mean for the big musical montage song we talked about making that's a mash-up of several of our other songs squished into one?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

Twilight blinked, only mildly surprised that her frizzle-haired friend had somehow managed to guess what she was thinking. "It's called a medley, Pinkie Pie. And yes, I think this song would be perfect as the basis for it. I could try incorporating it into what we have so far."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure you're going to have time for that? I know you're busy making arrangements for Spring Break. It won't be too much work for you, will it?"

Twilight just waved this off. "It'll be fine. Spring break is still months away. And if anyone knows how to schedule things, it's me. I can fit this in, no problem." She glanced at Sunset. "If you don't mind me adding your song to the medley."

Sunset nodded. "By all means, if you think it would work, that would be awesome."

"Totally awesome!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Now we'll have not one, but two more songs for our CD."

The moment she said the words, she clamped her hands over her mouth. Too late it seemed though, as her friends were now looking at her curiously. Slowly, she lowered her hands from her mouth and waved them in front of her. "Um, never mind what I just said."

Rarity narrowed her eyes at her. "Never mind nothing. What are you talking about? What CD?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes darted back and forth as she looked like a deer caught in the headlights before she gave a very forced laugh and rubbed the back of her head. "CD? Who said anything about a CD? That's not what I said. Ha, ha, ha."

Almost simultaneously, her friends raised an eyebrow. Letting her know that they weren't buying it. Rainbow Dash just continued to look at them with a large, forced grin on her face, her eyes occasionally darting around, as if searching for an escape route.

"Spill it," said Sunset, letting her know that she and the others weren't going to let this go.

Realizing that the cat was out of the bag, Rainbow Dash sighed and hung her head. "Ok, you caught me. I was hoping to make it a surprise, but since I apparently have a very big mouth…" She shrugged. "Ok, so a few weeks ago, Vinyl Scratch asked if she could have a copy of all our songs. I told her that I'd burn her a CD, and then she suggested that we make a whole bunch of CDs and start selling them. She even said that she'd help."

The others stared at her in surprise. Twilight recovered first and shook her head. "Wait, so you and Vinyl have been planning on making CDs of all our songs?"

"The Rainbooms are a hit," Rainbow Dash replied. "And we're only getting more popular. People like our music. So, yeah, I thought it was a good idea. She and I already designed a cover; we're just working on getting all the songs together. I was going to tell you guys when the first batch was finished."

"That is an awesome idea!" Pinkie Pie practically shouted.

"Indeed," Rarity agreed, clapping her hands together. "How did we not think of it before now?"

"If it's music related, you can always count on Vinyl," said Spike.

"She's actually been taking pre-orders at her job at the music store," Rainbow Dash continued. "Oh, and she said that if we're interested, she'd be happy to help us make some music videos for our songs too."

Applejack smiled. "What a coincidence. I was actually thinking of trying to do a few Do It Yourself videos."

"That is a coincidence," said Rarity. "Because I was thinking of trying to make my own fashion videos I plan to call 'Street Chic'."

"I guess great minds think alike," Sunset said with a smile, "since I was starting up a Let's Play gaming channel myself. I'm calling it 'Shimmer Code'."

Pinkie Pie clapped her hands excitedly. "Fun! I want to try it out too! I know, I could do a baking show!"

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms, looking very smug. "Too bad I already beat you all. I already have my own channel showing Tank and me doing some awesome skating moves."

"I wanna give it a shot too," said Spike eagerly. "Twilight, can I borrow your camera?"

Twilight smiled. "Sure, Spike. And doing some music videos does sound like fun, but lets see how things go with the CDs first."

"Hey," said Pinkie Pie, "we should also take some orders at the talent show for our CDs."

Sunset nodded. "That's a good idea, Pinkie Pie. It could really promote sales if they can see us play. I'm sure Principal Celestia won't mind. We can even donate some of the profits to the school for class trips and stuff."

"Never would have thought that when we started a band that it'd go this far," Applejack admitted, though she was clearly happy about the outcome.

Rarity scoffed. "Darling, please. It's obvious that we have a natural talent for it."

Fluttershy shyly moved a lock of hair out of her face as she hesitantly asked, "So, which of our songs are going to be on the CD?"

Rainbow Dash gave her a bewildered look. "Um, all of them. Duh. I even got our solo songs, like Sunset's My Past Is Not Today and Rarity's The Other Side. I mean, if we're gonna show off our musical talent, we might as well go all out." She suddenly punched her palm. "Which reminds me." She rushed over to her bespectacled friend and grasped her shoulders. "Twilight, I need a favor."

Twilight blinked. "Um, ok. What?"

"Well, I wanted to include the Camp Everfree theme on the CD, you know, the one we sang on the bus ride there, but Vinyl said that the song is the property of the camp, so we can't use it without permission. Can you talk to Timber Spruce and convince him to let us use it?"

Twilight blinked at the unexpected request, and reached up to remove Rainbow Dash's too tight grip on her shoulders. "I suppose so. But why don't you just ask him yourself?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Um, duh, because you're his girlfriend. You should be able to convince him to do pretty much anything."

Twilight's face turned bright red, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she swayed back and forth bashfully. "G-Girlfriend! I-I don't know if I would say I'm his girlfriend. I mean, yeah, we are dating, but I don't know if I would use the term 'girlfriend' just yet."

"Whatever. Same difference. Come on, ask him for me!"

Rarity cleared her throat. "You do realize that you will need his sister's permission too, dear. Both of them have equal ownership of the camp."

Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "Yeah, but I figured that she'd say yes since we saved her from being stuck as an evil plant demon, and because we helped saved the camp from Filthy Rich."

Sunset chuckled. "I'm sure Timber is just as grateful for those things as Gloriosa. Besides, letting us use the camp's theme song would be good promotion and advertisement. I don't think either of them would object."

Rainbow Dash punched the air. "Sweet! Including that one and Sunset's new song, if Twilight can finish our medley, that'll make three more songs for our CD. We'll make the medley the last song on the CD for a grand finale. This is gonna be so awesome!"

"We better get to practicing then," Applejack pointed out. "New songs take some time to get down."

Rainbow Dash swiped her hand through the air. "No sweat. We totally got this. We're gonna win the talent show hands down."

At that moment, the door to the music room burst open, and a white-haired girl with cornflower blue-skinned stood in the doorway with a scowl on her face. The Equestria Girls stared at her in surprise at her sudden entrance, and she all but glared at them.

"What was that?" she demanded. "Did I hear you say that you were going to win the talent show?"

Applejack's shoulders slumped and she looked at the newcomer with hooded eyes. "Were you eavesdropping on us?"

Ignoring the farm girl, the newcomer arrogantly strutted into the room. "If anyone is going to win the talent show, it will be me, the great and powerful Trrrrrixie! And no new song of yours could possibly beat my magic."

"So you were eavesdropping."

This was nothing new for the Equestria Girls. Trixie Lulamoon was the most self-centered, obnoxious, and snobby person in the entire school, and she never passed up the opportunity to show off. And while they had long since gotten used to her behavior, it was still rather annoying.

"Just what makes you think you're going to win?" Rarity asked, sounding bored.

Trixie sputtered in surprise, looking insulted. "Obviously because I'm the greatest and most powerfulest person in the entire school." She pulled out a copy of last year's yearbook from behind her back and opened it to her page. "Just like it says in the yearbook."

Applejack snatched the book out of Trixie's hand. "First of all, there's still no such word as 'powerfulest'. Second, we all know that Sunset gave you that superlative, even though it wasn't a real one, because you helped her with the whole memory stone thing." She glanced at the yearbook. "And were you just carrying this around with you?"

Once again ignoring the question, Trixie arrogantly flipped her hair back. "You mean she recognized my talents when we worked together, and gave me the recognition I deserved."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Oh, brother." She glanced at Fluttershy. "Sometimes I can't decide who's more full of themself, her or your brother."

Rounding on her, Trixie pointed a finger in challenge. "Very well, I shall show you all what I am capable of. At the talent show, I'll show everyone just how amazing I am. And then you will all know who the true queen of this school is. And then I shall take my talent online with my own videos of street magic."

Applejack's eyes widened, and then she placed her hands on her hips. "Your own videos? Just how long were you listening in on us, you copycat?"

Smirking, Trixie scoffed at the accusation. "The great Trixie does not copy. She improves! And soon you shall all be witnesses to my greatness!"

She suddenly threw a smoke bomb on the ground, and the room was filled with a cloud that blinded the Equestria Girls and left them coughing. The cloud cleared up a few seconds later, and when it did, Trixie had vanished.

Pinkie Pie gasped loudly, her hands flying to her cheeks in surprise. "She's gone!"

Smirking, Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait for it…"

The Equestria Girls remained where they were. A few seconds later, from out of their peripheral vision, they spotted Trixie as she peeked her head out from behind the drum set she was hiding behind to see if anyone was looking. When she saw that they weren't, she quickly did a ninja roll and leapt out the open window, landing on the ground outside with an audible "Oof."

Trying not to chuckle, Sunset went over to close the window while a few of her friends steamed at the wannabe magician's antics.

"Sometimes that Trixie really grinds my gears," Applejack grumbled.

"Tell me about it," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Why's she got to be such a pain all the time?"

Sliding the window shut, Sunset turned back to her friends. "Oh, she's not so bad once you get used to her. And I really do owe her a lot. She is the only one who believed me and helped me when everyone else thought I was still mean."

Fluttershy lowered her eyes in shame. "I still feel really bad about that."

Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder. "As do I, darling. We all should have been more understanding."

Sunset waved her arms. "Don't feel bad, guys. It's not your fault. Your memories of me had been erased. As far as you knew, I was still the school bully trying to trick you all so I could sabotage your friendship again." She sighed deeply. "I really was a horrible person back then."

Applejack shook her head. "Doesn't matter. We should have been more open-minded and not dismissed you so quickly, no matter what you had done in the past. Especially since what you said about our memories being altered was a possibility with how much magic had been running wild back then."

The others looked like they agreed with her. Sunset didn't like seeing her friends looking so sad, and immediately tried to cheer them up. "Guys, really, it's ok. I don't blame you. If it makes you and better, I wouldn't have believed me either. Trust needs to be earned, and with your memories erased, you had no memories of me earning it. And besides, some good came out of it. We not only befriended Wallflower Blush, but Trixie and I became friends too… Sort of."

There were reluctant grumbles of agreement from her friends. Sunset smiled and took the song sheets from Rainbow Dash. "I also think the whole experience was good for me too in the long run. Not only did it give me the opportunity to make up with Princess Celestia, it also gave me a newfound appreciation for how much you guys mean to me. Turns out it's true that you only really understand how much you care about something when you no longer have it. In fact, it was that newfound appreciation that inspired me to write this song."

Applejack smiled in acknowledgement. "Well said, sugar cube. I remember how much I missed ya'll back when we were fighting." She snapped her mouth shut as she realized that that had been because of Sunset from when she had been a bully. "Um, no offense."

Sunset rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement. At this point, it was almost a running joke in their group. "None taken."

"All friends fight sometimes," Fluttershy pointed out. "What's important is that they're able to make up afterwards."

"And sometimes become even better friends because of it," Rarity added, recalling the fight she'd had with Applejack during the whole incident with Vignette.

The sound of drums and cymbals being struck drew their attention, and they turned to find Pinkie Pie at her drum set. "Enough of this gloomy talk. Lets get rocking!"

A chuckle escaped Twilight. "Good idea, Pinkie Pie. We should take advantage of the music room while we have it. We've got a whole new song to learn after all."

"Good call," Rainbow Dash agreed, and took the song sheets back from Sunset. "Just let me make some copies real quick."

Tapping into the power of her geode, she took off in a stream of rainbow. She returned a few seconds later, placing a copy in each of the Equestria Girls' hands, then picked up her guitar. "Alright, time to put this new song to the test."

The others took up their own instruments. Rarity on the keytar, Fluttershy on the tambourine, Applejack on the bass, and Sunset on the rhythm guitar and backup vocals with Twilight.

"Everybody ready?" Pinkie Pie asked, raising her drumsticks. She started tapping them together as she counted down. "And a one, and a two, and a you know what to do!"

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Outside the window of the music room, Trixie poked her head out of the bush she had crawled into in case one of the Equestria Girls decided to look out the window and see her. She waited a few moments longer before deciding that it was safe, and crawling out of the bush and brushing herself off.

"No one is a match for the magic of the great and powerful Trrrrrixie!" she declared to no one.

Then, just to be safe, she pressed herself up against the wall and began to sidestep along it. It would be a bit inconvenient to creep all the way around the side of the school, only to have to double back in order to go home, but it would be worth it to keep up the illusion of her disappearing; it simply wouldn't do if any of the Equestria Girls saw her walking away from the school after her grand escape from the music room.

Reaching the end of the wall, she smirked arrogantly before leaping around it… and promptly crashing into someone wearing a red hoodie who had been coming around the other side.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing her head. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," the other person said, sitting up as well. "Didn't see you."

Trixie made to glare at them, but instead gasped as their hood fell back to reveal, "Sunset?"

Sunset blinked as yet another person she didn't recognize addressed her by name. "You too? What is going on?"

Standing up, Trixie looked back the way she came, then back down at Sunset as she tried to figure out how she had gotten from the music room to here so quickly, and with different clothes and a new hairstyle too. "That's what I'd like you know. How did you…? You were just…? When did you…?" Shaking her head, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at her. "Are you trying to upstage me?"

Sunset raised an eyebrow questioningly as she got to her feet and dusted herself off. "Upstage you? I don't even know you."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha, ha. Very funny. Did you get hit with a memory spell this time?"

The red and yellow haired girl's eyebrows rose up. "Um, not that I'm aware of."

Trixie just scoffed. "Uch, whatever. I don't care what kind of tricks you use, they're nothing compared to the great and powerful Trrrrrixie!"

Taking another out another smoke bomb, she threw it on the ground to create another cloud. Sunset coughed and waved it away. As the cloud dissipated, she briefly caught sight of Trixie's long hair disappearing around the other side of the school.

"Ooook," she muttered in bewilderment, "that was possibly the strangest encounter I've had all day."

Which was really saying something compared to the number of people she had run into today who knew her, even though she didn't know them. But what was it that that girl, Trixie, had said about a memory spell? From what she had implied, it sounded as if it altered or erased memories. Was that how people here knew her? As silly as it sounded, was it possible that she had actually been here before, and that some magic spell had affected her memory?

Reaching up, she touched the gems on her choker. No, that couldn't be it. She was immune to magic as long as she had her choker, and she never took it off. Something else was at work here, and it wasn't some silly parlor trick like the so-called great and powerful Trixie had just performed.

Eyes narrowing, she pulled her hood back up and walked off. "There's definitely something going on with this school, and I'm going to find out what it is. And no one is going to stop me."

Chapter 4: Sunset Undercover

Chapter 4: Sunset Undercover

Coming on the weekend had been the right decision. Now she wouldn't need to worry about a bunch of students who knew her but who she didn't know interacting with her. That had been a little too strange.

That wasn't to say that there was no one around. Despite it being the weekend, there were still a few students at the school, mostly for club activities. Sunset did her best to ignore them and tried to pretend that she was no one out of the ordinary as she explored the school, but a few still gave her a friendly hello as if they knew her. She ignored them for the most part and continued on with her search.

Much to her disappointment, most of the rooms in the school were locked. She supposed that made sense though since there was no reason for them to be open without any classes going on.

To her much greater disappointment, she found that the school, for the most part, was nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be just an ordinary high school. There were no signs of magic anywhere. In fact, the only peculiar thing about the place seemed to be the students who knew her. Was it, perhaps, not the school that was magical, but the students?

Sunset's hand came up and stroked her choker. That couldn't be the case. If the students had been exhibiting any special power, then she would have detected it. Unfortunately, she had been too distracted the previous day by the fact that so many people knew her that she had forgotten to check. Today though, she had checked on the students she came across, but received no indication that they had any magic.

"There's got to be something here," she muttered to herself. "With all those stories… there has to be. But where?"

Growing impatient, she began marching through the school. She paused, however, when she passed the principal's office. She stared at the door for a few moments before a smirk crept up her face. If there was magic here, then the principal's office might be a good place to find some.

Predictably, it was locked, and Sunset sighed in aggravation. She paused for a moment before glancing left, the right. Deciding that the coast was clear, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a hairpin. Dropping to her knees, she went about picking the lock, occasionally looking around to make sure no one came upon her breaking into the principal's office.

It took a minute or two, but there was the sudden click as the door unlocked. Smirking, Sunset opened the door and slipped inside, her excitement rising at what she might find. However, she was once again disappointed to find that it looked like an ordinary principal's office. No magic items, no books of spells, nothing to indicate that anything was out of the ordinary, and no amount of snooping was getting her anywhere.

"If not in the principal's office, then where?" she wondered out loud.

As she rummaged through the drawers of principal's desk, she was about to call it quits when she finally came across something that caught her attention. It was a signup sheet, for a talent show from the looks of it. She would have missed it had it not been the last one, but there, at the bottom of the page, was her name.

Sunset stared. Why was her name here? And why was she grouped with these other girls called the Rainbooms? The name sounded familiar, like some band she's heard of, but never actually listen to. And who were these other girls she was grouped with? She didn't recognize any of the names.

"Ok, is this school about predicting the future?" she asked to the empty room, revisiting her psychic power theory. "Do I join the school and get to know everyone here in the future? Is that how everyone knows me?"

Growing fed up with her lack of progress, she shoved the clipboard back into the desk and left the principal's office. She decided that she might as well check the vice principal's office as well, but found that it was locked too. That wouldn't be a problem though, and she reached into her pocket for the hairpin, but stopped. She had come here searching for magic, but it might also be a good opportunity to practice some magic too.

Reaching up, she ran her fingers over the gems on her chocker. They glowed with power, and then her fingers began glowing as well. She pointed her glowing fingers at the doorknob and made a twirling motion. The door unlocked, and Sunset smiled to herself; that had been much easier than picking the lock.

Much to her annoyance, she found even less in the vice principal's office than she did in the principal's. The most interesting thing was a picture of the same two women that was also found in the principal's office. Despite their different completions, the two women looked alike, as if they could be sisters. Were the principal and the vice principal siblings or some other form of relatives? That was… interesting.

Deciding that she wouldn't be finding anything useful, she carefully slipped out of the office. But upon closing the door and turning around, she was startled to find a gray-skinned girl with shoulder-length lavender hair standing behind her. The girl's eyes were hooded, and she had a blank, uninterested look on her face.

"Hi, Sunset," she greeted in an emotionless, bored tone. "I saw you and decided to say hi… Hi."

And yet another person who knew her, but this time, Sunset was more concerned over the fact that she had just been caught sneaking out of the empty vice principal's office. "Yeah, hi… Um, I guess you're wondering why I was in the vice principal's office, right?"

She gave the girl a nervous grin, but she didn't appear the least bit interested. "No, not really," she deadpanned. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a rock and held it out to Sunset. "I was actually looking for Boulder. I accidentally dropped him yesterday. I should really get a rock-carrying pouch for him. He was over there in the corner."

She pointed to a corner of the hall. Sunset just raised an eyebrow at the awkwardness of the conversation. "Right. Of course you did. Well, I'm glad you found your… rock friend."

The girl casually returned the rock to her pocket. "So why are you here?" she asked, not sounding the least bit interested. "I thought you were going to meet with my sister and the others. Did you leave something here yesterday too?"

Sunset didn't have a clue as to who the strange girl's sister was, but decided to just roll with it in order to avoid getting in trouble. "Um, yeah, I forgot something in the vice principal's office. And now I have it, so I'm good, and I'm gonna go now. See ya."

She quickly walked past the strange girl, but was halted as she called out to her. "Wait, before you go…" Sunset hesitated before turning back to her, wondering what she could want. "Those gems, on your choker, I'm not familiar with them. Which is quite surprising for me. They almost appear… organic, like petrified bone."

Nervousness gripped Sunset, and she covered her choker with her hand. "Yeah, I got this a couple of weeks ago. I don't really know much about it."

"I have an interest in rocks," the girl told her, even though she certainly didn't sound interested. "May I see them?"

Taking a step back, Sunset slowly put some distance between her and the seemingly emotionless girl. "Sorry, this choker is kind of important to me. I have to go now. Like you said, I gotta meet up with your, uh, sister and the others. Bye."

She made a run for it, rushing right out of the school, not stopping until she had ducked behind the base of the mascot statue; it seemed that this was becoming her preferred hiding place.

She gripped her choker protectively as she peeked around the statue to make sure she hadn't been followed. She hadn't been, but that had been too weird. And what was up with that strange girl's fascination with her choker? Was she really only interested in seeing the gems, or had she realized that it was more than a simple accessory? Did that strange girl know about magic? She should have questioned her instead of run away, but she had panicked when she thought that she might lose her choker and had fled.

And speaking of her choker, the gems on it suddenly began glowing. Sunset noticed this time and glanced as far down as she was able to as the red light shined outward.

"What in the world?" she muttered in bewilderment, the gasped in realization and began looking around. "There must be magic nearby. Where?"

Almost as if in answer to her question, the surface on the side of the statue's base facing the school shined briefly. It was long enough for Sunset to take notice though, and she jumped back in surprise.

Her choker stopped glowing, and the surface of the statue's base did not shine again, but Sunset was staring at it suspiciously. She began walking around it, checking over the surface for any other strange phenomenon. When nothing more happened, she tapped her chin in thought as her eyes drifted to the top if the base.

Reaching up, she hoisted herself on to the top of the base and climbed up. There was nothing in particular up here, but there was a notable crack where the actual statue had once stood. Sunset stared at it with interest and leaned down, peeking into the crack. She saw blackness inside, almost as if the statue were hollow. That didn't make sense though. Why would it be hollow?

Lifting her head up, Sunset glanced at her hand hesitantly, then at the crack in the statue. It looked barely big enough for her fingers to fit in. She was probably about to do something very stupid, but she placed on hand over her choker and slowly moved the fingers of her other hand towards the crack in the statue.

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Pinkie Pie skipped along happily as she made her way towards the mall. As Rarity had insisted, they were going shopping today for some new outfits. Truth be told though, she would probably be the only one who ended up buying any clothes. The rest of them would likely only end up trying on some outfits, but not buying anything, not unless it was something for the talent show, which, of course, Rarity would insist on modifying. That didn't matter though, they still enjoyed each other's company.

Speaking of the talent show, practice on their new song was coming along nicely, even if it hadn't been that long, and Pinkie Pie was currently humming their new song as she hopped down the road. It really was a catchy tune; it made her want to try writing a new song of her own right now.

As she skipped down the road, she stopped as she came upon the school. That wasn't the reason for her pause though. Sitting on top of the destroyed statue was Sunset Shimmerwearing a red hoodie Pinkie Pie had never seen her in before. She wondered what she was doing on top of the statue as she bounced over cheerfully.

"Hi, Sunset!" she cried enthusiastically, waving her hand wildly.

Up on the statue, Sunset jumped up in surprise. She moved back a little too far and ended up tumbling off the statue and landing in a heap in the ground.

"Ouch…" she muttered, wondering who it was that knew her this time.

Pinkie Pie stood over her and bent down, bringing her face a little too close to Sunset's for comfort. "You fell down."

Groaning, Sunset sat up, rubbing her head as she saw stars. "Yes, yes, I did."

Pinkie Pie smiled cheerfully. "What were you doing up there? Because it looked like you were looking for something. Were you looking for something? Do you need help finding it? Can I help? Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh?"

Sunset was taken aback. First that emotionless girl, now this seemingly hyperactive one. "It's nothing. I wasn't looking for anything."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it looked like you were."

Sunset waved her hand dismissively. "Really, I'm fine. I was just curious about something."

She gasped as her choker chose that moment to start glowing again. Pinkie Pie leaned in close, her lips puckered together in interest as she stared at the gems. "Ooh, glowy."

Sunset quickly covered her choker, and it stopped glowing a moment later. "It's just a trick of the light!" she said a little too forcefully. "The gems look like they're glowing when the light hits them just right."

Even to her own ears, her excuse sounded fake, but the strange girl in front of her seemed to accept it wholeheartedly. "Neat. You should show them to Rarity; she would love them. I'm on my way to meet her and the others right now. I'm running a little late because they were having a two slices of cake for the price of one sale at this café I passed. Did you get held up too?"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Get held up from what?"

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Meeting up with the others, you silly goose. Come on, we can walk together."

"Walk where?"

At Sunset's question, the smile fell away from Pinkie Pie's face as she stared at her curiously. Then her eyes widened slightly and a look of realization crossed her face. "Oooh, you're 'that' Sunset. Why didn't you say so? I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but everyone calls me Pinkie Pie." She grabbed Sunset's hand and began shaking it so enthusiastically that Sunset'swhole body shook. "It's really nice to meet you!"

"N-N-Ni-c-ce t-t-to m-me-et y-you too-oo," Sunset stammered, feeling as if she were caught in an earthquake.

Releasing her, Pinkie Pie pointed down the road. "I'm on my way to meet my friends at the mall. You should come with me."

Trying to piece the conversation together into something that made sense, Sunset took a step back. "Oh, um, thanks, but I don't think-"

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Pinkie Pie interrupted, getting right up into Sunset's face. "I can introduce you to yourself."

A blank look crossed Sunset's face as she stared at Pinkie Pie, certain that she had misheard her. "Wait, introduce me to who now?"

"Lets go!"

Without waiting for a response, Pinkie Pie grabbed hold of Sunset and began dragging her along while Sunset tried to figure out what had just happened.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Rarity tapped her fingers against her crossed arms impatiently. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, and her eye twitched slightly in irritation as she saw the time.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and slammed her palms down on the table. "What is taking Pinkie Pie so long? Just how long does she intend to keep us waiting?"

Sunset looked up from the game she was playing on her phone. "Relax, Rarity. It hasn't been that long."

Rarity rounded on her. "That's not the point! I chose a specific time for us to be here so we can avoid the rush. It will be difficult enough getting seven different changing rooms, why make it worse by having to fight off everyone else for them?"

"Calm down, sugar cube," Applejack told her. "Worst case scenario, we'll just have to wait a little longer to get a dressing room."

"But that's the point!" Rarity exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "That we'll need to wait longer to get a dressing room? Why? It's not like they're going anywhere."

If she thought that this would curve Rarity's impatience, she was wrong. "No, but the clothes are. What if we miss finding the perfect outfit because we spent so much time waiting that someone else got to it first?"

Not looking bothered by this at all, Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "Fine with me. I don't even need new clothes. As long as my old ones still fit and are comfortable, that's good enough for me."

Appalled, Rarity gasped in indignation. "Rainbow Dash, I don't know you anymore!"

Smiling shyly at her friends' antics, Fluttershy glanced at Twilight, who had several pieces of paper spread out on the table in front of her. She was currently tapping her pencil against her cheek, occasionally writing, crossing out, or erasing on the sheet closest to her.

Curious, Fluttershy leaned in closer. "How's the song coming, Twilight?"

Her words had no affect on her bespectacled friend, who appeared to be deep in thought, and Fluttershy frowned slightly and raised her voice the smallest bit. "Um, Twilight?" Still no reaction. "Excuse me, Twilight."

Sighing, Rainbow Dash placed a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "That's not how you get someone's attention. You do it like this." She slammed her hands down on the table in front of her violet-haired friend. "Hey, Twilight!"

That seemed to do the trick, affectively snapping Twilight out of her thoughts. "Huh? What? Sorry, I was thinking."

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Yeah, we figured."

"Um, we were wondering how the medley was coming along," said Fluttershy.

Twilight sat back. "Oh, it's actually coming together nicely. I was right, Sunset's new song was perfect for it."

"Remind me again which songs are being used in it," said Applejack.

Twilight went through a few papers. "Um, lets see. In addition to Sunset's, which serves as the basis, we also have some of Friendship Through the Ages, Shine Like Rainbows, Rainbow Rocks-

"There's some original lyrics in there too, right?" Rarity asked, briefly forgetting her impatience. "I thought I saw some unfamiliar lines."

Twilight nodded. "Yup. I'm making sure everyone contributed by using some lines that everyone submitted."

Applejack smiled. "Well, I'm sure you're doing a bang up job, Twilight."

A mischievous smirk crept up Sunset's face. "Hey, Applejack, if you want to help Twilight come up with some more lyrics, why don't you go ask at your old job if you can make a few smoothies for old times sake. That's where you got the inspiration to write Shake Things Up, isn't it?"

Applejack cringed slightly and glanced at the smoothie stand where the overly-muscular Bulk Biceps was trying to fill a customer's order, but was only succeeding in making a mess of things. But at least his smoothie making skills seemed to have improved a little.

"Um, that's ok," she mumbled. "I don't think they'd let me. Besides, that job was a big old heaping of boring."

"Oh, come on," said Rainbow Dash, "you made it look like fun. And we got a new song out of it."

A smile grazed Applejack's face, and she blushed in mild embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "Well, I guess it wasn't all bad. It could be fun if you did it right."

"Everyone else seemed to like the way you worked," Twilight pointed out. "The customers loved the show you put on with the cup flipping and the fancy chopping and mixing. I never would have thought that you could make making smoothies look so fun. Everyone was always talking about it."

"What were they always talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked, popping up between them.

Rarity immediately jumped to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "Pinkie Pie, where have you been? Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?"

The pink-haired girl grinned guiltily. "Sorry, I got a little distracted."

Rainbow Dash cut her eyes at her. "Let me guess, a two for one sale on pastries, right? Or brownies?"

Pinkie Pie crossed her arms. "Of course not." Reaching into her hair, she pulled out a slice of cake. "It was a cake sale," she said, and shoved the entire slice of cake into her mouth. "And there was one other thing. I have a surprise for all of you."

Feeling a headache coming on, Rarity pinched the bridge of her nose. "Pinkie Pie, please, I don't think I can handle any surprises right now."

"You'll like this one," Pinkie Pie insisted. She stepped aside and held out her hands. "Ta-da! Meet our new friend."

The other girls stared at… nothing. Pinkie Pie was motioning towards an empty space. They exchanged bewildered looks as they wondered if their overly-energetic friend had finally lost it; she did own a 'pet' stuffed alligator called Gummy that she seemed to think was alive after all.

"Um, Pinkie," Sunset began carefully, not wanting to hurt her friend's feelings, "by any chance is your friend… imaginary?"

Pinkie Pie blinked in confusion before glancing at the empty space next to her. "Hey, where'd she go?" she asked, looking around. She turned back to her friends and held up a finger. "Be back in one sec."

With that she took off, and the other girls shared another confused look. Less than a minute later though, Pinkie Pie returned, half-dragging someone wearing a dark red hoodie, their face obscured by the hood.

"Let go," they said in a voice that sounded strangely familiar to the Equestria Girls. "I said I don't want to."

"Sure you do," Pinkie Pie insisted, moving behind the newcomer and giving them a push towards her friends. Getting the hooded person into position, she presented them to the others. "This is our new friend. Everyone say hello."

Relieved that their friend hadn't completely lost it, the Equestria Girls put on friendly smiles and held their hands up in greeting.

Applejack got to her feet. "Well, howdy, stranger. The name's Applejack. Any friend of Pinkie Pie is a friend of mine."

"The name's Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you."

"I am Rarity. Pleasure to meet you, darling."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"Fluttershy…"

Sunset couldn't help but smile in amusement as Fluttershy spoke her name so low that it was almost inaudible. "I don't think they heard you," she told her soft-spoken friend as she stood up and held out her hand in greeting to the hooded person. "She said she's Fluttershy. And I'm-"

"Sunset Shimmer," the newcomer finished for her, their voice filled with shock and awe.

Sunset's hand hung in the air, and she stared at the person in surprise. "Um, yeah. Do I know you?"

The others looked between the two curiously while Pinkie Pie looked absolutely giddy, as if a big surprise were about to be revealed and she was trying very hard not to ruin it. Slowly, the newcomer reached up and pulled off their hood. Shocked gasps escaped everyone as they stared at a mirror image of their friend. And not a convincing look-alike, but an exact duplicate. Aside from the clothes they wore, the only difference between them was the slightly different hairstyle the newcomer wore hers in.

"Oh my…" Fluttershy muttered uneasily.

The two Sunsets stared at each other in surprise, their mouths hanging open. Aside from Pinkie Pie, the other girls wore similar expressions on their faces as they looked from one to the other.

The stunned silence was finally broken by Applejack. "Well, don't that just beat all."

"I guess we always knew this could happen," Rainbow Dash stated in acceptance

Looking defeated, Rarity collapsed into her chair. "So much for shopping."

The shock finally seemed to pass, and Sunset rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. "Well, this is awkward. I'm guessing you have some questions."

The new girl seemed to snap out of her stupor as well and crossed her arms. "No, I have a lot of questions. And I'd like to start with this one. What the heck is going on!?"

Chapter 5: Seeing Double

Chapter 5: Seeing Double

This was possibly the strangest thing that had ever happened to Sunset. Here she was, sitting at a table with a group of girls, and one of them was an exact duplicate of her. If not for the clothes and hairstyle, it would have been like looking in a mirror.

At least this explained why everyone at Canterlot High seemed to know her. It wasn't her that they knew, it was this girl, this Sunset Shimmer. It was an easy mistake, for very obvious reasons, but it only explained part of the mystery. Exactly how was there another version of her walking around? A long lost twin? No, the resemblance was too uncanny. A clone? Possibly, but highly unlikely.

A feeling of worry suddenly gripped Sunset as the possibility of a doppelgänger occurred to her. "Am I going to die?"

Her question seemed to completely baffle the other girls, and her copy gave her a strange look. "Um, what?"

"Well, that's what's supposed to happen if you see your doppelgänger, right? Supposedly, everybody has one, and you're supposed to die if you see yours."

The girl who had introduced herself as Twilight Sparkle let out a small chuckle at that. "Please, that's just an old wives tale."

Her copy seemed to agree, because she smiled as well. "I'm not a doppelgänger. At least not in the way you're thinking. I am you, but then again, I'm not you." She rubbed the back of her head in obvious discomfort. "How should I put this…?"

Pinkie Pie seemed to take that as her cue to step in, and began talking in rapid speech. "It's easy. You see, this Sunset Shimmer is from an alternate magical pony world called Equestria where there are all pony versions of pretty much everyone from this world, but then she came here after doing something really bad, but later made up for it when she did something really good by helping us defeat some baddies from taking over the school, so now we're all best friends, and now you're here, so we're going we're all going to be friends together."

She let out a squee and held her arms up proudly, a big grin plastered on her face. Her friends stared at her for her oversimplified explanation, and Sunset gave her an appreciative yet dismissive smile. "Yeah, thanks for that Pinkie Pie, but-"

"Your welcome!"

Sunset however, was completely baffled. From the small bits and pieces she had been able to catch in Pinkie Pie's rant, she was left more confused than ever. "Wait, what? Pony world? Equestria? What?"

Sunset sighed. "Let me start from the beginning…"

And so she did, starting with who she was, where she came from, and how she got to be here. Sunset listed with complete attention, not bothering to ask any questions until her copy was finished. She thought she did very good at resisting from interrupting as her head filled up with more and more questions, many of which were actually answered as the story progressed.

When Sunset's tale came to an end, Sunset took several long moments to let it all sink in before speaking. "So let me get this straight. You're telling me that there's another dimension, a magical pony world, where magic and mythical creatures are real, and almost everyone from this world has a pony version of themself in that world?"

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"And you're the version of me from that world, who came to this world a few years ago, and now you're living here?"

Again, Sunset nodded. "That's about the long and short of it."

"That's exactly what I said," Pinkie Pie declared.

Slouching down in her chair, Sunset ran her hands over her face. "This is… a lot to take in… I'm not even sure I believe it."

Twilight nodded at that. "Trust me, I've been where you are. I went through pretty much the same thing when Princess Twilight suddenly popped out of the portal in front of me. It was quite surprising."

"Surprising…" Sunset repeated. "Right… And this portal, it's on the base of the destroyed Canterlot High mascot statue?"

"The same one I found you trying to stick your hand in," Pinkie Pie said happily.

The urge to touch her choker poked at Sunset, but she ignored it. So the statue was a portal to another world. A magical pony world at that. That must have been why the gems glowed when she had gotten close to it; they were reacting to the magic.

At Pinkie Pie's revelation, alarm bells suddenly went off in Applejack's head. "Wait, why were you messing with the statue?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do you know something about it?"

Sunset quickly sat up straight and waved her arms. "No, nothing. I was just investigating the rumors about magic around the school."

"Rumors?" Rarity repeated. "What rumors?"

Sunset's clenched her lips together as she realized that she might have said too much. Was it smart to talk about her search for magic around these girls? They could probably answer a lot of her questions, especially her counterpart. Perhaps she could speak about it a little bit while withholding the most of the truth.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair. "There's been some rumors about there being magic at Canterlot High. I've had an… encounter with magic in the past, so I was curious to learn more about it."

At her words, the Equestria Girls exchanged looks. They had been trying to not only keep Equestrian magic contained, but also a secret from the rest of the world. But it was foolish to think that they could keep it a complete secret with all the incidents happening. And rumors were still going to spread, even if the people who witnessed such phenomena had agreed to keep silent about it, even if that reason was so they wouldn't sound crazy. That coupled with the times the seven of them had used their own magic, and it was only natural that some people would take an interest and do some investigating, even if they didn't actually believe the rumors. In fact, that was more or less what had happened with Twilight even before the Friendship Games.

"What kind of magic?" Sunset asked her counterpart. "Is it still running wild? It wasn't anything dangerous, was it?"

The other Sunset quickly shook her head. "No, it wasn't anything bad. But it did open my eyes about what was possible. So when I heard the rumors about Canterlot High, I came to investigate." She leaned in closer, placing her hands on the table. "Tell me about this magic."

"You want to see?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. "I can make sprinkles explode. Watch!"

She reached into her hair and pulled out a jar of sprinkles. She poured them into her hand, and they began to glow.

Applejack held up a finger towards her. "Um, Pinkie Pie, I'm not sure if that's such a good-"

Boom! Pinkie Pie threw her handful of glowing sprinkles into a garbage can, and an explosion burst up from it, covering the pink-haired girl's face with soot. Sunset stared at the smoking garbage can with wide eyes. Had that really been magic, or was it just a fancy trick?

"You make… sprinkles explode?" she asked, not entirely sure what to make of that.

"Yeah, pretty cool, huh?"

"It's… different from what I was expecting. Is that all you can do?"

"Each of our powers is unique to us," Rarity told her. "Fortunately, my own power is a little more extravagant."

She waved her hand, and diamonds appeared in front of her and began floating around. Sunset's mouth dropped open as she looked on in amazement at the floating diamonds.

"Amazing," she whispered, reaching out to touch one.

Rarity smiled. "Yes, yes it is. I can make them different sizes too. Sadly, they do not last, and are really only good for using them as barriers or platforms."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "That's nothing. Check out what I can do."

She suddenly took off, all but disappearing and leaving only a lingering trail of rainbow behind. She returned a moment later though, only now she had an ice cream cone in her hand.

Sunset's eyes were now as wide as saucers. "Super speed? Does one of you have super strength too?"

Applejack chuckled. "Funny you should mention that."

Standing up, she walked over to a table and lifted the whole thing up with one hand. She smiled at Sunset, holding it up over her head as if it weighed nothing.

Having been distracted by the other displays, Sunset hadn't noticed it before, but the necklace that Applejack was wearing had glowed when she lifted up the table. Her eyes immediately went to the other girls' necks, and she saw that they each had a similar one of a different color.

Wondering if there was a connection, she looked to the more timid member of the group. "And what about you? What can you do?"

A shy but friendly smile crept up Fluttershy's face. "I can talk to animals," she said, seemingly having no problem talking at a normal volume once more.

Sunset blinked at the unexpected claim. That was an interesting power she supposed, but it didn't seem like she would be able to demonstrate it here since there were no animals around. So instead, she looked at Twilight Sparkle. "How about you?"

"Me?" said Twilight. "I'm telekinetic."

She began wiggling her fingers around, and the items on the table began to glow before they rose into the air and began dancing around. Sunset once again found herself staring, her mouth hanging open in shock, before catching herself and tearing her eyes away from the amazing scene to look at Twilight's necklace. Sure enough, the pendant was glowing as she used her power.

"That's amazing," she commented. "How are you all doing that?"

Confirming her suspicions, Pinkie Pie immediately pointed to her necklace. "It's these really cool geode necklaces that we got at Camp Everfree after we stopped the head camp councilor after she was turned into an evil plant monster by Equestrian magic."

The overly enthusiastic girl had spoken so fast, yet Sunset had still managed to catch wind of what she had said, and that had not been what she was expecting. "Um, plant monster?"

"Long story, dear," Rarity told her. "Best not to get into it."

Sunset chose to give a more thorough explanation of what Pinkie Pie said as she held up her pendant. "Basically, our powers come from these geodes in our necklaces. They either came from Equestria or were created by or infused with Equestrian magic. The geodes called out to us and granted us our powers."

Sunset glanced at her counterpart. "So what's your power then?"

Sunset smiled. "Oh, I can read people's thoughts and emotions when I touched them, or even see into their memories. I call it an 'empathy flash'."

A frown crossed Sunset's face, and she immediately noted the space between her and her counterpart. Feeling uncomfortable with the thought of someone else getting into her head, she tried to discretely put some distance between them.

Not discretely enough it seemed, as her counterpart let out an amused chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm not going to read your mind. It used to happen on its own, but I've long since learned to control it; we all have."

"Except for maybe Pinkie Pie," Applejack stated, cutting her eyes at their pink-haired friend. Pinkie Pie just diverted her eyes and whistled nonchalantly.

"Although," said Twilight, "we can lose control of our powers a bit when one or more of us overly uses our powers. We get a big power surge, and things can get a little crazy."

Sunset gave a nod in acknowledgment. "True, but we've been careful about that ever since we realized it." She gave Sunset a smile. "But don't worry, I wouldn't read a friend's mind without permission."

An uneasy sensation gripped Sunset at her counterpart's words. "Friends?"

"Of course!" Pinkie Pie declared happily, as if this should have been obvious. "We're all friends here. Best friends. Welcome to the group!" She took a deep breath and began singing. "Welcome, welcome, welc-"

Rainbow Dash immediately covered her mouth. "Lets save that for another time," she glanced at the people who had stopped to stare when Pinkie Pie had begun singing, "somewhere with less people."

Sunset didn't seem bothered by the song as she looked at each of the girls in surprise. "You want to be my friends?"

Now it was the Equestria Girls' turn to look surprised by the question. They exchanged confused looks before giving her a smile.

"Of course, dear," Rarity replied. "Why wouldn't we?"

"You're basically like Sunset's sister," said Applejack.

Pinkie Pie reached up and removed Rainbow Dash's hand from her moth. "Her super duper, mirror image, 100 percent, identical twin sister."

"But wait," said Fluttershy, seeming to completely find her voice once more. She looked back and forth between the two look-alikes. "Having two Sunsets around may get a little… confusing."

Now Applejack looked from one to the other. "Yeah, that may be a tad complicated. We may not know which one we're referring to."

Pinkie Pie clapped her hands together excitedly. "I know! We'll give one a nickname!"

"A nickname?" Twilight repeated.

"Yeah. That's what I do for you and the other Twilight. I may call you Twilight, but in my head, I always think of you as Sci-Twi."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why Sci-Twi?"

Pinkie Pie made a pfft sound. "Duh, because you do all that sciency-stuff." She turned back to the two girls in question, pointing a finger right into Sunset's face. "So we'll just keep calling you Sunset Shimmer," she pointed at the other one, "and we'll call you SunShim."

Sunset blinked at the nickname. "SunShim?"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That's the movie star nickname I came up with for her."

Pinkie Pie shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, yeah, that's where I got it from. Good call, Rainbow."

Twilight looked from one Sunset to the other. "Well, I suppose that'll work. And I guess I'll be Sci-Twi whenever Princess Twilight comes over."

"It's a good name, right?" Pinkie Pie asked happily.

Sunset watched as the seven friends talked and laughed with each other, feeling like an outsider. This had not been what she had been expecting when she had come searching for magic. Another version of herself from a magic pony world? Who had seen that coming? And her counterpart had come from that world and was now best friends with these other girls, all whom possessed magical necklaces from that pony world that provided them with what were apparently superpowers.

A frown crossed Sunset's face as a feeling of envy fell over her. This whole thing, it seemed very unfair. She knew that was irrational, but it was how she felt. Why was she the one who felt like an outsider while this other Sunset, who was the outsider in this world, got the friends and the magic, while all she got was… the nickname SunShim.

A scowl fell across her brow. She understood the logic behind assigning one of them a nickname, but why her? No, she knew why. It was because the others had known Sunset for some time now while she was the newcomer. It only made sense that she was the one who got the nickname. But still, it almost felt… demeaning, as if she were playing second fiddle to her counterpart. She knew that wasn't the case since, as Pinkie Pie had pointed out, she thought of the Twilight in front of her as Sci-Twi, but still, she couldn't help but feel like she was some kind of understudy.

"Yoo hoo, SunShim, you in there?" Applejack asked, waving her hand in front of her face.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sunset realized that the girls had been trying to talk to her. "Sorry, what?"

"We were saying how we'd like to get to know you, darling," Rarity told her. "We've never seen you before. Are you new in town? Where do you live?"

Suddenly feeling awkward at being put on the spot, Sunset shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Oh, no, I'm actually from the city. I'm just visiting."

Twilight took an interest in this. "I used to live in the city before I transferred to Canterlot High. Where do you go to school? I'm pretty sure I never saw you at Crystal Prep."

Sunset shook her head. "I don't go anywhere. I'm homeschooled. I take classes online."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Why would you want to do that? You miss out on so much. Meeting people, making friends, school trips, school events, school pep rallies, after school clubs, school competitions-"

"School bake sales!" Pinkie Pie squealed joyfully.

Sunset diverted her eyes. "I don't really have much of a choice."

Pinkie Pie all but leapt across the table, sliding right up to Sunset's face. "You should transfer to Canterlot High, then we can all go to school together."

Feeling uncomfortable with the too close proximity, Sunset scooted back. "Thanks, but I can't."

"Whaaaat? Come on, Canterlot High's great."

Grabbing Pinkie Pie's foot, Applejack pulled her back off the table. "Now settle down there, sugar cube. She may not be able to. She might have to return to the city." She gave Sunset a smile. "Course, that don't mean we can't all hang out together while she's here."

"Oh, yes," Rarity agreed. "How long are you in town for?"

There was more uncomfortable movement from Sunset. "Um, I was only planning on staying a few days."

Pinkie Pie's face fell. "Aww, that's it?" She glanced at Sunset. "I was hoping to get to know the other you better."

Sunset suddenly got an idea. "Hey, if you don't have any plans tonight, we're all having a sleepover. Why don't you join us? If that's ok with everyone."

Rarity clapped her hands together. "That's a splendid idea!" She turned to Sunset. "We're all meeting at my house for a study session-slash-sleepover. We'd love to have you there."

"Or if you came to my place first, we're gonna have some band practice," Rainbow Dash added.

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "Band practice?" Suddenly, she remembered the names on the talent show form she had seen back at the school. "Oh, your band. The Rainbooms, right?"

"Oh, are you a fan?" Fluttershy asked with a small smile.

Sunset shrugged. "Don't know. I'm not sure if I heard any of your songs. Or if I did, then I didn't know they were yours. I only know of your band from having heard other people talking about it."

"That won't do," Rainbow Dash declared. "I insist that you come watch our band. Do you play an instrument? You can rock with us."

"And I insist that you join our slumber party," said Rarity. She eyed Sunset's hoodie with distaste. "Hmm, in fact, I also insist that you join us for clothes shopping as well. That outfit simply won't do."

Frowning, Sunset glanced down at her hoodie and ripped jeans. "I always dress like this."

Rarity shook a finger at her. "Oh, no, no, no, no, darling, that is simply out of the question. Attire like that may be fine every now and then, but one must have something a bit more… well, more. And the ripped jeans look is soooo yesterday." She flipped her hair back, smiling proudly. "Not to worry though. I am a fashion expert. I'll have you looking gorgeous in no time. My treat of course."

Sunset immediately began waving her hands. "Oh, no, I couldn't!"

Rarity just waved this off. "Don't be ridiculous, darling, of course you could. In fact, I insist. Consider it a token of our friendship."

Applejack sighed. "You might as well let her have this. Once she gets her hooks into you, there's no escape."

Sunset suddenly jumped up from her seat and began backing away. She couldn't do this. This was not why she had come here. In fact, she hadn't wanted to come here at all; she had been dragged here against her will. She was here to find magic, not to make friends; friends that wanted her to hang out with them, to go shopping together with them, to play music with them, to have a sleepover with them.

Fear suddenly gripped Sunset, and she felt the need to run away, to put some distance between herself and these girls who wanted to be her friends before she did something stupid like accept their invitation. She knew where that route would lead to, and she was not willing to go there again, not as she was now.

"Sorry, I can't," she told them as she slowly backed away. "I appreciate the offer, really I do, but I can't. Another time perhaps, but I have things to do right now. It was nice meeting you all, but I have to go. I'll see you around. Bye."

Without giving them a chance to reply, she took off running. The Equestria Girls were slightly flabbergasted by her sudden departure, and Pinkie Pie reached out to her retreating form.

"SunShim, wait, come back!" She was ignored, and she turned back to her friends with a pout on her face. "Why'd she run away? Does she not like us?"

Applejack chuckled. "I'm sure that ain't the case. I think she was just a little weirded out."

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side in thought. "Really? That's funny. Everyone else that learns about our magic and stuff always seems pretty ok with it."

"It still must have been a lot to take in," Fluttershy replied. "Meeting another you must be surprising."

Twilight rested her head in her hand and smiled, thinking about her encounter with her own counterpart. "I can certainly vouch for that. It can be quite a shock to suddenly meet yourself. Overall, I think she took it rather well."

Rainbow Dash kicked back in her chair and placed her feet up on the edge of the table, much to Rarity's chagrin. "Ah, it's fine. We'll just give her some time to take in everything. I'm sure we'll see her again. It's fate or something, right?"

"Hmm…" Sunset muttered. "Maybe…"

Fluttershy glanced at her. "You ok, Sunset? That must have been strange for you too."

Sunset just shrugged. "Yeah, kind of. But like I said, a part of me almost expected it to happen one day. Besides, none of this stuff is new for me, but it was all completely new for her. No wonder she freaked."

Pinkie Pie was suddenly beside her, seeming to have come out from under the table. "Not completely new. She did say she saw magic before and that's why she came to investigate."

Sunset's smile faltered a bit. "Yeah, she did say that. I wonder what it was."

"She said it wasn't a big deal," Rainbow Dash reminded her. "So it probably wasn't anything dangerous."

Sunset hesitated before muttering an uncertain, "Yeah…"

She hoped that it really hadn't been a big deal. But from what they had seen of Equestrian magic running wild in this world so far, something that wasn't a big deal could turn into a very big deal.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Sunset ran the whole way out of the mall and through the parking lot before stopping to catch her breath. She felt overwhelmed. This was too much for her to deal with all at once. She needed to find a quiet place to think for a while.

"At least I got some of my questions answered," she told herself reassuringly. She thought about the things she had learned before sighing. "And now I have about a million more."

Her hand went up to touch her choker. She may have more questions, but one thing was certain, the magic she had heard about came from some magical pony world called Equestria, and the statue in front of the school served as a gateway between the worlds.

"Didn't see that coming," she muttered. "Would have been good to have known that before hand."

She would have to go back and examine the statue again. It might be exactly what she was looking for, a source of magic she could use. If those girls could get their hands on this Equestrian magic, then she should be able to as well.

A small frown crossed her face, and she glanced back at the mall as she thought about the girls. They had seemed… so nice. It had been a long time since she had been around anyone so friendly, who was willing to extend the hand of friendship so freely, and she felt a twinge of regret that she hadn't accepted their invitation.

But no, she couldn't let herself be distracted. She had come here for one reason and one reason only, to get her hands on some magic. That was all that mattered. Everything else would come afterwards.

Her frown deepened further as she thought about her counterpart, and that feeling of envy returned. She didn't want to feel it, but feel it she did. If she had to put it into words, she almost felt as if she'd had stolen something from her.

Why did that Sunset get to have everything? The friends, the magic. If she had never come, would those things have come to her instead? Would she be the one laughing and having fun with a group of friends and the power to read minds?

She shook her head, trying to dispel her jealous thoughts. It was not a good feeling. And she tried not to think about the what-ifs of a given situation. Besides, none of that mattered, and would only interfere with her search. Even if her counterpart weren't here, the circumstances would likely still be the same.

Except for that geode. If her counterpart weren't here, would she have gotten it instead? She might still have pushed the other girls away, but having that geode would definitely come in handy.

A car suddenly beeped, startling Sunset out of her thoughts; that seemed to be happening to her a lot recently. Perhaps the middle of the parking lot wasn't the best place to think about this. She gave an apologetic wave to the driver before she began making her way back to the inn she was staying at to consider her next move.

Chapter 6: Morning Meetings

Chapter 6: Morning Meetings

"Well, today was certainly an interesting day," said Applejack as she and her friends settled in for the night.

Rarity scoffed. "Hardly. We barely got any shopping done. I was the only one to get a new outfit."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "First of all, you got five new outfits. Second, I think she was referring to meeting SunShim."

Rarity blinked before an embarrassed blush stained her cheeks. "Oh, yes, of course. I was talking about things we needed to get done."

"I think it's great!" said Pinkie Pie as she hugged her stuffed alligator, Gummy, and rested her head against the bag full of marshmallows that was serving as her pillow. "A brand new friend. It's too bad she couldn't come to our sleepover though."

Rainbow Dash just waved this off. "Relax. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to get to know her."

"I just think it's funny how we ended up meeting her the day after we discussed whether or not there even was another Sunset," said Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie sat up, gasping loudly. "Freaky-deaky!"

"Maybe it wasn't a coincidence," said Twilight. "Maybe there was some magic at work that was mentally preparing us for her arrival."

A horrible thought occurred to Fluttershy at her friend's words. "Oh dear, you don't think that means that there's going to be trouble, do you?"

"I certainly hope not," said Rarity. "But you never know with Equestrian magic."

Sunset bit her bottom lip nervously as Fluttershy and Rarity's concerns brought forth her own series of bad thoughts, just as they had when she had met her counterpart earlier that day. She didn't want to think them, but they assaulted her nevertheless. And, like it or not, her worries had some legitimacy. She really hoped her fears were wrong and she was just being paranoid, but she felt obligated to voice them. She was just trying to figure out the best way to put it into words without sounding like she thought badly of her counterpart.

Ever the honest one, Applejack took note of her forlorn expression and addressed it. "Something wrong, Sunset? You're looking a little down."

Sunset's frown deepened at being put on the spot before she had completely collected her thoughts, but she figured that now may have been a good a time as any to let her friends in on her thoughts. "It's just… what Fluttershy said about there being trouble. What if… what if the trouble is actually SunShim?"

Rarity proper herself up from her grand oversized-bed fit for a princess. "What do you mean, darling?"

An exasperated sigh escaped Sunset. "I really don't want to think badly of her, especially since we just met, but you all remember what I used to be like. What if SunShim is the same way?"

The others were silent as they took in her words. Mild concern appeared on everyone's faces except for Twilight, who had only ever heard stories of how bad Sunset had been in her darker days.

"Gosh," said Applejack, "I guess I hadn't thought of that. Do you think it's possible?"

Sunset shrugged. "Maybe. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but there's still a chance."

Rarity looked reluctant to say what was on her mind. "I hate to say it, but we have to consider the possibility. She did say she came here to investigate magic."

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement. "That was my concern too. I was greedy and power hungry once, she could be too."

Not having the same experience as the others, Twilight was more hesitant to think the worst. "She seemed so nice though."

"I knew how to play nice when I needed to," Sunset pointed out. "She could have been putting on an act to get what she wanted."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Great. And we just went and told her practically everything we know about magic."

"Now hold on, ya'll," Applejack said sternly. "I won't say it's not possible, but maybe we're jumping to conclusions a bit. The circumstances are different surrounding the two. For one thing, SunShim never studied under Princess Celestia, so maybe she never obtained that desire for power and went down that path that made Sunset go bad. No offense, sugar cube."

Sunset resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "None taken." Sighing, she crossed her arms and lowered her eyes. "I know she's not actually me, and I really hope I'm worried for nothing, but if she does have bad intentions, I don't want to ignore it until it's too late."

Twilight adjusted her glasses. "Then the solution is simple. We just have to make sure she doesn't go down that path. I think Sunset only went bad because she didn't have any friends that were there for her, and her ambitions to get stronger were the only thing did she have. I wasn't too different with my studies after all. So if we befriend SunShim and show her there's more to life than power, then maybe if she does have bad intentions, she'll abandon her desires for power, if she even has any."

"That's a fabulous idea, darling," Rarity agreed. "I say we get on it right away."

Sunset smiled hopefully. "And I'll write to Princess Twilight too and see what she thinks about this. I should really let her know about this anyway, just in case."

"Sounds like a plan," said Rainbow Dash. She stretched and yawned loudly. "Now lets hit the hay. It's been a busy day, and we've got more band practice tomorrow."

"And more studying," Twilight added.

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Yeah, and that."

They bid each other goodnight and crawled into their sleeping bags, except for Rarity who snuggled deeper into her luxurious bed. But as the lights were turned off, Sunset slipped completely into her sleeping bag, taking a flashlight, a pencil, and a certain magical journal with her. It was with this journal that she kept in contact with Princess Twilight, the messages she wrote on its pages appearing in the identical one in Equestria, and vice versa.

Turning to a blank page, Sunset tapped her pencil against her chin as she thought about what to write. She had learned not to depend on Twilight so much over time, but it was nice to know that she could always count on her in a time of need. Hopefully, she would be able to offer some sound advice. And even more hopefully, her fears were unfounded, and SunShimreally was just an ordinary girl curious about the rumors of magic she'd heard. Sadly though, something was telling Sunset that that just wasn't the case, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise.

Dear Princess Twilight. I hope everything is going well for you. Things have been pretty quiet around here since the whole thing with Vignette Valencia, but I think that whole incident just brought us all closer together.

So guess what. Our school is having a talent show. Naturally, the Rainbooms are entering, and we're even going to use a new song I wrote. It was actually inspired by the song the girls and you used in the cafeteria to help you get elected as the Princess of the Fall Formal. So even though you're not actually here, just know that you are in spirit.

She stopped writing as she considered what she should say about SunShim, and how to word it and her concern. There really was no simply way of putting it, so she decided that she might as well just come right out and say it.

Something really unexpected happened today though. We met the Sunset Shimmer of this world. It was pretty surprising. I guess I always knew it was a possibility, but I didn't know if it would ever happen. Guess the world is a much smaller place than I thought.

She seemed nice for the most part, but was a little more reserved than I was expecting. Although I guess meeting another version of yourself can do that to you. By the way, we decided to call her SunShim to avoid confusion. The girls and I tried befriending her, but I think we may have come on a little too strongly in light of the circumstances, because she kind of ran away from us.

To be perfectly honest though, something about her is worrying me. She said that she came here after hearing rumors about magic at Canterlot High. That raised a bit of a red flag. I'm sure you remember what I used to be like before I was friends with you and the girls. I'm afraid SunShim might be that way too, selfish and power hungry, or that she might end up that way later. I know that sounds terrible, and I feel horrible for thinking that way, but she and I are technically one and the same, so it's possible that she has that side to her too.

I really hope I'm wrong in this, but I don't want to risk anything bad happening if I can prevent it. The girls and I are going to do our best to try and be friends with her and dissuade her from that path if it comes to it, but if you have any advice on what we should do, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hope everything is going well for you. Say hi to everyone for me. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.

She read over what she wrote before nodding in satisfaction. She closed the book, and it glowed in her hands as her message was sent to its twin in Equestria. There was nothing left to do but wait for a response.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Sunset stared at Canterlot High with new eyes. The students as well now that she knew what was going on. A few of them greeted her, most likely assuming that she was the other Sunset, but at least now she knew why.

Her gaze turned to the Canterlot mascot statue, and she cautiously approached it. From what she now understood, this was the source of the magic, having slipped through from Equestria. So exactly how did she get access to it?

Her fingers touched her choker, waiting to see if there would be reaction. And there was. The gems began glowing, as did the surface of the statue. She stared at it in amazement, the light shining in her eyes.

"Whoa," she whispered in awe.

She continued to look at the shining surface. Slowly, her hand came up. She hesitated, glancing at her hand, before hesitantly reaching for the statue again.

When she touched the glowing surface, her hand slipped through it, almost as if it were the surface of water. She quickly pulled her hand back and checked it over to make sure it was intact. A small laugh of relief escaped her when she saw that it was.

She looked back at the statue before reaching for it again, this time with deliberate intent. Her hand once again slipped through the surface, but this time she pushed further, going all the way up to her elbow. A funny tingling sensation ran up her arm to where it was in the portal. It felt funny, but not unpleasant, and another snicker escaped her.

She briefly wondered if she should go through, but quickly dismissed the thought. She didn't know what would be waiting for her on the other side. A magical pony world, yes, but she still didn't really know. She was curious though, very curious, but didn't want to risk it. And wouldn't she turn into a pony too, just like how her counterpart turned into a human when she came to this world? As interesting as that sounded, she wasn't sure she wanted to risk that just yet.

"Morning, Sunset."

Jumping slightly, she pulled her arm out of the portal and turned to find most of the girls from the mall. She immediately recognized her counterpart and the girl who had dragged her to meet her friends, Pinkie Pie her name was.

She tried to remember the other girls' names. The one with the lavender skin, dark violet hair, and glasses was Twilight Sparkle, and today she had a lavender dog poking its head out of her backpack. The pale yellow-skinned, light pink-haired one she thought was called Shutterfly or Fluttershy; that one had been pretty reserved. Then there was Applejack, the blonde-haired, olive-skinned farm girl with the freckles. Lastly, there was Rarity, the one who looked like a supermodel with her flawless silvery-alabaster skin and purple hair. She noticed that one of them was missing, the one with the rainbow-colored hair and periwinkle blue skin, Rainbow Dasher she believed her name was.

Feeling like a little kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she waved to them awkwardly. "Oh, morning, girls. Um, what's going on?"

Her counterpart gave her a smile. "Not much. But it's still early."

Sunset forced a chuckle. "Yeah, still early… right."

Spike cocked his head to the side in interest. "So this is the other Sunset."

Sunset recoiled in surprise. "Ah! Dog! Talking!"

A snicker escaped him. "You think that's strange? Just keep hanging with this group, you'll probably see some much weirder things."

Moving in for a closer look, Sunset studied him carefully. "This is amazing. Are you from Equestria?"

"Nope," Spike replied with a shake of his head. "Just got blasted with some Equestrian magic, which gave me the ability to talk and made me a lot smarter."

Applejack pointed to the statue. "Speaking of Equestria, why did you have your hand in its portal?"

Embarrassment caused Sunset's cheeks to heat up. "Oh, um, just curious. I wasn't going to go through it or anything. Um… so where's Rainbow Dasher?"

"That's Rainbow Dash, darling," Rarity corrected kindly.

Sunset felt her cheeks heat up some more. "Right, her."

"Probably running late," Fluttershy replied, no longer feeling intimidated by Sunset's presence. "I hope she gets here in time."

Sunset smirked. "Don't worry. Her top speed was clocked at 7,610 miles per hour. So even if it's just seconds before the bell rings, she'll probably make it in time."

As if on cue, a streak of rainbow shot over to them, and their missing friend arrived. "Hey, sorry I'm late. What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Sunset replied, not missing a beat. "We were just about to head in." She turned to her counterpart. "You want to come with us? I'm sure Principal Celestia won't mind."

Sunset's eyes widened and she took a step back, shaking her head. "Oh, no, I can't."

"Course you can," Applejack insisted. "We can introduce you to our other friends and show you how great public school is."

Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down in excitement. "Yeah, you can't just spend your whole school life behind a computer screen. You'll miss out on everything."

Again, Sunset shook her head. "No, really, I'm good. I'll just go and…"

"And what, darling?" Rarity asked when Sunset didn't finish her sentence.

Biting her lower lip, she looked from one girl to another. A part of her did indeed want to join them. It brought forth a secret longing that she had repeatedly stomped down over the years. She refused to give into it this time though. Besides, she had things that she needed to investigate.

Then again, maybe it would be beneficial to spend some time with these girls. They had magic of their own, and knew a lot more about it than she did. Maybe she could find what she needed from them faster than she could on her own.

Sighing deeply, she gave them a reluctant smile. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Great!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "I'm going to introduce you to everyone!" Pulling out a wallet, she opened it, and an incredibly long trail of inserts with pictures in them fell to the ground, and Pinkie Pie immediately began pointing to the different pictures. Snapshots of the Equestria Girls were at the top, which she ran a finger down. "Ok, so you already know everyone here." She moved on to the pictures beneath them. "Now, this is Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia Melody, and Photo Finish, and Flash Sentry, and Trixie Lulamoon, and Derpy Hooves, and Bulk Biceps, and Wallflower Blush, and Sour Sweet, and-"

Applejack placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Um, Pinkie, maybe it would be better to introduce her to the actual people."

Pinkie Pie blinked, then grinned and folded up her wallet. "Yes, that's a great idea!"

She grabbed Sunset's hand and began dragging her in a manner much like the day they had met. Sunset stumbled about as she was dragged along, already regretting having agreed to go along with this. "W-Wait! Maybe we should be a little more discreet."

"Don't fight it," said Rainbow Dash as she easily caught up. "When it comes to Pinkie Pie, it's usually best to just go with the flow."

That wasn't very reassuring to Sunset, but she decided to take the multi-colored haired girl's advice. Soon she found herself being half-led, half-dragged through the halls by her hyperactive tour guide.

"And that's a classroom, and these are stairs, and these are lockers, and over there is the cafeteria-"

"I've actually been here before," Sunset interrupted. "I came by to investigate a few days ago; that's when we met, remember?"

Overhearing this, something suddenly clicked in Sunset's head, and she suddenly understood. "Oh, so that's why Flash was confused about my hair and clothes that day. Lyra and Sweetie Drops too. They must have met you and thought you were me."

Sunset recognized the first name. "Oh, yeah, that Flash guy. Yeah, I met him. These other two guys too, Sandalwood and Micro Chips. I don't know who Lyra and Sweetie Drops are though."

"Maybe you know Sweetie Drops by her nickname Bon Bon instead?" Pinkie Pie asked enthusiastically. Then she lowered her voice and leaned in close. "Personally, I think she's actually a secret agent, and Bon Bon is really just her undercover name."

Sunset just blinked in bewilderment before shaking her head. "Um, no, still don't know her; as a secret agent or otherwise." Then she remembered as she looked at the bespectacled girl. "Oh, so you're the Twilight Sparkle they were talking about who scored higher than Micro Chips."

Twilight blushed slightly. "Yeah, that's me."

A smirk crept up Sunset's face. "Well, just be on your guard. He plans on regaining his title, so to speak."

"Please," said Applejack dismissively, "there ain't no one around smarter than our Twilight."

The bespectacled girl looked embarrassed. "Well, I don't know about that. Micro Chips is pretty smart. And Sunset here ranked just below him and me."

"Don't be modest, darling," Rarity told her. "You worked hard for your grades." She threw up her arms. "Now bask in your glory!"

"How about a celebration?" Pinkie Pie proposed. She reached into her hair and pulled out a cupcake. "With cupcakes!"

Sunset found herself smiling. This wasn't so bad. She supposed she could get used to this. It was a little nerve-wracking, but it was a lot better than that empty, lonely feeling she had gotten used to. Maybe she could be friends with these girls after all.

The moment the thought entered her head, she slammed on her mental brakes. She couldn't get distracted. Hanging out with these girls was just a means to an end. Besides, they didn't need her, they had the other Sunset Shimmer.

Things began to take a somewhat awkward turn when the other students began to realize that there were two of the same person in the school. Some stopped to stare, but most just seemed to shrug it off and go on their way. Sunset found this to be particularly strange, and began to wonder if the students had just seen so many unusual things in this school that they had simply become numb to such events.

"So, you're the other Sunset," a familiar bored, monotone voice stated.

The girls all turned around, and Sunset saw the strange emotionless girl with the pet rock she had run into when sneaking out of the vice principal's office. Worry gripped her as she feared that she would say something about it.

Her fears were unfounded though as Pinkie Pie bounced over the gray-skinned, lavender-haired girl. "Hey, Maud. This is SunShim. She's our new friend. SunShim, this is my big sister, Maudileena Daisy Pie, but we all call her Maud."

Deciding to play innocent, Sunset forced a smile on her face and raised her hand in greeting. "Um, yeah, hello there. Nice to…" She trailed off as what Pinkie Pie said sank in. "Wait, you said that she's your sister? As in your actual sister?"

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah! We're BSFFs. Best sister friends forever!"

Sunset stared. "And you're saying she's your blood-related sister?"

"Yup!"

"And you're not sisters through marriage or adoption?"

"Nope!"

"So you were both born from the same parents?"

"Yup!"

Completely baffled as to how two completely different people could actually be siblings, Sunset looked at the other Equestria Girls and motioned to the sisters with a bewildered expression that they couldn't help but relate to.

"It's still hard for even us to believe," said Rainbow Dash, confirming what Pinkie Pie was saying.

"Sometimes family members can be very different from each other," Applejack added. She glanced at Pinkie Pie and Maud. "Or a lot different."

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to the farm girl. "Speaking of family, SunShim, did you know that Applejack and I might be related? It's true! I had to do this project in class where we had to trace our ancestry, and I found out that Applejack and I might be fourth cousins twice removed by a fifth cousin. That discovery was better than cotton candy on top of a fountain of chocolate. I was already super duper happy as a Pie, but to find out that I might be an Apple too is the most amazing thing ever! I'm an Apple, and a Pie. I'm an Apple-Pie!"

She emphasized this by somehow pulling out an apple pie and holding it out to her supposed cousin. Applejack looked amused as she gently pushed the apple pie away from her. "Yeah, it's true, we might be related through my Auntie Applesauce. Even the Apple family historian, Goldie Delicious, said that it's possible."

Pinkie Pie handed the apple pie off to Rainbow Dash, who gave her a very forced grin of thanks before grimacing at the pie when she looked away. She then quickly and discretely shoved it into a random passerby's hands, much to their bewilderment.

Not noticing that Rainbow Dash had given away the pie she handed her, Pinkie Pie began spilling into rapid speech once more. "We say that we only might be related because when we checked the records, there may or may not have been a mistake made, and even Goldie Delicious' records had a smudge on them, so we're not entirely sure, but I definitely think we're family, because I feel like we're family, just like I feel like I'm family with all of you." She inhaled deeply, as if suddenly realizing something. "Maybe we're all related from way, way, way, waaaaay back! That would be super awesome and the most greatest thing out of all the greatest things in all of ever! I'd have to make up a new word for how happy that would make me. How about rooftastic? As in, I want to go up to the roof and shout about how fantastic it is!"

Sunset stared, having barely caught a word that was said in Pinkie Pie's rambling. Her head was still reeling with the fact that the energetic girl and the seemingly devoid of all emotions Maud was were actual blood-related sisters. It was almost easier to believe that she had a counterpart from a magical pony world.

"By the way," said Maud in a dull voice, "I tried looking up those gems on your choker, but I still haven't been able to identify them. It's really quite vexing. Did you show them to Rarity yet?"

This caught the purple-hired girl's attention. "Gems? What gems?" That's when she noticed the sparkle coming from Sunset's choker, which was mostly obscured by her hoodie. "Oh, how splendid! How did I not see them before? Are they rubies?"

Sunset's hand subconsciously came up to touch her choker. "I… uh… I don't know."

"Oh? Might I see them then?"

She reached out, and Sunset recoiled from her hand. "No!" she exclaimed, much more aggressively than she meant to. The Equestria Girls stared at her, surprised by her outburst, and her face heated with embarrassment as she began backing away. "Sorry. This choker is just very important to me, so I-"

She jumped as she accidentally bumped into someone. Turning around, she saw that it was a beautiful older woman with skin of the lightest magenta and long multi-colored hair, though not as colorful as Rainbow Dash's. She recognized the woman from the pictures in the principal and vice principal's office, and realized she must be one of the two.

Not yet noticing that there were two Sunsets, Principal Celestia smiled down at her. "Oh, good morning, Sunset. Watch your step."

Sunset gulped nervously. "S-Sorry."

Still smiling, the principal continued on her way, walking right past the Equestria Girls, including Sunset. "Good morning, girls."

"Morning, Principal Celestia," they chorused.

Unable to resist, Sunset deliberately waited for her friends to speak before providing her own greeting. "Good morning, Principal Celestia."

"And a very good morning to you, Sun…" She froze as she finally took notice. "Sunset… and…" she looked back at the other one, "Sunset…?"

Pinkie Pie reached out and wrapped an arm around each of the girls in question. "Look, Principal Celestia, we found this world's Sunset."

The principal continued to look from one to the other. "This world's… Yes, yes, I see that."

"She's here visiting," said Applejack, deciding to provide the simplified version, "but since she's usually homeschooled, we thought we'd show her what a good time public school can be."

"You don't mind, do you?" Twilight asked, putting on a pleading grin.

"Well…" Principal Celestia considered it for a few moments, still looking back and forth between the two Sunsets before putting on a smile. "No, I don't mind. We'll just consider her a guest student. Just be sure not to cause any disruptions."

"It's a Pinkie promise!" Pinkie Pie declared. "Cross our hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Um… yes, well, you girls have a good day. Welcome to our school, Sunset."

"We call her SunShim," Pinkie Pie told the principal.

"Just to avoid confusion," Fluttershy added quietly.

Celestia nodded in understanding. "Yes, well then, enjoy your stay, SunShim."

Feeling drained, even though the school day was just beginning, she headed for her office as she tried to remember the days where things at Canterlot High were once normal. Although, she admitted with a smile, things were far more interesting now than they were back then.

Chapter 7: Reluctance

Chapter 7: Reluctance

"Is it just me," said Applejack as she and her friends met in the music room after school for practice, "or does it seem like SunShim doesn't like us that much?"

It had been several days since they had attempted to befriend Sunset. They had showed her around the school and introduced her to their other friends. She had been allowed to attend classes and school clubs, and from what they could tell, she seemed to enjoy herself, but for some reason, there seemed to be something holding her back. She always seemed withdrawn and distracted, almost as if she were afraid to interact with any of them. It was almost as if she wouldn't allow herself to fully enjoy the experience. It was quite baffling.

"Whaaaat?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in response to Applejack's question. "Noooo. We're all the best of friends."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Then why does it seem like she's always so uncomfortable around us?"

Twilight sighed as she looked up from the song sheet she was working on. "I hate to admit it, Pinkie Pie, but I think Applejack's right. It seems like outside of classes and lunch, every time we invite her to hang out with us, she blows us off. Like last time when we invited her to do that escape room with us."

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms. "I still can't believe we missed breaking the record by two seconds due to a technicality."

Sunset had noticed the same thing as Twilight and Applejack in regards to her counterpart, and while she didn't want to admit it, she thought she knew what the problem was. "I think… I think that I might be the reason why."

The others looked at her questioningly. "Whatever for, dear?" Rarity asked. "You haven't done anything wrong that I've noticed."

Sunset shook her head. "It's not so much something that I did, it's just my presence in general. Maybe she doesn't feel comfortable being around another her."

"That's silly," Pinkie Pie declared from behind her drum set. "That would be like our Twilight feeling uncomfortable when Princess Twilight came, but we all know that that wasn't the case. Right?"

"Uh…" Twilight muttered. Uncomfortable wasn't exactly the right word for it. Awkward, maybe, definitely strange, but she didn't want to admit it, and so instead just diverted her eyes and forced a grin. "Yeah, that would be pretty silly."

"I know, right? I actually think it would be pretty fun to have my other self around. Two Pinkies for the prices of one." She inhaled loudly. "Just imagine if there were a whole bunch of Pinkie Pies! That would be totally awesome, right? Then I could do everything with all my friends all the time."

"Uh…" the others muttered uneasily, and exchanged looks that told each other that they were all thinking the same thing. As much as they all loved and adored their hyperactive friend, one Pinkie Pie was more than enough, and the thought of there being more being more not only sounded utterly exhausting, but would probably drive them all crazy.

"Anyway," said Rainbow Dash, looking to change the subject, "I don't think it's just you, Sunset. She seems to not want to do anything with us individually either. One day while you were at your fencing club, I asked her if she wanted to hang out with me at the soccer club, and she still turned me down."

Sunset considered this before shaking her head. "I could still be the cause. Since I'm friends with you guys, she might feel like… some kind of fifth wheel or something. Or maybe…" she hesitated, reluctant to bring up the direction her thoughts were taking, "or maybe she doesn't want to steal you away from me."

Rarity gave her a strange look. "Steal? Whatever do you mean? How could she possibly steal us?"

Sunset shrugged sadly. "Because she's the Sunset of this world. She might think that if she hangs around with you guys too much that you might start to prefer her over-"

"Stop right there," Applejack interrupted, holding up her hand. "The only reason why you would even think that is if you thought that that might happen at one point. And I can tell you now, ain't no one is gonna steal or replace anyone or anything."

"Indeed!" said Rarity, looking equally as upset. "Our friendship is irreplaceable. No one could ever replace you, counterpart or no. Why, the very thought is ridiculous."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "You may both be Sunset Shimmer, but you're still different people. No one could ever take your place."

Rainbow Dash wrapped an arm around Twilight. "Just like no one could ever take either Twilights' place, not even the other."

A smile grazed Sunset's face, her fears, even if they had been fleeting, now completely gone. "Thanks, guys. I feel the same way about you. My stupid brain is sorry for doubting you." She jokingly bonked herself on the head. "But the thought had still entered my head, so it may have entered SunShim's as well, and so she might be trying not to interfere in our lives." She shrugged. "Or I could be completely wrong. In any case, I still feel like I'm the cause for her keeping us at a distance. So maybe she just really doesn't like being around me."

Rarity crossed her arms. "Well, I certainly hope not, because you come with the package. Anyone who has a problem with you has a problem with us."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "You said it, sugar cube. We're not interested in anyone who has a problem with any of our friends."

"Equestria Girls forever!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Twilight was smiling, but at Pinkie Pie's words, her expression became one of interest. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"I said, Equestria Girls forever!" Pinkie Pie shouted again at equal volume and just as much enthusiasm.

Twilight began scanning her song sheets again, and her face lit up. "That's it!" She began writing excitedly for a minute or two, and then a smile broke out across her face. "Finished!"

"You finished the medley?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

On the floor, Spike scoffed. "It's about time. She's been working on that song non-stop."

"Hey, I was inspired," Twilight objected. "And it's not easy to piece together a bunch of different sings into a new one. I'm thinking of calling it Rainbooms Remix."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Rainbow Dash cried excitedly. "Lets hear it."

"Sing it! Sing it!" Pinkie Pie demanded eagerly, bouncing up and down.

Blushing lightly, Twilight lifted up the song sheet. "Ok, here it goes."

She cleared her throat and began singing. Her friends listened with rapt attention, openly impressed at how she had been able to string together different verses of their various songs into a brand new one. There were new lyrics too that worked well with the older ones, and the looks of enjoyment on their faces let Twilight know how much they liked what she had done. She felt her confidence grow and became more at ease, unsure why she had ever been nervous to begin with.

When she finished, she lowered the song sheet and looked at her friends. "Well, what do you think?"

"What do we think?" Rarity asked. "That was fabulous, darling!"

"You totally nailed it!" Rainbow Dash cried.

Applejack was applauding quietly. "I'll say. You pieced them songs together so well, they sound as if they were originally one song to begin with."

"I especially liked the new lyrics," said Fluttershy.

"Best medley ever!" Pinkie Pie decreed loudly, throwing handfuls of confetti in the air.

Sunset patted Twilight on the back in congratulations. "Well done, Twilight. It was really good."

The bespectacled girl let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your song, Sunset. I was right about it being perfect for the basis. It made using the other songs much easier."

Sunset shook her head. "Nope, this one was all you. You may have used our songs, but it's still yours. You even got some original lyrics in there. Nice touch."

"Well, Pinkie Pie actually helped with some of the original lyrics," Twilight admitted.

"Yeah," the energetic girl replied. "I used these lines from somewhere that I can't remember, but I thought that they'd be great with the song, so Twilight reworked them a bit and put them in there."

"And they work great," Twilight told her. "And thanks for the compliment, Sunset, but I really feel that this was a team effort since I used several of our songs to make it."

Rainbow Dash whipped out her cell phone and began texting. "I'm letting Vinyl know that we've got our medley song. With that, I think our first CD will be ready. We can always make a sequel for any other songs we write in the future." She gasped happily as she received a text response. "She sends her congratulations. Oh, and get this, she said she talked to Wallflower Blush, and she agreed to record her song Invisible for our CD as a guest singer."

Rarity clapped her hands together. "Ooh, delightful. As depressing as it was, it was quite a splendid song, and she sang it beautifully."

There was another ping as Rainbow Dash received a follow-up text, and her grin widened. "Awesome! She said that as soon as we send her copies of the new songs that she'll be ready to start burning the CDs."

Applejack beamed. "Well then we better get to practicing. We haven't got much longer before the talent show anyway, so we best get to it."

They eagerly took up their instruments, and Pinkie Pie clicked her drumsticks together. "Let's rock it!"

They started playing, beginning the first notes of Sunset's song. As the song, progressed and the lyrics began to be sung, it started to happen. The magic within them began to spill out. All seven started to glow with a magic aura, and then the transformations happened.

The change was the same for most of them. Their human ears vanished from the sides of their heads, and pony ears appeared on the tops of their heads. Next was their hair, it began to expand and grow down their backs, nearly reaching the floor, tied off where the growth had begun to give them ponytails. For Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, the transformation was taken a step further as feathered wings sprouted from their backs, holes magically opening up in their shirts for them to allow their wings to slip out without damaging their clothes.

It was an incredible feeling for them to play and transform together like this, a unique and special bond that was exclusive to them, forever bonding them together through their magic and the magic of their friendship. And as they played, they were lifted off the ground as they continued to play their instruments while floating in the air. They barely even registered it anymore though, having long since gotten used to it happening when they played. They simply went on like normal, pouring their hearts and souls into their music as their magic swirled around them in a kaleidoscope of colors.

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Things had not been going according to plan. Not that Sunset had had much of a plan to begin with, but she hadn't planned on getting so distracted. All she had wanted to do was come to the school and find the source of magic she'd heard about.

She hadn't come here to make friends, but the Equestria Girls made it very difficult. It was all but impossible not to like them, and so she kept getting distracted. Even worse, she was feeling guilty over what she planned on doing.

Guilt wasn't the only thing she felt though. She also felt envious of her counterpart. She saw the way she interacted with her friends and enjoyed life, and Sunset couldn't help but want that too, and wish that it were her with such great friends, even though she knew good and well the reason why she didn't have that.

It didn't really make sense, she knew that. After all, she had only just met the girls a few days ago, so whether Sunset had been in the picture or not, she would still only have met them recently, and so her relationship with them would still be the same as it was now.

"Focus, Sunset," she told herself as she walked down the school halls. "You know what you need to do. It's all that matters right now. You can take care of everything else later."

She slapped her hands against her cheeks a few times as it to wake herself up, then put on a resolute face as she began marching down the hall with purpose. Truthfully, she had no idea where she was going, but she felt determine and willful. She thought about maybe checking out the statue again; perhaps there was something more she could gain from it, but then decided against it. The statue was nothing more than the doorway to Equestria; she wouldn't get anything more from it.

The truth was, she knew what she needed to do, had known it for days now, but had been putting it off due to reluctance. So instead she had been lying to herself, telling herself that she needed to investigate more. But that wasn't true. She had come here looking for magic, and she had found it. Now all she had to do was take it.

She knew why she was reluctant too. It was those girls. To get what she needed, she would more or less have to betray them. Guilt coiled within her once more at the thought. They had been so kind to her, genuinely wanting to be her friends, and she was going to throw it back in their faces. They would probably hate her for it, but she needed this, far more than they did. They had each other, but she, she had nothing.

As she made her way down the hall, Principal Celestia chose that moment to come around the corner. Sunset immediately froze, feeling like a dear caught in the headlights. She didn't know why, she wasn't doing anything wrong, and the principal couldn't possibly know what she was thinking.

Celestia took notice of Sunset and gave her a smile. "Hello, SunShim. You are SunShim, right?"

Sunset's eye twitched in mild irritation. The nickname had stuck and spread around the school. And while she knew that there was no offense behind it, the fact that she had been the one stuck with the nickname really irked her, almost making her feel like she were second rate to her counterpart, who got to use her actual name. If anything, it should be the other way around. She was the original Sunset Shimmer of this world, and she deserved to be known as such. She didn't deserve to be thought of as second to her counterpart.

And did Celestia really need to ask if she was who she thought she was? She and her counterpart might be identical, but there were still ways of telling them apart, most notably being the way they dressed and how they did their hair.

Stamping down on her annoyance, she gave the principal a smile. "Yes, it's me. But I was looking for the other Sunset and her friends. Do you know where they are?"

Celestia nodded and pointed down the hall. "Of course. They reserved the music room after school so they could practice for the talent show."

"The music room, right," Sunset muttered, remembering that they had invited her to join them after classes, even offering to teach her how to play an instrument of her choice when she mentioned that she didn't play one. In fact, they had attempted to hang out with her several times outside of school, but she had repeatedly turned them down, not wanting to get any more attached than she already was.

"Thanks a lot," she told the principal. "I'll see you later."

"Have a good day."

Not looking back out of some illogical fear that she would somehow give her intentions away, Sunset headed in the direction Celestia had pointed in. She found the music room easily enough, and the muffled sound of music being played from inside could be heard; the room must have been padded for sound.

Cracking the door open, the sound of the Rainbooms playing flowed over Sunset, and her eyes widened in surprise. She had thought that they may have just been fooling around for fun and weren't anything official, but the Equestria Girls could really play! Maybe she should have taken them up on that offer to teach her how to play an instrument.

She listened for a minute or two before opening the door enough to peek inside. What she saw shocked her so much that her mouth dropped open and she unintentionally pulled the door open the rest of the way on reflex.

The Equestria Girls were positively glowing with magic as they played. Their hair was longer, falling past their hips, and was tied into ponytails. On top of their heads were pony ears, their own human ears missing, and three of them had wings growing out of their backs.

The opening of the door distracted them from their playing, and the Equestria Girls glanced at Sunset. Pinkie Pie beamed and began waving from behind her drum set enthusiastically. "Woohoo! SunShim, you made it!"

"Did you change your mind about wanting to learn an instrument?" Sunset asked with a smile.

Her counterpart just continued to stare with her mouth hanging open. The magic aura surrounding the Equestria Girls had vanished, but they still had the pony ears and ponytails, and those that had them still had their wings.

Rainbow Dash glanced at her friends with a raised eyebrow before glancing back at Sunset. "Hey, you ok?"

Snapping out of her stupor, Sunset finally found her voice. "What was that!?"

"What was what?" Fluttershy asked, genuinely confused. Then it registered to her. "Oh, you mean our pony-girl transformations?"

Sunset looked at her strangely. "Pony-girl transformations?"

"Oh dear," said Rarity. "I forgot you didn't know. We've all gotten so used to it that it just seems natural."

Sunset's gaze went from one pony-girl to the other. "You mean… this is normal?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah, it happens pretty much every time we play. Check it out."

She began strumming her guitar. Her magic aura returned, and she began floating in the air, and not through the use of her wings. Sunset's mouth hung open as she stared at Rainbow Dash, who slowly settled down on the ground again.

She stopped playing and flashed Sunset a smile as her aura died down again. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Slowly, Sunset lifted a finger to point at them. "Then this… this is Equestrian magic? Is it from your geodes?"

Rarity shook her head. "Oh no, darling, not our geodes. But it is Equestrian magic."

"Seems it manifested in us from the Element of Harmony in Princess Twilight's crown," Applejack explained. "And it stayed with us even after she took it back to Equestria."

"Now it comes out when we play together," said Pinkie Pie, striking her cymbals for emphasis.

At that moment, the seven of them returned to normal, their pony ears and wings disappearing, and the hair returning to its normal length. Sunset blinked in surprise and began looking from one to the other again. "Wait, what happened? You changed back again."

Rarity chuckled. "Well, it's not permanent, darling. We return to normal after a few minutes."

"We can do it again if you want to see it," Rainbow Dash suggested.

Sunset looked from one to the other. "So you're saying that this is completely normal for you?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "That's why people call us the Equestria Girls. Or EGs for short. Sometimes EQGs."

Yes, Sunset did think she had heard them get called that before around the school. "And this happens every time you play?"

"Usually," the rainbow-haired girl stated proudly. "But if you think this was awesome, just wait until the talent show."

Sunset tapped her chin and began rethinking her strategy. "Hmm, maybe I will. When is it again?"

"In a week," Twilight told her.

"It'd be really great if you could attend," Sunset added hopefully. "In fact, would you like to hear us practice? We'd love to get your opinion on our new song. And the offer for learning to play is still on the table."

Pinkie Pie struck her drums. "Come on, SunShim, join us! We've even got this fun dance that goes with our new song called the EG Stomp. Check it out." She jumped up from her drum set and got into position. "Cross your arms and lean side to side while stomping your feet. Left, right, left, right. Jump out and clap twice to the left. Stomp your right foot and punch the air with your right arm. Then do it all over again. Those are the main moves. Now you try."

At the invitation, the eagerness that Sunset had been feeling about discovering this new music magic was quickly replaced with anxiety, and she subconsciously began backing away. "Um, thanks, but I can't. I have to… uh, go do this… thing… that I have to do. So, um, I guess I'll see you later. But that's a definite yes for the talent show. Looking forward to it. Bye."

She quickly scampered out of the room before doubling back to close the door behind her. The Equestria Girls stared at the closed door dejectedly, wondering why Sunset seemed so reluctant to hang out with them.

"She did it again," said Applejack, pointing out the obvious. She glanced at the others. "Are we doing something wrong?"

"I don't think so," Fluttershy replied. "She could just be really shy.

Rainbow Dash snickered. "Well, you would certainly know what that's like."

"It doesn't appear to be shyness though," Sunset commented. "It's more like she's uncomfortable around us."

Which had been why she had thought that she might be the problem. Even she had felt awkward around her counterpart at first, but she had at least known that Sunset was possibly out there, not to mention she had long since gotten used to the strange and amazing things she and her friends tended to encounter while Sunset was still relatively new to it all. It only made sense that she felt uncomfortable at times.

Twilight was tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder, could she maybe just be an introvert?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "An intro-what now?"

"An introvert," Twilight explained. "The opposite of an extrovert. Most people are extroverts. They like having friends and being around others, but introverts are the opposite. They enjoy being by themselves most of the time and tend to feel overwhelmed and anxious when around other people for too long, and usually find it mentally exhausting. Do you think that maybe that's the problem and we're overwhelming her?"

Sunset crossed her arms in thought. "Maybe. I didn't think we were being that pushy. Beside, I don't think she's an introvert. She may be different from me, but I don't think she's that different. And her reluctance to hang out with us seems to be more like hesitation on her part rather than a desire to be by herself."

Twilight considered this before deciding that Sunset was right. "Then it could be social anxiety; I used to have that myself. Or maybe it's agoraphobia."

Rainbow Dash gave her a strange look. "She's afraid of gore?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "No, agoraphobia is basically an irrational fear of being around other people or social situations."

Spike smirked at her. "Kind of like your irrational fear of ladybugs and quesadillas?"

Twilight rounded on him. "Hey, you know there's a reason for that!" A low grumble escaped her when Spike just shrugged and laid down again, and she turned her attention back to her friends. "Then again, that doesn't seem to be the case. She seems comfortable enough when she's out and about, which wouldn't be the case if she had agoraphobia. It only seems to be when we invite her to hang out or try to be friends with her that she clams up."

"Maybe something super-duper traumatizing happened to her in the past that makes her afraid to make friends," Pinkie Pie suggested, showing a frightening amount of insight like she tended to do from time to time.

Sunset frowned. That sounded similar to what happened with Starlight Glimmer. Had a friend hurt her in the past, or moved on and left her behind? That might give Sunset cause for not wanting to make friends so she wouldn't get hurt again, which could make befriending her more difficult.

She sighed in exasperation. "I wish I could just use my power on her to find out what the problem is, but I don't want to invade her privacy without cause; it could break our trust."

"I guess we'll just have to keep trying," said Fluttershy. "At least she said she'd come see us at the talent show."

"Of course, how could she not want to?" Rainbow Dash borderline bragged. "We're awesome!"

Another frown fell across Sunset's face. Now that she thought about it, it had seemed like Sunset was more interested in the magic they displayed rather than their band. Not that she could blame her; who wouldn't be interested in seeing a legit magical band? But it did bring up her previous concern about her counterpart secretly being mean and power hungry like she used to be.

Trying not to let her concern show, she glanced at her backpack. Inside was the magic notebook she used to keep in touch with Twilight. So far, the princess had not responded to her last entry. It wasn't too surprising; being the Princess of Friendship tended to keep her busy. She was probably off with her friends taking care of some friendship issue somewhere in Equestria. Hopefully, she would be able to take care of the situation soon and be able to help them with theirs.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

This was more than Sunset had expected. Those magic transformations the Equestria Girls underwent when they played, that was really worth looking into. And that was a separate form of magic from what their geodes provided. Just how much magic did those girls have?

This would require a change in plan. She had to get to that talent show and see what they were really capable of. All she had to do was last another week.

However, that might be a bit of a problem. She didn't know if she could afford to stay in town for another week. She had already stayed longer than she had intended. She was running low on cash, and staying at an inn for an extended period of time wasn't exactly cheap, and she had already stayed longer than her initial checkout date and had been getting extensions.

She would need to find a way to make more money. Maybe she should go into town and see if anyone would be willing to hire her for a short time, just long enough for her to be able to make enough money to stay in town long enough to attend the talent show.

After that, well, that's when everything would fall into place, and it would be the first day of the rest of her life. She found she was very much looking forward to it. The talent show couldn't come fast enough.

"One more week," she told herself. "I just have to wait one more week. Then it begins."

Chapter 8: Magical Mayhem

Chapter 8: Magical Mayhem

It was true what they said. Sometimes the simplest explanation was the right answer. For several months now, the Equestria Girls had been taking care of the Equestrian magic that had escaped into the human world, but had yet to discover where it came from. They still didn't know where their geodes had come from either, only that they too had been created or been infused with Equestrian magic that had called out to them.

For some reason, they hadn't thought to look in the most obvious place. Originally, the portal from Equestria to the human world only opened for a few days every 30 moons. However, using the connection of one of the magical journals that Twilight and Sunset communicated together with, the Princess of Friendship had been able to use the magic connecting the two journals together to keep the portal open indefinitely.

On the whole, this was not a problem, but after Twilight was corrupted by Equestrian magic at the Friendship Games and went on a rampage as the demon Midnight Sparkle, damaging the statue that contained the portal to Equestria, the real trouble began. Wisps of Equestrian magic would occasionally slip through the crack on top of the base where the mascot had once stood, the very one Sunset had attempted to stick her fingers into when Pinkie Pie first came upon her.

The wisps of magic would then fly about in the human world, usually dissipating shortly afterwards. However, there were instances when they would find and enchant an object, usually something with a reflective or shiny surface, as had been the case with the mirror Juniper Montague found, Vignette Valencia's phone, and Twilight's watering can.

It was happening now. As the students of Canterlot High went to and from classes, a single wisp if magic slipped through the crack on the top of the statue, and began flying through the school.

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Twilight had to admit that she was impressed. When Micro Chips revealed that he would be taking part in the talent show, he was quite eager to tell everyone what his act consisted of, if one could actually call it an act.

Apparently, he had been working on a type of artificial intelligence program for the past few years that he had created on his laptop. His act for the talent show was going to consist of him talking and interacting with his A.I. system to put on a comedy show.

Currently, he was in the library, giving a demonstration/lecture of just how "alive" his A.I. was, and what it was capable of, something he was clearly very proud of. Taking up an interest in the subject, Twilight had decided to attend to see how far her intellectual rival had taken his project, much to Spike's dismay at having getting dragged along with her.

Micro Chips was good, she silently admitted; better than she thought he would be. His A.I. was quite the scientific accomplishment, though she thought that she still had him beat with the robot dog girlfriend she had created for Spike. However, unlike her rival, she chose not to show it off, not wanting to brag about her accomplishments.

"As you can see," Micro Chips was saying to his audience, "my A.I. system is fully capable of reading given situations and choosing the appropriate response based on the data it had gathered in a manner that greatly surpasses SIRI. It is even able to scan a person's body readings to determine what they are feeling to provide appropriate responses, and to calculate these readings with the situation its in to make it even more life-like. Its primary program is for it to grow and develop to become even more advanced to make it the perfect imitation of actual intelligence and life."

In the crowd of students attending the lecture, Bulk Biceps raised his large overly-muscular arm. "Are you saying it can actually think on it's own?"

Micro Chips pushed his glasses further up his face. "It can certainly seem that way. It's capable of thinking within the boundaries of its programing and making decisions available from the ones I programmed into it, much like the way a non-playable character in a video game will react to what the player is doing. I present a series of circumstances surrounding the situation, and provide it a list of appropriate responses, and based on the data it collects, it will respond accordingly based on its programming."

He crossed his arms, looking a little too smug. "But while it is capable of learning new responses based on its observations, I'm afraid it's quite impossible to give a machine or any form of A.I. actual intelligence and free will since it is still nothing more than data and calculations. It is possible, however, to make a pretty good imitation of true intelligence to the point where it can be hard to tell the difference though. Such as, for example, if presented with a situation it is unfamiliar with, where a person will still be able to decide how to act on their own, an A.I. would be unable to, or will only be able to react in a manner similar to a similar scenario it is already programmed with."

If what Micro Chips said was true, then Twilight was sure that her robot dog was as advanced as possible to realistic actual intelligence as one could get. Again, not that she was one to brag.

"You will be able to see the full capacity of my A.I. at the talent show," Micro Chips continued. "For now, who would like to see a brief demonstration of what it is capable of?" He didn't wait for a response as he turned to his laptop. "Good afternoon, Mr. A.I."

The image of a pixelated smiley face appeared on the screen. A moment later, a scanner traveled up and down Micro Chips' face as it scanned him. "Good afternoon, Micro Chips," a static-filled monotone voice came from the laptop. "Lovely day, isn't it? You appear to be in a good mood."

Micro Chips smiled proudly. "Why, yes it is, and yes I am." He motioned to the crowd. "Why don't you say hello to our audience."

Once more, the laptop sent out a scanner, this time going over the students in the library. "Subjects estimated to be in the teenage age group. Deduction: school setting among students. Probability: the school of Micro Chips. Providing appropriate response: Greetings students of Canterlot High School. It is nice to meet all of you. I would like to thank all of you for coming to this demonstration of my capabilities. I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm."

The students clapped at the display, and Micro Chips gave them a small bow. Cheerilee, the librarian, was clapping as well as she made her way to Micro Chips. "That was very impressive, you two. I'm sure we'll all look forward to seeing you both at the talent show."

The laptop scanned her as well. "Subject, not a student. Seeking profile… Profile found: Miss Cheerilee. Providing appropriate response: Thank you, subject Cheerilee. And might I say, you are looking quite lovely today."

She giggled. "That's sweet of you. Now, does anyone have any questions for Micro Chips or Mr. A.I.?"

A few hands went up, including Twilight's. She heard Spike grown, but she ignored him; she was curious to learn how Micro Chips had created his program. But as she held up her hand, something caught her eye. Flying through the air, barely transparent, was what appeared to be a wisp of magic. She recognized it for what it was, and was instantly on her guard. "Oh no…"

No one else seemed to have noticed it yet, including Micro Chips, who called on one of the students. "Yes, Sandalwood. What's your question?"

The green-haired boy stood up. "So, like, if your fancy A.I. thing is capable of learning and advancing like you said it is, then what's to stop it from, like, growing and evolving to the point where it becomes so advanced that it decides to bring forth Judgment Day and wipe out all humanity so it can rule over the survivors as our evil robot overlord?"

Twilight didn't even hear the question. Her focus was entirely on the wisp of magic, hoping it would just fade out. However, much to her dismay, it came down and floated right into the screen of Micro Chips' laptop. The computer immediately began glowing, and the smiley face on the screen began changing colors and facial expressions, like a rapidly changing emoji image switching moods.

With his back to the laptop, Micro Chips was none the wiser as he laughed at the absurdity to his environmental enthusiast friend's question. "That is utterly preposterous. Contrary to what movies tend to portray, no A.I. is capable of making emotionally driven decisions on it's own such as-"

He was interrupted as beams of light suddenly shot out of the laptop as it flashed brightly. This finally got Micro Chips' attention, and he whirled around to see his laptop rise up in the air. Several more beams shot out from the laptop, striking other computers, copiers, and other electrical appliances in the library, including certain students' cell phones. They were immediately drawn towards the enchanted laptop and began piling up around it. Wires and cables reached out, connecting and entwining the items together as it began to build itself up.

When the assembly was complete, most of the technological appliances in the room had somehow combined together to form a giant, humanoid, robotic body. At the top, surrounded protectively by other stolen items, Micro Chips' laptop seemed to be serving as the head. The face on the screen continued to change and pixelate as the body of appliance moved as if it were alive.

"Evil robot overlord!" Sandalwood shouted over the screams of the other students. "I told you, man!"

Micro Chips backed away from the mechanical monstrosity. "This… This is impossible. How is it doing this?"

"Robot overlords, dude."

"Everybody stay calm!" Cheerilee called to the panicking students. "Quickly, get to the exits!"

Unfortunately, most of the students seemed to choose taking out their cell phones and begin taking pictures and video rather than run away. Twilight, however, stood her ground as she glared at the technological monster.

From inside her backpack, Spike recoiled from the monster. "T-T-Twilight, what is that thing?"

"Trouble," she said, not taking her eyes off the monster, if that was indeed what it was. Quickly taking off her backpack, she set it down on the ground and took Spike out. "Hurry and find the others. I'll try and hold it off."

The dog glanced at the monster, then back at Twilight, looking worried. "You sure you're going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine. Just hurry."

More cables extended from the monster, grabbing at more objects in the room to add to its body. "Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

It turned its attention to Twilight since she was the one closest to her, and suddenly reached for her with what served for a hand. Twilight reacted quickly, tapping into the power of her geode. She reached out telepathically, freezing the monster in place. It struggled against her power, but she was able to hold it back. Not for long though, the monster was quite strong.

"Hurry, Spike," she gasped as she put all her concentration into keeping the monster bound. "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Spike was trying not to panic as the monster loomed over them. With great reluctance, he turned away and ran from the library. "Hang in there, Twilight! I'll find Rainbow Dash first; she can find the others!"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The bustle of activity drew the attention of most of the student body near the library. Including that of Sunset. Frowning in confusion, she went to investigate, wondering what the commotion was all about.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were attempting to calm the students and usher them out of the school. However, most seemed to be heading in the opposite direction, wanting to see what was going on in the library, their phones already set to video to capture what was happening.

Within the sea of faces Sunset spotted a familiar one, a boy with teal skin and blonde hair whom she recognized as Fluttershy's younger brother whom she had briefly met earlier in the week. He hadn't been as strange as Pinkie Pie's sister, but he was an annoying good for nothing, who very clearly got on everyone's nerves, particularly Rainbow Dash's due to the crush he had on her. Quite frankly, he was the last person Sunset would prefer to talk to, but he was the only familiar face she saw at the moment, and so she made her way over to him and grasped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, Zephyr Breeze," she said, hoping she remembered his name correctly, "what's going on?"

He turned to her, recognizing her as his sister's friend. Sunset didn't know if he thought she was her counterpart or not, but she didn't care as he said, "Didn't you hear? There's a monster on the loose in the library. Probably some Equestrian magic at work."

Sunset's eyes widened. "Equestrian magic?"

"That's what I said. Shouldn't you and your friends be taking care of it? That is what you do, ain't it?"

Ok, so he did think she was the other Sunset. But there was no time to dwell on that. Without another word, she began pushing her way through the crowd, making her way to the library, ignoring the principal and vice principal's orders for everyone to evacuate as she moved along with the students attempting to see what was happening first hand.

Amongst the chaos, Sunset somehow managed to catch sight of Spike running through the crowd. Worry suddenly gripped her for the dog's owner. If he was by himself, then something must have happened to Twilight.

Abandoning her struggle to get to the library, she instead made her way to the dog. She managed to fight her way over to him as he made his way through the forest of legs and scooped him up.

"Spike, what's going on?" she asked. "I heard there's a monster and Equestrian magic on the loose."

"There is!" the dog exclaimed. "Twilight's trying to hold it off. I've got to get to the others, fast. Do you know where Rainbow Dash is? She'll be able to find the others a lot faster than I can."

"Uh…" Sunset muttered, trying to think of where the rainbow-haired girl would most likely be. "The soccer field, maybe?"

Spike smacked his forehead. "Of course, the soccer field! Duh." He quickly leapt out of her hands. "Thanks, SunShim!"

She watched as he disappeared into the crowd. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she called out, "Good luck!"

Spike barely heard her over all the commotion as he made his way to the nearest exit and slipped outside. He hurried to the soccer field where, sure enough, he found the multi-colored haired girl he was searching for. She was performing a series of stretching exercises, making him grateful that he didn't need to chase her down.

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" he called, running over to her.

She gave him a surprised look, wondering why he was here; he was supposed to remain out of sight with Twilight when on school grounds. "Spike, what are you doing here? Where's Twilight?"

Panting, he pointed back towards the school "She needs help! There's Equestrian magic on the loose in the library! Twilight's fighting it by herself, but she needs all of you!"

Immediately understanding the situation, Rainbow Dash nodded. "Right, I'm on it."

Her geode glowed as she tapped into its power, and she took off in a rainbow colored blur. She began zooming around the school, looking for her friends, and skidded to a halt as she found Fluttershy coming out of the bathroom.

Fluttershy jumped as Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared in front of her. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. What's going on?"

"Twilight. Library. Magic. Need help. No time."

Before Fluttershy could comprehend anything she had said, Rainbow Dash grabbed her wrist, and the two of them took off. The process was repeated with the rest of their friends, some of which had already heard about the commotion and had been already on their way towards the library.

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Twilight struggled to stay focused as the monster continued to push against her. All the while, cables and beams of magic shot out from the monsters body to grab hold of other objects in the room to add to its body. Sweat poured down Twilight's head as the growing monster struggled to free itself from her telekinetic hold.

"Hurry, Spike…" she grunted, feeling her strength fading.

Finally, she couldn't hold it back any longer. Her arms fell to her side, and the telekinetic glow surrounding the monster vanished. It came down at her, but a streak of rainbow plowed into Twilight, snatching her out of the way. The next thing she knew, she was standing beside her friends.

Blinking in surprise, she glanced at the one who saved her. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Glad I made it in time," the multi-colored haired girl replied. "Thanks for keeping it busy."

Applejack stared at the technology monster. "What in tarnation is that thing?"

"Long story short," said Twilight, "some Equestrian magic got into Micro Chips' laptop and took over an A.I. program he was working on."

Something brushed up against Sunset's leg, and she looked down to see one of the many cables of the monster slithering about. Curious, she reached down and grabbed the cable while tapping into her power. She didn't know if it would work, but a moment later, it happened. Empathy Flash.

It was very different from looking into another person's mind, mostly because the monster didn't actually have one. There were no thoughts or feelings, not even memories, not really. Instead, what she got was a flash of video images, and a drive to follow its programming, which she somehow was able to read and understand.

The Empathy Flash ended, and Sunset dropped the cable. "It's completely out of control. It's fixated on upgrading and becoming more advanced however it can."

The monster continued to add to its body as the emoji face on Micro Chips' laptop, now surrounded by various other computers and forms of technology, continued to chant, "Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's apparent."

"Lets do what we do!" Pinkie Pie declared. "Light it up, ladies!"

Standing side by side, they all joined hands. Their geodes shined brightly, and a light engulfed them. Just like when they would pony-up when they played together, they underwent the same transformations, only this time it was taken a step further, providing them with a complete wardrobe change, each with a Cutie Mark present on their cheeks.

"Time to send you to the scrap heap," Rainbow Dash told the monster.

It appeared confused at first as it scanned the Equestria Girls as they floated in the air in front of it. "Unidentified subjects found. Solution: obtain more information. Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

All at once several cables shot out from its body in all directions. Rarity reacted instantly, summoning forth diamond barriers to protect herself and her friends. The Equestria Girls glared at the monster as it retracted its cables, and the diamond barriers vanished.

"Nice try, Mr. Computer Guy," said Pinkie Pie, shaking her finger at it. "Alright, girls, lets blast it!"

"Wait!" Sunset cried, holding out her hand. "Look."

The monster reeled in the rest of its cables, revealing that it now had hold of several students, including Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and Trixie.

"The great Trixie does not like this!"

"I'm sorry! I swear I didn't program it to do anything like this. It shouldn't be possible."

"Robot overlords, man."

The monster revealed that it had also taken hold of Cheerilee as well, and it brought her up to its face. "Scanning… Subject identified: Miss Cheerilee. You look lovely today."

"Release these students and me this instant!" she demanded.

"Rudeness detected. Appropriate response: ignore to avoid conflict."

The Equestria Girls exchanged worried looks, realizing that they were now dealing with a hostage situation, making defeating the monster much more difficult.

"What now?" Rarity asked worriedly. "If we attack, we might hurt them."

"We'll have to get them free first," said Sunset. "Fluttershy, you create a diversion while Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and I try to get them free. Rarity, use your power to make sure it can't grab anyone else. Applejack, Twilight, cover us in case it attacks."

Fluttershy nodded and flew to an open window. She called out, and a few moments later, a swarm of birds came flying in and began circling around the monster, drawing its attention and blocking its view of the others. Rarity summoned up more diamonds and surrounded the monster with them, preventing it from going anywhere or grabbing anyone else. Sunset, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash immediately went for the hostages and attempted to pull them free from the monster's hold.

Despite the birds obstructing its vision, the monster's attention was drawn towards them. "Attempted theft. Appropriate response: self defense."

It lifted up its giant hand and made to bring it down on Pinkie Pie. Applejack immediately rushed over, using her super strength to catch the giant fist, managing to hold it back. It lashed out with its other hand, but it was suddenly surrounded by a layer of telekinetic magic, courtesy of Twilight, holding it in place.

"Defenses inadequate. Solution: new configuration."

The hostages were yanked away from the Equestria Girls as its body began to reassemble itself around Rarity's diamonds, going from a humanoid shape to a four-legged creature. The hostages were now hanging in the air above it by the cables that wiggled about like tentacles. The Equestria Girls quickly regrouped as it turned its attention back to them.

"Careful, ya'll," Applejack warned, "it looks like its about to attack."

"Not to worry!" Micro Chips called down to them. "It may defend itself, but its programming specifically prevents it from attacking a human being."

Rainbow Dash was skeptical as she looked at the monster's aggressive stance. "You sure about that?"

"Quite sure. I programmed it myself. It's the number one rule of A.I."

"Seeking appropriate non-fatal defensive actions… Solution: render threat incapacitated. Option: shock treatment."

They could practically see what it was doing as it drew power from the outlets it was plugged into. Electricity began flowing over its body, which was then launched at the Equestria Girls. Rarity once more surrounded them with a diamond barrier that blocked them from the electricity.

Up in the air, Trixie cut her eyes at Micro Chips. "Real great programming there. The great Trixie is not impressed."

The school nerd just grinned sheepishly. "Well, it wasn't a fatal blast."

"Robot overlords," Sandalwood repeated.

"Will you stop saying that!"

Sunset turned her gaze from the monster to the countless cords flowing out from its body that were still plugged into the walls and outlets. "Rainbow Dash-"

"I'm on it," she replied, realizing what Sunset was going to say.

Using her super speed, she raced around the library, quickly unplugging all the cords. There was a notable slumping of the monster as it lost power. "Power source lost. System failing."

Applejack beamed, giving Rainbow Dash a thumbs-up when she rejoined them. "Nice one. I think that did it."

Smirking arrogantly, Rainbow Dash twirled around a cable she had unplugged. "Should have done this to begin with."

"Seeking new power source… Source detected. Type unidentified. Reverting all systems to unknown power supply."

The magic glow surrounding Micro Chips' laptop began to spread to the rest of the body, until the entire structure was glowing with a magical aura. The monster rose up again to its full height, fully energized by the magic fueling it.

The smirk left Rainbow Dash's face as the monster turned back to them. "Oh, come on! Seriously?"

"It must be using the magic inside it as a power source," Twilight theorized.

"Threat still present. Seeking new solutions… Solution: cut off thieves' senses."

All at once, all the copiers and projectors it had collected shined their bright lights at the Equestria Girls, blinding them. Next, all the sound systems turned their volume up to the max and began blasting loud music or pure static, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears and cringe.

Among them was Sunset, who had finally managed to arrive at the library a few minutes earlier. She was stuck in the back of the crowd of students, but had still been able to see what was happening. Now she too was covering her ears as she squinted to see through the bright lights the monster was shining.

She'd had no idea what she would see when she got to the library, but a giant monster made from computers, printers, copiers, and other electrical items was not it. If this is what Equestrian magic was capable of, then it was even more powerful than she thought. If only she could get her hands on it.

Her hand went to her choker as a thought occurred to her. Maybe there was a way she could get it, and hopefully put a stop to this monster too. If it was actually just technology enchanted by magic, then she should be able to…

Closing her eyes, she tapped into the power if her choker. The gems began glowing as they reacted to the magic in the room, and she directed it towards the monster.

The face on the screen of Micro Chips' laptop was still rapidly changing and distorting. But as the magic within it responded to Sunset's call, the face froze. The magic glow surrounding it suddenly vanished, and the screen burst open with a small explosion. The wisp of magic that had enchanted it flowed out and drifted across the library over to Sunset.

Without the magic, the monster became still, and it collapsed into a pile, its hostages dropping down on top of the pile. The lights stopped flashing and the music and static stopped emitting, granting everyone in the room a reprieve. As Sunset lowered her hands from her ears and was able to look at the monster again without squinting, she caught sight of the wisp of magic as it floated over the crowd of students and came down somewhere behind them.

She didn't see where it went exactly, but a moment later, she saw Sunset step out from behind the students she saw the magic disappear behind. What really drew her attention though was that it looked like her choker was glowing. To make things even more suspicious, she saw her counterpart glance around cautiously, as if to make sure no one had seen her, before she slipped out of the library.

Before Sunset could dwell in this further, Pinkie Pie let out a cheer. "Wahoo! We did it!"

Applejack was digging her finger into her ringing ear. "Did what? We didn't do anything. It just stopped moving on its own."

"NO!" The cry came from Micro Chips, who had managed to untangle himself, and was now holding his destroyed laptop. "My whole program was on there! And it was so big that I didn't have it backed up!"

Sandalwood, also freed, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, dude. All is as it should be."

Next to them, Trixie was rubbing her head. "The great Trixie requires some Asprin."

Twilight surveyed the scene, also wondering why Micro Chips' laptop had seemed to explode for seemingly no reason. "Maybe it was too much for the laptop's systems, and it overloaded."

Rarity was rubbing her ears. "I'm just glad that whatever happened did. My ears are still ringing."

Micro Chips was still distressing over his ruined laptop. "All these years, wasted! What am I going to do now?"

There was the clearing of a throat, and he looked up to find a disheveled looking Cheerilee, and she did not look happy. "I have an idea. It requires a broom, and a lot of your time outside of school."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Surprisingly, the damage to the library hadn't been too extensive, even most of the technology was still in working order; it would just take a long time to fix everything up, not to mention putting away all the books, something Twilight had quickly volunteered to help with.

Equally as surprising was the lack of injuries, even among those that had been taken hostage. There were mostly some cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but nothing permanent or severe, not even among the Equestria Girls. That didn't stop Principal Celestia from insisting that they get looked at.

They were sitting in Nurse Redheart's office to be checked over, but the nurse was currently looking over a still distressing Micro Chips. The Equestria Girls sat together as they waited for their turns, despite insisting that they were alright.

"Still can't believe Equestrian magic was able to do that," said Applejack. "I mean, we've seen it do some crazy things before, but that was certainly a first."

Twilight put her glasses back on, having finished cleaning them. "I think part of it had to do with it enchanting Micro Chips' program. An A.I. meant to learn and advance combined with magic, not a good combination."

Fluttershy glanced at her. "You were at the lecture. Did you see what happened?"

Twilight sighed. "Sort of. I saw the magic floating around, but before I could do anything, it enchanted the laptop. Then it began linking up with everything until it became… that."

"Well, thank goodness it done and overloaded before someone got hurt," said Applejack.

Sunset's eyes narrowed in thought as she remembered what she had seen her counterpart doing. "Yeah… good thing."

Picking up on the suspicion in her voice, Rarity gave her a curious look. "Something wrong, darling? You seem rather… pouty."

A sigh escaped Sunset. "It may be nothing, but just after the fight ended, I thought I saw-"

At that moment, the door opened, and her counterpart poked her head into the room. "Excuse me. Hi, hope I'm not interrupting."

Sunset abruptly fell silent as Pinkie Pie began waving enthusiastically. "Hi, SunShim!"

Smiling hesitantly, Sunset shyly approached them. "You guys ok?"

Rainbow Dash simply waved off her concern. "Ah, that was nothing." She made a muscle. "We're even tougher than we look."

"I'm just glad we didn't get zapped into the internet or something," said Applejack. She cut her eyes at her friends and smirked. "Or get transported to an empty white room."

Sunset scowled at her. "Har, har. Funny."

Sunset didn't understand the reference, but figured it must be an inside joke. "So exactly what happened back there?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully. "Micro Chips' laptop was taken over by Equestrian magic, which corrupted his A.I. program, causing it to go out of control and build itself up into a giant robot monster in order to fulfill a warped version of its programming, where it was meant to learn and upgrade itself into a more advanced robot thingy."

She squeed as she finished her explanation, and Sunset blinked, caught off guard by the energetic girl's insight. "Oh… Well… I guess that explains it."

Sunset studied her counterpart carefully. "I saw you there. Are you ok?"

There was a small reaction from Sunset before she forced a smile on her face. "Yeah, like half the school was there. Guess everyone wanted to see you guys in action. I was in the back, so I was out of range of any danger."

Fluttershy flashed her a smile. "Well, we're still glad that you're ok."

"I'm glad you're ok. You were the ones fighting. By the way, that was totally awesome. You were like magical girls. You even got cool new outfits. Well, briefly."

Rarity laughed. "Yes, they were rather amazing. I mean to make replicas of them someday so we can wear them any time. I really should get on that before they change again."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Change? You mean your magic outfits keep changing?"

"So it seems," Twilight replied. "As our friendship grows, our outfits change as well. It's like it's evolving."

"Fascinating," Sunset whispered, seemingly to herself. "Magic really is amazing."

"Speaking of which," Sunset said carefully, "I couldn't help but notice that the magic that had taken over Micro Chips' laptop headed in your direction. You didn't happen to see where it went, did you?"

Suddenly looking nervous, Sunset stood up straighter, and her eyes began darting around, as if looking for an escape route. "Um, yeah, I did. It floated close by, but then it just sort of faded away. So no cause for alarm. You guys successfully saved the day." She began to sneak towards the door, accidentally backing up into the wall. "I guess I'll let you get your rest now. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Glad to see you're fine. I'll catch you later. You guys are heroes. Totally awesome. Bye."

She slipped out of the room in a very obvious escape attempt. Though they should have gotten used to it by now, most of the Equestria Girls were still caught off guard by her sudden departure. Except for Sunset, who crossed her arms and stared at the door suspiciously.

"What was that about?" Applejack asked in reference to Sunset's strange behavior. "She looked like a deer caught in the headlights."

Twilight glanced at the red and yellow haired girl across from her. "Sunset, did something happen that we missed? You look like you know something."

A deep sigh escaped Sunset. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I think we need to once more consider the possibility that SunShim might have some bad intentions."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but she may have been behind what happened in the library. I saw her acting strangely and trying to sneak away, like she did something she didn't want anyone else to see."

Rainbow Dash recalled Sunset asking her counterpart if she had seen anything suspicious. "Is that why you asked if she saw what happened to the magic inside the laptop? 'Cause I thought it just disappeared the same way it does when we destroy any enchanted object."

Sunset nodded. "After Micro Chips' laptop broke, I think I saw the magic that was inside it fly away, and it looked like it headed in SunShim's direction. I saw her try and sneak out of the library a moment later." Her eyes narrowed. "And I'm pretty sure I saw her choker glowing."

Pinkie Pie just waved this off. "Oh, that was just a trick of the light. She told me before that when the light hits the gems juuuuust right that it looks like they're glowing."

Rather then being reassured, this just made Sunset all the more suspicious. "When was this?"

"Oh, back when I first met her by the portal to Equestria."

Now that really concerned Sunset, and based on the looks of her friends' faces, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, they looked worried too.

"You think she's really some evil power hungry maniac?" Spike asked, voicing all their thoughts.

Sunset crossed her arms again. "It's still too soon to tell. And if she was involved, it could have been an accident, like with what happened with Twilight when she unleashed the magic she had gathered up. Maybe when looking for magic, she came across some and accidentally set it loose in the library."

"Well, if she is involved, I certainly hope it was an accident," Rarity said hopefully. "I would hate to find out that SunShim is actually an enemy."

"Oh, me too," Fluttershy agreed sadly.

Twilight looked at Sunset's backpack, knowing that she was carrying around her magic journal. "Still no word from Princess Twilight?"

Sunset glanced at her backpack before reaching inside to pull out the journal. "No, not yet. She may not have gotten it yet."

"You better tell her what happened, and about your suspicions," Rarity told her. "You know that she would want to know."

Sunset sighed again. "You're right. I'll let her know right now."

Picking up a pencil, she turned to her last entry and began writing directly underneath it.

Dear Princess Twilight. Hope everything is going well on your end. Haven't heard back from you yet, but I figured you and the others are probably off on some friendship mission.

I'm sorry to say that things haven't been going so great on our end. Most attempts to befriend SunShim have failed. For some reason, she seems determine to keep us at arm's length, like she doesn't actually want to be friends with us. Or that she's afraid to. I think I might be the reason for that. It could be that she's uncomfortable being around another version of herself, even if we are different people. Not that I can blame her, it is kind of weird, even for me.

Also, about what I said last time regarding her maybe being the way I used to be, I think I may have come across some evidence of it. Remember Micro Chips? Earlier today, he was giving a presentation about this artificial intelligence program he had created (don't ask), and it was taken over by Equestrian magic and went out of control. We were able to take care of it, but there's a chance that SunShim may have been behind it, or at least involved with it in some way. I caught her acting suspicious and seemingly fleeing the scene after the situation was taken care of.

I know that's not proof, and I shouldn't make accusations without any actual evidence, but my gut keeps telling me that SunShim is up to something. Maybe my opinion is biased due to my past, but I don't want anyone to get hurt if it turns out she does have bad intentions, especially if I can do something to prevent it. I keep thinking that I should just use my magic and read her mind to make sure she's not doing anything, but I don't want to break her trust or invade her privacy without cause, especially when we're trying to be friends with her.

One other thing. SunShim has this choker that I'm beginning to think may have magic powers. Both Pinkie Pie and I saw it glowing at one point, and she's very protective of it. She says that the glowing is just a trick of the light, but it didn't look like a trick to me. Granted, I did only see it from a distance, so I could be wrong, but I thought that I should mention it just to be safe. She did say she had encountered magic before, so I'm wondering if maybe her discovery of the choker was that encounter, and it's actually an artifact from Equestria that somehow found its way to this world.

Do you know anything about it? I didn't notice any symbols on it or anything. It looks like a normal black choker decorated with little red gems. Have you heard of a magical item like this? I'd be grateful for any feedback, and for whatever suggestions you may have about what to do about SunShim. The girls and I will continue to keep an eye on her. Hopefully nothing bad will happen and this is all just a coincidence.

Hoping to hear from you soon. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.

Chapter 9: Sunsets and Rainy Days

Chapter 9: Sunsets and Rainy Days

This was just her luck. She'd known it was coming, but why did it have to happen on such a nasty day? She really couldn't catch a break.

The rain had been coming down for a while now, and Sunset was walking through it with an umbrella, her suitcase, and nowhere to go. She had been kicked out of the inn she had been staying at due to her room being needed, and she had been too busy with other things to search for another place to stay before now.

Initially, she had only planned on staying in town for a few days, and so had booked a room at an inn for that long. However, when she realized that she would be staying longer, she had been paying the inn owner daily for an extended stay. Unfortunately, it turned out that someone else had booked her room after her initial stay period, and she needed to leave so they could use it. Even worse, the inn hadn't had any other vacant rooms available, and so she now found herself without a place to stay. Still, she supposed that she should have been grateful that she had been allowed to stay so long after her original checkout date in the first place.

And, of course, it had to start raining shortly after she left. This really wasn't her day. Why hadn't she thought of to look into another place to stay before now? Obviously she wouldn't have been able to stay at the inn indefinitely. Obviously other people would have booked the room after her initially scheduled checkout date. Just how stupid was she? She should have looked into motels or something.

But then again, even if she did find a new place to stay, she didn't have the money for it, having already blown through her budget by staying in town much longer than she intended. True, she'd been able to make some money by doing small jobs for two somewhat sketchy brothers she had met in town in order to pay for meals and other essentials, but it wasn't quite enough. Now she was stuck slouching through the rain with nowhere to go.

"It'll be worth it," she grumbled irritably. "Just a few more days. You can do it."

At that moment, a powerful gust of wind blew her way, catching her umbrella. She struggled to hold onto it as she was pulled along, and it suddenly turned inside out on her. This caused her to stumble and fall, and her suitcase struck the ground and popped open, sending her clothes and other belongings flying about to get soaked by the rain.

"Oh, come on!" she shouted in frustration, and began wondering if this was some kind of karma at work.

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Sunset had been grateful to her friends for helping her to pass her driver's test. And with an instructor like Mr. Cranky Doodle, she had needed the extra assistance. However, getting her license didn't include getting a car with it; that was something that she had to work for herself. Fortunately, her part-time job as a sushi chef at the mall paid very well, and she was well on her way to her very own set of wheels.

Not quite yet though. Which was why she was currently making her way home on foot, despite the rain. Even though the weather was bad, she was in a good mood. Things had been quiet for the most part at the school with no other incidents since what happened in the library, and there had been no issues with her counterpart to suggest that she was up to anything sinister. Unfortunately, she and the others still hadn't made any progress getting closer to her friendship-wise, but they refused to give up.

An angry yell suddenly drew her attention, and she looked across the street to see none other than her counterpart. That was a coincidence. However, a frown crossed Sunset's face as she noticed that it looked like she needed help, and so she crossed the street and hurried over to her.

Sunset was gathering up and tossing her now soggy clothes back into her suitcase, grumbling under her breath about her rotten luck, when the rain suddenly stopped falling. She glanced up to see Sunset holding an umbrella over her. "You look like you could use a hand."

A sigh escaped Sunset. "You could say that again. I'm having a bit of a rough day."

Sunset offered her a smile and began helping to gather up her things. "What happened?"

Not wanting to get too into it, she gave the short and simple version. "Oh, I just got kicked out of the inn I was staying at, ruined my umbrella, and got all my stuff wet. You know, just a normal problematic day. Oh, and I'm pretty much broke."

A frown crossed Sunset's face as she felt bad for her counterpart. "Yeah, that's pretty much the definition of a bad day. So what are you going to do now?"

Throwing the last of her wet clothes into her suitcase and shutting it, Sunset stood up and brushed her wet hair out of her face. "Not sure. I've been doing odd jobs for these two guys called Flim and Flam over the past few days to make some money. Maybe they'll know a place I can stay that's cheap. They seem to be pretty well connected."

A scowl fell over Sunset's face as she thought about the two sleazy con-artist brothers. "Flim and Flam? You can't trust those two as far as you can throw them. If they've been paying you to do jobs for them, I can assure you that they've definitely been taking advantage of you. Tell you what, why don't you come back to my place. You can get cleaned up and dry your clothes, then figure out what to do from there."

She saw her counterpart's eyes widen and dart around, as if looking for an escape, just like she tended to do when being put on the spot in certain situations. "I… that's really nice of you, but I don't want to impose."

A chuckle escaped Sunset. "Really, it's no trouble at all. I insist."

Sunset opened her mouth to protest further, but at that moment, a car drove by, going through a puddle. A wave of dirty water rose up, splashing both girls, soaking Sunset and making her counterpart even wetter. The driver beeped in apology as Sunset waved her fist and shouted angrily after them to watch where they were driving.

With a groan, Sunset looked down at her wet, muddy clothes and gave a reluctant sigh. "Well, if you insist…"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Welcome to my humble abode," said Sunset as she and her counterpart entered her house. It was a simple, small two-floor home and was basically one giant room containing all the required rooms for a home with a few doors leading to some adjacent rooms, but the sight of it still made Sunset's eyes widen in astonishment.

"Wow," she said, looking all around, "you've got some nice digs."

Sunset chuckled as she rung out her wet hair. "Thanks. It's not much, but it's home."

"I think it's great. How did you afford something like this when you're only in high school?"

"Hmm…" Sunset muttered. "Lets just say that when I came here from Equestria, the skills I had learned there really helped me to get a head start on life here."

"Skills? You mean magic?"

Sunset shook her head. "No, magic didn't exist in this world back then. Not that I knew that when I initially came here. Also, the bits and gems I had saved up in Equestria sold for pretty high prices here."

Sunset continued to look around her counterpart's well designed home. "Well, you certainly made out well for yourself. By the way, thanks for inviting me. I thought I was going to be stuck outside on such a nasty day."

Looking outside at the rainy weather, Sunset smiled. "Oh, I don't know about nasty. It was actually thanks to a day like this that Twilight and I were inspired to write a song after a particularly troublesome morning. We called it Monday Blues."

"Mmm. I guess there's something to admire about being able to make the most out of a bad situation." Her eyes suddenly landed on the game console by the TV and widened. "You're a gamer?"

Sunset smiled. "Yup. I love a good video game. I'm actually planning to start my own gaming channel."

"Lucky," Sunset muttered, looking over her counterpart's collection. She suddenly gasped when she saw one of the titles and snatched it up. "You've got Tirek's Revenge? I really wanted to try that one out, but never got to."

"Well, we can play it later. Come on, bathroom's this way. You can borrow some of my clothes while yours are drying. I'm pretty sure they'll fit you."

She led her counterpart through her fancy yet moderate household, pausing when they passed a tank with a small leopard gecko inside. Sunset smiled at the occupant and tapped against the glass with her finger, waving to the little critter inside before turning to her counterpart.

"This is Ray," she told her. She reached into the tank, and the gecko crawled into her hand. "I wanted to get a pet a while ago, so Fluttershy showed me around the animal shelter she volunteers at and I found this little guy. It was pretty much love at first sight for us. Here, say hello."

She held Ray out to her counterpart, who had to admit that it was pretty adorable. "He's very cute."

Sunset rubbed her cheek against her pet. "He's my little ray of sunshine. Do you have a pet?"

Sunset shook her head. "I don't think I'm the pet owner type. I wouldn't even know what to get."

Smiling at the irony, Sunset returned the gecko to his tank. "I thought the same thing at first too, but seeing all my friends with their pets made me change my mind. If you ever change yours, I'm sure Fluttershy would be happy to help you find one."

A guilty frown crept up Sunset's face at the thought of any of the Equestria Girls helping her. She really didn't deserve their help, not with what she was planning on doing. She already felt like she was taking advantage of their kindness, particularly her counterpart with the way she invited her into her home. And as she later stood under the warm spray of the shower, she felt as if she were being torn in two different directions of what she knew was right and what she felt she needed to do.

A knock came from the bathroom door followed by Sunset's voice as she poked her head in. "SunShim, I'm putting some clothes you can use right here. Yours are in the wash."

More guilt, but she stomped it down and tried to put it out of mind. "Thanks, I'll be out soon."

"Take as long as you need," her counterpart replied, and Sunset could practically hear the smile in her voice, which only made her feel worse.

Her counterpart ducked her head out after that, and Sunset was left alone with her thoughts once more. She found her herself second-guessing her decision again before steeling her resolve. She'd made a decision, and she was sticking to it, and nothing was going to change her mind.

Upon exiting the shower and drying off, she found that the clothes her counterpart had left for her were indeed the perfect fit, for obvious reasons. She then exited the bathroom and found Sunset waiting for her. She was sitting by the game system, which was already set up ad ready to be played.

"Hey," Sunset greeted when she saw her. "I got things set up for you."

Sunset hesitated before heading over to her. "You really don't have to do all this."

Sunset chuckled. "It's really no trouble. Besides, I'm hoping you'll be a worthy challenger." She handed over the game controller. "Here, you familiarize yourself with the gameplay while I go clean myself up."

Sunset stared at the controller for a few moments before slowly reaching out to take it. "Thanks. For everything."

Her counterpart rolled her eyes, looking amused. "I told you, it's really no problem. Besides, you don't need a reason to help out a friend."

"Friend… right…" Sunset muttered.

"Feel free to help yourself to anything," Sunset added as she headed to the bathroom.

Sunset inhaled in anticipation as she watched her counterpart reach up and remove her geode. She let out the breath in a disappointed sigh though as she watched her take the necklace into the bathroom with her. A minute or two later, she heard the shower turn on.

Shrugging it off, she took another look around the place, appreciating her counterpart's taste. It might be small, but it was very nice. What she would give to have a place like this, or any place for to call her own. Just what were those skills her counterpart had learned that allowed her to get a place like this?

"Not my business," she mumbled, and sat down on the couch. She glanced at the game controller in her hands, then at the TV, and a smile spread across her face. Unable to resist, she sat down on the couch and began playing. It wasn't too often that she got to play video games, let alone play with someone else.

She didn't play for too long though as the guilt and unease prevented her from truly enjoying herself. Feeling restless, she set the controller aside and began pacing, her mind racing. She tried to push away the nagging thoughts and distract herself by looking around her counterpart's home.

When Sunset finished in the bathroom and rejoined her guest, she found her in her art corner, looking at a few of her paintings. Smiling, she went over to join her. "Like them?"

Sunset nodded. "They're really good. You paint them?"

Sunset gave a humble nod. "I don't mean to brag, but I have a real knack for art. I'm actually thinking about making a career as an artist."

"With your skills, you'll definitely be able to," Sunset replied honestly as she shifted through the different canvases. "You know, your art style kind of reminds me of the secret street artist, Flanksy. You've heard of her, right? She's getting really popular. Were you inspired by her work?"

It was impossible for Sunset to keep the look of pride off her face. "Actually…"

Sunset glanced at her and, noting the proud smile on her face, her mouth dropped open in surprise. "You're kidding! You mean you're Flanksy!?"

Chuckling, Sunset shrugged. "Guilty."

Sunset stared at her in disbelief for a few moments before looking back at the paintings. "No wonder you're so good. I'm pretty skilled myself, but nothing like this." She turned to a different one and frowned slightly. "What happened to this one? Was there an accident?"

Sunset looked at the painting in question. It was a picture of sunflowers, but it was splattered with orange paint. The sight of it made her laugh. "Oh, that was Pinkie Pie. We were taking art class together, and she got a little messy with the paint."

"I'll say," Sunset replied. "Why'd you keep it if it was all messed up?"

Sunset shrugged. "For memories, I suppose. Don't worry though, I'm not a hoarder or anything." She glanced at the TV and saw that the game had been played a bit. "Oh, did you get a chance to try it out? Want to try Two Player Mode?"

She headed over to the couch as Sunset turned her attention from the paintings to her counterpart, noting that she was once again wearing her geode. She put it out of mind for now as she joined her on the couch. "You've really made out well for yourself. Kind of hard to believe since you came from another world."

Sunset gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks. But I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my friends. In fact, I wouldn't even be me; I'd be a power hungry she-demon bent on taking over Equestria with an army of brainwashed high school students. By now, I'd probably have been defeated and locked away in Tartarus for my troubles. That's a magical timeless prison in Equestria where the most evil of villains are locked away forever." At her counterpart's baffled look, she chuckled. "It's a long story."

"Sounds like it," Sunset replied, trying to wrap her head around this. Her eyes drifted down to the geode on her counterpart's neck, then went back up to her face. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you come here from Equestria? And why did you decide to stay? A mystical pony world sounds a lot more exciting than this magic-less world."

A deep sigh escaped Sunset at the question. "That too is a long story."

"I have time."

Sunset stared at her for a few moments before sighing again and leaning back against the couch with her arms crossed. It wasn't an easy story for her to tell, but maybe if she did, and if Sunset was planning something dastardly, then the story would serve as a warning to pursue a different path.

"Back in Equestria, I was a bit of a loner. I didn't really have any friends, nor was I that close to my family. I really got into my studies, and spent a lot of time practicing my magic. I had a natural talent for it, a real prodigy they called me, and my skills eventually caught the eye of Princess Celestia. She's pretty much the ruler of Equestria."

She smiled fondly at the more pleasant memories from before things started to go wrong. "I really looked up to and respected her. She became my teacher and guardian, and I became her student. She taught me many things about magic, and served as a much better parent than either of my real ones, who were rather neglectful of me."

A faraway look appeared in Sunset's eyes as she listened to her counterpart's story. "That sounds really nice." She suddenly realized what she said and shook her head. "I meant about you and Celestia! Not about your parents!"

Sunset gave her a small smile. "I know what you meant. My parents really only saw me and my position as Celestia's student as a way to promote themselves, so there wasn't much love lost between us. But, yes, being with the princess was nice. I really enjoyed my time as her student." The smile slowly slid from her face. "But, unfortunately, those times didn't last, and I'm the one who ruined them."

"How so?"

Sunset sighed sadly. "I respected and admired Princess Celestia more than anyone. I wanted to be just like her, and show that I was worthy of being her student. So I started rushing through my magic lessons, trying to learn as much as I could as fast as I could, even stuff beyond my current level. Princess Celestia tried to warn me. She told me that I was doing too much too soon, and trying to learn magic that I wasn't ready for yet. But I kept going anyway. I wanted to make her proud, and I thought that becoming the best as soon as possible would do that. Ironically, it ended up having the opposite affect."

She let out another sigh and buried her face in her hands as she lamented the mistakes she had made. "Despite my eagerness, Princess Celestia kept insisting that I wasn't ready for the magic I wanted to learn. But I was stubborn and didn't listen. I started to get impatient and frustrated, and I let my ambitions get the best of me. So I tried to learn on my own anyway, and she reprimanded me for it. And rightfully so too, not that I saw it that way at the time."

Lifting her head out of her hands, she clenched them into fists as unpleasant memories swamped her. "Eventually, I began to feel like she was trying to hold me back, and I started to grow bitter towards her. And the angrier I got, the more I began to resent her and her attempts to hold me back. I even began to suspect that she may have thought that she made a mistake and that I wasn't worthy of being her student, which only made me want to prove to her that I was ready and capable of handling the power she insisted was too much for me all the more. I kept telling myself that I was worthy, that I was the only one who was."

She shook her head, disgusted with herself. "Before I knew it, I found myself wanting power not to impress her, but for myself. In a way, I even felt betrayed by her, like she promised me something great and built up my expectations, only to deny it to me when the time came. I grew angrier and greedier until I didn't even recognize myself anymore. I became selfish and arrogant, and began to think I was better than everyone else, becoming so conceited that I started to look down on others, so I didn't even try to socialize or make friends, despite Princess Celestia's encouragement for me to do so. I figured she was just trying to distract me from my studies since she thought I wasn't ready or worthy, I didn't realize it was actually an important part of my lessons. Back then, I thought friendship was pointless and wouldn't help me get anywhere in life, and the loneliness I refused to admit that I felt only made me more bitter and mean."

A groan escaped her as she was plagued with regret for her past actions. "Maybe if I had friends back then like I do now, they could have showed me that there was another way, that there was more to life than power and ambition, and that I didn't need to prove myself to anyone to show my worth. Perhaps things would have turned out differently, and I wouldn't have become the horrible person that I became."

Sunset's heart went out to her counterpart. She had her own hardships that she faced, though they were quite different from Sunset's. She slowly lifted a hand to comfort her, but then pulled it back and instead asked, "What happened after that?"

Her counterpart didn't answer right away, and instead just stared forward, lost in her memories. "When Princess Celestia saw that she couldn't dissuade me from my ambitions, she showed me a magic mirror that could reveal my possible future if I continued down my path. I saw two things in the mirror that day. The first vision showed me as a powerful alicorn princess who ruled with an iron hoof. At the time, it was what I thought I wanted, so it didn't have the impact Celestia wanted, and only encouraged me to keep going."

"And the other vision?" Sunset asked, suspecting that she knew what it was going to be.

Sunset gave her a small smile. "Well, I didn't realize what it was at the time, and it happened so quickly that I thought it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but it was of me, here, in this world. But it was the first image of me as an alicorn princess that I was focused on. And when I discovered that the mirror also served as a portal to another world, I thought that I would find the power I sought to make the first vision I saw come to pass, so I went through the mirror and ended up in this world."

She chuckled humorlessly as she thought about the irony. "As I learned pretty quickly, there was no magic in this world. And I also learned, a little too late, that the portal only stayed open for a few days, after which it stayed closed for thirty moons."

Sunset's eyes widened as she realized what must have happened. "You were trapped here."

Sunset nodded, though she didn't look sad about it. After all, it had been getting trapped here that eventually brought her to where she was now. "I didn't let getting stuck here stop me though. I was still determined to rise to the top. And I did it the only way a teenage girl could. I enrolled in Canterlot High and made becoming the most popular girl in school my goal. I used some pretty underhanded tactics to do it too, like ruining other people's reputations to make them look bad. I even started dating the most popular boy in school just to boost my own popularity."

She winced at the memory of how awful she had been back then, using and discarding people like pawns in a game of chess for her own benefit. "Eventually though, my popularity was threatened by Rarity when her popularity began to rise enough to challenge my own when it came to gathering votes for getting elected as the princess of the Spring Fling. I wasn't willing to just let my position of power be taken away, so I…" she bit her bottom lip, looking very uncomfortable as she tapped her fingers together, "I sort of… sabotaged her friendship with the other girls, and theirs with each other too."

Sunset's mouth dropped open in surprise at her counterpart's confession. "You did what?"

"I know, I know," Sunset grumbled miserably. "I was an awful person, but I was willing to do anything to remain on top. It was all I had, and I thought it was all that mattered. I know that's no excuse, but it was what I believed at the time. And I only got meaner from there, making sure no one threatened my popularity by becoming the school bully so people would be too afraid to challenge me."

"I can't imagine that went over well."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Well, it certainly made me popular, just not in a good way. No one liked me. I was even voted the biggest meanie by the whole school for the yearbook, and that wasn't even a superlative. And, of course, Flash broke up with me since he didn't like the person I had become."

Sunset's eyebrows rose. "Flash? You mean Flash Sentry?"

Sunset cocked her head to the side. "Didn't I mention that?"

"Only that you dated the most popular boy in school." She smirked. "Should have figured it was him."

Sunset chuckled. "Yeah, he's a real great guy. And I had to go and ruin it by being such a jerk." She sighed regretfully. "That was around the time the portal to Equestria reopened. So I went back to try and get my hands on the power I thought I deserved, only to discover that in my absence, Princess Celestia had taken Twilight Sparkle as her new student. She succeeded where I failed, becoming a powerful alicorn princess, and gained a magical crown containing the Element of Harmony for magic."

Sunset gave her a questioning look. "What's an Element of Harmony?"

Sunset looked confused for a moment before she realized, "Oh, right we never told you. You see, there are six Elements of Harmony. They're essentially the Pillars of Friendship. Each of my friends represents one, as do their pony counterparts. Applejack is honesty, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Rarity is generosity, Fluttershy is kindness, Rainbow Dash is loyalty, and Twilight is magic."

Her counterpart raised an eyebrow. "Magic is one of them?"

"Friendship is magic. I learned that first hand after I stole Princess Twilight's crown and brought it back to this world, introducing magic to it. She, of course, came after me, and met this world's version of her friends, and repaired their friendship that I broke. And after I was corrupted by the magic in the crown and turned into a demon, Twilight and the others stopped me by sharing the magic in the crown with each other and turning me back to normal. That's where they got the power to pony-up. It seems the magic stayed with them and continued to manifest in them even after Twilight took the crown back to Equestria."

Sunset was trying to process all this. It was all new information on magic for her. But if the Equestria Girls could gain magic abilities in such a way, then could she as well?

"What about you?" she asked. At Sunset's questioning look, she elaborated. "If the others got their magic from the crown, where did you get yours?"

Sunset nodded in understanding. "Oh, well, I got it the same way too. It seems that some of the magic from the crown remained with me too, even after I was changed back from a demon, and it later awoke in me, uncorrupted, when the others accepted me as one of them when we fought the sirens."

Sunset stared blankly at her counterpart before shaking her head. "Wait, you fought sirens? As in those mythical creatures that enchant people with their voices?"

A laugh escaped Sunset. "I'm sorry, this is just so well-known among us that I keep forgetting that you don't know. You see, about 1,000 years ago in Equestria, there were these evil sirens running wild, using their enchanted voices to control others. A powerful sorcerer known as Star Swirl the Bearded stopped them by opening a portal that sent them through time and space to this world and time period. He'd hoped that sending them to a world without magic would prevent them from causing trouble. It did, up until Equestrian magic was brought to this world."

Sunset was listening intently. "Why, what happened?"

Her counterpart looked thoughtful as she wondered how best to explain it. "Basically, they had been feeding off the negative energy of others to power whatever magic they still had with them in this world so they could cast spells on others to make them their mind slaves and fight amongst each other to stir up even more negative energy for them to absorb. Then they began sucking up the Equestrian magic in my friends to super charge their power so they could spread their enslavement spell to the whole school and beyond. Luckily, the girls and I were able to defeat them with the magic of our friendship."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "You weaponized friendship?"

Another laugh. "Not exactly. We used a form of magic that's powered by friendship that mostly manifests from our music. That was when I pony-upped for the first time, and it's been happening to me ever since."

Sunset considered this. From the sound of it, the Equestria Girls got their magic from Twilight's crown before it became their own. Which made her realize something. "Hold on, I thought you guys didn't meet this world's Twilight until later. So where did she get her magic if not from the crown?"

Sunset crossed her arms in thought, having wondered about this herself. "Hmm, well, if I had to guess, I'd say it came from the magic she got from us. You see, not unlike you, she was examining the unusual readings she was detecting around the school. Those readings turned out to be our magic. To try and find out where it was coming from, she built this device that was meant to locate magic, but it also ended up absorbing it. Unintentionally of course. And when she attempted to release all the magic she had stored up, she was taken over by it. Fortunately, we were able to save her, but it seems the magic stayed with her too, just like it did with the rest of us, and she began to pony-up at times as well."

Excitement began to bubble up inside Sunset, and she tried and failed to keep the eagerness out of her voice as she asked, "So does that mean that anyone can obtain magic once they're exposed to it?"

A sliver of suspicion ran through Sunset at her counterpart's question and how eager she sounded to get an answer. She tried not to look too suspicious though as she shook her head. "No, it doesn't work like that. It seems the magic chooses who gets to keep it."

"The magic chooses? Like it's alive?"

Sunset shook her head. "Not exactly. Maybe semi-sentient, to an extent. Perhaps it stays with those who are compatible or meant for it, but not everyone. There were others who were exposed or overcome by magic, but who were still the same as before once the magic that enchanted the was gone. Not even Spike has any magic; he just retained his ability to speak after he was exposed to it since, I guess, it was an ability he learned and an increase in his intelligence rather than a power the magic gave him."

Her counterpart's shoulders visibly sank in disappointment, despite her attempt to hide it. "So the magic chose the seven of you, but no one else?"

Sunset nodded. "That does seem to be the case." She reached up and fondled with her geode. "That's probably how our geodes came to us. Each seems connected to an Element of Harmony, and they called out to the magic in each of us."

Cocking her head to the side, Sunset stared at the geode curiously. "Then what's yours?"

"Huh?"

She pointed at the necklace. "You said each geode is connected to an Element of Harmony, but you said before that there were only six. So what's yours?"

Sunset glanced down at her geode. That too had been something that she had wondered about. Fortunately, Twilight had given her a pretty good answer after having discussed the matter with Princess Celestia.

"I actually asked Princess Twilight about that, and she and Princess Celestia concluded that this world, with as different as it is from Equestria, may have a seventh Element. Or maybe Equestria might even have an unknown seventh one as well. Whether it does or not, they both agree that my Element is empathy."

Sunset nodded, supposing that that made sense. But along with her agreement came that feeling of jealousy again as she wondered that if her counterpart had chosen to return to Equestria, that maybe she would have been the one to have ended up with the magical geode. She tried to push the feeling aside, but it wouldn't leave her this time.

"Can I ask you something?" she ventured carefully, looking away. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but why did you choose to stay in this world?"

She glanced at her counterpart and was relieved to see that she hadn't taken offense. "Oh, I don't mind you asking. The truth is that after being in this world for so long, I had grown to enjoy and appreciate it. I had already built a new life for myself here, and there really wasn't anything left for me in Equestria. I had friends that had become like family to me, and it felt like I belonged here. I may have started out as a unicorn in another world, but this place became my world. Truthfully, I don't even think of myself as a pony anymore, and I came to view this world as my home."

Sunset looked away. She began staring out the window at the rain coming down with a faraway look in her eyes. "That's really admirable. You took the hand life dealt you and made it your own, creating a whole new life for yourself and finding where you truly belonged. Not everyone can do that."

She continued to stare off into space, lost in thought. Sunset watched her for a few moments, realizing that her mind was a million miles away. She wondered what she was thinking about.

Did confessing her past have an impact on her counterpart? She hoped so. That is, if Sunset did have any plans to cause trouble. There was still no proof other than her gut feeling and the suspicious behavior her counterpart had displayed in the library, but that didn't mean she was innocent either.

Her gaze drifted to Sunset's hand. If there was an opportunity, this was it. She didn't want to do it, fearing that breaking her counterpart's trust by invading her privacy would drive her away, but she had to know if Sunset had been involved with the library incident, for everyone's sake. She would just take a small look, just enough to see if she was involved.

While Sunset was still lost in her own world, Sunset reached out as casually as she could and placed her hand on top of her counterpart's while tapping into her geode's power. She closed her eyes to hide the glow she knew they would have as she was hit with an Empathy Flash.

At least that had been the plan. She felt it start to happen, felt her mind begin to delve into her counterpart's, but then it stopped. She saw a flash of red light, and then it was like the image she had been about to see vanished and she had hit a brick wall. Had her eyes been open, she would have seen the gems on her counterpart's choker flash in response to her attempt to use her power as it was absorbed.

As the magic was sucked away, Sunset was left feeling disorientated. She pulled her hand away and tried to get her bearings as her counterpart came out of her own head and gave her a strange look at the sudden movement, glancing down at the hand that had touched her. "You ok?"

"What?" Sunset muttered. She shook her head, coming back to herself. "Oh, yeah. Just… got a static shock." She shook her hand as if to back up her story. "You didn't feel that? Lucky you."

She grinned hopefully at her counterpart, and Sunset nodded, seemingly accepting what Sunset had said. Relief went through Sunset as she glanced at the hand she had touched Sunset with, wondering why her Empathy Flash hadn't worked. Was it because Sunset was her counterpart, and she wasn't able to read her mind because of it? She didn't know, she had never tested her power on another version of herself before. Maybe her power simply didn't work on her.

So much for finding out if Sunset had been behind the library incident that way, and she couldn't exactly come out and ask. Well, she could, but if Sunset were behind it, she doubted that she would admit it. And if she wasn't, she didn't want to hurt her feelings and scare her off.

Deciding to try a different approach, she hoped that in being honest about her own past would help her counterpart be more open about hers, so she asked, "You know, you know about me, but you haven't really told me much about yourself. Has your life been that different from mine?"

A snort of laughter escaped Sunset. "You mean has it been different from yours as a unicorn in a magic pony world studying under an alicorn princess before you went through a magic mirror to create a new life for yourself in another world. Yeah, it was pretty different."

Sunset couldn't help but smile at her question after having had it spelled out like that. "Yeah, I guess it would have been when you put it that way. What I meant was-"

Sunset sighed. "I know what you meant; I was trying to make a joke. In all honesty though, my life has been pretty boring compared to yours. No magic geodes or evil sirens for me. Honestly, I could actually use a bit more excitement and adventure in my life."

Which brought up another question that Sunset decided to get an answer to. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask. Do I make you feel… uncomfortable?"

There was some notable fidgeting on Sunset's part as she diverted her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Biting her bottom lip, Sunset thought about how best to word what she wanted to ask. "Well, it's not everyday you meet another version of yourself. The girls and I just want to get to know you a bit better, but it seems like you're always… reluctant. I was just wondering if I was the reason. If I am, I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. You don't have to be, I don't mean for you to feel weird around me."

Sunset quickly shook her head. "No, it's not that. Well, ok, I admit that it was kind of weird at first, but I've gotten over it." She sighed loudly. "I don't mean to be such a killjoy. I just… Lets just say that I'm dealing with some personal matters, and that's why I've seemed kind of… distant. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or the others' feelings."

It was a relief to know that she wasn't the cause for her counterpart's reluctance to be friends with them, but now she was wondering what those personal matters were. "Anything I can help you with?"

Her counterpart shook her head. "It's just something I need to work out on my own. Thanks for the offer though."

Sunset nodded. "Well, I'm here if you ever want to talk about it, or anything else."

"I appreciate that."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Sunset's gaze drifted down to the game controller sitting between them and she smiled. "Hey, what do you say we wrack up some points on this bad boy together?"

Sunset glanced at the controller, and, for a moment, there was a look of longing on her face before she frowned. "Thanks, but I should really be looking for a new place to stay."

Sunset just waved this off. "That's not necessary. You can just stay here."

A look of surprise crossed Sunset's face as she looked at her counterpart. "You mean your house?"

Sunset shrugged. "Why not? I don't mind. We're pretty much sisters anyway. In fact, I can even call the others and see if they want to have a slumber party since you missed the last one."

The look of surprise on Sunset's face became one of discomfort. "I don't know if I'm ready for that."

Sunset cocked her head to the side before shrugging. "Ok, then it can just be the two of us. It'll certainly beat going out in the rain to some motel. Come on, it'll be fun."

She watched as her counterpart seemed to weigh her options. Sunset had to admit, staying here would certainly would be better than trying to find a new place to check into, and the walking through the rain to get there. Besides, she didn't have much money on her, and probably wouldn't even be able to afford a room for the night anywhere anyway.

With great reluctance, she sighed. "Well, ok, but just for one night. I don't want to be a freeloader."

Sunset beamed, glad too have finally made progress with her counterpart. "Great! This is going to be awesome! We'll be like sisters hanging out. So," she held up two controllers, "do you want to be Player One or Player Two?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Night had fallen, and both girls were settled in for the night. Sunset had insisted on taking the couch when her counterpart had offered her the bed, stating that she was already doing more than enough by letting her stay for the night.

After her counterpart had gone to sleep, Sunset stayed awake in her bed for a short while with her magic notebook in her lap. There had still been no word from Princess Twilight, but Sunset was glad that she would at least have some good news for her in this latest entry.

Dear Princess Twilight. I'm pleased to tell you that there's been some progress with SunShim. I managed to convince her to spend the night at my place, and we bonded a bit. She still seems hesitant to be friends, but it's a start.

I really don't think she's a bad person. If she was involved with the library incident in any way, I think it may have been an accident and something out of her control. She wouldn't be the first person to get mixed up with Equestrian magic the wrong way. If she was involved at all.

Something strange happened though. I admit that I tried to use my power on her to see if she was involved, but something weird happened. I couldn't see into her mind. It was like I was being blocked by something. I wonder if I'm simply not able to use my power on her because she's another me, and it would be like seeing into my own mind or something. Do you have any thought on this?

Hoping things are well on your end. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.

Satisfied with her entry, she set the notebook down on her nightstand and snuggled under the covers. A few minutes later, she was fast asleep.

It was close to midnight at this point, and Sunset's eyes slowly slid open after having pretended to be asleep. Feeling as if she had waited long enough, she decided to make her move.

Slowly, she approached her counterpart's bed. She watched her for a short while before her gaze moved to the nightstand by her bedside. There, resting beside a notebook, was Sunset's geode, unprotected and ready for the taking. Her counterpart had been careless.

Anticipation and guilt coiled within Sunset's stomach as she reached for the necklace and picked it up. She admired the beautiful design of the geode, and lamented that it hadn't come to her instead. It just wasn't fair. Why did her counterpart get to have magic and not her? From what she could tell, she didn't even need magic to get the things she wanted. She already had it all. She was a musician, an artist, a gamer, a singer, a song writer, and a guitar player in a band. She was smart, she was popular, she had her own house, she had friends, and she had magic. Would she really miss just having one of those blessings taken away?

That didn't stop the guilt from creeping up inside her though. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she needed this, much more than her counterpart did.

She still hesitated though, but not because of the guilt this time. Perhaps, she thought, this wasn't the right time to make her move. If she took her counterpart's geode, it would only cast suspicion on herself. In fact, she had a feeling that she was already under suspicion. Not that she could blame anyone for thinking that way about her; her behavior had been a little sketchy lately.

Her gaze shifted from the geode to the calendar on her counterpart's wall. Two days from now, written in large red letters, were the words TALENT SHOW, circled to make it stand out all the more. Sunset's gaze then went back to her sleeping counterpart as she thought back to her previous plan.

Slowly, she placed the geode back down on the nightstand, then made her way back to the couch. Despite the opportunity that had presented itself, she decided that it would be best to wait rather than risk exposing herself. She just had to keep her resolve for a little bit longer. Eye on the prize, as the saying went. After that, she was sure to gain the Equestria Girls' hatred, but she would gain so much more in return.

Chapter 10: The Talent Show

Chapter 10: The Talent Show

The day had finally come. The Canterlot High talent show was set to take place after school. People were already arriving to get good seats. Rather than taking place in the school, a stage similar to the one used for the Battle of the Bands had been set up outside.

The crowd was growing in number as students and the family and friends of those participating in the show gathered. Amongst them was a certain Apple family, who had managed to get seats close to the front.

"This sure is exciting, ain't it, Big Mac?" Granny Smith asked of her grandson. "Both Applejack and Apple Bloom taking part in the talent show. I can hardly wait. How about you?"

"Eeyup," her grandson said in his standard reply.

"I sure am eager to hear the new song Applejack and her friends came up with," she continued. "I still don't know what Apple Bloom and her friends are doing though; they've been so secretive about it. Did she say anything to you?"

"Nnnope."

"Yeah, I figured. Guess we'll have to wait and see."

Not too far off from the Apple family, Sunset sat in the crowd, feeling very self-conscious. Though she knew it was irrational, she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was watching her, as if they knew what she was planning and were waiting for her to make her move.

She shook off the feeling and focused on the task at hand. She'd already plotted her coarse of action, having familiarized herself with the stage and its layout, including the area around it. When the time was right, she would strike, and her goal would be achieved. She just had to wait for the time to be right.

Soon enough, Principal Celestia made her way up to the stage with a microphone. She tapped it a few times to check the sound before smiling out at the crowd. "Good evening, everyone, and thank you for coming to the Canterlot High talent show. I'm very happy to see so many faces here to show your support for our students and their various talents. We have several unique shows for you today, so please put your hands together for our first act." She glanced at her clipboard. "Presenting the 'great and powerful' Trixie Lulamoon."

The curtain opened to reveal the first act of the evening. Though the acts were meant to be random, the order having been drawn from a hat, Trixie had been quite insistent that she go first in order to set the bar at a level she was certain would be unreachable. Celestia had eventually conceded to letting the wannabe magician and her magic act to go first.

The acts after that had been in random order. After Trixie came Octavia Melody, playing on her cello. Her act was followed up by Micro Chips who had still entered, despite his A.I. being gone, and he had substituted Mr. A.I. with a sock puppet he spoke for to put on his show. After him had been Bulk Biceps and his assistant Derpy Hooves, his performance consisting of him juggling several large and heavy objects, including Derpy herself. Vinyl Scratch was next to perform under her stage name DJ Pon-3, where she showed off her skills on her turntables. This was followed by Maud Pie's stand-up comedy act, which seemed to confuse the audience more than get a laugh out of them; although Pinkie Pie thought that her act would be the one to beat. After her came Sandalwood, reading some poetry he wrote. Next had been Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, having entered as the Canterlot Movie Club to perform a scene from the latest Daring Do movie. After them was Flash Sentry performing a new song on his guitar.

The Equestria Girls were scheduled to go up next. They had all their music equipment ready to play Sunset's new song that they had been practicing. They were raring and ready to perform, and were even dressed in new outfits for the occasion, courtesy of the fashion-loving member of their group. Truthfully, they thought that the outfits were a bit much, but they knew that Rarity had to Rarity.

"You sure I can't go out there?" Spike asked hopefully. "Just think, Spike, the incredible talking dog! I'd totally steal the show."

Twilight gave him a kind yet disapproving look. "Now, Spike, we've talked about this. You know why you can't go out there."

"Besides," said Rainbow Dash, "once we play our new song, we're gonna leave all the other acts so far in the dust that those that didn't go on yet may not even perform."

Sunset cut her eyes at her and smirked. "Confident much?"

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "As if there's any contest. We're awesome, and you wrote a great song. How could we lose?" Her face dropped slightly. "I just hope my parents don't go overboard with their fanning."

Fluttershy, however, was noticeably nervous, still having found something to worry about. "I just hope we practiced enough."

"Aw, don't you worry none," Applejack told her. "We practiced good and plenty. We've got this in the bag."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Ok, everyone get ready; it looks like Flash is finishing up."

Fluttershy eeped. "Oh my… Here we go."

"Vait!" came the heavily accented voice of Photo Finish. A moment later, she popped up, snapping a picture of Fluttershy, causing her to recoil like always, before she moved on to quickly take pictures of the other Equestria Girls. "I moost git a picture uf everyvon in zhe talent show for zhe school vebsite, und you girls are next!"

The flashing light of the camera blinded the Equestria Girls as she took snapshot after snapshot of each of them from different angles. "Yes, darling! Yes, yes! Zhe camera luvs you!"

It may have been a bit of a nuisance to the others, but Photo Finish knew exactly what she was doing, and was a master of making a person look their absolute best on camera.

"Magnific!" she complimented herself proudly. "My vork here is don! I go!"

She almost carelessly tossed her camera over her shoulder, and one of her assistants quickly rushed forward to catch it before it hit the ground as Photo Finish walked off.

Still seeing spots, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the photographer's retreating form. "It's hard to figure her out."

"Hmm, yes, darling," Rarity agreed, "but she does make me look fabulous."

Out on stage, Flash finished playing and gave a small bow as the audience clapped and cheered. Celestia came out on stage, clapping as well as Flash took his leave and the curtains closed. "Thank you, Flash. That was an excellent song. And now for our next act…"

As he excited the stage, Flash gave the Equestria Girls a smile. "Looks like you're up next."

Sunset returned the smile with one of her own. "Not gonna lie, that's gonna be hard to beat, but I think we can do it."

He chuckled. "Looking forward to seeing what you got. Good luck, ladies."

"Please put your hands together," Celestia continued, "for Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and their band, the Rainbooms, with their new song Equestria Girls."

Applause rang out from the crowd, and amongst the loud clapping, two voices rose up to be heard over it all. "YEAH! GO, RAINBOW DASH! GO RAINBOOMS!"

"BEST BAND EVER! WAHOO!"

An embarrassed groan escaped Rainbow Dash at the sound of her parents' cheers as she and the others hurried out on stage, Twilight assisting in moving Pinkie Pie's drum set with her telekinesis. They all got into position as the curtains opened, and the crowd gave them a round of applause.

In the audience, Sunset stiffened as she realized that this was it, the moment she had been waiting for. Her hand came up to touch her choker as she began mentally plotting out her path for the hundredth time that evening. All around her, everyone else's attention was focused on the stage as the Rainbooms began to perform.

"Ooh-ooh, yeah!
Hey, hey, we may seem different as night and day,
but Equestria Girls see things a different way.
Just look a little deeper and you will see,
you know I'm just like you and you're just like me."

As the music flowed over the crowd, Sunset waited eagerly for it to happen. They had said that when they played that their magic would come out, causing them to pony-up. She just had to wait until their magic showed itself, then she would make her move.

"We're Equestria Girls and were here to shout,
that the magic of friendship is what it's all about.
We're Equestria Girls standing side by side,
finding the magic of friendship deep inside.
Equestria Girls! Yeah!"

As the Rainbooms continued to play, it began to happen. The Equestria Girls began to glow with magic and started to pony-up. This time Sunset got to see the transformations actually take place as the magic flowed over them. Pony ears appeared on their heads as their hair extended into ponytails, and wings appeared on the backs of three of them. It was truly a sight to behold, and the crowd cheered loudly, either thinking it was part of the show or actually knowing why it was happening, as Sunset stepped forward for her solo verse, pointing to each of her friends in turn.

"Twilight Sparkle's a princess who shines.
Fluttershy's so sweet and kind.
Applejack has a country flair.
Rarity knows just what to wear.
Everyone wants Rainbow Dash on their side.
No ones more fun than Pinkie Pie."

Realizing that it was time to make her move, Sunset began to slip out of the crowd. No one paid her any attention, mostly only trying to look around her as she slipped past them as the Rainbooms sang the chorus together.

"Generous, honesty,
laughter, kindness, loyalty.
Free to be what we will be.
Living life in harmony."

Finally managing to slip out of the crowd, Sunset began to make her way towards the stage. She stuck to the shadows, using whatever she could for cover while keeping a look out for anyone who might be watching her. She didn't need to worry though, as everyone seemed to be focused on the performance.

"We're Equestria Girls and were here to shout,
that the magic of friendship is what it's all about.
We're Equestria Girls and were here to say,
we're gonna see things a different way
Equestria Girls! Yeah!"

Deciding to play it, safe, Sunset decided to simply make her way around the entire school and sneak up from the stage from behind. She gasped in surprise when she saw the other students participating in the talent show waiting by the side of the stage. As quietly as possible, she tiptoed past them as she heard her counterpart begin her second solo verse.

"Twilight Sparkle sings with friends by her side.
Fluttershy's so sweet and rainbowfied.
No one rocks out like Applejack.
Pinkie Pie on drums has quite the knack.
Rainbow Dash in the band is supafly.
Rarity's a rock star rainbowfied."

She successfully made it behind the stage without being seen. There was no one else back here, so she wouldn't need to worry about being caught. She continued her way to the other side, peaking her head around to make sure the cost was clear, and was relieved to see that it was as the Rainbooms began the last verses of their song.

"Generous, honesty,
laughter, kindness, loyalty.
Free to be what we will be.
Living life in harmony."

Finally she was in position, and just in time too. If she missed her chance, then the opportunity would pass her by. Now she just needed to wait for the perfect chance to strike. The Rainbooms seemed to be at their peak of magical display, and Sunset's hand moved to rest against her choker in preparation as the gems began to glow.

"We're Equestria Girls and were here to shout,
that the magic of friendship is what it's all about.
We're Equestria Girls and were here to say,
we're gonna see things a different way."

This was it, the moment of truth. As soon as the curtains closed, she was going to do it. Whatever reluctance and guilt she felt for what she was about to do was pushed aside as Sunsetsteeled her resolve. She kept reminding herself why she was doing this and what she would gain out of it. The Equestria Girls already had such promising futures ahead of them. Would they really miss having one of those blessings taken away? She needed it so much more. Her eyes narrowed in determination, her grip on her choker tightening to the point where the little gems dug painfully into her palms.

"We're Equestria Girls and were here to shout,
that the magic of friendship is what it's all about.
We're Equestria Girls, standing side by side,
finding the magic of friendship deep inside.
Equestria Girls!"

The audience cheered as the song came to an end. The Equestria Girls took a bow as the curtains began to drift shut. Once they were free from the crowd's gaze, they gave a little celebratory cheer for a job well done and began congratulating each other.

"Way to go, ya'll," Applejack said proudly. "I think we nailed it."

"Of course we did!" Rainbow Dash declared, looking more than a little smug. She gave Fluttershy a playful nudge. "Told ya we practiced enough."

"And good thinking on Twilight's part for giving Sunset those solo versus," said Rarity. "That worked out perfectly."

Sunset smiled appreciatively. "I'm just glad they liked it."

"Liked it?" Rainbow Dash repeated in disbelief. "They loved it. Just listen to that crowd. I knew we had this in the bag."

"Lets do an encore!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, not noticing as their magic auras had begun to manifest around them and slowly drift off stage.

Twilight chuckled. "That's not how these shows work, Pinkie Pie. Come on, we're supposed to be clearing our stuff so the next act can… can…"

She trailed off as an unpleasant sensation began to flow over her. And not just her, but all the Equestria Girls. Their magic auras were now clearly visible, and but was now very notably being drawn away from them. They let out groans of discomfort as they felt what could only be described by as their magic being sucked away.

"What's… happening…?" Rainbow Dash mumbled woozily.

"I don't know," Applejack confessed, her voice sounding strained, "but I suddenly feel as weak as a newborn babe."

Their pony-girl transformations failed them, and they returned to normal. The magic auras surrounding them were completely sucked away, leaving them feeling weak and disorientated, and they dropped to the ground.

From one side of the stage, Snips came riding in on a unicycle while balancing spinning plates on sticks. Snails was sitting on his shoulder and was juggling bowling pins. They struggled to maintain their balance as they gave the Equestria Girls annoyed looks that they were still on the stage.

"Hey, it's our turn," Snips told them.

"Yeah, get off the stage," Snails added.

A woozy groan escaped Sunset. "Yeah, sorry, just give us a minute."

From behind the curtains, Principal Celestia poked her head through. "What's going on back here? I need to announce the next act."

Before anyone could answer, the Equestria Girls' necklaces all began glowing with red light. Then they suddenly unclasped from around their necks, rose up into the air, and flew to the other side of the stage.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Our geodes!"

Rising up out of her hiding spot, Sunset snatched the necklaces out of the air, the gems on her choker glowing brightly. "Sorry, but I'll be taking these."

There were shocked gasps from the others. Snips and Snails suddenly got a very bad case of déjà vu from when they had been turned into demons by Sunset. Losing their balance, they toppled over, landing hard on their rear ends.

"Not this again," Snails pleaded as he crab-waked away from her.

Snips jumped up and grabbed his friend's sleeve, giving it a tug. "Lets get out of here!"

As the two hurried off, Sunset rose unsteadily to her feet. "It looks like I was right. I'd hoped I wasn't."

Celestia looked from Sunset to the Equestria Girls. "What is going on?"

Applejack got to her feet as well. "I think we're about to have a repeat of the Fall Formal… And the Battle of the Bands… And the Friendship Games… And Camp Everfree… Pretty much every major event we've had at the school since Princess Twilight first came here."

"Just let us take care of this," Rainbow Dash told her as she stood up beside her friends.

It seemed that Celestia was beginning to catch on, particularly with the way Sunset was triumphantly holding the seven glowing necklaces while her own choker glowed with power. As principal, she didn't want to leave the Equestria Girls to the obvious danger that was at hand, but knew that there was no choice. She wished she could do something herself, but was fully aware that she was no match for magic.

Instead, she turned her attention back to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have a small emergency…"

A 'small emergency' was probably putting it mildly if Sunset was about to do what the Equestria Girls thought she was going to do. And with the way the gems on her choker were glowing, it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened to their magic from a few moments ago.

"That's no trick of the light," Sunset accused her counterpart. "You used your choker to steal our magic, didn't you?"

Sunset's hand came up to touch the accessory. "It's nothing personal. You knew from the beginning that I came here searching for magic; I even told you as much. It's just unfortunate that the magic I was searching for belonged to you."

Twilight pointed at her. "It was you who was responsible for what happened in the library, wasn't it? Sunset said she saw you acting suspicious before you snuck away. We wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you were behind it all along, weren't you?"

Sunset shook her head. "I actually had nothing to do with that. In fact, you should thank me. I was the one who defeated that monster by sucking the magic out of it."

Applejack glared at her angrily. "Now I get it. This was your plan all along. You intended to steal our magic once you learned about it, so you waited until it was at the peak when we performed here tonight before you made your move. We told you everything you needed to know about magic and played right into your hands."

A look of remorse crossed Sunset's face, but it soon became a look of grim determination. "I didn't want it to be this way, really I didn't, but things don't always go the way we want. I know from personal experience."

Rarity angrily stomped her foot in a somewhat childish manner. "Now see here, SunShim-"

"Don't call me that!" Sunset bellowed suddenly, and her choker sent out a shockwave that pushed the Equestria Girls back. "Don't stick me with a nickname without my permission like I'm second rate! Like I'm just a copy that simply needs to be differentiated from her!" She pointed at her counterpart. "I'm my own person! I have worth! I deserve my own recognition other than simply being 'the other Sunset'. If anything, she's the 'other Sunset'. I was in this world first, she's the outsider here, not me!"

The Equestria Girls actually had their anger shocked out of them by Sunset's outburst. They exchanged looks as they realized that they may have been unintentionally offending Sunsetby making her feel like she was less than what she was or that they thought her counterpart was better than her.

"Sunset," said Twilight, deliberately not using the nickname they had assigned her, "the nickname was just a way to avoid any confusion between the two of you, not to insult you."

"We never meant to make you feel like you were worthless or second rate," Applejack added. "If you didn't want a nickname, then you should have just told us; we could have worked something else out. Maybe Sunset could have gone by a nickname instead."

"And none of us think you're second rate to me," Sunset assured her. "Not even me. All we wanted to do was be your friend. Why didn't you just talk to us if something was bothering you?"

Her question did nothing to dispel Sunset's anger, and she suddenly realized just how much she had been bottling it up. "Because people don't listen! They say they understand, but what they really want is for you to just get over your problems and do things their way."

Fluttershy, surprisingly, managed to find the courage to contradict her. "That's not true. We always listen and help each other out with our problems."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "We kept trying to be friends, but you kept pushing us away. How can we help if you don't let us?"

Sunset continued to glare, but then slowly her posture relaxed and her expression softened. She tried to hold onto her anger, but felt it slipping away as she realized that they were right. She had continued to hold them at arm's length this whole time, despite their efforts to get close to her. That was on her, and she knew why she'd done it too. Which brought them back to the real matter at hand.

"It doesn't matter now," she told them, and held up their geodes, "because now I have these."

She lifted the necklaces, making to put on all seven at once. The Equestria Girls gasped in horror when they realized what she was about to do, remembering what had happened to Gloriosa when she used the power of all seven geodes at once. And Sunset already had the magic she had absorbed from their pony-girl forms, and that alone had been enough to turn Twilight into Midnight Sparkle. If she took on both sources of power at once…

"SunShim, don't, stop!" Sunset cried, forgetting that her counterpart didn't want to be called by the nickname they had given her. "You don't know what you're doing. Equestrian magic can be very dangerous if you don't know how to control it or if you take on too much at once. Don't you remember what I told you what happened to me when I put on Princess Twilight'scrown and couldn't control the magic in it?"

"And me," Twilight added. "I was taken over and corrupted by Equestrian magic as well. It turned me into a monster."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "And they're not the only ones. We've seen it happen to several others."

Sunset just glared at them, but she didn't move to put on the necklaces. "You managed to use them just fine."

"That's because they were meant for us," Sunset told her. "But not even we take them all on at once. If you take on too much magic that you can't control or don't know how to, it'll take you over and corrupt you, turning you into a monster and a shadow of your former self."

Sunset pointed an accusatory finger at her. "That won't happen! I'm not weak!" She touched her choker. "I've been collecting magic, and I even have your musical pony power now too. I can control it."

"Don't do this," Sunset pleaded desperately. "You don't understand what you're getting yourself into. I don't know why you want magic, but I can promise you that this isn't the answer. Remember what I told you about how I used to be? Don't make the same mistakes I did. Whatever's bothering you, we can help. Just trust us."

She held a hand out to her counterpart. Sunset stared at it for a few moments, and for a second it looked as if she might listen to reason. But then her eyes narrowed and she took a step back.

"Sorry, Sunset," she said, her voice hard and resolute. "Sometimes things just happen beyond your control, and there's nothing you can do about it. But not for me, not anymore. From now on, I'm the one in control."

With that, she quickly tied all seven necklaces around her neck at once, and they fell to rest against her choker. The Equestria Girls cried out in protest, but it was too late. A magic aura of rainbow colors engulfed Sunset, and her eyes began to glow with power. Her aura flashed brightly for a few seconds before it suddenly started to get darker as blackness began to mix in with the colors.

"SunShim, no!" Sunset shouted, running towards her.

She didn't even get close before a shockwave threw her back. Sunset's body was glowing brightly, sending out a light that shined straight through the curtains. Celestia reappeared again, pushing aside the curtains once more, revealing the still exiting audience in the seats.

"What is going on back here?" she demanded.

Rarity gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Principal Celestia. We've run into a bit of a problem."

Magic flowed through Sunset, filling her with power that threatened to come spilling out in abundance. A power-crazed grin spread across her face at how she felt as she began to get drunk on power. "Yes, this is it. The power I sought. It's incredible. Now I'll never… I'll… I'll never…"

She trailed off as something began to feel off. The power she felt was suddenly beginning to feel overwhelming. It was too much, and it only continued to grow in intensity, the sensation getting worse, until she felt like she was literally drowning in it. Her mind began to get foggy, and it was getting harder and harder to think straight. She tried to collect her thoughts and remain in control, but she felt as if she was losing herself.

"Wait, what is this?" she cried, grasping her head. "This isn't… This isn't…"

An ear-splitting shriek escaped her, followed by an explosion of magic. It grew in size and intensity, blinding all those present, and the Equestria Girls shielded their eyes from it.

"Oh, great," Rainbow Dash complained. "Now she's turning into a demon. Why does this keep happening to us?"

The stage began to fall apart, and the curtains collapsed. There were screams from what still remained of the audience as something large stomped down on the stage.

The light finally died down, but Sunset was no longer there. Instead, there was a giant demonic beast that resembled a dragon. Its skin was the same yellow color as hers, and it had a long mane similar to that of a horse in the colors of her hair that flowed out far behind her, moving as if being blown by a breeze. Wings made entirely out of fire stretched out wide, and it had a long pony horsetail, also in the colors of her hair.

Hind legs that were bent back like a cricket or a grasshopper ended in clawed feet that scratched at the wooden floor, and equally as long front legs that also served as arms held her body upright, much like a gorilla would hold itself up. At the top of its long serpentine neck was a dragon-like head with the long horn of a unicorn protruding from glowing turquoise eyes that snapped open and began surveying all around, and a monstrous roar escaped it, exposing dagger-like teeth.

The Equestria Girls looked on in horror at the demonic dragon-beast Sunset had become, hardly seeing any trace of the girl it had once been.

"Oh my…" Fluttershy muttered.

"Um, Rainbow Dash," said Applejack uneasily, "I think this one's a little bit different from the others."

Sunset paid them no mind as she began to examine her new form. She lifted her claws and began running them down her body. They grazed over a spot on her neck where the geodes were now embedded into her skin, surrounded by them gems of her choker, all now seemingly a part of her.

A wicked chuckle escaped Sunset as she relished in the power of her new body and the magic she felt flowing through it. "Yes, this is incredible," she cooed in a warped, distorted voice. "I've never felt this powerful before." She let out a roar and fired a beam of magic from her horn into the sky. "With as strong as I am now, I can get everything I want and more."

She turned to the Equestria Girls, her long mouth twisting into a sharp-toothed grin. "And I owe it all to you girls. You basically handed me everything I needed, from the info to the magic itself. Oh, but why stop here? I've been curious to see this Equestria world ever since you mentioned it. And if I can become this strong just from feeding off your magic, then I wonder how powerful I can become in a world full of magic."

Despite Sunset's monstrous form and giant size, the Equestria Girls refused to back down. They had encountered this before, and, fortunately, had been able to talk sense into the person. Hopefully they would be able to do it again before anyone got hurt. If they could reach Sunset's true self within all that corruption, then perhaps they could bring it out like they had before.

"Sunset, you have to listen to us," Twilight begged.

"Oh, so now you address me properly?" the dragon-beast mocked. "What, no nickname anymore? Don't stop using it now just because I'm the one with the power."

Pinkie Pie began waving her arms around. "Make up your mind already! Do you want the nickname, or not!?"

Sunset ignored her as she pleaded with her counterpart. "This is serious, Sunset. You need to wake up. You don't know what you're doing."

"Yeah, this isn't the real you," Rainbow Dash told her.

Sunset's eyes flashed brightly. "And how would you know?"

"Because we've seen it before," Twilight replied. "Several times. We even told you that some of us experienced it firsthand. All that power, you lose yourself in it."

"Equestrian magic corrupts those who can't control it," Sunset explained, bringing up her point from earlier. "They get drunk on the power and forget who they are and turn into monsters. The corruption latches onto your deepest desire and twists it into something ugly that completely takes you over and consumes you. When it happened to me, it took my desire for power and made me want to enslave this world and Equestria. For Twilight, it took her desire to learn about magic and made her want to possess it and use it despite the consequences. Don't you see, the magic warps and controls you, and you don't even realize it because it takes what you want and distorts it."

"It wasn't just them either," said Applejack. "It took over our camp counselor friend, Gloriosa Daisy, and turned her desire to save the camp and make sure everyone have a good time into making her want to trap us all there indefinitely."

"It took our friend Juniper Montage's desire to want fame and recognition and made her want to dispose of everyone she felt stood in her way of that," Rarity added.

Even Fluttershy managed to find her voice in the presence of the dragon-beast Sunset had become. "It even affects those it doesn't turn into demons."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "She's right. It took Wallflower Blush's desire for revenge and made her take it waaaaay too far. Like even hurting other people too far. And it took Vignette Valencia's desire to make everything in her life perfect and replace everything that didn't go her way with a digital fantasy."

Sunset pointed up at her counterpart. "And now it's corrupted you as well. I don't know the reason you wanted to possess magic so badly for is, but I doubt that it was simply for the sake of power."

If they thought that their claims would reach the real Sunset, then they were terribly mistaken. The dragon-beast simply sneered down at them. "You want to know why? It was for control. That's why I wanted the magic. So I could control things. And now I have it. I'm the one in control."

Sunset shook her head. "I don't believe that. I think there's a deeper reason."

"And how would you know!?" she snarled furiously, stomping her front leg on the ground. "You're not really me. And I think there's only enough room in this world for one Sunset Shimmer."

The others quickly moved in front of Sunset protectively. "If you want to hurt Sunset, then you're going to have to go through us!" Rarity declared.

"Darn tootin'!" Applejack agreed fiercely.

"Together forever!" cried Pinkie Pie.

Sunset stared at them for a moment before shrugging as best as she could as a dragon-beast. "Very well then. After all, you're her friends, not mine. You should all be together. So be gone together!"

The tip of her horn began glowing, and she fired a beam of magic. The Equestria girls cried out as it struck and erupted into a mighty blast.

Chapter 11: Double The Friendship

Chapter 11: Double The Friendship

Sunset laughed as the Equestria Girls disappeared in the blast of magic. This was contradicted by the horrified gasps of the audience. She kept laughing as she stared at the smoking area where the Equestria Girls had stood.

"It looks like the 'sun' has 'set' on their little group," she mocked before falling into another fit of laughter.

"That's what you think!" cried a voice that sounded a lot like Rainbow Dash.

Sunset did a double-take, looking back at the cloud of smoke. As it cleared, the Equestria Girls were revealed to be unharmed. In front of them, one of Rarity's diamond barriers was present, having protected them from the magic attack.

Sunset's eyes widened in surprise. "What!? You still have your power? But how? I possess your geodes."

Sunset pointed at her. "You may have our geodes, but their magic is still tied to us. As long as they're in close proximity to us, we can still use our powers."

A frustrated growl escaped Sunset. "It doesn't matter. I'm more powerful than all of you put together."

"We'll see about that," Rainbow Dash declared.

She took off at lightning speed, and began racing around Sunset. The dragon-beast tried to keep track of her, but only saw a streak of rainbow circling around her. She reached out, her claw crashing into the rainbow path, but missing her actual target.

Having avoided Sunset's grab, Rainbow Dash then raced up her arm to the top of her head. Roaring, Sunset slapped at her head, but Rainbow Dash jumped off. She was immediately seized by Twilight's telekinesis, having trusted her bespectacled friend to catch her, and was brought safely to the ground. Sunset sent a blast of magic at her, but Rainbow Dash took off again, avoiding the beam.

Applejack jumped into the empty seats and began throwing chairs at Sunset with her super strength. Sunset blasted them away one after the other with her magic before any even got close, and sneered at the farm girl for her failed attack attempt.

Summoning up more diamonds, Rarity surrounded Sunset with them, much as she had done with the computer monster in the library. They pressed up against her, holding her in place. Sunset roared again and reared up onto her hind legs, kicking the diamonds away as she lashed out wildly. Twilight used the opportunity to use her telekinesis on the fallen stage curtains, and had them wrap around Sunset in a tight cocoon.

It didn't do much good. Sunset's fiery wings burned right through the curtains as she stretched them outward. She began tearing way at the curtains until she was free, then turned her magic to the musical instruments, lifting them into the air.

"Here, I believe these are yours," she hissed, and launched them at the Equestria Girls.

Twilight used her telekinesis to catch the instruments before they were hit and set them down on the ground. Sunset growled and turned her magic to the chairs in the audience, lifting several of them into the air and gathering them into a large pile in the air.

"Try catching this!" she snapped, and sent the pile flying.

Pinkie Pie came to the rescue this time. Pulling a jar of sprinkles out of her hair, she gathered up a handful. It began glowing in her hand, and she threw it at the flying pile of chairs. It exploded against it, sending piles of destroyed chairs flying everywhere, but sparing her and her friends from getting crushed.

Snarling, Sunset spread her wings and took to the air. She began circling overhead before stopping over the Equestria Girls and began firing blasts of magic at them from her horn. Rarity summoned up a diamond barrier each time to block the blasts, but Sunset kept firing.

"A little help please!" Rarity cried as yet another diamond shield was destroyed. "I can't keep this up forever!"

Over by Fluttershy, a small bird she had been communicating with flew off her finger. "Don't worry, help is coming."

Sunset really hoped it got here fast. Her counterpart was completely out of control. She may not be able to see into someone's memories without touching them, but she could still use her powers in another way.

She focused on Sunset as hard as she could, listening not with her ears, but with her mind. A few seconds passed where nothing happened, and then she heard it, Sunset's thoughts, as clearly as if they had been spoken out loud.

'These meddlesome girls! They think they can stop me. No one can stop me. I won't let them take away my magic. I'll never have anything taken away from me ever again!'

Sunset let the connection drop. It was clear that her counterpart had been completely taken over by the corruption. They wouldn't be able to talk her out of this. The only way they would be able to help her would be to overpower her and destroy the corruption.

A particular powerful blast of magic came a little too close, and Rarity was knocked over by the shockwave as the diamond barrier she had created was destroyed. Sunset roared in victory and prepared to fire another blast when a screech drew her attention. She turned just in time to see a flock of birds come flying at her. She roared and lashed out as the flock flew all around her.

"Oh, do be careful!" Fluttershy somewhat shouted up to the birds as Sunset swiped at them. She was concerned for Sunset as well, but in her current form, she was far more durable than the birds.

Twilight reached out, encasing Sunset in a layer of telekinetic power. She tried to bring her down from the air, but the dragon-beast proved to be too big and too powerful for her.

"Rarity, help me!" she cried.

Realizing what Twilight was doing, Rarity got to her feet and created as many diamond barriers as she could above Sunset, then brought them down. Sunset fought against them, but the combined power of the two girls, and when the birds grabbed hold of her hair and began to drag her down, pulled her from the sky.

Sunset roared loudly as she was brought down and crashed into the stage hard enough for it to completely collapse beneath her. A dazed grumble escaped her as she was pinned down by the birds, Twilight's telekinesis, and Rarity's diamonds.

"That won't hold her for long," said Applejack. "Anyone got any ideas on how to stop her?"

Sunset's fists clenched. "I'm going in. I'll try and look into her memories and see if I can find anything to snap her out of this."

Fluttershy glanced at her. "But I thought you said that it didn't work the last time you tried."

She nodded. "It didn't. I thought it may have been because she was another version of me, but now I think it may have been because her choker absorbed my magic when I tried to use it on her. If I try hard enough though, I think I might be able to get through."

Rarity strained as she and Twilight attempted to keep Sunset pinned down. "Whatever you're going to do, please do it fast; she's really fighting."

Without a moment to lose, Sunset rushed forward. Her counterpart saw her coming and swiped at her. Sunset used her dodging skills she had picked up in the fencing club and rolled beneath the striking claw. She lunged for Sunset, slapping her hand against her.

Her eyes began glowing as she received an Empathy Flash. But just like before, she saw a red light, and it was like she hit a wall. This time though, she noticed the telltale signs of her magic being sucked away, but she pushed onward, putting all her focus into seeing into her counterpart's mind.

She broke through. The vision wasn't as clear as it usually was, but she could see the memory. She saw her counterpart waiting as their band performed, ready to strike. She felt the reluctance and guilt Sunset had been feeling at the time, but there was a grim determination that trumped it.

Flash. Another memory. It was of when they spent the night together at her house. She saw Sunset sneak up on her while she was sleeping and make an attempt to steal her geode. Sunset made a mental note to be more careful with it in the future as she watched as her counterpart changed her mind about taking it in order to get all their geodes at once.

Flash. She saw Sunset in the library, watching as she and the others fought the technology monster Micro Chips' laptop had become. She felt her worry for them coupled with the amazement of what Equestrian magic could do before she used her choker to suck the magic out of the monster.

Flash. She saw as Sunset walked in on them as they played in the music room and witnessed their pony-girl transformation. She felt the excitement rise up in her counterpart at how they had not one, but two forms of magic, and she felt the hope rise at the possibility that she could maybe get her hands on it too.

Flash. She saw her meeting them in the mall for the first time, and felt her confusion and awe at meeting her counterpart and learning about the magic she and her friends possessed. It was followed by feelings of surprise, longing, and fear when they said that they wanted to be friends with her.

Flash. She saw Sunset arrive at Canterlot High. She felt her curiosity and hope that she would find what she was looking for. This was soon replaced by complete bewilderment at how the students seemed to know her, but she didn't know them.

Flash. She saw the mysterious choker, and watched as Sunset reached for it, wondering if this was the answer to her problems. If what she had learned about magic was true, then maybe-

The visions faded as Sunset nearly broke free of her confinement, and Sunset's hand slipped off her. Twilight and Rarity doubled their efforts to pin her down, and Sunset collapsed once more, nearly crushing her counterpart. Sunset's expression became all the more determine as she grabbed onto her once more, this time trying a different tactic.

She delved into the deepest parts of her counterpart's mind, seeking out the true Sunset that was lost amongst the corruption. Back at Camp Everfree, when Twilight feared she would become Midnight Sparkle once more, she had been able to reach her this way by bringing not only herself, but their friends into her mind to alleviate her fears and get her to accept her magic. If she could just reach the real Sunset…

There, she found her, lost amongst the darkness. She saw an image of her counterpart, surrounded by a magic aura and bound by tendrils of the darkness that surrounded her. Her eyes were shut, her expression strained as she was overcome by the corruption.

"Sunset!" she called out to her. "Sunset, you have to snap out of it! Don't let the magic control you!"

Slowly, Sunset's eyes opened. She saw her counterpart coming for her, her hand extended, and she recoiled from her. "Stay away!"

"Sunset, please, I'm trying to help you. You've been taken over by the magic. You have to fight against it. This isn't what you want."

Her counterpart just glared at her. "How do you know? You don't know what it's like for me. You don't know what I've been through. You have friends and people who care about you. I have no one. I have nothing. But not anymore. Now I have all the power I need. If you don't have power, then something can just be taken from you, but I won't let that happen."

Sunset shook her head. "You're wrong. This isn't the way." She reached out for her again. "Let me help you, please."

Tears began flowing down Sunset's cheeks, and the magic aura surrounding her began to flare violently.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she shouted, before crying out loudly, and a shockwave flowed outward that sent Sunset flying from her mind.

Back on the outside, a loud roar escaped Sunset, and a flash of magic erupted from her horn. Sunset was thrown back, and her connection to her counterpart was lost as she was sent flying through the air. Twilight gasped and directed her telekinesis at her before she hit the ground.

Unfortunately, this meant relinquishing her hold on Sunset, and the dragon-beast broke free of Rarity's diamonds and sent the birds scattering. With an angry growl, she glared at her counterpart as Twilight set her safely on the ground.

"You just looked into my memories and invaded my mind, didn't you?" she guessed furiously. "So much for not doing that to a friend without their permission."

"You didn't exactly give me a choice," Sunset told her.

Sunset bared her fangs at her. "Well, I hope you found what you were looking for, because you won't be doing it again."

She fired a blast of magic at her that would have hit had Rainbow Dash not raced over and dragged her out of the way in time. They rejoined their friends a short distance away as Sunset towered over them.

"Please tell me you saw something useful," Rainbow Dash begged.

Sunset frowned. She had been hoping to reach the uncorrupted part of Sunset, but she realized it was a lost cause. She did get some other insight on her counterpart though. "Nothing to help us defeat her. But I don't think she's really bad. Just misguided, and in way over her head."

"That goes without saying," Applejack mumbled as she eyed Sunset's dragon-beast form.

"I think we can help her," Sunset continued, "but first we have to put a stop to this."

"I'm open to suggestions," said Rainbow Dash.

They heard a whistle, and looked to see Spike standing off to the side. "Um, hello, magic pony music powers," he said, motioning towards their instruments. "Remember those?"

Pinkie Pie's eyebrows rose. "Oh, right, we have those too."

Sunset was quick to agree. "That magic is a part of us. Even if she took it, it should still manifest in us and come out, just like it did when Twilight took it." In an ironic twist, she was the one who had to glance at her friend and say, "No offense."

"None taken," Twilight replied, and motioned their instruments over with her telekinesis.

Sunset cocked her head to the side. "What are you going to do now? Play me a song?"

"Something like that," Rainbow Dash replied, and stuck a cord that sent out a wave of magic that caused her to pony-up.

The others followed suit, playing notes on their instruments as they let the power of their friendship flow through them, causing them to pony-up as well. Sunset's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of their transformed states.

"You still have this magic too!? How? I took it from you!"

"No," Sunset told her. "What you took was the magic our friendship produced. But the magic itself, it belongs to us. It comes from us, from our friendship. We create it ourselves, and that's not something you can take."

The dragon-beast regarded them for a few moments before breaking out into a grin. "If that's the case, then your magic will only serve to supply me with more power."

To emphasize her point, she caused the gems embedded in her neck to glow.

"I don't think so," Applejack declared. "Come on, ya'll, lets show this overgrown lizard just what we're capable of."

She played a note on her bass, and her magic sprang forth in the shape of numerous apples. They flew at Sunset, blasting against her, and she roared in frustration. Sunset and Rarity did the same on their instruments, sending a shower of suns and diamonds flying at the dragon-beast. Sunset fired a blast of magic that tore through the suns and diamonds, and the Equestria Girls dove out of the way as the beam blasted the stage.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy took to the air and began flying around the dragon-beast's head. Sunset snapped at them, but missed as they flew higher. She spread her wings and joined them high in the sky, firing magic here and there, but missing her targets.

Rainbow Dash used her super speed, zipping all around Sunset. She snarled at the streak of rainbow, but was unable to catch her. While she was distracted, Twilight sang into her microphone, and a shower of stars rained against the dragon-beast. Sunset turned her attention to her and prepared to fire more magic, but the flock of birds returned as Fluttershy directed them back at Sunset, and they began flying around her face.

Sunset's frustrated roar tore across the sky as she batted away the birds. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy regrouped and fired their own magic at her from above. Sunset ignored the birds and returned her attention to them. Instead of firing magic, however, the gems in her neck began to glow, and the three girls cried out as their magic was drained.

"They're in trouble!" Applejack exclaimed. "Rarity, give me a boost!"

Understanding what she wanted, Rarity created a diamond that Applejack jumped onto. With a cry of "Me too!" Pinkie Pie hopped on as well, and the two girls were carried up towards the others.

Taking a handful of sprinkles, Pinkie Pie threw them at Sunset. She roared as they blasted against her, and stopped draining the others' magic, and once she was close enough, Applejack grabbed hold of her tail and used her super strength to yank the dragon-beast out of the sky and throw her down to the ground.

Sunset hit the ground, fortunately landing in an area where there were no people. She recovered quickly though, and took aim with her horn up at those in the sky. She fired, but a shower of yellow and red suns, courtesy of her counterpart, showered against her, and her attack missed.

Hissing furiously, Sunset turned her glowing gaze to the Equestria Girls as they regrouped. "You won't stop me! I finally have all the power that I need!"

"Power isn't what you need," Sunset told her. "They say that power corrupts for a reason, and those that seek it and nothing else are doomed to be controlled by it, because they have nothing to hold them back from becoming monsters. Just look at what it's done to you. You're not even you anymore. You've let it turn you into something you're not."

Sunset's eyes narrowed. "This again? We've already been through it."

"I know you, Sunset Shimmer. You and I are the same, but not for the obvious reason. I've been in a similar position. Please, let us help you."

A roar escaped her, and magic began to gather at the tip of her horn. "You can't even help yourselves. I don't need you. I have the power to do whatever I want. I fear nothing, and nothing can stop me."

"That's what you think," said Applejack. "Come on, gals, let's give her a taste of some friendship magic."

The Equestria Girls exchanged smiles before joining hands. A magic aura surrounded them, and they released a rainbow beam. Sunset roared and fired her own magic beam. It collided with the Equestria Girls', and the two beams pressed against each other in a stalemate, the air crackling with energy at the meeting point.

"Keep it up, everyone!" Rainbow Dash cried. "We can do it!"

The output of magic increased, and it slowly began to push back Sunset's beam. She snarled viciously and began to unleash more power as well. "You fools! You can't beat me! I've already absorbed your friendship music magic in addition to the other magic I've gathered. And now with your geodes, I have all your powers at my disposal and more."

More magic flowed from her horn. It began to push back at the Equestria Girls'. The point of contact got closer and closer to them, and they couldn't push it back, no matter how much of their magic they tried to unleash. It took everything they had just to keep it at bay.

Finally, it erupted into a blast of magic. The Equestria Girls were knocked off their feet and went down, reverting back to their normal forms. The crowd gasped in horror as they saw them fall and lose their pony-girl transformations while Sunset howled with laughter.

"I told you that you were no match for me!" she declared triumphantly. "There is nothing beyond my control now! I control everything!"

As she continued to laugh maniacally, the Equestria Girls groaned as they sat up. The situation was indeed looking grim. They had put all their power into that. If they'd actually had their geodes, then they would have been able to take their pony-girl transformations to the next level, but they were currently embedded in Sunset's neck.

"Wow," said Pinkie Pie as she held her head. "My vision's all spotty."

A despairing sigh escaped Rarity. "I hate to say it, but things aren't looking too good."

Rainbow Dash reluctantly agreed. "We put everything we had into that blast, and she still beat us."

"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

They all looked to Sunset, hoping she had the answer. She in turn looked up at her counterpart, her eyes shining with emotion. Truth be told, she was at a loss. "I don't… I don't know…"

Sunset roared with laughter. "There's nothing you can do. You're beaten. I'm the most powerful being in this world. No one can oppose me."

As if to accept that challenge, a small piece of the broken stage soared through the air and hit her. It bounced harmlessly off her shoulder and fell to the ground, serving only to draw her attention, and the dragon-beast looked down at it in surprise before her eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"Who threw that?" she demanded irritably. "Who dares to challenge me?"

From a short distance away, a strong familiar voice cried out. "That would be me!"

Recognizing the voice, the equestrian Girls whirled around and gasped at the familiar sight. Smiles immediately broke out across their faces as they recognized the person standing on the hill. "Twilight!"

It was indeed the Princess of Friendship, having obtained human form once more upon coming through the portal. She returned their smiles with one of her own, happy to see her friends again. "Long time no see."

The threat of Sunset was briefly forgotten as the Equestria Girls jumped to their feet and raced over to her. A moment later, Twilight found herself enveloped in a group hug.

"We missed you, Twilight!"

"How's our favorite princess?"

"Simply fabulous to see you, darling!"

She chuckled as she nearly had the life squeezed out of her. "It's great to see you too. Sorry it took so long to get back to you, but I only recently got your message. You were right, my friends and I were off solving a friendship problem." Her eyes went to Sunset. "And it looks like you have a pretty big one yourself."

They released her and turned back to the dragon-beast. "You could say that again," Sunset replied. "I wish it was under different circumstances, but we're really glad you're here."

"Yeah," said Pinkie Pie, "it's like a pony-ex-machina moment."

Sunset stomped closer, looking down at the newcomer. She looked identical to Twilight, minus the glasses, and she wore different clothes, and her hair flowed freely rather than being tied back.

"So," she growled, "you're the famous Princess Twilight I've heard so much about." Her tone became mocking. "It's an honor to meet you, your highness."

Twilight glanced at her friends. "Is that her?"

Sunset nodded. "She absorbed our magic and stole our geodes."

"Then she got all glowy and turned into that big, scary monster thing," Pinkie Pie added.

"We tried to stop her," said Applejack, "but she's just too strong for us."

Sunset sneered at them. "I'm too strong for anyone. Even you, princess. I know your alicorn magic doesn't work in this world. Your friends here told me all about it. You're powerless against me."

Twilight slowly began making her way towards the dragon-beast with her friends following close behind. "That's where you're wrong. The only magic we need is the magic of friendship."

Sunset burst into a fit of laughter. "Foolish princess. Your friends already tried that, and I defeated them."

A smirk made it's way up Twilight's face. "Then maybe they need just a few more friends."

She turned back to the hill she had come over, looking very confident. A few moments later, Spike came running up. There were more smiles from the Equestria Girls as they recognized their dragon friend in his canine form for this world. "Spike!"

"And I'm not alone," he declared.

And then, much to the Equestria Girls' astonishment, they watched as mirror images of themselves made their way up the hill to stand beside Spike. The resemblances were uncanny. With the exception of different clothes and slightly different hairstyles, each was an exact copy of the Equestria Girls, and they suddenly knew how Twilight and Sunset felt when meeting their counterparts. The only exception to the minor difference in appearance was Pinkie Pie, who was an exact mirror image down to the last detail of her counterpart, including the clothes and hairstyle.

Unfortunately, they weren't making the most graceful of entrances. The five ponies-turned-humans were stumbling around like toddlers who had just learned to walk, as if they had never stood on two legs before, which, technically, they hadn't. Fluttershy ended up stumbling and fell into Rainbow Dash, which caused a domino affect, causing them all to fall into a pile.

Twilight slapped her forehead at the sight. That hadn't been the dramatic entrance she had been hoping to make. When she had arrived with her friends, she had planned on them standing tall, walking side by side as she presented them. But upon coming through the portal, she had instantly realized that something was wrong with the big commotion she had heard going on in the back of the school, and had run on ahead, trusting Spike to help her friends. So much for that grand entrance.

The impact of the unexpected arrivals, however, was still just as great for the Equestria Girls as they stared at their counterparts with their mouths hanging open. This day was not turning out the way they had been expecting.

"Ya'll seeing what I'm seeing?" Applejack asked, dumbfounded.

"Freaky-deaky!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Twilight rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "Well, they've been wanting to see what this world was like for a while now, and if I was going to come, then there would already be two of me, two of Spike, and two of Sunset, so I figured, why not? I mean, everyone here already knows about Equestria anyway."

"Is Starlight Glimmer coming too?" Sunset asked hopefully, wanting to see Twilight's student again.

Twilight shook her head. "I left her and Discord to watch the castle while we were gone." As Sunset raised an uncertain eyebrow at the mention of the Lord of Chaos, she began to second-guess her decision. "Yeah, in hindsight, probably not my best idea."

The Equestria Girls continued to stare as their counterparts stumbled over to them. They'd known that there were pony versions of themselves in Equestria, and they'd known that anyone who came through to their world would become human, but it was still shocking to see copies of themselves.

"This might about be the darnedest thing I've ever seen," Applejack awed.

"You're telling me," said her counterpart as they looked each other over.

"Are you kidding!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "This! Is! Awesome!"

"I know, right!" the other Rainbow Dash cried. "I can tell you're me, but at the same time, you're not me."

The two Pinkie Pies, being exactly identical, stood directly in front of the other, moving around in unison as if the other were their actual reflection. "Ooh, mirror buddies," they said together.

"Hi, um… I'm Fluttershy," said the pony-turned-human to the actual human Fluttershy in a quiet voice.

"I know… I'm also Fluttershy," her counterpart replied just as quietly.

The two Raritys were busy looking the other over with a critic's eye. "Hmm, your hairstyle is a little different from mine," Rarity noted curiously, "but it still looks absolutely divine!"

"Well, this is quite a different look for me," Rarity replied, sounding proud of herself. "I never could quite imagine what I would look like as a… human, despite how Twilight described it, but now that I've seen it for myself, I can honestly say that I look gorgeous!"

The two Spikes were getting to know each other as well, the one from Equestria having been left behind the last time Twilight had come to visit and met her counterpart.

"Hi, I'm Spike/Spike," they said together. "Yeah, I know. Hey, we said the same thing. Hey, we did it again."

Having met each other the last time Twilight had come, she and her counterpart were less affected by the strangeness of the situation. "Remember how weird it was for us the first time we met?"

The bespectacled girl gave a small laugh. "Well, I was never trapped in a time travel loop like you were, but it was still the strangest thing that ever happened to me. Which is really saying a lot."

As the Equestria Girls marveled over the Mane Six and vice versa, Sunset's attention returned to her own counterpart, who had been seemingly forgotten by this strange twist of fate. "Um, guys…"

Snapping out of her own stupor, Sunset roared loudly, furiously at having been ignored, even if it had been unintentional, despite the fact that she too had been briefly flabbergasted as well by the Mane Six's arrival.

"Are you ignoring me!?" she raged, stomping her foot hard enough to make the ground shake. "Do you think this is some kind of joke!? Don't take me lightly!"

She fired a blast of magic at them. They all dove out of the way as the beam flew just a few inches above them.

"Shee-yoosh," Applejack muttered, "that one's sure got a temper on her."

"So very rude," Rarity complained.

Twilight lifted her head out of the dirt. "Perhaps introductions would be best kept until later."

"There won't be a later," Sunset snarled. "But don't worry, you'll have an eternity to become friends with each other… from the beyond!"

She fired another blast of magic. It was blocked though as Rarity managed to create a diamond barrier large enough to shield them all.

"Oh!" her counterpart exclaimed upon seeing the diamond materialize. "You simply must show me how you do that."

"Now's not the time, Rarity!" Applejack scolded, "If we don't do something fast, then we really will be getting to know each other in spirit."

"But we already know each other," the two Pinkie Pies said in unison. "We're us."

"She stole our magic and is using it against us," Sunset informed the Mane Six. "And she has our geodes, so we can't access our full power."

Twilight just gave her a smile. "You have all the power you need. You've got the magic of friendship. That power is yours and can't be taken away from you. Nor can it be duplicated, even if she did absorb your magic, because it's yours. You've just got to let it out. Show her how strong the magic of friendship really is when used properly."

Rainbow Dash placed an encouraging hand on her counterpart's shoulder. "And we'll be here to help you."

"You know what they say," said Pinkie Pie, "you have to help yourself before you can help others."

Applejack gave her a nervous smile. "I don't think this is the same thing."

The Mane Six each got to their feet before offering their hands to their counterparts and helping them up. With her own counterpart the cause of the problem, Sunset took the offered hands both Twilights gave her before standing up and turning to her friends with a smile.

"They're right," she said confidently. "The magic of our friendship comes from us. And it seems to manifest at its strongest when we play together."

Twilight gave her a smile. "Your music is a symbol of your bond."

Sunset nodded to her before looking aback at her friends. "So lets play."

Hearing this, Sunset roared with laughter. "You think you can defeat me with a song? Go ahead and try. I'll just absorb any magic you produce."

Twilight decided to take her up on that challenge and telekinetically brought their instruments back over to them. "She wants to see the true power of our friendship, then lets show her. What song should we do?"

Rarity looked back at her with a smile. "Isn't it obvious, darling? We'll do your new song. Rainbooms Remix you called it, right?"

Twilight blinked, not expecting that. "What? My song?"

"Well, duh," said Rainbow Dash. "It's a medley of several of our other songs that we wrote."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "I can't think of a better song to express our friendship than one we all had a hand in writing."

It was a logical suggestion, but Twilight still wasn't sure. "But… But… we haven't rehearsed it at all!"

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement. "Maybe not, but we know how it goes. And I don't think it matters how well we play, just that we do it together. The expression of our friendship is what's important."

"Um, I agree," said Fluttershy. "As long as we have fun and show our bond, our magic will come out."

"Just like when we fought the sirens!" Pinkie Pie declared.

Twilight still seemed uncertain and glanced at the Mane Six. She locked eyes with her counterpart, who smiled and gave her a nod.

Taking a deep breath, she put on a determine look. "Ok, lets do it."

Sunset stomped forward. "Yes," she said eagerly, the gems on her neck flashing, "lets."

The Equestria Girls glared up at her as they raised their instruments as if they were weapons. Behind them, each of the Mane Six came up behind their counterpart to offer their support. Sunset eyed them all hungrily as she waited in anticipation for them to begin and to get her hands on some more magic.

"Equestria Girls!
Ooh-oooh, yeah!

We're Equestria Girls and we're here to shout,
that the magic of friendship is what it's all about.

Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
but friendship carries on through the ages."

Their magic revealed itself as they played, and each of the Equestria Girls began to pony-up once again. Sunset's grin widened as she prepared to absorb their power again. She watched as the magic aura danced around the transformed Equestria Girls, but then, to her surprise, it didn't stop there. It expanded outward, covering the whole group, including the Mane Six.

The Mane Six were equally as surprised as they were engulfed by their counterparts' aura. Magic flowed through them, and then they too began to pony-up, developing the same ears, ponytails, and, in three cases, wings as their counterparts. Twilight seemed to be the only one of them that wasn't surprised by their transformations.

"Check the Rainbooms out all rockified.
Their friendship magic amplified.
When they're rockin', see their style shine.
From head to tow, they're lookin' fine.
With pals as close as these girls are,
mic drop, lights up, everyone's a star!"

It wasn't just the Mane Six who were surprised by their transformations. Sunset was pleasantly surprised as well, and she activated her gems to draw out their magic. The gems began glowing as they began to pull the magic towards her.

The Mane Six reached out, placing a hand on each of their counterparts' shoulders. The magic aura surrounding them suddenly shifted, forming a bubble around them all. Sunsetcontinued to try and draw their magic towards her, but, much to her, astonishment, she was unable to.

"What is this!?"

"Generous, honesty,
laughter, kindness, loyalty.
Free to be what we will be.
Living life in harmony. (Harmon-harmon, harmony.)

Things may come and things may go.
Some go fast and some go slow.
Few things last, that's all I know,
but friendship carries ooooon."

With a snarl, Sunset continued to try and absorb their magic, but was once again denied it. A frustrated growl escaped her as she worked her gems in vain.

"Why can't I absorb it anymore!?" she seethed furiously.

"Because this is the magic of our friendship," Twilight told her. "And the magic of friendship can never be taken away, only given to others. What you got before was just a taste of the magic that they were willing to share with everyone, but true friendship is not something that can be taken by force."

"We're Equestria Girls standing side by side,
finding the magic of friendship deep inside.
Equestria Girls!

We've got the music, makes you move it.
Got the song that makes you lose it.

We're Equestria Girls and we're here to say,
we're gonna see things a different way."

An angry roar escaped Sunset as she tried again in vain to absorb their magic. She tapped into the full extent of her gems' power, and a red beam shot out of them and flowed over the bubble. The beam drew at it, and still she gained nothing.

As they continued to play, the magic bubble surrounding the girls steadily began to rise into the air. Inside, the aura dancing around them began swirling about more erratically. Pulse waves began to emit from the bubble and across the school grounds. They flowed over Sunset, hitting her like a physical force, and the red beam coming from the cluster of gems in her neck vanished as she stopped absorbing. A roar escaped her as she was pushed back by the pulse waves, her claws digging into the ground to stop her momentum.

"Listen up now, Rainbooms, rock it out.
Everybody stand up, scream and shout.
Lets hear it for our girls, listen to them sing.
Mesmerize the crowd with their vocal styling.
Who'll be the one that the crowd will cheer?
Watch it all go down, the main even is here."

Growling furiously as the pulse waves continued to flow over her, Sunset glared at the group of pony-girls with her glowing eyes. "If I can't have your magic, then I will destroy it! And all of you along with it!"

She fired a beam from her horn at the girls. Before it struck though, the bubble surrounding them burst and they unleashed all their magic in a beam of rainbow that met with Sunset's in a repeat of earlier. There was a notable difference in the beam coming from the pony-girls though. It was larger, brighter, with rings of Cutie Marks flowing down its length.

Sunset growled and unleashed more magic, putting forth all the power she had in an attempt to end the battle. However, even using all her strength, she was unable to push back the opposing beam. What more, she was steadily losing ground as the pony-girls' beam slowly pushed hers back.

"Generous, honesty,
Laughter, kindness, loyalty.
Free to be what we will be.
Living life in harmony.

We've got the music, makes you move it.
Got the song that makes you lose it."

We shine like rainbows. (Music.)
We shine like rainbows. (Takes us to the top. Rainbow rocks.)
We shine like rainbows. (Equestria Girls.)

"Why isn't it working!?" Sunset raged. "You were no match for me before! I had enough power to defeat your friendship magic and then some!"

"The circumstances are different this time," Twilight told her. "Now you're dealing with the magic of friendship, times two!"

"We'll be Equestria Girls forever.
And now our time has finally arrived.
We're Equestria Girls standing side by side,
finding the magic of friendship deep inside.
Equestria Girls!"

There was an eruption of power from the pony-girls that flowed down the rainbow beam, more than doubling its size, and began pushing back the opposing beam as if it wasn't even there.

Sunset snarled furiously as her magic was overpowered, but her snarl soon became a roar as the beam struck her, and a kaleidoscope of colorful light flowed over her. Cracks formed all over her body, and she crumbled apart, the broken pieces dissolving away as a bright light engulfed the entire school.

Chapter 12: How the Sun Sets

Chapter 12: How the Sun Sets

The light died down, and all traces of the dragon-beast were gone, leaving behind only a cloud of dust it had dissolved into. The Equestria Girls and Mane Six hovered in the air, still glowing with magic at the conclusion of the song. They slowly descended from the sky and settled down a short distance from what was left of the destroyed stage.

Also descending were seven small lights that floated over to the Equestria Girls. The flecks of lights were revealed to be their geodes. The strings seemed to have dissolved away, but the geodes themselves were still whole and intact, undamaged from the ordeal they had undergone.

"I don't believe it," Twilight awed as she and the others held their hands out, and their geodes floated into their open palms. "It actually worked. The song worked."

With her hand still on her counterpart's shoulder, the Princess of Friendship gave it a small squeeze. "It was a great song, but it wasn't the song that did it. It was the friendship you all share. The song was more or less a conduit that allowed your power to manifest. Your magic showed itself when you showed your friendship, and it was stronger than any kind of power SunShim could have obtained through force."

"Where is SunShim?" Sunset asked, worried for her counterpart.

The vapor the dragon-beast's body had dissolved into was beginning to clear. The Equestria Girls and the Mane Six rushed forward as the last of it faded, and Sunset Shimmer, back in human form, lay unconscious on the ground. She didn't appear to be harmed physically, but she was completely out cold.

With the danger seemingly over, the audience began to approach. Granny Smith stared at the scene for a few moments before letting out a laugh and began clapping. "Now that's what I call a show. Wouldn't you say so, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup," her grandson agreed, and began clapping as well.

The applause soon spread, hesitantly at first, but then with more enthusiasm, particularly when the students made an extra effort to make it out like the whole battle really was a show in order to hide the magic behind it from those in attendance who didn't know about it. How convincing it would be was yet to be seen, but it was better than nothing.

Rainbow Dash gave the audience a strange look. "Wait, so they actually think that all that was just part of the show?"

Rarity just held a finger up to her lips. "Shh, shh, darling. Just let them think that."

Principal Celestia slowly made her way over to what was left of the stage, looking a little uncertain. "Um, yes, thank you, everyone. And now, if everyone would please make their way to the gymnasium, we will continue with the talent show… Somehow."

She glanced at the Equestria Girls and was given a thumbs-up by Sunset. She nodded and went to take care of things with the talent show, trusting them to deal with things here since magical incidents seemed to be their jurisdiction.

Applejack stared at the principal as she walked off, and slowly pointed at her. "Hold on, ya'll. Was that supposed to be…?"

"This world's version of Princess Celestia, yes," Twilight confirmed. "The Luna of this world is probably around here somewhere too."

A whimper came from behind them and they turned around to see that Sunset was awake. She was sitting in a fetal position, hugging herself as she wept, and the Equestria Girls and Mane Six hesitantly approached her.

"SunShim, are you ok?" Fluttershy dared to ask.

Lifting her tear-streaked face, Sunset sniffled. "What was that? That wasn't what I wanted."

Rainbow Dash practically rolled her eyes. "That's what we were trying to tell you, but you didn't listen."

"Magic can be very dangerous in the wrong hands if not handled properly," Twilight told her. "You're not the first person to be corrupt by it."

"And with our luck, probably won't be the last," Applejack added in resignation.

Sniffling, Sunset rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt anyone. Honest. I just wanted to get the magic."

"We told you, when corrupted by magic, it can twist your desires and make you do horrible things," Sunset replied. "Not even I intended to take things as far as I did when I became a demon."

"Why were you so desperate to get magic anyway?" Rarity asked.

Sunset was silent for a few moments. She looked reluctant to talk at first, but then seemed to decide that she owed them an explanation after everything she had done.

"I wasn't always the way I am now. A long time ago, I was a more cheerful and happy person. Not the scared, friendless, loner that I am now. I had friends, and was much nicer and more open."

"Sounds like this might be a friendship problem," Applejack whispered to Twilight, who nodded in agreement.

Sunset was thinking the same thing, having already theorized this herself. "What happened?"

Her counterpart didn't answer right away, and instead curled in on herself some more. "When I was still a little girl, my parents and I suddenly moved to the city due to my father getting a job transfer. I didn't know anyone there, and was basically going to have to completely start over." She raised her head and looked up at Sunset. "Things didn't quite work out for me the way they worked out for you."

A frown crossed Sunset's face as she shared a look with the others. It was apparent that they were all thinking the same thing; that they were about to hear something very bad.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

Sadness filled Sunset's eyes as they lowered to the ground again. "Now even a week since moving, there was a horrible fire. Something about a gas leak I think, I don't really remember. It all happened so fast. First I smelled the smoke. The next thing I knew…" She trailed off and clenched her eyes shut. "I managed to get out of the house safely, but my parents… they…"

She couldn't bring herself to say it, but then, she didn't need to. There were shocked gasps from the Equestria Girls and Mane Six as they realized what must have happened, and both Pinkie Pies' hair deflated. The two Applejacks in particular shared a look of understanding with each other, both having lost their parents as well.

"I never forgot how I felt that day," Sunset continued tearfully. "So weak, so helpless, completely powerless to do anything. All I could do was watch as the house burned to the ground."

"SunShim," Twilight said quietly. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."

She didn't respond to the bespectacled girl's sympathy, but she did open her eyes again, though she refused to look at them. "Social services took me away after that. I had no other family, no friends, no one to take me in. So I was placed in foster care, with people I didn't even know."

"I reckon that must have been really hard for you," said Applejack. "When I lost my folks, I at least had my friends, brother, sister, and Granny Smith to help me get by."

"Yeah, same here," her counterpart acknowledged.

Sunset shook her head. "Well, not me. I was all alone. No friends, no family, nothing. Oh, sure, the foster family they put me with were nice, and they did their best to try and make me feel welcome, but after what happened, I just couldn't bring myself to connect with them, or anyone else for that matter."

She shut her eyes and gripped her head, as if reliving a horrible memory, which, in a sense, she was. "Any time I started to feel attached to someone, I would get scared, because I would remember what it felt like to lose my parents, and how helpless I was to prevent it. I was afraid that if I got close to anyone else that I might lose them too, and that I would once again be powerless to do anything about it. So any time I started to get close to anyone, I would pull back."

An understanding settled over the Equestria Girls as a great deal of Sunset's behavior suddenly made sense. This would explain why she seemed to get anxious whenever they tried to be friends with her, and why she constantly kept them at arm's length. It sounded as if a lot of her antisocial behavior stemmed from this past trauma.

"My relationship to my parents was a lot closer than it was with yours," she told her counterpart sadly. "And I was still just a little girl when I lost them, and I had to deal with that pain all on my own. Oh sure, the foster family I was staying with was understanding, at first anyway, but I just continued to show a disconnect. They kept trying to get closer to me, but I was afraid of making a connection with anyone again, so I kept pushing them away. Eventually, it was decided that I might do better somewhere else, so I was placed in a different home, but it was the same thing."

She sighed. "After that, I was moved from home to home over the years with the same results. It was almost like they wanted me to just get over what happened and move on, like they expected me to just forget what happened. As if anyone can just get over that. And so I was just passed from one family to another, like I didn't have any real meaning, like I was just some extra secondhand object, and not a real person with my own thoughts and feelings."

Her tears were clearing up, and there was bitterness in her voice now as the Equestria Girls recalled what she had said about how people didn't listen. The way it sounded, from Sunset'sperspective at least, no one had attempted to understand her or how she was feeling. Or, more likely, they weren't able to since they were strangers, and it seemed as if Sunset had closed herself off in order to avoid connecting with others out of fear of losing anyone else she cared about.

"That sounds like a very lonely life," Twilight told her sadly. "You had no one you could go to that could help you."

"And since you had just moved, you didn't have any friends either," Sunset noted.

Letting out another sigh, Sunset hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them. "I did want to make friends. Deep down I wanted to be with other people. But I was afraid, afraid that I would lose them, just like I lost my parents. It was like that for years, one foster home after another, not connecting with the families, not making friends, getting sent somewhere else because I wasn't connecting, rinse and repeat."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed, and a determine look crossed her face. "Then one day I decided that I would get stronger. I would find a way to no longer be powerless, so that nothing I cared about could ever be taken away from me again. Then I wouldn't need to be afraid anymore, and I could finally have friends and not worry that I might lose them again someday. Like with what happened in the library with that computer monster. You girls could have been killed, and I would, once again, have been powerless to do anything. That time though, I was able to do something, and it only strengthened my resolve to obtain more power so I wouldn't lose anyone else I cared for."

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and nodded in understanding. "Now I get it. That's why you wanted our magic."

"It all makes sense now," said Pinkie Pie, who then began talking very rapidly. "You were afraid of making friends even though you wanted them because of what happened with your parents, and you didn't want anything else bad to happen that would make you lose them, so you avoided others until you eventually decided to get stronger in order to prevent that from ever happening again."

Without missing a beat, her counterpart took over, speaking just as quickly. "And when you found out about the magic here, you thought you could get stronger if you got your hands on it, so you came here looking for it, met us, learned about Equestrian magic, our geodes, and our ability to pony-up, so you decided that you needed the magic more than us since we already have friends and had a lot going for us while you had nothing, so you tried to take it for yourself so you wouldn't be afraid to have friends and make connections again, only you ended up turning into a big scary monster when you were overwhelmed and corrupted by the magic you got."

Sunset blinked up at her, still not used to the hyperactive girl's antics. "Um… yes, that's pretty much the simplified version of it."

"But that's silly," Pinkie Pie continued. "You don't need magic to have friends."

"Yeah," her counterpart agreed. "Making friends just takes three easy steps."

"Meet someone new."

"Introduce yourself."

"Sing a random song out of nowhere."

"And, boom!" they finished together. "Become instant best friends!"

Both Pinkie Pies squeed, looking quite proud of themselves for their explanation, even as the others gave them strange looks. Sunset in particular was raising an eyebrow at them before letting out a resigned sigh. "It may be that easy for you, but not for me. I was afraid to make friends just to lose them. That's why I thought I needed your magic. Even though I knew what I was doing was wrong, I made excuses to try and justify my actions. I really am sorry for what I did, especially after everything you've done for me. I really felt guilty about it, but I was so tired of being afraid to connect with others and being alone all the time."

Her hand came up to touch her choker. "Then I met those girls who showed me magic and said I could obtain some of my own if I came here."

"Wait, hold up," Applejack interrupted. "What girls?"

Sunset gave a small shrug. "The ones who gave me this choker. I never saw them before that day, and they didn't give me their names, but they introduced themselves as the Dazzlings."

"The Dazzlings!?" everyone else exclaimed, startling Sunset with their outbursts.

She gave them a strange look. "Um, yes. I guess you know them."

"Understatement of the century," Rainbow Dash grumbled.

"What a twist!" Pinkie Pie declared.

Applejack, glanced at the Equestria Girls. "The Dazzlings. They were them there sirens that ya'll defeated, weren't they?"

"The sirens?" Sunset repeated questioningly. Then her eyes widened in remembrance. "The sirens!" She looked at her counterpart. "You mean the ones you told me about?"

Sunset nodded. "Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. Yeah, they're the sirens I mentioned."

Pinkie Pie began wiggling her fingers around in a creepy fashion. "They used these freaky magic pendants to make everyone in the school be super mean and want to fight with each other so they could absorb negative emotions and our magic in order to cast a spell on everyone that would make everybody love and adore them."

"Speaking of which," said Twilight, her eyes going to Sunset's choker. "Can I see your choker?"

It wasn't a request, despite it being phrased as a question, and she held her hand out for it. Sunset hesitated for a moment before reaching up to remove her choker and placed it in the Princess of Friendship's hand.

Twilight held up the choker and examined it closely. She gasped in surprise as her eyes widened in realization. "I recognize these gem stones. Sunset, take a look."

The red and yellow haired girl looked at the choker and almost immediately realized what Twilight had. "I don't believe it. How'd I not see it before?" It was a rhetorical question, as her counterpart had never allowed anyone to get a good look at her choker before. "These gems look like some the shattered remains of the Dazzlings' pendants."

Twilight nodded. "That's what they are. The pieces are small, but you can see that these gems aren't cut or shaped, but are the broken pieces of something bigger." She took another look at them. "Hmm, it looks like they used the pieces that still had some magic in them and made them into a choker. It seems like they were altered a bit in order to make absorbing magic easier, probably so they wouldn't need to rely so much on negative energy. That's… actually some pretty impressive tampering."

Fluttershy glanced at Sunset. "But then why give them to SunShim?"

"From what you told me about them," said Twilight, "my guess is that they were using her for revenge."

"Of course," said Pinkie Pie. "They knew that they couldn't beat us since we already defeated them before, which is why they didn't try again."

"And instead," continued the other Pinkie Pie, "they decided to use the Sunset Shimmer of this world by giving her some of their broken pendants pieces made into a choker and sending her here to steal the other us's magic. It's so obvious."

As the two Pinkie Pies high-fived each other for a job well done, the others simply stared at them.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty accurate," said Rainbow Dash.

"And to think," Rarity muttered in disappointment, "that they used such perfectly good gems for something so evil."

"Agreed, darling," Rarity replied. "It's so wasteful."

"Especially when they look so tasty," Spike commented.

His counterpart frowned. "You eat gems? Eww. I'll stick to dog treats, thanks."

"I don't think you'll be able to eat these the same way anyway, Spike," Twilight told him. She looked back at the choker, then at Sunset. "I'm sorry, Sunset, but I'm afraid I can't let you keep this; it's too dangerous."

Sunset looked at the choker for a few moments before looking at Twilight, and her eyes narrowed. "Take it. If it was given to me as some way to get revenge or hurt people, then I want nothing to do with it. Throw it away for all I care."

Twilight nodded in appreciation. "Don't worry, we'll dispose of it properly."

Pinkie Pie stepped over to her. "Allow us."

She held out her hand for the choker. Twilight shrugged and placed it in her hand, and the pink-haired girl grinned. "Thank you. Now then, Sci-Twi."

It took a few seconds before Twilight realized that she was talking to her. "Oh, right. That's what you're calling me when the other me is here. Ok, here we go."

She levitated the choker into the air above them. Pinkie Pie then reached into her hair and pulled out a jar of sprinkles, much to her counterpart's delight.

"Ooh, I want to try that," she said, and reached into her own hair to pull out, to her delight, a cupcake, which she promptly stuffed into her mouth, much to everyone else's bewilderment.

"Wait," said Applejack, "where did you…?"

"It's called hammer space."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Pinkie Pie, you're so random."

"Oh, yours too, huh?" her counterpart remarked.

Pinkie Pie cleared her throat. "Rarity, if you please."

"Of course, darling."

The purple-haired girl surrounded the choker with a cage of diamonds, leaving an opening at the top. Pinkie Pie then poured the entire jar of sprinkles into her hand, and the pile began glowing. Jumping up, she threw the pile of glowing sprinkles into the diamond cage, and Rarity quickly created another diamond to cover the top.

There was an explosion that was contained within the diamond cage. And as the smoke cleared, Rarity let the diamonds fade away. The choker had been completely destroyed, leaving only some red and black dust behind that blew away in the wind.

"There," said Pinkie Pie, clapping her hands together as if she had just finished an unpleasant task. "Done and done."

Applejack shrugged. "Well, I reckon that's one way to take care of things."

"Those lousy sirens won't be able to harm anyone ever again," said Rainbow Dash. She punched her palm. "And if I ever get my hands on them…"

A miserable groan escaped Sunset. "This is all my fault. I can't believe I let them fool me like that."

Rarity waved this off. "Oh, please. You wouldn't be the first one, darling. Those three are skilled manipulators, with or without magic."

Sunset just shook her head. "I still shouldn't have done what I did. You all even tried to warn me, but I didn't listen."

Twilight couldn't hide the smile that crept up her face. "You're also not the first one to do that either. Even I'm guilty of misusing and abusing magic."

Sunset raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "You?"

Now looking somewhat embarrassed and slightly ashamed, the Princess of Friendship nodded. "Yes, me. For example, I once used magic to actually cause a friendship problem just so I could solve it. Not one of my best moments."

"Just one of many instances," Spike muttered, earning him a glare from her.

"Yeah… among other things…" she reluctantly admitted. She shook her head. "Look. The point is, we all make mistakes. What's important is that you realized that what you did was wrong and you make an effort to change for the better."

Sunset stared at her for several long moments. It looked like she wanted to say something, but then she hung her head in shame instead. Twilight frowned and glanced at Sunset, hoping that perhaps she would have a better idea of how to handle things since Sunset was her counterpart.

Sighing, Sunset knelt down by her counterpart's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, getting her to look up at her. "Look, we understand why you did what you did, and we forgive you for it. It must have been hard to go through what you did, and I can understand why you were scared. But, SunShim, sorry, I mean Sunset, you don't need to be afraid to connect with others. Yes, there's a chance that you can lose people close to you, and it will hurt when you do, but you shouldn't give up all the potential good times just to avoid the bad. You don't even know if anything bad will happen in the first place."

She gave her counterpart a warm smile. "But even if something bad does happen, I can tell you from personal experience that the good times far outstrip the bad, which are few and far between, and more than make the bad times worthwhile."

She glanced at the Princess of Friendship, seeking her approval, and Twilight smiled at her proudly. "Spoken like a true friendship professional."

"She's right," Rainbow Dash told her. "Even with the bad times, you'll find life a lot more fulfilling when you have others you care about in it."

"You may not be able to always avoid the painful times," said Fluttershy, "but the good ones will make up for it."

"And even when you have the most horrible of experiences," Rarity added, "they never last."

"Sometimes you will lose those you care about," Applejack lamented, speaking from personal experience as she thought about her own parents, "but you'll have the good memories you made with them to help you get through the hard times. And you'll have your friends to stand by your side to help make things better too."

"Besties five-ever!" both Pinkie Pies shouted. "That's longer than forever."

A light chuckle escaped Sunset as she looked back at her counterpart. "So you see, you don't need to be afraid to get close to others. If you want friendship, it's out there, you just have to have the courage to go looking for it, and accept it when it's offered to you."

The two Sunsets stared at each other, one with a look of kindness and understanding, the other with uncertainty and hesitation. The uncertainty slowly became a look of hope before it dropped off into sadness once more, and she looked down.

"It's been so long since I've had friends," she admitted miserably. "I don't even know if I remember how to genuinely be friends with anyone anymore."

Rather than looking discouraged, Sunset's smile just widened. "Well then, lucky for you, I happen to know someone who knows everything there is to know about friendship. And while she's here, who better to teach you about being friends than the Princess of Friendship herself."

She stood up and moved aside, making way for Twilight. The Princess of Friendship just smiled before stepping forward and offering her hand to Sunset. She stared at the offered hand for several long moments before slowly reaching out and taking it.

Twilight helped her to her feet, and then surprised her by pulling her into a hug. She was surprised even further when she was enveloped in a group hug by both the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six. The surprise and mild discomfort remained on her face for a few moments before she visibly relaxed and a small smile crept up her face and more tears appeared in her eyes, this time for a completely different reason.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

A good forty yards away, hiding behind some bushes, three pairs of eyes watched the display, the pair in the center burning furiously as their owner began to grind their teeth together.

"Ah! I don't believe it!" Adagio Dazzle seethed as she popped up from behind the bushes. "We were so close at getting our revenge on those Rainboobs!"

Beside her, Sonata Dusk popped out of the bushes as well. "It's Rainbooms, not Rainboobs."

Coming up on Adagio's other side, Aria Blaze mumbled in a bored tone, "I told you it wouldn't work. It was stupid to try and use Miss Bacon Hair like that. Now the last bits of magic our pendants had is gone. So much for any hope of getting revenge now."

"We were also hoping she would gather enough magic for us to maybe be able to fix our pendants," Sonata reminded her. "That's why we used the other Sunset, because the Rainbooms wouldn't trust us enough to get close to them to absorb their magic."

A sigh escaped the moody girl. "Yes, I remember, Sonata. And like I said back then, it was a dumb idea." She held up what was left of her pendant, observing the crude way it was glued back together, including the missing fragments that had been used to make the choker. "All these things are good for now are fancy night lights."

"Oh, shut up, Aria!" Adagio snapped, jabbing her finger into her chest. "I didn't hear either of you coming up with any ideas. You two are the most useless sisters in history."

Aria slapped her hand away. "I did have ideas. You just never wanted to listen to them."

"That's because I'm the leader."

"Well, you led us down a road to nowhere. Look at us, we're but a shadow of our former selves. We never should have challenged the Rainbooms. Not only did they break our spell over the school and shatter our pendants, but they destroyed our siren forms. I didn't even know that was possible! So even if we do get back to Equestria, we won't be the same as before. Worse, we might become ponies instead of sirens, and magic-less earth ponies at that, or some other creature without magic. It'd be better to just remain in this world."

She motioned towards the destroyed stage. "And with the last of our magic gone, we're now completely powerless, and any chance of getting back at those girls is gone as well. In fact, I think they even used a line from our song Under Our Spell in that last one they played, and we can't even do anything about it." She glared at her sister. "And need I remind you that this revenge scheme was your idea too. Using the few fragments of our pendants that still contained any remnants of magic to make a choker, what a stupid idea."

Adagio was once again grinding her teeth as she seethed in anger, getting right up in her face. "Aria, I swear, if you don't put a lid on it, I'm going to-"

"Stop it!" Sonata shouted, pushing them apart. "Stop fighting! We're all we have. Can't we just have a fresh start? No revenge, no magic, just forget all this stuff with Equestria and the Rainbooms. Lets just enjoy our lives here however we can. Maybe we can find the magic in the simple things in life." Her face suddenly lit up. "Ooh, I kind of like the sound of that; I think it would make an interesting song title. Maybe if we practice, we can try having a singing career without our enchanted voices. Or we can try that auto-tunes thing."

Aria crossed her arms. "I don't see how we have much of a choice since the last tidbits of our magic is now gone. Courtesy of our wise and mighty leader."

Adagio got right up in her face again. "Things may not have gone the way I planned, but we'd be a lot worse off now if you were in charge."

Seemingly tired of arguing, Aria just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Then what do you propose we do now, oh great leader?"

"Can we go get something to eat?" Sonata asked hopefully. "I'm starving. How about tacos?"

Aria cut her eyes at her. "Are you trying to start a meme or something?"

"What?" Sonata asked with legitimate innocence. "I love tacos."

An annoyed growl escaped the head Dazzling as she turned her attention back to the scene before them, watching as the Equestria Girls and Mane Six hugged it out with Sunset. "Unfortunately, Aria, you're right about one thing. We've lost all hope in getting any form of revenge against those girls, or of repairing our pendants."

"That's two things," Sonata innocently pointed out.

Adagio's eye twitched in irritation. "It doesn't matter! The plan is still a bust. For now, lets just get out of here before anyone sees us and we get in trouble."

There was the sudden clearing of a throat from behind them, followed by a disapproving voice that said, "A little late for that."

The Dazzlings froze, and expressions similar to that of a deer caught in the headlights crossed their faces. Slowly, they turned around to find Vice Principal Luna standing behind them with her arms crossed and a deep scowl on her face.

"Uh oh," Sonata muttered nervously. "We're busted."

"That you are," Luna scolded. "I've heard more than enough, and I think Principal Celestia would be very interested in what you tried to do here."

Aria put on a very forced grin and nudged Adagio. "What now, all knowing leader who has all the answers?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Adagio ignored her as she stared uneasily up at Luna. "We… We can explain."

Uncrossing her arms, Luna placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, I'm sure you can. Just like I'm sure you can explain your involvement in what happened back at the Battle of the Bands."

"I… We… That is… I mean…"

"Speaking of which, you girls haven't been to school since then. That's quite a long unexcused absence. But I'm sure you'll be able to explain that as well."

"But… But… But…"

"But nothing. Officially, the three of you are still students of Canterlot High, and it's time you faced some appropriate disciplinary action for your behavior." She pointed to the school. "I want to see you girls in my office right now. Principal Celestia and I will need to discuss a punishment suitable for your actions."

The Dazzlings gulped.

Chapter 13: Starbursts

Chapter 13: Starbursts

Twilight really didn't want this visit to be yet another all business and no pleasure trip where she came, helped take care of the problem, and then had to run back to Equestria. She wanted to stay a while and spend some time with her human friends. Not to mention both versions of her friends wanted to get to know their counterparts.

Fortunately, since she hadn't known how long she was going to need to be in the human world, she had been able to clear her schedule for a week back in Equestria. And since they had been able to deal with the problem with Sunset so quickly, it left her with a few days of free time that she and the Mane Six decided to spend in the human world.

It took a little work to get her Ponyville friends into the swing of things, but soon they were able to pass themselves off as normal humans; one the most difficult things they faced being their speech, where they had to learn to use phrases like "someone" and "everybody" instead of "somepony" and "everypony".

Of course, with there now being seven of the same people around, eight if they included Spike, there was some confusion with keeping track of who was who. To avoid this, the Mane Six agreed that they should do what had been done for Sunset, and each was assigned a nickname, with the exception of Twilight, since her counterpart had already been given the nickname Sci-Twi by Pinkie Pie. And so, for the rest of the Mane Six, when in the presence of their human counterparts, Applejack had simply become AJ, Pinkie Pie had used her full name Pinkamena, Rarity became Rare, Fluttershy became Flutters, and Rainbow Dash reluctantly let herself be called by her Wonderbolt nickname of Rainbow Crash. Even Spike agreed that he could be called Spikey-Wikey, but only after Rarity suggested it. Sunset had also decided that she didn't really mind being called SunShim too much.

It went without saying that each of the counterparts got along very well with each other, finding a great deal in common with one another, for very obvious reasons. The two Raritys greatly enjoyed exchanging fashion tips from both their respective worlds, bouncing various ideas off each other. Rarity did have a bit of a scare when she met the human world versions of the Diamond Dogs, until her counterpart had assured her that she pretty much had them wrapped around her finger. Eventually though, a conversation about Principal Celestia's nephew came up, where Rarity utterly destroyed the vision her counterpart had built up of Blue Blood in her mind.

As to be expected, Rarity was also quite eager to find out how her human body would look in various clothing styles, something her counterpart was very eager to assist her with, all but dragging her off to dress her up in various clothes she had designed.

"I must say, darling," she told her pony-copy, "seeing myself in a mirror, photograph, or video is all well and good, but to actually be able to see my designs on myself in person is something else entirely."

Rarity just smiled as she admired the dress she was wearing in the mirror. "And I must say that seeing all these clothes and how they were made for the human figure has inspired me in so many ways. Of course, I'll have to make some adjustments so their suitable for ponies, but it still opens a window of possibilities, including some ideas for the bipedal creatures of Equestria."

As anyone could have predicted, both Rainbow Dashs became very competitive with each other, but in a good and friendly way. Rainbow Dash wanted to test her new body and see what she was capable of doing in human form. And while she did miss flying, she quite enjoyed the advantages of having arms and hands. She was, however, nowhere near as used to the human form as Rainbow Dash, and pretty much lost to her counterpart every time, much to her annoyance, but that still didn't stop her from trying.

It wasn't just athletics that they bonded over though. As both had a love for Daring Do, they proceeded to fan over their favorite adventurer/author. Rainbow Dash became insanely jealous when her counterpart revealed that she and the other Equestria Girls had gotten to appear as extras in one of the movies. That is, until she revealed that she had actually met the real Daring Do in her world, and told her of how the author and the famous adventurer she wrote about in her books were one and the same. After that, Rainbow Dash became obsessed over the possibility that her world's A.K. Yearling was Daring Do as well, and that the book series might also be based on actual adventures, despite her friends claiming that that was highly unlikely due to the lack of magic in the world until it had been introduced into it by Twilight's crown.

Applejack was very interested in seeing what the human version of an apple farm was like. Applejack showed her the ropes, and they found that there wasn't too much of a difference compared to the one in Equestria. She did find it a little strange when she discovered that her counterpart actually had a horse on her farm, and wasn't sure how she felt about that, especially when she found out that the horse's intelligence was no greater than the animals she had on her own farm.

As it turned out, the only real difference from her farm in Equestria was in how it was when it came to collecting the apples. Plucking one from a tree, Applejack stared at it curiously before dropping it in her basket and glancing at her counterpart. "So you actually pick them one at a time by hand?"

"Pretty much," Applejack replied, plucking one of her own. "Why? How do you gather them?"

Smirking, Applejack gave the tree a hard kick. "With some good old apple bucking." She looked up at the tree expectantly, but the downpour of apples she was used to didn't happen. It seemed her human body didn't possess the strength of her pony one. "Um, it usually works a lot better than that."

Her counterpart just smiled. "I think this is what you may have been expecting."

Tapping into her geode's power, she used her super strength to give the tree her own powerful kick. This time the apples came raining down the way Applejack had been expecting when she did it.

"Yup," she said, "that's pretty much what I was going for. Guess it's a good thing you got that there magic geode."

Applejack fingered her geode, which was now attached to a hairband she wore. "Yeah, but we can't overuse it, otherwise it amps up the power of all of our geodes. A while back, Rainbow Dash began using hers for every little thing, and it began to super-charge all of ours so they began activating automatically."

Sharing tales of what each of them had gone through was common amongst them. Naturally, the Mane Six had a lot more stories to share, which the Equestria Girls were eager to hear all about. Fluttershy was particularly interested in hearing about all the mythical creatures her counterpart had come across. She was a little surprised when she heard about Fluttershy's strange friendship with Discord.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big softy," Fluttershy assured her as the two had tea in her counterpart's room. "In fact, we usually have tea together like this every week." Her eyes landed on something on Fluttershy's bed. "Oh, you actually have a stuffed animal of him!"

Confused at first, Fluttershy glanced at her bed and saw the stuffed animal in question. "Oh, that. Yes, Twilight won it for me at a carnival. Princess Twilight I mean. I was actually so surprised when I saw it that I accidentally knocked it out of her hands."

Needless to say, the two Pinkie Pies got along very, very well. Together, they threw a massive celebratory party, not just for the Rainbooms winning the talent show, but also for stopping the Dazzlings' plan.

The party was one of the biggest ones either of them had ever hosted. Pinkie Pie stated that she hadn't had so much fun planning a party since she had planned one with Cheese Sandwich. When her counterpart had asked who that was and had him explained to her, she became very excited and hopeful of meeting the human world's version of him, if there was one.

Unfortunately, she also broke her counterpart's heart when she revealed Rainbow Dash's secret; that she didn't actually like the pies her counterpart made for her. Pinkie Pie was utterly devastate by this revelation.

As anyone would have expected, both Twilights put their heads together and talked science, magic, and books almost nonstop. Both were eager to learn as much as they could about each other's world, and how things worked in them.

Twilight also asked a lot of questions about her counterpart's brother and his family after mentioning how her own brother and Principal Candance were now a couple in her world. Twilight was more than happy to talk about how delightful it was to have Princess Cadance as a sister-in-law and Flurry Heart as a niece, relieving Twilight of many of her worries that it might be awkward to have her brother be in a relationship with the principal of her old school, though she was warned to keep a look out for someone named Chrysalis who might be after her brother someday. Twilight made note of that, but didn't let it bother her as she now found herself almost eager for a possible upcoming wedding between Cadance and her brother in the future, not to mention becoming an aunt one day.

"Don't worry about it so much," Twilight told her confidently. "I'm sure you'll be the B.A.E."

"Um… best aunt ever?" her counterpart asked.

"You got it! And yes, you will be. After all, I certainly am in my world. Just be prepared for when you have to babysit. My world's Flurry Heart can be quite a handful."

Despite Spike being a dragon in his world and Spike formerly being an ordinary dog that could now talk and was at a much higher intelligence, the two became fast friends who got along very well, despite their differences. Spike asked him questions about dragon culture to see if it was all that different from a dog's. Being raised by Twilight, Spike hadn't been able to give him as much information as he would have liked, but from what he did learn, he could surmise that the two cultures were quite different.

"So then why did you, as a dragon, become a dog when you came to this world, but your pony friends and the sirens became human?" Spike asked curiously.

His counterpart just shrugged. "Who knows? Equestria does have a lot of creatures that aren't found in this world. I guess certain species from my world become one species of this world and other ones become something different. I really don't know how the portal works. It even made Twilight and the others younger than they are in Equestria when they came here. I wonder why."

"Maybe time moves goes by faster in Equestria than it does here, like a few months there is only a few weeks here. From what you've told me has happened since the first time you came here until now, it sounds like more time has gone by for you than it has for us. That might explain why your friends become teenagers when they come here; they become the age they would have been had they been born here."

Spike wobbled his head uncertainly at the suggestion. "Who knows how the portal works. I mean, it even materializes clothes for them. Don't know how to explain that either. Rarity was certainly happy about it though. She just loves getting new outfits."

Spike just smiled, looking quite smug. "Well, you lucked out in becoming a dog. We may be pets, but if you think about it, the humans are actually pretty much our servants. They feed us, bathe us, take care of all our life needs," he lowered his voice, "they even have to clean up after us. And I'm saying they clean up all of our messes, if you get my meaning."

Spike's eyes widened. "Whoa, I never looked at it that way before. Pets really have it good."

Unfortunately, not everyone got along with their counterpart. If anything, Sunset had become even more reserved and distant around hers. And not just with Sunset, but with all the Equestria Girls. She was friendly with them when they were together, but it was also clear that she was making a point to avoid them even more so than before. They knew why too; she felt guilty about deceiving and betraying them. Even though they had forgiven her, she was clearly ashamed of her actions and didn't know how to face them.

"She'll be ok eventually," Twilight had told them when they expressed their concern. "She's still angry with herself for what she did and doesn't know how to face you yet. It's not too different from when Starlight Glimmer was afraid of facing the town she deceived."

Fluttershy sighed sadly. "I feel so bad for her."

"So do I," her counterpart replied. "She faced such hardships in her past and didn't have anyone there for her for so long."

"Then wouldn't she want to be friends now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She seems open to idea that she doesn't need to become super powerful before she can be friends with anyone."

"Just give her time," Twilight repeated. "I'm sure she'll come around."

It may have been hard for the Equestria Girls to see it, but Sunset was indeed opening up more, at least around the Mane Six. And while part of this was because she hadn't betrayed them the way she had the Equestria Girls, it was also because she was spending more with them since she wasn't sniffing around for magic anymore or planning to steal from them, allowing her to legitimately get to know them and be friends without worry.

After she had earned enough money between the night she had stayed with her counterpart and the night of the talent show, Sunset had managed to find a motel she could afford to stay at for a few days. And since she decided that she owed both the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six a great deal for saving her from her corruption, and for forgiving her for what she did, as way to say thank you and to apologize for what she did, she had offered to pay the extra money to get a bigger room, and had invited the Mane Six to stay with her. True, it made the room a little cramped with all seven if them sleeping together, but at least they had a place to stay, and the room was pretty much only used to sleep in at night. The Equestria Girls had even lent their counterparts sleeping bags so they would be comfortable.

The extra time with Sunset had also allowed the Mane Six to provide her with information on the many friendship lessons they'd learned over the years. Sunset had to admit, they were good teachers, and for someone like her, who had been without friends for so long, the lessons were quite valuable. However, despite their assurance that the Equestria Girls were not upset with her over her betrayal, it did little to change her feelings on the matter.

"I just can't bring myself to look them in the eye after what I did," she told the Mane Six unhappily one night.

"But they've already forgiven you, silly," Pinkie Pie said in response.

Sunset just sighed. "They say that, but how do I know it's really true?"

"A big part of friendship is honesty," Applejack told her, being an expert on the subject. "If they were sore about it, they would talk it over with you so ya'll can move past it. And don't forget, they've forgiven others for doing a lot worse. We have too for that matter, and are now good friends with some of our past enemies."

"Besides," Rainbow Dash added, "it's not like you were completely at fault. The sirens did manipulate you."

But Sunset just shook her head at this. "They may have given me a push in the direction they wanted, but I was the one in control of my actions. I made the decision to do what I did."

"Sunset," said Twilight, using her full name like they all did with each other when their counterparts weren't around, "you may have made the decisions to do what you did, but the sirens played off your weaknesses and offered you what you thought you needed. I told you, everypony makes mistakes. We've all forgiven you, now you just have to forgive yourself."

Sunset lowered her eyes to the ground as she considered this. "I don't think I'm ready to face them yet."

"And that's ok," Twilight replied kindly. "Just know that they'll be ready to accept you when you are."

"And in the meantime," said Rarity, "we'll be here for you when you need us, darling. That's what friends are for."

But while everything seemed to be fine on the surface, something strange had begun to happen to each of the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six. It had first happened as they were spending the day together, when suddenly, for no reason at all, there was a sound similar to the crack of a whip, and what appeared to be small starbursts or firecrackers suddenly appeared in the air.

It had only happened for a split second before the event ended just as mysteriously as it began, but it had left both the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six shocked and baffled as to what it was. Unable to figure out what had occurred, they had eventually dismissed it.

But then it happened again, and again. And as the days went by, they began to notice that this unusual phenomenon was happening more and more. At first they initially thought that it may have been the result of magic, but they were unable to find any indication that this was the case. There seemed to be no cause for the starbursts, and they seemed to happen completely at random.

Their worry over the strange occurrences grew as the starbursts started to appear more often, and had begun growing larger in size and number. Both the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six had discussed and theorized about them several times and tried to come up with a solution, but to no avail. For the most part though, the starbursts seemed harmless, and so they tried not to worry about them too much and enjoy spending time with their counterparts while still trying to come up with a solution whenever they got together.

Putting the strange starbursts out of mind for now, the Mane Six were attempting to enjoy their third day in the human world. It was the weekend, and they were currently on their way to meet their counterparts at the mall. Sunset was not with them, having taken up a job delivering orders for the Cake family in order to keep paying for their motel room. They had offered to help, but she had been quite insistent in wanting to do this for them.

"So you're saying that the sun just rises and sets all on its own here?" Applejack questioned Twilight as they made their way to the mall. "And the seasons change all by themselves as well."

"The weather too?" Rainbow Dash asked in bewilderment.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, that seems to be the case. I've been doing a lot of studying on how things work in this world with Sci-Twi."

"But how does all that happen without magic?" asked Fluttershy as she tried to make sense of everything.

Twilight rubbed the back of her head as she tried to think of the best way to describe what she had learned from her counterpart about the natural order of this world, and how it functioned without magic. "It's kind of hard to explain without getting into some pretty complicated stuff, but since this world doesn't have its own magic, it needs other ways to keep things in balance and in order."

Rarity nodded. "Well, it certainly sounds complicated, darling. But then again, this is a whole other dimension. I suppose it makes sense that things would work differently here."

"Hey," Rainbow Dash as a thought occurred to her, "maybe this isn't the only alternate world there is. Maybe there are a whole bunch of other ones."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie agreed enthusiastically. "Like maybe there's these other First, Second, and Third Generation worlds that have humans and ponies living together with magic sentient rainbows and even have another version of me, and all the ponies there have the same funny looking face that that one mirror pool copy of me made during the paint drying test."

The others stared at her in bewilderment, and Applejack raised an eyebrow. "That was… oddly specific. And what do you mean by 'Generation' worlds?"

Pinkie Pie just shrugged, smiling. "I don't know, just a hunch."

However, Twilight thought that Pinkie Pie might have a point. "I guess it's possible that there are more worlds than just this one and Equestria, but I haven't seen any evidence to indicate as much. Still, doesn't mean that they're not there and are just undiscovered."

At that moment, there was another series of starbursts directly above them, drawing their attention. Like always, they were gone a second later, leaving the Mane Six just as confused as the other times it had happened.

"What about those sparkly poppy things?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing to where the starbursts had occurred.

Twilight shook her head. "I still don't have a clue as to what those are. Neither does Sci-Twi. It's been driving us crazy."

She had been walking as she spoke, looking at the spot in the air where the starbursts had occurred. As such, she didn't see the person who came running around the corner, causing then to bump into each other, and Twilight went down.

"Whoa, sorry about that," the person said apologetically. "I'm kind of in a hurry. Oh, Twilight it's you."

Twilight felt her heart rate speed up and heat flood her cheeks. She recognized that voice, and she also recognized what seemed to be their standard way of bumping into each other, literally.

Sure enough, she looked up into the handsome face of Flash Sentry as he held his hand out to help her to her feet. "This seems to be a habit of ours," she said bashfully as she took his offered hand.

Pulling her to her feet, he chuckled at the truth of her words. "Seems like it. How've you been? We haven't really gotten a chance to catch up since you came back."

She smiled guiltily. "Yeah, sorry about that. I've kind of been busy helping my friends adapt to this world."

She motioned to her friends, who waved. Flash gave them a smile and a nod in greeting. "Right, your pony friends. Wow, I still can't believe how much you all look like the others. I mean, I knew you would, but to actually see it, well, you know."

Twilight giggled. "Yeah, I know."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but was interrupted as his cell phone chimed, and he nervously glanced at the text message he received before looking back at the others. "Listen, it was really great to see you again, and I wish I could talk longer, but I kind of promised Sandalwood that I would help him out with this environmental thing he's doing, and I'm really running late. But I'll catch you later?"

Feeling a little disappointed, but understanding the importance of helping a friend, she nodded. "Sure thing. Say him to him for me."

"You bet. I'll see you around. You girls too."

He hurried off to go meet with his friend. Twilight waved goodbye as her friends gathered around her.

"I see," Rarity said with interest. "So that's the famous Flash Sentry you developed a crush on the first time you came here."

Pinkie Pie popped out from behind her, looking confused. "Wait, Flash? I thought his name was Brad."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. "Um, no, it's Flash. And I do not have a crush on him, Rarity. We're just friends."

"Hmm," the fashion designer muttered. "Well, I certainly hope so, because according to our human friends, there's a pretty good chance that he and Sunset Shimmer might get back together once they stop dancing around each other."

"I heard that too," Fluttershy replied.

Twilight's eyes widened. This had been the first she had heard of it. She felt a twinge of disappointment, but she quickly pushed it aside as she decided to be happy for her friend. "Oh, well, good for them. It's for the best anyway. I mean, it's not like anything permanent could have ever actually happened between Flash and me anyway. After all, I'm an alicorn princess who lives in another dimension." She gave a very forced laugh. "It never would have worked out between us. Um, not that there ever was anything between us."

She gave them a big grin. Her friends simply stared back at her with skeptical looks.

"Uh huh," Applejack muttered with her arms crossed and her eyes hooded. "Well, I'm normally all about honesty, but I guess denial's not the same thing as lying."

"I'm not in denial!" Twilight practically wailed.

"Don't worry," said Pinkie Pie, "you still have the other Flash Sentry back in Equestria. And maybe when you finally get some guards for your castle, he'll be stationed there."

"It'll be just like with your brother and Princess Cadance," Rainbow Dash teased. "The princess and the royal guard."

"A love story for the ages," Rarity added dreamily.

"Although," Pinkie Pie added thoughtfully, "a lot of your fans will probably be pretty upset that their waifu was taken away."

"Guys!" Twilight shouted, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment. "I don't have a crush on anyone!" She gave Pinkie Pie a confused look. "And what the heck is a waifu?"

Pinkie Pie dramatically slid over to her so she could whisper in her ear. "Something veeeeery powerful in this world. To steal a waifu could invoke the wrath of many."

Before Twilight could respond, there was suddenly another round of starbursts. This one was different, however. It was bigger and louder than normal, and it left the area it had appeared in slightly distorted. It was like looking at the road on a hot day when the heat caused a blurring affect that almost made it look like the air was wiggling. It didn't last long though, and the rippling affect soon ceased, but it had successfully distracted the Mane Six from the conversation they had been happening.

"Ok," Applejack muttered, "that one was different. I think it's safe to say that whatever's going on is getting worse."

"Are we sure it's not more stray magic on the loose?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. She gasped suddenly. "You don't think it's another threat, do you?"

Twilight crossed her arms in thought. "I don't know, but if this is getting worse, then we and the others really need to look into this further, and fast."

And that was exactly what they did upon meeting up with their counterparts. The starbursts once again became the main topic of conversation. The Equestria Girls had also noticed an increase in the starburst activity, though they had yet to witness the distortion that followed the phenomenon the Mane Six had seen.

Unfortunately, like every other time they discussed it, none of them were able to come up with any explanation for the starbursts, no matter how much they brainstormed. They had a few different theories, but nothing concrete that they could go on. None of them actually said it, but they were getting rather worried about the starbursts.

As the days went by, the occurrences continued to grow in frequency. They went from happening only a few times a day to happening several times a day, to happening every couple of hours. Even the distortion that followed began to occur more and more and last longer.

On the fifth day of the Mane Six's stay in the human world, the starbursts had started to happen a few times every hour, and they were just as clueless about what they could be since they first started looking into the causes, much to both Twilights' frustration.

Currently, they were all sitting in the school cafeteria having lunch. Like with Sunset, the Mane Six had been granted permission to attend the school as guest students by Principal Celestia, and they were rather enjoying school life in the human world, even if they were rather baffled by the technology.

"Hey, did you hear about what's happening with the Dazzlings?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy replied. "Apparently, they're transferring to Crystal Prep Academy."

"Crystal Prep?" Rarity repeated. "That's the other school ruled by this world's Cadance, is it not?"

Sunset chuckled. "I wouldn't say 'ruled', but yes."

"From what I hear," Rainbow Dash continued, "it seems that they're hoping that either their punishment won't carry over with them, or if it does, they're hoping for a lighter one since it'll be a different school."

Applejack scoffed at this. "So they're trying to get out of owning up to what they did. Somehow that don't surprise me."

"Well," said Fluttershy, "I did hear that Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were pretty strict with their punishment."

"Mmm," Rarity muttered. "Well I suppose it's to be expected after what they did. At least Sunset owned up to her mistakes and attempted to make amends for what she did. They don't even appear to be the least bit sorry. I wonder if they'll even stick around, or if they'll just take off again."

"Well, I say that they got what they deserved," Spike chimed in.

Applejack frowned. "Speaking of which, are you sure it was ok to let them keep their pendants?"

Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I took a look at them after Vice Principal Luna confiscated them from the Dazzlings. Seems that in addition to revenge, they were hoping that SunShim would gather magic, which they could then use to repair their broken pendants when they reconstructed them. The pieces they used in the choker were the small fragments that still had any remnants of magic from when they initially shattered. But now that those fragments have been destroyed, the rest of the pieces are completely harmless. They won't be able to use any magic with them, or steal any for that matter."

Rainbow Dash gave her a confused look. "How exactly were they planning on getting those fragments back from SunShim after she turned into that big monster thing?"

"I doubt they were," her counterpart replied. "I think that was SunShim diverting from their plan with her own ambitions. Either way, their evil scheme blew up in their faces."

Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. "I just hope they don't cause any other problems at their new school."

Twilight held up her phone. "Don't worry. I heard about their transfer too, so I called Sour Sweet and asked her and our other Crystal Prep friends to keep an eye on them. She said they would, and would let us know if they caused any problems."

Sunset nodded. "Good. It's nice to know that there will be someone making sure they keep out of trouble. Not that they can actually do any harm anymore. But maybe now they'll turn over a new leaf. Perhaps all they really need is a friend."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think this is a friendship problem? I mean, I know that that's been the case most of the time, but these are the Dazzlings we're talking about."

"I have to agree with Rainbow Dash," said Applejack. "They wanted to enslave the world and make everyone fight so they could feed off their negative energy in order to get stronger."

Sunset nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, I know it looks bad, but I've learned to look beyond what's on the surface and try to see the deeper problem. The sirens fed off negative energy to get stronger, so they were always causing trouble for others. It can't be easy to make friends like that. And just think about what they wanted, for everyone to love and adore them, and that they wouldn't be ignored. Those things came up a lot in their songs too. Maybe, deep down, they really just wanted to be liked and have friends. That's not exactly something you can gain by always causing trouble for everyone, so they tried to get it by force. They were definitely going about it the wrong way, but, like me, maybe what they were really looking for got lost somewhere down the line, or maybe they didn't even realize it themselves."

Twilight beamed with pride at how far Sunset had come along from her darker days. From causing friendship problems to solving the most difficult of ones, she really had really come a very long way. "I think you might be right. They might not have realized it, but maybe what they really wanted was friendship, but after living the way they had for so long, they just didn't know another way."

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight in disbelief. "You're saying that you want us to become friends with the Dazzlings!?"

Sunset gave her a pointed look. "Is what they did really all that worse than what Gloriosa, Vignette, Wallflower, SunShim, or I did?"

"Yes! Only like a hundred times worse! And when you guys really went bad, it was because you were corrupted by Equestrian magic, but the Dazzlings did everything on their own and were in complete control of their actions. Besides, you and the others were sorry for the things you did, they're clearly not. And looking back on it, I don't think you were actually evil, not until you turned into a demon anyway, just angry at the world and rebellious, which made you a big meanie."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Um, thanks, I think…"

Twilight, however, had to agree with her counterpart. "Maybe the Dazzlings just never had the opportunity to be anything more than what they were. Perhaps they just need someone to give them a chance. I'll ask our Crystal Prep friends to try and be friends with them. Who knows, they might surprise us."

A groan escaped Rarity, and she sank in her seat slightly. "Oh, very well, I suppose we could give them a chance too, but only if they want one. And I'll expect an apology from them for all that they've done."

"Here, here," Applejack agreed.

Pinkie Pie, however, was all smiles and much more enthusiastic. "I'd like to be friends with them. Especially Sonata; she seems like fun. I bet she and I would get along great!"

At that moment, Sunset appeared with her lunch in her hands. The others spotted her as she approached and waved her over. However, when she saw them, she just gave them a weak smile and sat down by herself to eat, just as she had been doing all week. The Equestria Girls and the Mane Six all sighed in unison at this.

"Speaking of making friends," Fluttershy said sadly, "we haven't made any progress with SunShim since the talent show. And whatever progress we had made before it is gone."

"Yeah," Applejack acknowledged, "seems she's still feeling guilty for what she did. Said she doesn't know how to face you guys yet."

"But we forgave her," Pinkie Pie stated.

"She knows that," Twilight replied. "She's just working up the nerve to face you."

Sunset nodded in understanding. "I know the feeling. It took me forever before I was able to bring myself to apologize to Princess Celestia for my mistakes. And I only managed to work up the nerve to face her because I really needed her help."

"Well," said Rarity, "I do hope it doesn't take quite as long as that." She glanced at the Mane Six. "How is she around you?"

"Well enough, darling," her counterpart replied. "But then, we weren't the ones she betrayed."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie agreed. "By the time we got there, she was already her big, scary, monster, dragon-y self, so the real her wasn't really bad to us. That's probably why she feels less guilty around us." She reached into her hair and pulled out a cupcake, which she promptly shoved into her mouth. "You know, that really is a convenient place to keep them."

"I know, right!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and mimicked her counterpart by reaching into her hair and pulling out her own cupcake.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "I guess no matter what world it is or which version, Pinkie is still Pinkie."

Then it happened, and it was the worst one yet. A series of starbursts went off around the group. It lasted for nearly ten seconds before stopping, and what could only be described as a cloud of distortion hovered above their heads.

The event had drawn the attention of most of the students in the cafeteria while the Equestria Girls and Mane Six had ducked and covered beneath the table. Now that it was over though, both Pinkie Pies were the first to raise their heads and look at the distortion.

"Ooh, it's all wiggly," they chorused.

A grumble escaped Applejack. "We really need to figure out why that's happening. Who knows what it will do if it keeps up."

"Are you sure you haven't figured anything out?" Rarity asked the two Twilights.

Twilight shook her head. "I have no clue. I've never seen anything like it before, and there doesn't seem to be any cause for it. It just seems to be completely random." Her eye twitched slightly. "It's really quite frustrating."

Twilight was flipping through a notebook she had started keeping when she and her counterpart had begun looking into the phenomenon. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be magic related. I've never seen readings like this on anything."

There were giggles from the two Pinkie Pies. One had stuck a spoon inside the distortion, watching as the utensil twisted into a spiral shape, while the other had actually stuck her hand in it, and watched as it became twisted and bent out of shape.

"It tingles," the latter said gleefully.

"Both of you, get your hands away from there this instant!" Rarity snapped. "You don't know what it will do."

The Pinkie Pie with her hand actually in the distortion pulled it back. Her hand stretched like rubber, but then came free of the distortion and shaped itself back to normal. The other Pinkie Pie pulled her hand back as well, but let go of the spoon. It continued to float within the distortion, twisting into odd shapes. When the distortion cloud ceased, the spoon return to its normal shape and fell to the table as if nothing had happened.

"Oh my…" both Fluttershys muttered simultaneously.

"That felt funny," Pinkie Pie stated as she wiggled her previously distorted finger.

"You done gonna lose your fingers if you do stuff like that," Applejack scolded.

"It's fine," Pinkie Pie told her. She picked up the previously distorted spoon and tried to see if it could be bent into another shape outside the distortion. "See, not bendy at all."

Twilight was frowning. "I still don't like it. I don't know what it is, but it's giving me a really bad feeling. I wish someone would just tell me what's happening."

Almost as if waiting for that cue, the cafeteria doors burst open, and a lavender-skinned girl with purple hair and aquamarine strips in it wearing a hat stood in the doorway, looking desperate.

"I'm looking for Princess Twilight and her friends!" she called to the cafeteria. "We have an emergency!"

Chapter 14: Goodbyes

Chapter 14: Goodbyes

All attention shifted to the newcomer. The Mane Six looked as well, noting that there was something oddly familiar about the girl. The Equestria Girls, however, recognized her right away.

"Hey," said Rainbow Dash, "isn't that…?"

"Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily. She began jumping up and down, waving her arms. "Starlight Glimmer! Hey, Starlight Glimmer, over here! Over here!"

Starlight looked to where her name was being called and saw the Equestria Girls and Mane Six. She let out a relieved sigh and hurried over to them. "Thank goodness I found you all."

Sunset stood up and moved to hug her. "Starlight, it's great to see you again!"

Starlight happily hugged her back. "It's great to see you again too, but I'm afraid this isn't a social call. Princess Celestia sent me here on urgent business." She looked at the Mane Six. "All of you need to come back to Equestria right away."

Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Whatever's the matter, dear?"

Twilight had her suspicions. "It's Discord, isn't it? He's trashing the castle, isn't he? Or worse." She slapped her forehead. "I knew asking him to help out was a mistake."

Starlight shook her head. "No, it's not Discord. He's actually been behaving himself pretty well." She paused for a moment. "Well, ok, he wasn't at first, but he started behaving when I said that Fluttershy would probably be angry at him for literally turning the castle upside-down."

"He did what to the castle!?"

"Is it the map then?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is it calling us to solve a friendship problem?"

"I guess our Cutie Marks wouldn't be glowing here since we don't have them in this world," Rarity remarked. "If the map can even reach us here at all."

"How did we not think of that?" Applejack exclaimed in concern.

Again, Starlight shook her head. "No, the map's been quiet too."

"Well, what is it then?" Twilight asked, getting impatient.

Just then, there was another series of starbursts. This time, not just the Equestria Girls and Mane Six ducked for cover, but several nearby students did as well as the range of the area the starbursts covered increased.

When it ended, Starlight pointed at the lingering distortion. "That! That's the problem!"

Fluttershy's hands went to her mouth. "Oh dear. Are you saying that it's happening in Equestria too?"

"Yes!" Starlight exclaimed. "That's why Princess Celestia sent me to come get you."

"Why?" Spike asked. "Does she know what it is?

Starlight nodded. "Yes, she figured it out." She motioned to the two groups. "It's you guys, here in this world together. Too many versions of the same ponies, I mean people, are too close together. Something about the same matter not supposed to be occupying the same space or something. You guess have been together for too long. It's causing an imbalance that's weakening the boundaries between the two worlds. If you guys don't separate, then the walls separating the two worlds will eventually break down and cause both worlds to collapse into each other."

They all stared at her, letting this horrific revelation sink in.

"That… sounds pretty bad," Applejack muttered, not knowing what else to say.

Twilight picked up her notes and began flipping through them. "Oh, I think I see now. Yes, it makes sense now that I know the cause. It's like trying to fit too many objects into a box or something. Eventually there will be too much and the box will break apart. And now that I think about it, it was happening a lot more often when we're all together. Too much of the same thing is in one spot."

Twilight slammed her palms down on the table and stood up, looking angry with herself. "I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner! The first time I came here, Princess Celestia even said that too many of us coming here could cause havoc and upset the balance of this world. Starlight, why didn't you let us know sooner?"

Her pupil's mouth dropped open. "I did! I came as soon as Princess Celestia told me to bring you back."

"No, I mean why didn't you just send a message? You know it would have appeared in Sunset's notebook. That's why I left the other one for you in case you needed to contact us if an emergency occurred."

Starlight stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly looking embarrassed. "Oh… yeah… I guess I could have just done that instead of coming here."

Twilight sighed. "It's fine, but I'm sorry, girls, it's time we went home."

"Aww!" both Pinkie Pies groaned. "But we were having fun with ourselves."

She gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry you two, but we can't be here if it puts either world in danger. We better get going right now."

They immediately left the cafeteria and headed to the portal to Equestria. It wasn't until they came to a stop at the statue that it sank in that they were going to have to say goodbye to each other. They had thought that they would have a few more days before they had to go back, but now they suddenly had to depart. And with this newfound realization that too many of them together would be a threat to the worlds, they realized that it would be the last time they would all be together like this.

"Well, shucks, this sure stinks," Applejack grumbled. "It was kind of fun having my other self around."

Her counterpart tipped her hat to her. "Well, as strange as it was, it was kind of fun being here. Sure wish we could stay longer."

"And I'm going to miss playing dress up with myself," Rarity lamented sadly. "You were by far the best model I ever had."

Rarity gave her a smile. "And I will certainly miss modeling for you. It was quite a unique experience being your own model."

Both Fluttershys were gently pulling on their hair awkwardly as they tried to think of what to say.

"Um… it was nice having you around."

"Thank you. It was nice to, um… be around. Will you, um, say goodbye to all your animal friends for me?"

"Oh, yes. And please say hello to all your animal friends for me."

Rainbow Dash reached into her bag and pulled out the surprise she had been saving for when their counterparts had originally planned to go back in a few days, and was glad that they had gotten done in time. "Here, I guess I should give these out now. The first copies of the Rainbooms' music. Vinyl burned a copy for each of you. And one for her pony self too. We put them on records since you don't have CDs in your world. Seriously though, you should look into making those."

Rainbow Dash beamed as she took the records, admiring the artwork on the covers. "This! Is! Awesome! We loved your music. Hey," she smiled mischievously, "you think we could pass these off as us singing these songs in Ponyville and get famous?"

Spike snorted. "With as often as you guys break out into song, I'm sure you can."

His counterpart looked at him with hooded eyes. "Oh, you have that problem too, huh?"

Twilight also had something for her counterpart, and she pulled it out of her bag. "Here, I loved this when I was a kid. I think you should have it."

She handed it to her counterpart. It was, of course, a book, and Twilight looked at the cover curiously, noting that it was either a picture of a unicorn transforming into a human girl, or the other way around.

"The Last Unicorn," she read the book title. A horrified gasp suddenly escaped her. "Oh no, this isn't some book of prophesy that shows a doomed future of Equestria, is it?"

Twilight just laughed. "No, just a copy of a book from my childhood. I saw it in a bookstore and thought you'd like it. I'm sure you'll find the main character to be very… relatable."

A sigh of relief escaped her counterpart as she gave the book another look and smiled. "Well, if you enjoyed it, then I'm sure I will too; something tells me we have the same taste in books." She tucked the book into her bag. "Thanks a lot. I'm just sorry that I don't have anything for any of you guys."

Sunset just waved this off. "It was just great to see you again." She glanced at the rest of the Mane Six. "And to finally meet all of you." Her smile faltered a bit. "But I guess this is the last time all of us will be together like this, won't it?"

A deep sigh escaped Twilight. "I'm afraid so, what with the worlds being at risk when too many of the same people are in each others presence for too long."

"Hold up there a second," said Applejack. "If that there's the case, then what about Sunset and SunShim? Won't them being together cause that world breakdown thing?"

Twilight shook her head. "I think it will be ok. That wasn't a problem before now, was it?" She looked at the Equestria Girls for confirmation, and they indicated that it wasn't. "And we didn't have that problem the last time I visited and met Sci-Twi. I think it's only when there's too many of us too close together for too long of a time that it becomes a problem."

Rainbow Dash perked up at that. "Then this doesn't have to be goodbye for good. We just can't have too many of the same people together in one world all at once for days on end."

Twilight smiled and nodded. "That seems to be the case. But it's still best if we head back now and give the borders between the worlds time to recover. Besides," she glanced at her pupil, "with Starlight here, Discord is probably literally turning the castle inside-out or something."

A chuckle escaped Sunset, even though she knew that Twilight probably wasn't joking. "I guess a princess' duty is never done."

"Not usually, but this was a nice break. Thanks for having us."

"It our pleasure."

"Always good to have you visit, sugar cube," Applejack told her.

"Do try to visit more often," said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash playfully punched the princess' shoulder. "Yeah, we miss you when you're gone."

"We love you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie practically shouted. She looked at the Mane Six. "And everyone else too!"

Twilight smiled sadly, already missing her human friends. Then something caught her eye. Trying to stay hidden in the bushes a distance away was Sunset, watching them. She quickly ducked out of sight when she saw Twilight look her way. The Princess of Friendship considered her for a few moments before tapping her chin in thought and then smiling.

"Hey, girls, huddle up for a second," she told them, and they all leaned in.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Sunset poked her head out from behind the bushes she was hiding behind, wondering if she had been seen. It didn't look like it, as the others all had their heads together like a sports team discussing a game strategy. She wondered what they were talking about.

No, she knew what they were talking about. They were going back to Equestria due to some problem that needed to be solved. She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it had been more than obvious that they were saying their goodbyes. Whoever that new girl was that had come here looking for them was obviously from Equestria, and had been sent to bring them back. For some strange reason though, she seemed somewhat familiar to Sunset; she reminded her of her old childhood friend, Starlight Glimmer, whom she used to fly kites with before she'd moved to the city with her parents.

A sigh escaped Sunset as she sank down behind the bushes, turning her back on the discussion happening over by the statue. This really was just her luck. She felt like she had been making a real connection with the Mane Six and really learning about friendship from them. It had been easier to get along with them than the Equestria Girls since she didn't have the guilt of her betrayal hanging over her with them since she decided to set aside her fears and give friendship a chance again.

And now they were leaving. She'd known they would have to, that they would only be able to stay for a few days before being needed back in their world, but that had somehow been pushed to the back of her mind as she simply enjoyed spending time with them. How foolish she had been.

"It's karma," she muttered gloomily. Of the two groups that had tried to befriend her, one she had betrayed, and the other was leaving.

She didn't want them to go. After losing so much to this cruel world, she was now going to lose her friends, and after she'd just recently decided to give connecting with others a second chance. Her only true friends were going away, and the others who wanted to be her friends she didn't think she would ever be able to look at without being reminded of her past mistakes. And even if she did manage to work through that and get close to them, she would eventually have to return to the city; she couldn't afford to stay in town doing odd jobs like she had been indefinitely. So she would lose the Equestria Girls eventually too.

The urge to scream built up inside her, but she resisted. It just wasn't fair. She hated this whole world and the rotten hand it had dealt her. She truly had nothing left. If only she could be more like her counterpart and shape her own destiny. If only Fate would stop throwing her all these curveballs that left her life in ruin. If only-

"Hi, SunShim. What are you doing over here?"

Sunset yelped in surprise and whirled around, finding the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six looking down at her from her hiding place. She immediately leapt to her feet, wondering when they had snuck up on her. No, not snuck up, she had simply been too busy thinking about her sad, sorry life to notice them come over.

"N-Nothing," she stammered, trying to come up with an excuse as to why she was crouching down behind some bushes when she was supposed to be in the cafeteria. "I was just, uh… looking for an earring I dropped. Oh, look, there it is."

She bent down and quickly picked up a rock off the ground before slipping it nonchalantly into her pocket and giving the others a forced smile. For some reason, this made her counterpart chuckle and give her a knowing look, though she wasn't sure why.

"Well anyway," said Twilight, having been the one to have spoken earlier, "I'm glad you're here. The girls and I need to go back to Equestria."

At those words, Sunset felt as if she had been punched in the gut. Her shoulders sank, and a deep sadness filled her. She didn't know why, she had surmised that this was the case, but it was still upsetting to hear.

"Oh…" she muttered, trying not to show just how upset she was, "well, I had a feeling you would. But I thought you were going to stay for a few more days."

Twilight gave her an apologetic smile. "That was the plan, but something pretty big has come to our attention."

"That's putting it mildly," Applejack muttered.

"It's called sugarcoating, darling," Rarity told her. "And it's not quite lying."

Sunset shifted from one foot to the other. "Are you sure you can't stay just a little longer?"

"Not unless we want to make both worlds blow up," Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully.

Sunset stared, not sure if she was kidding or not. But by the looks on everyone's faces, what she'd said was more or less the truth.

Rainbow Dash motioned between herself and the Equestria Girls. "Turns out there's too many of us around too many of them, so it's causing some sort of imbalance problem or something."

"That's why there's been all those freaky but fun to watch firecracker thingies happening around us," Pinkie Pie explained, not sounding the least bit concerned.

Sunset's eyes widened. That was the cause for the starbursts? Well, she supposed it made sense. They should have realized that something as unnatural as having the counterparts of eight different people in the same world would have consequences of some kind.

"I see…" she said sadly, lowering her eyes. "I guess you really do have to go then."

"Yeah, about that," Twilight began, looking like she was choosing her words carefully, "the girls and I were talking, and we were wondering… do you want to come back with us?"

It took a few moments for her words to sink in, but when they did, Sunset looked back up at her with wide eyes. "What?"

Twilight gave her a smile. "We wanted to know if you wanted to come to Equestria with us. Since Sunset wants to stay in this world, that means that our world won't have one of you. And I think a world without a Sunset Shimmer in it would be a much gloomier place."

Sunset stared at her, trying to wrap her mind around this. "You want me to go with you guys? To Equestria?"

"Only if you want to," Twilight clarified, not wanting her to feel pressured or forced. "You'd be welcomed there and could make a whole bunch of new friends. We'd be happy to help you get settled in and adjust to living there. You could live in Ponyville, or Canterlot, or anywhere else you want, it's up to you."

Sunset came up to stand beside her. "This could be your chance to start anew. You said that there was nothing left for you in this world and that you wanted a fresh start. Maybe this is the opportunity you were looking for." She shrugged. "Or if you want to stay here, we'd love to have you here too and be your friends. We could even help you find a way to stay in town if you don't want to return to the city. But whatever you decide to do, we'll support you and help you get through it."

Sunset was still staring in disbelief, utterly shocked by this turn of events. Slowly, her gaze shifted from the two groups of girls to the statue containing the portal to Equestria. She subconsciously began walking towards it, coming to a stop in front of it, and simply stared at the spot where she knew the entrance was.

This was highly unexpected. Moments ago, her life had seemed to be a dead end to nowhere, but now the possibility of a whole new life was being presented to her. She had to admit, ever since she had learned about magic and Equestria, she had taken an immediate interest in it and had been immensely curious. Now she was being offered a place there? And what more, she wouldn't have to say goodbye to her friends.

"A fresh start…" she said, repeating her counterpart's words. "I can start over? As a magic horse?"

Sunset wobbled her head. "Well, as a unicorn, but yes."

This fact was added to the jumbled mess that Sunset's thoughts had become as she realized how new and unfamiliar things would be in this new world, and the thought of maybe going was suddenly terrifying, even scarier than the thought of putting herself out there and making connections with others. She began to hyperventilate without realizing it, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Twilight giving her an encouraging smile.

"No one is trying to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, Sunset," she reassured her gently. "We're simply putting the offer on the table. If you decide to come with us, we'd love to have you, and we'll do everything we can to help you get settled in. I can understand that it'll be scary and a big change for you, but we'll be there for you." She motioned to the Equestria Girls. "Or you could stay here. They're willing to help you out here too and help you with whatever you need."

Sunset looked at the Equestria Girls and saw the sincere looks on their faces. There wasn't the slightest trace of anger, hatred, disgust, or even blame seen in any of them. They truly had forgiven her for her betrayal and were willing to help her. The realization brought tears to her eyes, and she suddenly felt foolish for how she had behaved, and for even suspecting that they had any hard feelings for what she did.

As the tears ran down her cheeks, she buried her face in her hands, trying with all her strength not to start balling. "I'm so sorry," she said through her tears. "For everything. For pushing you away when you tried to be friends, for lying to you, for getting jealous, for betraying you, for stealing your magic and trying to kill you, for doubting your sincerity when you said that you forgave me. I'm sorry for everything. I've been a fool and a terrible friend."

They just gave her kind, understanding smiles. Rarity reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Darling, there is nothing to be sorry for. You're already forgiven."

Twilight smiled. "Forgiveness is another important part of friendship. It's up to you to decide where you would like to continue learning about it. The choice is entirely up to you."

The tears slowly stopped falling, and Sunset wiped her eyes. She looked like she was about to say something, but then the moment was ruined by another round of starbursts going of around them, and they all dropped to the ground.

It was the worst one yet, the starbursts being larger than ever and going on for nearly a minute. And the aftermath was more serious too. This time, a crack had appeared within the distortion, leading into the dimension beyond. It was much like the time when Twilight had become Midnight Sparkle and had begun tearing holes in the dimensional borders.

The crack wasn't that big, but Equestria was clearly visible beyond it. And at that moment, a curious mail delivery pegasus with a light blonde mane and crossed eyes that just happened to be passing by while munching on a muffin noticed the crack and flew over to examine it. She stared at it for a few seconds before the crack sealed shut and the distortion surrounding it ceased, leaving a clear empty sky once again.

Starlight lowered her hands from her head and let out a sigh of relief. Getting up, she brushed herself off before turning to the others. "Ok, I really hate to ruin this big, touching moment, but this seems like it's getting risky. Too many of us have been together for too long. We've got to get back home now."

Twilight stood up as well as she reluctantly agreed. "Yes, you're right. We're coming."

Starlight nodded before glancing at the Equestria Girls and giving them a smile and a salute. "It's been really great seeing you guys again. We'll have to catch up properly next time when both our worlds aren't in danger of collapsing. See ya."

With that, she climbed into the portal and was gone. The others realized that they couldn't put it off any longer and began to say their goodbyes, exchanging hugs and parting words before making their way to the portal. Almost naturally, it seemed as if they gravitated to their counterparts for their final goodbyes as they got ready to leave.

"Well," said Spike, "it's been fun seeing you guys again, but I got a lunch date with some diamonds. No offense, pal, but as good as dog treats are, gems are better."

His counterpart just smiled at him with hooded eyes. "I'll take your word for it."

And so, taking a running start, the dragon-turned-dog jumped into the portal after Starlight. Rainbow Dash went next, not bothering with any sappy goodbyes. She simply walked up to the portal and held her hand up in departure. "Well, it's been real, but I'm looking forward to being at 120 percent again. Oh, and thanks for these," she held up the music records her counterpart had given her, "I can't wait to share your songs with the Wonderbolts. Later."

And then she was gone. Next up were the two Pinkie Pies. They approached the portal together, arms interlocked. When they were right in front of the statue, they turned to their friends.

"Hey," they said together, "bet you can't guess which is which."

Then they joined hands and began rapidly spinning around. They spun so fast that they became a pink vortex before suddenly stopping. Then the one on the right did a backwards swan dive into the portal while the other one skipped happily over to her friends.

Both Applejacks raised an eyebrow as Pinkie Pie skipped passed them, and they exchanged uncertain looks. "That was our Pinkie Pie that went through, right?" Applejack asked uncertainly.

"Course it was," her counterpart replied. She glanced at the Pinkie Pie that remained, noting how the two had looked exactly identical with no distinguishing differences. "I'm pretty sure… Yeah, definitely. It had to be."

Rarity turned to her counterpart and took her hands. "Oh, I just hate goodbyes."

"Oh, I do too, darling. Lets just make it quick, otherwise I'll start crying and my mascara will start to run."

"As will mine, and I'd hate to return to Equestria with my makeup running." She sniffled. "Oh no, it's happening. Goodbye!"

Covering her eyes, she made a run for it, jumping into the portal. Fluttershy went next. She hesitantly approached the portal before pausing and looking shyly back at the others.

"I guess this is goodbye…" she said sadly, shyly. "So… goodbye."

Then she stepped into the portal and was gone as well. That just left Twilight and Applejack. The latter turned to her counterpart and offered her a smile. "You take care of yourself, you hear."

Applejack clamped her shoulder. "You do the same, sugar cube. And take care of your family."

Returning the sentiment, Applejack clamped her shoulder as well. "Yeah, you too."

They stared at each other fondly for a few seconds, almost feeling as if they were saying goodbye to a family member. Then, at the same time, their eyes drifted a little higher. Realizing that they had the same idea, they both reached up, removed their hat, and placed it on the other's head. They laughed at the trade since the hats were exactly the same, especially since they both had several duplicates of them in their closets. With that, Applejack stepped into the portal and vanished inside.

Only Twilight remained. The Princess of Friendship sighed as she looked back at her friends, and a regretful look appeared on her face. "It's been so great seeing you guys again. I'm just sorry that our time together was cut short."

Rarity just waved off her concern. "Not to worry, darling. We understand perfectly, what with the fate of our worlds at stake and all that."

"Just try not to stay away for too long," said Rainbow Dash. "We kind of miss you when you're not around. Oh, wait, I said that already."

Twilight chuckled lightly. "I miss you guys too. Even though I have my pony version friends of you, they're still not you." She looked at Twilight and Sunset. "And it's been really great getting to know the two of you. I hope we can become even better friends in the future."

Sunset didn't say anything, but Twilight returned her counterpart's smile. "Well, it's been great getting to know you as well. We didn't get much time to get to know each other the first time we met. It's nice to hang out with someone who loves books and studying as much as I do."

"I know, right," the Princess of Friendship agreed with a laugh. "The others just aren't into it the way I am."

"You're right," Rainbow Dash agreed, sounding rather proud of herself, "we're not. Except for Daring Do books. They're ok."

Twilight shook her head, smiling as she turned to the portal. "I'll see you guys around."

As she started to climb through it, a sound of protest escaped Sunset, and she took a step forward, reaching out to the Princess of Friendship. She stopped though and pulled her hand back as she looked at the statue uncertainly.

Twilight heard her protest and glanced back at her, one foot already through the portal. She saw Sunset's downcast eyes before they shifted up to her, a look of fear and hope in them.

Smiling in understanding, Twilight held a hand out to her. Sunset looked at it for several long moments before glancing at Twilight once again. Then slowly, very slowly, she reached out and placed her hand in the Princess of Friendship's.

As Twilight slipped through the portal, she gently pulled her along. Sunset looked back at the Equestria Girls, and a genuine smile full of gratitude and appreciation made its way across her face before she too vanished through the portal with Twilight.

That was it then. The Equestrian visitors were all gone, and it seemed as if they had gained a new resident. The Equestria Girls felt a mixture of happiness and loss, happy that Sunset would be able to start over, but sad that they had lost a friend.

"I guess she made her choice," Fluttershy said quietly.

Sunset sighed. "Looks like it. But who knows, perhaps this was supposed to happen. Maybe she and I were always meant to trade worlds, like destiny or something."

Rarity nodded in agreement. "It certainly seems that way, darling. But still, I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss all of them."

"Me too," Twilight replied. "I just hope she can be happy now."

At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. It seemed that they had wasted all their time saying goodbye that they hadn't even gotten time to eat. It was more than worth it though to see their friends off.

A sigh escaped Rainbow Dash. "We better go before we're late for class."

"I've got snacks!" Pinkie Pie declared, and was suddenly holding a tray of cookies. "Since we missed lunch."

Slowly, they turned around and began to head back inside. Fluttershy stopped part of the way and looked back at the statue. Sunset noticed that she wasn't following and glanced back at her. "Fluttershy? You ok?"

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just worried about SunShim. Do you think she'll be ok?"

Sunset just smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry." She looked back at the statue, smiling confidently. "Something tells me she's going to be just fine."

Epilogue

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