My Faithful Student

by femikol

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Sunset Shimmer, Adventure
Length: 65149

In another Equestria, Sunset Shimmer - student of Princess Luna, must navigate through life and friendship in Ponyville.

Sunset Shimmer was the prized student of Princess Luna. Gifted in magic and devoted to her craft, every waking hour she spent engrossed in her quest to become the best, strongest unicorn in Equestria. For the most part, Sunset could say she'd lived a happy life in Canterlot.

But as the thousandth anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration dawns, Princess Luna sends her to a small town called Ponyville. Setting hoof in Ponyville will herald a new chapter of Sunset's life, a chapter that will take her the rest of an eternity to explore.

A novelization of season one with Sunset Shimmer taking Twilight's place.

Published 2022-03-01 20:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-03-12 06:33:19 UTC

Prologue - Let Me be Your Guide

Author's Note

Hello, and thank you for clicking on this story. I'd like to clarify what I mean by 'novelization' in this context. While I call it a novelization, I don't intend this to be a one-to-one remake of the show. That would defeat the purpose of writing this story in the first place. Sunset Shimmer is her own character and I wish to explore that by seeing how each event of season one would unfold if she was the main character instead.

Prologue - Let Me be Your Guide

Princess Luna could not remember why she personally taught ponies. It was not a tradition borne from a lack of activity in her day-to-day agenda, nor was it out of a sense of self-righteous obligation. Over the various millennia, she always had a unicorn by her side, teaching them, helping them grow into the best pony they could possibly become. She would watch on with pride as her little student would enter her tutelage, grow, and find their sense of self before she sent them back out into the world. She would keep watch from a distance as they matured, got married, and even had foals, before they would eventually die. It was just something she had done, something that she felt must be done.

Celestia; her sister, had done the same. But that was a millennia ago.

Luna took a deep breath, her eyes locked on a door that stood not hoofsteps from her. This door was home to her latest pupil; Sunset Shimmer. Sunset was a bright filly, well on her way to becoming a full-grown mare. An orphan on paper, but to Luna she was a daughter, like so many of her previous students. Whenever she had a spare moment, Luna always found herself by Sunset's side, teaching her, speaking with her, every second she found herself in Sunset's presence she was basking in her radiance. Something about the filly restored Luna's lost energy, filling her with nigh-uncontrollable happiness that always bubbled over and consumed her, locking her mouth in the largest of smiles for the rest of the day.

She raised her hoof to the door, poised to knock, but hesitated. Truthfully, she and Sunset had been... drifting apart, as much as it tore at her to admit. Sunset was a powerful unicorn, one of the most powerful she had ever taught, and Sunset knew it. Arrogance had begun to weed its way into the heart of her precious daughter. It was negligible at first, with Sunset politely disregarding her warnings of safety when practicing new spells, happily affirming to her mentor that she had it under control, which she did. She always did, and Luna would congratulate her for it, but not without a small scolding which Sunset would always brush off. It stayed peaceful for a time, but over the moons Sunset's politeness grew into indignance, and indignance into anger. Perhaps her student had been trying to tell her something, something she’d brushed aside in concern of Sunset’s safety. Perhaps if she’d considered what her scoldings meant - or implied - from Sunset’s perspective then she wouldn’t be here now. But empathy was always her sister’s strong suit. Not hers.

From Sunset's fury bore insubordination. She began to ignore Luna's requests to join her at dinner, to do her assigned work, postponing them in favor of more personal pursuits. Ignoring lessons in control and self-restraint in favor of chasing more powerful spells, ways to augment her own magic and cutting herself off from her mentor. Luna could count on her hooves how many times she had seen Sunset during mealtimes in the last month. A far cry from the thrice-daily ritual often used as a time to catch up on the goings-on of both herself and her student. Luna thought that if Sunset were to be given some space, then maybe she would come around. But if that was the case, then she would not be standing outside her student’s door at the dead of night, hoof hoof held a fly’s width from the door.

Luna's eyes hardened as she rapped her hoof thrice against the wood. She expected no response, and she received none. No doubt Sunset was muzzle-deep in her latest pet project. A project that undoubtedly she thought her mentor would have no idea about, but Luna's eyes were everywhere. It hurt her more than she could describe that she had to use them on her own student, but deep down, she had known it was inevitable that Sunset would have pursued this, given her interests.

"I'm coming in, Sunset."

Luna gently pushed open the door, and stepped into the room of her prized pupil. It was a modest room, roughly the size of her own bedroom, suitable enough to play home for one should a pony desire. To her sides were bookshelves, packed to bursting point with an assortment of tomes and scrolls, so much so that some had to be placed on top of them as well, with the shelves themselves threatening to collapse at any minute. The lone table in the center of the room was also packed with books. Not nearly as much as the bookshelves, but just enough that a pony could not comfortably have her tea without shuffling its contents around first. If nothing else, the room certainly reflected the studious nature of her pupil.

Her eyes then fell on Sunset herself. The unicorn in question was lying in her bed, book in hoof with her comforter pulled up over her lower body. Combined with the candlelight it would be a serene picture were her eyes not locked on Luna, filled with an animosity she’d rarely seen, even over her long, long lifetime. To say it hurt would be an understatement, but as attention was brought to the book itself, she felt her heart shatter into countless shards before rusting away and dissolving into nothingness, an agonizing process both instant and one that could not end soon enough.

Surpassing Limits: Unmatched Power from Deep Within

Luna bit her lip. ‘I knew as much, but it still pains me to see...’

"Hello, Princess." Were there any water in the room it would've frozen over then and there.

"Hello, Sunset."

The two locked eyes, each daring the other to go first. It was tempting indeed, to tear into the heart of why she was here. To explain to her student that dark magic was not a force to be trifled with, that all it created was evil. But it was not what Sunset needed to hear right now, nor would it yield the outcome she desired. No, she could not stamp down on this. To do so might be the worst possible card she could play.

"What do you want?"

"I would speak with you, Sunset." Luna said. "But please, put the book down."

A huff escaped Sunset's mouth. With a quick flash of her horn, Sunset snapped the book shut and set it on her nightstand, her eyes never leaving her mentor.

She wanted to yell. Luna could see it in her eyes. She could both see her student’s barely suppressed defiance and feel her rage emanating off her in waves like its own twisted form of heat. Luna licked her lips, suddenly finding herself in need of a glass of water.

"What is it?"

"I'd like to address your... latest passion project."

For a brief moment of time, Luna could swear that Sunset's eyes had widened, though it came and went so fast it could be misconstrued as a trick of the light before the look of challenge returned in full force.

"Oh, yeah? So let me guess. You're gonna lecture me again, is that it? You're gonna tell me that this is too dangerous, and that I shouldn't concern myself with it? That I need to use proper safety like you always say? Or wait!" Her student leapt off the bed and started advancing towards her. "You're gonna force me to abandon this and do what you've laid out for me! You're gonna tell me to rehearse the fundamentals again! Fundamentals on magic I already know just because I felt like practicing something with a little more challenge! Is that it?!"

Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

‘In another time, yes.’

"No."

The look of venom plastered across Sunset's face vanished in an instant. Her oppressive aura that weighed down on Luna's very soul vanished, only to be replaced by a look of confusion and suspicion from her student.

"Then what is it?"

"What is... what?"

Sunset's eyes flared once again. "If you're not here to lecture me, or scold me, then why are you here? I doubt you're here to condone me, or wish me goodnight. You never visit my room this late, Princess."

Luna fought back a tear from showing. Was that how Sunset had come accustomed to their interactions now? Naught but an exchange of harsh words before she would bid Sunset her leave?

‘Though I cannot say she is entirely wrong.’

"Then allow me to correct that, starting now."

Ever so slightly, Sunset's defensive glare softened.

"Sunset, I know what you've been researching." Almost immediately, the glare was back. "I will not stop you. I would merely like to share a story... and ask a favor, if you'd permit."

Sunset held her glare for a moment, and Luna could almost see the gears turning in her student's head, going over every option, every possible outcome. Sunset's eyes darted around the room for a moment, before they fixed themselves back on Luna herself.

"A story?"

Luna made no effort to acknowledge her student's skeptical tone. "Indeed."

Sunset closed her eyes, and Luna’s breath refused to leave her until - after a brief pause - her student let out a huff. "Fine." She climbed back onto her bed and sat on the edge, her hind legs hanging off the edge, though she made no movement to invite her teacher to join her. "What is this story of yours?"

Luna walked over to where Sunset was perched, and sat down in front of her. She offered a grateful smile that would, hopefully put her student more at ease. "I appreciate your time, Sunset. It means more to me than you know."

Sunset's glare dissipated, replaced by a look of discomfort. "No problem." She mumbled.

Luna's heart leapt at the words. Perhaps Sunset didn’t despise her? Yes, she had to believe that, if only for her own peace of mind. Hopefully it would not prove to be wishful thinking.

"Sunset, do you remember much of the tale of two sisters?"

Sunset waved a hoof dismissively, allowing the ghost of a smirk to adorn her face. "That old foal’s tale? What about it?"

"Do you remember how it goes?"

Her student’s face fell, putting a hoof to her chin and tapping it before a look of embarrassment crept upon her face. "I... actually don't. You know I don't really care much for fairy tales, Princess. Sure I’ve heard it a couple of times, but that was years ago."

Luna covered her mouth with a hoof in a lazy attempt to suppress the chuckle that escaped her mouth. It was quite adorable to see her usually so composed daughter so embarrassed.

"Then you'll be happy to hear that the story I'm about to tell is very real."

Sunset brought her gaze back to Luna and gave her a skeptical look. "Hold ona minute, Princess. You’re not about to tell me that it's true, are you?"

Luna sighed. A small void began to form in her stomach, devouring the brief elation she had felt with her student with a voracious appetite that, for as long as she told this story, wouldn’t be vanishing anytime soon.

"It is, my student. I wish it were not so, but every aspect of it is true."

Immediately Sunset's skeptical look returned. "Really?"

Luna nodded.

"How do you know it's real, Princess?"

"A fair question, my student." Luna stood up. "I would know because I lived through it. I played a part in it first hoof."

Sunset's eyes widened, before returning to their previous state. "I... see."

Luna offered her student a gentle smile. "Would you like me to tell you the tale, Sunset?"

Sunset closed her eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again. She took a deep breath, before looking up at her mentor. "Sure."

"Very well." Luna stepped towards the window, glancing through the glass and surveying the impossible sight below. Truly, Canterlot was always a sight to behold. Everywhere she looked she saw houses, government buildings, and the occasional tree. Farther out the government buildings gave way to local shops, and apartment complexes, while the number of individual houses and trees grew in number, all bathed in the beautiful glow of moonlight. Farther beyond, beyond the boundaries of Canterlot, Luna could spy dim lights near the Everfree. Ponyville, if she wasn't mistaken. It was all so peaceful, enough for her to gather her nerves.

It was far from a happy tale, but one that needed to be told regardless.

"A long, long time ago, Sunset, nearly a millennium now if I'm not mistaken, there were two royal sisters who ruled side by side. The eldest sister commanded authority over the sun, raising it every morning, and lowering it every night. In turn, the youngest would raise and lower the moon, in the absence of her sister's celestial presence. The two ruled in harmony, guiding and protecting their ponies, be it day or night, and bringing peace and prosperity to the land of Equestria... for a time." Luna turned around, bringing her gaze back to her student. Sunset’s expression was unreadable, her eyes locked on Luna with a hoof idly tracing the patterns on her bedsheet. A lump began to form in her throat, but she did her best to ignore it.

"But it was not to be. Being the eldest, the sister was called on time and time again to use her superior strength to protect Equestria from demons that lurk in the realms beyond. One by one, she would banish them each to the depths of Tartarus, employing powers that have since been lost to time. But these powers took a toll on the fair sister." Luna could feel herself begin to tremble. "These powers consumed both her mind and body, leaving in its wake one of the very demons she sought to protect Equestria from, and turned on her younger sister. The youngest tried to reason with her, to bid her to act in reason, but the eldest was too far gone. Reluctantly, the youngest sister employed the most powerful magic known to ponykind; the Elements of Harmony, banishing her elder sister to the sun, from where she may never return."

Luna felt something wet touch slide down her face and fall onto her hoof. She didn't even need to look down to know what it was. "With great sorrow, the youngest took the responsibility over the sun and the moon, maintaining the peace both her and her sister and fought hard to achieve forevermore."

Luna's gaze never wavered from her student. It was a hard tale to tell, one Luna had lived with for nearly a millennia now, but the knife was drilled in just as deep with each telling.

Sunset's face was one of surprise. Luna could not speak on the exact inner workings of her student’s mind, but this was a familiar silence; one Sunset often employed after one of Luna’s long lectures, usually meaning she was organizing her thoughts, weighing what questions to ask. After a moment, Sunset readjusted herself so she was properly facing her mentor.

"What made her turn?"

Luna sighed. There was no way to sugar coat this, and Sunset would not like the answer. "Dark magic, Sunset." Indeed, Sunset's look of intrigue vanished, marred once again by skepticism, with a hint of her prior animosity back on her features. "To draw on dark magic requires a pony to draw on feelings that are not healthy to indulge in. They put aside positive feelings in favor of ones such as spite, envy, and greed. My sister and I both knew this, but neither of us could possibly have anticipated the consequences."

Sunset put a hoof on her chin tapping it as her eyes began to narrow. "This sounds... awfully convenient, Princess." The animosity that darkened her features began to coax itself out of hiding, covering more of her face as she locked her gaze with Luna. "You're telling me that some old foal’s tale from a thousand years ago is real? You're the only pony alive to be able to actually attest to it. That's not a concrete form of evidence."

Bile erupted in Luna's throat as her eyes narrowed. "Are you calling my sister's banishment a 'convenience', Sunset?" Rage prevented her from holding back the scowl she gave to her student, though Sunset had the decency to at least look ashamed.Unfurling her wings, Luna began to advance towards her student. "Or perhaps that I made this story up on the spot for my own gain? Perish the thought. I am many things, Sunset. But I am not a liar. I would never, never stoop to such lows as spinning a lie for my own gain, and it offends me that you would think so."

Sunset threw her hooves up in front of herself. "Okay, okay, I get it!" Her accusatory tone vanished, replaced by a softer voice. One that Luna had rarely heard. "I'm sorry, Princess, alright? I just don't get why you're telling me this at all."

Luna couldn't dispel the small prick of guilt that stuck in her as she saw Sunset's bravado temporarily vanish. ‘I shouldn't have lost myself like that.’ Regardless of Sunset's behavior as of late, she was nonetheless a pony Luna had come to love.

"My apologies, Sunset. My rage should not be directed at you."

Sunset shook her head. "Nah, Princess, I was being... insensitive." Sunset looked away. "I'm sorry." Luna couldn't hide her surprise. An apology from Sunset was something she hadn't heard in moons.

"I just... don't understand."

Luna cocked her head. "What is the matter?"

"If dark magic is so bad then why aren't you forcing me to stop?" A small prick of anger shot to the surface of Sunset's eyes. "You've done it before. Why not do it again?"

Carefully, gently, Luna took the final few steps toward her student. Gingerly she lifted up one of her forelegs and placed it on Sunset's shoulder, elation filling her heart when Sunset made no move to stop her. Her student’s eyes rose to meet her and she gave Sunset a sympathetic smile.

"I was widening the rift between us, Sunset, because I attempted to force you. I was afraid that should you delve into a passion beyond your control then I would lose you forever."

“Wait a minute.” Recognition flashed across Sunset's face. "Your sister."

"Just so." Luna nodded. "I couldn't bear to lose another pony so important in my life. It’s been thousands of moons, Sunset, but the pain is as fresh as the night I last saw her."

Silence followed the exchange between student and mentor. Luna watched patiently as Sunset gazed down at the floor, mulling over their conversation. To say Luna was pleased with the direction their discussion had taken would be an understatement. Somewhere, underneath the deep-seeded pride of the young unicorn, there was still her student, who respected Luna even now, regardless of the rift put between them. Eventually, Sunset lifted her gaze back up to meet hers. Any trace of indignance or reservation replaced by guarded curiosity.

"And what was this favor you wanted of me, Princess?"

Luna's smile faltered. She subconsciously brought up a hoof and scratched the back of her mane. "Ah, yes. That." She took a deep breath, regaining her composure. "Should you wish to continue learning dark magic, Sunset, I would ask that you permit me to teach you. I would not want you to learn it at all, but if you so desire, then at least allow me the comfort of knowing that you'll be safe."

Sunset's expression was a mix of both surprise and apprehension. "Uhhh, are you sure, Princess?" She asked after a moment. "We both know it's illegal..."

Luna's gaze hardened. "I am well aware if it's status in the eyes of the law, Sunset. I outlawed it myself."

"Then, why?"

Luna gave her student a smile. "Because, my student, dark magic - while dangerous - can be controlled with proper tutelage. And besides," She continued, cutting off whatever reply Sunset had in store. "It is as I've said before, I have been rather forceful in your curriculum. Consider this my apology, should you accept it."

Luna watched a thousand emotions dance across Sunset's eyes. An entire spectrum, from elation to apprehension, then apprehension to worry, and back again. Eventually, the festival in her eyes subsided, and they refocused back on Luna.

"Princess, do you mean it?" Sunset asked. Despite her happiness, Luna could sense a small seed of suspicion buried deep underneath her words.

It was hard to ignore the small pang of hurt that coursed through Luna's body at Sunset's hesitation, but she brushed it off to the best of her ability.

‘I should be happy that we've made so much progress in the span of one night. I can ask for no more than that.’

"Of course, my student." Luna said, grinning. She backed away, giving her pupil some space as Sunset hopped off the bed. Once more the unicorn tapped a hoof to her chin, closing her eyes and humming to herself. Not long after she opened her eyes and looked at Luna with a smile, the first genuine smile Luna had seen from her student in months, and one that was beyond infectious.

"Sure. Why not?"

Luna was only able to keep her elation in check due to the not-insignificant wave of resignation that crashed into her. I suppose it was too much to hope for her to say no. Exposing her student to dark magic was... dangerous, to put it lightly, and it hurt to know that she would be doing it willingly. There was so much room for it to go awry, to corrupt another pony she held close to her heart, and steal them away forever. But at the same time, she had to remind herself, Sunset was already exploring this very dangerous path, and there was a very real chance that, had she not intervened, she would've lost her daughter forever.

‘Better I teach her to defend herself from the darkness than to stand by in silence... again.’

No, she was making the right choice, and one that gave her a chance to rekindle her bond with SunsetTruthfully, she couldn't ask for more. Tentatively she wrapped a wing around Sunset, and when the unicorn made no movement to object to the display of affection pulled her in close.

"Sunset, you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that."

"I can guess." Sunset said. eventually stepping away from her mentor. "So, when do we start?"

Luna began making her way towards the door. "Tomorrow." She said. Sunset's face immediately curved into a frown. She began to open her mouth to speak, but Luna cut her off. "It is as you said yourself, Sunset. It’s late. As much as I would like to get started on your lessons immediately, I believe we can both agree that we've had an eventful day."

Sunset stomped her hoof on the floor. "But I-!" She took a deep breath, lowering her gaze to her hooves. "No, that's not fair. I understand, Princess."

Luna smiled at her student. "Thank you, Sunset." Raising a hoof to the door, Luna paused. "Though, I suppose there is one thing you can do if you wish, to prepare yourself."

"Really?" Sunset's head shot up, her demeanor changing to one of an over-enthusiastic filly. Luna couldn't help but giggle. "What is it, Princess?"

"Meditation." Luna said. At Sunset's confused expression, she continued. "Meditation tempers the mind and revitalizes the soul, Sunset. Dark magic seeks to corrupt, and can overwhelm an overworked mind with ease with enough time. Exercising control over your mind and guarding your soul against it can not only render its efforts futile, it can reverse the damage it does. Does that make sense?"

After a moment, Sunset nodded. "Yes, Princess." Luna watched her student shift nervously from hoof to hoof. "But, where should I start?"

Luna gestured to her student's bed. "Right there is as good a start as any. Close your eyes and focus on clearing your mind of any wayward thoughts. It's a far cry from not thinking." She added, noticing Sunset's skeptical expression. "It takes more effort than one might think to calm a busy mind. But in doing so, it brings your emotions further under your control. This will be a staple in our lessons, and I will not begrudge you starting now."

Sunset kept her gaze locked on Luna for a moment before nodding. "Alright, Princess. I'll do it... and thanks."

"Hmm?" Luna was nearly out of Sunset's room entirely before turning around. "What for, my student."

"For letting me do this." Sunset said. "It really means a lot."

Luna's heart flipped, and she gave her student one last smile.

"Of course, Sunset. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Princess."

Gently Luna closed the door to her student's room. For a moment she simply stood there, observing all of the small cracks and dents in the painted wood borne from untold centuries of use, before signing and turning around, making her way to her own chambers, her soul weighing lighter with each and every step she took. Their confrontation could've gone in a far less favorable direction than it did, though preferably Luna would rather not entertain those possibilities.

‘It's in the past now, and there it will stay.’

Stopping, Luna turned her attention to one of the many windows dotted throughout the palace. Outside she could once again see the sprawling land of Canterlot, but that was not her focus this time. Instead, her gaze shifted upwards, up to the familiar glowing orb that was imprinted on her flank. Her mind wandered back to the story she told Sunset.

“Reluctantly, the youngest sister employed the most powerful magic known to ponykind, the Elements of Harmony, banishing her elder sister to the sun, from where she may never return.”

Luna sighed. There was one last part of the tale she had omitted when telling it to Sunset. But it was not of importance to her student. Not yet.

‘Ten years.’

A decade. That's how long she had left to prepare Sunset for a fight she never wanted to train her for. The Elements didn't respond to Luna now, not anymore. But Sunset had a passion. A passion in her soul that with any luck, could be used to defend Equestria against her sister once more. Luna's eyes hardened as she stared at the moon.

‘In ten years, sister. I will see you again.’

Friendship is Magic - Part One

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

Friendship is Magic - Part Two

It wasn’t a no.

Sunset was unable to move, rooted to where she stood the ice that froze her veins seeped into her muscles, locking them up and forcing her to watch the display born of Tartarus unfold in front of her.

A shout came from below Daybreaker and three pegasi royal guards shot towards the alicorn. Sunset tried to open her mouth - warn them against attacking her, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Hmph.” Daybreaker’s mane - still singing the glass descended on the royal guards, striking them simultaneously and sending them headfirst into a wall. They were able to get up but did not take flight again, singe marks now across their chests serving as the only blemish on their pristine coats.

‘It wasn’t a no!’

Fire began to gather around Daybreaker, completely engulfing the alicorn in a sphere of flame before firing itself towards one of the walls of Town Hall. Ponies shrieked as they leaped out of the way just in time to allow the fire, Daybreaker, an uninterrupted shot. An ear-splitting explosion rang out, dwarfing any last screams as she blasted through the unsuspecting barrier. The sudden swaying of the building was enough for Sunset - and everypony else to jostle themselves into motion.

“Come back here!”

As Sunset pivoted around to join the others in a mad dash out of Town Hall a rainbow bullet caught her eye, disregarding the doors and rocketing out of the hole Daybreaker made. Pelting out of the unstable building’s doors, she cast her gaze up to see the last traces of Daybreaker’s fire - a trail of light - heading towards the Everfree before it receded beneath the pines.

Sunset brought her gaze down towards Golden Oaks. She grit her teeth as her hooves thundered down the dirt road, the ice-cold horror finally melting away and yielding to a much hotter and infinitely more violent feeling that had been burning in her core. Her horn flashed a blinding white as the door to Golden Oaks flew open. Said door slammed against an inner wall and was accompanied by the sound of splintering wood, though the use of excessive force proved an insufficient outlet for her current emotional state.

“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”

“It wasn’t a bucking no!”

Sunset’s vocal cords pleaded in mercy as a scream clawed its way up her throat. She made no effort to stop it, accompanying the unholy cry by rearing herself up before slamming back onto the wooden floor. Her horn flared to life, pulling a book out of her saddlebags - the brown book with her cutie mark. She scowled at it and flung it into the fireplace of Golden Oaks. Her horn stayed alight as a high-pitched whirring sound filled the room. A rapid pressure began to build in her head, one she happily channeled into her horn, firing bullets of cyan light at the offending book. Flames erupted from where they touched, sticking onto it and covering the inside of the fireplace, and it was only moments before the item was nearly lost behind the flames. She rounded off her assault by charging another beam - much like the one she’d done twice the other day, and let it loose accompanied by another unholy scream. A thunderclap sounded as her spell struck the fireplace, shaking the library as flames launched themselves from it and onto the floor, sputtering out harmlessly as they made contact with the wood.

Sunset panted as she continued to glare at the ball of fire that now more than took up the entire fireplace. Even when hiding behind the flames, she could still make out the book her mentor had gifted her. It was still intact. It would still be intact even after all of those flames burnt out. Luna had seen to that, after discovering Sunset’s… pension for fire spells.

“Huh. Never seen a pony light a fire in summer before.”

Sunset whirled around to find five ponies in the entrance to Golden Oaks; Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and interestingly even Fluttershy were all standing in front of the door, each one looking at her with wide eyes and more than a little trepidation, save for Rainbow, who was lazily flapping her wings, dangling in mid-air with an impressive amount of control and giving Sunset a calculating look. Fluttershy was cowering behind Rarity, and even from across the room it was obvious that she was trembling.

Sunset closed her eyes and inhaled. It was slow, controlled, albeit extremely shaky. The exhale was much the same though much more forceful. Opening her eyes, the pressure remaining in her head subsided slightly as the five ponies came back into view. If nothing else, it was good to see familiar faces.

“Hello.” It was strained, stilted, but it was the best she could manage that wasn’t a snarl.

“So what’s up?” Rainbow’s wings snapped to her sides, allowing her to fall gracefully to the floor. “You okay?”

Sunset bit her lip in a bit to hold back the bile climbing its way up her throat. Oh she was definitely fine. Luna was nowhere to be found and a mad alicorn was running amok in Equestria. What else could she possibly be but fine? She placed a hoof to her horn and massaged it, letting out a huff of air. No. She’d already gone through that song and dance hours ago. Sarcasm wouldn’t help anypony right now.

“No, I’m not.”

Sunset gingerly set her hoof back down and glared back at the fireplace. The flames were beginning to die out, fully revealing her book. The surface wasn’t so much as charred. Of course it wasn’t.

“I’ve been worrying about this since last morning.” Sunset said. The calculating look in Rainbow’s eyes vanished and she nodded her head. “I reread… a document… about a conflict between Princess Luna and another alicorn, who I guess was Daybreaker. To summarize; Luna used some unheard-of magic to banish Daybreaker for supposedly a thousand years. The document’s authenticity was questionable, so I was skeptical she’d actually come back but hey, buck me, I guess.”

Sunset turned her head as far as she could and ignited her horn, dragging the book out of the fireplace. Embers hissed and fell off it, landing on the wooden floor before again harmlessly sputtering out. She spun her head back around to face the five mares and brandished the book towards them.

“And the worst part? I asked her. I asked her if Daybreaker would be freed.” her voice began rapidly climbing in volume as the hold on her book began to shake, her horn flickering dangerously. The other five mares flinched at the sight, but it was hardly noticed by her.

“I asked Luna if Daybreaker would be freed and she just told me ‘go to Ponyville’! I could have helped her, but she didn’t! Bucking! Tell me!”

Sunset swirled her head in a wide arc, rearing her body before slashing it downwards. Her book followed suit, moving slightly with her horn movements and spiking into the floor. A cracking noise reverberated throughout the library as the book made contact with the wood, bouncing back up and revealing a sizable split in the floor before covering it back up again.

Silence followed Sunset’s outburst. What the other mares were thinking or doing was lost on her as she stared blankly at the book branded by her cutie mark. A small, more rational portion of her mind told her that Luna probably had her reasons, that a world-threatening calamity was something she probably wanted to shield her student from, or that Luna did want to tell her, but never got the chance. But she always could have said that yes, Daybreaker was real and explained a little further. That, and venting her frustration was a lot more satisfying. It was always easier to just be mad.

The sound of hoofsteps barely registered to her. They were quiet at first, not just because they were farther away, but deliberately softer. But as they continued, and their owner got closer, they started gaining in confidence.

An orange hoof entered her vision. Looking up, Applejack was standing right above her book. She was frowning, though not at Sunset, and there wasn’t any hardness in her eyes. She bent down and gingerly snapped up the book in her mouth before setting it onto one of the nearby chairs.

“Listen, Sugarcube.” Applejack hedged. “I can’t speak for your troubles. You know ‘em better than any of us. And the last thing I wanna do is tell you how to feel.” She sat down in front of Sunset. Despite her eyes holding no hardness, it still felt like they were boring into Sunset. Wisdom of sorts, she decided.

“But you might be the only pony right now that may know what’s goin’ on. Be honest with yourself, Sugarcube. Is bein’ mad really gonna help you? Help any of us?”

Sunset hung her head and took a deep breath. Biting back was tempting. Really, it was. It was something she knew how to do. Not… this. Not a national crisis. Grappling with powerful forces that wanted to usurp power from Equestria? Sunset had read history books. That was Luna’s territory, not hers.

‘But Luna’s not here, is she?’

Sunset let go of her breath. Exhaling she raised her head back up to look at Applejack. No longer was she wearing a frown, but instead a small, supportive smile.

“You’re right.” Sunset relented. “I know you’re right, Applejack. It’s just…” The words died on her lips.

“I know you’re stressed, Sugarcube.” Applejack replied. “But you’re not the only one who’s gettin’ affected by this. We’re all in this together. Remember that.”

“What she said.”

Sunset turned her attention away from Applejack and back to the others. All four of them saddled up to Applejack. Rainbow gave Sunset a cocky smile and slung her foreleg around Applejack, who slightly leaned away from Rainbow and arched an eyebrow. “You’ve got us.”

“I must agree.” Rarity stepped forward and sat beside Sunset. “This is quite the… unique situation we find ourselves in, Dear. I daresay nothing like this has happened in recent history. All we have is each other, so we must rely on each other.” She gave Sunset a smile. One that Sunset had no problems with returning.

“Thanks.” Sunset said. She looked over to Pinkie and Fluttershy. Pinkie also gave her a smile, though Fluttershy was still… well no, she wasn’t cowering. Just standing behind Pinkie and looking at a point just in front of Sunset.

Sunset took a deep breath and closed her eyes. This… this was nice. Granted the situation wasn’t, far from it in fact, and she could hardly call herself at peace. Staring down an eternal sun would no doubt wreak havoc on the land, ponies, and untamed parts of the globe where weather conducted itself, and her feelings about Luna…

She exhaled.

‘I’m definitely talking to her later…’

‘If I ever see her again.’

“So, Darling, do you have any ideas?”

Rarity’s voice prompted Sunset to open her eyes. The five mares had all moved directly in front of her, though Rainbow had taken back up into the air again, with her wings occasionally twitching mid-flight and resting a hoof in front of her mouth.

Sunset arched an eyebrow. “‘Any ideas’?”

Rarity nodded her head. “Yes. Any ideas on where she may have been headed, or what she’s doing, or…” Rarity winced. “Dear Luna, any way we could stop her.” The Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack, as well as Sunset herself gave Rarity a surprised look, though Rarity ignored them.

“I must admit I don’t find the idea of trying to stop a mad alicorn particularly appealing, but I suspect that soon there won’t be much of an Equestria with that ruffian on the loose.”

“Right.” Sunset put a hoof to her mouth, lightly nibbling it as she cast her gaze one by one over the others.

“Ideas.”

“First thing I wanna know is where she went.” Applejack said. She glanced out of one of the library windows, though there wasn’t much to see. “Rarity and I were both still inside after Daybreaker busted a hole in Town Hall. I saw Rainbow fly after her though.” Every head expectantly turned towards Rainbow.

The sudden - and simultaneous - shift of heads seemed to get Rainbow’s attention. She blinked a couple times as all eyes fell on her. “Wha-? Hey, what’s with all the looks?”

“If you were listenin’, you’d know we were wonderin’ if ya saw where Daybreaker was headed.” Applejack snarked.

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, don’t gimmie that, AJ! I was thinkin’ about something else!” Rainbow crossed her forelegs and turned away from Applejack. “And yes, I did see where she was headed.”

Sunset quickly took a step towards Rainbow, prompting the pegasus to turn to her. “Where to?”

“The middle of the Everfree.” The shudder that passed through the pegasus - as well as everypony else in the room save for Pinkie - wasn’t lost on Sunset. “But I dunno why she’d head there though. There’s just monsters.”

“Hmm…” Sunset frowned and put a hoof to her mouth. “Not necessarily.” Five pairs of eyes turned to face her.

“What’s that, Sugarcube?”

“I’ve read up on the Everfree a few times.” Sunset said. She moved her hoof away from her mouth and began tapping it on the floor. “There’s not a lot of concrete information on it save for monsters, but I’ve read a few books that touch on various ruins and the like. It’s mostly speculation, but hey.” Sunset scoffed.

“Daybreaker wasn’t supposed to be real. I’d bet my horn there are ruins from her time in there.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the other five mulled over what she said. Applejack cast her gaze out the window, letting out a small hum before turning back towards Sunset.

“I can’t say we have much else to go on. I’ll trust ya, Sugarcube. It’s as good a lead as we got.” Various noises and affirmations of agreement echoed from the other four.

“Okay, so that’s great.” Rainbow said. She let herself down to the floor with little flair and snapped her wings to her side, before tapping the ground with her hoof. “But what good does that do us? How the hay are we supposed to stop a crazy, evil alicorn?”

Sunset’s body sagged as a grimace wormed its way onto her face. “I know of one way.” She muttered. “But it’s as good as hopeless.”

“And how’s that, Sugarcube?”

Biting her lip, Sunset swept her gaze over the other five. They didn’t seem the type to laugh at her, at least as far as she’d seen, and the odds were that they’d take her seriously, but hay, telling ponies that a bedtime story was real was a tall order regardless.

“This is gonna sound silly, but does anypony remember the old tale of the two sisters?” Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy shook their heads.

“M-hm.” Rarity nodded. “I’ve read it to my sister quite a few times. Why do you ask, Darling?”

Sunset looked towards the ground and began sketching a moon with her hoof. Anything to keep her body occupied. “Yeah, well, it’s real.” She didn’t even bother glancing up at their faces before she continued. “In the tale the younger sister - Princess Luna that is - used some magic called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ to seal her away. It’s said that it’s the most powerful magic available to ponykind, and if we want any chance of stopping her it’s all we’ve got.” She looked back up from her invisible sketch towards the five ponies in front of her. All of their eyes were fixed on her with various looks of disbelief, save for Pinkie, who’d turned her attention somewhere else. One of the bookshelves, maybe.

Sunset let out a mirthless chuckle. “But who knows where they might be.”

Applejack’s skeptical look morphed into a frown. “And old foal’s tale, eh?” She shook her head. “Can’t say that gives us much does it?”

Sunset closed her eyes and let out a huff. “I know.” Opening them again, she stared back at the floor where she’d traced the moon. She gave the spot a little kick, pretending there was something there, that her kick actually had an impact. Not that it helped any. “And I don’t even know where to begin looking.”

“The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.”

Sunset - as well as everypony else - snapped their heads up and looked towards the source of the voice. Pinkie, instead of standing with the other four mares, was over by one of the bookshelves opposite the fireplace, looking up at one of the books with a huge grin on her face.

Sunset was only dimly aware of darting towards her. No. There was no way it was that easy. All of her senses; hearing, seeing, even touch had gone numb as her hooves thundered over the wooden floor. She skidded to a halt right beside the pink pony and cast her eyes up towards the book Pinkie was looking at. She barely read the spine of the book that was the focus of her attention, but somehow, somewhere in the far corner of her brain that wasn’t completely frozen over, the words written there checked out with what Pinkie had said.

‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide’.

Sunset wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling as she ignited her horn and pulled the book down. She flipped over to the glossary and began scanning the words. By all rights she should be relieved that it was this easy to track down a book that was this relevant to her situation. It would probably never happen again. But at the same time, the fact that it was as easy as looking in a public library - in a rural town no less - was almost mocking.

“Last Known Location… Page 103”

Sunset flipped to the listed page and scanned over it. There was a sketch of five rocks in a pentagon formation, with a different gemstone carved into each one. All of them were connected by a line inward to a sixth rock, though this one was blank. Sunset hummed, filing the drawing away in her mind as her eyes shifted to the words beside the sketch.

“Last Seen:”

“Right here.” A smile worked its way onto her face as she turned around and made her way back to the other four, never taking her eyes off the page. She sat down in front of them and pressed her hoof next to the letters. She slowly slid it down in tandem with the words on the page as she read along.

“There are six elements of Harmony, but only five are known; Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery.” A pit began to develop in her stomach as her smile slid off her face. Her hoof momentarily froze and she let out a small huff.

‘How encouraging.’

“It is said that the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, which is located in what is now -”

Any modicum of success Sunset may have felt was lost as the pit in her gut was torn open; so much so it could have physically devoured her and she wouldn’t have been surprised. Her teeth gnashed together as she took her hoof off the page and grabbed the cover of the book. She threw her body weight to the side, flipping the cover of the book over and slamming it shut.

“Oh, of course it’s in the middle of the Everfree-bucking-Forest! Where else would it be?!”

The slam of the book blew her mane back a little as she threw the book back towards the shelves. The poor hardback slammed into a row of other books, jostling a few of them off their perch and thudding unceremoniously onto the floor.

“Darling.”

Sunset whirled around and faced the other five mares. Rarity had stepped forwards and was giving Sunset a sympathetic look.

“Pardon me, Dear, but do you think you could… ease up a little?” She bit her lip. “I think it would behoove all of us if you were to calm down.”

“W-wha-?” Sunset sputtered. She gazed wide-eyed at Rarity as her jaw flailed about, opening and closing sporadically much like a fish’s would.

“Calm down…?” Sunset rotated her whole body so she was facing Rarity. “‘Calm down’? Rarity, the elements are in the middle of the Everfree and you think I can just ‘calm down’?” Sunset threw her head back and let out a scoff. It was cold, mocking, though it did little to help her mood.

“At least when I didn’t know where the elements were I could pretend that maybe, eventually, we could get them! But this is worse! I’m sorry, Rarity, but ponies don’t just walk into the Everfree Forest! I’ve read about the place and I know that it just doesn’t happen!” Sunset punctuated her last sentence with a stomp of her hoof. When she pulled it up she could feel a slight pullback as her hoof came free from the notch it just created. Another item on the list of damages she’d inflicted on the poor library. Sunset’s heart sank as Rarity flinched and stepped back towards the other five.

“I know you’re stressed, Sugarcube. But you’re not the only one who’s gettin’ affected by this.”

‘... Oh, hayseeds. I’m doing it again.’

Sunset allowed her neck to go limp. Her head lolled about and the rest of her body was soon to follow. “Dear heavens. Look, girls, I’m sorry I shouted. It’s just…” Sunset’s hind legs slowly gave out, sending her unceremoniously into a sitting position. “It’s the Everfree. It’s big, it’s dark, and ponies just… don’t come back.”

It was a half truth if nothing else. The ever-expanding Everfree’s size wasn’t lost on anypony, especially not to the natives of Canterlot who could see the dark green haze spanning across the horizon on a clear day, and having been near it earlier, it lived up to being known as the ‘darkest place in Equestria’.

But above all, as the blood pumping through her veins washed away the last fragments of adrenaline from Daybreaker’s return, and the thought of the large imposing pines drifted to the forefront of her vision; the last fragment of her hot, burning anger was snuffed out, replaced by a familiar, icy feeling that took hold of her, constricting around her throat and freezing her veins solid.

Despite her lax posture, Sunset felt herself begin to shiver. It wasn’t cold out. It hadn’t been for months. She opened her lungs, and inhaled, but the breath was shaky.

“I just… I’m…”

She couldn’t say it.

She wouldn’t say it.

The soft, steady pitter-patter of hooves coaxed Sunset’s head upwards. Fluttershy was standing in front of her. She was completely silent as she sat down beside Sunset and slowly, tentatively, outstretched a wing and set it on her back.

Sunset stiffened up at the feathery touch, but as the wing began tracing circles on her back her muscles began to relax. Her shaky breaths began to even out, eventually becoming smooth, controlled inhales.

She shifted her head slightly towards Fluttershy, her eyes traveling the rest of the distance until she could see the pegasus clearly. Surprisingly she was smiling at her. It was a small, comforting smile, one a pony might use when comforting a foal, with no hints of trepidation nor fear anywhere in her eyes - a stark contrast from the mare that couldn’t look at her the other day, or even moments ago. It was odd if nothing else.

“S-so,” Fluttershy said, “d-do you think that’s why Daybreaker’s heading to the Everfree? To take the Elements?”

“Probably.” Sunset replied. She moved her forelegs forward, letting Fluttershy’s wing slide off her back as she stood up. “If she gets them first there’s not much anypony can do to stop her.”

“Then we just gotta find them first!” Sunset looked towards Rainbow. The pegasus was standing, wings outstretched with her mouth jammed in a line. Sunset fought the urge to glare at her, instead opting for rolling her eyes.

“You saw where she went better than any of us, Rainbow. She’s probably there already.”

Rainbow’s expression morphed into a glare. She focused her eyes on Sunset and let out a huff. “Hey, she’s probably there, sure, but she’s gotta find the Elements first!” Her glare softened, making room for her cocky smile. “We just gotta beat her to it.”

Sunset turned her head away and grimaced. Finding the Elements before Daybreaker? Considering her massive head start on them, that was a tall order at best. Considering that none of them knew the exact whereabouts of the castle, and factoring in the Everfree’s size, trying to find the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in Equestria’s most dismal forest could accurately be described as trying to find a needle in a haystack.

“Rainbow’s right.”

Sunset casted her gaze back towards the others. Applejack had stepped forward, her jaw set tight and her eyes set on the book Sunset had thrown.

“Daybreaker’s probably searchin’ for those Elements right now. Best we can do is skedaddle and try and find ‘em first.”

Applejack cast her gaze back to Sunset. Her jaw loosened, turning upwards slightly. It wasn’t a smile, but it was certainly much softer.

“Think there’s any directions in that book, Sugarcube?”

Sunset slowly made her way towards the book. Even from across the room it sported a visible dent in its bindings, some of the fake gold adorning it having been chipped off. She bit her lip, her face rising in temperature as she lit her horn, gingerly plucking the book from its spot on the shelf. Wordlessly she flipped to the glossary.

‘Please have directions, please have directions…’

“Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters… Page 105”

It wasn’t directions, but it was certainly a start… hopefully. A spark of hope flared to life in her gut - one she quickly stamped out. It was far too soon to be celebrating. Sunset bit her lip and scowled, quickly closing the book and opening it from the font, hastily flipping over page after page until a hoof-written and highly ornate ‘105’ stared back at her.

“Whereabouts:”

A small smile worked its way onto her face. It wasn’t confirmation, but the odds of there being at least something was growing. She whirled around and - for a second time - cantered back to the other five, muzzle in book.

“It might be here.”

The book floated down to the ground and tipped over onto its spine. Sunset threw a hoof onto the pages, locking it in place as the other five circled around it.

“While confined to the heart of the Everfree Forest there are still many paths to and from the Castle that persist even today.” The spark in Sunset’s gut flared to life again, though no effort was made to snuff it out as the smile on her face only grew. “Currently the closest suspected path to the Castle runs through -”

Sunset was cut off by a loud cheer from Rainbow. Turning her head, Sunset saw the pegasus unfurl her wings and lift off from the ground, doing a small loop before landing back on the ground.

“Aww yeah!” Rainbow cried. “It runs through Ponyville! Piece a cake!”

Sunset nodded, the smile on her face completely taking over as she glanced back down at the book, reading over the last sentence one more time.

“Currently the closest suspected path to the Castle runs through Ponyville.”

Lighting her horn, Sunset picked the book back up and trotted over to its proper position - the ‘E’ section - and slid the book back into place. She’d have to pay for the damages done to the book later. For now, she could at least treat it nicely.

“Sunset, Darling!”

Sunset turned her head back around. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were all standing next to the exit of Golden Oaks, all looking at her expectantly.

“Are you coming?”

Sunset bit her lip, inhaling through the cracks in her mouth, and holding her breath. No. Stars above how she wished she could say no. Never in her life did she think she’d have to set hoof into the Everfree. Ponyville was close enough to the Everfree for her. Hay, Canterlot was close enough to the Everfree. Sunset threw up a small smile and trotted towards the other five.

“Yeah. I’m coming.”

Rarity nodded and stepped aside, allowing the other four to exit Golden Oaks before giving Sunset a smile and turning around, falling in place behind the others. Sunset evolved her slow trot into a canter, drawing in another breath and holding it until she exited the library, quickly joining up with the other five and falling into place at the center of the group next to Rarity.

***

“Sunset, Darling, are you ready?”

Sunset swallowed. It did little to push back the knot forming in her throat, nor did it do anything to quell her nerves.

Even when up close - not just as close as when she’d seen it earlier on the road to Fluttershy - but standing right at the maw of the beast, not even the intensity of Daybreaker’s sun could pierce through the dense canopy of the Everfree. The blinding, aggressive light of day beating down on the rest of Equestria was only able to convince the Everfree to yield only a few meters before the stubborn shadows reclaimed their hold. Even the pathway that led into it, where the light should have been the strongest, had only been able to penetrate less than a meter deeper before tapering off into blackness. A nagging feeling started up in her gut. She should say yes. The fate of Equestria could rely on this mission. There was no time to be scared. But the more she stood up close, even with all six of them staring down the ancient pines, the harder it became to say that word. Her body sagged, though only minorly, her eyes never leaving the path in front of her.

“No…” She relented.

A body saddled up to her, prompting Sunset to turn. Rainbow’s cocky grin greeted her.

“Good thing you have us then, right?”

Sunset worked her mouth into a smile and gave Rainbow a nod.

“Yeah. Guess so.”

“Uh-huh.” Rainbow puffed her chest out and thumped it with her hoof. “Now c’mon! Daylight’s burning!

“Wha-?”

Wind ripped past Sunset as Rainbow galloped into the forest, and it took only moments before the last of Rainbow’s tail to vanish into the darkness. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all followed suit, trotting into the forest and vanishing from sight. Sunset lurched forward, throwing up a hoof after them, but not breaking into a walk.

“Hey, wait!”

A giggle prompted her to turn around. Rarity was standing at the side opposite of where Rainbow had been. Her eyes were fixed on Sunset, and she wore a sympathetic expression.

“She’s quite something isn’t she?”

“Who, Rainbow?” Sunset moved her hoof to her muzzle, pinching it and letting out a groan. “Yeah. A giant pain in the flank is what she is right now.” Rarity’s giggled increased in volume, prompting Sunset to shoot her a half-hearted glare.

“I suppose you could say that, yes.” Rarity cast a glance at the Everfree before shifting it back to Sunset. “But she is right, you know.”

Sunset fully turned her gaze to Rarity. She took her hoof off her muzzle and arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“What Rainbow’s saying is that you have us, Darling. We want to help you.” Rarity took a step toward the Everfree and beckoned for Sunset to follow along. Gingerly, Sunset her hoof down in front of her, slowly putting her full pressure down on it before pulling the rest of her body along.

Rarity gave Sunset an encouraging nod and picked up her pace. She turned her attention away from Sunset as a blue glow surrounded her horn and the darkness around her began to fade. “As your friends we’re here for you, Dear.”

Both Sunset and Rarity stopped as Rarity put a hoof to her mouth and giggled. “A sentiment I quite agree with myself, and right now we simply must get you to that castle safely. Now, come along.”

Rarity set her hoof back down to the ground and picked up her pace again. Sunset remained rooted to the ground, her eyes following the bobbing blue sphere of light as it descended deeper and deeper into the woods. A frown worked its way onto her face, and she lifted a hoof to her mouth, nibbling on it.

Friends? That seemed a little too far. Sure, maybe they were nice enough, and they’d all been more than amicable over the past day, even Fluttershy to some extent, but that hardly meant they were friends. It was supposed to take more than a few pleasantries, right? Sunset’s frown deepened and she let out a groan. It couldn’t be that easy.

‘Still, over time, maybe.’

It was a nice thought, and it’d certainly be a first. Luna had always said that Sunset would be a natural at it if she tried.

A small spark of giddiness ignited deep in her gut. While not enough to put a smile on her face, it was enough to tug at the ends of her lips. If nothing else the idea of it was exciting.

She quickly put one hoof in front of another, coaxing her body from its still position into a canter. She ignited her horn, channeling her energy into making it as bright as possible as she pushed her way through the darkness of the Everfree. In the distance, she could make out a blue glow similar to her own - Rarity - and the sounds of ponies talking. The spark of giddiness began to grow, but only slightly. Still, it was enough for her to coax her face into a smirk. Perhaps after this whole escapade she could try her hoof at it. But only after. One thing at a time.

***

There was no distinct way to tell how long the six ponies had been walking, but they’d made it out of the trees. Time wasn’t particularly measurable when not even the celestial bodies themselves were visible. But even if they weren’t, the eternal sun in the skies above wouldn’t have been a good indicator either. Still, if Sunset had to put a peg on it, she’d bet it’d taken at least an hour to navigate down the winding pathway of darkness and trees.

The six now found themselves standing at the edge of a cliff, with the rest of the Everfree laid bare for them to see. Surprisingly, none of it was nearly as dark as the pines behind them. In fact, the rest of the Everfree from a distance looked perfectly normal. There were rivers, hills, trees that didn’t look nearly as intimidating as the towering pines, and even a waterfall. It looked exactly like one of those scenic paintings Sunset had seen adorning the many walls of Canterlot’s Art Museum. Under any other circumstance, she wouldn’t have minded lying down and enjoying the sights. But trying to find the ruins of a castle amidst this?

She could feel the threads of her sanity beginning to fray.

“So, have any of you actually been into the Everfree?”

“Oh heavens no, Darling.” Rarity turned her head around and glowered at the pines behind her. “I must admit the view is quite breathtaking, but no trip - regardless of the sights - is worth wading through that again.”

“And besides.” Applejack’s hoof pointed towards the sky. A small, wispy cloud was ambling about by itself towards the sun. It wasn’t too long before it eclipsed it, though with the intensity of the light shining down on Equestria, the cloud may as well have not existed.

“It ain’t natural. Folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.” Applejack lowered her hoof back to the ground. “I say they’re right. I never seen a cloud move on its own before.”

Sunset suppressed a shiver as she saw the cloud poke its way through the other side of the sun. Having lived kilometers away, she considered herself fortunate enough to have never been subject to the reported autonomy of the Everfree, another element that was a well-documented fact. The Everfree’s ability to operate unchecked often led to freak weather patterns for bordering towns, with the most extreme instances having obliterated them off of the face of Equestria. Being so close, Ponyville was doubtless no exception, though she’d never seen any storms from Canterlot when she glanced out her window.

Sunset grimaced as the cloud finished it's trek in front of the sun and came out the other side. Her eyes remained transfixed on the cloud as it meandered away from the sun. Every so often her eyes would dart to the edge of the cloud, searching for the pegasus that must be responsible for moving it, only to find nothing. ‘Unnatural’ was a good word for it.

The sound of coughing tore her gaze away from the cloud. Rarity had put a hoof to her mouth, delicately clearing her throat before setting it back down.

“Apologies for interrupting our staring contest, Dears.” She said. “But really, we must get goi-.”

A familiar high-pitched whirring sound started up underneath Rarity’s voice. It was soft at first, barely more than a whisper, something completely veiled by even a slight breeze, until it poked its way out from behind the surrounding noise, making its way to Sunset’s ears and causing them to flick. Acknowledging, but unconvinced they’d actually heard anything. It became harder to mishear as it crescendoed in volume, silencing Rarity and prompting her and Sunset - as well as the other four - to move their heads about, scanning the cliff top for the source of the noise. Sunset turned her head around just in time to catch Rainbow’s wings spread wide and push down, propelling her upwards a meter or so off the ground.

Suddenly - just a few meters away from the cliff’s edge - a small flash of light caught the corner of Sunset’s eyes. Her blood turned to ice as she whirled her body around, the other five joining her and Rainbow calling out.

“Hey, Sunset? What the hay is that?”

A small ball of fire, barely large enough to fit in a foal’s hoof, was shimmering right behind the group. The air rippled around it as orange-gold ribbons spawned from the ether. Magic, blowing freely in a wind only felt by itself before it was pulled into the small sun-like object.

As the ribbons fed the small sun, both its size and its glow grew with the whirring noise continuing its ominous hike both in volume and pitch. The higher it grew, the more the air began to ripple and dance, and the longer and longer the ribbons became. It wasn’t long before the sun was roughly the size of a baseball, and the ribbons of magic were being pulled in more aggressively. Instead of simply being drawn towards the small sun, they soared around it at speeds rivaling even that of a pegasus, slowly being sucked into the sun much like water in a whirlpool.

Sunset’s heart froze as the ball began to shake. She leaped backwards and ignited her horn, throwing up a cyan barrier between the six of them and the ball of fire as it continued to grow. Without warning the sun plummeted towards the ground and phased through it, leaving behind an unearthly glow emanating from the depths below, wilting the surrounding vegetation and scorching the earth.

Silence reigned for the briefest of instances in the Everfree. For a moment Sunset could swear she heard the far-off river, and the cascading waterfall heavens-only-knew how many kilometers away. For an instant, the breathing of the six of them sounded as if they could carry to the ends of Equestria, before silence’s brief, yet powerful reign was cut short.

The ground went first. Violent heavings came from the cliffside as the packed dirt and rock beneath their hooves split open. Bright yellow light shone from the cracks, threatening to blind everypony as the tremors nearly knocked them off their hooves. The cracks continued spreading throughout the cliffside, and for an instant - were it night - one would no doubt be able to see the glow from across the wall of pines, but only for an instant before the ground gave way.

As the light reached its apex the ground beneath the six of them exploded. Rock, dirt, singed grass, and the screams of the six of them bombarded Sunset as her barrier broke and she and the other five were tossed into the air. For an instant she was weightless, free of gravity’s pull, though by no means at peace. She violently twisted about in the air, flipping over herself over and over again, desperately searching for the other five as she began to fall.

Having been the closest, Applejack was not far from her, being the distance of a few ponies beneath Sunset with one hoof clamped firmly on her stetson. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were nowhere to be found, though the odds were that they had taken flight. Pinkie and Rarity?

“Fluttershy! Quick!”

Sunset looked skyward just in time to catch both a rainbow and a light pink blur shoot away from the cliff. Sunset tracked them as at once they both began a rapid descent, far faster than anypony normally could. Her eyes raced ahead of the two, spotting two dots - one pink and one white - both far below her descending into a canyon. A canyon both her and Applejack were almost definitely on target for.

Sunset flipped her gaze downward. No, actually. No, they weren’t. Instead of being destined for the bottom of a canyon, she and Applejack were on a collision course for another cliff-face, though instead of being completely vertical, this one was instead heavily slanted. If anything it looked more like a mountainside instead of a proper cliff-face. She quickly ignited her horn and concentrated her magic at a point just above the face, closing her eyes as her horn erupted in a flash of cyan light. She didn’t dare to open them again until she came into contact with what would - hopefully - be there.

“Oof!”

Both her and Applejack grunted as they came into contact with something soft and somewhat gritty. Any wind Sunset had in her system was forcefully ejected as both she and Applejack crashed into - and subsequently harmlessly rolled off the two bean bags from the library.

Sunset scrambled into somewhat of a sitting position, leaning backwards and digging her hooves into the cliffside. Try as she might not want to admit it, it did very little to help her as the edge of the slope approached fast - too fast for her to slow down in time. Sunset cursed and flipped over onto her stomach, latching onto a nearby branch, while her lower half dangled helplessly over the edge - a second true, proper cliffside. Sunset’s hind legs kicked wildly, thudding against the hard rock and desperately trying to push their owner up, though all they accomplished was pointlessly grinding against the rock, and scanning the skies yielded nothing. No Rainbow, no Fluttershy.

“Hold on! Ima comin’!”

Applejack was sliding towards Sunset. Unlike her borderline out-of-control tumble, Applejack was slowly sliding down the slope at a speed barely slower than a trot. She skidded to a halt just in front of Sunset and stretched her hooves out to her, who wasted no time in letting go of the branch she was holding on to and grasped Applejack’s hooves with her own. Instantly she could feel herself slowly sliding back up the edge, albeit painfully slowly.

The joy was short-lived, as after what had to be a minute of tediously sliding up the edge of a cliff, the already deathly slow rate of Sunset’s rescue ground to a halt. Sunset dared to take her eyes off of Applejack’s hooves and turn them towards their owner. Applejack’s eyes weren’t looking at her. Instead, they were focused on something behind - and by proxy - below her. A smile adorned her face as she turned her attention back to Sunset.

“Hey, Sugarcube?”

“Yeah?” Sunset wheezed.

“Let go.”

A fog descended into Sunset’s mind. There was no way Applejack said what she just heard. It wasn’t possible. If she let go she would inevitably fall, and there were at least a hundred meters between her and the ground. There’d be no walking away from that injury if she was even conscious afterwards.

The fog lifted and Sunset shook her head. “What?” It came out sharper than anticipated, but she wasn’t inclined to care.

“I said ‘let go’.”

Her grip on Applejack’s hooves reflexively tightened. “And why the hay would I want to do that?!” Sunset began to pull with her own hooves. It was admittedly weak, but it did cause Applejack’s eyes to widen. “There’s a canyon below me, Applejack! I’m not about to fall and break something!”

‘Or worse…’

Applejack’s eyes hardened, but her smile remained. She began to pull on Sunset again, though not nearly as strong as before.

“Sugarcube.” Her voice was commanding, authoritative, but still caring. “Do you trust me?”

Sunset gulped, and her grip on Applejack’s hooves tightened even more. It was… an odd question in the moment, but it could be entertained - if only briefly.

In the brief time that she’d known her, Applejack did seem to be very neighborly if nothing else. She’d been nothing but friendly on the first encounter and had given Sunset some food and some cider at the party. Sure, she ran a business, but not once had she attempted to hound Sunset with offers. Then, of course, there was earlier that day.

Her care and attention to Sunset could not be ignored. If nothing else she seemed legitimately concerned for her well-being, even if only to stop Daybreaker. She’d proven herself to be a rock; a pony to lean on, at least from Sunset’s perspective. Up and down she seemed to be a great pony, and perhaps, perhaps even a friend if given enough time.

Sunset took a deep breath and gave Applejack a nod. Yes, she did trust her.

The hard look in Applejack’s eyes evaporated, and her smile doubled in size. “Alright, then.” The authoritative edge was dulled, taking on a more familial tone as her grip on Sunset slowly loosened. “Listen to me, Sugarcube, Fluttershy and Rainbow are right below you. When you let go, they’re ready to catch you.”

Applejack’s grip was almost, but not completely gone. Its ghost was still there, waiting for Sunset’s grip to vanish before departing itself. Sunset craned her neck around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Rainbow or Fluttershy, but to no avail. Her heart rate - already high- began to increase even further. Slower, deeper breaths were exchanged for shallower and quicker ones as her grip on Applejack continued to tighten.

She flipped her head back to Applejack. Her smile was only a ghost of its former self, but still present, while the rest of her expression was completely unreadable.

Sunset forced a few deep breaths into herself. Almost immediately her heart rate began to decelerate. Her hind legs slowed their flailing and in turn - as her body slowed down - deep breaths themselves became easier. With one last inhale - one Sunset held; she loosened her grip on Applejack’s hooves entirely, and Applejack did the same.

Freefall came to Sunset quicker than desired, but nevertheless, it felt painfully slow to get there. For a moment she felt suspended, much like only moments ago when she was tossed into the sky. Unlike moments ago, however, there was no feeling of weightlessness here. All too soon, her body complied with the force of gravity, sending her hurtling down towards the canyon floor. Sunset closed her eyes and bit her lip, forcefully sucking in air through the smallest cracks in her mouth.

‘I won’t scream.’

The catch was almost immediate. Two pairs of forelegs wrapped around her, rapidly slowing her momentum before halting it entirely.

Slowly she allowed herself to open her eyes. She was descending - slowly - towards the ground. She turned her head from side to side to look at her saviors. Fluttershy and Rainbow were looking back at her, each with a smile on their face.

“See?” Rainbow said. “We got ya.”

Sunset nodded and looked back towards the cliff face. Applejack was hopping down various rocks that jutted out of the cliffside, effectively forming a set of one-way stairs, before landing on the ground safely.

“Where’re Rarity and Pinkie?”

“They’re right below us.” Fluttershy said. Her head snapped away from Sunset to look at Rainbow. “Are we almost there, Rainbow?”

“Yeah.”

Sunset praised the heavens when she finally felt her hooves touch the ground. Rainbow and Fluttershy each detached their forelegs from around her and set themselves down. Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack, all came up to the three of them and cast their gazes back up to the cliff.

“So, what the hay was that?” Rainbow asked.

Sunset shrugged. “Daybreaker, probably. I can’t think of anything else it’d be.”

“Honestly, what a ruffian.” Rarity snorted and stomped her hoof. “If she’s trying to dispose of us she could at least do it in person!”

Sunset - as well as the other four, turned towards Rarity and cocked their heads. Rarity’s gaze flipped back and forth between each of them, her face becoming a little redder each time.

“And why would you want that, Rares?” Applejack asked. Rarity spluttered before taking a deep breath, sticking her muzzle up in the air and turning away from them.

“Well pardon me for wanting to go out with dignity!”

Silence reigned for a moment before Applejack brought a hoof to her mouth and coughed, grabbing the attention of the other five.

“So uh, anyways, does anypony know where we go from here?”

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Sunset all turned towards Rainbow and Fluttershy. Fluttershy instantly retreated behind Rainbow, who stared back at the four of them with a frown.

“What?”

“Well,” Rarity hesitated, taking a nervous step forward. “You two are pegasi, dears. Perhaps while the rest of us were… disposed of, you two may have seen something?”

“Oh.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “That’s it. I see how it is.” She slightly wilted under the gazes of the other four.

“Okay, okay. Fine.”

Rainbow pointed a hoof away from the cliff. She hummed quietly as she shifted it slightly, her face contorting as she glanced up at the sun before readjusting again.

“Flutters and I saw something over there. Wasn’t lookin’ too hard, but it was gray. Could probably be a castle, I dunno.” Rainbow shrugged as she set her hoof down. “Dunno about you girls, but I can’t think of what else could be gray out here. There’s a river down that way, and it was on the other side of it.”

Sunset nodded, and a smile made its way onto her face. Considering the circumstances, Rainbow’s description had been truthfully more than she was hoping for. “Sounds good.” She turned to Fluttershy, who shrank back a little more under her gaze. Sunset did her best to make her smile as warm looking as possible. “What about you, Fluttershy? Did you see anything like that?”

Fluttershy slowly stepped out from behind Rainbow and very slightly nodded her head. “Yes.” She squeaked. “I th-think it was the castle.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sunset whirled her body around in the direction where Rainbow pointed. The shuffling of hooves reached her ears as the other five grouped up behind her. Sunset took a step forwards when a thought popped up in her mind. She froze and turned her head back towards the sloping part of the cliff. She chuckled and turned her attention to the confused gazes of the other five mares.

“Give me a second.”

She quickly cut through the other five and cantered up to the base of the cliff. She lit her horn and after a few seconds, her eyes caught sight of a bright cyan flash emanating from just beyond where she could see. She smiled and made her way back to the front of the group, departing in the designated direction and prompting the other five to join her. Rainbow quickly moved forwards to the side of her and cocked her head in her direction

“So, what the hay was that about?”

“Beanbags.” Sunset replied. Rainbow’s confused expression only grew. “I used them to break Applejack’s and my fall.” Rainbow stayed silent, glancing back towards the shrinking cliff and Sunset a few times before shrugging, her confused expression fading into one of surprise.

“Huh.” She finally said. “Cool.”

***

“And as soon as Pinkie and Rarity were safe - whoosh! Me and Fluttershy looped-a-loop around, and wham! Caught ya right in the nick of time!”

Sunset had to fight not to roll her eyes. By Rainbow’s estimate, the river was around an hour away, and the six of them had only been walking for about fifteen minutes if Sunset had to guess, and not ten minutes in Rainbow had begun to regale everypony with her and Fluttershy’s heroics. Sunset gave a despairing glance to Rarity who only returned it with an apologetic look.

“Uh-huh.” Sunset relented. “You do remember I was there.”

“Well yeah, but hey.” Rainbow shrugged and ruffled her wings. “Telling stories is fun.”

“Oh?” Sunset arched an eyebrow at Rainbow. That was certainly a surprise. “You think so?”

“Sure.” Rainbow said. She gave Sunset a grin. “Ponies love a good story.”

“As long as they’re about her, if she has any say.” Applejack called from behind. Sunset glanced back only to see Applejack leering mischievously at Rainbow.

“Hey!” Rainbow whirled around and gave Applejack a glare. “I can talk about more than just me-!” An earth-shattering roar muted whatever words were about to come from Rainbow’s mouth. Sunset’s blood froze as she whirled back around in the direction they were headed.

About twenty meters in front of them in between two rocks was one of the many monsters of the Everfree. It was big, at least three or four times the size of Sunset. It had the body and head of a lion, and its tail was long and somewhat rugged, broken up into several segments, much like a spine which culminated at the tip in a stinger one might see on a scorpion. Lastly, perched on its back was a pair of long, enormous bat-shaped wings.

“A manticore!”

Without warning the beast clumsily leaped into the air. Sunset quickly jumped to the side, but the manticore wasn’t aiming for her. She looked back just in time to see Rarity leap back out of the way of one of its paws, pivoting onto her forelegs and kicking it in the face.

“Ha!” Rarity gave the beast a smirk. “Take that, you ruffian!” The manticore’s only response was a roar. It bent down in Rarity’s face and let out a howl so loud Sunset scrunched her eyes shut and slapped her hooves over her ears.

After the roar died down, Sunset opened her eyes again. The manticore was still standing in front of Rarity, giving her an intense glare. Rarity on the other hoof seemed fine, apart from her mane, which in lieu of the roar was completely tangled, comically standing straight up, only supported by the countless knots and the manticore’s saliva. Rarity herself had seemed to notice the current state of her mane, tentatively poking it with a terrified expression.

“My hair!”

Rarity whirled around and charged in the opposite direction of the manticore, passing Fluttershy who held out a hoof towards her. Sunset’s eyes narrowed as the beast gave chase. She charged up her horn, preparing what would be her third blast of magic in two days, but she quickly cut it off as Applejack clambered onto the manticore.

It was Sunset’s turn to hold out a hoof of her own. “Applejack! What the hay are you-?!”

“Whoowee!”

Applejack was holding onto the top of its mane with her hooves, stomping down in it to get its attention. The manticore began to violently shake its head, jumping from side to side in a desperate bid to throw off the orange pony.

“Get it on, little doggy!”

A pit in Sunset’s stomach began to form as her horn glowed again. Applejack and the manticore were way too close to those rocks. Should the manticore choose to swing its head a little too far that would be it for both of them. There was no way in Tartarus whatever this was could continue. Sunset grit her teeth as her horn glowed brighter. If the manticore would stay still she could just-!

With one final, ferocious swipe of its head, Applejack yelped as she lost her grip on the manticore, flying past Rainbow on her way to the ground. Sunset flipped her head around and pointed her horn where she was destined to land. A small square of magic materialized just in time for Applejack to crash harmlessly into it. It bent and stretched, much like a trampoline. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as she banished it, deactivating her horn just before it launched Applejack back the way she came, letting the farmer fall the last few inches - harmlessly, thank the heavens - to the ground.

Sunset turned back around to look at the manticore… or at least what she could see of it. A rainbow tornado was blowing around the manticore, kicking up the surrounding dirt and blowing her mane in front of her face. Her heart thudded in her chest as she spurred her legs into action, galloping towards the manticore, her horn igniting once again.

“Rainbow!” Sunset called out. “Stop! You could get hurt!”

The tip of the manticore’s tail peaked over the top of the tornado. The pit in Sunset’s gut tore open as she channeled more energy into her horn, concentrating it on the manticore’s tail. Just as the glow began to materialize on the tail, it swung downwards, cutting through the rainbow tornado and striking its perpetrator out of the sky. Both Sunset and Rainbow cried out as she was spiked into the ground. Sunset’s eyes were locked on Rainbow as the pegasus rolled unceremoniously to their hooves.

Sunset quickly brought her eyes back up to the manticore, fixing the beast with the fiercest glare she could muster. The manticore glared back, bringing its body low to the ground and pawing at it, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it, its eyes never leaving Sunset. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie all saddled up next to her, each one giving the manticore the same identical glare she had.

Sunset’s horn roared to life and she charged at the manticore, the hoofbeats of the other four quickly reaching her ears. Her horn began to flare as cyan energy condensed around the tip of it. A blast would surely get it to go away. Now, where to strike? The paw? The tail? Sunset allowed herself a grisly smirk.

‘The head should do just fine.’

“Wait!”

The glow on Sunset’s horn died as she and the other four slammed their hooves into the ground, grinding to a halt. Fluttershy hurtled from the corner of Sunset’s vision and landed squarely between the five of them and the manticore, her wings outstretched, though no trace of bravery in her eyes. For a moment nopony - or even the manticore - moved. Sunset and Fluttershy held each other's gaze before Fluttershy turned away, trotting up to the Manticore and nuzzling its left paw.

“It’s okay.”

Sunset bit her lip, opening up her magic reserves when the manticore raised its paw. Whatever the hay Fluttershy was playing at looked far from safe. Fortunately, all the beast did was turn it over, exposing its palm to the Everfree. Sunset was dimly aware of the other five gasping when the manticore exposed its paw. Her stomach gave a violent lurch and she quickly slapped a hoof over her own mouth, forcing herself not to gag.

What should have been a large, fuzzy - and admittedly rather cute paw, despite its size - was instead a red, angry mess of boiling skin, gleaming brightly in the daylight, with no traces of fur. No wonder the beast had been mad. Hay, it was a miracle it was even able to stand on it like it did.

“You poor thing.” Fluttershy murmured. Sunset stepped to the side to see her gently holding the offending paw in her hooves. “I didn’t know this was… oh my.” She let go of the paw and spread her wings, flying a couple of meters into the air, flipping her head about wildly.

“Oh… it has to be here. Please.”

Sunset arched an eyebrow as Fluttershy began flying around the immediate area. She was searching for… something. That much was certain. Her gaze was cast downward, scanning over the vegetation.

“Please, please… ah!”

Without warning, Fluttershy swooped down and snatched up a blade of… something in her mouth. Sunset squinted, turning her gaze back to where Fluttershy came up from. Still swaying from the pegasus’ sudden assault, with a freshly cut-off leaf was… Aloe Vera? Sunset blinked and moved closer, getting to only a few hoofsteps between her and the plant and peering down at it.

‘Fleshy leaves, no stem… yup. How the hay is it here?’

Sunset lifted her head up and glanced about the surroundings of the six of them. Indeed, there wasn’t just Aloe Vera - but a plethora of plants that shouldn’t be able to grow - at least not comfortably - in an environment as mild as this one. She cast her gaze back up to the sky. Far on the horizon, deep into the Everfree were some clouds that definitely weren’t there before.

‘Strange indeed’

“There.”

Sunset turned her attention back towards Fluttershy. She was hovering in the air, gently patting the now-bandaged paw of the manticore, giving it a smile completely devoid of fear or apprehension, a smile that surprisingly the manticore returned. Using its good paw, it placed it under Fluttershy's hind legs and gave her a lick across the face, before turning away and bounding off. Sunset and the other four quickly cantered up to Fluttershy. Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack were wearing various expressions of disbelief - one Sunset herself no doubt shared in, whereas Rainbow was wearing an exasperated, but good-natured smile.

“I must say, Darling, that was absolutely stupendous.” Rarity said. Applejack nodded and gave Fluttershy a smile.

“I’ll say. Never woulda thought the fella was sufferin’ from a burn.”

“Oh my.” Fluttershy took a step back from the five of them and gave a nervous smile. “I didn’t know about the burn, girls. I just wanted to show a little kindness is all.”

Sunset’s ears flicked and her face abandoned whatever expression it held. The voices of the other five faded out of her mind as she put a hoof to her chin and glanced toward where the manticore ran - and in the direction of their destination.

“There are six elements of Harmony, but only five are known; Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty.”

‘Kindness, huh?’

This seemed… important, though she was unsure how. The Elements were still mostly - if not entirely - an enigma to all except Luna. What (or even who given how crazy this morning had been) they could possibly be was a complete mystery. Sunset’s hoof subconsciously drifted to her muzzle and she began to nibble on it. Though what they were didn’t really matter. At the moment, the highest priority was keeping them away from Daybreaker.

‘However that’s gonna work.’

“Hey, Sunset!” It was Pinkie’s voice.

Sunset perked her head up. The other five were already way past the two rocks the manticore had been in the way of, all of them looking at Sunset expectantly.

‘Oh, right.’

Sunset dismissed her train of thought, filing it away neatly in her mind, and kicked herself into a canter. First, the Elements of Harmony needed to be seen. It’d be easier to determine how to handle them then. She caught up to them again and moved back up to the front of the group. The sound of shuffling hooves kicked up as the six of them spurred into motion again.

***

“Eugh! My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!”

It had been an uneventful fifteen or so minutes since the manticore. The six continued their journey primarily in silence, save for Rarity spending most of the time fixing her mane, and the occasional small talk that would stir up between two or three of them before dying back down after a few minutes. After a few twists and turns, the pathway had yielded to a span of terrain that at one time that; considering the general lack of immediate trees or much of any wildlife, might have been a lake. Presently, however, it played home to what had to be Equestria’s most dismal marsh. Sunset grimaced as she looked around at the stagnant brown color plaguing the vicinity. There was barely even any water present, just mud.

“Well eyes forward, Rares. I think you’re gettin’ your wish.”

Sunset snapped her attention back in the direction she was heading - something she hadn’t actually done since entering the marsh. Roughly ten or so meters in front of her was another forest, with the same oppressive darkness carried by the first one, if not stronger this time. Though that might have been courtesy of its far more decrepit look. Dotted amongst the pines were large brambles of wood - barely even trees. They sported no leaves, no animals hanging off them, not even moss was growing on them. The way their branches writhed and twisted as they desperately reached for the sky was comically similar to trees one might see on Nightmare Night. A shiver ran through her body as she made the final few hoofsteps to the maw of the forest. Or at least it would be comical if it wasn’t right in front of her.

“Oh… oh my.” Rarity’s voice sounded beside Sunset as the other five saddled up beside her. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally.”

“Well literal or not you’re gettin’ it.” Applejack said. The corner of Sunset’s mouth was tugged upwards at the sound of an exaggerated sigh from Rarity. “We all ready?”

Sunset closed her eyes and took a quick deep breath in a bid to quell her heart. She’d already ventured into a dark abyss earlier today. She could do it again. “Yeah.” She said as she ignited her horn. Biting down on her lip again, she took a few steps forward. Though her breathing hadn’t helped her heart, the sounds of familiar hoofsteps, and a second light - full blue instead of cyan, allowed her heart to rapidly slow down in its pace. A much-needed comfort as her eyes flitted about the ends of her magic’s influence.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the darkness here seemed even more oppressive than it did from the pines in front of Ponyville. Her horn’s light, which she remembered Rarity’s extending a few meters all around, was barely able to match half that, not even illuminating the edges of the pathway, and that was with Rarity’s magic as well. Perhaps it was because magic was stronger in the interior of the Everfree? It was certainly a plausible theory.

“Ohhh, why does it have to be so dark?” Fluttershy’s squeak was almost inaudible to Sunset. “It’s so suffocating, and scary… and evil.”

Sunset’s ears flicked as Fluttershy’s already barely audible voice trailed off into barely even a whisper near the end. The soft shuffling of hooves prompted her to turn her head around. Fluttershy had sided up to Rainbow and was burying her face in Rainbow’s mane. Rainbow didn’t seem to mind too much, flitting her eyes to either side before unfurling a wing and draping it over Fluttershy’s barrel.

“The Everfree has a funny sense of humor, I’ll tell ya what.” Applejack grumbled. “Makin’ the forests darker than pitch. Consarn -”

Applejack was cut off by a loud squelching noise, which drew Sunset’s own attention too. Bending a little more to look at Applejack, the farmer had one hoof up and was eying it with a bemused look.

“Oh. I think I stepped in somethin’.”

Sunset shrugged and turned her head back around to face the path again. She lifted one hoof up, poised to set it down again when an ear-splitting scream froze it in its place.

“Aaaaah!”

Sunset flipped her head back around as far as it could go, the rest of her body refusing to comply.

Fluttershy’s eyes were wider than Sunset had ever seen. Her wings were completely outstretched, and her entire body was leaning back as far as it could go. She was staring in Sunset’s direction, her eyes were locked on Sunset.

Sunset’s heart lurched. No. Fluttershy’s eyes weren’t locked on her. They were locked on a point behind her.

‘Dear heavens, what is it’

“It’s just mud.” Applejack’s voice rang out, seemingly oblivious to the object of Fluttershy’s attention. “Waugh!”

From the very edges of her horn’s light, Sunset caught a flurry of movement as Applejack leaped backwards. Sunset slammed her eyes shut and turned her head back around. Did she want to open her eyes? Nervous gasps from the others and their own cries only caused Sunset to close her eyes even tighter. Whatever it was, perhaps she could just slowly back away?

No. That was stupid. If she wanted to run she’d have to open her eyes. If she had to open her eyes she might as well understand what she was running from. Opening her lungs she took a deep breath.

‘Smoke.’

The deep breath was cut painfully short. Sunset doubled over and pounded her chest, her throat working overtime to expel the invading substance as it poured into her lungs. She scrunched her eyes shut even more, but that didn’t stop a stray tear or two from etching its way out from behind her eyelids. Throwing a foreleg over her mouth, she drank in a series of shorter breaths, each breath successfully expelling a fraction of the intruding smoke from her lungs until it was no more.

Bracing herself this time, she massaged her throat and took another deep breath, much slower than the last one. The smoke was still there, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as before. Letting it out slowly, she opened her eyes.

A tree stood not far off to her right - one of the dead ones with its bramble-like branches twisting haphazardly in every direction possible, except something about it was wrong. Sunset stepped closer to it, squinting her eyes as her mouth moved into a frown only to quickly recoil not a hoofstep later. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened. Her lip curled up and the need to expel something, anything boiled in her gut as she - like the others - took a step backwards, anything to get away from the tree.

A grotesque face had been carved into the tree. It wasn’t carved by knife, nor stone, nor any sharp object at all. The ‘carving’ if one could call it had been crudely branded into the tree by something hot. Fire, if Sunset had to guess. There were embers still smoldering inside the lines where the perpetrator had no doubt forcibly put out the fire after marking it with whatever tool they had used. The sight of it sent Sunset’s stomach into a frenzy. Again she clasped a hoof over her mouth, the party food from last night threatening to worm its way up her throat.

She whirled her head around, only to find another tree just like it staring back at her. This one had it even worse, with entire branches missing, still glowing red at their tips. Her eyes shot down to the ground, wildly searching for the dead branches, but only ash greeted them. Whether that was better or worse she didn’t know.

Again and again, Sunset’s head changed directions, and again and again, yet another tree - always different - would be greeting her, mutilated beyond all belief, with some barely resembling trees. Each time a step back would be taken, the cries from the others slowly evolving into all-out screams, each second of it accelerating her heart until it was barely able to be felt in her chest.

Suddenly, the sound of laughter made its way to Sunset’s ears. They flicked once, twice, bidding her to turn her head to the source. A sharp but short inhale later - should the smoke bid to send her into another coughing spree - she allowed her head to turn.

Pinkie was standing next to one of the trees, looking up at it with a smile on her face. The cries of the other four seemed to be lost on her as her expression shifted from one ludicrous look to the next, each one punctuated by a laugh.

The laughter seemed to catch the attention of the other four as well, as mere moments after Sunset’s attention was caught, the screams rapidly died down. For a moment the Everfree was silent, save for only the odd sound and the laughter of Pinkie.

“Uh… Pinkie, Darling?” Out of the corner of her eye, Sunset caught a shifting movement as Rarity stepped forwards. “What in Equestria are you doing?”

“Oh, girls!” Pinkie’s voice melded with her laughter as she turned away from the tree and turned towards Sunset and the others. Her head began bobbing, causing her mane to bounce as she began tapping a hoof. “Don’t you see?”

Pinkie’s voice changed at the end of her sentence. It moved up higher, became more carefree, and finished in time with her hoof as it hit the ground again. Sunset arched an eyebrow and cocked her head before her eyes widened. She watched as Pinkie began to move her whole body to a beat only she could hear as a thought entered her mind.

‘There’s no way.’

“When I was a little filly

And the sun was going doooown…”

Sunset bit back a snort as Pinkie struck a pose, her voice fluctuating between high and low notes as she gazed back up at the tree.

“She cannot be serious…” She muttered as Pinkie leaped over to them, siding up to her with a mischievous smile and pressing her body against the five of them.

“The darkness and the shadows

They would always make me froooown…”

“She is.” Rarity replied as Pinkie leaped away from them.

Pinkie began to lope around the five of them like a pony pogo stick as she continued her song. Sunset blinked and squinted her eyes, leaning forward as she tried to cast as much light on Pinkie’s movements as she could.

“I’d hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw.

But Granny-Pie said that wasn’t the way

To deal with fears at aaaall.”

“Then what is?” Rainbow’s voice cut through. Instantly Pinkie was by her side, hunched over with her hooves next to her own cheeks, making a face like she was speaking to a foal. A pleasant, feathery feeling began to form in Sunset’s stomach as she watched the admittedly ludicrous display.

“She said ‘Pinkie you gotta stand up tall,

Learn to face your fears.”

Pinkie bounded away from a now glowering Rainbow who had just been the recipient of an overly affectionate nuzzle. She landed in front of one of the trees and turned her head back towards Sunset and the others.

“You’ll see that they can’t hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear’.”

Sunset watched as Pinkie whirled her head around to face the tree, still bobbing her head to the beat and opening her mouth.

“Ha. Ha. Ha.”

It wasn’t a laugh, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it was by no means less silly. Pinkie pretending to laugh at a sight that had mere moments ago been sending Sunset’s stomach into turmoil on top of the song she was singing sent the feathery feeling in her gut bubbling up her throat. She quickly clamped her muzzle shut and threw a hoof over her mouth, but it was only a half effort, and something half snort and half chuckle burst from around the cracks.

For a split moment, there was silence. Sunset’s cheeks burned as she let her hoof fall from her mouth, chiding herself for allowing such a noise to escape her lips. She was pretty sure she was getting judgmental looks for laughing at whatever Pinkie was doing but she didn’t want to check, instead turning her attention to Pinkie herself.

Pinkie was staring back at Sunset, her face wearing quite possibly the biggest grin Sunset had ever seen. She bounded over to her and grabbed one of her hooves before bounding back to one of the trees, dropping her in front of it before bounding away again.

“So giggle at the ghosties

Guffaw at the ghostly.

Crack up at the creepy

Whoop it up with the weepy.”

Sunset turned her head back around. Pinkie was pulling the other four towards various trees, either lightly nudging them towards a tree like with Fluttershy or full-on pulling them like with Applejack and Rainbow. Surprisingly, each of them when placed in front of a tree belted out in laughter. Even Fluttershy was surprisingly not daunted by the grotesque faces, and Rainbow seemed perfectly fine with it as well, despite how silly laughing at a tree was.

“Chortle at the cooky

Snortle at the spooky.”

Sunset turned her attention back to the tree in front of her. It was still smoldering, still glowing, and the scars inflicted to it hadn’t gone away. She bit her lip. It certainly wasn’t scary - not anymore, but laughing at it would be impossible. Laughing at something suffering, even if it might be dead, that didn’t sit right.

“And tell that big dumb scary face

To take a hike and leave you alone

And if he thinks he can scare you

Then he’s got another thing coming

And the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna…”

Sunset turned her head back around. Pinkie was creeping around from behind one of the trees wearing a silly expression on her face completely at odds with her posture. The laughter from the other four seemed to be getting to Pinkie as well as she had begun cracking up near the end of her sentence, giggles replacing any vowels present. The feathery feeling that Sunset had experienced not moments ago began to bubble up in her gut again.

“Laaaaugh!”

Pinkie’s last word was barely more than a laugh itself. She collapsed to the ground, rolling over on her back, and devolved into a fit of giggles with Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy joining her only moments later. Sunset cracked a smile as the feeling began to make its way up her throat once again. She couldn’t laugh at the trees - she wouldn’t. But the sight of the ponies around her enjoying themselves - and in the Everfree of all places was a perfect substitute. She allowed the feeling to escape from her throat unopposed as she cantered over to the other five, lazily allowing herself to fall over and join them on the forest floor.

***

“How are we gonna cross this?”

Pinkie had been the one leading the charge out of the woods. It was hardly an eventful journey but it was very enjoyable. As opposed to the standard trudge through the dingiest forest known to ponies (and under the direst of circumstances to boot), Pinkie had done her best to keep everypony entertained, either through one of her numerous jokes or through a story she’d either heard or made up. It was more than enough to keep a smile on everypony’s face - including Sunset’s, much to her own surprise.

That said, their train of good cheer had come to a quite literal crashing halt when Pinkie stopped without warning - prompting Sunset to crash into her backside. By the sounds of it, the chain had continued with Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy each crashing into the pony in front of them, which now found Sunset spluttering, trying to get the last remnants of pink tail out of her mouth as she peered around Pinkie in an attempt to see what prompted her to stop.

The river - which had almost certainly been calm when the six of them had seen it from atop the cliff - was now a frothing mess of water and foam. Waves tumbled and crashed into and over each other, and unfortunate twigs and branches that dared to tread too close to the raging body of water were either swept into the current or snapped in half by the sheer power of the waves. Sunset flinched and took a step back after a few stray drops flew from the river and landed on her muzzle, much too close to her eyes for comfort. She quickly raised a hoof and scrubbed it off her muzzle. Heavens only knew what was in that water.

“Ah-hoo-hoo-hoo!”

Sunset straightened up slightly as the sound of a voice reached her ears, slightly muffled by the roaring of the water, but audible nonetheless. She shifted her head, glancing down both sides of the river, each side twisting and turning in its sporadic path before bending out of sight beyond the trees, but only them and the roaring waves greeted her vision.

“I’m guessin’ y’all heard that too?”

She shifted her gaze to Applejack. The other five were sifting their heads about as well. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow all looked concerned, whereas Rarity and Fluttershy were trembling.

“Uh-huh.” Rainbow nodded her head. “What the hay was that?”

“Ah-hoo-hoo-hoo!”

Sunset’s ears flicked as the voice reached her again. Hesitantly she stepped forwards closer to the river and peered to her left, grimacing as the frothy water dampened the base of her forelegs.

‘This definitely warrants a bath later.’

Again the only things that greeted her were water and trees. Shrugging, she began to lean back towards the other five, grateful to get away from the water before a flash of purple caught her vision. Blinking, she leaned forwards again, the splashing of the water lost on her as she squinted towards the furthest part of the river visible.

Sunset bit back a yelp as a long purple tail rose up from the water, rising up at least as high as Town Hall before slashing back down. Her blood turned to ice as the tail crashed into the water, parting the frothy mess with an ear-splitting crack and sending a fresh bout of waves tumbling downstream. There were only two things something with that tail could be, and one of them would probably have no qualms about attacking them on the spot.

“What’s the matter, Darling?” Rarity’s voice reached her ears.”Did you see something?” Sunset quickly cast her gaze back to the other five and nodded her head.

“Yeah!” She called back. With any luck, Rarity could hear her over the noise of the river. Lifting her hoof, Sunset quickly pointed to where the tail had been, any traces of its presence apart from the waves left behind were gone. Lowering her hoof, she quickly backed away from the river and turned to face the other five. She flicked her head in the direction of the tail - now to her right.

“Something’s causing the waves upstream. Looks like it could be a sea-serpent.” She cast another wary glance in the direction of the creature. “...Or a dragon.” Sunset was dimly aware of the other five flinching as the last few words left her mouth. Fluttershy quickly backed up behind Rarity, rapidly casting glances in the direction Sunset gestured to.

“Oh my…” Her words were barely a whisper. “I c-certainly hope it’s not a dragon…”

“I must agree.” Rarity said, eying where the creature was with a grimace. “It would certainly not make crossing easy.”

Sunset nodded. Few things in Equestria - if any - were as scary as dragons. Known for being able to take out entire armies back in ancient times, dragons were largely territorial creatures, not known for playing hospitable. Be it in their own caves, or even out in the open, at drinking spots in rivers, they were more than willing to bear tooth and claw over even the tiniest of oversteps. They were also infamous for not getting along with ponies even in modern times, though there was currently an experiment in Canterlot involving a hatchling that was yielding some results.

“Definitely.”

Sunset bit her lip and inhaled, forcing one hoof forwards towards the trees. The creature - whatever it was - still hadn’t let up on its sobbing, its wails still echoing through the trees and crashing over the six of them. Soon enough, she was standing right at the base of the trees. From here she could just make out another clearing not too far away - about twenty odd meters or so, but the foliage was so dense that again only flashes of purple were able to be seen. Inhaling as fast as she could, she held her breath and stepped into the forest. Dragon or sea-serpent, the river had to be crossed. There was no point in checking if the other five were behind her. They were.

Sunset picked up her speed as she navigated over the forest floor, initially no more than a trot evolved rapidly into a canter as she ducked out of the way of brambles, dodged various shrubs, and evaded trees both young and old. The sounds of hoofsteps and the occasional cracking of a dead branch echoed from behind her, with the only other noise still being the uncontrolled wailing of whatever was ahead. Despite the ground covered the trees seemed determined to obscure as much of the clearing as possible.

Sunset came to halt in front of a rather large shrub that hid just behind the final few trees - easily matching her in height, and was just as wide. Fur brushed against her own as the Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all sided up next to her, each also taking care to stay behind the shrub. Igniting her horn, she wrapped the center of the shrub in a cyan glow, parting its center and peering her head through.

For the most part, the last few trees were still obscuring a large part of the creature - namely its head, though much, much more of it was visible now. As the tail continued to thrash about, its scales - freshly wet as they rose up from the river - caught the sunlight, flashing a bright white causing Sunset to flinch on its ascent towards the sky.

Sunset hummed as she ran her eyes over the creature’s tail. Her heart - previously racing rapidly began to decelerate. The edges of her mouth curved upwards as her body loosened, letting out a breath of air she’d been holding unbeknownst to herself.

The tail was long. Much, much too long to be that of a dragon’s, looking like something instead belonging to a much oversized snake. There was no hook on the end, no secondary color on any side of it, and no appendages attached. It was slender, slowly expanding from its tip and fading into the creature’s body seamlessly.

“Can you see what it is, Darling?” Rarity’s voice was hushed, barely above a whisper. The smile on her face evolved into a grin as Sunset pulled her head out of the shrub and turned to the other five.

“It’s a sea-serpent.”

The five mares in front of her all loosened up, their apprehensive expressions morphing into smiles. Rainbow silently pumped her hoof and unfurled her wings, rising herself just barely off the ground and doing a small loop in the air.

“Oh thank goodness.” Fluttershy whispered.

“Indeed. It seems we’ve found the lesser of the two evils.” Rarity said. She gave Fluttershy a smile before turning her head back to Sunset. “And you’re sure they’re causing the waves, Darling?”

“Positive.”

Sunset quickly parted the shrub again and lazily cast her gaze back towards the sea-serpent. Sure enough, she peeked through just in time to catch the tail slamming full force into the water again, sending water skyward before it arced down and crashed into the river, reforming as hills as it rolled downstream.

“Yup.”

“I see…”

Sunset cast her gaze back to Rarity. Gazing downward, her face was contorted in a frown and her hoof was on her chin. After a moment she brought her face back up and gave Sunset a sheepish smile.

“I’m guessing asking him to stop will prove difficult.”

“I’ll say.” Applejack poked her head around the shrub. “Sounds like the poor fella’s -”

“What a world!”

Applejack quickly stepped back behind the shrub as a distinctly masculine voice rang out. Sunset winced as her ears folded back, her entire body jumping slightly as the voice crashed over her and the others.

“What a world!”

While less surprising than the first time, Sunset’s eardrums still pulsed in pain as the voice hit her again before it devolved back into incomprehensible sobs. She glanced back at Applejack who returned her gaze, her face sporting a grimace as her eyes shifted between both her and Rarity.

“Sounds like the poor fella’s havin’ a rough day”

“Yes, quite so.” Rarity said. Sunset cast her gaze over to the other unicorn. Her eyes were closed and her hoof was resting on her chin. After a moment her eyes were open again, and her mouth now set in a line. “Then we must do our best to rectify it.” She quickly turned towards one of the sides of the shrub and without warning began to trot forwards.

“Rarity!” Applejack hissed. She lunged towards the unicorn and latched onto her tail with her mouth, fixing her with a glare. “Where th’ hay do you fink you’re goin’?”

“I,” Rarity hissed back, returning Applejack’s glare and yanking her tail out of her grip. “Am going to help a soul in need, Darling. Far be it from me to turn a blind eye to anypony in distress.” Applejack opened her mouth to retort, but Rarity quickly cut her off.

“And if you’re so worried about my safety, then come with me.” Rarity turned her attention back towards the shrub, sidestepping it and putting herself mere paces in front of the clearing. “Because I am not leaving this poor gentleman in distress without doing something first.”

Sunset quickly trotted up to Applejack, whose eyes were still on Rarity, her jaw slightly hanging open and her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Raising a hoof, Sunset poked her twice in her barrel, snapping Applejack out of her trance and turning her gaze to Sunset.

Sunset gave her a smile and stepped towards the spot Rarity had been moments prior. Turning her gaze to look at the other four as well, she lifted her hoof again and waved it slightly, beckoning the other four who sided up next to Applejack.

“We should probably follow her.”

Applejack slowly shook her head, closing her mouth and nodding. “Right.” She and the other four fell in line behind Sunset.

“Oh, siiir!”

Rarity’s singsong tone whipped Sunset’s head back around towards the clearing. From the shrub, she could see Rarity standing a few steps away from the sea-serpent. Trotting out into the clearing and siding up to Rarity, Sunset arced her head upwards, casting her gaze up at the creature.

The first thing that stood out about him was his hair. In contrast to his solidly purple body and head, the sea-serpent’s hair was a bright orange color, long and slicked back over his neck, imbued with yellow streaks that ran back to the ends. Both his eyebrows and handlebar mustache were the same color too, with the mustache even copying the yellow streaks in his hair.

The second thing that stood out about him was that the right half of his mustache was almost missing. Around what she guessed would have been the halfway mark, the bright orange and yellow rapidly faded to black, jaggedly spreading out in every direction and fraying at the ends. She winced as her eyes fixed on the ends of the mustache. The smoke coming off of it was still visible.

“Is something the matter, Darling?”

The sea-serpent who’d previously had his hands over his eyes lowered them, opening his eyes to stare down at the six ponies below him.

“Well I don’t know!” Sunset winced as his voice crashed down on her. While neither rude nor crass, the volume of his voice certainly matched him in size. His arms rose from the water and waved about wildly as he spoke. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little wisp of flame just went whiss! Past me! And burnt half of my beloved mustache clean off…” His voice was little more than a whine by the end.

“And now… I look simply horrid!”

The sea-serpent let out a wail and threw himself back first into the roaring water, creating a giant wave that towered over even the surrounding trees. A numbing sensation crept into her brain as she stared at the spot where he disappeared, barely registering the wave that crashed into her and the others, causing them to cry out and ruin her mane for the second time in two days. Shaking most of the water out of her mane she glared at where the sea-serpent had resurfaced, laying his head on the river bank with a pathetic expression on his face.

‘He cannot be serious.’

“Aww, gimmie a break…” Rainbow muttered from her side.

“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Applejack asked.

“Why of course it is! How can you be so insensitive?”

Rarity’s voice cut over both Rainbow’s and Applejack’s, prompting Sunset to turn her head. The other unicorn was fixing both Rainbow and Applejack with a glare, before turning her attention towards the sea-serpent, turning her nose up and adopting an expression Sunset had only ever seen on the stuck-up ponies that visited Luna to complain about their problems, before slowly trotting over to him. Had she been in a better mood the sight would have gotten a good chuckle out of her.

“Awwouldja lookat him?”

Sunset blinked, flicking her ears and shaking her head. Rarity’s accent and refined speech pattern had vanished, replaced by something vaguely resembling foal speak, coaxing something vile up her throat. Bidding herself to force back whatever it was, she turned her head away from the bizarre display, her eyes falling on Rainbow. The pegasus met her gaze, creeping towards Sunset and leaning towards her, face locked in a grimace as she shifted her gaze back to Rarity.

“What the hay is she doing?”

“Such lovely luminescent scales!”

In an instant, both Rarity’s normal tone and speech pattern were back. Sunset mustered a shrug towards Rainbow before turning her head back to watch Rarity. She was right next to the sea-serpent, hoof extended and running it over his chin.

The sea-serpent let out a pitiful sniff, much like - no, exactly like a foal would near the tail-end of a breakdown. He opened his eyes and fixed them on Rarity.

“I know…”

“Your expertly quaft mane!”

The pathetic expression on the sea-serpent vanished. He pushed himself up from the water and ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back a little more.

“Oh I know! I know!”

“Your fabulous manicure!”

The sea-serpent gasped and brought his hands together, shaking them for a moment as a small smile appeared on his face, before placing them on either side of it. “It’s so true!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and flicked her eyes to the sea-serpent’s nails. He had a manicure?

“All ruined without your beautiful mustache!”

The smile that had been building up on the sea-serpent’s face fell. Once again looking to be on the verge of tears, he threw his arms over his head, bowing it and hunching down. “It’s true, I’m hideous!”

Casting her gaze down to Rarity, Sunset saw her face crossed between a glare and an expression vaguely resembling disapproval. At who or what Rarity’s expression was aimed for, the heavens only knew.

“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!”

A gasp came from both sides of Sunset as without warning, Rarity lunged forwards, grabbing one of the scales on the sea-serpent’s underside with her teeth and yanking backwards. The sea-serpent cried out as Rarity ripped the scale off of his body and held it skywards.

“Rarity!” Sunset spurred her body into a canter, fixing the other unicorn with a glare. “What the hay are you-?!”

Sunset’s eyes widened as she dug her hooves into the ground, nearly tripping over them as her body ground to a halt. In an instant Rarity had turned her head around, slashing downward with the scale still in her mouth at the same time the sea-serpent keeled over, his body sinking back into the river while his head thudded against the river bank - but that might as well have never happened as far as she knew.

Lying on the ground right next to Rarity was half of her tail, crudely severed with its ends splayed about - not unlike the burnt ends of the sea-serpent’s mustache. Rarity’s expression was unreadable as she flung the makeshift knife into the woods and lit her horn, levitating it towards the sea-serpent. Rarity grit her teeth as her horn burned brighter, the ends of her tail coming into contact with the mustache, fusing with the ends of the hair and coloring the rest of it purple.

There was a moment of silence as all eyes were fixed on the now purple half of the sea-serpent’s mustache, the sea-serpent himself staring at it with a disbelieving look. Sunset dragged her eyes away from it and turned them towards Rarity. The other unicorn was panting slightly, but wore a small smile, her now short tail sticking out in stark contrast to her mane.

‘I don’t believe it.’

“Ooh-hoo-hoo!” Sunset’s eyes were dragged back to the sea-serpent who suddenly arched himself backwards, throwing his hands into the sky, any melancholic hint gone from his voice. “My mustache!” He struck a ludicrous pose.

“How wonderful!”

Rarity closed her eyes and nodded her head, her smile growing. “You look smashing!”

Sunset took her eyes off the sea-serpent and slowly trotted over to Rarity’s side, glancing over at the other unicorn once she was next to her. Rarity’s eyes were still closed, and her expression just as unreadable as before.

“Hey, Rarity?”

Rarity opened her eyes and turned her head towards Sunset, her mouth working itself into a smile.

“Yes, Dear?”

“That was… really nice of you, giving up your tail like that.”

Rarity held a hoof over her mouth and giggled. “Oh, it’s fine my dear. Short tails are in this season.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and a frown slipped onto her face. No they weren’t. She could hardly say she paid attention to the ups and downs of Equestira’s fashions, but she liked to think she could at least spot what ponies liked to do with their manes and tails. Unless Rarity was talking about Manehattan or somewhere else outside of Canterlot, she hadn’t spotted a single short tail neither there nor Ponyville.

Rarity flipped her head around to look at her tail, her eyes scrunching up and her smile becoming strained. “Besides, it’ll grow back.” A lump formed in Sunset’s throat as she spotted a tear rolling down her cheek.

She lifted a hoof towards Rarity, but paused. Was it her place to comfort Rarity? As much as she felt she understood the unicorn, she hadn’t even known her for a day. Sure she knew how much looks meant to her, but still… it would be more appropriate for one of the others to help her, right?

“Hey, y’all!”

Both she and Rarity turned their heads towards Applejack’s voice. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were all standing by the river bank with Rainbow a good fifty-odd meters downstream. Applejack herself was waving a hoof in the air, her eyes trained on the two of them.

“River’s calmed down! Let’s skedaddle!”

“Yes, let’s.” Rarity stepped forwards into Sunset’s vision and glanced back at her with the same smile. “We do have a castle to get you to, Darling. We shouldn’t dally.” Reworking her expression into a smile, Sunset nodded.

“Sure.”

She’d have to think about it later.

The two unicorns kicked themselves into a canter towards the others. Sunset spared a quick glance at the river. Now that it was calm, the water was remarkably clear. Despite some silt still shifting near the very bottom of the bed, even the finest details in the dirt were visible through the distorted surface.

‘I’m still taking that bath when we’re done with this.’

“Took ya long enough!”

Without warning, a Rainbow shot down from the sky at a breakneck pace and landed right in front of the two unicorns. Sunset threw her hooves into the ground, nearly tripping over herself as she skidded to a halt and glared at Rainbow, Rarity doing the same. If Rainbow knew how close she had come to getting bowled over - or was aware of the ire she was receiving from the two unicorns - she didn’t show it, her face instead plastered with a huge grin.

“Come on! We’re close!”

Sunset’s eyes widened, her ire banished as she cast her gaze across the river. For the most part, it was just more trees, but there was a small path nested in between a cluster of willows that looked to go deeper into the Everfree. Curiously, this one didn’t shroud itself in shadows. She shifted her gaze back to Rainbow.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh!”

Rainbow turned around towards the river bank and jumped into the water.

“It’s just past those trees! C’mon, let’s - woah!”

Rainbow stumbled as the ground beneath her rose. Sunset took a step back as the water parted to make way for a large purple body adorned with scales - the sea-serpent’s. More of him lifted up, creating a series of arches that jutted up from the river crossing from one side of it to the other. The sea-serpent himself smiled at her and the others and gave a deep bow.

“Allow me!”

Turning his head around, he clasped his hands together and dove under, his neck (or what probably was his neck) completing the bridge.

Already on his back, Rainbow slowly moved a hoof over the scales, poking his back a couple of times before extending her wings and jumping, skipping over one of the arches and landing on the one after, leaving room for Sunset to back up a pace or two and carefully gauge the distance before charging at the makeshift bridge, kicking her hind legs and springing onto the first arch. Surprisingly, as she landed onto the soaked back of the sea-serpent, the scales weren’t slippery in the slightest. Indeed, as she tentatively ran a hoof over the scales, putting enough pressure to try and force it to slide, the scales gripped onto it as much as she gripped back. Sparing no time, she quickly crossed over the makeshift bridge, hopping from arch to arch until she landed on the other side of the river.

Turning her head back, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all making their way across, Fluttershy also hopping over every other arch, just like Rainbow. It wasn’t long before they had all hopped off the sea-serpent and joined Sunset near the river bank.

Once the other four were around her, the makeshift bridge that was the sea-serpent sunk back into the water, save for his head which rose back up. He gave them all a smile, raising one of his arms and waving, a wave Rarity returned.

“Farewell!” The sea-serpent called out.

“Farewell, Darling!”

The sea-serpent beamed before sinking back into the water and swimming away, which direction Sunset didn’t care.

“So.”

She lifted a hoof and pointed it towards the pathway. From where she was it was somewhat obscured by the local flora, but there was definitely an opening hiding amongst the plants.

“Over there?”

“Yeah.”

Sunset turned her head to her right. Rainbow had sided up alongside her, her cocky grin back on her face. She lifted a hoof and poked Sunset in the ribs, giving her a wink before unfurling her wings, taking off, and flying lazily around Sunset.

“See? Told ya we’d get you there.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, Rainbow’s infectious smile working its way onto her own features. She lifted a hoof and lazily swiped it at Rainbow who dodged it without much effort.

“We’re not there yet, Rainbow.”

‘Though we can’t be too far away now.’

“Eh, maybe not.” Rainbow continued to fly in circles. “But hey, we’re close!”

“So you say, Darling.” Rarity sided up next to Sunset, her attention towards the forest. “Just past those trees, you said?”

“Uh-huh!”

“Thank Luna.” Rarity’s body loosened as she let out a sigh. “No more nasty surprises I hope. This journey’s been eventful enough.”

“Well don’t jinx it, Rares.” Applejack said. Hoofsteps sounded all around Sunset as she, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all sided up around her. “There’s plenty to go wrong between here and that castle I reckon.”

“Hmph!” Rarity closed her eyes and turned her head away from Applejack in a near-identical expression of haughtiness to the one she’d worn earlier. “Now who’s jinxing?”

Sunset bit back a snort and turned her attention back to the forest. The pathway was still there - not that it wouldn't be, but it was almost surreal that their journey was nearing its close. Sure it was just Rainbow’s word of mouth, but she was more than trustworthy.

That said it was probably a smart idea to be going. For every moment they spent having fun was another moment Daybreaker could be getting closer to the Elements - or taking them farther away.

Sunset cast her gaze back to Rarity, then to Applejack, giving each of them a small smile.

“What say you girls we start moving?” She asked. “I don’t think we wanna give Daybreaker any more time.” Both Rarity and Applejack’s eyes widened, Rarity’s cheeks turning red and Applejack pulling her stetson down.

“Y-yes.” Rarity stammered. “That would be wise.”

“Agreed.” Said Applejack. “We best start skedaddlin’ then.”

Sunset didn’t need to be told twice. She chuckled and kicked her legs into a speedy trot, the sounds of hoofsteps and wingbeats close behind her encouraging the smile on her face to grow. It was funny, really. By getting closer to the castle she should be getting more nervous. After all, there was every chance they were too late, that Daybreaker would already be gone, and the Elements with her.

But no, she wasn’t nervous.

She cast a quick glance back to the five mares behind her. Rarity and Applejack, much like her, had their eyes set on the path to the castle. Pinkie was doing the same half-lope, half-hop she had been during her impromptu song (and probably since the trek began, now that Sunset thought about it), her impossibly big smile still on her face, and Fluttershy - while trotting much like Rarity and Applejack - kept casting her gaze about their surroundings, her eyes brightening whenever she saw an animal, with Rainbow flying lazily around the five of them.

An intense warmth ignited in Sunset’s chest, pulling her mouth into an even larger smile as she cast her gaze back to the pathway ahead. No, she wasn’t nervous, because she had them. If Daybreaker did have the Elements and had fled the castle, then these five would no doubt help her recover them. Perhaps they could even become friends along the way.

‘Yes.’

Becoming friends with these five. That would be nice.

***

“There it is!”

Sunset’s hooves froze in place as Rainbow’s voice crashed through the silence. Her head - previously turned towards the pathway itself, idly tacking the pebbles she passed - shot up towards the pegasus, her eyes quickly tracking to where Rainbow’s hoof was pointing. Her heart nearly seized up as her eyes fell on what the hoof was pointing to. About a hundred meters away, give or take, a mass of bricks decorated in green moss and ancient trees marked the spot of what was - at least at once - a castle.

‘Was’ because it undeniably had some structure to it. There were large steps, wide enough to comfortably sleep on were they not caked in moss and heavens-knew what else, a giant oak door that would no doubt take several ponies to push on at once to even open (or just one unicorn), and suggestions of what could have at one time been wings to various different parts to the castle, but ultimately that’s all it was - suggestions. Any brick above the door was sparse, continuing for barely a fraction of the height before crumbling away, and while the wings might have at one time been there, now there was little more than a stub of bricks, poking out to the side only the slightest bit before tapering away into nothingness. That said there was a half-intact spire a bit behind and to the left of it, and for the most part, the door looked fine - though to be fair that was probably because she was so far away. Were she to get any closer there might be signs of wear and tear on it. Moss, maybe, though a preservation spell wasn’t completely out of the question.

Still though, dilapidated appearance aside, there was one small problem. Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she trotted as close to the castle as she could. Her eyes trailed from the doors down the steps and onto the path towards her and the others. A perfect path, save for one small conundrum.

The castle itself was built on what could almost be described as a giant stalagmite, though that itself wasn’t entirely accurate. It was far more cylindrical in its appearance rather than cone-shaped, with the castle itself being built on the plateau. Unfortunately, the plateau itself wasn’t linked by land to the cliff where she and the others stood, the distance of which made up at least half the remaining journey, but there was a bridge.

Or at the very least, kind of. Mere hoofsteps away from the cliff itself were two stone mounds jutting up from the ground. Sunset lifted a hoof and ran them over one of the mounds. Notches of varying length and depth were carved into the mounds in rings, with rope nestled into one of them. Her eyes followed the rope from one side of the cliff to the other. There looked to be a third stone mound on the other side of the pseudo-canyon, which the rope was also tied to.

However, while there was a fourth one next to it, there was no rope attached, the rope in question hanging off the end of one of the bridge’s planks. At the very least, however, the bridge itself seemed to be intact. Both the ropes and planks - despite hanging lamely over the emptiness appeared to not be damaged at all, and there was no visible fraying on the rope nor scuff marks on the planks.

“Now what?!”

Sunset whirled around to face Pinkie who - much like the other five - had her eyes locked on where the bridge should be. Rainbow’s eyes broke away from the bridge, stepping forwards slightly and waving a hoof towards Pinkie.

“Uh, duh?”

Rainbow gave Pinkie a smile, bending down and shaking her wings, before flapping them downward and taking off into the air. Sunset’s eyes followed Rainbow as she did a loop in the air before flying over the cliff and plummeting downward.

“Oh yeah.” Pinkie said.

Sunset chuckled as after a moment Rainbow resurfaced from the depths of the chasm, the rope clenched tightly in her mouth. Rainbow stopped in the air momentarily and gave her and the others a smile before flying to the other side of the chasm next to the ropeless stone and dropping the rope into her hooves.

Sunset pumped her hoof in the air and opened her mouth to cheer, but without warning a wall of yellow light appeared in the center of the chasm, snuffing out her cheer and drawing gasps from the other four. Rainbow’s back was facing them, nor did she react, so the odds were she hadn’t noticed.

The ‘light’ itself wasn’t truly light. Extending up into the heavens and as wide as could be seen, it was far from opaque, instead looking like a glowing window pane, the light itself also reflecting the light of the sun, while it merely tinted everything beyond it a shade of yellow.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy squeaked. “Rainbow!”

“Can she hear us?” Rarity asked.

“Dunno.” Sunset took a careful step forwards, hedging as close to the ledge as she could. Some of the dirt underneath her hoof gave way, cascading down the cliffside heavens only knew how far down, and her heart began to pick up its pace in her chest, pounding away in a desperate bid to escape her as she sucked air into her lungs, expelling it all in the loudest cry she could muster. “Rainbow!”

Rainbow’s head immediately shot up, the rope in her hooves dropping onto the ground. The fear that had been closing in around Sunset quickly dispelled itself. She grinned as she quickly took a few steps away from the cliffside, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. They were still in contact with Rainbow. That was good. She opened her eyes again, and that icy fear gripped her once more.

Rainbow wasn’t looking at her.

Instead of her gaze laying on Sunset and the others - or for that matter even the yellow wall - it was anything but. Rainbow was standing up, her head hunched low and her wings outstretched, darting her head from side to side before turning it back towards the castle. From across the chasm, Sunset was able to quickly glimpse the suspicious look Rainbow was giving her surroundings.

“Did she hear us, do ya think?” Applejack asked.

Sunset quickly shook her head. “Doubtful.” An uninterrupted fifty meters wasn’t hard for sound to travel through, and on top of that, there was no wind, nor anything else to dilute her call. Rainbow continued to shift her gaze every which way, save for their direction. “Or if she did then whatever’s in front of us must’ve distorted it.”

“Blast!” Applejack muttered. “Then how the hay do we nab her attention?”

Sunset put a hoof to her mouth. “Not sure.” She began to nibble on it. “If it’s us then we can keep on calling to her until she notices us. But if it’s not,” She set her hoof back on the ground, the icy feeling threatening to choke her.

“I… really don’t know.”

After a brief pause Rainbow turned her head skyward, casting her gaze towards the castle. Sunset did her best to follow her gaze, tracing her eyes up the castle until they settled just above it, pinpointing their targets amidst the deep blue.

Three black dots were barely visible amidst the sky. Forming some form of triangle they were at first subtle, perhaps a sorry flock of birds if a pony didn’t care enough to look, but as they flew closer, their appearance became more apparent.

What looked like three birds were in fact three pegasi. First it was just their shape, but as they soared above the castle, blitzing over the ground and coming to a halt just above Rainbow, Sunset could finally make out their appearance.

The three pegasi were all various cream colors, varying from light yellows to even lighter peaches, their manes all identical; short, but windswept, like they’d been slicked back but at the same time thoroughly ruffled, but the most curious part of these ponies, however, was the uniform they all wore.

Being the personal student of Princess Luna, Sunset was privy to many a show from Equestria’s premiere aerial stunt team; the Shadowbolts. Seeing them multiple times a year in Canterlot she liked to think she knew their uniforms well. That and the simplistic nature of their design made them easy to remember.

The uniforms these new ponies wore bordered on parody. The black patch of the Shadowbolts’ attire that covered both the chest and head was matched stitch for stitch by the uniform these ponies wore, but instead it was completely yellow, and the rest of the uniform instead of being a dark purple was a light blue almost the same shade as Rainbow’s coat. Their goggles as well were almost cartoonishly large, being in the shape of dinner plates and were way bigger than the slanted, almost cocky design of the Shadowbolts’. There was also a mark on the flanks of their suit, but from across the chasm it was too hard to make out.

“Who the hay are those three?” Applejack muttered as the three ponies descended to the ground, landing in front of Rainbow.

Sunset shook her head. “I have no idea.” From across the canyon she could see Rainbow’s face morph from mistrust to surprise. The fact that Sunset didn’t like the newcomers went unspoken.

Equestria stood still as the five mares watched Rainbow talk. Sunset could swear that - were Luna here, she could have heard her using the rare, but terrifying ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ all the way from Canterlot Castle. She spared a glance at the other four around her. Indeed, their eyes were locked on Rainbow, various ranges of concern etched into their features.

Glancing back at the four ponies across the canyon, one of the three suited pegasi had taken to the sky again, floating around Rainbow in a similar vein to the way she had circled around Sunset. Rainbow’s gaze was locked on the pony flying about her, who would occasionally dip down to Rainbow’s ear and their mouth would move. Whatever was said would make Rainbow’s smile grow wider each time.

Eventually, the pegasus landed back onto the ground. Their mouth moved one more time before Rainbow’s did. Hers was unmistakably a shout, her smile rivaling that of Pinkie’s as her wings beat down, shooting her into the sky as she pumped her hoof, a sight that only served to chill Sunset further. Rainbow glanced back to the three ponies and said something else, before swooping down and landing in front of the stray rope. Her mouth moved one more time before she bent down to pick up the rope.

It was like a switch was flipped. Instantly, one of the pegasi, the one that had been floating around her, rocketed over towards the rope and slammed a hoof down on it, glaring at Rainbow, who stumbled back, the sight causing Sunset’s heart to skip a beat. The other two pegasi sided up to the first one, each giving Rainbow an identical glare. Their mouths moved one more time, with the other two capping off whatever it was with a nod. Rainbow took another step back, and her gaze flipped over - for the first time - to where Sunset and the others stood.

For a moment Rainbow froze, the only signs of movement were her eyes, leaving Sunset and the others and flying about. Her head turned only slightly as her eyes hit their corners, no doubt finally seeing the yellow barrier. It took only a moment before Rainbow's eyes narrowed, her teeth clenching together as the look of surprise on her face gave way to a look that Sunset was grateful wasn’t targeted at her.

Rainbow instantly rounded on the three pegasi, whirling her body towards them and slamming a hoof onto the ground as she took a step forward. The three ponies each took a step back, their glares shifting into the same look Rainbow had on only moments prior as she opened her mouth, and by the way she was moving; hunkered low again and wings outstretched, she was far beyond angry.

It was almost comical watching one pegasus shout down three ponies her size. The suited ponies each backed closer and closer to a nearby tree as Rainbow matched them step for step, the expression on her face getting more and more ferocious with each meter she took.

It wasn't long before Rainbow had them backed into the tree, all three of them cowering as she loomed over them, her muzzle nearly touching the windswept manes of the ponies as she berated them for reasons only privy to her

Rainbow’s onslaught - whatever it was did come to a close. Eventually, she straightened up, her furious gaze devolving into a glare before she turned herself back towards the bridge, flicking her tail so it hit the lead pegasi in the face before cantering back. While noises of confusion and relief came from the other four, Sunset kept her eyes on the three suited-up ponies. After a glare cast in Rainbow’s direction, they began to glow white, consuming any discernible features they had before vanishing in a wisp of fire, the yellow wall disappearing as well.

‘Daybreaker?’

That was probably it. Sunset shook her head and turned her attention back to Rainbow. There were various cheers from the others as Rainbow finished tying the rope to a notch on the stone, nodding at it before flying back across the bridge. Whatever stunt Daybreaker was trying to pull was gone now.

That thought in mind Sunset quickly stepped onto the bridge. She was so close. They were so close, and now it was more important than ever to move. If Daybreaker’s magic was here, then there was a high chance she was as well. Chatter from behind Sunset began to stir up as the sound of wingbeats came to her side.

“See?”

“Huh?”

Tearing her gaze from the castle and towards the source, her eyes came to rest on Rainbow. Her hooves were crossed behind her head, laying on her back as she glided beside her, and instead of its usual cockiness, her smile looked completely genuine.

“Told you I’d never leave my friends hangin’.”

Rainbow immediately picked up her pace, flying across the rest of the bridge and landing just beyond it. It took all of Sunset’s power to not stop walking, her gaze following Rainbow as her mouth morphed into a frown.

Twice now, somepony had called her a friend, but that didn’t make it feel any less strange. Becoming friends doesn’t just happen, at least that didn’t seem right. Friends were ponies who you deeply trusted, who you could open yourself up to in a way you couldn’t with others. She knew at least that much which was why Luna was the only pony she considered a friend, (though after recent events she wasn’t sure). But if two ponies had called her a friend, what then? Was she their friend now, or how did that work? Sunset hummed and a small scowl crept across her face. Perhaps she didn’t know as much about friendship as she thought.

The walk up to the door was a blur. To be fair that was probably due to the admittedly short distance from the bridge to the castle. Even still, it felt like no time had passed between stepping hoof off the bridge and climbing the last few steps to the oaken barrier. The other five were already there, having taken off ahead of her when she stepped off the bridge, all of them looking at her expectantly.

Making her way to the topmost step she cast her gaze back to the five mares. The five mares who, by their efforts, had assisted her in the trek from Ponyville to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Indeed, had it not been for them she probably would have been stopped by the blast at the cliffs near the border with Ponyville.

Hay, she might have still been in the library, fumbling about the books and getting nowhere.

“Well, go on, Darling.” Rarity’s voice broke into Sunset’s mind. “A lady does not like to be kept waiting.” Sunset chuckled and turned her attention back towards the oak door.

“Sure.”

To be truthful, she was scared. It was odd, considering she wasn’t when she’d thought about it before. She’d been surrounded by the five of them just after the serpent, and she wasn’t scared, not in the slightest, despite the knowledge that Daybreaker could very well be behind this door.

But that was just it, she supposed. That the door hadn’t been in front of her then, and now that it was terrifying. She cast one last glance back towards the five mares. If they were scared, none of them were showing it. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were all wearing smiles, patiently waiting for her to open the door. She shot them all another smile before turning her head back towards the door, taking a deep breath and igniting her horn.

‘I can do this.’ If they were all putting on a brave face, then the least she could do was extend the same courtesy.

Her cyan glow covered the crack in between the doors, slipping into the crack itself and covering where the two doors met. Slowly she began to push. It was gentle at first, but the doors were as heavy as they were large, only creaking in defiance and refusing to budge. Gritting her teeth she began to push harder. The creaking intensified as the doors bent slightly, budging only slightly before they gave way, splitting from where they had been rooted to the ground and flying open and crashing against the other side of the castle’s walls and causing her - as well as the others - to wince. Maybe she could have been more delicate. Massaging an ear, Sunset peered into the first (and from here what looked like the only) room of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. She quickly set her hoof down and trotted in.

Much to her surprise, the room she and the others found themselves in did not contain Daybreaker. Instantly Sunset’s entire body loosened, and a small sigh escaped her lips, but the relaxation was short-lived. While true it was good that nopony would have to engage in a standoff against Daybreaker, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t somewhere nearby still.

Or worse, that she’d already come and taken the Elements.

Straightening up once more, Sunset’s eyes scanned across the room. The room was in an oval shape, with the doors they’d all arrived from being one of the two apexes to the room. Along the walls; large, arching windows were periodically placed every few meters from each other, each one standing many times taller than her and was wide enough for her and the others to all stand on comfortably. At the far end of the room, across from them were a multitude of different hallways, each one marking an endpoint of what had to be Equestria’s most cramped flight of stairs, constantly looping over itself as it climbed the wall, desperate to loop over itself just one more time before it - much like the rest of the castle - tapered away into nothingness.

The most interesting item in the room though, Sunset had to admit, was a sculpture planted firmly in the middle of the room. She raised an eyebrow as she trotted closer to the sculpture. Something about it seemed eerily familiar. Stopping just hoofsteps away she arched her head up and squinted at it. Whatever it was was sitting on an ornately carved pedestal that was two times her height, if not three, though that was arguably the most intricate part of it.

The sculpture itself was far from impressive. A sphere on top of a cylinder, the cylinder itself having five different arms, each one extending out a different direction that culminated in a little stand built to hold yet another sphere. The other five spheres were notably smaller than their parent, though unlike their mother, each one had a design carved into them.

Sunset’s heart leaped into her throat as she backpedaled, her eyes falling on the designs carved into each sphere. Much like the sketch she’d seen that morning, each one bore the pattern of a different gemstone all carefully etched into their surface. She quickly lit her horn and reached out towards one of the stones. Tentatively probing its surface, she dipped her magic beneath the surface or the rock, much like a pony would dip a hoof into water. Her horn began to tingle as through the ether a pulse reached her. An undeniable, irrefutable magical heartbeat. A humongous grin broke onto her face as she whirled her head around, eyes falling on the five mares standing behind her.

“It’s them!”

“All right!”

Rainbow pumped her hoof as she took off into the air. Similar cries of happiness came from the other four as well. Sunset smiled and turned her head back towards the Elements. The hard part was done, now came phase two. She lit her horn and enveloped the six spheres in a cyan glow, only to frown moments later.

Something was wrong.

The five smaller spheres - presumably the five known elements - all lifted from their pedestals just fine. Indeed, it was a simple enough process to levitate them down to where she was, delicately placing them in front of her hooves, but the sixth sphere seemed stuck. Gritting her teeth, she focused all her magic on the larger sphere, both trying to levitate it and probing all around it in a bid to figure out why it might be stuck. The frown on her face only intensified as she tried to coax her magic beneath the sphere.

The feat was impossible. The sphere itself appeared to have fused with the pedestal it was on. Attempting to pry it off would be more likely to damage the orb than anything else.

Or perhaps it’s just a sphere. Her heart skipped a beat as the thought flitted through her mind. She hoped she was wrong. Dear heavens, she hoped she was wrong, but she had to consider all possibilities.

Sunset grit her teeth as her horn grew brighter. Once again probing the stone’s surface, she tentatively dipped her magic beneath its surface, delving as far down into the rock’s composition as she could.

But no response came.

Her heart plummeted as she severed the magic to her horn, resurfacing from the stone and turning around to look at the five ponies behind her.

“Is something the matter, Darling?” Rarity asked.

The good cheer that had permeated the room died rapidly as one by one the others’ faces fell. Sunset’s breathing began to pick up, her eyes darting to each of their faces, dreading their reactions.

“It… it’s not here.” She mumbled. “The Sixth Element. It’s not here…”

The other five gasped, Rarity taking a step forward.

“You mean it’s gone?” She asked.

Sunset nodded. Were she not so terrified, she might have rolled her eyes.

“Yes.” She said. “It’s gone.” Her breathing began to accelerate even more. It was odd. This was always a possibility, the Elements being separated or straight up gone. But as she turned her head back to look at the five stones, the realization that in some way she’d never expected it to happen struck her.

She expected they’d all be here.

“I don’t know where we’d even begin looking.”

“Well we gotta start somewhere!”

Sunset flipped her head back around. Rainbow was in the sky again, her wings beating rapidly as she whipped her head about the room.”

“C’mon, girls! If we start looking now we can-!”

Applejack quickly reached up and grabbed Rainbow’s tail in her mouth, pulling down and grounding the pegasus.

“Woah there, nelly.” She said. “Let’s keep our heads for a second.”

Rainbow gave Applejack a glare, one that the farmer ignored as she turned her attention back to Sunset, the other four doing the same.

“Now, where should we start lookin’, Sugarcube?”

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but any words she might have said died on her lips. A flash of orange light came from behind her, reflecting off the other five and illuminating the floor.

‘The Elements.’

Whirling her body around, her eyes quickly fell on the Elements. Her already frozen blood began to drop even further, chilling her entire body as her eyes tracked a newer presence in the room.

Tendrils of orange fire had wrapped themselves around the rocks, emanating from what appeared to be a small sun suspended just in front of the statue. It stood a little smaller than her, lifting the Elements off the ground and waving them about slowly, almost taunting her as it began to pull them closer to itself. Daybreaker, undoubtedly.

Acting on instinct Sunset took a step forward. Almost immediately another tendril shot out from the sun. Unlike the others which were calm, moving about in a controlled fashion, this one was erratic. It thrashed about wildly, crashing into the statue behind it and slamming itself onto the floor, and the small advance she made was quickly rescinded.

Suddenly, without warning, the flame paused. In fact, it wasn’t just the one. Every single tendril paused, and the newest one slowly turned towards her. Sunset forced down the bile in her throat as the flame inched closer to her, almost as if it saw her.

She quickly lit her horn, but it was too late. The flame recoiled slightly before blitzing towards her. Sunset yelped as the flame wrapped around her barrel and lifted her off her hooves, hoisting her at breakneck speeds towards the sun and within moments she made contact with its surface. The screams from the other five had barely met her ears before she was fully pulled in…

…and sent crashing back onto a stone-tiled surface.

“Oof!”

Sunset closed her eyes as her body bounced over the floor, each time sending a jolt of pain through a different part of her body. She quickly threw her forelegs over her horn in a bid to shield the appendage from any damage.

Fortunately, while a painful experience it was a short one. Within moments her body rolled to a halt, leaving her lying unceremoniously on her stomach. Her legs, her barrel… everything really, while aching, was very much intact.

‘I’m gonna feel this in the morning.’

Sunset let out a groan as she wiggled her hooves under her body, slowly pushing herself up into - what she felt at least - was a halfway respectable standing position. She slowly rubbed a foreleg over her eyes before opening them. Instantly, her foreleg froze and she bit down on her lip, praying to the heavens she wouldn’t scream.

Across the room, standing on a dais stood Daybreaker, gazing down at her with an unreadable expression. Her mane, just like before, was composed of pure fire, erupting from her head and dancing skyward, further lighting up the dais on which she stood.

‘The Elements…’

Her blood ran cold as her eyes locked on Daybreaker’s mane. Grasped by the fire, oddly stationary against the roaring flames were the five Elements, each one bound in place by the same flame-like tendrils as before and shining a pure white off the flames’ light. Readjusting herself, Sunset straightened her legs, gritting her teeth as she pulled herself up to her full height.

‘I have to get them back.’

The decision barely felt like hers. She raised a hoof, suspending it in the air for a moment only to send it plummeting back towards the floor. The clack that sounded from it reverberated throughout the room, sending her heart into a frenzy and changing Daybreaker’s apathetic gaze into a bemused look.

“Curious.” The alicorn muttered.

Slowly, Daybreaker stepped off the dais, lowering the five orbs to the ground before snapping her mane back into its usual cacophony of flames.

“We have freed you from the monster of the night, and yet you seek to bring her back? How very curious.”

Sunset drew in a long breath and held it.

She really didn’t want to. In fact, that was an understatement. The prospect of going up against a crazy alicorn by herself terrified her, but should she turn tail now, she wouldn’t be the only pony who would suffer because of Daybreaker’s actions. Eternal sun would tire out the trees, throw off ponies’ sleep schedules, and bake the land alive. That would probably be only the start of Equestria’s problems should the sun stay up indefinitely. So for Equestria, Luna, and those five ponies she’d met she had to at least try. And hey, Luna still owed her an explanation for this whole mess to begin with.

So as much as her body screamed in protest, both physically and otherwise, yes. Yes she did.

Charging her horn, Sunset kicked herself into a gallop towards Daybreaker. The alicorn responded in kind, charging towards her at an equal if not faster pace. She’d probably only get one shot on the alicorn, so she’d have to make it count.

‘What should I use?’

Alicorns for the most part were an enigma. Even Luna herself knew very little on how her biology worked, save for her extraordinarily long lifespan and deep connection with the three pony races, though having spent much time near the princess Sunset had picked up on one thing; alicorns were very resilient.

Even her strongest magic when gone wrong had failed to affect Luna. Uncontrolled magical blasts had hit her mentor squarely in the chest and she had barely blinked. Daybreaker would no doubt be much the same and - if Luna’s absence was any indication - even stronger.

So she really only had one option.

"To draw on dark magic requires a pony to draw on feelings of negativity. They have to put aside positive feelings in favor of ones such as spite, envy, and greed. My elder sister knew this, but neither of us could possibly have anticipated the consequences."

Sunset’s determined look evolved into an outright glare as her magic’s glow darkened to black, dredging up her corrosive rage from earlier that day in Golden Oaks and fusing it with her hatred of this psychotic alicorn; bathing her body in a torrent of wrath as she projected her emotions into her horn. An unearthly shriek tore through her throat as a pitch-black miasma erupted from her horn, firing towards Daybreaker and catching her square in her horn. Daybreaker let out a yelp as the cloud condensed around her horn, solidifying into a glistening rock vaguely resembling obsidian. Sunset allowed herself a smirk as she sidestepped Daybreaker and continued pressing towards the Elements, dashing up the dais and enwrapping them in a cyan glow, hoisting them above her head.

‘Perfect!’ She gave herself a pat on the back as her horn began to glow brighter, covering herself, as well as the Elements themselves, in a cyan glow. All she had to do now was leave.

A bright flash of yellow light turned her attention back to Daybreaker. For a split second, yellow was all she could see before she suddenly found herself hurtling through the air for the second time that day, and for the second time, her body made unwanted contact with the ground, tumbling over itself until she came to a both unceremonious and forced halt by a wall.

‘Ugh. What in the hay?’

Sliding her legs underneath herself again, she was able to push herself into a full, but shaky, stand. Putting a hoof to her head, willing to dispel the stars from her vision, Sunset opened her eyes.

Daybreaker was once more standing on the dais, the black stone completely missing from her horn and again looking down at her amusedly. Sunset attempted to take a step back but only succeeded in bashing a hind leg against the wall.

“So ponies still practice the dark arts in this age?” Daybreaker asked. “Interesting… We thought that demon would have it outlawed as soon as she banished us. Perhaps we were wrong.” Bowing her head slightly, her horn began to glow black. Sunset gulped as she willed her hooves to move, but they were all but frozen in place.

“But that was a weak effort. This is a suppression spell.”

A dark beam erupted from Daybreaker’s horn dead on track towards Sunset. Her hooves finally unlocked, but it was too late. Clumsily lurching to the side, the dark magic just barely caught her horn, throwing her head back slightly and tripping her to the ground.

Sunset whimpered as she scrambled into a sitting position, extending a hoof to her horn. Something vile was creeping up from inside it, climbing up from the base and pressing against its surface. It felt like magic, but at the same time it was distinctly not hers.

She had to bite back a scream as the vile sensation escaped her horn, causing… something to emerge and press up against her hoof. All her breath left her lungs as whatever it was continued pressing outward from different parts of her horn.

‘What the buck is she doing to me?!’

All too soon the sensation stopped, leaving behind an alien feeling where her horn should be. Running her hoof over the strange appendage, she could feel that whatever it was was cool to the touch, smooth and angular.

‘Crystals…’

She didn’t bother trying to cast a spell. She knew it was impossible.

“There.”

Sunset’s attention was snapped back to Daybreaker. The alicorn turned her attention from Sunset and brought it - to her horror - down to the five Elements resting at her hooves.

“Enough of this foalish endeavor.”

Suddenly, Daybreaker reared up to her hind legs, holding her hooves high in the air and almost in slow motion brought them crashing back down onto the dais. Dust and stone were launched into the air as a small shock wave emanated from the point of impact, washing over the five stones and tossing them into the air, leaving behind several cracks all over their surface. For one small, terrifying moment they were suspended there.

Then they began to fall.

Sunset let out a scream as the stones hit the dais once more, their cracks connecting and darkening before violently pulling themselves apart, transforming the orbs into no more than a volley of shards and dust.

‘No…’

“Hmph.” Daybreaker turned her attention back towards Sunset, all hints of amusement gone, instead replaced by a contemptuous look. “Now you ponies are safe from that monster’s influence for the rest of your days.” She unfurled her wings, the fire that was her mane and tail lashing about wildly before shooting up into the sky.

“And ourday will reign forever!”

Sunset shrank back towards the wall, tears forming in her eyes as she gazed up at Daybreaker. They’d failed. She’d failed. The Elements were the only method of stopping Daybreaker, and now they were gone. A lump formed in her throat as her breath began to hitch.

“Su…et!”

A faint voice reached Sunset’s ears over the roar of Daybreaker’s mane. She blinked, turning her attention towards the wall on the opposite side of the dais. An archway was nestled there, leading to what looked like a staircase. She knew that voice.

“Where… yo… da…ing?”

Silhouettes began to creep up the staircase, the frontmost sporting a long, rugged mane and wings in their back, and the one behind it also sporting wings, though their mane was far more orderly.

Sunset’s blood ran cold as she pushed herself off the floor and broke into a gallop towards her friends. She had to get them out of the Everfree now. The last thing she wanted was for Daybreaker to -.

‘Wait.’

Sunset slowed herself down, bringing herself to a trot before stopping entirely. She was halfway between the dais and the archway now, and the silhouettes were coming ever closer, the voices also becoming more audible, but that barely registered to her.

‘“Friends”?’

That wasn’t right. They weren’t her friends, not yet. ‘Friend’ wasn’t just a label you could slap on a pony when you wanted to. She’d only known these ponies for two days, after all. Calling them friends now felt wrong, but she’d called them that all the same.

‘Wait a minute!’ Sunset’s eyes widened as inspiration struck her.

Both Rarity and Rainbow had called her a friend. While she hadn’t understood it then, they’d called her a friend because they believed her to be a friend, because they wanted to be her friends. Something she understood now because, well, she to be theirs. Not just them either, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, they’d all stuck with her, all pitched in when the going got rough because that’s just what friends did. It was painfully simple, yet so easily elusive.

A warmth erupted in her chest, spreading outward and filling every part of her body, a warmth coupled by an odd pulling sensation. From what she couldn’t be sure, but it felt like it was coming from Daybreaker’s direction. It was an odd feeling, but she obliged, pivoting around from where her friends’ silhouettes were and glancing in Daybreaker’s direction, letting out a gasp as her eyes fell on the shattered rock that lay at the mad alicorn’s hooves.

The shards were all wrapped in a different colored glow; pink, red, purple, orange, and blue, and even from partway across the room she could see they were shaking, even if only slightly, seemingly silent, but just active enough to appear blurred at their edges. Fortunately, Daybreaker made no inclination that she’d noticed anything wrong with the Elements. A smile made its way onto her face and the warmth that filled her body only grew.

‘Then the Elements weren’t destroyed!’

“There you are, Darling!” Rapid hoofbeats sounded from behind her, gaining in volume as her five friends quickly sided up to her.

Turning her head to the side, her smile widened as her eyes fell on Rarity. Rarity’s eyes widened as her gaze quickly traveled from Sunset’s face to her horn, letting out a yelp and gesturing to her horn with a hoof.

“Oh my! Whatever happened to your horn?!” Various noises of concern came from the other four as they sided up beside Rarity, their eyes also traveling to her horn, and no doubt the freakish crystals growing from it.

Sunset only shook her head “It’s fine, Rarity. It doesn’t matter.” Rarity raised an eyebrow at her, cocking her head. Sunset chuckled in response. “At least not right now.” She turned her attention back to Daybreaker, lifting a hoof and pointing it towards the Elements.

“Something’s happening to the Elements..”

The glow enwrapping the shards of the Elements intensified as they began to rise, catching the attention of the psychotic alicorn who towered above them. Daybreaker let out a gasp as the shards surrounded her before hurtling towards Sunset and her friends, the cloud of shards dividing themselves into five separately colored streams and making a beeline for each one of the mares next to her.

The five of them shouted in surprise as the streams hurtled towards them before veering out of the way, darting past them and looping back around to join with its tail, forming a circle around each of them; the pink shards circling around Fluttershy, the reds around Rainbow, purples around Rarity, and oranges and blues around Applejack and Pinkie respectively.

‘Are they resonating?’

“Uh, Sunset?” Applejack eyed the orange ring around herself warily. “Reckon you have any idea about what’s goin’ on, Sugarcube?”

Sunset hummed, putting a hoof to her mouth and tapping it. She cast a wary gaze towards Daybreaker, who was hunched down, wings outstretched slightly, but seemed to not be making a move yet. She cast her gaze back to Applejack.

“I think the Elements are reacting to you.” She said uncertainly.

Truthfully she didn’t know anything about the Elements, she’d made that abundantly clear, but what Fluttershy had said just after sending the manticore away had been bouncing around the walls of her mind; about showing the manticore kindness, she’d bet her horn that the Element circling around Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness.

“I think they bond themselves to ponies who demonstrate what the Element is.” Her voice began to pick up, both in speed and in volume, her heart beginning to beat a little faster and her smile evolving into a grin. “Applejack, remember when I was about to fall off the cliff, and you told me that Rainbow and Fluttershy would catch me?” The farm mare nodded.

“You were being honest - and back in Golden Oaks, when you told me to be honest with myself, you helped me calm down and sort out my thoughts.” She stepped a little closer to her. “I don’t think I’d have left that Library if it weren’t for you.”

“Fluttershy was willing to show a rampaging manticore something none of us would.” She turned her gaze towards the pegasus in question. “Through her kindness, she was able to resolve a conflict peacefully, and at a pace that violence wouldn’t have matched.” Fluttershy blushed as she gave Sunset a smile.

“Pinkie made us all laugh back in that dingy forest.” Pinkie beamed back at Sunset and gave a slight chuckle. “And she kept us in good spirits for the rest of our trip. Hay, I think we’d all’ve turned tail and fled if it weren’t for her.”

“Rarity represents Generosity.” Rarity ran a hoof through her mane, flicking it outwards and striking a pose as all eyes fell on her. “She gave up her tail to a complete stranger just to brighten his day, even though short tails aren’t in this season.” Rarity froze and her cheeks turned a bright red. She let out a couple coughs before shrinking back behind her mane. Sunset let out a chuckle as all eyes fell to Rainbow.

“And Rainbow, none of us know what happened between you and those three ponies, but whatever happened made the Element of Loyalty choose you.”

“They wanted me to leave you mares for some stunt team.” Rainbow said, returning Sunset’s smile. “Like hay I’d abandon you girls for something like that.”

“How vexing.”

All eyes turned back towards Daybreaker. Her wings had unfurled even more, and she was fixing them all with a glare. She pawed the floor with her hoof before letting out a snort. “It would appear our actions have only succeeded in creating the Elements, not destroying them.” She pawed the floor again.

“But there are six Elements, and we only count five. Without the sixth there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

A bright flash of yellow light drew everypony’s attention skyward; a stone sphere - much like the other five Elements - was shining high above them. Much like the other Elements, this one too had a symbol carved into its surface. Squinting up Sunset realized it was a sun, heavily stylized with a small split running down its center, dividing the design into two halves, a carving of which closely resembled her own cutie mark. Spellbound, she watched as the sphere began to float down to where she stood, stopping when it came to as far as her chest.

“Is that…?! No!”

Sunset tore her gaze away from the sphere to the sound of thundering hooves. Daybreaker had leaped from the dais and began galloping full tilt towards her and her friends

The sphere - and the shards of the Elements all began to change color. Their glows dimmed, instead being absorbed into their surface, imprinting the color on the rock itself. Looking behind her, she saw the shards of rock surrounding her friends clump together in front before merging together, creeping towards the ponies and - with a flash of light - fastening themselves around their necks, leaving behind an ornate golden necklace with a gem at its center, the gem mirroring their cutie marks.

It was then she felt something fasten around her neck as well. Looking down she saw the same gold necklace around her that her friends had, this one with a sun in its center and, unsurprisingly, identical to her mark.

“We have saved you from that monster! We will not let you bring her back!”

Almost on top of her, the mad alicorn lunged, but a yellow aura enwrapped Sunset and swiftly pulled her back. Suspended in the air she glanced behind her; Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were all suspended in the air as well, each wrapped in an aura matching the color of their Element. Strangely, an odd feeling of serenity blossomed inside her. Despite the crazed deity not hoofsteps away from her, and the sudden influx of magic brought on by the Elements, Sunset felt completely at peace. Perhaps the others felt the same. A white glow began to shine all around them, and amidst its glare, she could just barely make out something shooting skyward from the six of them; a multicolored blast comprised of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple arched into the sky, before hurtling down towards Daybreaker, circling around the helpless alicorn as the glow around Sunset and her friends intensified.

She could just barely make out the energy beginning to circle faster, engulfing Daybreaker in a tornado reminiscent of Rainbow’s around the manticore. Daybreaker began to scream as the tornado picked up speed. It was alien hearing the mad alicorn shriek in terror so, but as the glow became too bright, and Sunset had to shield her eyes, it was the only thing she heard before the world faded away.

***

The ground beneath Sunset was cold.

It was hardly an astounding observation. With her lying on her side, eyes closed, presumably having only just returned from the depths of unconsciousness, there wasn’t much she could rely upon with eyesight alone.

“Ugh, my head.” It was Rainbow’s voice.

Mustering all the strength she could, Sunset rolled over onto her stomach, forcing her hooves underneath herself and pushing up from the ground. She groaned as her muscles cried out in protest, more than once her joints popping as she propped herself up into a standing position.

‘Ugh. Last time I sleep on the floor again.’

“Everypony okay?”

Sunset opened her eyes and turned towards Applejack’s voice. Her five friends were all one by one either sitting up or standing up, no doubt each just now recovering from the same bout of unconsciousness she just had.

“Oh my goodness!”

Rarity’s cry dragged Sunset's attention towards her. Her head was turned around, her gaze locked on her tail. Adjusting her eyes, Sunset followed her gaze. Where previously there had been the half-stump of hair, Rarity’s tail seemed to have regrown, now back to its previous length, complete with the curls it had before she’d lopped it off. Fluttershy walked over and gave Rarity a smile.

“It’s so lovely.”

“I know!”

Flicking her tail towards her, Rarity gave it a nuzzle, before turning her eyes to Sunset herself and letting out a gasp.

“But I’m not the only one!” She raised a hoof, pointing to a spot just above Sunset. “Your horn, Dear!”

‘... My horn?’ Sunset raised a hoof and gently brought it to the base of her horn. Very slowly, she flicked her hoof forward, fully expecting to run into the crystals that Daybreaker had planted inside it. Instead, her hoof knocked against her horn. Her smooth, sharp, crystal-free horn.

Her eyes widened as she ran a hoof along it, half-expecting to still feel a crystal somewhere stuck along it, but only for her hoof to meet nothing.

‘It’s gone…’

“So, what the hay did we do anyways?”

All eyes turned to Rainbow, but the blue pegasus was meeting none of their gazes. Instead her gaze was focused on something behind Sunset, her mouth jammed in a thin line and her wings flared. She lifted a hoof and pointed to the spot where her eyes laid.

“Because there’s a pony there.”

Whirling around, Sunset’s eyes came to rest on where Rainbow was pointing. Barely suppressing a yelp, she took a couple of hoofsteps back, inching closer to her friends, her eyes never leaving the pony in question.

Lying amidst shattered golden armor was a pure white alicorn. At first glance, she was identical to Daybreaker, both her coat to her cutie mark matching the mad alicorn’s one for one.

That said, she was significantly shorter. Hay, she was probably the size of a normal pony despite having both a horn and wings, the shattered breastplate Daybreaker had worn was several sizes too large for her. Her mane and tail also couldn’t be further apart. Where Daybreaker’s were comprised of pure fire, this alicorn’s was not, her long mane being made of light pink hair, and her tail just as well.

“Wh-who is that?” Sunset heard Fluttershy mumble.

Shaking her head, Sunset tentatively took a step forward, wincing as the clack of her hoof reverberated throughout the room, though the alicorn made no indication of having heard her - or being conscious for that matter.

“I’m not sure.”

It was a half-truth. There were two ponies she knew it could be. She just couldn’t be sure who.

“I believe I can help with that.”

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat and her heart kicked into overdrive as a voice, a voice she hadn’t heard in over a day now, came from the stairway. Nearly leaping over her friends, she whirled her body around to face the stairway, hoping, praying that she could at least catch a glimpse of the pony that voice belonged to.

Half her frame darkened in the shadows cast by the archway stood Princess Luna, her ceremonial armor glinting in what little sun touched it, and her starry mane billowing in a breeze only felt by itself. The lump in Sunset’s throat only grew when Luna stepped forward, casting the shadows off her body and bringing what perhaps had to be the biggest smile Sunset had ever seen on her into the sunlight.

“Princess…?” She whispered.

Instantly Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all dropped into a bow, their muzzles making contact with the tiled floor. Sunset hesitantly took a step forward, her eyes locked on Luna.

Silence reigned for an instant as nopony moved before she broke into a full-on gallop, lunging at Luna and throwing her forelegs around the alicorn’s chest. That same warm feeling she’d felt when using the Elements erupted once more in her chest, spreading to the farthest corners of her body as she felt a hoof wrap around her and pull her in closer to her mentor.

“I’m so proud of you, Sunset.”

A tear slid down her cheek as she smiled, tightening her grip around the princess. By no means had she forgotten about Luna keeping her in the dark, the nagging desire to step away from her and questin her mentor bidding itself to claw into the forefront of her mind, but he could be mad later. For now, she just wanted her mentor.

The hug lasted for a few moments before Sunset eventually broke away, stepping away slightly and turning her gaze back toward her friends. All of them had risen, each giving both her and Luna a varying set of smiles.

“And I’m proud of you all as well.”

The five mares jumped slightly as they turned their attention towards Luna. Sunset held back a chuckle as Fluttershy quickly hid behind Rarity, who fidgeted slightly under the princess’ praise.

“You five aided Sunset in binding the Elements together to defeat Daybreaker. That’s not a feat just anypony can accomplish.”

“So we really do represent these ‘Elements of Harmony’ then, Princess?” Applejack asked, her cheeks reddening. “To be honest I thought it was a bunch a’ hooey.”

Luna lifted a hoof to her mouth and chuckled, gently setting it back down she gave Applejack a smile. “‘Hooey’, hmm? Well, trust me, dear…”

“Applejack, your majesty.”

“Applejack, that I may finally put your fears to rest.”

Luna’s smile fell as her eyes shifted away from Applejack to something behind her. Sunset quickly followed her gaze, only for her eyes to rest on the white alicorn, almost forgotten amidst the reunion.

‘Oh…’

Wordlessly, Luna stepped forward, splitting off from Sunset and passing by her friends who all stepped aside, making room for the princess as their eyes also fell on the white alicorn.

She was stirring now, whoever she was. The golden armor surrounding her was beginning to give off something akin to steam of the same color, growing smaller and smaller as more escaped it. A groan escaped the alicorn’s lips as she slowly rotated herself onto her stomach, her hooves lazily gripping the ground, though she made no effort to stand.

“‘Tia.”

The alicorn’s eyes shot open as Luna’s shadow crept over her. Lavender iris’ amidst a sea of white, far removed from the glowing embers of Daybreaker’s that floated in a void.

So, this was her older sister; Princess Celestia.

“Lu-lu?”

Sunset slowly trotted up alongside her friends as the two alicorns locked eyes. Shifting her eyes to Luna, she saw tears slowly leaking from her mentor’s eyes, dripping down her muzzle and falling to the floor.

A light blue glow began to envelop Luna. It was soft at first, barely noticeable amidst the daylight, before completely obscuring her features, causing Celestia - as well as Sunset and her friends - to look away, scrunching her eyes shut and holding a hoof over them. When the light subsided Sunset lowered her hoof, daring to open her eyes again and look at Luna.

Her mentor had… changed. Gone was the mane that resembled the night sky, dancing in a breeze felt only by itself, in its place instead was a neck-length blue mane, a color of which resembled the sky just after the sun had set. Her coat had changed as well. It was lighter, much closer in color to her mane, but just slightly darker. She’d also shrunk in size, now being only the slightest bit taller than Sunset herself, and smaller than her sister. Different, but undeniably still Luna.

Without warning, Luna lunged at Celestia, wrapping her hooves around her sister’s neck and pulling herself as close as she could. Her mentor’s breath hitched as the tears in her eyes began to flow faster, though her smile never left.

“I missed you, ‘Tia.”

Eyes wide, Celestia slowly lifted a hoof and lay it over Luna’s barrel. Tears began to form in her eyes as well as she leaned forwards, nuzzling Luna, a small smile appearing on her face.

“We’re sorry, Lu-lu.”

Luna sniffed and gripped her sister tighter.

“Please, ‘Tia. I’m just happy you’re back.”

The sound of sniffling came from beside Sunset. Turning her head, her eyes fell on Pinkie, who’d produced a handkerchief and was blowing into it, her eyes also wet with tears. After only a moment Pinkie’s sniffles devolved into outright wailing, the tears almost jumping from her eyes as she threw her head skyward. Frowning, Sunset reached out a hoof to her, only for Pinkie to bring her head back down, eyes jarringly tear-free and a wide smile on her face. She quickly withdrew her hoof as Pinkie whipped her head around to face her.

“Hey! You know what this calls for?”

“What would that be, Darling?” Rarity asked, tentatively stepping from the other side of Pinkie.

Whipping her body around to face Rarity, Pinkie reached out and grabbed at Rarity’s hoof with her own. Rarity let out a yelp as Pinkie suddenly started dragging her towards the staircase, stumbling over herself in an effort to keep up.

“A party!”

“Oh… oh my.”

Sunset could barely make out Fluttershy’s voice over Rarity’s protests. Turning to face the pegasus, Fluttershy unfurled her wings and took off. She glanced at Sunset and gave her a small smile.

“I think I should go follow them.” She mumbled. “For Rarity’s sake.”

Sunset chuckled as Fluttershy flew out of one of the broken windows and back towards the castle entrance. A sigh - one belonging to Applejack stole her attention. The farm mare was making her way towards the staircase, her eyes cast back towards Sunset and Rainbow.

“I reckon we should catch up. No sense in splittin’ up on the trek home.”

“Yeah.”

It was Rainbow, who was looking at Sunset with her cocky smile back on her face. She began to unfurl her wings, but halted, her smile slipping into a more genuine one as they retracted slightly.

“You gonna come with?” She gestured towards Luna and Celestia. “‘Cause if not, I could stay, give ya a lift.”

Sunset followed her hoof towards Celestia and her mentor. Each still wrapped in a hug from the other, they appeared to be talking, albeit in whispers. Sunset shrugged. Whatever it was, it wasn’t meant for her ears. Besides, she’d probably see them in Ponyville later.

“Nah.” She turned her head back to Rainbow, giving her a smile. “I’ll tag along.”

Rainbow’s smile regained its cockiness, her wings unfurling fully and pushing her into the air.

“Then let’s go!”

With little windup, Rainbow shot past Sunset towards the same broken window Fluttershy had slipped out of, and arched back towards Ponyville. Sunset lifted a hoof over her eyes, blocking out a brunt of the wind kicked up from Rainbow before setting it back down. Chuckling, she turned her eyes back to the stairway. Applejack was standing next to it, her eyes locked on Sunset and giving her a smile, before turning towards the staircase and making her way down.

Kicking herself into a canter, Sunset made her way for the staircase, her Element jingling with every gait as the cold metal beat against her chest. She glanced down at it thoughtfully. In some ways this all seemed like a dream; the existence of Daybreaker, and by proxy a sister to Luna, the five mares she’d made friends with, and these Elements of Harmony. So much had changed in less than a day, but this was going to be the norm moving forwards, wasn’t it? Sunset hummed as she tore her gaze away from her Element and onto the steps, descending down them as fast as she could.

Right now she had to catch up with her friends. There was much still to learn about these Elements, but that was excitement best reserved for another day.

***

The walk back to Ponyville was significantly shorter than the trek to the Castle. Granted, there were a number of reasons Sunset could list off that would explain why it was so, but the primary reason was no doubt that the road back to Ponyville went completely unobstructed. There were no manticores, no roaring rivers, and no spontaneous blasts of fire bent on knocking them off nearby cliff sides. Even so, the trek back took nearly an hour, and that was going on the correct path this time.

But even once she and her friends arrived back in the small town their work was far from over. One quick explanation to Mayor Mare later and the entire town was milling about again with the same vigor on display yesterday, once more hanging up ribbons, creating new banners, and cooking more food. Impressive, considering nopony’d slept in over a day.

Sunset joined in on the festivities too, assuming her previous role of overseeing the setup of the ‘Welcome Back to Equestria Party’ as dubbed by Pinkie, checking up on her friends’ tasks and reporting back to Mayor Mare, who’d assign ponies as needed, pitching in where she could get away with.

Which is why untold hours later, as the sun reached its zenith, a weary-eyed, but smiling Sunset could be found standing just off the main road leading out of the small town along with its entire populace, chatting about with her friends as she routinely cast her eyes back to her saddlebags, having slung them on as soon as she got back into town, time and again hoping for a blue glow, only to find nothing.

“Look! There she is!”

Casting her gaze towards where Pinkie was pointing, her eyes fell on a large dot soaring across the sky. The dot was a carriage, that much was for certain. Cobalt-blue in color and drawn by four royal guards, it began to descend, its inhabitants becoming clearer and clearer as it did so.

Two alicorns stood atop the pseudo-dais of the carriage; Luna, who looked to be back to her old appearance, and Celestia, who looked to be much the same, though now standing shorter than her younger sister.

The hush that covered Ponyville seemed to only gain in its intensity as the carriage got closer, almost crushing Sunset as the carriage danced over the dirt pathway, each brush with the ground eliciting more and more excited murmurs from the ponies around her as it rushed forward.

Sunset’s eardrums burst when it made contact with the ground. For only the briefest of moments, she could hear the carriage’s loud thud before it was overwritten by the deafening cheers of ponies from every side. Groaning, she flattened her ears and lifted a hoof to the base of her horn, delicately massaging it. All these voices were reminiscent of the Gala, just way less quiet.

It was a nice sight though, she had to admit. As the carriage got closer, she could spot pegasi taking to the sky, extending their hooves and waving at the princesses. A smile tugged at her lips as foals clambered onto their parents’ heads, their faces illuminating as the carriage came to a halt mere hoofsteps away from them.

Princess Luna descended from the carriage and moved towards the front of it, smiling as she passed the royal guards and unfurled her wings, immediately silencing the roaring ponies. Silently thanking her mentor, Sunset gingerly lifted her hoof from her horn and set it back down, her smile fully encroaching on her features as she saw Celestia step off the carriage and join her sister.

“We thank you for the warm welcome, citizens of Ponyville.” Sunset’s eyes were drawn to her mentor as Luna’s voice rang out. “And thank you for your kindness at such short notice. Much has transpired this past day and no doubt many of you are exhausted for it.”

“But there is somepony I would introduce you to.”

Luna’s wing closest to her sister fell, draping itself over Celestia, causing her to jump.

“After a thousand years, my sister has returned to us. Many of you know her as the alicorn ‘Daybreaker’, but that mare is no more.” Luna’s eyes flickered about the crowd before continuing. “She will once again join Equestria in her duties as a princess. I would ask that you treat her with the same kindness and hospitality you would show me or any one of your peers.”

Sunset’s ears flicked as whisperings began to stir around her. Ponies were craning their heads, eyes flickering to their peers before turning back in Luna and Celestia’s direction, their expressions more curious than anything, though a quick clearing of her throat brought everypony’s attention back to Luna. The princess’s smile fell, replaced by a more stoic expression as she opened her mouth to speak.

“Our little ponies…”

Whatever Luna was about to say was cut short as all eyes - including hers - were drawn towards her sister.

Celestia stepped forward, shrugging off her younger sister’s wing and raising her gaze from the ground. Her eyes met the crowd, sweeping over them in a long, fluid motion, her eyes resting on Sunset’s for the briefest of moments before she began to speak again.

“We would… apologize for the attack this morning, and we beg for your forgiveness. We were not in our right mind, but to say it wasn’t our own actions would be a lie.” She began. “We tried to dethrone your princess, and we broke down your walls. We tried to dispose of the six brave mares who gave you back your princess numerous times.” A tear slid from Celestia’s cheek, though she made no move to wipe it away.

“We just want you to know how sorry we are.”

A gasp echoed throughout the crowd as Celestia’s muzzle hurtled towards the ground, stopping so low it might as well have been touching the road. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as the single tear evolved into a full-on stream. Luna tentatively reached a hoof out to her sister but appeared to stop halfway.

“W-we are so sorry…” Celestia continued. “We swear to you… here and now. We will never become that monster again. We promise…”

If Celestia wasn’t finished speaking she never had a chance to continue. The brief bout of silence was all the crowd needed to cut in. Sunset clutched the base of her horn again as the cheering from the crowd quickly returned. Louder even, if at all possible.

The roaring from the crowd snapped Celestia out of her bow, her tear-stained face glancing up wide-eyed at the ponies before her. A couple of pegasus foals even floated out of the crowd, clasping roses in their hooves and setting them around her neck. Luna slowly trotted forwards and once more laid her wing on Celestia, prompting the smaller alicorn’s attention. Luna then leaned down and said something to her. Whatever it was, however, never stood a chance against the cacophony of noise surrounding Sunset. Not that it mattered, she told herself. It probably wasn’t meant for her ears anyways.

“Woo-hoo!”

Sunset yelped as Pinkie leaped to her side, throwing her forelegs around her and wrapping her in a spine-crushing hug. As soon as it came, however, it passed as Pinkie darted out into the center of the road, rearing up on her hind legs and throwing her forelegs into the sky.

“Now let’s party!”

The cheers intensified as Pinkie bolted down the road back into Ponyville, its citizens pouring from the sidelines into the road and making their way towards the town’s center, where a majority of the festivities had been set up. A smile made its way onto Sunset’s face as she watched the stampede disappear, but she made no attempt to follow, instead turning her attention back toward the princesses.

The royal guards now absent, Luna was back to her younger-looking form, pressing herself up against Celestia and giving her sister a smile the likes of which Sunset had never seen. Her wing was only barely able to stretch over her older sister’s barrel, but that hardly seemed to matter to the two alicorns. It was odd really, seeing her mentor behave in such an alien way, though to be fair, Luna had played the part of a ruler for a millennia.

‘Maybe she misses being a younger sister.’ It was certainly possible.

“Sunset?”

Turning her head toward Ponyville’s entrance. Applejack, as well as Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy were all standing together a few hoofsteps away from her, expectant looks dotting their faces.

“You comin’, Sugarcube?”

Sunset hummed as she cast her gaze back to the two alicorns. She’d like to, really. Being outside meant it was much harder for ponies to crowd the place, but at the same time the fatigue from their adventure was starting to wear on her. Sure, pulling all-nighters was hardly foreign to her, but rarely - if ever - had she been so physically active during those times.

“In a minute.” She said, casting her gaze back to her friends. “I just want to ask the Princess something.”

‘More like a lot of things.’

“Alright then.” Applejack nodded. “You just flag us down when you see us.”

“Sure.” She gave her friends a smile before she pivoted back towards the princesses, her smile falling from her face as she trotted towards them.

Luna noticed her advance first, her eyes falling towards Sunset once she was about ten or so meters from her. Lifting her wing off Celestia, she readjusted herself, her smile changing once more, though no less loving.

“Sunset.”

Sunset tried to return her mentor’s smile, quirking her mouth upwards, but that was as far as she got. Luna’s smile vanished, quickly replaced by a concerned frown.

“Is something the matter, my student?”

‘Yes.’

Biting her lip. Sunset drew in a deep breath, mulling over her options. She could always let it go; accept that Luna had her reasons and move on. She’d get over it eventually. But at the same time, it was being stingy like this, these roundabout lessons and teachings that had caused the chasm between them years ago, and if she was going to continue as Luna’s student then Luna couldn’t get away with slipping back into her older habits.

So if there was any time to get a straight answer, then it was now.

“Princess, can I ask you something?”

‘Alone?’

Luna blinked, but nodded. Her frown lessened as she delicately lifted her wing from its place over Celestia, gently tucking it back to her side and looking up at her sister.

“‘Tia?”

“Of course, Lu-lu.”

Celestia gave Luna a small smile before stepping forwards. “We will be around.” She turned her gaze to Sunset, her smile faltering slightly as she passed her by, but quickly returning to its former strength.

“Pardon us, Miss Sunset…”

Sunset gave the larger alicorn a smile as Celestia passed by, making her way towards a tree not too terribly far away, but far enough that their words wouldn’t reach her. Turning her gaze away, Sunset spared a quick glance towards Ponyville itself, the only ponies even remotely close being her friends, who seemed to have noticed the older princess.

“Peace, my student.” Luna’s voice drew her back to her mentor. “We are alone.”

She knew it was true. After all, Pinkie had already taken the whole population of Ponyville away, but this was a conversation between her and her mentor, knowing she had privacy was comforting if nothing else. Taking a deep breath, Sunset hung her head towards the ground, exhaling as slowly as she could.

This was not going to be a fun conversation.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

There was a moment of silence before her mentor replied.

“Why didn’t I say anything?”

Sunset jammed her mouth into a thin line, looking up from the ground and towards her mentor. If Luna was going to play that game, she’d play right along.

“The Elements of Harmony, Daybreaker, everything.” Sunset listed off. She began to tap a hind hoof as she did her best to maintain the thin line she’d jammed her mouth in. “I think it’s safe to say I was your backup if you were bested by Daybreaker, and I didn’t know what the Elements were, Princess. How the hay was I supposed to use them when I didn’t know how they worked?”

For a moment Luna said nothing. Her mentor closed her eyes and hummed for a moment, her mouth also shifting into a stoic line before opening them again.

“It’s because the Elements wouldn’t have worked.”

Sunset blinked, cocking her head as she opened her mouth, only to close it again. That… barely made any sense. A spark of pressure began to build in her head as she tried to sort out the contradictory answer Luna had given her.

‘Just bucking give it to me straight, Princess.’

“Consider this, Sunset.” Luna continued. “Were I to have told you how to defeat Daybreaker, do you think you could have done it?”

Sunset arched an eyebrow, a frown slipping onto her face.

“I think so.” She said. “I just had to use the Elements of Harmony, right?”

Her mentor lifted a hoof to her mouth, not even attempting to hide the chuckle that slipped out from between her lips. Setting her teeth, Sunset did her best to curb the glare that boiled up from her gut.

“Forgive me, Sunset.” Luna said, setting her hoof down. Almost instantly her expression lost its cheekiness, the smile too vanishing. “Though I do not believe it would have worked nearly as well as you think it would.” The confusion in Sunset only grew.

“Why’s that?”

Her mentor closed her eyes, again lifting her hoof to her chin, tapping it slowly and humming for a moment before she opened her eyes.

“Consider this.” Luna said. “The Elements of Harmony signify core aspects of harmony between ponies, would you agree?”

Sunset nodded. Yeah. That was easy enough.

“Then tell me, my student, if one of the elements were to have an ulterior motive for becoming friends - say, for example, a guardspony were to demonstrate exemplary loyalty to their captain for the sole purpose of rising in the ranks and muscling their superior from their position, are they truly loyal?”

“No.” Sunset’s gaze drifted towards Celestia. The white alicorn was still huddled next to the tree, now surrounded by the other four Elements. To her friends’ credit, despite all but trapping the older princess next to the tree, they didn’t seem to be overwhelming her at all. On the contrary, a small smile could be seen on Celestia’s face as she engaged in whatever conversation was transpiring between the five of them. “But what does that have to do with the Ele-.” Her eyes widened.

“Oh…”

Another chuckle escaped her mentor. Turning back, Luna’s gaze had also drifted towards Celestia and the other five. A wistful smile was on her face as she stared out at the scene.

“Yes.” Luna said. “Had you set out with the intention of making friends to stop Daybreaker, they wouldn’t have truly been your friends; just means to an end.” Her frown returned, and she returned her gaze to Sunset.

“Would that be the case, Daybreaker’s reign may never have ceased.”

“I… see.” Sunset finally said. She glanced back towards her friends and closed her eyes. “I… guess that’s fine.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not upset about it though.” She added.

“And you have every right to be, my student.” Luna’s stoic expression shifted into a small, sympathetic smile. “It wasn’t fair to you, even if it was for what most ponies would call the good of Equestria.”

‘Well that’s one question down.’

“And Daybreaker?” The question slipped out before she could stop herself.

“Hm?”

Even looking away, she could feel Luna’s eyes boring into her. Steeling herself, she turned back to meet her mentor’s gaze and repeated her question.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Daybreaker, Princess?”

Luna hummed once more, though for a much shorter time before she spoke.

“It was for a similar reason as to why I never told you about the Elements.”

A frown slipped across Sunset’s face as the words reached her ears. Her blood heated up slightly as she took a step towards her mentor.

“‘Similar’?” She repeated. “How the hay is this ‘similar’ at all, Princess?”

Luna’s expression became stoic again. “Sunset, you know as well as I do you would have begun searching for methods to stop her the moment I told you.” Her tone was much harsher, each word striking Sunset with the force of a hammer. “Had you uncovered the Elements of Harmony you would have again tried to make friends for the wrong reasons, and heavens forbid the wrong ponies.”

Her eyes weren’t on Sunset, but her words didn’t cut any less deep for it. Flinching back as her mentor’s words bounced around in her head, Sunset turned her attention to where Luna was looking; the five mares by the tree.

“And besides, Sunset.” Luna’s voice sounded behind her, much softer this time. “I’ve known of Daybreaker’s return the day I banished her. I was not about to saddle a filly with the burdens of the end of the world.”

Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, instead closing her eyes and sighing. As much as she wanted to object, her mentor was once again correct.

“I understand, my student, if you’re angry.” Luna said. “Nopony deserves to be left in the dark. But I -.”

“I’m not angry.” Sunset turned her gaze away from the five mares and back towards her mentor’s surprised face.

“Truly?”

Sunset offered a shrug, turning her attention towards the ground and idly sketching in the dirt with her hoof. Sure, she wasn’t exactly happy with the way events played out, and that itself was an understatement, but Luna had her reasons. They were legitimate and she couldn’t be angry about that, at least at her mentor.

“I guess I’m just frustrated.” She relented. “I know you had your reasons, Princess, but I really don’t want to have a ‘lesson’ like this again.”

“And you never will.” Something soft and feathery rested itself over her back, prompting her to look up. Luna had moved to her side, giving her the same smile she’d given Celestia. “As long as I can prevent it, I promise.”

Sunset paused for a moment before leaning into her mentor’s barrel. It was strange having Luna much closer to her size, but the serene aura her mentor always managed to project was no different.

“Thanks, Princess.”

“Of course, Sunset.”

The hug lasted for a moment before Luna pulled away. Sunset watched as once more her mentor’s body began to glow a bright white that within moments dissipated, revealing the taller, more mature-looking Luna she’d grown accustomed to over the years.

“That said.” Luna began, her smile changing into one more playful. “We should probably track down that party of your friend’s. I daresay it’s a poor showing if the star ponies fail to attend.”

Her mentor’s gaze shifted, and Sunset followed it. Celestia’s smile had grown even more so than when she’d last looked, now looking up at Rarity who was on her hooves, enthusiastically pacing about and animatedly talking about… something. Whatever it was, Rainbow looked bored about, but even so she still had a smile on her face. Fluttershy and Applejack though, she couldn’t see their faces. She turned her gaze back to her mentor and gave her a small smile.

“Sure.”

***

The ‘Welcome Back to Equestria Party’ - despite being outside - was somehow louder and rowdier than Sunset’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’. To be fair Sunset herself hadn’t exactly set the best tone the other day, having nearly blasted Golden Oaks to bits, but as a counterbalance, ponies hadn’t stayed up for over a day and a half during her party, and somehow now they had more energy than ever. Maybe these ponies never slept. To be fair she hadn’t seen a pony sleep in this town yet so hey, buck if she knew.

That said the party was certainly on the wind-down now. Party streamers were everywhere, and the trash bins were packed to bursting with discarded plates and paper cups, ponies were either cleaning up or going home, and the sky was now a deep orange with the sun poised almost perfectly touching the horizon, waiting for… Celestia, now, to lower it.

Sunset - as well as her friends - was lying down next to one of the trees near where all of the action was, having parked herself there not too long after the party began. Rainbow was the first one to show up, but over the hours one by one Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and even Pinkie had all lied down next to her, passing the hours talking about whatever mundane topic came up; usually a story from Sunset’s time in Canterlot.

“Sunset.”

Luna’s sudden voice cut Sunset off midway through her story, casting her gaze towards her mentor, she saw the same cobalt-blue carriage was now parked some ten-odd meters away, the four royal guards all strapped to it, looking dutifully up at their princess. Luna was standing hoofsteps away from it, Celestia by her side, giving Sunset a smile.

“It’s time to leave.”

The smile Sunset wore, surprisingly, slid off her face. She blinked a couple times as she replayed what Luna said over in her head again.

“It’s time to leave.”

“Oh.”

She hadn’t really thought about that at all, had she? She cast her gaze to her five friends. They were all looking back at her with the same surprised, disappointed look she felt. Hay, Pinkie looked like she was about to burst into tears.

‘That’s it?’

She’d just made friends, spent two days with them, gotten closer to them than she had every other pony in her life save for Luna herself, and now she had to leave?

Sunset slowly dug her hooves underneath her barrel, slowly pushing herself up, and numbly walked towards her mentor. Her gaze didn’t meet her friends, instead targeted at the ground away from them. She didn’t want to see the looks on their faces. She’d probably start bursting into tears herself.

“Is something wrong, Sunset?”

She stopped hoofsteps in front of her mentor, her eyes locked on Luna’s silver horseshoes, an idea beginning to bounce around in her head. There was one option she had, but it would be incredibly selfish. Luna had taken her under her wing, taught her so much, and she wanted to repay her somehow. She couldn’t just abandon her.

But at the same time, she had to ask. She had to.

“Princess?”

She dragged her eyes towards her mentor. Luna’s smile was smaller. In fact, it looked almost sad. The edges of her mouth looked forced, and her posture had diminished slightly. It was barely noticeable, but she wasn’t standing as tall as she was moments prior.

‘Does she know what I’m about to ask?’

Oh, who was she kidding? It was Luna. She probably did.

“Can I stay?”

Silence reigned for a moment as Sunset desperately scoured her mentor’s eyes. For all intents and purposes, it looked like her mentor had frozen, almost completely stationary save for her mane. Hoofsteps reached her ears as her five friends sided up to her, and the smallest hint of movement graced her mentor, her eyes shifting from pony to pony before suddenly unfurling a wing, bending down and wrapping it over Sunset as she nuzzled her.

“Of course, Sunset.”

Her heart skipped a beat as her mentor’s words reached her ears. Cheers erupted from all sides of her as bodies began to pile up both on top of her and to her sides. While not exactly comfortable, it did bring a smile to her face, though a ‘smile’ was probably an understatement. She wrapped a foreleg as far around her mentor as she could, returning the hug with as much power as she could muster.

“Thank you, Princess.”

Fortunately, after a few moments, her friends decided to release themselves off of her, allowing both her and Luna to detach themselves from one another, Luna then placing a hoof on her shoulder, locking eyes and giving her a smile.

“Of course, my student. You’ve more than earned it.” Luna said. “But there is something I’d have you do for me.”

“What is it, Princess?”

Luna turned her attention towards the carriage and moved towards it, climbing onto the pseudo-dais, with Celestia doing the same, and turning her attention back to Sunset.

“Every so often, I’d like you to update me on your life in Ponyville” Luna’s gaze shifted off Sunset for a moment before switching right back on. “Your lessons are far from over, and there is much I’d still yet teach you if you’d let me.”

Sunset nodded, extending a hoof to the sky and waving it towards her mentor.

“Of course.”

“Then farewell.”

Luna gave Sunset one last smile before turning her attention to the guards, giving them a nod. In one simultaneous motion, the guards unfurled their wings and flapped down, kicking up dust as both they and the carriage took off, soaring over the tops of the houses and making its way back towards the familiar mountain of Canterlot.

“Hey.”

Sunset blinked as a hoof jabbed into her barrel. Lowering her own, she turned her head towards the source; Rainbow, as well as Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were all standing off to her side. Rainbow withdrew her hoof, setting it back onto the ground and giving her a smile.

“Thanks for not leaving us hangin’.”

“Are you sure you want to do this, Darling?” Rarity stepped forwards. “While I’m sure we all appreciate you wanting to stay with us, aren’t you giving up a lot?” Pinkie and Fluttershy both made noises of agreement.

Sunset chuckled. Of course they’d think that, wouldn’t they?

“No.” She finally said. “Not really.”

Rarity blinked, surprised. “Are you sure, Dear?”

“Positive.” Sunset cast a glance back towards Canterlot. Luna and Celestia’s carriage was little more than a dot now. “Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot up there; lessons, the Princess, books. I could study whatever I want to really.”

“But that’s about all there is.” Sunset turned her attention back to her friends. “And you girls taught me there’s so much more to life than just learning new spells.” She shrugged.

“To be honest, it feels like I’m giving up nothing.”

Rarity was silent for a moment before she slowly nodded, her look of surprise fading into a smile.

“I… see.” She said. She suddenly turned around, towards the direction of Town Hall, before turning her head back to Sunset. “Then let us formally welcome you to Ponyville, Darling. As a resident this time, not as a guest.”

A warmth ignited in Sunset’s chest, pulling her mouth into a grin, though it faltered slightly as a thought wormed its way into her mind.

“That doesn’t mean another party, does it?” She hedged.

There was a moment of silence before Rainbow let out a guffaw.

“Nah. I think she means getting you a house.”

“Oh.” Sunset blinked, her cheeks heating up. That would be a priority, wouldn’t it? “Right.”

“Unless you want another?”

Sunset’s heart began to race as she quickly lifted a hoof into the air, raising it halfway and making small pushing motions with it. “No, no.” She said, casting a quick glance towards Pinkie. The last thing she wanted was a fourth party, considering it was what, almost forty-eight hours up now? “I’m good, thanks.”

Pinkie heaved an overly dramatic sigh, wiping imaginary sweat off her brow.

“Good!” She said, bouncing towards Sunset, swinging a hoof over her neck, and waving the other across the sky. “Because I’m allll out of party streamers!”

Sunset couldn’t help but snort, one shared in various forms by her friends. Pinkie began to move, dragging Sunset along with her as the six of them began to make their way to Town Hall. With any luck, Mayor Mare would still be up and could help her move in somewhere.

“So, Sunset.”

“Hm?” Sunset blinked. “Yeah, Rainbow?”

“Where ya thinkin’ of moving in?

Glancing up to Town Hall, Sunset hummed. A good question. Truthfully she hadn’t seen much of Ponyville outside of the hunt for Golden Oaks. A lot of the houses were small and quaint but the odds were she’d lose herself out in the streets. She could try living somewhere on the roads a little out of town but there didn’t seem to be many - if any houses out there.

Her eyes fell on one of the few other buildings outside of Town Hall she’d set hoof in. But who was she kidding? There was really only one place she’d want to stay in. It was where she’d met the whole town, was welcomed, and where she'd already made so many memories in only two days. It was already kitted out with a kitchen and a bedroom, so long as nopony lived there moving in shouldn’t be a problem.

She turned her attention back to Rainbow, whose eyes were locked on her and her signature cocky grin was back. She probably already knew what Sunset was about to say.

But hay, it was where she wanted to start her new life, so buck if she wasn't gonna let it be known.

“Golden Oaks.”

Author's Note

Hello, and thank you for reading all the way through these chapters. I sincerely hope you enjoyed what you read. I held off on posting these first few chapters separately because I wanted to start this one off with a complete adventure, so hopefully it will be satisfying to some. If you have any feedback please let me know, and have a great rest of your day.

The Ticket Matter

Some days, Luna cursed her inability to wake up without some form of grogginess.

Indeed, though she was quite active during the night dreamwalking, she too succumbed to the morning bleariness that permeated the minds of those she watched over for over a millennia. It was not ideal - certainly not for one who’d dedicated her life to guiding her ponies to the happiest lives she could. But if it was a curse she could not break over the course of her long, long lifetime, then it was simply an immutable facet of her, like it or not. She was only equine, like the rest of her subjects.

But, perhaps, this grogginess only bolstered the indescribable feeling that consumed her when she woke up to… sunlight.

She hadn’t so much as moved from her bed sheets, with her left hoof placed in such a way that she could not see the imprint the light had made on her floor. She could not see the familiar arching shape it made as it delicately filtered into her room, bouncing off her floor, desk, bed, and every other object in her room, mundane or not. But she could see the bright blue of the sky from her window, the glowing white marble of the castle, and the bright greens of the summer leaves, down to the way they rustled as their ancient progenitor swayed in what wind there was that morning.

She’d forgotten, she realized, what morning looked like from her bed.

She brought her gaze back down to her hoof, took a deep breath, and slowly slid it across her bedsheets, observing the creases it made and taking note of the ticklish feeling it made as it rubbed against her hoof. It was no dream of hers. In fact, it was no dream at all.

‘Sister?’

The events of yesterday hardly took effort to recall. She could remember them clear as crystal, of how Daybreaker had trapped her in the moon, of how Sunset, her student, had risen so valiantly to the challenge, fought hoof and horn to bring her back…

… and, of course, she remembered seeing 'Tia again, for the first time in a thousand years.

It still felt like a dream, even as she slowly rose from her bed, and her comforter crumpled and folded over itself as she placed her hooves onto the floor. Tentatively, she set one hoof in front of the other and coaxed herself to slowly trot over towards her window. Her desk was sidestepped, and she lifted up a hoof, and set it down upon the marble sill. She ran her hoof over the centuries-old cracks as if she was feeling them for the first time.

They were warm to the touch, and in the sun even more so.

Her heart nearly stopped as she looked - truly looked - up at the sun. It was bright of course, too bright, and she could scarce look at it for more than a moment before she had to pull her eyes away, though it did nothing to dampen her spirits.

Adrenaline began to course through her veins, and her heart’s beat increased threefold as she pushed herself off the sill. She had a foal’s grin on her face, she knew she did, but it did not stop her from once more sidestepping her desk, and breaking into a gallop towards her door.

The door glowed a deep blue before it was forced open. The guards on the other side yelped as it was forced open, but they may as well have not existed. It was unbecoming of a princess, yes, but even though this was no dream of hers, nor anypony else’s, the urge to see her sister again consumed all sense of decorum she possessed.

It was only a few hoofsteps to her sister’s room but it very well may have been across the continent. Her sister’s door was made of mahogany, and she could make out the etching of ‘Tia’s cutie mark, cut cleanly down the middle by the double doors. Two guards, clad in gold stood on either side of it didn't move so much as a muscle when Luna halted in front of the door, lifting up a shaking hoof, and knocking thrice.

“‘Tia?”

After arduous moments, much to her ecstasy, the door opened. Her heart which already beat so fast only accelerated in pace. Wordlessly she stepped through the door, her eyes prepared to dart around the room in search of her sister.

But they never had to.

There, sitting at a dusty table, her eyes transfixed on Luna with the same intensity she felt, sat Celestia. The air left Luna’s lungs as she silently made her way over to the chair next to her sister, the rustling of her hooves on the carpet more than loud enough, as she slowly slid it out from its place, for what had to be its first time in eons, and sat down.

Magic was what made her stand heads and shoulders higher than her subjects, and magic was what made her mane flow as it did. Magic was what darkened her coat, sharpened her features, and gave her the appearance she adopted. It took naught but a thought, a will, to dispel it and bring her back to the form she was born with. She closed her eyes as she did so, and shined brighter than every star in her sky before opening them again.

‘Tia was taller than her now, as she should be.

Opening her mouth, the back of Luna’s throat burned. It was dry, painful, and sticking to itself as she forced it open.

“Good morning, ‘Tia,” she said, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” ‘Tia replied after a moment. She looked back at the table and ran a hoof along it. Rolling gray hills of dust piled up in front of her hoof and were pushed to the sides, "It was… refreshing," A moment passed as Luna waited for her to elaborate. Nothing, not even so much as a comment about how different the beds were.

‘So I’m the one who has to take charge then. I see,’ she gave ‘Tia a smile, “I’m glad,"

“I?”

The smile Luna created faltered, though it was only temporary. She brought her expression back to neutral, though it admittedly took some effort to not arch her eyebrow. ‘Yes, ‘Tia. ‘I’. What about that confuses–’

‘...Oh. Oh, heavens, how long has it been?’

“We noticed you use it last night when conversing with your student. Sunset?” ‘Tia said, “We thought you were only using it with her. Has the common tongue been adopted, Lu-lu?”

‘Tia’s tone was innocent, curious, though it carried an aura about it that withered Luna’s insides and caused her to shrink back. She lowered her gaze and shuffled in her seat. ‘Really. Only the next morning and already I feel like she’s scolding me,’ But perhaps it was just her.

“Yes,” she replied, “I’ve found it makes us far more approachable,"

“Is that so?” ‘Tia dragged her hoof across the table again, "Perhaps we… I… we should learn it. Later, perhaps,"

Luna offered her a smile, “Yes. I’m sure it will only help,"

Silence lingered between the sisters. A silence not passive, but one that sent Luna’s mind whirling. It had not been even a minute and it was already apparent. Never before had she struggled to talk to ‘Tia like this. Though perhaps, she thought to herself, it was to be expected. While not the whole reason, a thousand years was a long time, and sitting here now… it showed. ‘Does ‘Tia have a thousand years of memories, I wonder?’

“I apologize for the dust. I could have sworn I told the servants to clean, but…”

“It is fine,"

Luna had to bite back a frown as she stared at ‘Tia. No, this simply will not do. Yes, her sister would no doubt need space to adjust, and Luna would be more than happy to provide, but – and perhaps this was selfish – she wanted her sister back, to talk and laugh with her like she did all those years ago, and while it may be presumptuous, she was sure ‘Tia wanted the same thing, "‘Tia,”

“Hm?”

“Would you join me for a walk?”

For a moment ‘Tia didn’t move. Hoof stopped halfway through another sweep of the table, and the stray dust particles that flew off became the only mobile aspect of her canvas. Her eyes were the first part of her to spring back into motion and flicked toward Luna before they turned back to the table. Silence continued to pass, until ‘Tia bit her lip, sucked in air, and held it before she deflated again, “We... will,” she finally said, and Luna’s heart soared.

‘It was that easy?’ Well, who was she to complain? Luna hopped off her chair and trotted towards the door. Reaching it, she turned back just in time to watch ‘Tia do the same, though upon her hooves hitting the floor she stumbled, nearly covering half the distance between her table and her bed before finally catching herself. Neither of the sisters said anything before ‘Tia looked up to meet Luna’s gaze, and gave a small smile.

“It appears our poise has rusted,”

Luna couldn’t help but chuckle.

“But we are happy to be back,"

‘Tia trotted up to Luna’s side and pushed open the door. She lifted a hoof and nearly took her first step, but Luna quickly draped her wing over her, or as much as she could. ‘Tia stopped and looked at her, though Luna paid no mind to the confusion on her sister’s face. She pulled herself closer and nuzzled ‘Tia before she retracted her wing.

“That makes two of us,”

“... but while Corrosion synergizes well pride, greed, and various "confident" emotions, arcanists have found that hatred works best as a conduit for its magics. The common theory is the intrinsic desire to inflict harm commonplace within. Fear is viable, but also volatile, having ample chance to backfire…

A smile graced Sunset’s face as she stretched out her limbs. Each one fought to take up as much of the bean bag as possible, and her horn flashed blue. A cyan glow of the same color spread over the current page of the book, hoisted it up, and lazily turned it over for her eyes to hungrily fall on the next set of words.

Library work was something Sunset would say she tolerated. Sure for all intents and purposes, it was nice that she had what was effectively a private library back in Canterlot, what with her many bookshelves each packed to bursting point with various books and scrolls, but it was messy, unorganized, for her eyes only.

The Library of Golden Oaks was different. Sure, while she called the shots on where everything was placed and how. Accessibility was everything, and accommodating the needs of others in the layout of the library was key, as unsavory of a prospect as it was. But on the plus side, it was an exercise in organization, something she might eventually need, even if it was a significant step down from being able to study directly under the princess herself.

But, as Sunset found herself lying down on one of Golden Oak’s few beanbags, the late summer sun piercing through the windows and bathing the treehouse in a cozy orange glow, she had to say it was worth it. The best part of her shifts at the library was when she got to flip the ‘OPEN’ sign on the front door around, knowing she’d been productive that day, then either hitting the town which was the norm, or during instances where she was feeling especially ponied-out, a quick self-lesson on dark magic was always therapeutic.

Hay, she couldn’t rely on the Elements to bail her out of everything, right?

That said, her first interruption came annoyingly fast. The sound of a hoof striking wood sounded twice from the front door. Sunset’s ears flicked, and her smile slid off as she tore herself from the book.

“Yes?” She sounded amicable enough.

“Miss Sunset!” A high-pitched, somewhat airy voice sounded, "Mail for you!”

‘Oh?’

Sunset pulled her limbs toward herself and lazily rolled off the beanbag. Her hooves hoisted her back up to all fours and the page in her book dog-eared itself. She trotted to the door and let her magic flow to the knob, twisting and pulling it open.

On the other side of the door stood a gray pegasus; the mailmare, Ditzy. Saddlebags were slung over her barrel and each one was stuffed to bursting point with letters. Ditzy herself clutched a letter in her mouth, though the sender was a mystery as Sunset could only see its back. She dredged up the best smile she could, but it was half-hearted, a stark contrast from this mare whose smile threatened Pinkie’s.

Oh well. It’d have to do.

“Hey, Ditzy,”

Ditzy nodded, and her enthusiastic hum was enough to threaten to send the envelope flying from her mouth. While unintelligible, the presumed greeting was much appreciated. Sunset quickly reignited her horn and plucked the envelope from Ditzy’s mouth, "Thanks,” she tucked it behind her ear. Strange though, she couldn’t think of who’d be sending her mail at present, “Anything else for me?”

“No,” Ditzy shook her head, her smile waning slightly, "I’m afraid not. Sorry, Miss Sunset,"

Sunset hummed, and her eyes drifted lazily to the mystery envelope. A small corner of it peeked out from the corner of her vision, goading her, begging her to tear it open, "Understood, thank you, Ditzy," she brought a hoof to her mouth, "To be honest I wasn’t expecting anything," it was more to herself than to Ditzy.

Ditzy chuckled and covered her mouth, "I suppose correspondence with the princess is pretty sudden, huh?”

‘Wait a minute, what?’

The confusion must have been present on her face as Ditzy’s smile immediately fell. Her hoof dropped back to the ground as her whole posture sank.

“Oh, was I holding it backward again? Sorry…”

Sunset barely registered Ditzy’s apology as her eyes flew back to the envelope. Immediately it was covered in a cyan glow and jostled from its cozy home, where it came to an abrupt halt in front of her and unceremoniously flipped over. Sure enough, what stared back at her - dark blue wax and all, was Luna’s cutie mark.

‘What the hay is in this letter that she can’t just send over the book?’ Something physical, obviously, but that was neither here nor there.

“Anyways, more mail to deliver…” Oh, right. Ditzy was here, “Take care, Miss Sunset,"

Sunset looked up just in time to see Ditzy’s wings fully spread and swing down. She shifted her hoof in front of her face just in time to block the dust the takeoff kicked up, and by the time she’d lowered it, some had settled in the entryway.

“For buck’s sake…”

Sunset rolled her eyes and turned back to the interior of Golden Oaks. Wind kicked up behind her as the door slammed shut. The mystery envelope floated lazily onto the checkout counter where it was joined by a stool, then by Sunset herself, who sat down and readjusted the envelope so it faced her perfectly.

She could spend time concocting various theories as to what it could be, but she had strong suspicions already. Almost automatically her eyes shot up to a calendar, one perched neatly behind the counter. August first.

‘Yup,’

A glow of cyan magic punctured the top of the letter. Sunset’s hoof held the letter in place as the glow danced all the way across it, splitting the envelope completely open before vanishing. Another glow of cyan jerked the envelope upwards, tilting it up and dropping out both a folded piece of paper and sure enough, one golden ticket.

“The Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot Castle

ADMIT ONE”

A small smile graced Sunset’s lips as she stared back at the small golden slip. Usually, Luna would deliver hers in person, generally by accompanying her to her room to give it to her there. This time around, however, she was one of the masses; receiving hers ten whole months in advance. It hurt, truthfully, that Luna couldn’t just take time out of her day to deliver it in person, or even wait until Sunset was back in Canterlot for a visit.

Oh well. If nothing else it was nice to receive one regardless.

Breaking her attention away from the ticket, her eyes came to rest on the folded piece of paper beside it. She let out a hum and flipped it over. Blank. ‘Huh,’ Back over it went, and when she unfolded it, another slip of gold fell onto the table.

“The Grand Galloping Gala at Canterlot Castle

ADMIT ONE”

Sunset blinked. Then blinked again. That… hadn’t been what she was expecting, to say the least. If anything she was expecting it to be just a letter - which it was, granted, but another ticket was certainly surprising.

“... Okay,"

She swept off the other ticket so it was side by side with the first one and turned her attention back to the paper.

“Dear Sunset,

I’d like to apologize for the formality of delivering your tickets. I’d have delivered your tickets personally, but my schedule has been rather tight lately given the Gala’s preparations and ‘Tia’s return,”

Sunset nodded. It was no surprise that Celestia’s existence was still causing ripples in the international climate. The revelation that not just one, but now two immortal rulers were governing Equestria had sent foreign powers reeling more so than the nation’s own populace.

“Speaking of, the additional ticket. I was going to enclose just one, but ‘Tia insisted you bring one of your friends along. It seems she’s taken a liking to them.

Yours truly,

Luna”

Sunset let out a small hum as she lifted her hoof off the letter. It sprang back up slightly, and she shifted her eyes back to the two tickets. So, she could only choose one, huh?

“Alright, then,”

It would have been nice to bring along all of her friends, she supposed. If nothing else it would save at least some drama between them. If Sunset got passed up on an invitation from a friend she knew she wouldn’t have taken it well. Fortunately, this was the Gala; a large, social, prim and proper, hobnob fest, so imagining Rainbow, Applejack, or Fluttershy having a good time there wasn’t only impossible, it was comical. A chuckle escaped Sunset’s lips before she hopped off the stool.

‘Food first,’

There was ample time to think about it later.

***

By the time the sun had dipped well beneath the horizon and the last fragments of its light were gone, so too had most of Ponyville turned to their beds. It was easily one of Sunset’s favorite times, that and the early morning (provided she’d gotten to bed early enough). It was here that she found herself hours later, upright on her bed, and hind hooves idly kicking its side as she folded her forehooves on a nearby windowsill, peering down at the vacant roads bathed in blue.

It was impressive that even when so close to Canterlot there was virtually nothing that connected it to Ponyville. Back when she lived with Luna, Sunset hadn’t seen even a fraction of the stars as she did now. The light pollution from several large buildings blotted out most of them. Here it felt like she was staring at an entirely different sky.

‘Huh. Princess really knows her stuff,’

That said, the most prominent difference between Canterlot and Ponyville was the noise. Even from her room Sunset could often hear the hustle and bustle of Canterlot’s small - but rather intense - night community. Impressive, considering the castle was far removed from most of the nighttime establishments. On the other hoof, Ponyville was quiet, calm. Even now, with Golden Oaks smack dab in the center of Ponyville, not a soul was ambling about past dark. It was a good time to recoup, gather thoughts, and bounce ideas around.

A hum escaped Sunset’s lips as her eyes traced what roads were visible. The ticket situation had been a little bothersome. The potential recipients were easy enough to figure out, but common courtesy suggested she at least offer the option to ponies who might not want to go.

‘Or I could just pick Rarity and be done with it,’

Rarity was certainly the obvious choice. Out of her five friends, the only other unicorn would absolutely glom on to experiencing a taste of the social life she so aspired to achieve. It had been a no-brainer for hours, at least on paper.

‘But the other girls might still want to go as well. Even if they didn't, they'd probably still feel disrespected I didn’t ask,’

A growl escaped Sunset’s lips, and she shoved herself away from the windowsill. Social courtesy was hard. She bounced once, twice, before she settled into the springy surface. She crawled to her pillow and allowed her head to crash into it in anything but a graceful display. Her blanket slid out from under her before it neatly fell back over. The warmth it provided was unnecessary, but the comfort definitely was.

In hindsight it was obvious this wouldn’t get solved tonight. There were too many what-ifs to just pick Rarity. Perhaps she could just ask them all later? A smile slowly crept onto her lips as she readjusted her head, rolling over to her side to gaze out the window.

Yes, that seemed reasonable. Pose it as a hypothetical and just see what happens. If only, say, Rarity wanted to go, well then it would be easy. If they all wanted to go then it might be trickier.

It was a decent enough plan, Sunset decided. That was enough progress for one evening.

***

“Oh, Sunset, Darling!”

“Hm?”

It was nearing on five now in Golden Oaks, the last of the regulars having already checked out their books and left. The last fifteen minutes were always like this; slow-paced, quiet, with the evening sun bathing the library in an orange glow. It was the time best used to preemptively put away discarded books and straighten out used furniture.

It was also the time in which her friends would usually visit her.

Far from an unwelcome sound, Sunset’s eyes shot up from her counter towards the voice’s owner. A unicorn with a carefully curled purple mane had just pushed through the door. A smile crept onto her face at the sight of the newcomer.

“Hello, Rarity,"

“Hello to you, too,"

No sooner had Rarity stepped in did the door close. Whatever stray books and furniture there was was sidestepped as she trotted to the counter.

“How are you?” Rarity's hoof ran over the counter’s surface, "I do hope business has been well,"

Sunset chuckled as she turned her attention to a stack of returned books. “‘Business’ has been fine, Rarity, yes. The spooky arcanist hasn’t scared any foals yet,” The stack of books glowed cyan before they levitated off the ground. One by one the books split off, floating right up to her for only the briefest of moments, long enough to glimpse the genre before floating down to a different spot on the counter. More books began to join each pile as another stack was grabbed, "But I’m doing great, thanks,"

Rarity smiled, and there was a moment of silence as Sunset continued to split her stack of books into several smaller ones. It was comfortable, but it was broken eventually.

“Might I lend a hoof as well?”

“Hm?”

Sunset tore her eyes off the books and up to Rarity. Rarity was looking back at her with a tired smile on her lips, one that was for the most part uncommon as far as she could remember.

But she was offering, so why not?

“Thanks. That’d be a big help,"

Another stack glowed cyan as it slid over to Rarity, whose smile widened as her attention turned to her stack of books.

“Oh, no need to thank me, Darling. It’s quite self-serving, really,"

“Really?” Sunset raised an eyebrow before turning back to the other stacks. With Rarity’s help, these should go by a little faster, "How’s that?”

“Organization is fun. That’s all," Rarity replied, "It’s quite relaxing after a long day,"

Sunset tried to hide her skepticism as her chosen stack split apart, "... If you say so,” she grabbed a new one, “I think it’s a massive pain in the flank," A poorly repressed chuckle came from across her, and it took all her effort to not cast a withering look in Rarity’s direction.

“In your defense, this is your job, Darling," A stack near Sunset glowed a deep blue as it was pulled toward Rarity, "I expect I’d be less than thrilled to do it if it was mine as well,"

“Go figure," More books came off Sunset’s stack, "So, long day?” A sigh prompted her to turn her head towards Rarity. Rarity paused, raised a hoof to her head, and massaged the base of her horn.

“Indeed," Rarity said, "The woes of deadlines, Darling. We ponies tend to have a habit of making requests rather last minute when it comes to commissions,"

“Oh yeah?” Now finished with her stack she grabbed some of Rarity’s. There was still one to spare, but it might jog her into helping again, "At least you can charge more for those,"

“Oh, I do," Rarity’s horn reignited and lifted up the remainder, “But they lead to a bout of rather long and intense few days. A couple are fine, but they happen rather often,"

“You could always refuse,"

“And why would I do that?”

Sunset blinked and broke her gaze away from the last stack. Rarity was returning her gaze with a rather indignant look, one hoof firmly planted on the desk.

“I will not be the reason a pony’s shindig is ruined, Darling. I daresay I wouldn’t be able to sleep were I to do so,"

Sunset bit her lip for a moment before she resumed her work. ‘... Okay?’ That seemed… more than a little dumb. Sure, reputation was important, she knew that better than most. But declining a request could be done politely, and if Rarity wasn’t willing to take time for herself then what right did she have to complain? “Okay,"

A huff sounded from across the table before a series of books thudded onto different piles. The last few in front of her glowed blue, and Sunset rolled her eyes as Rarity yanked them towards herself, but the books froze a moment later.

“... Sunset?”

“Hm?”

The tone of Rarity’s voice had flipped from indignance to disbelief. Once again, Sunset readjusted her eyes. Rarity had frozen, horn still alight, but there was a chance that might change. Her eyes were locked on… something. Whatever it was, it was where the books had just been. Sunset cast her gaze to where Rarity was looking, and her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on the target of Rarity’s sudden silence.

‘Oh,’

Two golden tickets sat side by side, probably having been stuck under the stack of books all day. Sunset didn’t need to read the words on them. Instead, she turned her gaze back towards her friend, Lifting a hoof up to her head and massaging it, before setting it back down.

‘I could’ve sworn I took them upstairs. Oh well,’

“Yes, Rarity?”

“I’m not… seeing things, am I?” Rarity slowly lifted a hoof and delicately pointed it toward the two tickets, "Are those tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?”

“... Yes, Rarity. They are," Igniting her horn she delicately plucked the few books from Rarity’s grip, both gently and forcefully setting them down, causing a thump loud enough to snap the other unicorn out of her trance, "I get one every year," The cyan glow vanished from the bottom half of the stack, lifting the top half off and gently plopping it in front of Rarity.

“Oh my…” Rarity stared dumbstruck at her stack of books for a moment before shaking her head slightly, igniting her horn once more, and beginning to sort through the books again, "Well, don’t keep me in suspense, Darling! What’s it like?”

It took all of Sunset’s power to suppress the groan that bubbled up through her throat. The book held in her horn’s grasp nearly spiked into its pile as the next lit up. ‘Yeah, figures she’d want to know,’

“It’s fine," There was no way that would be enough to tide Rarity over, "Bigshots from all over Equestria attend, as well as folks from further out, but there’s never much to do except talk to ponies," She knew Rarity would cast her a look for that remark, but opted to ignore it.

“Well you may not like it, Dear," Rarity had picked up her pace, inspecting the books with new vigor, "But I think that sounds positively marvelous. A chance to talk with high society… can you imagine?”

Sunset was thankful that she was on her last few books now. The sooner she could get up and shelve, the sooner she could stop forcing herself to look at least passably interested, "Yeah. I can," She said, "Most of them are prats, so there’s no point,"

“To be fair, Darling, you’re Princess Luna’s personal student," Sunset’s ear flicked as Rarity’s voice reached her. Her friend’s tone had taken on a slight edge near the end, "Not even the highest echelon of nobility is as close to her as you are,"

Sunset shrugged, dropping the last few books into their respective piles, she pulled in the closest two sorted stacks and hopped off her stool.

“I guess,"

Meandering over to the nonfiction section, the few autobiographies stacked together began to split apart. One by one they floated towards their respective spots, the nearby books splitting apart to accommodate them.

“It doesn’t make the Gala anymore interesting,"

“I’m not saying it does, Dear," Hoofsteps sounded from the counter to another side of the library, "I’m merely offering my perspective,"

“Mm,"

Silence passed between the two of them for the next few minutes. It was a repetitive cycle of shelving, collecting another stack, and promptly relocating to another branch of the library to shelve again. What with so many genres it was a longer process than Sunset would have liked, though with Rarity helping it was at least enjoyable, conversation or not.

“Well, that’s the last of it," It had been roughly fifteen minutes since the lapse into silence, one occasionally punctured with idle chatter, but spent predominantly quiet. She tossed Rarity a smile as the final book slotted neatly into place, "Thanks again for your help, Rarity. Did you want to stay for dinner, by the by?”

A giggle escaped Rarity’s lips, one only slightly muffled by the hoof she’d placed in front of her mouth.

“I appreciate the offer, Sunset, but I’m afraid I must decline," She set her hoof back down, returning Sunset’s smile with an even wider one, "I was simply checking up on you, that’s all. I know it’s been a bit, but I imagine you’re still adjusting. Being able to destress was just a bonus,"

“Well, it’s appreciated," It was Sunset’s turn to chuckle, slightly shrugging her shoulders she gave Rarity a nod, "I suppose it’s nice being in a town that’s actually quiet,"

“It is part of Ponyville’s charm, I agree," Rarity broke her gaze away from Sunset, and turned towards the exit of Golden Oaks. The door began to glow a deep blue as her horn lit, and within moments it was cracked open. About halfway to the door, she stopped, turning her head back to face Sunset.

“And congratulations on the tickets, Darling,” Rarity’s eyes flickered to them before returning to Sunset, "Who’s the lucky pony?”

It was Sunset’s turn to chuckle. Lazily lifting a hoof to her chin she began to tap it, allowing her eyes to drift over to the golden slips.

“Not sure, really," Wouldn’t it be nice if it was that simple? “I only got them yesterday,"

The sound of rustling made its way to Sunset’s ears. They flicked, bidding her to turn her head upwards. There was a window in Golden Oaks situated a little higher than the others that, when she turned her head towards it, betrayed the flicker of a pony’s tail before it vanished from sight. A small pit opened up in Sunset’s gut as she slowly took her eyes off the window.

‘Oh no,’

Turning her head back to Rarity, the easy smile that had donned her friend’s features had slid off. Her eyes now delving into a fit of blinking as she slid her gaze back to the tickets.

“Really, Darling?” Rarity’s gaze lasted on the tickets a moment longer before it found Sunset again, "But it’s the Grand Galloping Gala! Surely there’s somepony you want to bring along,"

Sunset jammed her mouth in a line and brought her gaze to a nearby bean bag. There was somepony she wanted to bring along. Five someponies, in fact, but mentioning that could cause… problems. Meandering over to the bean bag she let out a hum, closing her eyes and letting her body go limp and flopping into the cushy seat.

“Maybe," She relented, "I suppose I haven’t thought about it too much," She fought to not roll her eyes as a gasp reached her ears.

“And besides, it’s nine months away. I’ve got time,"

“... I suppose…” The sound of hoofsteps prompted her eyes to open and turn towards the door to Golden Oaks. Rarity was now standing on the other side, though her eyes were once again locked on where the tickets were. One of her hooves began to trace a circle as her eyes fell back on Sunset.

“I do hope you choose somepony soon, Darling," A small smile graced her lips, "I suspect half the town would go rabid for a chance to attend the Gala,"

The pressure continued to build as Sunset’s eyes narrowed. She spared a grunt, one soft enough that she knew Rarity could not hear. Something about her voice seemed… odd. Granted, what that oddity was was easy to discern.

‘She could at least try to be subtle about it,’

“Duly noted," A smile slipped onto her face as she propped herself up on her beanbag. She quickly cast her gaze over to the clock before bringing it back to Rarity. Six exactly, "Thanks again for the help,"

“Of course," Rarity’s smile grew as she lifted a hoof, waving it slightly as the door began to close, "Ta-ta, Darling,"

“Goodbye,"

Sunset’s ears flicked as the soft thump of the door closing reached her ears. For a moment she bit her lip, bidding herself to not move as she held her breath.

‘One. Two. Three,’

The pressure began to dissipate. Air hissed past her lips as she deflated, falling once again onto the bean bag, rolling onto her stomach, and mumbling into her pillow.

“Oh, buck," The words escaped her without any thought.

‘Why did I say anything?’

It was simple. All she had to do was not leave it out in broad daylight and it would have been fine. Just ask her friends on the sly and it would've been a pleasant surprise.

‘But no, you just had to leave it out in broad daylight, didn’t you?!’ Another groan escaped her lips as she pounded a forehoof into the beanbag. ‘Half the bucking town probably knows you have Gala tickets now!’

Okay, to be fair that was probably an exaggeration. The tickets were mostly if not completely hidden all day, and ponies probably would have pointed it out if they’d seen them. So the odds were small that anypony had actually noticed them.

‘Except for whoever was at the window, maybe,’

Sucking in air through what gaps there were in her lips she propped herself off the bean bag and turned her head in the direction of the tickets. A glower crept onto her face as she ignited her horn, sending the tickets up to her room in a cyan flash before flopping back onto the bean bag. She bit her lip for a moment before she allowed the trapped air to hiss out.

‘Whatever. Rarity knows now and you can’t change that,’

Again she opened up her lungs, holding her breath before release, giving her enough energy to coax herself up from the oh-so-comfy bean bag. She lifted a hoof, gently massaging the side of her head before adjusting herself towards the kitchen. If it was six then she might as well get some food.

‘Dinner now. Worry later,’

***

Night time once again found Sunset at the windowsill gazing out at the moon-bathed Ponyville. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open at times like these. The way the moonlight substituted the need for a torch was absolutely astounding, granted, and being able to see Canterlot’s silhouette amidst a bright night sky was always a treat, but it was that same beauty that always threatened to whisk her away, stealing her mind into her mentor’s domain and refusing to relinquish her until the morning. A lazy smile donned her face as she once again kicked her hooves idly against her bed, her eyes tracking two pony-shaped entities meandering down one of the roads.

‘It wouldn’t be the worst thing, falling asleep here I guess,’

‘Although my back probably wouldn’t thank me for it come morning,’

Pushing herself up from the windowsill, she arched herself backward as far as possible and closed her eyes, smiling at the multitude of pops that sounded from her spine. It was probably best to make sure she didn’t become a hunchback before she was twenty-four.

Opening her eyes again, her sight fell on the two tickets on her nightstand, as well as the object to their side; the notebook she used to communicate with Luna. Her eyes danced between the book and the golden slips, and she let out a hum.

‘Did I ever thank Luna for those?’

She illuminated her horn and floated the book towards herself, cracked it open, and readjusted herself on the bed. She flipped to the latest page, giving it a once over. Nothing, save for a conversation about a night out getting derailed by Pinkie.

‘I guess not,’

A nearby quill lit up, as well as a pot of ink. Uncorking the pot, the quill was promptly dunked into the link before getting dragged up to the book. Sunset bit her lip as she hastily commanded the quill to dance across the page.

“Thank you for the tickets, Princess. They just came in,"

Sunset blew on the ink before the book snapped shut, tossing itself back onto the nightstand as she deactivated her horn. Odds were Luna would be asleep by now. When all of Equestria operated off of when you set the moon you generally had to get an early night.

‘Something I could take notes on,’ Sunset stifled a yawn as she glanced at a nearby clock. ‘One. Gross,’

A sure sign it was time to get some rest if nothing else.

Letting out a sigh, she pulled her covers from under herself, her eyes closing and head hitting the pillow before they fell atop her figure.

***

A knock was the first thing she heard. It was deliberate, it was abrasive, and considering how well sound carried in the open space of Golden Oaks, it might as well have happened right next to her instead of from the other end of the building. Truthfully, had she not heard another one she would have ignored it, but another knock happened all the same.

“Ugh…”

Sunset’s body was akin to lead as she coaxed herself into an upright position, the one hoof she hoisted up felt like lifting all of Canterlot Castle as she brought it to her eyes, slowly rubbing them before letting it fall back down. Blinking what sleep was left away, she swung her hind legs over her bed.

‘Who the hay is at my door at…’ She glanced up towards the clock. ‘Bucking seven in the morning?’

Indeed, with the clock pointing at seven AM sharp, this was the time most ponies would be sitting down for breakfast in Canterlot, a habit that seemed to have carried over to Ponyville. No reasonable pony would be knocking on a neighbor’s door as early as seven in the morning (unless they lived at Sweet Apple Acres).

‘But I really doubt it's Applejack,’ Sunset thought to herself as she fully hopped to all fours. She bit back a grumble as she exited her room and stomped down the stairs, thudding each hoof into the wooden floor with as much force as the heavens could bless her with. Her horn ignited as she approached the door, and the knob of Golden Oak’s door began to glow cyan. ‘She’d actually be respectful of ponies’ bucking schedules,’ Pushing the door open just a crack she stuck her muzzle out, hopefully far enough for whoever was on the other side of the door to see.

“Whoever you are, the library’s closed on Sundays," she grumbled, "So please, beat it and come back tomorr-,"

“Hey, Sunset,” a high-pitched, coltish voice sounded, “Bad time?”

Any words Sunset might have said died on her lips as the voice reached her ears. She blinked, pulling her muzzle out of the door frame and cocking her head.

‘What the hay is she doing here?’

Opening up her reserves a little more, a new wave of magic surged through her horn, pushing the knob - and by proxy the rest of the door - outwards.

Rainbow Dash stood on the other side of the door, her wings strapped to her side and her mouth in a small smile. It was an odd look, almost sheepish, one that in all the months Sunset had known her, had never seen outside of their first interaction. Another oddity was the one hoof tracing circles on her doorstep. Quickly, she threw on a smile of her own, contorting her face into what was hopefully a presentable expression. No doubt it was sloppy, but it was the price Rainbow would have to pay for waking her up so early.

“Hey, Rainbow,"

“Hey…” Rainbow repeated as her hoof continued its minute laps around the doorstep, "Whatcha up to? Need a lift anywhere?”

“... A lift?” The haphazard smile on Sunset’s face crumbled, giving way to a frown as she again cocked her head at Rainbow. The pegasus was certainly no stranger to giving lifts, usually offering one whenever she passed Sunset, or reportedly another of her friends. But she had to admit, Rainbow waking up ponies for it was a first.

“No,"

The nervous smile on Rainbow’s face faltered, nearly fading before it was forced back on. The pegasus lifted her hoof, kicking over the laps she made before it resumed its cycle.

“Oh, really? Huh, that’s a shame,"

A prick of pressure began to build in the back of Sunset’s brain. She let out a small huff - one hopefully Rainbow neither saw nor heard, as a hind hoof began to tap.

“And why’s that?”

The smile on Rainbow began to slowly devolve into a grimace. Her wings began to fidget, her head began to turn, and her eyes as well; her gaze pointed anywhere and everywhere except for Sunset herself. If she was trying to hide her nervousness she was doing an absolutely terrible job of it.

“W-well… y’know… you’re such a great friend I was just wondering if you needed a lift anywhere, and…” The deadpan on Sunset’s face must have been showing, as Rainbow’s gaze landed back on her for only the tiniest of moments before the pegasus deflated, "Okay, okay!”

Rainbow’s entire body sagged as the grimace on her face faded. Fully turning her head back toward Sunset, there was no hint of a smile on her face.

“So I might have been catching some winks in your tree yesterday, and…”

Rainbow’s voice began to fade from Sunset’s mind. Her eyes narrowed as she kept them locked on her friend. That said, Rainbow hadn’t seemed to notice Sunset’s change in mood. Her confidence had picked up, and once more she wasn’t looking at her, instead waving her hooves through the air, lost in whatever story she was telling.

“I do hope you choose somepony soon, Darling. I suspect half the town would go rabid for a chance to attend the Gala,"

‘Rabid indeed, if they’re disregarding by bucking time,’

Sunset’s jaw tightened as Rainbow’s odd display continued. ‘Regardless of what she meant, Rarity was right. And I guess I know who the pony from yesterday was,’

“The Shadowbolts would insist that my signature moves be incorporated into their routine! And then, welcome me as their newest-!”

Lifting a hoof, she held it up between herself and Rainbow. There was no point in listening to what else she had to say. Not now. Almost immediately, Rainbow’s directionless babbling ceased, and Sunset drew in a long slow breath, gently lowering her hoof to the floor, dancing it about before jamming the rest back down.

“So,” she began, “you want to go to the Gala, is that it?”

If Rainbow could pick up on Sunset’s demeanor then it wasn’t obvious. Instead, she gave her the biggest, most hope-filled smile Sunset had ever seen before responding, "Yeah!”

Sunset’s teeth gnashed together and silently restrained herself from slamming the door then and there. The chain of logic here was easy, figuring out Rainbow’s motives behind offering a lift and her desire to go to the Gala. Knowing Rainbow, the odds were she wasn’t trying to strongarm Sunset into giving her a ticket, but that didn't change the fact that if she hadn’t found out about it at all she wouldn’t be here, and thusly; she was.

‘Though I suppose I should be grateful she’s so open about it,’

“I appreciate your honesty, Rainbow," Sunset definitely had to commend Princess Celestia. Were Luna still in charge of the sun, her tone may have caused ice crystals to form on her fur, "But it’s seven in the bucking morning. Right now I don’t want to think about dolling out tickets for an event that’s not until May,"

There was some grim satisfaction to be had as the cocky, cheery look that Rainbow had been sporting was wiped from her face almost instantly. Her wings unfurled slightly, twitching as she took a couple steps backward, her smile reigniting, but once again small and sheepish.

“Oh," Rainbow lifted a hoof and reached behind her neck, scratching it as her wings properly unfurled and began to flap, "Sorry, Sunset. I guess I didn’t think about that, heh-heh,"

‘No, you really didn’t,’

“I guess I’ll see you around?”

The ghost of a smile began to tug at Sunset’s face. She gave Rainbow a nod as she too took a step back into the inside of Golden Oaks.

“Sure,"

Lifting a hoof, she spared Rainbow a little wave before the door began to close.

“Catch you later,"

The sound of Rainbow taking off was muffled by the door closing completely, though a quick glance out the window betrayed the dust the cyan pegasus had kicked up. Waiting a moment in case she came back for whatever reason, Sunset lifted a hoof, slowly bringing it to the base of her horn and offering it a massage.

“Ugh,"

The pressure that had been building up throughout her interaction slowly began to dissipate. That was two ponies, now, who wanted to go to the Gala. Granted while Rarity never explicitly stated it, it was essentially a given. Perhaps pestering Luna for another ticket might not be too out of the question.

‘No, that’s silly,’ Sunset quickly shook her head, ‘Luna can’t just print these things on a whim,’ Rarely, if ever, had she heard Luna order for a new ticket to be made. It only ever happened if an existing one was lost or damaged.

‘Actually, since my mind’s on it…’

Sunset hummed, and her horn flashed. Her message book, ink, and quill all teleported to her. In the midst of the early morning disruption, she hadn’t checked to see if Luna’d said anything. Sure enough, as she set it down on the floor, her cyan aura vanished to reveal one much darker. Without missing a beat she flipped open the book and moved to the latest message.

“Of course, Sunset. Please let me know who you’ll be bringing along,"

“Sure," Smiling slightly, she closed the book, sending it back up to her room and putting back her writing utensils as she meandered over to the kitchen.

To call Golden Oak’s kitchen a kitchen proper was rather generous. Truthfully it was barely its own dedicated room. The sink and cupboards were placed in the immediate hallway while the actual room itself had enough counter space to use a knife exactly, a refrigerator, and a table, with no stove to speak of. This certainly wasn’t the place a pony had dinner with her friends, and to call it serviceable would be stretching it, but for the most part, Sunset found herself often able to prepare food for one just fine. She lit her horn and a myriad of various vegetables, crunchy and not escaped her fridge and into her bowl.

Tapping her hoof to her mouth, Sunset let out a small hum, eying the trove of riches as a small frown slipped onto her face. The meal was fine, and to be honest, carrots, tomatoes, romaine, and a sprinkling of oats were what she normally had in the morning. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about it, but sometimes some zest was necessary, and considering how her morning started…

‘Yeah, what the hay,’

Sunset flipped her head around back to the fridge, smiling once more as her magic illuminated one of the drawers at the bottom of the fridge and yanked it open, pulling out a large rolled-up bag of flowers. Her smile once more slipped into a frown as she diverted the bag from its course and pulled it towards her.

‘That’s probably it for this one,’ Indeed, as she brought the bag to her face, flipping it over and inspecting every side, there were only enough flowers in here for a light dusting.

‘I guess I know what I'm doing today,’

Shrugging, she brought the bag over to the bowl, dumping the last set of flowers into the bowl before crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash. Another of the cupboards behind her flew open and she ducked her head just in time so a passing plate didn’t clip her horn before landing smartly onto the top of the bowl.

Lifting the plate and bowl both, she gave each a good shake, smiling as a fork whizzed out of a nearby drawer, coming to her side as the freshly shaken bowl uncovered itself to reveal a perfectly thrown salad.

‘Okay then,’ Sunset thought as she took a bite. In a flash, a quill, ink pot, and slip of paper appeared at the table. ‘So, what’ll I need?’

The next few minutes for Sunset passed by in a whirlwind cycle of eating, opening the fridge, and jotting down groceries. For the most part, it was just salad ingredients (turns out that romaine heart was her last as well) though fortunately she was plenty stocked on tomatoes. The boon of Sundays was that while Golden Oaks may be closed, a variety of shops were out in the marketplace, eager to profit on the day of rest most ponies took for themselves. It certainly made Sunday easily pegged as her shopping day if nothing else.

‘And that should be that,’

Sunset nodded as she glanced over her list. Short, quick scrawls of roughly five or six items that shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes once she got there. Her horn flashed again and the ink and quill were banished, replaced by her saddlebags. She quickly pried open each flap, searching for any bits, of which there was a small sack in one. Folding up her list she tossed it into the right before they were draped over her barrel, and the straps tightened as she began her trot back down the hallway.

‘Might as well swing by Applejack’s stand too,’ Now out in the main room, Sunset lit her horn, and Golden Oak’s main door began to glow. ‘Hay, she’s probably there already,’ The door flew open and bathed the interior of the library in even more sun.

Stepping onto the dirt roads of Ponyville, Sunset had to admit, Celestia certainly knew her stuff when crafting the day. The sun was brighter, warmer, and there was a certain energy about it that hadn’t existed for as long as she could remember. There was something inside her that the light itself seemed to coax up to the surface, a newfound energy perhaps. Regardless of which she allowed herself a moment and arched her back downwards, stretching herself as she soaked in as much of this newfound sun as she could.

‘All right,’

Her hooves kicked into motion and hopped off the dirt road.

* * *

Breaking herself from a canter to a trot, Sunset approached Ponyville Square. Her eyes flit from one stall to the next. Sure enough, it was all produce, from various lettuce to tomatoes, and from carrots to corn, each accompanied by its own vendor. Applejack was there as well, her stetson sticking out amongst the other ponies, and surrounded by scores and scores of apples. Her eyes met Sunset’s, and she lifted a hoof in a wave, a wave Sunset returned before meandering over to the lettuce stand. She could speak to Applejack once she’d finished with the rest of her shopping.

“Good morning!”

The lettuce vendor’s voice prompted her to bring her eyes over to the pony in question. She nodded her head, igniting her horn and pulling out both a sack of bits and her shopping list.

“Hello," Opening her bit bag she glanced at her list, "Three romaine," Three bits levitated out of her bag and one by one thudded onto the stall’s counter. The pony happily scooped them up before pulling out three romaine hearts and setting them where the bits had been, before Sunset levitated them towards her, opening her saddlebags and plopping them inside. She offered the vendor a smile before turning around, folding the top of the list so it covered the romaine hearts. One down.

One down indeed, and the rest went quickly enough. Sunset darted from stall to stall picking up some corn, carrots, and a couple bags of flowers. She spared a glance at her saddlebags before she made her way to the final stand. The bags were certainly full, near to burst really, but they held some room for a few apples.

“Well howdy, Sunset!” Her friend’s Appleoosan accent tugged at the edges of Sunset’s mouth as she approached Applejack’s stand, "Thought you’d never get here,"

“I save the best for last,” Sunset’s horn ignited, tossing five bits onto the table, "As many as it gets,"

“Well that’s much appreciated,” Applejack swept the bits into a bag and started grabbing apples in pairs of two, setting them onto the counter until ten bright red apples stared back at Sunset. A quick appraisal and Sunset nodded, igniting her horn, and into the bags they went

“Thanks," Said bags were beyond bursting, but the straps were just large enough that they could cover them. Sunset quickly glanced from bag to bag, and let out a contented hum that evolved into a sigh, "I think that’s everything," It was more to herself than Applejack.

“You sound mighty tired there," Her friend’s tone prompted Sunset to look back up. Gone was Applejack’s pleasant smile, now replaced by a vague look of concern. The sigh must’ve been louder than she thought, "I don’t think it’s even past nine. A little early for all that sighin’ don’t you think?”

“Tell me about it," Sidestepping the stall, Sunset meandered over to where Applejack was. She allowed her hindlegs to slide out from underneath her, planting herself rather unceremoniously next to her friend. The saddlebags shook dangerously, but there was no thumping sound of apples - or anything else for that matter, "Just a little too early of a morning, I guess,"

“That so?”

Hoofsteps began to approach the stall, and looking up revealed that sure enough, another pony had trotted up to the stall. Applejack’s attention was ripped away and onto the new face. Sunset waited for her friend’s business to conclude before finally responding.

“Yup. Rainbow’s probably the earliest riser in this town,"

“Definitely. That job of hers demands she wake up somethin’ early," Applejack waved to a passing pony, but failed to beckon them over to her stand, "So she was buggin’ you this morning?”

Sunset opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated. Her eyes flitted up and down her friend, whose eyes were still focused on the passing ponies.

“... Yeah," She relented, "She was speaking to me about… something, I forget what it was now. It was way too early,"

Applejack’s gaze broke away for a moment, landing on Sunset herself and her expression morphed again into one of concern. She let out a small hum before turning her gaze back to her front, "And how early was that?”

“About seven,"

Applejack’s ear flicked as Sunset’s words reached her, "That consarn…” Her tail flicked to the side, crashing into one of the stall’s poles, before going limp again, "You need me to speak to her, Sugarcube?”

A small prick of indignation ignited in Sunset’s gut. She set her jaw and took her gaze off her friend, "Nah. I already talked to her. Thanks though,"

‘I’m not helpless, Applejack,’

“Well that’s good then," More hoofsteps approached the stall, and another purchase was made. Applejack looked like she still had more to say, though, as she placed six apples on the counter that the next pony scooped up before departing, "I know Rainbow can be a bit oblivious from time to time, but I gotta admit that’s a first,"

“It is," Lifting a hoof, Sunset brought it to her horn, massaging it briefly before setting it back down, "But I don’t think it’ll happen again,"

“If you gave her a good tellin’ off, then I doubt it," Again, another purchase, "She’s not the kinda pony to forget, usually,"

“Yeah,"

“So,” The clinking of bits prompted Sunset to turn back to her friend. Applejack’s hoof was slowly gliding over the counter and pushing the bits into a bag, "Sunday’s your day off, right?”

“Yeah…” Sunset arched an eyebrow as her response slowly left her mouth, "Why do you ask?”

Applejack shrugged, the last of the bits falling nicely into the bag as she lifted her hoof off the counter, "Just figured," Bringing her hoof back down she nudged the bit bag farther under the counter, "I ain’t the nosy type, but I like checking up on my friends every once in a while. And besides, there ain’t much to do in a library on a day off,"

“Not true. You could breathe in dust from eons-old books,” Applejack made no attempt to hide her laughter. Digging her hindlegs under herself, Sunset propped herself back on all fours and turned to fully face her friend. She glanced back at her saddlebags, before giving them a little shake, "I’ll probably drop these off, and hit the town again. I swear, there’s something about Celestia’s sun that’s so much nicer than Luna’s,"

“You ain’t the only one thinking that," Applejack glanced to the scores of apples behind her before bringing her gaze back to Sunset, "No disrespect to the princess, of course, but me and every other farmer are noticing a faster crop than usual. If this is the norm I daresay the farm will enjoy some mighty fine returns,"

Lifting a hoof to her chin, Sunset began to tap it, her eyes too shifting to the bright array of apples behind her friend, "Huh, no fooling," So it wasn’t just her after all. It might be an interesting question to ask Luna later. Setting her hoof back down she stepped around the stall to the front and lifted her hoof up to Applejack, which the latter happily bumped, "See you later, Applejack,"

“Catch you around, Sunset,"

“Likewise,"

Sunset gave Applejack one last smile before turning back to face the way she came. She quickly coaxed herself into a trot, getting a few steps before, strangely, Applejack’s voice met her ears once more.

“Hey, Sugarcube?”

“Yeah?” Sunset's ears flicked as she turned her head back around. Gone was Applejack’s jovial tone of voice, instead replaced by one somewhat… hopeful, interestingly enough.

Something about Applejack had shifted in the moments she wasn’t looking. Before completely still, she now shifted from side to side. Her expression was predominantly neutral, but there was enough - just enough, of a difference that it decidedly wasn’t. Sunset’s arched an eyebrow as she trotted back over to the stall. She rested her forehooves on the counter and pulled herself up on them.

‘Hmm…’

Applejack’s eyes shifted from side to side before bending her head lower slightly.

“I… hate to pry, really, and I ain’t askin’ this for myself, but… is it true the princess sent you Gala tickets?”

The pressure Sunset had felt in her head that morning came back in full force. Any warmth the sun-blessed Equestria with vanished in a flash as her smile shattered, giving way to the force of her teeth as they gnashed together. She pushed her forelegs downward and propelled herself towards Applejack - so much so her horn threatened to pierce her friend’s stetson.

“Who the hay told you that?!” Sunset hissed. Applejack herself flinched backward, her pseudo-neutral expression quickly vanished as her body began to tremble. Other ponies must’ve noticed the commotion, as out of the corners of her vision several of them turned their heads toward her. Not that she cared. Infuriatingly, Applejack didn’t respond, instead resting a hoof on her chest before meeting Sunset’s gaze again.

“Whoa Nellie, Sunset! I’m sorry I said anything,"

Sunset blinked and fully took notice of her friend’s disposition. Applejack was worried, it wasn’t subtle. Something pricked her chest as she slowly pulled her hooves back, removed herself from the counter, and planted all fours solidly on the ground.

“I’m… sorry, Applejack," Sunset bit her lip as the words left her mouth. They were stilted at best, each one requiring more effort than desired to push out, "I shouldn’t have lost it like that," Despite the quality of apology, Applejack seemed to accept it, nodding her head and readjusting her stetson.

“Well that’s mighty kind of you," Applejack glanced from side to side before she fully stepped back to the counter.

“I suppose I should say somethin’, shouldn’t I?” She lifted a hoof and fiddled with the brim of her hat, "Rainbow told me yesterday. She was all giddy comin’ by the Acres. Flew down to tell me before flyin’ off,"

The pressure in Sunset’s head began to spike up again as Applejack’s words reached her ears. She tipped a hoof over slightly and began to twist it, driving the tip into the ground with as much force as possible.

‘That bucking mare…’

“I see…”

“Yup. mentioned somethin’ about you gettin’ two tickets to the Gala. Can’t say I ain’t jealous about it, I could make a right killing with the apple family recipes, but…” The sound of a hoof scraping the ground came from the other side of the counter, "I’m guessin’ that ticket’s already spoken for?”

She gave Sunset a small smile. That recurring, accursed small smile employed by both Rarity and Rainbow, and now it was being used by Applejack too. Sunset’s stomach flipped, launching bile up her throat that she had to force back down. She closed her eyes, drinking in a deep breath before opening them again, locking eyes with Applejack again.

“If you must know, no, it isn’t," Buck it. Rarity knew, and she’d heavily implied it to Rainbow, why not tell Applejack? She’d probably find out later from Rarity anyways, "I just haven’t figured out what to do with it yet,"

Just like with Rarity, Applejack’s small smile slid right off. Again, hoof readjusted stetson as Applejack cleared her throat.

“Really, now?” The hoof was set down, "Then, uhh… if it ain’t too much trouble, do you think I might be able to tag along?” Had she not been the one to hear the words from Applejack’s lips, Sunset would scarce believe they were ever uttered. She blinked, fixing her friend with a stare before lifting up a hoof again and placing it on the stand.

“I thought you weren’t asking for yourself,"

“And I ain’t!”

Applejack took a step back, larger this time. Apples fell from their perches as her flank came into contact with them, and she only spared them a glance before turning her attention back to Sunset.

“I’d be going, yeah, but for the farm!” She explained, "I just… aw, hayseeds…” She continued to wilt under Sunset’s gaze, but met it moments later. Taking a few steps forwards, she sighed.

“Look,” she began, “Those ponies at the Gala, they’ve got money, yeah?”

Sunset hummed for a moment before nodding, "Correct,"

‘That’s certainly a factual statement, Applejack,’

“Right, and, well, I could sell there, right? I could make a killing. We’d have enough bits to fix up the old farm, y’know? I could guarantee Granny Smith a nice place for her twilight years, and I could spread the Apple name to the ends of Equestria!” She gave Sunset another of those irritating hopeful looks, though at this point she probably wasn’t even seeing her, "Just imagine, wouldn’t you, Sunset? We Apples would be set not only for our lives but our grandkids too!”

“... Uh-huh," Sunset had to fight hard to avoid rolling her eyes at her friend’s starry-eyed display. It was a cute dream, granted, but she could hardly say she wanted to talk about those tickets right now, a memo Applejack seemed to be missing, "I’ll keep that in mind,"

“O-oh…” Immediately Applejack seemed to crash back down to Equestria, the smile she’d sported only moments prior suddenly vanishing, "Well, I appreciate it. And I do suppose you have a lot of ponies to choose from, yeah?”

‘Yes, Applejack. Very astute,’

“Correct. So I’d appreciate it if you kept it under the hat,"

Applejack’s eyes refused to rest as her hoof jerked upwards, hastily marking an ‘X’ across her chest. “Of course, Sugarcube! You can count on it!”

‘... Uh-huh,’

“I appreciate it,” Sunset pivoted back towards Golden Oaks. She began to trot away, but only got a few hoof steps before she stopped. She let out a hum, and turned her head back towards Applejack, plastering on what was - hopefully enough - an innocent smile, "By the by, you haven’t seen Rainbow this morning, have you?” A low whistle slipped passed her friend’s lips, and Applejack’s eyes darted to either side before she leaned over the counter.

“... Yeah, I did," She said after a moment of silence. Applejack pointed toward the back of her stall, "She was heading over to the Acres last I saw. Couldn’t do much since I was making my way here, but she’s over there I reckon,"

Sunset bit back a groan as her gaze drifted to where Applejack’s hoof pointed. ‘Of course she’d be over there…’

“... I see," She spared a glance at her saddlebags before pivoting to fully face Sweet Apple Acres. The groceries could wait, "Thanks, Applejack,"

“Of course, Sugarcube!” Applejack’s hoof lifted once again, and she waved Sunset off, her smile large. Uncomfortably large, "You take care, now! And maybe go easy on Rainbow? She probably hasn’t told a soul besides me,"

Sunset let her gaze sit on Applejack for a moment before letting out a small hum. How… ominously cheerful. ‘Not that the reason isn’t obvious,’ While the desire to shut Applejack down was tempting, devoting any more time to these tickets than she already was was liable to come with a splitting headache. She opted to pass, and instead returned the wave before beginning the trot to Sweet Apple Acres.

“...Sure,"

‘There’s no bucking chance,’

“See you around,"

Breaking into a canter she shot past Applejack’s stall and down the road system just behind it. Even though she’d killed a sizable amount of time at the market there were still very few ponies on the roads. A good thing too, since her saddlebags were making their presence painfully apparent, and one unfortunate collision would send their contents flying into the road. Daring a glance back at them, she had to admit she was surprised that the flaps were still fastened shut.

‘Maybe I should’ve put these away first…’

‘Whatever,’

Rounding a corner, an abnormally tall and extremely garish building caught her eye. Cylindrical in structure, it was a multi-layered building with elaborate patterns adorning its walls, jarringly out of place amidst the rather rustic look of Ponyville in general, and while it wasn’t Sweet Apple Acres, Carousel Boutique was always a sign she was nearing the edge of town.

‘Perhaps I could see what Rarity’s up to after this bucking mess,’ Sunset thought as she blitzed down the road. ‘Beats doing nothing anyways,’

‘... Actually, wait a moment,’

Sunset dug her hooves into the ground and rapidly slowed herself down to a trot, and meandered up to the path to Carousel before halting altogether. She lifted a hoof, tapping it on her mouth and letting out a small hum.

‘I wonder if Rarity’s seen Rainbow at all,’

It was a long shot, granted, considering she had no idea if Rarity was even up or not, but she seemed to be a pony that cared about a healthy sleep habit, and Applejack had spotted Rainbow as she was heading into town, which could’ve been hours ago knowing her. There was every chance Rainbow wasn’t at Applejack’s anymore.

‘And hey, if avoid a trip to Sweet Apple Acres, then good,’

Shrugging, Sunset hopped off the road system and cantered up the steps of Carousel. Wasting no time, she lifted a hoof and rapped on the door, before leaning closer and pressing her ear up against the door.

“...ne mo… nt ple…, Dear,” A muffled Canterlotian voice sounded. Sunset took a step back once the sound of hoofsteps became clear, "I just need to see who this is," A loud click came from the other side of the door, and the knob turned.

“Yes, hello? I’m afraid Carousel Boutique is closed on Sundays," Rarity said, her voice now crystal clear as she pulled the door open, "But please do feel free to - oh, Sunset, dear," Sunset had to bite back a snort as Rarity’s monologue came to an abrupt halt

“This is quite the surprise, Darling," Rarity backed upwards slightly, making room for the door to fully pull open and beckoning Sunset indoors, "What brings you about the Boutique so early?”

Sunset eyed her friend’s hoof for a moment before refocusing her attention back to Rarity’s face, "Sorry, Rarity. I’m afraid I’m a little busy," Her gut couldn’t help but plummet a little at the look of disappointment on her friend’s face, but she pressed on, "I was actually wondering if you’d seen Rainbow this morning,"

“Rainbow, you say?” Rarity adopted a more contemplative expression as her extended hoof moved to her mouth. She let out a hum, and shook her head shortly after, “I’m afraid not, Dear,"

‘Tch,’

“The only other pony I’ve seen this morning besides you is dear Fluttershy. Whatever do you need our Rainbow Dash for?”

“Well, if you must know,” Sunset could scarcely keep the venom out of her voice as she shot her gaze back towards the path into Ponyville. Nopony, "Rainbow was listening in on our discussion yesterday and decided to blab to Applejack about the Gala tickets," Rarity’s eyes widened and her gaze whipped towards the interior of Carousel. Her eyes fixed on… something. Following her gaze, she was just able to catch sight of a small, white, fluffball of a tail just bounding out of sight and up a barely visible flight of stairs.

“Oh no," Rarity mumbled.

“Yeah," Sunset replied. Her response seemed to snap Rarity out of her funk, bringing her eyes back to her, "So I’d like to track her down before she decides to tell the whole bucking town about-,"

“It’s not that, Dear,"

‘Huh?’ Sunset blinked, and arched an eyebrow at Rarity, whose gaze was still locked on where the little tail had vanished from sight.

“What do you mean?”

It took a moment, but a very faint sound of hoofsteps came from the stairway. Her stomach plummeted as her eyes once more flew to the stairway.

‘Oh no…’

“Er, it may be too late, but I’d advise against speaking about those tickets so loudly, if I were you," Rarity said. The sounds of hoofsteps were getting louder, "I said I’d seen Fluttershy today, yes? Well, she’s actually upstairs at the moment. It’s our weekly routine,"

“And you’re telling me she actually heard us, from all the way upstairs?”

“Well, no…” The sound the hoofsteps made changed. What was muffled shuffling was now the soft thudding of hoof on wood. Their owner was on the stairs now, "But she does bring along her pet rabbit, Angel Bunny. And Angel, well…”

As if on cue, a yellow hoof appeared from the stairway. The pit in Sunset’s gut tore open as the owner of said hoof fully descended, revealing not only a familiar pink mane but also a white rabbit - the tail's owner, Sunset realized.

‘Oh,’

Fluttershy traipsed into the room, her eyes hesitantly flicking from Sunset to Rarity and back again. She meandered over to the other two, and a nervous smile adorned her face. Slowly, she lifted a hoof and waived to Sunset, a motion which she herself did not return.

“Hello, Sunset…” Fluttershy mumbled. The bunny - Angel - hopped off her head. It turned its head back up to its owner and crossed its arms, one of its feet beginning to rapidly beat on the floor. Fluttershy’s eyes danced over to it before landing back on Sunset.

“Um… Sunset… I’m sorry to ask this, but Angel Bunny here couldn’t help but overhear you talking to Rarity about Gala tickets…”

‘So I noticed…’

“And… well… Angel is really hoping he could go to the Gala… I’m not sure if you’ve already decided on somepony, but he’s really interested in the flora, and…”

Sunset began to filter Fluttershy’s voice out as her eyes meandered over to Angel. He was still looking up at Fluttershy, beating a foot against Rarity’s floor, and eying her with an impatient, demanding look on his face. The temptation to beat him over the head with her saddlebags was hard to resist, but rest assured that regardless of who she chose he wouldn’t be going.

“... and the castle’s wildlife! He could make so many new friends there, you know?”

Again, Sunset lifted hoof to horn and began to massage it. So now Fluttershy knew too. Brilliant. Buck it, at this rate why not tell Pinkie Pie? Hay, tell the whole bucking town, what with how hard keeping this ticket under wraps was. Air hissed out of her nose, and she stole a quick glance at Rarity. Fortunately, Rarity seemed to notice and gently rested a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder.

“Fluttershy, Dear, Sunset’s looking for Rainbow. You haven’t happened to have seen her, have you?”

“Oh…” Sunset looked over, and Fluttershy had a hoof to her mouth, "I think I did on my way here," She turned towards one of the windows, and pointed a hoof back into town.

“I saw her at Ponyville Square, but she was pretty high up. She’s probably back at her place if I had to guess…”

“I see…”

Sunset allowed herself a curt nod toward Fluttershy, before turning her attention back to Rarity. She schooled her mouth into a polite smile and nodded to the other unicorn.

“Well, I’d better be going. Sorry to impose,"

“Impose? Not at all, Darling!” Rarity returned her nod with a small wave, "Do come around later once you’ve finished your… er… chat, with Rainbow,"

“I’ll think about it," Sunset gave one last wave before pivoting around, catching sight of the bunny, and casting the wretch a glare. The bunny seemed surprised, which at least was satisfying to see before the door closed. Hoofsteps sounded from inside Carousel, slowly fading away no doubt back up the stairs, and air hissed passed her nostrils once she could no longer hear them.

“Fantastic…”

Sunset kicked herself back into a canter down the way she came. Her saddlebags continued to pound into her with every step she took. She shot a look back at them, glowering at the bags that threatened to break her barrel in half, then turned her eyes back to the road.

‘Fine, I’ll put these away,’

Ponyville Square was significantly more populated than it had been earlier, and the market was in full swing. Golden Oaks was easily visible from here, and it was only moments before she began her blitz down road, after road, after road. Leaping onto the library’s path, her horn ignited and Golden Oaks’ door flew open just in time for her to charge in…

… and subsequently crash into an offensively pink blockade.

“Oof!”

Sunset’s hind legs were the first to leave the ground. Her forelegs were quick to follow and joined her back ones in a quick trip up and over the rest of her body as she bowled over the blockade. Her horn was the first part to touch the ground. A sharp cry erupted from her throat as the unwanted contact sent flashes of light across her vision, a painful process only punctuated by the cracking sound the floor made as the rest of her body soon followed. The unmistakable pop of a clasp being undone sounded from both her sides, and her saddlebags felt much, much lighter. This new weightless feeling was soon followed by a myriad of rustling sounds and soft bounces.

‘You’ve got to be bucking kidding me…’

It was a sentiment she could barely form as she groggily shuffled her legs about, slowly finding her footing before drunkenly stumbling up into a standing position. Lifting a hoof, she brought it up to her horn, groaning and gingerly rubbing it, hoping, willing for the splitting headache to please, bugger off.

‘I forgot just how much hitting my horn bucking hurts,’

The groaning of a second voice prompted Sunset to lower her hoof. She blinked, trying, (though failing) to refocus her vision properly and concentrate on the fuzzy pink ball lying on the floor.

“Ugh… Pinkie?”

“Sunset!”

With no warning, the pink ball bounced up from its spot on the floor, unfazed by the sudden crash and way, way, way too loud. Another groan escaped her lips as Pinkie lurched forwards toward her vision. She could actually make out the deep blue of her friend’s eyes now, but the sudden speed at which Pinkie moved threatened her stomach to make its displeasure known. Taking a few steps back she tripped over something soft, unceremoniously landing rump first on it, though by the feel of it, it was just a bean bag.

‘I suppose there are worse places to land,’

Now with multiple hooves free and the intruder confirmed, Sunset closed her eyes and moved both forehooves back to her horn, gripping it even tighter than she had before and slowly rocking back and forth. The splitting pain of the immediate contact had now dulled into the modest sensation of somepony repeatedly striking her horn with a hammer. It was hardly an improvement, but was one nonetheless. She cracked an eye open at the blurry pink ball in front of her and mustered up as much of a glower as she could.

‘Pinkie better leave the library in five bucking seconds or I swear to the heavens above…’

“I’m sorry I ran into you, Sunset!”

The pink ball bounded towards her again, and again Pinkie’s eyes came into view. To her credit, she looked legitimately sorry. She undid the straps of Sunset’s saddlebags and, presumably, slapped them over herself. The sounds of hoofsteps sounded from multiple directions as Pinkie padded around the library, and were occasionally punctuated by the rustle of lettuce, or the sound of an apple being dropped back into the saddlebags.

“I woke up this morning and I had an absolutely great idea for a cupcake! I came up with one made after you and it was so good I absolutely had to tell you! But I knocked and you weren’t answering, so I headed in and you still weren’t around, so I took a look upstairs, and-!”

“Pinkie…” Sunset opened one eye and continued to track what of her friend she could make out, but that quickly became a task in and of itself, "Enough, please,"

“Ohhh, fine,"

Two sharp pops came from Pinkie’s direction, and her hoofsteps meandered away from Sunset before the sounds of saddlebags being undone reached her ears. A small ‘thump’ sounded from across the room, and though she could scarce see what was happening, Pinkie seemed to be making her way back towards her.

“Your bags are on the counter!” Pinkie chirped.

Well, that was certainly good news. Lifting her hooves away from her horn, Sunset slowly began to blink. Slowly, surely, the world was coming back into focus. At the very least she could actually make out the shape of her friend, though her mane was still impossibly blurry.

“Thanks,"

It took a moment, perhaps another half-minute, but she breathed a sigh of relief once her sight had righted itself. Her head still hurt to Tartarus and back, but for the most part, she trusted herself to be able to walk again. She shifted forwards, sticking out her forelegs and catching herself as she slowly pushed back to all fours.

Her eyes fell onto her saddlebags, and indeed, they were over on the check stand, across the room. Igniting her horn, Sunset winced as the bags lifted, and began to float over to her. Using magic stung, just a little, but it was nothing that wouldn’t pass in time.

‘There we go,’ She thought once her saddlebags landed on her barrel. The strap snaked around, sliding into place and tightened again as if Pinkie’d never removed them. ‘Speaking of…’ Pivoting to her right, Sunset’s eyes fell on Pinkie. Her friend was looking back at her, eyes wide as could be, and her trademark happy-go-lucky smile was still branded on her face.

“Are ya feeling better, Sunny?” Pinkie asked.

Sunset fought to retain her posture as her head throbbed again, "... No,"

“Oh,"

With no warning, in two bounds Pinkie leaped to Sunset’s side and threw a hoof over her. She was standing uncomfortably close, her presence enough for the saddlebags to once again start carving into Sunset’s barrel. Sunset tried to step away, but Pinkie’s hoof remained glued to her.

“That’s okay! I’m sure you’ll be fine! That was one nasty crash we had! I gotta say I was a little worried about you when you hit your horn! Trust me, I’ve seen what happens when unicorns hit their horn. I think you handled it pretty well!”

“I’m flattered,"

Sunset dug her own hoof under Pinkie’s and forced the unwanted appendage back up and over. To Pinkie’s credit, she seemed to get the hint, wordlessly stepping away from Sunset and giving her at least some space. Sighing, Sunset glanced down at her saddlebags. The produce looked a little battered, but it was certainly still fine. She’d just have to wash them more thoroughly later. Pivoting around once more, she started towards the private half of Golden Oaks, casting Pinkie a look and beckoning her with a hoof.

“So, what’d you make the trek all the way here for?” She threw as much energy into her voice as she could, as tempting as it was to do otherwise. It wasn’t Pinkie’s fault she’d caught her at a bad time, "I can’t imagine it was just to see me,"

“Aww, I can’t not have a reason to visit my friends? C’mon, you silly filly!” Pinkie’s laughter echoed through the hallway as she bounced in front of Sunset, "But you’re right!”

The two came to a stop at the kitchen… area. Sunset undid her saddlebags and set them on the table, and the refrigerator door swung open as one by one the produce lifted itself from the bag and began to float inside. Pinkie seemed to be enjoying the little display of magic, her eyes not leaving the floating fruits as she began to speak.

“I wanted to tell you about a new cupcake I made!” Pinkie said, "I have a cupcake based on everypony I know! So when they’re feeling all sad and come by Sugarcube Corner I can whip something up just for them! It took me a long while to find one, but I have one for you!”

“Oh really?”

“Uh-huh!” Pinkie’s enthusiastic nod threatened to tangle her mane in Sunset’s horn, "I know you don’t like sweet things that much, so it was hard to come up with something that wasn’t sweet, while still being sweet! Anyways, I finally did it! And I was so excited I just had to come here and find you! But you weren’t here!”

“Yeah. I was at the market this morning," With the last of the produce now in the fridge, her horn powered down, "So, what flavor?”

“Banana! Banana and strawberry!” Pinkie chirped. She dug around in her mane, until she pulled out a folded piece of paper, unfolding it, and slapping it on the table, "Ta-da!”

Grabbing it in her magic, Sunset lifted it up and unfolded it. It was alarmingly intricate, with a specific number of stirs when mixing the dry ingredients, where to pour the wet ones when mixing them all together… if anything it seemed a bit excessive.

Reservations aside, it was cute. She folded the paper up and passed it back to Pinkie, who promptly re-stashed it in her mane, "It’s nice," She said, "Thanks,"

Pinkie’s immediate response was a gasp, "Ohhh, you like it!” She began to bounce around the table, her mouth rattling off at a speed that even Rainbow would find envious, "You like it, you like it, you like it, you like it, you like it, you like it, you like it, you like it!” She stopped just in front of Sunset, and lunged, throwing her hooves around her and eliciting a yelp as the unexpected weight threatened to throw Sunset to her hooves, "You like it!”

“Yes! Yes, Pinkie, I do!” Lighting her horn, Sunset managed to pry Pinkie’s forelegs off her, for good measure lifting her friend up completely and placing her outside of hoof’s reach. Redirecting her magic to her saddlebags, they began to glow before Pinkie’s voice snapped her attention away from them.

“Oh! One more thing!”

For a moment the sound of rustling came from her friend, followed by the sound of hoofsteps as Pinkie recovered the distance Sunset placed between them. Sunset turned and fully focused on the object Pinkie held.

It took her a moment. Perhaps two, three, or even more before she fully registered what exactly Pinkie was showing her, but regardless of how long it took, all she could do was silently curse herself for bothering to look.

Or perhaps it was good that she had.

Clasped in Pinkie’s mouth were the two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. Truthfully, while Sunset would like to say she was shocked, with the way the day had been going, it really was only a matter of time until Pinkie found out. Biting back a groan, she ignited her horn and snatched the tickets out of Pinkie’s mouth, and a couple steps later she lunged at her saddlebag, grabbing the poor article in her mouth and aggressively yanking it off the table. Pinkie seemed oblivious to her annoyance, instead bounding right behind her as she followed Sunset back out of the kitchen.

“You never told me you got tickets to the Gala!”

“Mmm-hmm," Sunset muttered around the straps.

‘There was a bucking reason for that,’

“So can I go? Can I, can I, can I?” Sunset found herself trotting a little faster as Pinkie bounded up to her side, nearly trapping her against the wall, as with every hop she did a little more distance between her and Sunset was lost, "Pleeeease? It’s the biggest party in Equestria, and there’s gonna be cake and streamers and -”

Acid boiled in Sunset’s gut as she cast Pinkie a glare, one that went unnoticed before she cantered back into the library proper. Moving over to the checkout counter she deposited her bag and cast one last glare at the tickets before warping them back to her room.

“Why the hay did you go into my room?” At this point, Pinkie discovering the Gala tickets was scarce why she was moments away from spitting fire, "My room is private,"

Her sudden change in tone caused Pinkie to falter. Her smile flickered, and she seemed to look, truly look, at Sunset before slowly pawing at the floor with her hoof.

“Oh, uhhh…I’m sorry," She hedged. It was hardly sufficient, in fact, not at all. ‘Sorry’ didn’t just undo trespassing, and not yelling that at Pinkie took more effort than Sunset was willing to admit. Pinkie seemed to notice though, and began to trudge towards the door.

“I just really wanted to find you. I really wanted to show you the cupcake and, well, I just kinda got really excited," She was at the door now, one hoof on the knob. She gave Sunset a sad smile that pounded away at her anger far quicker than Sunset could supply it. Bringing a hoof up to her head she groaned, massaging her horn briefly before setting it back down. ‘Great. Make me feel bad, why don’t you?’

“Look, Pinkie, I appreciate it. And I’ll consider the Gala ticket,"

‘And I mean consider,’

Almost immediately Pinkie’s face brightened, "Just don’t search my room when you’re trying to find me, okay?”

“Okay!”

It was like a switch was flipped and the past few moments never happened. Pinkie’s hoof left the doorknob as she bounded over to Sunset, again throwing her hooves over her and crushing her with such force Sunset felt liable to pass out then and there. It was a process that was mercifully short, thankfully, as after only moments Pinkie’s hooves left Sunset. Gasping for air, Sunset only blearily made out Pinkie bounding back to the door, throwing it open and waving at her.

“See ya, Sunny! And I promise I’ll keep those tickets-!” She mimicked a zipper over her mouth, "Hush hush!” Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie was already gone, having launched herself out the door, down the steps, and… back to Sugarcube Corner, probably. Said door was still open, and with a quick flicker of the horn, it was shut.

“Ugh…”

Sunset pivoted towards the staircase and stomped up. Her horn glowed cyan and her room’s door flew open, bidding her entry before she slammed it shut. So, all of her friends knew about the ticket, and all of them wanted to go as well.

‘Fantastic,’ Sunset grumbled to herself. ‘So much for keeping it a bucking secret,’

Had Rainbow not learned of it then only Rarity, and perhaps Pinkie would know. Still not ideal, but three ponies not knowing what they were missing was better than none. ‘Speaking of…’

She still needed to find Rainbow. Sunset trotted over to the nearby window and put her hooves up on the sill.

‘Where the hay could I find that mare?’

Truthfully, Rainbow’s schedule was a mystery. Everypony said that Rainbow was the earliest riser in Ponyville, and it wasn’t unfounded. Oftentimes when she stayed up exceptionally late - until about two or three - she’d catch a glimpse of Rainbow flying about the sky, pushing clouds here and there, doing some sort of setup for next morning. Unfortunately, her knowledge of her friend’s patterns started and ended there. When it came to her downtime, knowing she liked to nap on clouds or watching her fly away from Ponyville for a couple of hours barely counted as knowledge.

‘I suppose I’ll just have to hit the streets,’

Air hissed passed Sunset’s lips and she cast a final glare at the town before forcing herself away from the windowsill. Wandering around aimlessly was perhaps the least efficient searching method there was, but Rainbow left few options otherwise. Her door flew open once more, and she took her exit, clomping down the stairs and to her saddlebags. They flew around her once more, and while they were hardly needed, they were nice to have. A quick adjustment later, and she was out the door and on the road.

Almost immediately her hooves left the ground.

Sunset let out a yelp as without warning a pair of hooves wrapped around her barrel. Her salad from earlier threatened to climb back up her throat as the wind left her lungs, and she flailed her now airborne hooves about as the ground rapidly grew smaller.

“Hey, Sunset!” Immediately all of Sunset’s flailing came to a halt as her abductor’s voice reached her ears.

‘There’s no bucking way…’

“Glad I caught ya heading out, huh?”

Sunset’s horn nearly gouged her abductee as she shot her head upwards. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash had her arms wrapped around Sunset, casting her gaze about with her signature stupid grin. Oblivious, seemingly, to the glare Sunset’s face had contorted into as the flailing from her limbs started up again.

“Rainbow!” Sunset yelled, "Put me down!”

“So, where ya headed? Just point the way!”

With no warning, Rainbow began to accelerate. Sunset grit her teeth as the wind picked up, threatening her eyes, muzzle, and… everything really, peppering her with flecks of dust and other airborne objects one might commonly find. The pounding in her head returned in full force, threatening to split her horn in two as sparks began to fly from it.

“Rainbow Dash! Put me down right now!”

“Aww, come on!” Rainbow said through her laughter, "Let me take you where you gotta go! You’ll love it, I promise! Anything for my bestie!”

‘Bestie?’

It was like a switch went off, and Sunset’s maniacal flailing momentarily ceased, discomfort forgotten as she gazed up at Rainbow with a blank expression. Rainbow had said that earlier this morning. And this. It was again when she was offering to give Sunset a lift, which was in regards to -.

‘Is this - is this about that bucking ticket again?’

If looks could kill, Rainbow Dash would be dead. There was no way in Tartarus this wasn’t about that accursed ticket. This stupid thing which had been haunting her all day now, which was likely to give her more gray hairs in her mane by sundown than she’d get in the next twenty years.

The pounding in her skull evolved into full-on thunder strikes. Acid churned in her stomach as she roared back up at her friend, her throat warping and twisting her voice to where it barely sounded like her own, "Rainbow Dash! Put me down right now, or I swear I will clip your bucking wings!”

“Whoa, whoa! Okay!”

Almost instantly her ride paused, nearly chucking Sunset from Rainbow’s hooves before she catapulted downwards, dropping her mercifully with little fanfare back onto the dirt roads of Ponyville.

Silence passed between the two as Sunset brushed the dirt and various sky debris off her coat. The wind alone really did a number on it, and she held back a grimace at the thought of her mane. Well, from what little was visible, it didn’t look too bad. Sure, there were a few stray hairs. But nothing a little magic couldn’t fix.

‘That aside…’

Rainbow was looking at her, with a strange expression crossed between confusion and hopefulness. ‘Hmph,’ Her wings nearly scraped the dirt road and one of her hind hooves was tapping against it. ‘Have some bucking dignity,’

“Don’t ever spirit me off my porch again," Sunset fought to keep her voice measured. A glance told Sunset she was now around Ponyville Square. Most ponies were out and about now, so space on the streets was getting hard to come by, "Though I was actually looking for you,"

“Huh? You were?” For an instant, the hope in her face outweighed her confusion, nearly removing any trace of it before it was beaten back by Sunset as she took a step closer and leaned in.

“Applejack told me about the tickets!” Sunset hissed, “That was none of your bucking business telling her that!”

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she immediately backed away from Sunset. Were it silent on the road, Sunset might be able to hear the clockwork in Rainbow’s head. Rainbow gave her a sheepish smile and scratched the back of her head as her eyes looked everywhere but at her.

“... Oh," Rainbow said lamely, "You uh, you heard about that,"

“Yes," Sunset hissed, "I did,"

Rainbow was skating on very thin ice in regard to the ticket. By no means did she plan on choosing somepony right now when the Gala was the better part of a year away, but if this ticket brought out this side in her friend, this disrespectful, and as Rarity had put it, ‘rabid’ side, then by no means was she about to reward this kind of behaviour. No, she refused to.

Rainbow’s posture deflated. The sheepish smile devolved into a legitimately sorry look. She kicked the ground, glanced at Sunset, and opened her mouth before letting out a sigh.

“Uhh, sorry, Sunset," Rainbow began, "I probably shouldn’t’ve blabbed to AJ about the tickets. Or picked ya up like that,"

Sunset blinked. Strange… Rainbow looked like she meant it too. A welcome surprise, though not enough to lift her spirits (not that she was inclined to allow it), "Well I appreciate that,"

Her words seemed to be enough for Rainbow, at the very least. Her friend’s expression immediately brightened and brought back her hopeful look. Her wings fluttered for a moment, "Did ya still want a flight though?” She hedged, "To wherever you’re headed?”

“No," Sunset immediately stood back up. It was a little harsh, granted, and Rainbow’s flinching didn’t go unnoticed, but she was drained, and nothing sounded better than heading back to Golden Oaks, "I think I’ve flown enough for one day,"

Rainbow looked disappointed, but quickly masked it with what was an attempt at her usual smile, "Oh… alright," Her wings flared to their fullest, and she gave Sunset a mock salute before sweeping them downwards, kicking up a cloud of dust as she soared off, "Later!”

Sunset lifted her hoof up just in time to block the dust from entering her eyes before she set it back down. Casting one final glare at her friend - though more for the dust this time than anything else, she hopped back onto the road and spun herself back towards Golden Oaks.

The walk itself took a fair few minutes, though if she were to be totally honest, a large part of it was that she felt too drained to move at anything above an old pony’s trot. Her saddlebags, though empty, felt like lead against her by the time she climbed the steps to Golden Oaks.

‘I really shouldn’t have brought these,’ She grumbled to herself as she lit her horn. ‘Oh well,’

It felt like Equestria itself was lifted from her shoulders as she stepped back inside the library, and she made no bones about the speed with which she slammed the door behind her. The sooner it was closed, the sooner she could recharge herself. Her saddlebags undid themselves, floating back onto the checkout counter, where the soft ‘thump’ they made breathed new life back into her muscles. She remained stationary for a moment, basking in what silence her home allowed her before meandering over to one of the beanbags, unceremoniously toppling onto it and wrapping her hooves around what of it she could. Stars above, how had she not owned one before moving here?

‘Perhaps I should buy one for the castle, whenever I visit,’ It was hardly a bad plan.

A smile threatened, but never graced her face as Sunset lay there. A welcoming ache built up in her muscles, one that only encouraged her to burrow further into the bean bag and forget about the rest of the day, even if it’d been only a couple of hours at most. But hey, she’d gotten her groceries, and clamped down on word of the tickets, so there wasn’t much on the agenda now, save for perhaps meeting up with Rarity later.

‘Not sure what we’d do, but hay, seeing her sounds nice,’ Sunset detached her hooves from the bean bag, and propped them up on it, creating a spot to rest her muzzle. ‘But she’s probably busy with Fluttershy right now,’ Perhaps she’d catch Rarity afterward, whenever that might be.

If that was the case, then she knew of one other way to pass the time.

Rolling off the bean bag, Sunset dragged herself to her hooves, and set her sights on the staircase. Her horn ignited once she ascended the topmost step and pushed open the door just in time for her to trot into the room without missing a beat.

Her magic redirected itself to a book, one of only a few on her nightstand. It wasn’t the one she used to communicate with Luna, but it was a book she’d cracked open quite a lot regardless. It flew out from under her messaging book and stopped just in front of her muzzle.

Emotions & Reason: Intermediate Spells for the Aspiring Arcanist

Sunset flipped the book over once, twice, and let out a hum. Continuing the book was tempting, and she’d gotten decently far on it, but at the same time, she hadn’t meditated in a while. It was fine, considering she hadn’t used dark magic since her skirmish with Daybreaker, but she definitely wasn’t in the best head space to go reading, or even practicing it right now.

‘Guess testing that corrosion spell will have to wait,’

A sigh escaped her lips, and she cast her book a glum look. She warped it above her nightstand and watched it crash onto the other two books stacked there. The resulting wind rustled the tickets, but she refused to acknowledge them.

“Meditation it is,"

She trotted to the front of her bed and turned away from it, sat down, closed her eyes, and straightened her back as much as possible. Inhaling as deep as she could, she directed all her focus into it, banishing all of her thoughts, and concentrated on simply breathing.

***

Sunset was unsure of how much time passed. An hour was a safe bet, perhaps two, but a knock coming from the front door was what coaxed her out of her rhythm. Opening her eyes, she cast her gaze downwards.

“Hmm?”

There was a moment of silence before the knock sounded again, and with it came the uncomfortable sensation of her gut plummeting through every layer of Golden Oaks. Placing her face in her hooves she let out a sigh. It was tempting to march down there and tell whoever the hay was there that Golden Oaks was closed, but there had only been one pony visiting Golden Oaks today.

‘I swear if that’s Rainbow…’

The knock came again, and she let out a groan. Pulling herself back to all fours, she quickly pushed her door open and made her way down the stairs, "Yeah, yeah, I’m coming!” It seemed to please the knocker, as the door fell silent, and remained so as she trotted up to it.

“Sorry, but Golden Oaks is closed on Sundays," The robotic voice slipped from her mouth as soon as the door began to open, "Come back tomorrow if you need anyth-,"

“Oh… sorry, Sunset,"

Sunset paused and blinked. That… wasn’t the expected voice. She stepped to the side and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

“Oh. Fluttershy,"

Indeed, waiting on the other side of the door stood Fluttershy. She seemed to be trying her hardest to hide her face behind her mane. A bouquet was tucked beneath her wing, and glancing to her side revealed that rabbit, Angel Bunny, standing next to her and giving her an expectant look.

“Come on in,"

The door was only open a moment before Angel bounded into the room. Fluttershy quickly followed, and seemed determined to look anywhere but at Sunset. Curious, but inquiring probably wouldn’t work out great.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Fluttershy mumbled, "You’re not busy or anything?”

“No, I’m not. Just thought you were somepony else," Closing the door, Sunset meandered over to a nearby chair and clambered onto it, gesturing to one close by, "You want anything?”

Fluttershy quickly shook her head, "Oh, no thank you," She finally brought her gaze to Sunset, giving her a small smile, and slowly began trotting towards her. Her wing - the one with the bouquet began to twitch, further curling itself underneath it and drawing Sunset’s gaze.

‘Hm,’

“I’m afraid I can’t stay long, actually, but there’s something Ange-,"

A sudden thump cut Fluttershy off and drew both mares’ attention to Angel, who was busy beating his foot against one of Fluttershy’s hooves. Fluttershy quickly lifted said hoof and patted him on the head before turning her gaze back to Sunset.

“Something I wanted to give you,"

Sunset raised an eyebrow as Fluttershy’s wing, the one that had tucked itself underneath the bouquet unfurled. It dropped to her hooves, and she sank to her haunches, extending the bouquet towards Sunset with, again, a nervous smile on her lips.

“For being such a good friend and all,"

The bouquet awaited Sunset’s acceptance, though she made no such move. Instead, she redirected her eyes back to the rabbit. Angel had ceased his assault and sat down with his arms crossed, looking expectantly between Sunset, Fluttershy, and the bouquet.

‘I see…’ Memories began to float to the forefront of Sunset’s mind, memories of earlier, when Rainbow too had offered something on the pretext of Sunset ‘being a good friend’. ‘So that’s how it is,’

“I see…” She voiced. Igniting her horn, the bouquet lifted from Fluttershy’s hooves. For an instant, her friend’s face brightened until instead of floating towards Sunset, the bouquet was levitated over to the checkout counter where it was lowered only slightly before being dropped the last few inches, "Is this about the Gala tickets?”

All the color from Fluttershy’s face drained and her wings began to rustle. She glanced down at Angel before returning her gaze to Sunset, or at least attempted to.

“The… the tickets?” She mumbled, "N-no… not at all, I promise,"

It was a lie. Pure and simple, it was a lie, and each word drilled a fresh nail further into Sunset’s skull. Gritting her teeth she hopped off her chair and took a step toward her friend, "Oh really?”

Fluttershy flinched, and took her own step back. She began to play with her mane, winding it around her leg as words left her mouth. Words that were too quiet, too nonexistent to be anything more than inaudible gibberish. Sunset’s impatience must have been showing, as Fluttershy only had to meet her gaze again before she broke down.

“It is! It is, I’m sorry, Sunset!” Fluttershy’s hoof untangled itself, and her mane fell in front of her eyes as she sank further toward the floor. Angel restarted his kicking, this time even more intense than before, "It’s just… Angel really wants to go, and I really want him to be happy, and well…”

“I suppose a part of me wants to go too,"

“Hm,”

Sunset bit her lip as she gazed down at the display Fluttershy was putting on. So once again, these bucking tickets were the cause of these stupid favors. Though to be fair, this one seemed more to be the bunny’s doing than Fluttershy’s.

‘But she’s still a guilty party,’ She thought as she directed her gaze to the stupid rabbit. He was still kicking Fluttershy, and seemingly oblivious to all else. Sunset shot him a glare, one he definitely didn’t notice as she lit her horn. It took a moment, but the patch of wood beneath Angel began to glow white. No sooner had it, the bunny immediately leaped into the air, silently yelping as his arms flew to his rear which - while previously completely pristine - now sported a singe mark covering all of it. Angel shot her a glare, to which she only leered in response.

‘Serves you right you little prat,’

The leer worked, as Angel's glare was immediately replaced by a look of terror, and he immediately scampered behind Fluttershy, tucking himself underneath her tail.

‘Speaking of,’ Trotting forwards a few more steps she stopped just in front of her friend. She poked Fluttershy, gently, prompting her to take her face out of her mane.

“Hm?”

“Fluttershy. Listen to me,"

Again Fluttershy flinched, but she seemed to still be able to look at Sunset. Good.

“I don’t appreciate being strongarmed into taking somepony along, okay? Buying things for me that you wouldn’t have otherwise isn’t going to help. In fact,” Sunset fought to keep her voice level as she lifted a hoof, violently jutting it towards the counter and casting the bouquet a disparaging look, "That, only makes me want to take you even less. So don’t try and tempt me, okay? It’s not going to work,"

“O… okay,” Fluttershy’s gaze fell away, and she began to mumble, “I’m… I’m sorry, Sunset. I didn’t realize that… that… oh no…,"

She scooped up Angel and trotted over to the door, and placed a hoof on the knob before casting one last glance at Sunset, who had to bite back a groan when she met Fluttershy’s eyes.

‘Really turning on the waterworks. Make me feel terrible, why don’t you?’

“Look, Fluttershy, it’s fine,” she grumbled, though not that it really was, “Just, please don’t do it again, okay?”

That seemed to calm Fluttershy down, or at the very least her face brightened. It wasn’t a smile, not by a long shot, but she didn’t look like she was about to cry, "Of course!” Was all she said before she pushed the door open, "Um… goodbye, Sunset,"

“Goodbye,"

Sunset remained stationary until the door fully swung shut. No sooner had it, she sucked in the deepest breath she could and glared daggers at the door, before slowly letting it out and turning her attention to Fluttershy’s bouquet.

“Relax, Sunset," She mumbled as she trotted over to it, "Relax, relax, relax,"

Igniting her horn, Sunset pulled the bouquet off the counter. She pulled it towards herself and rotated it, flipped it up, down, and every which way as she inspected every flower it had.

It was a nice bouquet, she’d give it that. It was filled with roses, orchids, peonies, and an assortment of other flowers. ‘Interesting,’ In a flash of light it was gone, and Sunset pivoted towards the door. The bouquet could wait until later, but if Fluttershy was heading back to her place, then perhaps Rarity was free now.

***

“One moment!”

Standing in front of Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s voice was a welcome sound for Sunset’s ears. She stepped back and affixed a smile - a genuine one this time - to her face as the door glowed blue, pulling open and revealing Rarity. Her friend’s face instantly brightened and she stepped to the side and gestured indoors.

“Ah! Sunset! What a pleasant surprise! Do come in, Darling,"

“It’s hardly a surprise, Rarity," Sunset said, "You told me to stop by, so here I am,"

“Yes, well, allow a lady her delight, please," The door closed and Rarity ushered Sunset up the stairs, "I've kept the kettle warm! You only just missed dear Fluttershy, I’m afraid,"

‘I’m aware,’

Climbing the stairs, one of the doors on the second floor, Rarity’s room, glowed blue and opened. Following her friend in, she set hoof in a room as purple as the lower rooms were pink. Mahogany bookshelves lined the room’s edges, though instead of living up to their name they were chock full of various cloth and fabric. A bed sat in a corner, also mahogany, nestled in between the shelves and a nearby desk that was situated beside the lone window. A table with two chairs was what capped off the furniture: clean, and dead in the center of the room. A tea tray loaded with cups, teabags, cream, sugar, and a kettle was on said table, and as Rarity implied, steam was coming off the kettle. Both Sunset and Rarity trotted over to the table, and Rarity picked up one of the cups, inspected it, and nodded before she turned her attention to the assorted tea bags.

“The usual, Dear?” She asked, and gestured to a seat which Sunset promptly took.

“Yes please,"

“Wonderful!” Rarity beamed at her as she pulled out a teabag. Indeed, it was a brand of cinnamon spice, which was promptly placed in the cup and filled with water. Rarity eyed the cup a moment longer, before scrunching her muzzle and pulling away, "I still don’t know why you won’t sweeten your tea. It can’t taste good like that,"

Sunset levitated the cup towards herself and gave Rarity a smile before taking a sip, "You’d be surprised. And thanks,"

“Of course," Rarity said, pouring herself her own cup of tea. A sugar cube levitated from the bowl and was about to be dropped in before Rarity hesitated. She stared down at her tea, before lifting it up and taking a sip of her own, her expression mostly unreadable save for a slight grimace as she put the cup back down and dropped the cube in, and began to stir.

“Not a fan?”

“Perhaps one day, but no," A morose smile crossed her lips as she glanced up at Sunset, "Some of us have a terrible addiction to sugar, I suppose," A chuckle was shared before Sunset set her cup down, humming as a thought bounced about her mind.

“Fluttershy came by to see me before I headed out,"

“Hm?” Rarity seemed surprised. She blinked, and readjusted herself, "She did?”

“Yeah. Came to me with some flowers, because I was ‘such a good friend’," Sunset spat as she made air quotes with her hooves. Perhaps she shouldn’t be telling Rarity this. She came here because Rarity asked, but buck it if venting - albeit briefly - wasn’t tempting, "No points for guessing what it was about,"

Rarity sat still for a moment before she looked down at her tea. She sighed, took a sip, and shook her head.

“I was wondering why she left so abruptly," she said, "I apologize for that, Sunset,"

The sudden shift in her friend’s body language caused Sunset to wince. Buck, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything, "She didn’t stick around for long," relief coursed through her when Rarity brightened back up somewhat, "She said there was something she had to take care of back at her house,"

“Well, I do suppose that’s good news," Rarity giggled, though it was more subdued than her usual, "I’d have to step up my social game if I was bested by mere tickets,"

“Yeah, well I’ll tell you what; you were right," Sunset slumped back, and swilled down a sizable amount of her tea, "That’s Fluttershy and Rainbow now who’ve tried to get that stupid ticket. Ponies really will go crazy for that thing,"

Instead of a giggle Rarity let out a laugh. A genuine one by the sounds of it, instead of the quiet, forced giggle from moments ago. Batting her eyelashes, she gave Sunset a smile, one bordering on smug as she took a sip of her tea.

“One learns how ponies work, Dear, when it’s her job," Rarity said, putting the cup back down, pausing and seeming to mull something over in her head before continuing, "And truthfully I can hardly blame them. I’ll admit that I, too, was tempted to try and use… less-than-honorable methods to get that ticket,"

“... Hm?” Wait, had she? “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said, Dear," Rarity punctuated her statement with another sip of her tea. Pulling back from her cup, she peered inside and frowned, setting it back on the table before pouring more water into it, accompanied by another sugar cube, "I understand you’ve expressed your… opinions, shall we say, on the Gala. But if I may, I’d like to explain just what kind of opportunity that ticket presents to a pony less close to the princess,"

It took a moment, but Sunset’s suddenly tensed muscles began to relax. ‘She said she was tempted, Sunset. She’s probably not gonna try anything,’ She readjusted herself in her seat and took another sip of her tea. Now empty, she placed the cup back down.

“Sure,"

A smile graced Rarity’s lips, "Much appreciated," She straightened herself, and took another sip of her tea.

“I know I mentioned this the other day,” she began, “but Sunset, while those tickets may not be valuable to you, you are Luna’s personal student. There are few others in Equestria as close to her as you are,"

“Take me for example; to the nobility of Canterlot, and to fashion at large, I do not exist. Don’t misunderstand me, there are ponies that know of me, but none of them command such agency as even the smallest in the Canterlot hierarchy. A tragedy, I know, but such is the world we live in, I’m afraid," She paused long enough to let out an extraordinarily dramatic sigh and throw a hoof over herself as she sagged into her chair. Sunset didn’t attempt to bite back her snort, and she and Rarity shared a quick laugh before Rarity resumed, "The Gala would allow me this opportunity, Darling. If I were to leave a lasting impression on one of them, it’s quite lofty, but take Prince Blueblood for example, that could change everything. Let’s say I show up in one of my dresses, and he asks me who the maker of such a fine dress was. I’d tell him it was yours truly of course, and he might ask me to make something for him. I’d oblige, and if I’m lucky, he’d like it so much he’d recommend me to others," Silence followed as Rarity took another sip of tea.

“It’s an upward spiral from there, Dear, as long as I keep my wits about me. At best I’d be drowning in commissions from Blueblood, Fancy Pants, and big names both in and out of Canterlot. At worst, well, there would be at least one name that appreciates me," A shiver passed through Rarity, and she gave Sunset another morose smile, "Though I sincerely hope I’d be appreciated by more than just one pony,"

“Applejack knows about the tickets, correct?” She continued before Sunset had a chance to respond, "I’d bet my mane she’s already told you something similar. Perhaps the tickets aren’t worth much to you, Darling, but to the rest of us; Applejack especially, it’s worth no less than its weight in gold. Not that I’m defending them, of course, but I can why they are acting as they are,"

For a moment Sunset said nothing, still processing everything Rarity’d thrown at her. It was surprising, really, to see this more clinical side of her friend, but the world of business demanded no less, she supposed.

‘But geez, she really thinks it’s that special?’

Even still it seemed odd. In all the years she’d been forced to attend the Gala, nopony had tried to curry her favor. Not once had a noble, business owner, or otherwise tried to get an edge with her, tried to befriend her, or anything of the sort. They were always busy with idle chit-chat from what she’d heard and seen; meaningless fluff. Fluff that not only took up every iota of their words but every spot in their brains. The Gala was hardly the thrilling social engineering feat Rarity made it out to be, but her friend did have a flair for the dramatic.

‘Though,’ she reminded herself, ‘Rarity did say I hardly stood to gain anything from it,’ She shrugged. Perhaps Rarity was right, perhaps she wasn’t, but theatrics aside she seemed to believe what she was saying. ‘Good to know where she stands, at least,’

“Well I appreciate it," Sunset levitated the kettle and refilled her tea, "Those two have already given me a right headache,"

“As I said, I was tempted," Rarity looked down at her cup, swirling it, and taking a sip before casting her gaze out the window, "But I remember how, er... stressed, you were, about Rainbow Dash this morning, and Fluttershy asking hardly helped matters. Anypony can see this is suffocating you, and a lady does not add to her friend’s burdens," Rarity finished her sentence with a small harrumph, clacking her cup against the table for emphasis, before taking her eyes off the window and bringing her gaze back to Sunset, a smile donning her face as she began to trace her hoof around the edges of the cup.

“But all this talk of the ticket is dreadfully taxing, is it not? I daresay you’d rather recharge yourself here, not be drained further. Let’s talk about something else, no?”

Rarity held out her cup, and Sunset eyed it for a moment, before relenting, smiling, and lifting her own, clinking it.

“Sounds good to me," She said as she took another sip, "But thanks for letting me get that off my chest,"

“Of course, Dear!” Rarity exclaimed, now fully grinning, "What are friends for, after all?”

***

The following hours at Carousel were a whirlwind of chitchat. Topics danced from Rarity’s latest commissions to Sunset’s latest tinkering with spells. From work to stories, to anything and everything in between, time ticked on, and the sun continued its journey across the sky, pushing its rays from one side of Rarity’s room to the other. Over the hours, Sunset's energy began to replenish. It was a welcome feeling, one she wished to steep herself in further, but time dictated she’d bothered Rarity for long enough.

“Farewell, then, Darling," Rarity’s sigh sounded from behind her as she pushed open Carousel’s front door. Pausing, she turned back to see Rarity waving at her with a faux-wistful smile on her face, "Are you sure I can’t tempt you into staying for longer? Please, Dear, I insist,"

Returning the wave, silly as it was, Sunset smiled before igniting her horn, "Sorry, Rarity. I appreciate it, really, but I’ve got to go home," she said, "I’ve got stuff to wrap up before tomorrow," It wasn’t strictly a lie, but as fun as her afternoon with her was, Sunset needed her alone time as much as the next pony, something that had been sorely lacking given the day, and something that had to be rectified immediately, Fortunately, Rarity seemed to be more than eager to provide an answer.

“The library?” Rarity asked, and Sunset nodded.

Trotting over to a nearby couch, Rarity threw a hoof over her head and teetered before gracefully collapsing onto it, "Oh, the woes of business. Trust me, Darling, I know exactly how you feel. As such, it would be no less than hypocritical of me to keep you here," Lifting a hoof, she once more waved, batting her eyelashes before hopping off the couch, "Ta-ta, Sunset. Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow,"

“Sure," Turning her attention back to the door, Sunset pushed it open and hopped back onto the dirt road. She whipped her head back, and waved once more at Rarity, who’d made her way to Carousel’s entrance, "See you, Rarity,"

The door to Carousel closed and Sunset began the trot back to Golden Oaks. Looking up, the sun wasn’t on the horizon - far from it in fact, though it was decidedly way past the middle of the sky. Probably about five if she had to guess, maybe even later. Regardless of which, it certainly explained the grumbling that erupted in her stomach.

‘Guess tea isn’t exactly filling,’ Not that it was a surprise.

The market was wrapping up as Sunset set hoof into Ponyville Square. Vendors were taking their stalls down and making way for other ponies. Friends and families were parked near the fountain or were milling about the buildings on the outskirts, and if Sunset bothered looking, a few were even scurrying to the stalls, hastily making last-minute purchases before hightailing it back to their houses.

“Sunset!”

Sunset had barely stepped a hoof towards Golden Oaks before Pinkie bounded towards her, followed closely by Fluttershy. The two came to a halt in front of her, or rather Fluttershy did. Pinkie opted to bounce around Sunset as her mouth ran faster and faster.

“What brings you here? Funny, you know you’re standing right where Applejack’s stall was! Sorry, but you just missed her! She had to leave early today, I dunno why! Said something about being in a hurry, but that’s silly because I talked to her yesterday and she said she didn’t have any plans today, so who knows what she’s up to, and - !”

“Pinkie," Hastily interrupting her friend’s… everything, Sunset ignited her horn, snapping Pinkie’s muzzle shut and lifting a hoof, "Slower, please,"

Pinkie mumbled something that sounded like an affirmation, so Sunset relinquished her hold over her friend, taking a small step back towards her and gesturing towards her, "From the top,"

“Uh-huh!” She said, "The bakery was out of flour, so I had to go buy some! On the way there I saw Applejack packing up her stall! Dunno why though, but she said she was in a hurry!” Without warning, Pinkie turned back around, throwing her hooves over Fluttershy who let out a startled ‘Eep!’ as Pinkie’s sudden affection threatened to topple her over.

“And that’s when I ran into Fluttershy!”

“Um… yes, Pinkie. You did," Fluttershy mumbled. Both she and Sunset exchanged a glance before Fluttershy broke her eyes away, "We were running low on carrots, and Angel insisted I get some before the market closed…”

“I see,” Sunset let out a hum. Honestly, it didn’t matter to her either way why Fluttershy was out. If she was still nervous from their interaction hours ago, she didn’t need to be. Sure, trying to curry her favor was infuriating, but a bouquet of flowers was hardly the most offensive way to do it.

“So… how was Rarity?”

Sunset blinked and refocused her gaze on Fluttershy, who cast hers away again, "Er, you did just come from hers, right? Because of the way you came from and all…”

Oh, right. “Yeah, she’s fine. If you’re worried about how she feels, she’s not holding anything against you,"

Fluttershy seemed to relax, thankfully. She lifted her head and looked - actually looked - Sunset in the eyes, and her mouth knit itself into a smile, "Oh, that’s good,” she said, “I really didn’t want her to be offended or anything,"

Sunset vaguely waved a forehoof, "Fluttershy, it’s Rarity. I think you’ll be fine," It was then that her stomach punctuated the silence, interrupting her with a growl and drawing a look from her, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. She stared down at her stomach for a moment, before lifting her head back up and exchanging looks with Pinkie and Fluttershy, "... That said, tea isn’t the most filling thing," she chuckled.

“Did somepony need grub?”

Instinctually Sunset spun around, and her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell on Applejack. Applejack stood in front of a cart absolutely chock full of food: Apple pie, apple fritter, cobbler, crumble, crisp, dumplings, caramelized, if it had a name it was there, all stacked one atop another that culminated in a mountain that dwarfed any and everyone that passed by. It was impressive, if nothing else, and the heat that radiated off the food could be felt, which was both surprising, and did the grumbling in Sunset’s stomach no favors.

“Oooh! Food!”

Pinkie was the first to react, bounding past Sunset and up to the cart. She reached out a hoof and swiped up a slice of pie, which she slowly guided to her mouth before Applejack swiped it back.

“Hey!”

“Now you look here!” Applejack placed the slice back on the cart, "This here’s for Sunset! If she wants to share it with ya, she can!” Glancing at Sunset she gave her a smile. A very familiar, hopeful, irritating smile that Sunset had seen enough of to last a lifetime and the mind-numbing hunger her food had induced was ripped away.

‘Oh,’

“Aww, c’mon, Applejack! You’re being mean!”

Trudging away from the pile of food, Pinkie stopped in front of Sunset and looked up at her with the largest puppy-dog eyes she could muster, "Sunset? Can I have some?” She whimpered, "Please please please please please?”

Sunset said nothing as she glanced between Pinkie, Applejack, and the food. This was probably the most blatant ploy conceived of today, and to be honest she had half a mind to shoot her down on the spot.

However, she was hungry, and as far as Applejack had said, she was just offering her the food. ‘Out of her own goodwill, surely,’ Perhaps it was underhanded, sure, but she’d been putting up with it all day. Why not have some fun? Smiled, and nodded to Applejack, sidestepping Pinkie and trotting to the cart.

“Why thank you, Applejack," Sunset mustered up what cheer she could. She glanced at Pinkie and Fluttershy and beckoned them both, "Come on you two, there’s enough for three,"

Pinkie didn’t need to be told twice, zipping past Sunset and immediately began to engorge on the slice of pie Applejack had put back. Fluttershy, however, took a step back. An odd expression flashed across her face before she shook her head and began to fiddle with her saddlebags, "Oh, no thank you," she said, "I just ate at home,"

Pinkie was already devouring her fourth apple fritter by the time Sunset got to the cart. ‘Well, at least somepony’s enjoying herself,’. Scanning the buffet, Sunset spotted a small plate of apple crumble, complete with a spoon and even a napkin. Levitating it out, she picked up the spoon and slowly began to eat. It was pleasant enough, though it was hardly what she’d call food. Then again, apples were much better suited as sides than they were actual meals.

Oh well. She’d just have to eat something else later.

By the time she’d finished the plate of crumble, Pinkie had already polished off the rest of the cart and was now lying on her back, eyes closed, and stomach looking fit to burst. Whether she was just that fast an eater or Sunset that slow, who knew. Applejack was still next to the cart, and glaring daggers at Pinkie.

‘Oh come on, she at least appreciates the food,’

“Thanks, Applejack," she said, again making sure her smile was still displayed. At least it seemed to steal her friend’s attention, as Applejack redirected her attention, fixing her with that stupid, hopeful look that made her blood boil, "That was good food,"

“Oh, really? Well of course it was, Sugarcube!” Applejack gave a little bow, "If you ever need any more, just say the word!”

‘Don’t count on it,’

“Say…” Applejack mumbled once she’d finished hooking her cart to herself. She trotted over to Sunset, and cupped a hoof over her mouth, "I know you didn’t want to bring it up none, but have you figured out a plan for that ticket yet?”

And there it was. The million-bit question that Sunset had grown to hate so, so much. She pulled away, leering, which - to her satisfaction - knocked that accursed look off Applejack’s face.

“No," she said, "And as much as I appreciate the food, Applejack, it doesn’t make me want to pick you,"

Okay, perhaps - no. It was a cruel trick, plain and simple. But the look on Applejack’s face, the shrunken pupils, the hanging jaw, the absolute dumbstruck state she was in was such sweet relief after a whole half-day of everypony nonstop hounding her and not respecting her privacy.

So, subjectively? Yes, it was justified.

“Wh… wha…?” One of Applejack’s eyes twitched as her jaw flopped around. Funny, until she regained her bearings, and fixed Sunset with what could mercifully be described as a scowl.

“What the hay, Sunset?!” She stamped her hoof, "I didn’t lug all this food from Sweet Apple Acres for you to take it and tell me no!”

“Yeah? Well, I did!” What satisfaction drawn from Applejack’s reaction vanished as she matched her hateful expression, and returned the stomp with one of her own, “You knew I didn’t want to be bothered about it again, and yet you did it anyways!”

“That doesn’t mean you can just take my food and say no!”

“Why?! You offered! You didn’t say anything until after I’d taken it! How was I supposed to know it came with a catch?!”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but halted; biting her lip, but never letting up on her glare. She seemed to regain her bearings after a moment, but no sooner did she before a new voice cut her off.

“Oh! So that’s how it is!”

Descending into the verbal battlefield came a flurry of blue feathers. Sunset flinched as a cloud of dust was kicked up, and kicked herself for starting this bout in the middle of town.

“So Applejack’s allowed to stuff your face full to try and get those tickets, but I can’t give you a lift around town! I see!”

“Rainbow!” It was the first word to cross Sunset’s mind, “What the hay are you-?!”

“Gaaasp!” In the blink of an eye, Pinkie had gone from lying on her back to standing on all fours. Her eyes weren’t on Sunset, instead focused on both Rainbow and Applejack, rapidly darting from one mare to the other as they seemed to get wider with each flick.

“You… you two are trying to get the tickets…?”

Silence reigned for a moment as all eyes shifted to Pinkie. Sunset blinked as she arched an eyebrow. Did Pinkie not know about this? ‘No, actually… I guess she didn’t,’

‘Well, now everypony knows. Great,’

“Well, too bad!” Sunset fought to regain her balance as Pinkie threw a hoof over her, "Because Sunset’s already taking me! Right?”

Pinkie turned and looked at her with her impossibly large eyes. Eyes that sparkled with again, hope, and her mouth just the same. Perhaps she should offer a response, but in truth, the energy she’d gotten back from Rarity’s tea time was draining fast, and all Sunset could muster was again an arched eyebrow. It took a moment, but soon the smile on Pinkie’s face began to dwindle. Her eyes lost their spark as her hoof slowly detached from Sunset’s body, and she took a few steps away.

“You… you’re not taking me?” Pinkie mumbled, "Oh no… oh no, no, no, no, no…”

Pinkie’s mumblings became less and less distinguishable with each word. So much so that Sunset had to lean in just to catch what her friend was saying. It was beyond unnerving, really, and she glanced at Rainbow with an expression that was probably somewhere between concern and anger, and Rainbow was looking back with something similar.

‘When I get my hooves around your neck…’

Mere moments later Pinkie whipped around to face her, and Sunset had to fight down as yelp as Pinkie stared her down with a far too large grin.

“I know!”

In a flash she was by her side. She wrapped a forehoof around one of Sunset’s before pulling. Hard. Sunset yelped as the pull threw her off her hooves, her rapid scrabbling only barely able to give back her footing as Pinkie charged across Ponyville, with Applejack’s and Rainbow’s yells echoing behind her.

“Wha-?! Pinkie, let me go!”

“Move out, everypony! Pinkie’s on a mission!”

The cycle went as thus; Sunset wrestled her hoof from Pinkie. Pinkie’s left hoof replaced it. She’d remove the hoof once more, and the right one would have its turn.

Perhaps the solution was to employ her horn and lift Pinkie away in her entirety, but as Pinkie dragged her into Sugarcube Corner, it was far too late. She plopped Sunset at a table and began to zip around the bakery, throwing up decorations and kicking out everypony in the shop, including a very disgruntled Mr. and Mrs. Cake whom she hastily shooed out the door.

“Sorry, everypony! Urgent business! Remodeling the store, you know!” She said before promptly slamming the door behind them.

“Pinkie,” Sunset said once the last customer left, “don’t you dare try to -,"

“Oh, don’t say that, Sunny!” Pinkie said as she leaped away from the door. She ruffled Sunset’s mane before bounding to the other end of the store, pulling streamers out of… somewhere. She began to pin them to the ceiling at a rate that was almost unnatural as she looked back to Sunset, her mouth in a full-on grin as she called back, "I know you love my parties!”

Sunset opened her mouth to offer a reprisal, but no sooner had she, Pinkie had once more busied herself with decor. A hum escaped her friend’s lips, but by no means was it a contemplative one. Her humming fluctuated in pitch, rapidly climbing and tumbling rhythmically as the speed with which she put up decorations changed to match. For a moment she stopped, her eyes meeting Sunset’s as her body ground to a complete stop, save for one hoof tapping against the tiled floor in time with her hum. Sunset instead resolved to bury her face in her hooves, willing with all that she had to not to burn her friend’s tail off, as Pinkie launched into an absolutely absurd song. The lyrics were flattering but empty, and Sunset watched in morbid fascination as Pinkie redecorated the shop, cleaned off every table, and pulled out the goods from behind the cases.

The twisted hilarity of watching Pinkie drive the Cakes into financial ruin was brought to a halt, as no sooner had Pinkie finished her number than pounding sounded from the front door of Sugarcube Corner.

“Pinkie!” It was Applejack, "Open up!”

“Yeah!” Another voice chimed in; Rainbow, "We know Sunset’s in there! You’re not getting my ticket from her that easily!”

“And I told you it’s mine!”

Were Sunset’s teeth able to grind any harder they’d most likely crack. Cyan sparks descended into her vision as her horn popped and cracked, and a low growl escaped her lips as she covered her ears with her hooves. It succeeded in drowning out absolutely nothing, but perhaps it’d convince the budding migraine to back off a little.

As if.

“Hey! You two!” In only a leap and a bound, Pinkie had made it to the Corner’s front door. She threw it open, glaring daggers at the two… no, three mares on the other side. Fluttershy was there too, looking decidedly unamused by Rainbow’s and Applejack’s antics, though she seemed to occasionally mumble something under her breath that was lost over the din of her two friends. That said, the fact that she was with them at all didn’t serve to help Sunset’s headache.

“This is a party for me and Sunset only! Nopony else is allow- waugh!”

Neither Applejack, Rainbow, nor Fluttershy seemed to care as they barged passed Pinkie, the open door being invitation enough. Applejack's and Rainbow's eyes never left each other, however, as they seemed too busy arguing in circles about that stupid, Equestria-forsaken, bucking –.

“Business is more important than seeing the Shadowbolts, Rainbow! My family’s livelihood is riding on that ticket!”

“Psh! Your family’s plenty fine as is, and I have bits to worry about too, you know! Wowing the Shadowbolts is just as important as your family’s business! And besides, I saw the ticket first, so -!”

“Enough!”

Sunset’s horn roared to life and - in a matter of seconds - warped her and the others into the main room of Golden Oaks. Vague noises of shock came from the other four, but now their attention was fixed unquestionably, irrefutably, on Sunset.

For what felt to have been the first time that day, there was absolute silence as Sunset one-by-one eyed each of her friends. None seemed too interested in starting anything with her. ‘Good,’

In a flash of cyan, Sunset called the two Gala tickets from their place on her nightstand. She drifted her eyes over to them, willing the two accursed slips of gold to understand her hatred for them before bringing her gaze back to her friends. Their looks of shock had only grown.

“I’ve had bucking enough of whatever the hay this is!” She cast her gaze one by one over the other four, each one shrinking back as her eyes landed on them. Taking another step towards them, she moved the tickets between herself and her friends, separating them just far enough, as to ensure one’s safety, "I’ve been asking this whole bucking time for you all to just let me decide on my own who I want to bring to the Gala! It’s my ticket, and my business! I’ve considered taking each and every one of you, but if this thing is going to make you lot act like a bunch of rabid banshees, then fine!”

Sparks flew from Sunset’s horn as it burned brighter, and she channeled the boiling, bubbling pit in her gut into her horn, concentrating all of it on one ticket. She bit her lip, forcing back a leer as smoke began to emanate from it before it burst into flames.

A combination of gasps and shrieks echoed from her friends as Sunset released her grip on the source of her problems, allowing it to drift to the wooden floor, whereupon contact - much like with all embers in Golden Oaks - all heat was siphoned away, leaving behind a smoldering black strip, one that quickly began to crumble under its own weight. For one brief, beautiful moment all the pain in her head vanished, replaced with an unspeakably blissful sensation as she stared down at the puddle of ash before she redirected her gaze to her friends. All of her anger came back, and she pulled the other ticket back to her side, brandishing it at the other four before sending it back up to her nightstand.

“I will be going alone! If you all can’t give me a bucking rest over a party, then I can’t trust you to behave yourselves while you’re there!” Reigniting her horn, she channeled her energy on the knob of Golden Oaks’ door, lifting a hoof and pointing to it as the door slammed open, "Now get lost! I’ve had it with you four, and don’t bucking come back tonight!”

For a moment nopony moved. Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all stared at her with the same horrified expression before slowly blinking, shaking themselves from whatever stupor they were trapped in and one by one filing out of the library, their hoofsteps being the only sound that met Sunset’s ears.

Once the last was gone, Sunset basked in the welcoming silence of Golden Oaks. She brought her ticket closer to her eyes, and let out a snort. ‘I suppose that’s that problem done and dusted, she thought, before traipsing up to her room. She pushed the door open, and her eyes fell on her message book. Or maybe it wasn't.

Sunset sent her ticket to the nightstand, sighed, and picked up her book. She should tell Luna, right? It wouldn’t do much in the way of good if she lied about this, and Luna would find out eventually if Sunset showed up to the Gala alone. Wandering over, she fell onto her bed.

“Hey, Princess,”

It took a moment, perhaps quicker than expected, but sure enough, her mentor’s words appeared on the page.

“I can hear your weary spirit from here Sunset. Is something the matter?”

Sunset took a deep breath and steeled herself. ‘Just rip off the band-aid now, Sunset. Just do it now,’

“I’ll be attending the Gala alone,”

The pause between her message and Luna’s next went far, far, far too long. Even from atop a mountain, her mentor’s words on a page, or lack thereof, were its own force of nature.

“What happened?”

“The girls were pestering me about the ticket. It’s been an all-day occurrence,” No reply from Luna, so she continued, “I couldn’t take another minute of it, so I got rid of it,”

“You mean you destroyed it,”

A rush of indignance swelled within Sunset, but it was quickly put down. It… hurt, for Luna to assume she just destroyed things when she got fed up, but regardless of whether it was a justifiable assumption, it was certainly true here. “Yes,” she penned, “I’m sorry, Princess,”

Again, another pause. A sigh, no doubt, before words began to appear again, “I won’t lie, Sunset, I’m disappointed. I do not know exactly what transpired between you and your friends, but if it was enough for you to not select any of them, I’d have hoped you’d return the ticket by post instead of setting it alight..”

“I will print another ticket, but I will hold onto it for the time being. Should you change your mind, and want to bring a friend along to the Gala, prove to me that you and all your friends both won’t let your emotions control your actions.”

Sunset grit her teeth and forced herself to not pen back a retort. Anypony would have flipped if they had the day she had. Taking a deep breath, Sunset resolved instead to pen a “Very well, Princess," before closing her book and lying back in her bed.

‘All my friends, huh?’

"Perhaps the tickets aren’t worth much to you, Darling, but to the rest of us, it’s worth no less than its weight in gold."

Truthfully there was one pony who hadn’t let her emotions control her today. Strange, given any other circumstance but, hey, generosity was her field, wasn’t it?

The Boutique was invisible from her position in Golden Oaks, granted it was invisible from Golden Oaks period, but the direction was easy enough. She let out a hum, trotting over to the sill, and throwing her forehooves onto it.

‘Rarity should still be awake,’ It was what, six at latest? If anything, she should know that there was only one ticket now…

‘Might as well do it now,’ She didn’t even bother throwing on her saddlebags before stepping out of Golden Oaks.

***

“Oh, Sunset!”

“Hello, Rarity,"

Sunset forced back a grimace as she was ushered into Carousel for the second time that day. Rarity didn’t deem to notice anything wrong, however, instead busying herself for the second time that day making tea.

“I must be quite popular today if you’ve come to visit me again,"

Sunset guided herself over to a table nearby, busying herself with looking at what mannequins she could see. “I suppose so," she said, the clinking sound of a teacup being set in front of her bringing her back to reality, "Thank you,"

“Of course, Darling! So, what brings you here this time?”

Sunset hummed to herself and took a sip of her tea. There were multiple ways to approach this, but none of them really ended positively, though today that was hardly a novelty. She allowed herself to fully swallow the tea before deciding on an opening, "I… wanted to apologize,"

The smile on Rarity’s face immediately vanished, instead replaced by a frown. She raised an eyebrow and hovered her tea closer to her mouth, "Apologize? For what?”

“The ticket," If anything, Rarity’s confused look only grew, "The second ticket today… I burned it," Sunset quickly took another sip of tea, savoring the scalding sensation in her mouth that carried into her system when she swallowed, "I probably shouldn't have," only after the feeling went away did she allow herself to look at Rarity.

Rarity’s expression was… blank. Her cup was still floating next to her muzzle, and were it not for its slow bobbing she could have passed for a painting. She eventually did take a sip from it, and when she pulled away Sunset was surprised to see she looked more sad than anything else.

“I see,"

A clack sounded from the table as Rarity set her cup back down. She looked up at Sunset and gave her a small smile before leaning back in her chair.

“That’s… unfortunate,"

Sunset didn’t respond immediately, instead waiting for Rarity to continue. A moment passed, then two.

‘... Is that it?’

“... You’re not mad?”

Rarity giggled, her cup floating back up to her mouth, where she busied herself with yet another sip, "Mad? Oh no, of course not, Darling," She said before refilling her cup, "But… well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit disappointed. After I told you how much it meant to us I'd have hoped you'd treat it with a little more care,"

A humorless snort escaped Sunset’s lips. Well, if anything that just proved that she really was the sensible one today. She glanced down at her teacup and swirled the liquid around, watching the whirlpool form before bringing it to her mouth.

‘Perhaps I could give her my ticket?’ The thought intruded her mind without any warning, and caused her to freeze, ‘I… don’t really want to part with it though. Maybe,’

“I suppose that makes two of us,"

“I assume you at least had a good reason for, er… small scale arson?”

Another humorless snort, ‘I wish,’

“It… wasn’t. Not really," She drained her cup and quickly refilled it before continuing, "The girls all followed me around town. They started something in the door to Sugarcube corner, and I just couldn’t take it, so…” Her grip on her cup tightened as she gave Rarity a shrug.

“Here we are,"

Rarity didn’t immediately say anything, her mouth set thin and parted only for her drink. Her gaze was set on Sunset, but whether or not she was actually looking at her was up in the air. The silence between them continued to grow before Rarity finally opened her mouth.

“They started a row," It was a statement, one that garnered a raised eyebrow from Sunset as she set her cup down. Whatever. She could play along.

“Yes,"

“Over your ticket?”

“Correct,"

“And they did this in broad, public daylight, not even considering your feelings in the matter?"

Throughout her whole… impromptu interrogation, Rarity’s voice had begun to rise. It was subtle at first, only firmly planted in the territory of ‘naturally loud’ and had slowly escalated into what Sunset might employ at Pinkie’s party. Her body language was the same, but the change in both volume and tone had started to set Sunset’s fur on edge. ‘Please don’t explode, Rarity,’

“I can’t vouch for the last half, but I’ll assume ‘yes’,"

Rarity only hummed, closing her eyes and taking a sip of her tea before she responded proper.

“Would you like me to talk to them, Darling?”

Silence passed between the two before Sunset blinked, her brain processing Rarity’s question. Raising her eyebrows, she busied herself with another sip of tea, "What do you mean ‘talk to them’?"

“I simply mean what I say. I trust you, Darling, and if it is as you say, then I believe I need to have a little chat with them about common civility. One-on-one,"

‘Oh,’

It was tempting, Sunset couldn’t deny it. Odds were by the time Rarity was through with them they’d be too nervous to set hoof inside Golden Oaks for another month. It’d be funny, sure, but such extremes would hardly be necessary. ‘And besides, I’m not a foal. I can handle this myself,’

“I appreciate it, Rarity, really,” she said, "But no thanks. I can talk with them myself tomorrow about it,"

Rarity looked apprehensive, but ultimately didn’t press it, instead sighing and setting her cup down, "If you’re sure, Dear…”

“Yes,"

Glancing at the clock, the time was well past six. Probably time to leave. Sunset stood up, placing her now empty cup on the table, and took a couple of steps towards the door. her gaze never left Rarity. She offered a smile.

“It’s getting late, and I’ve got dinner waiting for me," She didn’t, but she’d rather not have to decline Rarity offering for her to stay longer again. ‘Hay, I can’t say I’m up for food period,’

“I’ll see you tomorrow, or sometime around,"

“A sentiment I agree with, Darling," Rarity hopped out of her chair and accompanied Sunset to the door. Sunset lit her horn to open it, but Rarity was faster, pulling it open before her aura could even materialize. Rarity gave her a smile and placed a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder, "Do take care, Dear. And if you do need me to have a chat with them, please let me know,"

Sunset closed her eyes, humming for a moment before opening them again and nodding, "Sure,"

‘I won’t need to,’

She bid goodbye to Rarity and stepped out of the door, Rarity’s “Farewell, Darling!” preluding the sound of the door closing. Taking her eyes off Carousel, she set off back to Golden Oaks.

The walk back was quick, the biggest loss in time being the few times she had to step out of the way of a passing couple. Fortunately, however, it was hardly long before Sunset found herself trudging back up the steps and into Golden Oaks.

Sunset groaned aloud to nopony in particular as soon as the door behind her closed. Her day was over. She could say that officially.

‘And what a bucking day it’s been, she thought to herself as she flipped the latches behind her. She glowered at the door before trotting towards the stairs. The next pony who knocked was getting sent to the hospital.

The door to her room was still open. Perhaps it wasn’t the most profound of observations, but whatever. It saved her the trouble of doing it herself. Stepping in, what jumped out was that the messaging book was glowing blue.

‘What’s Luna want this time?’ Sunset’s brain jumped to autopilot, trotting over to the bed and hopping up, pulling her book closer along with a nearby ink and quill. Cracking the book open she flipped to the most recent page.

“If that is all then I wish you well, Sunset. Do not let this one instance sour your view on your friends,”

"Just her goodbye. Whatever,"

‘I’ll talk to her in the morning, I guess,’

Tucking herself underneath her covers Sunset allowed her head to flop onto the pillow. Her body began to ache, all of her stress eeking out of her body and into the fluffy mattress underneath her.

‘Please be the last time I have a day like this,’ she thought as she closed her eyes. She sighed, rolling onto her side and burying herself deeper into her bed. It probably wouldn’t be, but hey, she could hope.

***

It was seven when Sunset woke the next morning.

A glance at her clock told her as much, the minute hand hovering somewhere around the ‘2’ when she first laid eyes on it. Yawning, she rolled out of bed, catching herself on all-fours and meandering out of her room.

‘Okay. Monday,’ She thought as she stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. She threw together her breakfast, though she wasn’t paying much attention to what exactly it was, and ate. As she did, her mind drifted to her friends and the events of last evening.

‘I’ll talk to them today,’ she thought, biting into a tomato. ‘But they’d better bucking apologize,’ How she was going to talk to all of them, though, was a mystery. There wouldn’t be much time after the library closed. Well, there would be, but most ponies were in their homes after work, generally not wanting to be disturbed, and running about all of Ponyville to the Acres and back sounded… rough.

‘I’ll figure something out, I guess,’

Sunset finished the rest of her meal and tossed her plate into the sink. She’d wash it later. Instead, the next fifteen-odd minutes were spent prepping the library for opening: dusting the surfaces, sweeping the floor, etc. At eight o’clock sharp she unlocked the door to Golden Oaks and assumed her position behind the checkout counter.

***

At four-forty-five in the afternoon the door to Golden Oaks opened.

It wasn’t the first time it had opened today, no. Indeed, while Golden Oaks wasn’t particularly bustling on weekdays, save for Friday, in a rural town like Ponyville the most excitement Sunset usually had was when a foal would show up in the library. Not because they were loud, but she didn’t know a single one here that liked reading. Granted, she didn’t know most of the foals period. That said, the door opening at four-forty-five, while not the first time, was certainly the most noteworthy. Sunset was still parked on her stool, sorting through the books when she heard the door open. She glanced up, offering the newcomer a smile.

“Welcome to Golden Oak –”

It wasn’t one newcomer, but four. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie all tip-toed into the library. Calling the looks on their face “sheepish” would be generous, but really there wasn’t another description more appropriate.

‘Oh,’

Biting her lip, Sunset inhaled. The arrival of her friends was certainly welcome, and for that, she was grateful, no two ways about it. However…

‘Don’t yell at them, Sunset. Don’t yell at them,’ Hopping off her stool, Sunset let out her breath. She trotted around the counter and stopped in front of them. They were here now, and that’s what mattered.

“Hello, you four,"

A moment of silence passed between them before Rainbow stepped forwards.

“Uh… Hi, Sunset,"

Rainbow gave Sunset a sheepish smile, lifting a hoof and scratching the back of her neck. Nopony spoke, so she continued, "We just… we wanted to, uh…”

“We wanted to talk," Applejack stepped forward, "Well, apologize, really,"

‘... Oh,’

Sunset blinked, but she could do no further before Pinkie lunged forwards, sprawling herself on the floor in a cacophony of wails.

“We’re sorry, Sunset!” She cried, “We saw the tickets, and we were so excited to go to the Gala and we really, really hoped you’d pick us, and… and…”

“We all talked once you uh… sent us away," Fluttershy mumbled. She gave Sunset a small smile, and surprisingly didn’t flinch back afterward, "We didn’t realize how much we were stressing you out, and… we’re sorry,"

“Yeah. It really wasn’t cool of us,"

For a moment, Sunset didn’t say anything. A warmth blossomed in her chest and spread through her body, relaxing her muscles, and coaxing her a few steps closer to her friends, "I… see,” she finally said, “Well, I’m touched, girls. I appreciate the apology,"

“And, while we’re at it, I’m sorry too," Sunset grit her teeth and glanced down at the floor. It beat looking at them as she did this. She didn’t want to apologize to them. It meant - at least in part - that she was in the wrong. But in truth, something had been weighing on her mind since last night... and it was probably better to get it out in the open. For all of them, really.

“It wasn't fair of me to take your food, Applejack, it wasn't fair to any of you, really," she forced out, "I... understand why you were mad, Rainbow, Fluttershy. I probably would've been too."

"And I shouldn’t have lost it and burned up that ticket,” she continued, “I can ask Luna about it if you'd like," There was a low chance of success, but a miracle might happen.

“Look... don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said. Sunset looked up, and judging by Rainbow’s expression, she was still upset about the second ticket, "It happened. Is what it is, y’know?”

“Sure…”

“Anyways,” Applejack cleared her throat and stepped forwards, “We also wanted to make it up to you,"

Sunset shifted her gaze to Applejack and raised an eyebrow. ‘Make it up to me, huh?’

“Yeah?”

Applejack nodded and waved her hoof about the library, "We help you close up and you come along with us. Somewhere out to eat,"

“Please say yes, Sunset! Pretty please?”

Closing her eyes Sunset lifted a hoof to her mouth and let out a small hum. It was a nice gesture, certainly, and hay, it would certainly spice up her night. ‘I suppose,’ she thought, ‘And besides. I… really don’t want to stay mad at them,’ Opening her eyes again, she smiled, and nodded. A deal, save for one small thing.

“Sure, but somepony go get Rarity,” she said, “It wouldn’t be fair to her,"

Pinkie’s hoof shot into the air as Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy all let out whoops of varying intensity, "I’ll do it!” she cried, and before Sunset or anypony else could say anything, shot out of the library.

“I suppose that’s that then," Applejack said. She gave Sunset a smile and trotted to the checkout counter, "We’d also like to help here. Where do you need us, Sugarcube?”

“If you could sort, that’d be great,” Sunset trotted back behind the counter and hopped onto the stool before pointing to Rainbow and Fluttershy, “You two as well. We can all put the books back after,"

Rainbow gave a mock salute and she and Fluttershy joined Sunset and Applejack at the counter. A conversation began to strike up as everypony grabbed a stack of books, and for what it was worth Sunset was engaged in it. It was about ten or fifteen minutes later that Pinkie came back, beaming, with Rarity in tow. Sunset lifted a hoof and waved, which Rarity returned. She and Pinkie both came up to the counter and grabbed their own piles.

“Well, it looks like everything’s smoothed over nicely,"

Sunset nodded, "Looks like it,"

Seeing Rarity now, her mind inexorably drifted back to the previous evening. Perhaps it was the lack of stress, or she woke up feeling generous, but now that Rarity was here… the only ticket left was upstairs.

‘And honestly? If anypony deserves it, it’s her,’

She’d have to ask Rarity about it later.

Author's Note

Howdy, howdy! Thank ya much for reading this far! It's certainly been a while on this one, this chapter's actually been sitting completed for over a year in my google docs. It was finished, but I wasn't really happy with it. I finally mustered up the wherewithal to edit this one, and man I cut out a lot. I'm unsure if it's where I want it to be, but I'm pleased enough with it. I'd say it certainly taught me a lot about writing, at least in strictly a "word" sense, and I want to put it to the test with the next chapter. I think there's still a lot of chaff here - unnecessary words. I want to work on taking those out. I've also been working on another story, which I find really helps writing not get stale. I'll probably upload it here, I have every intention to, but I'm not sure when. That said, as always please leave your critiques! Always happy to hear what folks think of my writing!