In the studious calm of the Canterlot High School library, a tall, slim girl with red-and-yellow hair, wearing a comfortably broken-in leather jacket, was seated at one of the rear tables. Her homework forgotten, her chin on her fists, Sunset Shimmer stared intently at the round purple box on the tabletop before her. It looked like somebody's idea of a futuristic necklace-compact, but it was in fact more -- way, way more. Even half-charred, dented, and unable to close properly, Twilight's Spectral Analyzer was still an amazing piece of work.
Perhaps... a little too amazing, Sunset Shimmer thought to herself. Because, like, where'd this thing even come from? Sure, this world's Twilight was a genius. Yet how could even she have come up with a device capable of detecting and capturing resonances in the seven known thaumic fields of Equestria? Especially since this world didn't seem to have them. At least, not until I showed up, Sunset thought worriedly. And brought Equestrian magic along with me.
"Maybe..." she whispered to herself, "maybe it's another borrowing of some kind from the pony world? Like the magic itself? Maybe it's technology from some place where they have machines that can monitor and interact with magic fields, the same way unicorns do with their horns? Maybe it's even from a future time, when ponies use devices like this to measure and interact with magic fields? Or maybe it's even from another world entirely, where thaumic field theory works completely different from what we know, or..."
Sunset caught herself, and rolled her eyes at her own eagerness. "Or... maybe I'm just letting my imagination run away here. It could be exactly what it looks like: something Twilight created using what she knows from the technology of this world, to deal with the magic forces she detected leaking across from my world."
Sunset prodded the device with a forehoof -- finger, she corrected herself automatically. Even after all this time she sometimes forgot, and would only realize she'd misspoken when she noticed her human friends staring at her with amused looks on their faces.
The device appeared dead, the captured magic drained from it. Yet after the Friendship Games, when Twilight returned to Crystal Prep one last time to collect her few belongings to bring to CHS, she'd quietly pushed the device into Sunset's hands. "Here," she'd said quietly. "Maybe you should hang onto this for me. Just to be on the safe side." And she'd given Sunset a look, one Sunset understood all too well. Twilight was still processing the experience of absorbing all that captured magic at one go, and what it had done to her.
How well I know that feeling, Sunset thought. Oh yeah. At least Twilight's augmented magic persona had wanted to understand things, even if she was going about it in entirely the wrong way. Mine just wanted to control and destroy everything. To have revenge on Equestria, for how I felt about being abandoned here after the mirror portal closed.
Sunset shook her head. What's past is past, she reminded herself. Her friends at CHS accepted her now. And the other students, they were gradually coming round to see her as a friend too, rather than the power-mad bully she once was.
If I could only get a handle on the magic I brought with me, Sunset thought. If I could understand it, understand how it works here, make certain all my friends here are safe, then I might finally have made up for all the trouble I've caused. And then maybe, just maybe, I could finally put it all behind me and, well, go home again... to Equestria.
Sunset sighed. That would be nice. I guess... but --
Her attention was suddenly drawn back to the Analyzer. She blinked in surprise.
Wait a second...
Had she imagined it? Did one of its encircling ring of LED panels flicker dimly, just for an instant?
Picking up the Analyzer, Sunset swung it left and right to check. Yes! Another panel had flickered, just a blink. And then another. And always in the same direction. There was a trace of Equestrian magic out there somewhere. As broken as it was, the Analyzer could still sense it.
Sunset shoved her books and notes into her bookbag, slung it over her shoulder, then walked out into the school's foyer, with the device sitting in her palm and her thoughts whirling.
What if one of those weird portals this thing created hadn't closed properly? What if it's leaking even more Equestrian magic into this world? Or maybe something worse, like those carnivorous vines...
Reminding herself to stay calm and not jump to conclusions, Sunset went down the stairs and pushed through the front door. She headed down the front walk to the shattered horse statue. Then onwards and past it, out to the street. Turning and triangulating, Sunset nodded.
Somewhere over near the playing fields, where the Friendship Games were held. That would make sense.
Hurrying in case she lost the faint trace, Sunset jogged around the side of the building and out into the midst of the athletic field. It still held the impromptu layout for the Games. Crossing the mud of the motocross track, and the tarmac of the skating circuit, Sunset set down her bookbag by the starting line for the archery competition. Then she zigzagged back and forth, down the length of the field, heading toward the platforms facing the bullseye targets, and the muddy moat set between them which the students had had to swing across.
Somewhere around here, Sunset thought, her eyes fixed on the Analyzer. She was watching for the slightest hint, the merest blink. But she could feel it herself now, a familiar tingling sensation in the air. If she still had her unicorn horn, she knew it would be pinging like radar.
Equestrian magic, she thought, with rising excitement... and not paying any attention to where she was going.
Looking back on it, she realized she should have remembered that Fate likes a joke as much as anyone. And staring fixedly at an electronic device while carelessly approaching a muddy pit? That's just asking for it.
"Woah!" she yelled, as her left sneaker hit empty air, then plunged into the sandy mud filling the pit. Pitching into it, she barely had time to grab a lungful of air before the watery, grimy mess engulfed her. Struggling desperately, Sunset floundered towards the surface, or where she thought it was now. And as she did so, she wondered how deep the pit was. She'd assumed it was like a foot deep or so for safety's sake. Just enough so that if you missed the swing and fell in, there wouldn't be any doubt about it.
Yet she seemed to be sinking further and further, pulled under by a kind of powerful suction. And there was something else, something familiar, something she'd only experienced before while passing through the portal between this world and Equestria: that strange sensation of shifting forms. It was an uncomfortable stretched, blurred feeling, as if she was made of taffy and being put through the world's largest taffy-wringer. Or like she was a radio signal and someone kept hitting the Scan button, hunting for a station they liked.
She finally reached a surface of some sort, even though as far as she could tell it was twenty feet under and facing entirely the wrong way. She shoved her way through anyways, and flopped heavily onto dry, gritty sand, where she lay gasping for air.
Then she stood up. And immediately fell over. Because she suddenly had fewer arms and more legs than she'd gotten used to.
Wiping the mud from her face with a hoof, she looked herself over. Yep, amber coat, red-and-yellow mane and tail, the usual number of hooves, and a snout which after all this time felt like a half-brick glued to her face. She was a pony again.
Which could only mean...
"Equestria..." she breathed, staring around. "I'm back in Equestria!"
Then she had another look round.
"Geez," she muttered scornfully. "You'd think I could've landed somewhere a little more, you know... populated?"
Around her was a dusty, arid landscape of gray sand, tall rock outcroppings, and the occasional stunted, twisted tree. Behind her was the muddy patch she'd clambered out of, together with a narrow creek that looked as if it had heard of water conservation and was giving it a try to see if it liked it.
Sunset rinsed off the mud from her coat and mane in the creek, then looked around for a towel. Then, smirking, she simply shook herself dry. There were advantages to being a pony in a world of magic, where water and dirt didn't stick unless you wanted them to.
Trotting up a rise in the ground nearby she had a look round. There was apparently nothing for miles but the same gray landscape. Calling it desert would have leant it too much character. This was a wasteland, the kind of place you went when you really wanted to get away from it all.
"Probably not the Badlands then," Sunset told herself. "That'd be more colorful and... amusingly rustic. So maybe it's the wilderness northeast of Canterlot? Near Hollow Shades?" Glancing around and committing what landmarks she could see to memory, Sunset trotted down the other side of the rise and headed south, or at least what she assumed was south.
As she went she thought about the portal, or whatever it was that she must have passed through. Why had it persisted when all the others had closed? Maybe, she reasoned, because it was buried in the sandy mud of the archery moat. Maybe, just maybe, that stabilized the magic enough to make it persistent. After all, sand was a key component of glass, and both glass and water could serve as a refractor for EM field energy, and the sandy pit might possibly have created a stable regenerating loop in the magic potential of the portal and...
Sunset smirked. Nice to see my time in Science class hasn't gone entirely to waste.
She wondered briefly if she should try to get back through the portal, to see if she could close it again from the other side. But she wasn't sure how she'd do that. Maybe they'd have to drain the sand-pit, and then keep an eye on the portal until it evaporated on its own. Plus, the thought of trying to swim uphill against that current was not a pleasant one. And the thrill of being back in her own world again, that was too exciting to pass up. It might mean a bit of a hike, plus a train-ride, but if she could just get back to Ponyville she could use the mirror portal in Princess Twilight's castle to return to CHS. And being able to say "hi" to Princess Twilight herself in the process, that would not be a bad thing.
Sunset decided she could deal with the magical Equestrian portal in the sand-pit... eh, later, whenever she got back.
Then such thoughts were chased from her mind as she trotted around a large boulder and saw, off to the right, a small town. Actually, it was more a village than a town, and even that was giving it the benefit of good press. It was basically two rows of rough-built houses on either side of a dirt track. One additional house, rather like an office or schoolroom, stood at the end of the track. And that was all.
Some kind of... cabin rental? Sunset wondered, glancing around at the empty, un-picturesque landscape. For ponies who really, really don't like distractions?
For there were ponies here, she saw: mares and stallions, even some fillies and colts scampering around. The inhabitants strolled amongst the houses, visiting with their neighbors. One or two swept the dirt track, or adjusted wares on racks and tables in front of houses, which appeared to double as store-fronts.
It was all quietly, humbly domestic... in the midst of screaming nowhere.
Setting aside her misgivings Sunset put on what she hoped was a disarming smile, and trotted into town.
The ponies noticed her immediately and smiled back, in a timid yet welcoming sort of way. An earth-pony stallion wearing a purple scarf turned to look, then nodded to her. His coat and mane were so brilliantly white he might have just been carved out of a snow bank.
"Welc-- er, hmm..." He caught himself as if he'd said something wrong, then started again. "Uh, hey! It's nice to meet you, er...?"
"Sunset Shimmer," she said. "And likewise. And well... obviously I'm new in town."
"Hi, Sunset. I'm Double Diamond. And this is Sugar Belle --" He motioned a hoof towards a pink-coated mare wearing a flour-covered apron. She smiled sheepishly. "And that's Party Favor." A curly-haired cyan unicorn nodded to Sunset. "And this is Night Glider --" A chalk-blue pegasus hovering nearby smirked proudly. "-- and over there is..."
The introductions went on at length, as more and more ponies joined the gathering. It seemed like the whole town was dropping everything to come greet the new arrival. Which was nice, if a little unnerving. Sunset desperately tried to hold onto a few of the names as they flew by, hoping there wouldn't be a test later.
"So," asked Sugar Belle, once it seemed everypony had been introduced. "What brings you to town, Sunset?"
Sunset shrugged. "It's kind of by accident, really. And well... okay, this is gonna sound like a really dumb question, but humor me, huh? It's important. This is Equestria, isn't it?"
"Sure is." Double Diamond nodded. "Last time we checked."
"With... you know, Princess Celestia? And Luna, and Cadance, and..." Sunset gritted her teeth, hoping against hope. "Princess Twilight?"
"That's them!" Party Favor agreed proudly.
"Oh good," Sunset said. "Just wanted to be sure. I've been... away for a while," she added lamely.
"You know Princess Twilight?" asked Sugar Belle eagerly.
"In a way, sort of," Sunset allowed. "We're kind of pen-pals." She decided not to go into detail about the magical journal she used to exchange messages with this world's Twilight. But apparently even a passing acquaintance with a Princess elevated Sunset a notch or three in everypony's eyes.
"Princess Twilight, she was so nice when she came to visit here," Sugar Belle said. "Very kind and understanding. And she helped us way more than we can ever thank her for."
Wow, Sunset thought. Twilight really gets around, doesn't she? She's everywhere. How does she do it?
"Okay then, another dumb question," Sunset went on. "Where exactly is here? I mean, what's the name of this place?"
It seemed like a harmless enough question. Yet for some reason it brought the conversation to a screeching halt. The entire street fell silent. The villagers glanced at each other with sheepish looks.
Sugar Belle finally spoke up. "I said we needed to pick a new name, before somepony came along and asked!"
"We did try," Double Diamond answered, as much to Sunset as to Sugar Belle. "We voted, three times. But we couldn't settle on anything. We used to call this place 'Our Town', but... um..." He fell silent, a troubled look on his face.
Sunset glanced around. The entire crowd was looking uncomfortable, and even... ashamed?
"But... there's a history there," she said gently. "I get it. And I really don't need to pry, not if it's a touchy subject."
"It's okay. It's just..." Double Diamond had a pained look on his face. Like he wanted to say something, but...
"Look," Sunset replied, "I know I'm new in town, a total stranger. I mean, you don't know me from that... uh, that rock over there." She gestured randomly with a hoof. "So... that's gotta mean you can trust me completely, right?"
She added a whimsical smile, which she hoped was reassuring. And to her surprise, it worked. Double Diamond first smiled, then laughed. And so did many of the others. Somehow, it had completely broken the ice. It was as if everypony in town had wanted to talk about this, but there was no point in doing so if everyone you talked to already knew the story.
"You see, it's like this..." Double Diamond begin. And then it was like a dam had broken; the words just poured out of everypony. Sunset listened in increasing amazement as pony after pony spoke up in a kind of capsule history of the village.
It wasn't exactly a tale of woe, since it sounded like they'd all been quite happy with the way things had been going. That is, until they started going wrong.
Apparently they were all ordinary ponies from ordinary walks of life, who'd somehow felt that their lives, while okay, were simply not going anyplace. Their special talents, for which they'd gotten their cutie-marks, seemed to be somehow... not so special after all. As a result they'd wound up feeling unimportant, aimless, lonely, depressed and helpless.
Then Starlight Glimmer showed up. And told them there was a better way: by giving up their cutie-marks, getting rid of their differences altogether. Once they did that, they'd finally experience true community, true friendship, for the first time. No pressure to compete or to excel, no loneliness, and above all no distractions. All they had to do was work with her to achieve it. All of them, working together, someplace far from civilization, where they'd never be bothered by cutie-marks again...
"But she lied to us!" Party Favor stamped a forehoof. "The whole time! She made us give up our cutie-marks, our talents and abilities, but she kept her own in secret. She said she wanted to help us. But all she really wanted to do was put herself in charge, to control us and keep us afraid of her, afraid of speaking out. She never really trusted us or respected us."
Sunset gritted her teeth. The looks on the villagers' faces... they reminded her of CHS, after she'd turned into that raging she-demon and tried to turn the students into her personal zombie slave army. She remembered the chill, suspicious reactions from everyone in school afterwards, the angry and accusatory glares as they passed her in the halls between classes. It had taken her ages to get over that.
"And then, when we found out the truth," said Night Glider, her wings flapping with little quick angry snaps, "even then she didn't apologize. She just lost it and took off. She ran away into the hills. Like we didn't even matter to her any more."
Double Diamond nodded. "Starlight took advantage of us, all of us," he said. "Me more than anypony, because I believed in her, I really did. And yeah, we were probably naive to let her do it to us, but --"
"-- but you were hurting," Sunset finished for him. "And then somepony came along who had a way to help you stop the hurt. Something you could actually do, in place of just feeling helpless and useless. Given that, how could you not listen to her, and want to pitch in and help?"
They all stared at her, silently.
Then Sugar Belle nodded. "That's it," she said in a small voice. "That's it exactly. How did you know, Sunset?"
Because I've seen it from the other side, Sunset told herself. When I manipulated the students at CHS. I played their little petty rivalries against each other, made myself popular on the backs of other people's desperate need to feel important, to feel like they belonged...
But there was no point going into that here. She shrugged.
"It's not the first time something like this has happened. And it won't be the last. Don't be too hard on yourselves. It's easy to get sucked in by the need for hope. And then realize too late that you've made a bad choice, that you were just following somepony else's agenda. But that's not on you, not at all. That's on her. What matters for you now is what you all do about it."
As a homily it wasn't much to write home about, but it really seemed to hit home. The villagers looked at each other, a few smiling in relief. "Never thought about it like that," Party Favor said. "Sure, we were dumb to follow Starlight so blindly. But we managed to build this town together. And when Starlight ran off, none of us wanted to leave it, leave what we'd built here. Maybe we managed to find what we were looking for after all?"
"Sounds like it," Sunset said, grinning. "And look, I'm really sorry for just turning up out of nowhere and dredging up unpleasant memories like this. So if you'll just tell me which way Princess Twilight went? You know, the way back to Canterlot? Then I'll get outta your mane and --"
"Oh!" Sugar Belle sighed. "Do you have to go right away, Sunset?"
"Yeah," Double Diamond said. "You're like... our first real visitor since Princess Twilight and her friends." He shrugged. "Can't we at least show you around, offer you lunch or something? It's the least we could do. And who knows? Maybe we'll have thought up a name for the town by then."
"Well... sure." Sunset didn't actually need much persuading. She was liking it here, as small and plain as the village was. She'd forgotten how different it was in Equestria, how nice it was to be back. Being friendly and welcoming seemed to be the default state of mind for ponies. It was a refreshing change from the human world, where you had to keep reminding yourself that however rude or cold or just indifferent people were at times, it actually wasn't personal.
But it's also probably got more than a little to do with Princess Twilight having been here, Sunset reminded herself. She's a good influence.
Sunset willingly let the villagers lead her around town, showing her the sights. It wasn't a lengthy tour since there honestly wasn't that much to show. But the ponies willingly opened their shops and homes, and talked at length about their plans for re-employing their individual talents in hoof-crafts, the arts, and athletic abilities. The time didn't drag, it flew right by, and one subject led to another in a kind of endless, round-robin conversation. Sunset almost didn't need to ask questions. She just listened, as pony after pony spoke up eagerly.
They did seem to want her opinion about things, though.
Over lunch at Sugar Belle's small bakery, they peppered Sunset with requests for advice. "We've been thinking about expanding the town," Double Diamond said. "We're a little crowded as it is. Plus it would be nice to have a guest house or two available if anypony comes to visit. But we can't decide whether to expand the town towards the hills up there, or maybe down towards the creek. What do you think, Sunset?"
Sunset smiled. "I dunno. I almost wish you could keep it simple, like it is now. Maybe you need to think outside the box, try something new and distinctive? Like, instead of urban sprawl, you could just extend the street you've got. Yeah... you could make this place famous as the longest town in Equestria... Where Everypony Lives on Main Street, how's that for a catchphrase?"
They liked it, a lot. And that sparked another round of conversation about decorations and civic zoning. Some of them wanted to adopt an overall style for the town, with a color-scheme and consistent signage. Others felt it should be more free-form, with everypony free to make up their own minds so the houses were more distinctive. And there was a clear undercurrent of resentment to the conversation, even as they all tried to be civil about it.
Sunset smirked. "Maybe don't try to do it all at once? You gotta start somewhere, so start small. Like you... er, Sugar Belle, right? What's your favorite color?"
"Um... peach?" the baker replied cautiously, as if it might be a capital offense. "I really like making peach cobbler. Kind of hard to get the peaches around here, as you can imagine."
"So paint your shutters peach. Or the mailbox. Or maybe have a front carpet that color. Little things like that at first, just to see if you like them. Then you'll all have more of a sense of what you really want, and you can figure it out from there. You're so used to seeing each other as equals, maybe you need time to relearn how to see each other as individuals."
That went over well. And it prompted other questions. Like how they could make the town more of a destination spot for visitors. It might not be the Ideal Utopian Community they'd all envisioned, but even so they wanted to make it a nice place, worth the trip if anypony actually came out this far.
"Sounds like you need some kind of signature celebration," Sunset said. "A whole week of something. Like a flower show, or an arts and crafts fair, or maybe --" Here the memory of the Friendship Games gave Sunset inspiration. "-- maybe some kind of talent-and-athletic competition? Yeah, a decathlon of sorts, with everypony invited to participate."
"Well, hey," said Party Favor, "we've all been talking about how we want to make use of our special talents, to show off what makes us unique, as a change from the way things used to be. How about a Talent Festival? Where everypony who comes is encouraged to demonstrate their own unique talent?"
"With just a few competitions," Sunset suggested, "to make it a little more exciting. But nothing high-stakes. Just bragging rights, friendly wait-until-next-year kind of stuff."
"That's a great idea," said Night Glider. "Wow, Sunset! You're really good at this. Giving ponies advice I mean, and helping them work stuff out."
"Yeah," Double Diamond agreed. "I feel like we've gotten more figured out just talking to you for half an hour than we've been able to do on our own in a month." He grimaced. "After Starlight left, we haven't really wanted to have anypony in charge, even though we know we probably should."
"Well... I wouldn't say I'm all that good," Sunset said, rubbing her withers with a forehoof uneasily. "I've had to learn the hard way to pay attention, to listen to what others are saying rather than telling people -- I mean ponies -- what to do. To understand where they're coming from, what they're getting hung up on. I think a big part of leadership is just helping ponies get out of their own heads, so they can see the answers that are right in front of them."
"Starlight was good at that, too." Double Diamond frowned. "A little too good. She kept telling us what we wanted to hear." Then he shrugged. "But even so... she did bring us all here, and got us organized enough to build the town. She was good at getting us to work together to make all this happen."
"Sounds like she really was," Sunset agreed, thoughtfully. "I wish I could've met her."
"What?" Sugar Belle demanded. "Why would you want to, Sunset? After the way she treated us..."
Sunset glanced around. She actually wasn't certain herself.
"Okay, sure," she agreed, "what she did to you all was wrong, no question about that. But, well... it's like you said, Double Diamond. She did have what it takes to bring you all here and get things organized. Knowing what to do next, even if it's not clear to yourself, that takes a pretty unique kind of pony. I've only met a few ponies like that, and I've learned a lot from each of them. I guess... I'd like to hear her story, find out what brought her here, and understand what made her do what she did."
The villagers still looked doubtful. Yet given her other advice, they also seemed willing to at least consider it.
"And while we're on the subject," Sunset asked, "you mentioned Starlight got you to put aside your special talents, to ignore your differences. How does that even work? I mean, if you're good at something like writing, or baking, or pottery, how do you keep yourself from even thinking about it? It'd be like the one about sitting in a corner and not thinking of a white alicorn."
"Starlight didn't just help us ignore our differences," Night Glider said. "She actually took them away. She got rid of them, by removing our cutie-marks entirely."
"Uh... wat?" Sunset looked blank. "How does that even work? And assuming you could remove a cutie-mark, what the hay would you do with it?"
"Put it in the Vault," Double Diamond said. "It was in a cave, up on the hill over there."
"Seriously? Uh... would you mind if I had a look at it?"
The villagers looked uneasily at each other. Clearly it was another bad memory. But before Sunset could say anything, Double Diamond nodded.
"Sure. You might as well have the entire tour. It'd only be fair."
It was a short hike up the trail and into the chill, clammy darkness of the cave. As they walked into the darkness, the unicorns amongst the villagers cast luminance spells with their horns to provide light. And then Sunset stood in front of the shattered panel of the huge crystal Vault, her mouth hanging open.
"Seriously?" she finally said. "One pony did all this? Organized you guys, got you to build this village -- and then created what amounts to an entire new type of magical artifact to store cutie-mark magic... and she did it all on her own?"
"That's about the size of it," said Party Favor. He picked up a large forked stick. "She told us this was a magical staff. But it was really just a stick. It was her magic doing it all along, casting the spell."
"A spell that can remove and replace cutie-marks..." Sunset shook her head. "Okay, I like to think that I'm good with magic. Or at least I was back in school. I'm a little out of practice. But looking at something like this... yeah, it's I'm Not Worthy time, totally. That must have been some spell she came up with."
"Well, speaking for myself," Night Glider said from somewhere overhead in the darkness, "the spell was no picnic when Starlight cast it on us. It hurt!"
"Yeah," Party Favor said. "But we all thought that meant it was working. We sure felt better afterwards... when it had stopped, I mean."
"We assumed it must be black magic of some sort," said Sugar Belle. "Like maybe she got it out of a forbidden book or something?"
Sunset shook her head. "Magic alone isn't good or bad, light or dark. Sure, there are Light, Shadow, and Dark magic spells, but the difference is more in how you apply them, whether your intent is to help or do harm. Like you can use a pyro spell, which is usually classified as Shadow magic, to light a campfire. Is that good or evil? Particularly if all you want to do is roast marshmallows?"
"Well," Night Glider replied, "Starlight didn't seem to have our best interests at heart, that's all I'm saying."
"Maybe she had her reasons?" Sunset offered.
"Geez, Sunset!" objected Double Diamond. "You sound like you're defending her!"
Sunset shut her eyes for a moment, uncomfortably.
"Maybe I am," she said quietly. "Because I think I know where she was coming from." Sunset looked around at them all. "A pony who felt abandoned, who needed to do something to stop the hurt inside. And yeah, she went about it totally the wrong way, but I look at all this and I'm thinking, she wasn't just some obnoxious, power-hungry villain. She had real skill, real talent. I mean, I've studied with the best and take it from me, this is seriously competent magic! If only she'd had a chance to apply it better, to do some good with it, things might have turned out very differently."
Sunset turned to look at the sunlit glow of the cave entrance.
"And right now, I imagine she's feeling even more lost and alone, feeling like a failure, like everything's fallen apart on her. And I wish I could help. Because sooner or later it's gonna sink in she's been doing everything for the wrong reasons. And then... then she's gonna need some friends, some really good friends, to help her get out of the hole she's dug herself into."
"Wow." Double Diamond looked thoughtful. "You know, ever since Starlight ran off, we've pretty much blamed her for everything that happened. We never wanted to see her again. But now you make it seem like, if she showed up here again... we should forgive her? Try to be friends again?"
Sunset shrugged. "It's not for me to tell you what to do. I'm just saying, if she did come back and wanted to apologize... I'd at least listen. Just that, start with that and see how it goes."
There was a quiet silence, as they all trotted out of the cave and back down to the town. And Sunset worried that she might have gone too far, might have offended them, trying to be too even-hoofed about what had happened to them. But then, to her relief, with a little time back in the sunlight their moods brightened again. They quickly returned to discussing plans for the Talent Festival. And they returned to asking Sunset's opinion on everything, like the events they should hold and how to organize them.
Feeling the need to make up for dredging up bad memories, Sunset willingly pitched in, listening to them and suggesting ideas when they got stuck. She helped come up with ideas for banners, for the kinds of baked treats and other edibles they should have, for events for the athletic competition. It was a little hectic actually, with Sunset feeling like she was being dragged from pillar to post. Like the proverbial pony who, if you wanted something done, you asked her to do it, because she was already ridiculously overbooked.
Yet to her surprise, she found she liked doing it. It's like being in charge, she thought, by not being in charge. By listening, and helping others see the good things about themselves, encouraging them to do even better. When I get back to CHS, I should look into doing something like that. Like, maybe organizing the school yearbook? Yeah! Helping the class to capture their memories of the time we've all spent at school together. That'd be perfect, and I --
Sunset blinked, surprised. A short while ago, after hauling herself out of the mud-puddle, all she'd wanted to do was head back to Canterlot and Ponyville. To go home. And now? Now she wanted to get back to CHS, and to her friends there. Because there was something she could do -- something she was really qualified to do -- to help them.
And besides, she reminded herself guiltily, somepony really ought to do something about that portal, just so nopony else falls through it by accident like I did. Plus I left my bookbag on the playing field. I should go get it.
Sunset was surprised to notice that the shadows in town were getting on the long side. The afternoon had passed all too quickly, the sun was settling towards the horizon.
"Well," she said, "as much as I hate to tear myself away, I really should be getting back. It's getting late."
"Oh... well, we're glad you came to visit, Sunset," said Sugar Belle. "You seem really nice, and well... it's been nice having someone nice in charge around here, if you see what I mean."
"Yeah. We wish you could stay," Double Diamond said. "You've given us a lot to think about, and some great ideas for the festival."
"Hey, don't sell yourselves short!" Sunset objected. "From what I can see, you've got things well in hoof on your own. Just trust yourselves, give it time. Give yourselves some space to come up with stuff. And don't be afraid to fail. Because that just gives you a chance to try a different way, right?"
"You're sure we can't persuade you to stay?" asked Party Favor. "I mean, if we were going to have a town Mayor or something, I'd vote for you."
"Goes for me, too," Night Glider said.
"Heck," Double Diamond said. "You could have Starlight's old house. It's totally up for grabs."
"Don't tempt me, gang," Sunset said. "I've enjoyed every minute here, but... there's one or two things I really should see to, back where I came from. Look, if I can come back to visit I will, how about that?"
"Sure," Double Diamond said. "Any time. And thanks, Sunset!"
The villagers walked with her to the edge of town, as if reluctant to miss even a minute of her company. Not wanting to have to explain exactly how she'd gotten here, Sunset turned and waved a hoof, a little reluctantly herself.
"Well, thanks everypony. See you round, I guess."
"Uh, Sunset?" Double Diamond said, glancing at the others. "We were talking about a way to thank you for all your help, and --"
"Don't tell me," Sunset said. "You're not going to name the town after me, are you?"
"Nah," Night Glider said, waving a hoof. "We're still working on that one!"
"We'll get there," Double Diamond said. "But we did think we should name the talent festival after you: The Sunset Festival. What do you think?"
Sunset nodded, touched. "I like it, it works. But hey, don't take my word for it. Just be yourselves, be the kind of ponies you've always wanted to be, be the community you always wanted to live in. And maybe... maybe one day invite this Starlight to come visit? Let her see what you've accomplished here. I think she might feel better, knowing she was able to help you achieve it, even if only indirectly."
"You really think so?" Double Diamond asked.
Sunset had never heard a question asked with such a perfect mixture of doubt and hope before.
"Believe me," she replied. "When you mess up that bad, just being accepted again, it's... well, it's the only way you're really certain you're making up for it all."
The villagers nodded. And then waved, as Sunset walked off towards the setting sun. Then they all stood for a while in thoughtful silence, watching her disappear over a rise in the desert.
"Who was that flame-maned pony?" Night Glider said, half-seriously.
"I dunno," said Party Favor. "But she really helped everypony -- and I mean everypony here."
"Like a Princess..." Sugar Belle said quietly. "Like a real Princess... I mean, she acted just like one."
"She sure did," Night Glider agreed. "Huh, Princess Sunset! Ya know, we might make this place famous after all? The Town Where All the Princesses Come to Visit. How's that for a catchphrase?"
Everypony laughed, smiling at the thought. And then they turned their attention back to preparing for the Festival... the Sunset Festival.
And do I hope Starlight does find her way back, Double Diamond thought, amazed to find that he actually believed it. So we can invite her to come to the Festival...
After all, he added to himself, it really wouldn't be the same without her...
The End
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls,
their characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.
