Author's Note

This story has been in the works for quite a while, but now we finally feel ready to tackle it. Updates will come out as they're finished, so there's no set schedule.

If you're wondering what time frame this is, this is a little over half a decade since high school graduation. The girls are all in their mid 20s.

1 – NO ONE PLANS TO LEAVE

A bar on the sketchy end of Canterlot City wasn’t the kind of place Sunset Shimmer would have chosen to spend her first weekend night back from Equestria. Despite her outward appearance matching the vibe of such an establishment, she felt like a fish out of water. Maybe in another life, this would be a place she thrived in. The music was pretty good, she felt like she fit nicely next to the other patrons, and even with how crowded it was, the atmosphere didn’t feel oppressive.

But with how much time she’d spent in Equestria over the last few years, being on this side of the portal at all meant she felt out of place. She hated that, though she’d never say it. After all, in her heart, she was always a unicorn. Even when she was living on the human side of the portal, that never changed.

So, then, why did she resent the fact that being human felt more foreign with time?

Truthfully, it wasn’t hard for her to see, but she tried not to think about it. Equestria was her home, but everyone she’d grown to know and love lived on the other side of the portal. After the Fall Formal, she used to dream about moving back to Equestria. There, she could resume her studies—something she’d undoubtedly excel at even further than she did before with Princess Twilight’s help.

But she wasn’t staying there by her own choice. Well, it was her decision, but only because it was the right thing to do. And while she was indeed studying with Twilight, it wasn’t just to forge new frontiers in different fields of magic. Her research was focused on one thing: fixing the mess she made that fateful Fall Formal so many moons ago.

Rainbow Dash tapped Sunset’s arm.

“Hey! Sunset!”

Retrieving her head from the clouds, Sunset blinked.

“Yeah, Dash?”

“I’m bored.”

Well tough shit, Sunset thought, driving one of her canines into the center of her tongue to stop that from escaping her mouth. As bad as she wanted to let that fly, it would undoubtedly result in another argument, and that was the last thing either of them needed.

Even though she’d be right in the end. After all, it was Rainbow Dash’s fault that they were stuck waiting in this dingy dive bar. Her first Saturday night back from Equestria in who knows how long, and it was just her and Rainbow Dash waiting around instead of doing literally anything else.

“What do you want me to do about it?”

“I dunno,” grumbled Dash, drumming her fingers against the bar counter. “Honestly, I’m starting to think this might be a bust. If Lightning Dust were going to show up, she probably would have by now.”

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t care if we have to sit here until the bartender kicks us out, Dash. Unless we hear from one of the other girls or catch Lightning Dust ourselves, we stay put.” Sunset said, swallowing down the urge to further admonish her for landing them there in the first place. “Besides: you’re the one that suggested we stake out this place, why give up now?”

“I did, yeah,” Dash conceded, sipping her beer bottle as she leaned back in her barstool. “But it was kind of a stretch. This was a favorite spot of ours, since like, high school. Sure the food sucked and it’s poorly lit and smelly and skeevy but the drinks are cheap and lots of lesbians hang out here so you know, it all balances itself out.” She chuckled, a nostalgic smile emerging on her face.

“Anyway, that was then, and this is now, and I don’t wanna be here,” she continued.

"Well, that sucks," said Sunset. "But, again, what do you want me to do about it?"

Dash groaned. “If we have to sit here, the least you could do is talk to me instead of staring off into space like you do all the time.”

Sunset grabbed her own bottle, now slick with condensation. She took a sip, having to contend with the urge to spit it out when it met her tongue. So many things had changed on this side of the portal, but beer still tasted like liquid paper to her.

“How the hell did you two get in here as teenagers? Fake ID?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, Gilda used to sneak us in. She was dating this line cook who would vouch for us, and as long as we paid for our own drinks, the owner didn’t really care that we were obviously way too young to be in a place like this.”

“Gilda,” Sunset muttered. Graciously, she hadn’t heard that name in quite a while. During Sunset’s reign upon the throne of Canterlot High, Gilda was the one student that Sunset was actively wary of, mostly due to the fact that she was probably the only girl at school Sunset couldn’t take in a fight. “What’s she doing these days?”

Dash snorted. “Last I checked? Time.”

“What? Really?”

Taking a sip of her beer, Dash nodded. “Yep. She got arrested last year after an explosion in her basement burned her house down. You can probably draw your own conclusion from that.”

“Holy shit, how did I not hear about that?”

“There’s a lot you probably haven’t heard about.” she replied. “That's what happens when you’re never around.”

Sunset could detect a hint of bitterness in Dash’s tone. Maybe she was just imagining it. It was hard to tell with Rainbow Dash sometimes, but her intuition was seldom incorrect. That said, it was progressively getting harder to tell with any of the girls. The more time they spent away from each other, the more difficult it got.

What wasn’t hard to tell was how some of them never really forgave her for leaving them, for “choosing” to move back to Equestria full time. Sunset only returned once or twice a month to help deal with whatever the latest magical threat was, and there was always a mild to severe air of resentment among them because of that.

It’s not like Sunset could blame them, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t quietly enraged by it. If anything, they should have shown her some gratitude. When it came down to it, the “choice” Sunset had to make was always a losing game: stay with her friends and fight off magic for the rest of their lives, or stay in Equestria with Princess Twilight to find a way to make magic stop leaking once and for all.

Neither choice would have made her happy, but the selfless choice arguably made her even more miserable. Her first few days back in Equestria were spent sobbing in a room in Twilight’s castle because of how much she missed the closest friends she’d ever had. And yet they all acted like she wanted to do this, as if this were an affront to them. Like they thought she was just sick of them and wanted to peace out in pony land, not that she did it to protect them and their world. But if they didn’t understand by then, they probably never would.

Rainbow Dash shot her an annoyed look. “You’re doing it again.”

Sunset shook her head, forcing out a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, this feels kind of bad to say, but I’m not really surprised to hear that about Gilda.”

“Pfft, you think I was?” Dash took another small sip of her brew. “Like, yeah, it sucks for her and everything, but I know her. She had every chance to turn her life around, but she didn’t, and now she’s fucked it up for good.”

Sunset tilted her head in acknowledgement, not really sure what to add beyond that.

“I do feel kinda bad for her, though.” Rainbow stared into her half empty bottle. “Like, I want to think this will be the wake up call Gilda needs, but prison is a messed up system. It’s probably going to just make her worse, and even if she does try to change, having jail time on your record really screws your future.”

“Nonsense,” Sunset replied sarcastically. “Who wouldn’t learn their lesson after wasting away for years in a cell just to come back into society nearly unemployable?”

Dash raised her head and looked directly at Sunset. “Does Equestria have that kind of problem? I mean, I don’t even know what a justice system run by colorful ponies would look like.”

Sunset rolled her eyes at the last remark, but shrugged. “Eh, I mean, we have jails, yeah. And there’s Tartarus which is pretty much our equivalent of a maximum security prison.

“But we don’t have the bloated prisons your world has. Friendship and forgiveness are core values of our culture, so barring stuff like war crimes, punishments tend to be more of the “don’t do that again!” sort. Starlight Glimmer nearly erased Equestria from existence, and her punishment is being Princess Twilight's student—barely a slap on the wrist."

Sunset then remembered the petrified Discord in Princess Celestia’s garden that she passed by many times while serving as her ward. Or that creepy statue of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow that popped up in Twilight’s garden not long after graduation.

“Unless you really piss off one of the princesses or something. Then they’ll turn your ass to stone.”

“That’s hardcore,” replied Dash.

“No, they’re still their regular soft, squishy selves on the inside.”

Dash looked confused.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset replied.

“Well, I’ll remember to never piss off an Equestrian Princess then.” Dash shuddered.

“Highly recommend you don’t. I have some experience with that and trust me, those rainbows hurt.”

“Uh, heh, yeah.” Dash scratched the back of her neck. “Sorry about that.”

Sunset quietly scoffed. “It’s been years, Dash. Do you really think I still care?”

A lull in the conversation ensued as Rainbow Dash pretended to get a message on her phone. Sunset ostensibly observed the crowd, hoping that Lightning Dust would eventually be among them. In reality, Sunset was cursing at herself internally. Why did she bring up the Fall Formal? She hated when people reminded her of it. Yet here she was, digging it up herself.

She wished this night would just be over. It wasn’t like she didn’t like being around Rainbow Dash, but she’d been dreading having to do this since their plans were set. This was the first time they’d been alone together in a long time, and every time they spoke, it felt like she was a few wrong words away from getting into a fight with Dash.

She felt the pack of Neighports burning a hole in her pocket. The bar allowed smoking which led her to toy with the idea of lighting one up.

Thankfully, self-control prevailed in the end. Since there were no cigarettes in Equestria, she’d been off of them for a few months now. That didn’t stop her from bringing a pack wherever she went in this world, but she hadn’t indulged her vice yet. And assuming this whole Lightning Dust ordeal wrapped up soon, she’d rather not go back to Equestria dealing with headaches again.

Besides, if she were to do it right in front of Dash, she would probably receive yet another lecture about how it’s bad for her, how it shortens her life, ruins her teeth and every other school assembly talking point she’d heard for years. And considering how short tempered Sunset felt, that could only end in confrontation, and this wasn’t the time for personal squabbles.

But she really, really wanted one right now. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t stop bouncing her leg. She was tempted to tell Dash she had to use the bathroom just to go smoke up in the girls room like it was high school again. It would be too much of a risk, though. Lightning Dust could show up at any time. Then again, she wouldn't take that long, and in the event she did show up, having cooler nerves might be–

“Oh!" Dash’s exclamation cut through Sunset’s inner monologue. “Rarity just texted me and said her flight’s taking off. She should be here in a few hours.”

“Good,” Sunset remarked. “We might be able to subdue Lightning Dust, but we won’t be able to neutralize her magic until Rarity gets here.”

Sunset personally wished Rarity would have been back sooner, but she knew it wasn't fair. This wasn’t the life they’d signed up for, and even if it was, they’d been doing it since they were teenagers. Plus, even if they wanted to, they couldn’t keep doing it forever.

But after multiple arguments, it was clear they didn’t want to anyway. It was clear they all wanted to move on to normal lives, and Sunset couldn’t ask them to put their plans on hold. And it was clear they expected Sunset to make that happen.

Of course, they didn’t mind the fact that Sunset put her life, her budding career as an artist, and all the relationships she forged in this world on hold. That was just expected of her. She was always the one that had to take one for the team. If not her, then who?

Sunset reined that thought in before the bitterness inside made her swallow her tongue.

Dash finished her beer and slammed it on the counter. “Here, I got a question that’ll kill some time: what’s our group dynamic?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“You know, like…” Dash made some kind of thinking motion with her hands, “we’re basically superheroes, right?

“Superheroes?” Sunset repeated incredulously. “Don’t you think you should take this a little more seriously?”

"Just humor me on this, okay?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, but motioned for Dash to continue.

“Every superhero team has roles.” Rainbow Dash began to list them off, counting on her fingers. “Like, you got the leader, the smart guy, the big guy, the sneaky guy—you know, stuff like that.“

Sunset’s eyes darted to the side momentarily. "I don't know, I'm not sure I'm into this. Besides, remember what happened last time you got all gung-ho about being superheroes?"

“Where do we fit in?” asked Dash, ignoring the question. “Which one of us is which?”

Sunset wanted to roll her eyes and say “who cares”, but much to her chagrin, her curiosity was piqued. Sure, it was a silly question, but it offered a chance to break up the monotony of sitting and waiting, and a way to stave off further unpleasant thoughts and urges.

“Well, to start, AJ is definitely the brawn,” said Sunset. “I think we can both agree on that.”

“Well duh!” said Dash. “Even if strength wasn’t her thing, she’s still the tallest and swollest among us.”

Dash looked up, tapping her finger against her chin. “I think Pinkie Pie is like… the wild card. The super unpredictable one that does crazy shit like cut the brakes in cars.”

“You’re still not over that?” Sunset jabbed.

“I know why she had to do it, but that cost me over a thousand dollars to replace the brakes in my van, and she never even paid me back!”

Sunset chuckled. “Hard to argue with that. She’s our wild card.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed a bar napkin and a pen nearby. “Let’s write this down.”

She spent a moment scribbling on the napkin before presenting it to Sunset. Dash might as well have used this napkin to wipe up a spill, because whatever smudge Sunset was seeing was a far cry from handwriting.

“What does “gadfafislabidaka” mean?”

“Yeah, I know, my handwriting sucks, whatever.” She grabbed a fresh napkin, handing that and the pen over to Sunset. “So why don’t you write it down, miss hooves?”

“I resent that,” Sunset replied. “And write what down?”

“What role each of us have on the team, I wanna keep that shit straight!”

“Fine.” Sunset let out a theatrical sigh, placing the napkin down on the bar counter’s flat surface. She quickly scribbled down Applejack: The Brawn and Pinkie Pie: The Wildcard on it before writing out everyone else’s names, leaving a blank space after those yet to be determined. “Okay, who’s next?”

Rainbow Dash’s previously downbeat attitude had faded. In fact, she sounded downright giddy as she scooted closer to Sunset.

“Hmmmm, maybe you’d be the brains? You’re the magic researcher, after all.”

“No, I’m not the brains. That’s definitely Twilight,” Sunset said, definitively.

“Eh, I view Twi as more like the techie.”

Sunset squinted. “That’s basically the same thing. You have to have the brains to be good with tech.”

“You’re just being a pendant.”

“You mean a pedant?” Sunset corrected.

“Whatever,” Dash hissed. “Look, point is: you don’t have to be smart to know how to use tech. Even I built my own computer.”

Sunset pursed her lips. “I’m going to pretend you meant to imply you aren’t smart.”

“Wha- No! You know what I mean!”

The two of them shared a laugh. Sunset spent so much time thinking this would be miserable, but for the first time that night, it felt like old times. She hadn’t joked around with Rainbow Dash like that in so long. It was a nice feeling.

“Regardless,” Sunset began, “Twilight is the brains and I’m standing by that. Even aside from being good with technology, do you think I’d be able to figure out how even half of how magic works in this world if I didn’t have her around to help me? She’s a genius, and a creative one at that, so she’s the brains. Period.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You would say some gay shit like that.”

“Can it.” Sunset elbowed Dash in the side with more force than she intended.

Dash rubbed her side. “Fine, fine. Twilight can be the brains. She’s the only one of us that wears glasses anyways, and the smart guy in cartoons always wears glasses.”

“Glad you see it my way.” Sunset nodded in smug satisfaction.

Sunset quickly scribbled Twilight Sparkle: The Brains on the napkin.

“So, that’s Twi, AJ and Pinkie covered,” said Sunset. “What about Fluttershy?”

“The heart.” Dash said with no hesitation.

Sunset tilted her head briefly in consideration. “Yeah, I see it. You’ve got to have heart to put up with our garbage.”

Even years after they’d made amends, it still amazed Sunset that her and Fluttershy were friends—close ones at that. Considering their history, it was nothing short of a miracle. Before Fluttershy, Sunset never knew compassion could run so deep in someone. No matter how dark and deep of a hole Sunset was trapped in, Fluttershy would always be there with a rope and flashlight to help her out.

“For real,” said Dash, her voice warming up as it always tended to when she talked about her childhood friend. “Anytime there’s some kind of beef among us, she’s the one that can get us to squash it.”

“She’s the glue when we need to stick together, and the wedge when we shouldn’t.” Sunset said quietly. That second role had become essential, especially when it came to Sunset, Rainbow Dash and Rarity.

“Yeah...” Dash swirled the few remaining drops around in her bottle.

Detecting how thoroughly she’d killed the mood, Sunset tried to let it roll off.

Fluttershy: The Heart she wrote on the napkin in an attempt at a recovery.

“Now,” Sunset began, “what about Rarity?

The mere mention of the fashionista caused Rainbow Dash to perk up a bit. Unsurprisingly to Sunset, her voice regained its animated tone. Not only that, but her gaze darted around the room, as if she was trying to avoid eye contact with anything.

“Good question,” she replied. “I mean, she’s smart, but not like Twilight-smart or even you-smart.”

“Come on, Dash,” said Sunset, “you can’t tell me I have an inflated ego one night and then say something like that the next.”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “I take it back, Rarity’s smarter.”

Sunset rolled her eyes as Dash continued.

“She’s also funny, that’s kind of Pinkie’s thing. She’s also really nice, but that’s Fluttershy’s territory. She’s pretty, but that’s not really a “role” I think…” Rainbow Dash paused when she noticed Sunset laughing into her hand. “What?”

“Nothing.” Sunset waved. “Just keep talking.”

It was impossible not to notice how close Rainbow Dash and Rarity had become in her absence. It wasn’t the first instance of Dash making this obvious, but it was the most entertaining way so far.

The day prior, Sunset had gotten into a heated discussion with Rarity about when she’d be back. When Dash overheard their conversation, she started repeating the same excuses Rarity was already giving in an equally confrontational tone. Had it not been for Fluttershy’s intervention, those two yelling in Sunset’s ears at the same time might have caused her to snap.

In hindsight, Sunset understood. It was just another consequence of their dimensional distance from each other. Of course everyone else in the group was closer now, they all lived near each other. Of course everyone else in the group got to move on with their lives, it’s not like Sunset could just expect them to sit around and wait forever. Of course everyone else in the group got to live their dreams, but they deserved that.

But not Sunset. As long as magic remained as unstable as it is between their worlds, she didn’t.

Not that she even had the right to be bitter about that. She was the reason magic existed among humans now. Anyone that got hurt (or worse) as a result was her responsibility. To her knowledge, magic hadn’t killed anyone yet. But it could, and if it did, the blood would be on her hands.

Sunset didn’t deserve a normal life. The moment that crown touched her head all those years ago, her life was over.

If only she knew that at the time.

“Hello? Sunshim? I’m talking to you!”

Dash’s rasp snapped Sunset out of her self-loathing stupor. “Uh, sorry, kind of blanked out for a moment.”

“You don’t say,” she remarked, sounding annoyed. “You’ve been doing that a lot since you’ve been here this time around.”

Sunset awkwardly shrugged. “My bad.”

Rainbow’s face shifted to a look of genuine concern.

“Are your powers acting up again? We can go stand outside if there’s too many people in here or–”

“Dash,” Sunset cut her off, more curt than she intended. “I’m fine. I’ve gotten pretty good at blocking out thoughts over the past few years. Even with how much we've all been using our powers, it’s only a problem if everyone’s powers are going off at the same time. I’ll be okay.”

“Well if that’s not it, it has to be something,” she prodded. “Just because I only see you every couple of months doesn’t mean I don’t know you anymore.”

That was questionable.

Sunset let out a brief sigh. “It’s nothing we should discuss right now, but after this whole Lightning Dust fiasco, we’ll sit down as a group and talk about it.”

Leaning forward, Dash’s eyes went wide. “Did you find a way to stop the magic leaks?”

Sunset grew tense. “Like I said, we’ll talk about it. Let’s focus on the matter at hand.” She gave Dash an unconvincing smile. “But I appreciate you trying to look out for me, though.”

Dash returned the smile, one looking about as strained as hers. Strangely, that made Sunset feel a little better about her own reaction.

“Always.” It looked like Rainbow Dash wanted to say more, but whatever it was refused to come out. Sunset could relate.

“Anyway, what were we talking a-oh right!” Sunset snapped her fingers. “Rarity is… I don’t know, the mouth?”

“The what now?” Dash raised an eyebrow, looking a tad flushed.

Sunset stifled a laugh to elaborate. “You know! Like… she’s easily the most charismatic out of all of us.”

“Excuse me?” Dash sounded offended.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you know what I mean. That girl can sweet talk her way in and out of anything. I’m pretty sure she could sell ice in winter or fire in Hell if she wanted. It’s what got her to get so far in the fashion world, right? She’s very persuasive—you of all people should know that.”

Dash held up her hands in surrender. “I guess anyone who can successfully convince me to wear a poofy dress has to be a pretty smooth talker.”

Ultimately, Sunset decided against making a comment about how that probably didn’t take much convincing at all.

Once more Sunset, grabbed the all important Napkin and wrote Rarity: The MouCharmer

Sunset looked down the Napkin, their names being the only two without a subtitle written next to them. “Okay, that just leaves us now.”

Dash leaned back in her stool, placing her hands behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. “I think we both know what I am.”

“Oh, really?” Sunset asked with an air of doubt. “What’s that?”

“The leader, duh.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t just Dash asserting herself as the leader, or how quickly and casually she said it; it was how she assumed Sunset thought that as well.

“I don’t know about that.”

“What are you talking about?” Dash’s tone almost made it seem like she thought Sunset was stupid for disagreeing with her.

“Since when am I not the leader? When did this happen?”

Dash shrugged. “I mean, you were, but since you only pop in like, what—once or twice a year at this point? Somebody has to be the full-time leader of the Rainbooms, and that somebody actually has to be here to be that.”

If Sunset were detecting bitterness in her words before, she was tasting acid in them now. Still, her focus was turned to something else.

“You still refer to us by our old high school band name?”

“What? That name kicks ass!” Dash whined, crossing her arms in a huff.

“Sure, I guess it’s a cool name,” she conceded, “but doesn’t that feel a little egotistical? Since it’s named after you.”

“Sunset, we literally shoot rainbows when we link up for our big magical girl attack. I think it’s a pretty damn fitting name!”

“Yeah, but we don’t shoot rainbows because of you,” she argued.

“You don’t know that,” Dash countered. “For all you know, the elements saw how awesome I was and decided to design our attack based on me. If you got an issue with it, take it up with them.”

Sunset flashed an incredulous grin. “Well, I haven’t talked to the Elements since the Fall Formal ages ago, but if I see them again, I’ll make sure to ask if that’s true.

“And if it is true, maybe I’ll ask why we can’t have an apple, or diamond, or maybe even a sunset themed attack. Just for variety’s sake.”

Dash’s eyes grew wide again. “Wait, you actually talked to the Elements?”

Sunset winced upon realizing she brought up the Formal yet again, but nodded nonetheless.

“And you didn’t tell us?”

She giggled. “The things I haven’t told you about me could fill this bar.”

“Okay, but you can’t just bring that up and not tell me what they said.”

Sunset shook her head. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“We're the same age.”

“As far as you know.”

In actuality, Sunset wasn’t really interested in discussing an important moment in her life that ended with her sobbing in a crater any more than she already had that night.

Rainbow Dash squinted, recognizing she was being messed with. “Fine, whatever, I don’t care anymore.”

Sunset chuckled. “Okay, can we get back to why you are completely wrong because I’m still the leader of our group and not you?”

“A leader’s the one that does the planning right?”

Sunset glanced to the side. “Yeah, but–”

“Well who's the one that coordinated this stake out for Lighting Dust? Me, bitch!” Dash argued, meeting Sunset right in the eye. “Without me, we wouldn’t know what to do. But because of my plan, The rest of the girls are looking around Dust’s old haunts right now, and we wouldn’t even know where to look without my intel.

“That, and who do you think is the one who convinced Rarity to come home early?” She added with that insufferable smug grin of her’s. “If it weren’t for me, she was ready to make us wait another week.”

Sunset glared at Rainbow right back. If Dash wanted to fight, Sunset came ready for war. “Okay, sure, that’s true. But when we fought Dust yesterday, I was the one out on the field calling the shots. I was the one that set the trap for Dust that almost worked. And if I’m not mistaken, you were the one that ruined it by letting her bait you into setting her free.”

She knew she shouldn’t have said that, but her own bitter words came with a much needed aftertaste. Maybe it was all fun and games between them until that point, but Dash’s arrogance was becoming grating, and Sunset felt she needed a reminder why they were stuck here in the first place.

Dash took it as well as Sunset expected: not at all. Her eyes narrowed, her fists clenched as did her jaw.

“Fine, I get it,” she began. “I already said I shouldn’t have let Dust make me lose my cool like that, and I won't make the same mistake this time. Do we really have to do this again?” She was trying to keep her voice level and doing a piss poor job of it.

“Dash, Lightning Dust is fucking dangerous. She could have killed you, or me, or any of us. We’re lucky it seems like she’s more interested in screwing with us than taking advantage of all that power she has. If this were someone with a brain bigger than a teenager’s-”

“I get it!” Rainbow Dash snapped, the blaring music and conversation of the bar patrons loud enough to drown out the sharpness of her voice. “Do you really think I don’t already know that?”

“I don’t know, Dash,” she argued. “You’re over here talking about being the leader, but–

“Okay! Fine! You’re the fucking leader! Are you happy now? Or do I need to go home and spend all night thinking about how I fucked up again?” Her voice cracked, sounding as though tears were welling in her eyes. Rainbow looked down on the floor, her fiery confidence from before now just a piddling, defensive ember.

Sunset anticipated a negative reaction to her words, but not one like this.

“Dash, I wasn’t trying to–”

“It’s just been hard.” Rainbow Dash rested her forehead in her hand. “It's hard trying to do your job when you're not here. It’s hard not having you around. It’s just not the same. I miss you—everyone does. I’m just trying to keep everyone together, but it’s so hard when it always feels like something’s missing.”

The very last sparks of Sunset’s anger towards Dash were smothered, and from those ashes rose guilt. Sunset wasn’t about to make this any more about herself, though.

“Being in charge sucks, doesn’t it?” She said, genuine sympathy in her voice.

“Yeah, it really does.” Rainbow let out an empty chuckle. “Like, honestly, I was always kind of jealous that you were, like… the center of us. But trying to do your job is hard. It’s scary, like, realizing everyone’s lives are in your hands, you know?”

Sunset nodded, sliding her palm over Dash’s hand.

“This all used to feel like fun. Like we were superheroes, or magical girls, or some shit like that. The stakes never felt this high, even though now I realize they’ve kinda always been. But stuff like this keeps happening, and the more dangerous it gets, the less I wanna do it.”

Dash took a deep breath, her voice again cracking, trying her hardest not to display the emotions she was bursting at the seams with. Sunset knew how much she hated crying in front of others. She was the exact same way.

“I know it’s serious. I know what Lightning Dust can do. I know that if something happened to someone yesterday, it would be my fault and I’d never forgive myself for it. I know what’s at stake here, Sunset, I’m only trying not to think about it all the time.”

Sunset pulled Dash into a hug, Dash burying her head in Sunset’s shoulder as if she’d been wanting to for a while.

“I don’t know how you do it, SunShim.” Rainbow murmured.

Sunset made a noise that tried to sound like a laugh but didn't really hit the mark. “I don’t. Trust me Dash, I’ve been doing the leader thing scared out of my mind since we were in high school. I’m not much better, I’m just better at hiding how freaked out I get.”

Sunset let out a deep sigh. “I just wish there was more I could do while I’m in Equestria.”

“I mean,” Rainbow Dash pulled away from Sunset, “you could always–”

“Dash, don’t–”

“Why can’t you just–”

“We’re not having this discussion again.” Sunset slapped her palm on the counter. “I didn’t want to leave, but it was the only choice I had. As long as magic acts the way it does, I have to find a way to stop it because I never want what happened to Twilight to happen to any of you ever again.

“So no, I can’t stay on this side of the portal. Not until I fix the mess I started years ago, and the only way I’m going to figure out how is with Princess Twilight’s help. You have to understand that, Dash. I’m doing this for all of you.”

There was a look in Dash’s eye, one Sunset knew too well. It wasn’t negative, but it was one Sunset hated to see nonetheless.

It was pity.

“Sunset, what happened to Twilight wasn’t-”

“Stop.” Her command was quiet, calm, but there was a force behind it that made Rainbow get the message immediately.

It made Sunset feel a little guilty, like Dash was a puppy she’d just kicked, but Rainbow Dash knew better than to go there. Sunset knew what she was responsible for, and she wouldn’t hear any different. The only way she saw to atone was to give Twilight and her friends the normal lives they deserved by any means necessary, and that was not up for discussion.

Sunset sighed, once again feeling as though she’d killed the mood. She stared at her increasingly lukewarm beer, a wave of exhaustion washing over her. It was far too early in the night to be feeling like this.

Thankfully, Dash broke the silence between them.

“You know, I think I know where I fit in the group. Something that suits me way better than being the leader.”

Sunset turned her head, curiously raising an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

Dash flashed Sunset a shit eating grin.

“Sex appeal.”

There was a pause.

And then Sunset smiled.

And then Dash started to chuckle.

And then Sunset started to laugh.

Soon both of them were cackling, Sunset literally slapping her palm on the bar, tears welling in her eyes. It had been a long time since she’d had a laugh like that, and it was over the stupidest thing. But that was okay. Dash’s ability to make her do that was one of her favorite things about her.

“Here, I’ve got an actual idea,” Sunset remarked. “I think you’ll like it.”

Sunset wrote out Rainbow Dash: The Technician onto the Napkin.

“The technician?” Dash echoed.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I mean, I could say, like… the speed or something, but you’re not just fast; you’re quick and dexterous. And... besides, if I were to pick any role to take over when the leader is MIA, I'd say the one that's as quick-footed as she is quick-witted."

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Who’s feeding whose ego now?”

“Don’t push your luck,” said Sunset.

Last on the Napkin was herself; Sunset Shimmer: The Leader.

“Now, does that answer your question?” Sunset gave Dash a smile.

“I think that’s it.” Dash nodded and smiled back. “That’s our dynamic.”

Despite all the twists and turns in their conversation, that moment, it felt like everything would be okay. All the distance and time apart accumulated didn’t seem to matter all that much anymore. Rainbow Dash was Sunset’s friend, just like the rest of the girls were, and as long as they were all around, nothing could sever that bond.

“That’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen.”

A hand landed on both of their shoulders, the warm mood between them pushed away by a frigid gust. Before they could turn to look, Lightning Dust roughly pushed Rainbow Dash into the seat next to her as she took the space between them. Grabbing Sunset’s beer, she made a show of taking the biggest swig she could, clanking it down on the counter with a firm “ahh” afterwards.

Sunset wanted to bang her head against the bar counter. She was as humiliated as she was terrified. They were here to catch her, yet they were caught with their pants down.

Dash looked ready to hurl every curse word she knew at Dust, but before she could, her old high school rival wrapped her arms around both Rainbow and Sunset.

“If either of you try anything, you two and everyone in this whole fucking bar are going to be on the news tonight.”

Lighting Dust flexed her fingers, arcs of blue energy rising from the webbing to the tips. The lighting in the bar fluctuated, the music began to skip, the girls’ hair began to frizz. Both of them held their breath, half expecting Lightning Dust to finish them right then and there.

When the patrons began to notice the lights, she clenched her fist, and everything went back to normal. Soon, the sounds of bar goers chatting resumed as if nothing happened.

The entire bar was unaware they were being held hostage by Lightning Dust, everyone aside from Rainbow Dash and Sunset.

“You don’t have to do this,” Dash spoke with trembling bravado. “Your issue is with me, right? Then fine, we leave, and you do what you want with me; but leave Sunset, my friends, and all these innocent people out of it, okay?”

Sunset wouldn’t ever let Dash sacrifice herself like that, but Dust cut her off before she could vocalize that.

“Oh, Dashie, that’s so fucking noble! I could just vomit in your lap right now.” Dust sneered, rolling her eyes. “You know, I actually considered killing your friends first before stopping by here since I know where they’re all at. I knew you’d be sending them to search our old spots.

“Would have been real easy too. Just zip to each spot, zap them to death then run over to the next spot, rinse and repeat.”

It was hard to tell whether Dash or Sunset was more tense after that. The thought of her hurting Twilight lit a spark of fury in Sunset, but she kept it covered as best she could.

“And, like, I gotta be honest, it would have been so funny to see your reactions! You’d be stammering, and crying and–”

“Hey, LD!” The bartender stood across from the trio, a smile on his face. “Haven’t seen you here in a hot minute! What can I get for ya?”

“Hmm.” Lightning Dust sat for a few moments, pretending to shuffle through the choices in her head. “I don’t know, surprise me! And make it something real expensive! These two have me covered tonight, right girls?”

Sunset and Dash shared a look, but when they felt the hair raising on the back of their necks either from fear or the static Lightning Dust was emitting, they nodded.

“Comin’ right up!” he said, walking to the other end of the counter. As soon as he was out of earshot, Lightning Dust continued.

“Anyway, I didn’t! Your stupid friends are all fine.” Dust pulled them both closer. “Now say thank you.”

A few seconds of silence ticked by. The girls’ hair stood up even more as they felt the slow build of electricity from inside Lightning Dust.

“I said say thank you,” she repeated.

“Thank you,” they both said through gritting teeth.

“You’re welcome!” Dust relaxed her grip, but kept them held close. “But I am getting pretty bored of this game. It’s been like, what, two, three days, give or take?”

That prompted a slow, nervous nod from both Dash and Sunset.

“That basically means I win, right? I mean, what’s stopping me from zapping you two and going after your friends right after, hmm? After all, I could be doing so much more than toying with you losers. Think of all the damage I can cause!”

Sunset tensed even harder, unaware of the fact that she was now holding her breath.

“Because then it wouldn’t be a real win, would it?” asked Dash.

Her blood running cold, Sunset stared wide-eyed at Rainbow Dash, desperately hoping she had some kind of plan and wasn’t just egging her old rival on.

“I don’t know,” Lightning Dust replied. “I’ve only been toying with you all this whole time, I think it’s safe to say I’ve won.”

“Yeah, but you’ve never gone against us directly,” argued Dash. “You can fry us a piece at a time, sure, but that would be cheap. And you’d have to spend the rest of forever knowing you couldn’t beat us in a one on one fight.”

Sweat began to bead on Sunset’s brow. Lightning Dust looked incensed, but she hadn’t killed them yet.

“One on one?” Dust repeated. “Dash, I know math was never your strong suit—or any subject for that matter—but there are seven of you, and one of me. I have to take what I can get.”

Lightning Dust began to glow a faint shade of blue. Sunset closed her eyes, waiting for the moment it was all over.

“But aren’t you the strongest there is now? That’s what you said. You should be able to take on fourteen of us by yourself.” Dash smirked. “Or maybe you’re not as great as you say you are. I mean, what would you expect from someone whose high school band name was The Washups.”

Lightning Dust’s playful demeanor vanished, a sour look spreading across her face.

“It was The Washouts,” she growled.

“Same difference,” Dash replied.

Dust glared at her silently for a few seconds before bringing the two closer again.

“Okay, fine,” she began. “Tonight, in the wee hours of the morning, I want all of you to meet me at the parking lot of the abandoned Canterlot Mall. We’re gonna settle this once and for all. Because it’s not enough for me to just be better than Dashie now, I want to prove I can outdo all of you wannabe magical girls at once—fair and square! Deal?”

Rainbow and Sunset exchanged a look, Dash giving Sunset a confident nod.

“Deal,” she agreed.

“Great! I’ll see you both tonight then. I hope you both bring your A game. Though, it’s not like it’s going to matter.”

Lightning Dust took her arms off the girls and got out of her chair, taking one last gulp of beer.

“Oh, and Sunset?”

Dust looked right into the redhead’s eyes, flashing her a malicious grin that reminded Sunset far too much of herself during her worst days.

“You might want to check up on Sparky. I heard her talking about you when I zipped by her earlier, and she just sounded so sad, it tugged at my heart.”

Before taking off, Lightning Dust picked up the napkin. With a wave of her fingers, Dust incinerated it right in front of her. After that, she winked at Sunset, grabbing a stranger and pulling them in front of her. By the time the stranger turned to see who it was that grabbed them, Lightning Dust was gone.

Sunset looked down at ashes on the ground that were once a napkin. As the bar goers moved along, the small pile was spread across the floor until it was no more.

Of course, the napkin’s demise wasn’t what really upset Sunset.

It’s what Dust said about Twilight. Was that true, or was she just trying to get in Sunset’s head?

If it were the latter, it worked. That spark of fury was now a raging inferno, especially knowing that Dust was so close to Twilight. If Lightning Dust actually went through with killing her, Sunset would have torn her apart limb from limb, lightning powers notwithstanding.

Dash spoke up, freeing Sunset from what was an increasingly morbid fantasy. “Look, I know that was probably stupid of me, but what choice did we have? It was accept her terms or d- hey! Where are you going?”

“Did you not hear her?” asked Sunset as she stood up from her chair. “Like, yeah, thank you, you saved our asses, but we have to tell the others and get going now.”

“Hang on,” Dash replied, “the bartender is coming with the drink.”

Sunset’s mouth fell open.

“Rainbow Dash, are you fucking kidding me?”

“What?” she argued. “I don’t like keeping an open tab!”

Firmly grasping Dash’s wrist, Sunset yanked her out of her seat. Using her free hand, she dug her phone out of her pocket, calling her first speed dial contact. As she waited for Twilight to pick up, running down the sidewalk, she wondered what they were going to do. They had a location, but no time for a plan, and as long as Rarity wasn’t there, it felt pointless to try and come up with anything.

But someone had to think of something. And if not her, then who?