“Unbelievable.” Limestone chewed on her own lip angrily, after taking another swig of her beer bottle. “So Pinkie and Maud got a taste and I’m just in line? What am I, chopped liver?”

“And you still said yes to this, heh.” Sunset amused herself, taking a drink of her own bottle. “But hey, we can just shake hooves and tell Pinkie we struck out, if you’re not interested.”

“Well I never said that.” The Earth pony barked, leaning on the bar table with a slight fluster on her face. “I’m here, you’re here, you’re hot, let’s see where the night goes. At least I got this before Marble. Sheesh.”

“Hah, sure.” Sunset shrugged. The bar around them was not lively or even full, there were very few ponies around, and they were alone in their particular section, backs facing a wall.

Blinking twice, then turning to the Earth Pony, Sunset made a grimace of surprise. “Wait. You find me attractive?”

“Um. Yeah?” Limestone tilted her head in confusion. “You’re pretty hot. Do you not know?! Have you not been told that before?”

“Huh. I guess once or twice?” She couldn’t even remember when. “Actually, no. Nope. I have no clue.” A few seconds passed, where she scanned her memories for any compliment to her appearance that wasn’t platonic, and after a few from Flash popped up, she reached a recent example. She shook her head, smiling. “Wait. Pinkie; She wouldn’t stop complimenting me when we were making out.”

“That sister of mine, I swear.” She growled, rolling her eyes. “At least she has good taste when it counts...”

“You Pie sisters seem all completely different from each other…!” With a chuckle, Sunset tilted her head. “There’s no bad blood between you, right?”

“Can we please not talk about my sisters.” She pleaded, gritting her teeth. “No bigger turn off than that.”

“I’m fine with whatever, frankly.” Sunset shrugged, her gaze idle, uninterested.

A few boring seconds passed with the Paladin’s mind elsewhere, neither of them saying anything, until she remembered something.

“...Nightmare Night is in a few weeks, right?” Her gaze was far.

“Yep.” Limestone blew raspberries. “Can we not do small talk too?”

Sunset shrugged, taking another drink of beer, and then slowly, she became curious. “...Do you want to tell me what you find attractive about me?”

This immediately prompted the Earth Pony to talk. “Your mane is messy, but in the perfect way– it’s a style, it shows that you move, it shows that you work, and that you don’t care about what others think– A fact that is supported by you wearing badass armor indoors.” Limestone said with a devious smile, nodding along as she did it. Truthfully, Sunset was wearing her full armor, her helmet was the only absent one, resting on the table.

“Pff. I’m a paladin. I’d be a pretty lousy one if I didn’t–” Then she took another drink. “Some ponies judge me for wearing proper protection in most places I go, jokes on them– If a battle ensues, I’m always at the ready, and besides, I earned this armor!”

“That’s what I’m talking about, heh. You don’t care what others think.” She grinned, pointing at her date. “And the badass warrior look? It works on you. You’ve got the scars to prove it.”

“Damn right. I earned those too.” Sunset affirmed sternly, taking another drink. “Wait, and you think that’s hot?”

“You’re joking, right?!” Limestone raised an eyebrow, snickering to herself. “Scars are hot! Have you seen yourself in the mirror? So many Unicorns are wimps, but somehow you’re buffer than most Earth Pony workers I know!”

“Pff, yeah. Most unicorns rely on magic only for everything.” She looked at the table, absentmindedly spinning her cup idly. “Earth Ponies have their strength, and the Pegasi can literally fly. I knew, from an early age, that I wanted to master everything, the best of all worlds. I wanted to be the best, because…” She silenced herself, ignoring the unfulfilled dreams of being an alicorn.

“--An overachiever, huh?” Limestone mocked, nodding.

“Sure, you could say that.” Sunset let out a shrug, those days were long behind her. “But no matter how much work you put into it, you’ll never be the best. There’s a ceiling you can reach– And you can’t do anything but slam your head into it like an insect. …You’ll never, ever be worthy.”

“Sounds like bullshit to me, but hey…” She shrugged as well, taking another drink. “...For what it’s worth, you seem plenty worthy, from where I’m sitting.” It was meaningless flattery, but it still meant something.

“Bah.” Sunset’s head felt heavy, she felt tired and unenergized. “It doesn’t matter.” That life was behind her, no matter how much it still hurt.

Silence passed, with her mind wandering. Limestone looked at her intently. “So… Are you stronger than the average Earth Pony? You sure look like it…”

“I’d say ‘let’s test this question’, but you’re not average, are you?” Giving her an up and down glance, Sunset smirked. “You clearly work out. Pinkie told me– Rock farm, right?”

“Unfortunately.” Limestone barked, with an angry shrug. “I hate that work. Grading, annoying, and frustrating– Living with my parents too, ugh– But let’s not talk about it– C’mon, show me what you’ve got–”

Sunset waited no longer. Nearly pouncing, she grabbed limestone by the front hooves and pinned her against the wall fiercely.

Their muzzles were incredibly close, and Limestone had been caught completely off guard, her face reddening thoroughly.

She struggled for a moment, all whileSunset looked through her, continuing to pin her.

“Show me what you’ve got, then.” The Paladin commanded, raising an eyebrow.

Limestone struggled and winced– Straining herself, while trying to avert eye contact and trying to avert being flustered even more.

Sunset raised a single amused eyebrow as she saw the Earth Pony making headway, grunting, and looking angrier and angrier. “C’mon then, overpower me.”

With one final snarl, she pushed Sunset off of her, who herself landed perfectly, grinning. “Not bad. Earth Pony strength is really something when you actually build upon it, huh?”

After a couple of uneasy, flustered breaths, Limestone managed to speak up. “Y-you went easy on me, right?!”

“Maybe.” With a shrug, Sunset took a seat once more, and then a drink.

“So, um…” looking down angrily, and yet flustered, she spoke through gritted teeth. “Isn’t this the part where you offer to take me home, or something…?”

“Okay, that sounds a bit desperate!” Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle, nearly choking on her drink.

Embarrassed, Limestone covered her face with a hoof. “I haven’t gotten laid in ages okay?!”

“If that’s all you wanted, we could have skipped this whole song and dance altogether from the beginning.” Sunset came closer, smirking, abandoning her drink. “Want to go to my place and break some shit?”

Limestone let out a loud groan and exhale. “For the love of Celestia, YES.”

The soft yet firm strike of a pillow hitting her in the head made Limestone finally wake from her slumber, where she immediately groaned in annoyance.

The perpetrator of the cruel strike, Sunset, was in the kitchen. “Wake up, Lime! I’ve got to go work in a bit, breakfast, going once–”

“--Shit, fuck, I’m up!” She nearly fell off bed, forcing herself up, and quickly had to take in the surroundings of Sunset’s apartment as she recovered herself from the stupor of waking.

Sunset was already wearing her armor, minus the helmet, and was eating both from Pancakes and a fruit bowl while absentmindedly reading from a newspaper.

“Blergh. What time is it?” The Earth pony shot a glance to the open window, where the sun was barely rising.

“Early, heh.” Sunset shot her a glance and a smirk. “I thought working at a rock farm would have you wake up early often?”

“Yeah, but I still wake up tired after workouts, heheheh.” She gave the Unicorn a knowing glance, which was reciprocated. “Sorry for the bed and the, uh, wall, by the way.” She gave out an awkward look at the damaged furniture, and Sunset simply shrugged. She was getting used to this.

Before Limestone took a decisive bite from her pancake, her gaze was drawn to one of the walls.

“Dang, you got pictures of my sisters up here?” She questioned, narrowing her eyes. There were indeed multiple pictures of Sunset and Pinkie attending parties, bars, and all sorts of gatherings, sometimes even accompanied by the Princess of Friendship, and aside from that, a couple of pictures of Maud and the Paladin in different caves, doing busy work or posing idly for the camera, one or two even with Pinkie present.

“Pinkie started hanging them up– Then I started doing it by myself too.” She spoke, absentmindedly, nodding towards the old camera on her desk.

“Heh. This one is cute.” Limestone pointed at a particular one. It was a library, in which Sunset and the Princess of Friendship were seemingly studying together, closely inspecting the same book, alone otherwise.

The Paladin gave it a shy glance. “Pinkie snuck a picture when we weren’t looking. …It’s just my job…” It was more than that.

Turning back to her breakfast, the Earth pony shrugged with a smile. “Whatever. Dang, we didn’t take pictures, did we? Maybe next time.”

“Sorry, Lime. One night stand.” With a light chuckle, Sunset didn’t even raise her eyes from the newspaper.

“W-what?! Ah shit!” She brought a flustered hoof to her face, and groaned in anger. “If I knew this was a one time thing, I would have gone for a few more rounds! Shit!”

All Sunset could do is snicker, and shake her head.

“Not fair.” Limestone pouted in anger. “Pinkie and Maud get multiple dates and I only get one? Fuckin’ bullshit.”

“Pinkie and I work in the same castle, and Maud was… Insistent.” She continued to amuse herself. “It is what it is.”

“Sure. It is a load of crap, is what it is.” She groaned, rubbing her own temples. “Well… Back to the rock farm, I guess.”

Finally, Sunset’s eyes abandoned the newspaper, and her focus was fully on Limestone. She had considered this conversation since the previous night, and was unsure if it was even her place to say. “About that…” She tilted her head analytically. “You seem to hate that job– And it seems unfulfilling to you. Are you doing that for the rest of your life?”

“It’s a family business. You wouldn’t understand.” She barked, shrugging.

Sunset ignored that jab, and continued, ignoring any irony that would come from her of all people saying what she was about to say. “If you hate your circumstances, the only pony stopping you from leaving them is you. I think you could do better elsewhere.”

“Hah! That’s a riot.” Dismissing her, the Earth Pony shrugged. “Where?”

“The royal guard, for starters.” She spoke in complete assurance, with a nod of her horn pointing towards the castle beyond their windows.

Limestone was deadpan, surprised for a moment, but then she broke out into a snicker. “Good one. Pinkie didn’t tell me you were a joker.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you have a lot of repressed anger, and you are quite strong.” Sunset pointed out with a confident smile. “I think you need an outlet for it.”

“Hey pot. It’s me, kettle.” Limestone tilted her head, with a frown.

Ignoring her, Sunset continued. “And you have a dangerous lack of purpose. You need a healthy routine, training, and social interactions with groups of ponies doing the same thing you are. And what’s more, you’d get to do your part in keeping Equestria safe.”

The words did hit the target efficiently. Limestone blinked a few times, and shot a glance to the castle, considering it.

Then she shook her head. “Pff. As if. I couldn’t hack it. Just a rock farmer, remember?”

“I was an orphan, and I’m now a paladin.” She affirmed strongly. “Don’t underestimate yourself, ever.”

“Still…” Limestone scratched her scalp, feeling a tad uneasy. “I dunno…”

“...Sorry if this seems out of nowhere.” Sunset groaned, with an exhale, shaking her head. “The original Captain of the royal guard resigned and left to continue his work on the Crystal Empire a few years ago– It’s frustrating to me, ‘cause my job is to look after the princess, his sister, and the royal guard, in its state, feels incompetent and aimless. No guard has risen to the ranks of Captain, and it’s infuriating to be the only pony so determined on protecting the Princess–”

She shut her mouth, blowing air from her nostrils, and centered the conversation.

“--Sorry about that. Politics are infuriating– Let’s get back on topic.” She looked intently at the Earth Pony. “Pinkie left the rock farm to be a bard– Even Maud, who LOVES rocks, left the rock farm to be a caver.” Sunset grinned, tilting her head. “And I know you might resent them for it, but I think you should take it as an example. Why can’t Limestone Pie also find purpose outside of home?”

The Earth pony remained silent, the cogs in her head spinning.

Groaning, Limestone huffed, looking away. “I’d have to disappoint my parents, I guess, if I were gonna try this– Which I’m not saying I will.” She looked back to Sunset. “‘Cause it seems like an ANNOYING amount of effort; And I’m not exactly a fan of politics.”

“I’m not saying this is what you should do for the rest of your life– I'm saying it’s worth trying. Getting better, growing stronger, being better– It’s always an annoying amount of effort… But it’s worth it.” She spoke from experience. And just then, Sunset took that moment to give her last argument, with a grin. “Also, I work in the castle often. If you became a guard, you’d get to see me again.”

“Fuck it, I’m in.”

A twitching, broken, yet functioning construct. An automaton, seemingly resembling a large knight pony armor, somehow managed to reach the balcony of Canterlot Castle where Twilight had been studying.

Sunset scanned the threat briefly. Purple shadows were seeping from the cracks in its armor, it was hollow, animated completely through magic, and yet– It seemed to be entirely unstable.

No more time for analysis. “WATCH IT!” She immediately leapt into action, standing between the Princess and the threat.

Twilight was completely caught off guard, accidentally having knocked several of her books in the tussle.

The helmet of the automaton pried open, or rather, twisted, broke open, as the armor twitched, and several shadow blasts flew towards the paladin, who deflected them with her horn easily.

She took one moment to look back, seeing the Princess, uneasy and hesitating, unsure of what to do. “I’ll pry the chestplate off, you get ready to hit it with a light blast!” The Paladin commanded thoroughly.

And just like that, as if a switch had been flipped, Twilight smiled confidently and readied herself, trusting Sunset implicitly. “R-right!”

Galloping forward with determination, the Paladin dodged the strikes of the automaton fiercely, leaping onto its back, and after a single hoof strike, she began prying the chestplate open with her hooves and magic, revealing the shadows within puppeteering it.

“Now, go!” Sunset bellowed, and Twilight obeyed immediately. Channeling her magic in less than a second, she blasted a powerful, blinding ray of light at the armor, delivering swift destruction upon it, and then some.

Sunset was blasted away with it, nearly falling off of the balcony, quickly recovering with a teleport and a flip.

“O-oh gosh!!!” Twilight ran to her. “I almost blasted you! A-are you okay?!”

“Fine, don’t worry–” Sunset couldn’t help but let out an ironic chuckle, letting out a weary exhale. “That alicorn magic is really something, huh…?” She tried her absolute best to contain any envious undertone in her words.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Twilight came closer, taking a proper look at her Paladin, tilting her head to study her.

“H-hey! My job is to look after you, not the other way around!” The slightest fluster appeared on her face, as she inspected Twilight the same way.

After a brief, awkward silence, where they were both impeccably close to each other, Sunset cleared her throat.

Twilight forced herself to look away, with a light fluster, looking at their defeated opponent.

The broken armor, previously animated by dark magic, now laid devoid of it, crumbled on the floor. Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle, turning her gaze towards the Paladin, smiling warmly. “We make a good team!”

“I guess so, heh.” She shrugged, not giving it another second thought, despite reciprocating the warm smile given to her.

Before anything else, the Princess tilted her head, inspecting Sunset, and asking a personal question. “Sunset… Can you not do light magic?”

The question hit Sunset like a brick to the face– But her surprise vanished quickly; After all, the Princess had always been incredibly clever. “...I can, kind of. It’s not my strong suit, it’s never been.” She absentmindedly looked away. “I knew you could, so I chose to rely on you. Don’t worry, it won’t be a habit– You can count on me for dealing with threats alone, you won’t have to do anything–”

“I like fighting together!” Twilight gave her an assuring smile. “We can make up for what the other lacks, right?”

Once again, surprise, Sunset had nothing to say for a moment, she was simply, once more, surprised by the kindness and humility of the Princess.

Finally, she forced herself to speak with an awkward smile. “Pff… You don’t need me anyway–”

Twilight immediately silenced her with a hoof to her lips and a firm “Nuh uh! None of that. I wouldn’t have this any other way.” She gave the Paladin an assuring smile.

More silence, as Sunset looked away from her, sighing, with a thankful smile.

Stammering, clearing her throat, Twilight fidgeted. “And, um, if you’d like me to teach you how to do light magic properly, I could…?”

Chuckling, she shrugged. It wasn’t a matter of can or can’t. Elemental magic was always a matter of harnessing emotion, and some emotions she struggled with. “Maybe. Let’s take a rain check, and focus on this.” She pointed at the now defeated automaton, and approached it.

Sniffing the air, crouching down, the Princess inspected the now inanimate piece of armor. “Now– How in Equestria did this thing get all the way up here, through the Castle’s defenses…?”

“And why, too?” Sunset did the same, narrowing her eyes. “Actually… I can think of a few reasons.” She turned her gaze to Twilight, worryingly.

Suddenly, shockingly, both of them heard Celestia’s voice behind them. “A vessel of the shadows. No doubt guided by instinct, not directive. It seemed defective, as well…”

“EEP!” Twilight nearly leaped into the air, her wings unfurling themselves, while Sunset got into a battle stance, and immediately relaxed; Still wary.

“Were you–” Sunset coughed, eye twitching, trying to center herself. “Were you watching us the entire time?!”

“No?” Celestia lied poorly, blatantly. She had been watching as soon as the automaton had attacked, unseen, paying close attention to these two.

Clearing her throat, Sunset turned to Twilight, then the automaton, doing her best to ignore the Queen of the Sun. “Okay. This thing came from the air– And it somehow crossed the barrier, I’ll have to get a word in with the department in the castle responsible for magical defense. I swear, security here is getting worse by the day.” She groaned, narrowing her eyes. “U-um. Not a jab on you.” She quickly muttered to the Queen of the Sun.

“An excellent idea, Sunset.” Celestia nodded, with a slight smile. “We may be able to ensure that sneak attacks like this will not happen again, organized or not.”

“Hm.” The Paladin nodded, averting her gaze. “I’m also hoping I’ll get to track down where it came from; Stop the issue at its source.”

“No need.” Celestia shook her head, coming closer to the piece of armor, pointing at a part of it. “See these engravings?”

Twilight, ears twitching, tail flickering, leaned down, almost excited. “Oh My goodness! I’ve seen these before– Those are from the temple of the moon, aren’t they? On the dark side of the Everfree forest…!” Her gaze instinctively led to her Paladin, after all, the last time she had seen these, it was with her.

A shiver went by Sunset’s spine, as her eyes widened, Glaring at the fallen armor. “The temple of the dark side of the moon…!?”

“Indeed…” Celestia spoke, with an underlying tone of regret, nearly unnoticeable.

“I-I didn’t do anything.” Sunset took a worried step back, recoiling from the Queen of the Sun. “I have no idea what this is– it’s not my fault, I promise!”

“N-nopony is saying it is!” Twilight quickly assured her. “You haven’t done anything wrong!”

Celestia let out a mournful exhale. “I am not accusing you of anything, Sunset. Please, breathe…!”

She obeyed, but couldn’t make eye contact, her heart rate rising.

“Now…” Gently, the Queen of the Sun attempted to speak as calmly as possible. “On the time you spent banished there… Did you perhaps hear or feel something that could explain this…?” She pointed at the fallen armor.

Sunset shut her eyes, averting any proximity. “All I know is that the shadows want to take over Equestria, by any means necessary. And they try to do it by finding vessels– Like me...”

“And like Queen Luna…!” Twilight’s eyes widened pensively.

Celestia’s eyes twitched with worry, but then she exhaled, shaking her head. “Let us not concern ourselves with this for now. We are safe, Luna is safe… And you are safe, Sunset.”

The Paladin did not respond, simply looked away.

Twilight let out a nervous laughter, trying to break the ice. “Haha! I’m not worried! The shadows of the moon are going to have to try a lot harder than this guy to beat us!”

“Indeed they are, my student. Excellent work, both of you.” Celestia assured, with a smile.

Clearing her throat, Sunset suppressed her anger poorly, looking at the horizon. “I can’t believe the royal guard didn’t stop this before it reached Twilight. Did they even see it? Unbelievable. You need a captain.” After huffing, she turned away, and began leaving the balcony, realizing her small outburst required her leaving the room immediately. “I, uh, I’m going to check on the department of magical defense now, give them a stern talking to. And I need to check on a recruit in the barracks anyways, so– I’ll see you soon, Princess. Be careful!”

“Y-you too!” Twilight waved with a smile, then turned back to the armor, looking into it. “Okay, um, I think I’ll take this somewhere safer where I can inspect it and study it closer with some of the staff, maybe we can discover more about it?”

Silence. Celestia was watching Sunset leave, lost in thought.

“Um… Queen Celestia?”

Blinking a few times, she shook her head, looking back at her pupil. “Yes! I will accompany you, while your protector is busy. Shall we?” She began levitating the armor with her magic, and Twilight did the same, following along.

There were gears spinning on the Queen of the Sun’s head, thoroughly studying her former student's words and actions, and considering her future, whether she liked it or not– Doing the same for the current student; She paid nearly no mind to the attack of the shadows, and even couldn’t help but ignore Twilight’s current comments on tabloids exploiting the infuriating story regarding her being the newest Princess, and yet, single.

Queen Celestia thought incredibly profoundly, considering multiple things at once.

The royal guard lacked a captain, and seemed to be slacking; Something that needed to be remedied.

The castle and her student might be targets.

Twilight’s paladin was the most devoted and qualified of all defenders in this castle.

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle worked incredibly well together.

And above all, Celestia wanted her daughter back.

Slowly, but surely, those ideas began aligning in her head.

Author's Note

Forgive me for setting up so much in one chapter lmao. I saw the chances and I took them. It might feel like I'm shortchanging Limestone, but I came to realise pretty quickly when organizing the story, that she would be one of the least emotionally-connected to Sunset.

Not that it would stop them from macking on each other, the very opposite!

Also I'm a biiiit salty that Maud and Pinkie get to chase their dreams but Limestone and Marble stay home. Just a bit Like c'mon! They both seem like they'd want smth better and fuller!

Also don't worry, we're almost done with the pie sisters. We're soon reaching the precipice of insane Sunset Shipper. I intend on having fun with this.

And additionally, I will admit, some of what I'm setting up here will only be relevant on the Forgotten Friendship rewrite (If I ever do it lol.) What I'm sayin is. Pay attention!

Celestia, totally not seeing her two students and preparing inner machinations to potentially get her daughter back through the power of love. Better call her niece, stat.

Next chapter: Marble Pie gets treated so, so right.