Sunset didn't know where she was or how she even got here, but all she knew was that she was lost as she found herself in an open grass field. She continued to walk until she reached what looked like a park bench, and sitting down on the bench was a man Sunset easily recognized.

"Star swirl." Sunset said in shock.

"Hello sunset." Star Swirl said as he turned to look at her.

"What's going on here? Where are we?" Sunset said.

"Ah yes, you have many questions, but why don't you sit down first so we can talk?" Star Swirl said as he used his hand to tap the bench for emphasis. Sunset just stared at him for a few moments before sitting down next to him. The two sat in silence before eventually that silence was broken by sunset.

"All right, star swirl where are we." Sunset asked as she turned to look at the old man.

"Oh this place." Star swirl said ." This place is a little place everyone goes when their go to sleep."

" Sleep." Sunset said before she realized what he meant. "This is a dream."

"It could be a dream or it could be something more." Star swirl said. The two sat in silence for a few moments before sunset broke the silence again.

"It wasn't a coincidence, wasn't it?" Sunset said as she turned to look at star swirl. The necklace resembling my cutie mark, and me buying it and the nutcracker. It wasn't by chance, wasn't it."

"No, it wasn’t.” Star Swirl said before he turned to look at sunset.

"But why.” Sunset said as she turned to look at star swirl. "Why me? I am the last person who should have the necklace. I am an awful person who causes pain and suffering to others just so I can get what I want. I am not the kind of person who should have this necklace.”

"Don't you mean you were.” Star swirl said."You were an awful person who caused pain and suffering to others, and you were the kind of person who shouldn’t have the necklace.” Star swirl, then turn to look at sunset."But you no longer that kind of person, aren’t you? You want to become a better person, don’t you?”

"I do.” Sunset said."But I still don’t understand why me. Surely there are more people who are more suitable to have this necklace.”

"I don’t think there are people more suitable for the necklace." Star Swirl said. "The universe works in mysterious ways, and right now it deems you to be the one to wield the jewel of empathy and save the lands of dreams.”

“ Me.” Sunset said in shock."Are you even sure you got the right person?”

“ Oh I am sure.” Star swirl said.” You are the one who will free all of the inhabitants of the land of dreams and when I meant everyone I also meant sombra.”

"Wait, sombra." Sunset said in a confused voice. "What do you mean free sombra? Isn’t Sombra the one who enslaved the land of dreams?”

"He is.” Star swirl said."But Sombra is a prisoner himself. In this case, he is a prisoner of fate, and only you can free him from his imprisonment.”

"I don’t understand what you are trying to tell me.” Sunset said.

"Don't worry, you will understand soon,” Star Swirl said before he pulled out a pocket watch. "Ah, it seems our time is out.” He then turned to look at her. "Sorry, but we have to cut our talk short.

"What?” Sunset said in a confused voice before a white light covered her vision.
….
Sunset woke up and quickly sat up. She took a few deep looks around and saw she was in the room in that cabin that she and Alise had chosen to sleep in.

"What's wrong, sunset?” Alise said as she sat up from her bed and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Oh, it’s nothing, Alise; I just had a strange dream,” Sunset said.”Just go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Alise said before she lay back down on the bed. Sunset looked at Alise as she went back to sleep and stared at the young girl for a while before getting out of the bed and heading towards the room door. After exiting the room, Sunset walked down the stairs, and as she walked down the stairs, she tried to process her dream.

“Was that a dream or was it something more?” Sunset said to herself.” And what does he mean? That he is a prisoner of fate. I don’t understand it all.” As soon as Sunset went down the stairs, she saw in the middle of the room was Adagio, who was sleeping. She walked towards the window and stopped in front of it. She stood in silence as she looked at the woods. As she stared at the window, she noticed something flying in the air. At first, she wasn’t able to tell what they were, but as they got closer, the details became clear, and instantly a feeling of fear overwhelmed her. She saw that heading towards them was a large swarm of umbrums and giant bats with black guards riding them.

“Oh no,” Sunset said before running to Adagio.

“WAKE UP, WAKE UP.” Sunset shouted as she knelt down next to adagio and shook her awake.

“Huh, what is it?” Adagio said as she woke up with a groan.

“Trouble,” Sunset said. ” The umbrums and black guards have found us. We need to wake up the rest.”

“ What?” Adagio said.

“Come on, let’s go,” Sunset said before helping Adagio up. The two then ran up towards the stairs. As soon as they reached the second floor, they quickly went to the nearest door and slammed it open. The sound of the door slamming open woke up Eric from his sleep.

“ Huh sunset, Adagio, what’s going on?” Eric said as he slowly sat up.

“ Trouble.” Sunset shouted.” There is an army of umbrum and black guards heading towards us.”

“ What?” Eric said in shock.

“ Come on, let’s get Alise and go,” Adagio said.

“ Right.” Eric said as he got off the bed and grabbed his sword and the map that was on the nightstand that was next to his bed. The three then ran out of the room and went towards the room where Alise was sleeping. As soon as they slammed the door open, Alise instantly woke up from her sleep; as like Eric, the sound of the door slamming open woke her up from her sleep.

"Is it morning already?” Alise said as she rubbed her eyes.

"We need to go now.” Adagio said."The umbrum and black guards are heading towards us.”

“ What?” Alise said in shock.

"Come on, let’s go,” Eric said, as he quickly ran towards the bed and picked up Alise. The three then ran out of the room and down the stairs. As soon as they went down the stairs, the umbrums burst through the windows of the cabin, and shortly after their enter the cabin the black guards began entering the cabin through the broken window.

"To the back door,” Adagio said before she and everyone ran through the back door of the cabin. The three burst through the back door of the cabin and quickly ran as quickly as they could. As they ran, they suddenly saw multiple large shadows above them. Everyone looked up to see multiple large bats flying above them, and riding on them was the black guard.

"Quick everyone to the side now." Eric said, and immediately everyone ran to the side and into the woods. The black guards quickly try to follow them; however, due to the night sky and the woods being very dense, it was impossible for them to see them.

"We lost them.” One of the black guards said.

“They might have escaped from us, but I don’t think they will escape the umbrums.” Another Black guard said as he saw on the ground countless umbrums were entering the woods.
….
Sunset, Eric, and Adagio run through the woods until their eventual stop to take a few deep breaths.

“Do you think we lost them?” Alise asked.

“I would say….” Sunset said before she turned to look behind to see countless red eyes heading towards them. ” No.”

“Run.” Adagio said before she and everyone run for their lives as the umbrums chase after them. As they run for their lives, Adagio suddenly trips on a tree root and falls onto the ground.

“Eric, Sunset Adagio is in trouble.” Alise said as she looked over Eric's shoulder. Both Eric and Sunset stop when they heard what Alise said. Their turn to see a group of umbrum bite onto Adagio, who was snuggling to break free.

“Help me.” Adagio shouted as the umbrum flew into the air, taking Adagio with them.

“Adagio.” Sunset said in shock before turning to look at Eric. "What are we going to do?" Before Eric could reply, one of the Umbrum fired a stream of smoke at him, causing him to fly off his feet and onto his back.

"Eric, Alise." Sunset shouted before she ran towards them. As she ran towards them, an umbrum suddenly swooped down on them and used its mouth to grab Alise and flew into the air with her.

"Alise." Eric shouted as he quickly got on his feet.

"Help me." Alise said as the umbrum took her away.

"Eric, they , took Alise and Adagio. What are we going to do?" Sunset said as she now stood next to Eric.

"I don't know." Eric said before he noticed an umbrum was behind sunset. He saw it was opening its mouth, and acting quickly, Eric grabbed Sunset and immediately ran away as quickly as he could while also pulling Sunset with him. The two run further into the woods, and as they run into the woods, the umbrum began following them. They run as quickly as they can, but no matter how fast they run, they are unable to shake the umbrum off.

"They are getting closer." Sunset said as she turned to see the umbrum were getting closer to them. She then turned to look at Eric."What are we going to do?" Eric said nothing as he turned to see the umbrum were getting closer to them.He then turned to look in front of him and immediately knew what he needed to do. He quickly ran ahead towards a tree and pulled Sunset with him. The two then get behind the tree, and immediately after, they stop running.

"Eric, what are you doing? We need to go now." Sunset said.Eric said nothing but instead pulled out the map that was in his pocket and gave it to her, much to her confusion.

"Hide," Eric said before he ran out into the open.

"Hey, I am over here." Eric shouted before he ran ahead as quickly as he could, and shortly afterwards all the Umbrum went after him.

"Eric," Sunset said as she watched all the Umbrum go past her. After the last umbrum went past, sunset went out into the open and looked at the direction Eric and the umbrum went to. She looked in the direction in silence before hearing what sounded like a fight, and then after a while there was complete silence. Sunset stood in silence for a few moments before walking in a random direction.

"What am I going to do now?" Sunset said to herself as she realised she was all alone now.
....
In Sombra Castle, Sombra was seen in his room sleeping when suddenly the sound of his bedroom door being knocked woke him up from his sleep.

“ Uhh. What's with the racket? Sombra said in annoyance as he woke up from his sleep. After rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes, he got up from his bed and headed towards the door. He opened it and saw a Black guard behind the door.

“What’s going on? Why did you wake me up so late in the night."Sombra demanded.

“My apologies, my lord, but it is important that I wake you up.” The Black Guard said.

“What is so important that you need to wake me up?” Sombra demanded.

“The umbrum and black guards that were sent out have returned with Eric in their custody.” The Black Guard said.

“What.” Sombra said in shock.” Eric has been captured.” As Sombra said that, another thought suddenly came to him. ” And what of Sunset Shimmer?”

“Sunset shimmer.” The Black Guard said in confusion.

“The girl with the jewel of empathy.” Sombra said.

“The girl got away,” the Black guard said. Sombra said nothing and just stood in silence for a few moments before the silence was broken by Sombra.

“Bring Eric to my throne room.” Sombra said before closing the door to his room to change his clothes.
….
Eric, who was handcuffed, was being escorted through the hallway of the castle by a group of Black guards. He was forced to walk through the hallway until he reached the door to the throne room. The door opened by itself, and once the door was fully open, Eric saw sitting down in a throne was Sombra himself, who was smiling smugly at him,. Eric said nothing but glared at the shadow king as he was forced to move into the throne room. He continued to move into the throne room until they reached the middle of the room, where he was then forced onto his knees.

“Well, well, look at what we have here: the great Eric is now at his rightful place.” Sombra said mockingly.”On his knees before me.”

“This isn’t over, Sombra.” Eric said.

“And why you said that.” Sombra said.

“It’s because Sunset is still out there.” Eric said as he glared at the shadow king.” And I have faith in her that she will stop you.”

“Ah yes, Sunset Shimmer.” Sombra said.” Can’t forget her, can I? But she won’t be a problem, as I already found a way to deal with her and get her necklace. But let’s not talk about that. For now why don’t we let you rest in the dungeon as I have something special planned for you and your precious sugar plum princess?

“Don’t you dare hurt her.” Eric said as he glared at Sombra.”If you dare to so much as touch her hair, I will….”

“Do nothing.” Sombra said as he interrupted Eric.”But don’t worry about her; you will see her tomorrow. But for now enjoy your stay in the dungeon and try to have a nice sleep, for it will be your last peaceful sleep.” Sombra then snapped his fingers, and immediately all the Black Guards began dragging Eric out of the throne room. As Eric was forcefully dragged out of the room, his mind slowly wandered towards sunset.

“Sunset, wherever you are, please be alright and be careful.” Eric thought to himself.
….
Sunset walked aimlessly through the woods, not knowing what to do now. Everyone was captured, and she was all alone. She eventually reached a clearing. She walked through the clearing until she reached the center of the clearing, where she then fell onto her knees.

( music start here)

“What am I going to do now?” Sunset said to herself.”Everyone is captured, and I am all alone.” Tears then began coming from her eyes. As she lay on the ground, she suddenly remembered what Star Swirl said.

“The universe works in mysterious ways, and right now it deems you to be the one to wield the jewel of empathy and save the lands of dreams.”

“ But how.How am I supposed to do that? “Sunset said to herself as her tears began to fall onto the ground.”Oh Princess Celestia, how I wish you were here right now. I need your guidance more than ever." As sunset lay on the ground, she began to think of Eric, Alise, and Adagio.

"Eric, Alise, and Adagio,"Sunset thought to herself as she began to remember the moments she had shared with them. Even if it had only been a short time, it felt like it had been a lifetime. She thought back to when she first bought Eric at the pawnshop, to her being shrunken down, and to them traveling to the land of dreams. Then she thought back to when she and Eric met Alise and how both Alise and Eric tried to comfort her after she had a breakdown after confessing her plans of taking over her world and how Eric tried to reassure her that she wasn’t a monster. Then she thinks back on how she, Eric, and Alise first met Adagio and then to when she and Adagio revealed their past to one another, and finally she thinks back on her last moments with Eric and on how he sacrificed himself to draw the umbrums away from her. As she thought of Eric's sacrifice, she suddenly remembered what Celestia told her a long time ago.

“Well, that’s the thing about friendship.Sometimes, due to the bonds we share with others, we would do something reckless to ensure they are safe. Sometimes, the ultimate test of friendship is risking your life for a friend; that’s how they know that they are really friends. In this case, instead of running away, he chose to risk his life for the ones he cared about. Can you understand that?"

“Friendship.” Sunset said as she began to imagine Eric, Alise, and Adagio standing in front of her, all three of them smiling at her. Suddenly, Celestia's words began to echo in her mind once more.

“Can you understand that?"

“I didn’t understand it, or more accurately, I didn’t want to understand it back then.” Sunset said to herself as she wiped the tears from her eyes. ”But now I do.” Sunset then stood up with a look of determination. She then clutched her fist in determination.

“I need to save my friends.” Sunset said with a voice full of determination.” No matter what it takes.”

( Music ends here)
….
“Eric, please be alright.” Serenity said before she suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to her.

“I see you are still awake princess.” The voice said, and immediately Serenity turned to see that standing not too far away from her was Sombra himself, who was smiling smugly at her.

“ Sombra.” Serenity said as she glared at the shadow king.” What do you want now?”

“Oh, just want to inform you that we have successfully caught Eric,” Sombra said, causing Serenity to gasp.

“Eric.” Serenity said before her expression turned into a look of anger.” Where is he?”

“Oh, don’t worry; he is alright for now, at least.” Sombra said.”He is currently resting in the dungeon, which is what I suggest you do now since I have big plans for you two.”

“What plans?” Serenity demanded.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that since it would spoil the surprise. “ Sombra said.” But all you need to know that tonight will be you last night in this tower, so try to get a good night's sleep, as it will be your last sleep. However, I might be merciful and let you and Eric be around long enough to attend the wedding tomorrow.”

“Wedding.” Serenity said in a confused voice. ” What wedding?”

“My wedding.” Sombra said.”Between me and a beautiful girl that caught my attention.”Hearing that caused Serenity to look at him in surprise.

“Surprise.” Sombra said mockingly.” Well, so was I, but I guess the universe is full of surprises.” After shaking the shock of her face, Serenity turned to look at Sombra with a look of defiance.

“ Well, whoever this person is, she'll never love a monster like you!" Serenity said, and immediately a look of anger formed on Sombra's face, and he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Serenity, and before she could process what happened, Sombra grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air.

“Don’t you dare call me that.” Sombra said before tossing her onto the floor. Serenity, after being tossed onto the floor, quickly took a few deep breaths before turning to look at Sombra, who was glaring at her. Without saying anything, Sombra suddenly disappeared, leaving Serenity alone. As Serenity got back on her feet, she turned her attention to the window and looked at the night sky with a look of worry.
….
(Play this song.)

(Author note: I should inform you that I replaced the word son with student as it fit sunset more.)

In a forest somewhere, Sunset walked through the woods looking at the map she got from Eric. After she was done looking at the map, she put it into her pocket and began running through the woods, and as she ran, she began singing a song that came from deep within her heart.

Maybe I make things a mess.
And maybe you're right to have doubts in me.
Maybe, but nevertheless
If you for once could just trust me

Sunset continued to sing as she moved through the woods, and as she moved through the woods, she thought back to the many mistakes she had made in her life, from her time as a bully at Canterlot High to her time as Celestia's student. The one that stuck to her the most was her fallout with Celestia. As Sunset continued to move through the woods, she saw in front of her was a small valley; however, much to her luck, there was a log that was over the valley, which she could use as a makeshift bridge. Sunset got on the log and began to walk over it to get to the other side.

Just this once let me come through for you.
The way that you want me to

After getting to the other side, Sunset continued on with her journey. She continues to move through the woods with a look of determination on her face.

Let me make you proud.
Let me show you the best in me.
Let me give you a reason to believe that I can stand tall.

She then came upon a frozen lake that had been cracked. Not letting this stop her, she jumped onto one of the frozen surfaces before jumping over the water and onto another frozen surface until she reached the other side of the lake. Once she reached the other side, she then continued with her journey through the woods once more.

And when I return
And I'm more than you dreamt I'd be.
Maybe then you will realize
That you never actually knew me at all.

Sunset continued to move through the woods until she saw up ahead of her was a large cave. Without hesitation, she went into the cave.

Sure, I've made lots of mistakes.
I know that I've disappointed you.
Still, though, whatever it takes
I'm gonna fix it; just watch me.

As sunset walked through the cave, she took a moment to turn and look at her reflection that was on the cave walls that was frozen solid. As she stared at her reflection, she suddenly imagined her reflection disappearing, and in its place was Celestia, who was looking at her with a disappointed look, causing her to fill with guilt, and just as quickly as it appeared, it suddenly disappeared and was replaced with determination. Sunset then began running through the cave.

Just you wait; I'll make it up to you.
If it's the last thing I ever do

Sunset exited the cave and found herself on a hill. She then turned to see a large wooden bark that was big enough for her to use as a makeshift snowboard was buried under a pile of snow. Without hesitation, Sunset grabbed the wooden bark and used it to travel down the hill.

I will make you proud.
I will make you have faith in me.
I will prove that the way I used to be is all in the past.

As she traveled down the hill, she saw a valley in front of her. Sunset narrows her eyes in determination as she gets closer to the valley.

I will save the day.
And come back here triumphantly.
'Cause I long for that look of surprise.
When you see your student rising at last

The speed that her makeshift snowboard was going was more than enough to send her into the air, and once she was near to the other side, the snowboard then began heading down, but Sunset reacted quickly by jumping off it and successfully landing on the other side. Once she safely landed on the other side, sunset then began her journey once more.

The pride in your eyes
When you see your student rising at last

Sunset continues to sing until she reaches the top of a large hill, where she sings the last verse of her song, and as she sings the last verse of her song, the sun has risen from behind her and covers her with its morning light. Once she was done singing, she turned to look in front of her and saw Sombra Castle not too far away from her.

Sunset stares at the castle with a look of determination before making her way down the hill.

"Don't worry, Eric, Alise, and Adagio; I am coming to save you all." Sunset said to herself as she made her way down the hill and towards Sombra Castle.
....
End of chapter7

Author's Note

Well it seems we are nearing the end of the story.

Anyhow, don't forget to comment on what you think of my story so far.