Saying Goodbye

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It had been another thirty full moons since that fateful night of the Canterlot High Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer was now standing in front of the school statue.

It was not an easy decision for her to make. She knew she could not stay on this side of the portal forever. But she had made so many friends on this side after Princess Twilight Sparkle had helped her see the light, including the human versions of Twilight's friends. She had even made up with her ex-boyfriend Flash Sentry, and the two stayed as friends ever since. They had all already graduated from Canterlot High, which meant they had lots more time over the summer to hang out together.

She had made so many friends that it was already breaking her heart thinking of a way to tell them without breaking their hearts as well. In the end, however, she knew that there was no sugar-coating this one. If she had learned anything from Applejack, Sunset knew full well that she was going to have to be honest with them about this whole thing.

So, with the thirty moon cycle approaching its eclipse and the portal's three-day period of access to Equestria nearing its start, Sunset decided now or never that they needed to know.

After sending them a group text, asking them to meet her at Sugarcube Corner, Sunset made her way over to the popular teen hang out. All six of her friends were there. Rarity was showing Fluttershy a new hairstyle in a fashion magazine while Flash Sentry, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were laughing at another one of Pinkie Pie's signature jokes.

"Hey, Sunset!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, naturally being the first to notice Sunset walk in. All of a sudden her entire body began to shake violently. Obviously her Pinkie Sense had just predicted another doozy, and if Sunset was right, her upcoming confession was probably going to be it.

"Heya, Pinks." Sunset replied, immediately taking a seat between Fluttershy and Applejack.

"So, you wanna tell us what this is all about, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked in a concerned manner. "You seem awful down about somethin', and Ah'm starting to think Pinkie sensin' a doozy as well right now ain't no coincidence."

"Yes Sunset, please tell us what's wrong….um if you don't mind us asking that is." Fluttershy agreed in her naturally soft and shy voice, and yet still looking cute while doing it.

"Sunset, darling" Rarity followed up with her refined and elegant, yet caring voice "you know you can tell us anything and we won't think any less of you. So tell us please, whatever is troubling you so on this fine day?"

"She's right." Flash assured her with his trademark smile. "We are your friends, and that's what friends do for each other."

"Yeah girl, so spill the beans already!" Rainbow Dash followed up in her own tomboyish way.

Sunset was all but on edge now, she knew she had to be honest with all of them about this. She only hoped they could take it without being too heartbroken, though one might think that hope would be wasted on Fluttershy. But no matter how one looked at it, hearts were gonna get broken no matter what Sunset said or did.

"OK, here's the thing." Sunset began after taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I am not really sure if any of you are aware, but it has almost been thirty whole moons since that night at the fall formal."

"Yeah, and?" Rainbow just replied casually and seemingly carefree.

"She means the portal to Equestria is gonna open up soon, Dash." Applejack clarified before turning back to Sunset. "But why bring this up?"

"Well, you see-" Sunset began only to be interrupted by Rarity.

"Wait a minute, darling. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Please tell me you're not saying it." Fluttershy added meekly.

"As much as it is breaking my heart right now to tell all of you," Sunset sighed, "I am afraid that is the case. Once the portal to Equestria opens up, I am crossing back through it, and I do not believe I will ever be coming back."

At that moment, Pinkie Pie's entire body shook once more and then it suddenly stopped. "So my revelation was the doozy?" Sunset asked. Pinkie could only nod slightly sadly.

"But why are you leaving anyway, Sunny? Don't you like your home here and all the friends we helped you make, including us? Because if you didn't, then all that work we did helping you make friends and learn the Magic of Friendship like Twilight asked us to was for nothing and-" Pinkie ranted on at a ridiculously fast pace in a single breath, before Sunset's hand found its way to Pinkie's mouth.

"Please, Pinkie" Sunset whimpered with tears forming in her eyes, "Don't make this harder for me than it already is. You all were willing to forgive me after everything I had done to you guys. And after that you taught me everything I could learn about friendship, and I will always be grateful to all of you for that. But all of you know as full well as I do that I don't belong here. I can't stay here forever. Sooner or later I will have to go back to Equestria. Besides, I still have some wrongs to right and amends to make on that side of the portal."

"You know that's the full honest truth, right AJ?" Applejack could only meekly nod yes in response.

"Well when does the portal open?" Fluttershy timidly asked.

"The 3-day access period starts tonight." Sunset could only reply with tears while Pinkie hugged her.

"You know what, you really should just go." Rainbow replied in a somewhat bitter tone. "It won't matter to me anyway." And she stormed out of the café after that.

"Rainbow Dash, wait." Flash called after her, but he was already too late.

Sunset looked hurt by that comment, but AJ and Rarity both laid a hand on each of her shoulders. "Don't you worry about her, Sugarcube. You know how Rainbow is." Applejack consoled.

"Yes darling, she will come around like she always does. She just needs some time to wrap her head around this situation." Rarity added. "As for your decision to leave, while I would be happy if you stayed, I cannot argue with all of your logic from earlier. Whatever choice you decide to make, I will support you every step of the way."

"Same here." Applejack remarked.

"Me too." Fluttershy added.

"And me too." Pinkie pitched in.

"No argument here." Flash finished.

"Oh guys, you're the best." Sunset exclaimed softly while bringing her five friends into her reach for a group hug, which they eagerly returned.

Later that night, a few minutes before the portal was due to open, Sunset was standing by the Canterlot High School Statue, the base acting as the portal to Equestria, along with Flash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy. Suddenly, they heard footsteps, and as soon as they all turned towards the source, they noticed Rainbow Dash walking right up towards them, a regretful look on her face.

"Hey Sunset, I'm real sorry about what I said in Sugarcube Corner earlier today." She apologized.

"It's alright Dash, I understand. I would not want to believe me either if I were you. Just stay awesome after I leave, OK?" Sunset asked.

"You know I will!" She replied coolly then proceeded to do a secret handshake with Sunset that only those seven knew how to do (which in actuality, they just copied from a cool cartoon because it looked awesome).

"Go up, take around the backside, snake-bite, piston grip, snap, slap slap, and slide it home."

Rarity and Fluttershy then approached her with a small gift wrapped in paper. After pulling out a small box and opening it, Sunset could only gasp in surprise. Inside the box was a gold locket containing a picture of all seven of them took together after graduating from Canterlot High, in which all seven of them were smiling.

"I wanted to give you something to remember us by, but I did not have enough to pay for the locket, so Rarity helped me pay for it. I hope it's not too mu-" Fluttershy explained only to have Sunset cut her off by hugging both her and Rarity.

"It's wonderful, I love it. Thank you girls. Please, don't ever change." Sunset said with tears in her eyes.

Rarity and Fluttershy could only return the hug, while starting to get tears of their own.

AJ then walked over. "Now sugarcube, ah know you probably heard this lots of times before, but everything will work out for the best. Just be true to yer new self and everythin' will be fine."

"You're still just as wise and honest as ever Applejack. Don't ever lose that part of you. I don't know what anyone would do without you." Sunset replied while hugging AJ, who returned it.

Sunset then turned to Flash. "For what it's worth, Flash, I am glad we still got to be friends in the end. I hope you find the right girl out there for you. After all, you deserve better than me."

Flash then hugged her, catching her completely by surprise before she returned it. "Don't say that." He muttered. "That applied to the old you. You've changed now. It's all in the past. Although, I do appreciate your good wishes for me."

"Thank you." Sunset replied before kissing him on the cheek, which caught him by surprise. "That was just a token of gratitude, just for being you."

Sunset then walked over to Pinkie Pie, who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Pinks, I only have one favor to ask of you. Don't ever stop smiling. If you do, it just won't be the same around here." Sunset said.

And with that Pinkie's tear dam broke and she scooped Sunset into a bone-crushing hug, which Sunset eagerly returned. In fact, the rest of the girls joined in to make it a group hug.

At that precise moment the moon shone unusually bright and for a brief instant a flash was seen coming from the base of the statue.

Having been released from the group goodbye hug, Sunset made her way over, and used her hand to test the portal. When her hand phased through the base she knew it was time.

"Well, this is it, goodbye everyone. I'll never forget you. Stay true to yourselves and your friendships with each other. Because you already know, friendship is magic!" Sunset told the rest of the gang.

"Bye Sunset!" They all exclaimed. "Say hi to Twilight for us!" Pinkie added at the last minute.

So with her farewells expressed, her mind now determined, and her new gift locket on her neck, Sunset Shimmer stepped through the portal back to Equestria, never to return to this world again.

Return to Equestria

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After spiraling through the seemingly unending vortex that was the dimensional gateway between Equestria and the other world, Sunset Shimmer finally found herself tumbling out the other side and into Equestria.

Though her arrival could have gone a lot smoother, for when exiting she found herself tumbling horn over hooves from the mirror all the way to the opposite facing wall.

Luck seemingly was, or was not depending on how one would look at it, on her side for her tumble was loud enough to catch the attention of a royal guard who just happened to be passing the door to the room containing the mirror.

To some level of fortune, that passing royal guard just so happened to be Equestria's pony counterpart of Sunset's ex-boyfriend from the other world, Flash Sentry.

As he entered carrying a lantern in his mouth, he took it out and held it in one of his front hooves to investigate the strange noise he heard. "Is anypony in here?" he said, looking around the room for intruders.

Sunset chose that particular moment to groan in pain as she tried to find her balance and bring herself to her hooves. At that moment, Flash whipped his lantern around until he finally found the source of the commotion.

"Who are you?" he asked. "How did you get in here? What are you even doing here? Are you trying to rob the Princess?"

"No, I'm not." Sunset answered somewhat dazedly, and then gestured with her head towards the portal. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. Believe it or not, I came into this room through that mirror, from the other side. As for your remaining question…" Suddenly, her vision started to blur, as her already-wobbly stature grew even woozier, "I am here...to turn…myself in." She managed to groan out before she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Leaving Flash Sentry confused about what to do.

Some time later, Sunset woke up in a hospital bed. She let out a long moan as she began to open her eyes, everything becoming blurry. She slowly lifted her body up and put a hoof to her head as she looked around.

"Oh...what happened?" She groaned.

"Ah, you're awake!" A voice declared.

Sunset turned to see a unicorn doctor smiling at her.

"Uh... where am I?" She asked. She then grasped herself as pain surged through her.

"Oh, oh, be careful, miss." The doctor warned her. "You had quite the tumble coming here. The guard who found you, Flash Sentry I think it was, had to carry you in."

"Oh, that was nice of him. I need to thank him for that later." Sunset replied somewhat tiredly, before her eyes widened in realization. "Wait, I must ask...where am I? I know that this isn't Canterlot, but I do not even have the faintest ideas as to where I am. And strangely enough, this place seems very familiar to me."

"I'm sure it does," another voice replied somewhat harshly as it entered the room. "Considering the fact that you stole my little sister's crown from her in this exact same castle thirty moons ago, I am surprised you don't even know what city this is."

Turning to the source, Sunset Shimmer found herself face to face with a unicorn stallion with a rather large stature. His coat was white. His eyes were of a moderate cerulean. His mane was long and consisted of three colors: Moderate sapphire blue, moderate cerulean and dark phthalo blue. And his cutie mark consisted of a blue shield with a pink-purple six pointed star in the middle, which also had three light blue stars above the shield.

"Shining Armor, don't be so harsh." A third voice chimed in, with a sweeter and gentler tone than Shining Armor had just given her.

Sunset then gazed upon a third pony entering the room. This one was a pink alicorn with a long free hanging mane and tail that were dark-velvet with moderate-rose and pale-gold streaks . She wore a gold necklace as well as a tiara. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amethyst purple. Her cutie mark consisted of a clear blue crystal in the shape of a heart. It did not take a genius to know that this pony was the princess of whichever place in Equestria that Sunset Shimmer just happened to be in right now.

"Cadance, have you forgotten what this pony did to Twilight?!" Shining Armor argued. "I have half a mind to lock her up in the deepest and darkest dungeon we have here for life with a magic inhibitor ring on her horn."

"I know what she did to Twilight, Shining Armor, but I also know that everypony deserves a second chance." Cadance countered. "And I also know that Twilight was willing to forgive Sunset Shimmer then, and is still willing to forgive her now. And if Twilight is willing to forgive her, then so am I."

To say that Sunset Shimmer was dumbfounded or stupefied by this whole turn of events would be an understatement. She could not believe that a PRINCESS who did not even know her was willing to forgive her, stand up for her, and give her a second chance.

"Fine," Shining Armor agreed though a little reluctantly. "I'll give her another chance, but I still don't trust her." And with that, he left the room.

"Don't worry about Shining Armor." Cadance tried to comfort Sunset. "He knows that Twilight can take care of herself without him, but being the big brother that she grew up with, he can get a little overprotective of her sometimes, and that usually makes him forget that."

"Honestly, I can't really blame him for that then." Sunset replied somewhat nervously before realization hit her. "Wait, that was Twilight's older brother?! So he knows what I put her through?"

"Yes, Sunset Shimmer, she told both him and myself everything that happened in the world beyond the mirror." Cadance replied. "Which brings me back to the real question. Why did you return to Equestria? And I want your full honest answer." She added as her horn began to glow with a light blue aura.

Knowing she did not have much of a choice right now, Sunset took a deep breath and sighed.

"I came back because I knew I could not stay in that other world forever." She replied. "While it is true that I made some wonderful friends over there, even they knew I would have to leave. Besides, I may have righted all my wrongs and made all needed amends in that world, but there are still some here in Equestria that I need to do as well, especially with Twilight and Princess Celestia. I know that I am more than likely the last pony that Princess Celestia wants to see right now, especially after everything I've done, but I want her to know that I now regret everything I ever did when I was still her student as well as after our falling out. Right now, I am willing to beg for her forgiveness even though I probably don't deserve it. And whatever form of punishment she gives me, I will gladly follow through with it without question, even if she decides to banish me or worse."

Cadance could only stare in mild shock as her spell scanned Sunset's heart and mind for any falsehoods to her words or if she was hiding anything. She was even more surprised to find none whatsoever in both Sunset's mind and heart. Sunset Shimmer had just indeed given her the full hundred percent honest truth.

"You really have changed." Cadance breathed almost soundlessly before continuing, though Sunset could still hear her. "Well, I most certainly believe that you are telling the truth, seeing as how I could not sense any hidden ambitions in your heart, nor sense any deceit in your mind and thus any lies in your words. Also, I would not give up hope on your end when it comes to Aunt Celestia. Believe it or not, when Twilight came back from the other world with the recovered Element of Magic thirty moons ago, the first thing Celestia asked her was if you were all right."

Sunset could only slightly widen her eyes in response to this. "Is she here right now?" She asked with just a bit more hope in her heart.

"No, I am afraid she is back in Canterlot." Cadance answered.

"Which, reminds me. I knew this was not Canterlot." Sunset began. "But, if this is not Canterlot then, where am I? If I am going to see Princess Celestia, and try to earn her forgiveness, I would very much like to get there as soon as possible."

"Well, first of all you're in the infirmary of my castle, which is located right in the heart of the Crystal Empire." Cadance said and was about to continue until Sunset started speaking with even wider eyes than before.

"Crystal Empire?" She asked. "THE Crystal Empire? The one that was taken over and enslaved by a practically demonic unicorn king who then cursed it, causing it to vanish for a thousand years? THAT Crystal Empire?!" Cadance could only giggle before responding.

"Well that's one way of putting it." She said. "How did you know?"

"I think I read about it in a book once back when I was still Princess Celestia's student." Sunset could only respond somewhat bashfully. "I mean I do remember this castle from when I last came to Equestria during the whole… you know, but I never really knew where this castle was located before now. Oh, I am so sorry Princess Cadance. I just realized you were about to say something else, but I cut you off before you had a chance to say it. I am so sorry!" She then bowed her head in shame.

Cadence could only giggle. "It's quite alright." She replied. "I was going to say I will be happy to provide you with some travel accommodations to Canterlot, but I am afraid that will have to wait for a while."

"Yes" said the unicorn doctor who was still in the room this whole time. "I am afraid you can't be discharged from this infirmary until at least tomorrow morning. After that tumble you took into the wall from that mirror, we wish to make sure that your injuries are not too severe."

"Oh," Sunset replied. "That's alright then, I completely understand, which reminds me. How long was I unconscious?"

"According to the doctor here," Cadence began, "About the remainder of that night, and the next whole 48 hours."

"I was unconscious for 2 and a half days?!" Sunset exclaimed with her eyes wide as saucers at this point. Cadence could only nod. "In that case doctor, you take as long as you need to check me before you discharge me. I can wait a little longer to rest if I need to. Plus, the portal should be closed by now, so that means my only means of escape is now long gone." The doctor nodded while Cadance immediately caught the joke and began to giggle, and Sunset could only join in on the laughter herself.

"Besides, I don't ever want to see that accursed mirror ever again. It brings up too many bad memories." Sunset said while reaching for the locket on her neck with her right forehoof only to find the locket gone.

"Wait!" she exclaimed lightly. "When I came back through the mirror and tumbled into that wall, I had a gold locket around my neck. Could either of you tell me where it is?!" She asked worriedly.

To this the doctor then replied "Oh it is right there on the nightstand to the right of your bed. We had to take it off when we started examining you for any injuries."

Sunset then looked to her right, and to her utmost relief saw her locket on said nightstand, then immediately grabbed it with her right forehoof and put back around her neck before using her left forehoof to open it. To her relief, as well as utter amazement, the picture stayed exactly the same as it was when she looked at it in the other world. Showing her and her friends, all smiling, and all in their human form.

"It amazes me how much they looked like all of Twilight's friends." Cadance acknowledged. "I hope you don't mind if I looked at it, but curiosity got the better of me when I first saw it, and you were still unconscious at the time."

"No." Sunset responded. "It's ok princess, I don't blame you, and if nothing else I deserved to have my privacy invaded like that, especially after all I have done."

"Well, anyway" the doctor said. "I am sure after being unconscious for nearly 3 days, I am sure you must be famished?" Sunset could only nod yes in response. "In that case, I shall see what our chefs can whip up for you." And with that he left.

"I shall let you rest as well," Cadance added, "after all I still have my royal duties to attend to."

"Of course." Sunset could only respond. "And thank for everything you've done for me so far, princess. I really appreciate it."

"I am glad to hear that, Sunset." Cadance replied before leaving the infirmary. After which she added to herself mainly "And I am sure that will Twilight and Aunt Celestia will definitely be happy to hear that as well."

A Tearful Reunion in Canterlot Castle

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During Sunset Shimmer's stay at the Crystal Empire's castle infirmary, her recovery progress was going very smoothly. The head injury that she received from her tumble did not damage her horn, nor did it affect her ability to use magic, though the doctor strongly advised against using any spells more complex than levitation for the next few days following her discharge from the infirmary, which it just so happened, would be later on that day.

Meanwhile, Cadance had already sent a letter each to Princess Celestia in Canterlot and Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville, informing them both about Sunset's return from the other world. In Celestia's letter, Cadance informed her aunt that she would be sending Sunset to Canterlot by train. And almost immediately after she had sent both letters, Celestia had already sent her a reply requesting that she have Sunset wait for a Canterlot Royal Chariot instead.

Cadance, sensing some eagerness to reconcile with her former student coming straight from Celestia's heart behind the letter, could only agree with a heartfelt smile.

With Sunset's body fully recovered, and her ability to use magic just as healthy as ever, the doctor decided to discharge her from the infirmary.

"You don't have to worry about your body in any way whatsoever." He told Sunset as they both left the infirmary. "And your magic looks good as well, so you are free to use it as you wish, although I advise that you stick to just levitation and telekinesis for now. I would probably wait at least 24 to 48 more hours before trying any spells more complex than that."

"Thank you for the advice, doctor." Sunset politely replied with a smile. "I can definitely wait that long. And thank you for everything these past few days."

"No need to thank me, Miss Shimmer." The doctor replied back with his own smile. "I was simply doing my duties and happy to help." And with that he parted ways with her to resume his castle duties.

"I see that you have made a full recovery." A voice called from across the hall. Sunset turned her head in that direction to see Princess Cadance smiling at her, before walking towards her as she continued speaking. "That's very good to see. And how are you feeling today, Sunset Shimmer?"

"Wonderful, princess." Sunset replied. "Much better than I felt yesterday, or the day before that, or the day before that."

"I am also glad to know that I can still use magic." She continued as she demonstrated by using her telekinesis to catch a piece of crystal that had fallen off the chandelier hanging at the top of the same room they were in. Then with her horn and the piece still wrapped in a teal aura, she lifted the same piece back up to the chandelier, and fixed it back into place before continuing. "Although the doctor did say I should take it easy with my magic and try not to do anything more complex than levitation or telekinesis for the next 24 to 48 hours. Though I can definitely wait that long."

"Now, please don't take this the wrong way, but when is the next train for Canterlot?" She asked. "I really wish to get there and apologize to Princess Celestia before I forget that whole idea."

Cadance only giggled in response. "Well, we certainly don't want that to happen, now do we?" Sunset joined in on her giggle fit.

"Anyway," Cadance continued. "I already wrote Aunt Celestia a letter informing her of your return. I told her I would send you to Canterlot via train, but she insisted on sending a royal chariot to take you there instead, so I obliged. It will be another hour before it arrives here at the castle. Feel free to explore the Crystal Empire until then if you want."

"Thank you, Princess." Sunset responded. "I think I will. I could use the exercise anyway, not to mention I've got to get used to having hooves again." She giggled after that with Cadance following suit.

"I'll see you in an hour, then." Cadance replied and left for the castle throne room.

Sunset then walked down the steps of the foyer to the doors leading out into the city. As soon as she opened those doors, however, her eyes were immediately blinded by all sorts of bright lights coming from many different angles at once.

"Oh! Wow, that is bright!" She exclaimed as she still could barely see anything. "Is it always this bright here during the day?!"

When her eyes finally got use to all the bright light, what she saw baffled her at first but finally amazed and astonished her.

Lying just several yards beyond the steps to the castle doors she just came from, was the Crystal Heart, nestled between a crystal stalactite and stalagmite sprouting out from the outer castle ceiling and floor respectively, as the Heart constantly spun while generating a shield over the Crystal Empire made from the light and love that is housed within all of its Crystal Pony inhabitants.

One of which, was able to draw Sunset Shimmer's attention away from the Crystal Heart just by walking past her while in her field of vision. Snapped out of the Crystal Heart's beauty-induced hypnotic trance, Sunset trotted into the city's main complex and took in every moment of wonder. She stopped by the local park for a rest, where she kindly kicked a ball back to the group of playing foals who had almost lost it. The foals then thanked her for her good deed before she was back on her way.

She even managed to look inside the window of the local spa, where she could see ponies actually getting into a crystal mud bath. 'Strange sort of spa treatment' She thought to herself. 'Maybe I ought to try that for whenever it's the next time I come back here. Wait…Time!?...How long was I exploring?!'

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked a passing Crystal Pony Stallion. "Would you happen to know what time it is right now?"

"Sure" he answered. "It's about quarter to two."

"Thanks!" Sunset exclaimed, and then bolted for the castle after realizing she only had fifteen minutes before her chariot escort to Canterlot arrived.

As fast as her legs could carry her, Sunset ran for the castle, not wanting to miss her chariot, all the while shouting "excuse me", "coming through", and "pardon me" at various Crystal Ponies she did not wish to injure or crash into during her rush, as well as various apologies to anypony she did end up accidentally bumping into.

Finally reaching the main castle doors, Sunset paused for a moment to catch her breath before going inside to meet Princess Cadance. After reaching the throne room doors, Sunset paused, and then gave a polite knock.

"Come in." The unmistakable voice of Princess Cadance called from the other side. Sunset could only gladly oblige with her entrance.

"Ah, Sunset." Cadance greeted with a smile. "So how was your self-tour of the Crystal Empire?"

"It was wonderful" Sunset replied. "I had no idea that this city was so beautiful. I don't know how or why King Sombra even wanted to enslave this entire city, but seeing it free from his control is definitely more than worth it. I will definitely consider coming back here for a visit once I have made all possible amends here in Equestria."

"I am glad to hear that." Cadance replied warmly, until the sounds of flapping wings and hooves and chariot wheels landing caught the attention of both ponies. "I do believe that would be your ride to Canterlot arriving."

"Let's not keep them waiting, then." Sunset responded following Cadance out to the waiting carriage.

"So Princess," Sunset began. "Since Princess Celestia already knows about my return, will the carriage take me to Canterlot Castle or within city boundaries?"

They had just stopped beside the royal carriage, before Cadance responded. "Well, knowing Aunt Celestia, the carriage will probably take you directly to the castle, where another group of guards will then escort you to her themselves."

"Did I get all of that right?" Cadance then asked one of the pegasi guards pulling the carriage, who then nodded yes in response.

"I see." Sunset acknowledged, though one question still burned in her mind. "One last thing. Why do you keep calling her 'Aunt Celestia'? Are you really her niece?"

"Oh that." Cadance answered with a giggle. "Well, technically I'm her adopted niece. But still, being counted among her family is more than enough for me."

"Oh, that makes sense." Sunset replied. "I just hope that she can forgive me as easily as you and Twilight did."

"Well" Cadance began. "To be fully honest with you, at first I was only giving you a chance for Twilight's sake because she was willing to forgive you."

"Somehow, that doesn't really surprise me." Sunset responded before realizing what she just did for a second time. "Oh, sorry Princess. Please, continue."

Cadance could only giggle before responding. "It's ok, Sunset. Anyway, that was the only reason at first. But when you told me in the infirmary why you came back to Equestria, I used my spell to look into your heart and mind. I was looking for any hidden lies and deceits, and do you want to know what I found?" Sunset gulped nervously at this.

"Nothing." Cadance continued with a sincere smile. "Absolutely nothing. No lies, no deception, no hidden ambitions. The only thing I could sense was the full hundred percent honest truth behind your words. And Aunt Celestia was the one who taught me that spell. That's how I knew that you really have changed. So don't worry about Aunt Celestia not forgiving you. I am certain she will. Her answer might even surprise you."

Sunset returned a smile of her own as she bowed one last time. "Thank you for everything Princess Cadance, especially your hospitality. I probably did not deserve it, but you gave it to me anyway. I cannot thank you enough for the newfound hope that you have just given me as well."

"Alright, sirs" she addressed the two pegasi guards pulling the carriage. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, but now I'm ready when you are. Let's not keep Princess Celestia waiting any longer."

The two guards nodded and broke into full gallop before taking off and heading directly for Canterlot Castle. Seeing as how this was her first time in five years riding a royal carriage, Sunset was a tad uncomfortable at first. But once the carriage had reached peak flight altitude, she began to relax and take in the whole landscape of Equestria in its harmonious beauty.

It was not even a whole half hour before the carriage finally landed in the Canterlot Castle. After disembarking, Sunset then found herself being escorted by a pair of unicorn royal guards. Sunset then remembered why she was here to begin with, and could only gulp nervously. She was expecting to meet her former mentor in the throne room, but when the guards took her past the throne room, not only did her nervousness heighten, she became severely confused. If the guards weren't taking her to the throne room, then where were they taking her? It was then that her nervousness skyrocketed.

'Oh no!' Sunset panicked to herself. 'Maybe Princess Celestia does not forgive me after all and has already sentenced me to banishment, or life in the dungeon, or banishment then life imprisonment in a dungeon in the place that she has sentenced me to be banished me to!'

She then shook her head furiously before resuming her train of thought. 'What the hay are you thinking, Sunset!? This is PRINCESS CELESTIA! She would NEVER be that cruel! And you heard what Princess Cadance said. I was the first thing that she asked Twilight about when Twilight returned after the whole Fall Formal ordeal. You can't back out now. It's already too late, you've come this far, and this is why you returned to Equestria in the first place. It's time to pony up and face the music.'

By the time she finished her train of thought, the guards escorting her had informed her that they arrived at her destination. One stood by her side while the other went to knock on a door, which Sunset immediately recognized as the entrance to Princess Celestia's personal chambers.

The guard then politely knocked three times. After which a powerful yet gentle voice answered "Come in."

The guard entered. "She's here, your highness." He told her. To which Celestia answered, "Thank you. Please send her in and that will be all."

"Yes, your highness." The guard bowed and then left before turning back to Sunset. "The Princess will see you now."

"Thank you, sirs." She acknowledged both of her escorts before stepping inside the Celestia's chambers and using her telekinesis to close the door behind her.

'This is it.' Sunset inwardly told herself. 'The big moment of truth.'

"Princess." She addressed Celestia with a bow, while also bowing her head in shame.

"I know that I am probably one of the last ponies you want to see right now, Princess Celestia," Sunset began with tears forming in her eyes, "but I want you to know, that I truly and deeply regret abusing your trust all those moons ago, and I now understand what you were trying to show me all 60 of those moons ago. I am so sorry, for everything. If you can't find it in your heart to forgive me, I understand. Honestly, I wouldn't really blame you if you didn't; I mean…you have every right not to forgive me. I don't even deserve your for-" And with that Celestia cut her off by placing a hoof on her mouth, confusing Sunset to the point where she thought her brain would short-circuit.

Sunset then looked up, to see her former teacher's face showing various complex emotions, many of which she could not even describe in words. "Princess?" Sunset asked while muffled by the hoof on her mouth, in a severely confused tone.

Princess Celestia's face broke into a sincere smile, and it was only then that Sunset noticed what she suspected might have been tears of joy in the princess's eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness." Celestia almost gasped, crouching down to tug Sunset off the ground with both hooves and both wings. "There you are, Sunset Shimmer. At long last, you have finally returned. I had almost given up hope that I would ever see you like this again. You have no idea just how much I missed you these last sixty moons."

"I…" Sunset sniffled. "I…missed you too…Princess Celestia." And with that, she could no longer take it and started sobbing uncontrollably into Princess Celestia's chest while returning the hug, all the while Celestia shedding tears of her own, but comforting Sunset in any way possible, like a mother would her own daughter.

In fact, that was one of the most perfect ways to describe this very situation and relationship right now. To Princess Celestia, Sunset Shimmer was one of the closest things to a daughter she ever had. That falling out they had those 60 moons ago, had left her brokenhearted practically. In fact, almost as much as it did when Celestia had to banish her own younger sister to the moon for a millennium.

"Princess?" Sunset asked while sounding a little muffled. "I don't understand, after everything I've done since we last saw each other, how can you possibly forgive me this easily? I'm so confused."

"Everypony deserves forgiveness, Sunset," Celestia answered her. "And you were not entirely to blame for those events. I showed you the mirror, knowing full well that you weren't ready, in the hopes that you would see the error of your ways at the time. And even after that, I still was not the mentor I should've been to you. Had I known that showing you that mirror would have sent you down the wrong path, I never would have shown you that mirror, and instead just forced you to make friends myself. I know you came back to Equestria to ask for my forgiveness, but in actuality, I am the one who should be asking you for forgiveness, for how I failed you as a mentor."

"Oh, Princess." Sunset sniffed. "I already have forgiven you, but really there is nothing much to forgive. You may have 'failed me as a mentor' as you put it, but you forget, greed and ambition were already in my heart even before you showed me that mirror. So most of the blame should still be on me."

"Be that as it may," Celestia replied "it does not matter anymore. All that matters now is that you are back home in Equestria, where you belong. And since Twilight Sparkle has already reached the highest point of her friendship studies, I am willing to appoint you as my personal student once again."

Sunset widened her eyes upon hearing this, and she could not believe a single word of it. "Do you really mean that, Princess?" She asked.

"Of course I do, Sunset" Celestia answered before continuing on. "I believe this is the perfect way for the both of us to earn each other's forgiveness. I can already see that you have accepted friendship into your heart, but you still have much to learn. Are you willing to accept this chance?"

"I am, Princess," Sunset replied excitedly and yet still teary-eyed at the same time. "I know I still have much to learn, but I am willing to go all the way. I'll do my best to learn about friendship and study it harder than ever before, and I promise you, I won't let you down this time."

Princess Celestia could only smile warmly at her. "I know, I believe in you."

"But Princess," Sunset replied. "Before I start, there are still some amends I need to make."

"Like what?" Celestia asked in a confused way.

"There are still five former classmates that I need to speak to." Sunset answered. "I need to tell them something, something that I should have told them 60 moons ago. Even if they never forgive me, I just want to tell them, at least to get some closure."

Princess Celestia could only smile. "Say no more, my now faithful student." She answered in the sincerest of tones. "I know just who you are referring to. I shall send each of them a letter asking them to come to the castle. Then you can apologize to all of them at once."

"Thank you, Princess." Sunset responded. "Would you mind if I took a stroll around the gardens until they arrive? I would like to take a while to get in some fresh air, and also get accustomed to my natural form once again."

"Of course, Sunset" Celestia replied warmly. "I shall send one of my guards to fetch you once your former classmates arrive."

"Thank you, Princess." Sunset replied and bowed one last time before heading off to the castle gardens, with a bold newfound sense of joy and hope running through her like never before.

Making Amends As Well As New Friends

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Sunset Shimmer could not have been any happier than she was right now. Princess Celestia not only forgave her for her actions countless moons ago, she had even given Sunset another chance to be her personal student again. To say that Sunset was currently as happy as Pinkie Pie usually is would have been the understatement of the year.

That is until she accidentally bumped into a random stallion in the hall on her way to the gardens causing both of them to stumble and fall onto their flanks.

"I am so sorry!" Sunset began to apologize. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going when I should have been. Oh, are you alright? I hope I didn't hurt you or anyth-"

And it was only when she offered her own hoof to help the mystery stallion back onto his hooves that she got a good look at him.

This mystery stallion, in Sunset's honest opinion, was quite handsome. He was just about the same age as she was. His mane was brown in color and his coat was as white as snow. His eyes were a beautiful shade of sapphire blue. His cutie mark was a circular targeting reticle with fine crosshairs and a smaller circle in the middle as the focus point, while in the background of all that was a bunch of white stars. But the biggest defining feature about this mystery stallion was that he had both a horn and wings. As soon Sunset saw this, she immediately bowed before him, automatically thinking of him as a prince.

The alicorn stallion immediately formed a puzzled look before having one of realization, and then immediately facehoofed himself.

"This happens every time I meet somepony new. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME." He muttered to himself before speaking to Sunset again. "Please, miss, don't bow to me. I may be an alicorn, but I am not really a prince."

"You're not?" Sunset questioned in a severely confused manner.

"No, I'm not." He replied before chuckling. "It's alright miss. Believe me, you're not the first or the only pony who saw my wings and horn, and then immediately thought I was a prince because of them. I'm Lockon by the way, Lockon Astros. May I ask what your name is?"

"Oh, of course." Sunset responded. "My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"You're Sunset Shimmer?" He replied in astonishment. "Oh yes, I've heard of you. You used to be Princess Celestia's student. I also know about your past with her about 60 moons ago, and eventually the events with Princess Twilight Sparkle 30 moons ago."

"Everypony knows about all of that, don't they?" Sunset frowned. "I'm not proud of the things I've done. There are a lot of times when I wish I had never even looked at that accursed mirror in the first place. Sometimes it makes me wonder if that thing was made by dark magic."

"Actually, you're not too far off from that theory." Lockon responded. "Believe it or not, Princess Celestia did not even know that much about it until I discovered it myself after some research. I then told her about it, but that just left her utterly devastated. My guess is because her lack of that specific knowledge all 60 of those moons ago caused that falling out the two of you had."

"It does not matter anymore." Sunset replied. "We both made mistakes. It's all in the past now and we've forgiven each other. Besides, she's already given me another chance to be her student. And I've already learned so much about friendship, that I am ready to start over here in Equestria."

"Well you can definitely count me as a friend, Sunset." Lockon assured her. "I would like to meet you again sometime, if that's not too much trouble." That last part he added somewhat bashfully.

"I would be happy to take you up on that offer Lockon." Sunset replied. "But, would it be alright with you if we do that on a future day? I still want to make some amends and learn more about the Magic of Friendship."

"Of course, Sunset." Lockon replied. "You take all the time you need and I can wait just as long. You can find me here in the castle or just send me a letter whenever you want to meet again."

"Alright, then." Sunset responded before realizing she was missing something. "Oh no! Where's my locket?!" She panicked before seeing Lockon holding it out to her with his front hoof.

"Did you mean this?" He asked. "I do believe you dropped it when we bumped into each other."

"Oh, thank you!" Sunset exclaimed before hugging him, causing him to blush slightly. "That locket was a gift, and it's very special to me. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost it."

Then she realized what she was doing before starting to blush herself. She then stopped hugging him and took her locket from his hoof with her magic before putting it back on her neck.

"Sorry about that." She apologized.

Lockon could only smile warmly at her. "It's quite alright." He said. "For some reason I tend to have that effect on a lot of mares, even when I am just trying to be polite and friendly. Well, I better get going. It was nice to meet you Sunset Shimmer. I hope we can see each other again soon."

"Me too, Lockon." Sunset replied. And with that, she started walking towards the gardens again, while Lockon headed in the opposite direction. While heading towards the gardens, Sunset thought to herself, 'Wow, he's so polite and quite handsome too. I have never felt like this around any stallion before. I have not felt like this since back when I dated Flash Sentry in Canterlot High.'

She then shook her head. 'No, Sunset, you are here to learn the Magic of Friendship and make amends. Dating can wait until much later. Besides, he can try to deny it all he wants to, but I am certain that he was lying when he said he was not really a prince. And if he really is one, then I most likely don't stand a chance with him. At least he is willing to be my friend, and that's good enough for me. Although I will admit he is quite handsome.' Unbeknownst to her however, Lockon Astros was having very similar thoughts about her.

By the time Sunset finished her own train of thought, she had already arrived at the castle's sculpture gardens. She took in all the statues that decorated the entire garden. From the sculpture that depicted three smiling ponies above each other which represented friendship, to the statue portraying a pony standing proudly with a flag in her hooves which represented victory.

However, with all of the statues that were currently in the garden, there was one that Sunset remembered seeing back from when she was still Princess Celestia's student 60 moons ago. Only this time she noticed that it was not there.

"I know there used to be a statue right in this exact spot." She said out loud to herself. "But what was that statue? And more importantly, why is it not here anymore?"

"I can answer both your questions, miss." A mysterious voice said in a tone that sounded both mischievous and yet friendly at the same time.

"Who said that?" Sunset gasped. Then she turned around only to find a certain creature with the head of a pony and a body made up of all sorts of things. Upon seeing this mystery creature she yelped and leapt ten feet into the air.

"Who are you?" She asked somewhat fearfully.

"It's alright, Sunset Shimmer." The draconequus replied "I can assure you I mean you no harm whatsoever."

"How do you know my name?!" Sunset replied with even more fear in her voice and so much volume that it could almost be described as yelling. "Who are you?!"

"Oh, of course, how rude of me." He responded. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Discord."

"DISCORD?!" Sunset did yell this time. "The spirit of chaos and disharmony that Princesses Celestia and Luna imprisoned in stone over a thousand years ago? The one who ruled Equestria in an eternal state of chaos just for the sake of his own amusement? THAT Discord?!"

"Oh yeah," Discord replied. "Way to bring up past memories and make me feel bad about them, Miss Shimmer. And that brings me to your first question. You see, I knew your name and about your existence from 60 moons ago, back when you were still Celestia's student. Though I was still just a statue at the time, as you so clearly figured out on your own just a few minutes ago, I could still hear everything going on around me. That also included that little outburst of yours and your little falling out with Princess Celestia."

"Oh," Sunset replied in a regretful tone. "I'm sorry about making you feel bad. Though to be honest with you, I really was not expecting you to be out of that statue after everything I had heard about you up to that point."

"Eh, you were gone for five years." Discord responded. "You did not even know. Plus, I do tend to have an unsettling effect on ponies, but honestly I am trying my best to reform."

"Which reminds me," Sunset started. "How did Princess Celestia even manage to reform you anyway?"

"Wait…don't tell me." She said as the realization hit her. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends, right?"

"Right on the button." Discord replied. "Well it was mostly Fluttershy, but still…"

"Well in any case," Sunset responded. "Why would Princess Celestia even want to release you from your stone prison?"

"Oh," Discord replied. "Something about having use for my chaos magic on the side of good in times of crisis, or something along those lines, though honestly I don't see that happening anytime soon."

"Care for a spot of tea?" He asked as he materialized a whole table complete with tea set, while simultaneously making formal attire for himself.

"No thank you." Sunset replied. "I am good."

"Suit yourself." Discord responded before talking to somepony else. "Oh, hey there, Flash. What brings you here?"

Upon hearing this Sunset immediately whipped her head around to find that characteristic smile that could only belong to Flash Sentry.

"Nice to see you too, Discord." Flash replied. "But I am actually here for Sunset Shimmer."

"For me?" Sunset questioned.

"Yes," Flash added. "Princess Celestia sent me with a message. She has asked you to come to the throne room. And she also wants me to tell you that 5 guests are at the castle's front gates."

"Thank you, Flash." Sunset replied "By the way, I also wanted to thank you for taking me to the infirmary in the Crystal Castle. I never did get the chance to thank you then."

"You're quite welcome, Miss Shimmer." Flash answered somewhat modestly. "Although, you didn't really need to thank me. I was just doing my duty as a royal guard."

"Well, anyway, thank you for the message." Sunset replied. "I must not keep the Princess waiting." And with that she broke into a full gallop towards the throne room.

When she arrived at the throne room, Princess Celestia was already waiting for her.

"Glad to see you made it, Sunset." She acknowledged with a warm smile. "Moondancer and her 4 friends should be arriving any minute now."

"Well I just hope they can forgive me for what I said to them all those moons ago." Sunset replied nervously.

"Don't worry, Sunset." The Princess replied. "You are a better pony than you were back then. You obviously feel guilt and remorse for your behavior and your actions. I'm sure they will forgive you."

Then a knock came before a royal guard entered the room. "Your 5 guests have arrived, your highness." He announced while bowing.

"Thank you." Celestia responded. "Please send them in."

"Yes, your highness." He replied before exiting the room.

After he left, 5 unicorn mares walked into the throne room. All of them Sunset recognized from a certain conversation 5 years ago that she herself was feeling insanely guilty about right now.

One was creamy white with a long mane and tail that were both almost rose red in color with a few noticeable streaks of purple that were the same color as her eyes. She wore a blue bow at the base of her tail. Her cutie mark was a small gray crescent moon with three small, black five-pointed stars underneath it.

The second one had a similar coat color, but her mane and tail were so pink that they could remind somepony of cotton candy. Her eyes were an electric blue/turquoise blue-green and her cutie mark was a trio of small bluish gray stars.

The third one had a Maya blue coat. Her mane and tail were half pigment blue and half periwinkle blue; in fact one could almost compare them to a freshly squeezed string of toothpaste. Her eyes were steel blue and her cutie mark was an hourglass.

The fourth had a magic mint green coat as well as a mane and tail that were a lighter shade of the same color with a streak of white thrown in. Her eyes were golden in color and her cutie mark was a lyre.

The fifth and final pony had a body shape that was exactly like the second one's. Even their manes and tails had the same shape. If it weren't for the fact that the two ponies had different colors, one might have thought that they were sisters, maybe even twins. This final pony had a lemon yellow coat, and a cerulean mane and tail with a lighter streak in the tail. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of raspberry red. Her cutie mark was a trio of hearts; one was green in color while the other two matched her mane and tail color.

"Moondancer," Princess Celestia began addressing them as they bowed to her in respect. "Twinkleshine, Minuette, Lyra Heartstrings, Lemon Hearts. Thank you for coming girls. I am glad you could make it."

All five mares bowed before the princess with smiles on their faces.

"It's good to see you again, Princess." Moondancer, the redhead of the group, replied.

"But, with all due respect, Princess," Lyra, the mint green unicorn added. "Why did you call all five of us to the palace?"

When they finally rose from their bows, it was only then that they noticed Sunset Shimmer. And at that moment the smiles had all but vanished from all five of their faces.

"And more importantly," the lemon coated pony chimed in while pointing at Sunset with an almost menacing look on her face. "What is SHE doing here?!"

"Now Lemon Hearts," Celestia explained to all them. "I am fully aware that the last time you all saw Sunset Shimmer, what happened between the six of you was not exactly the best of interactions."

"Understatement of the century." Minuette, the blue pony, replied while Twinkleshine, the pink-maned unicorn, could only nod in agreement with an annoyed frown on her face.

"Regardless of those events," the princess continued. "I can fully assure you that Sunset Shimmer completely regrets her behavior towards all 5 of you 5 years ago. I have given her a second chance. All she wants to do is make amends and start over. And she wishes to start her list of amends with the five of you."

Sunset could only look down at the floor with an ashamed look on her face.

"I don't buy it." Lemon Hearts spoke again. "I am sorry, Princess Celestia. But I honestly am having trouble believing any of what you just said. I don't think I will believe it even if she were to pour out some incredibly sappy apology from what little even remains of her heart, that is, if she even HAS one."

"Lemon Hearts!" Moondancer exclaimed slightly in shock. "That's awfully harsh, don't you think?!"

"No, Moondancer, she's right." Sunset decided to jump in at that moment, while starting to get teary-eyed. "She has every right not to believe me or forgive me. All five of you do. I was real jerk back then. I was nothing but a stuck-up and ambitious little brat who cast aside all thoughts of and the very idea of friendship just for the sake of power. If any of you ever had a chance to become Princess Celestia's personal student, all five of you would've deserved that chance 1000 times more than I ever did. All five of you deserve to be princesses 1000 times more than I ever will. I am not asking you to forgive me; I don't even deserve your forgiveness. I just want you to know how truly sorry I am."

"Anyway, that's all." She added before turning around with tears in her eyes. Only to be stopped by a voice as she started walking towards the throne.

"Wait." Moondancer's voice echoed through the hall, causing Sunset to turn around. She immediately found Moondancer a few hoofsteps in front of her. What happened next surprised everypony in the room. Even Sunset's eyes were wide with surprise.

Moondancer was actually hugging Sunset Shimmer. "I forgive you, Sunset Shimmer." She whispered.

At that moment, Sunset burst into tears and returned Moondancer's hug. "Do you really mean that?" She asked in a teary manner.

"Of course I do." Moondancer replied in a sweet tone. "Lemon Hearts might not see it, but I can tell that you really have changed. All of the emotion that you let out of your heart and put into your apology, that look in those teary eyes of yours. Nopony can fake any of that, not even if they were the greatest actor of all time. Besides, everypony deserves a second chance. Clearly, Princess Celestia has forgiven you, enough to let you be her personal student again from the looks of it. So I forgive you, and you can definitely count me as a friend."

"Oh, thank you Moondancer." Sunset replied with her eyes closed while of joy tears were streaming down her face.

"I still don't buy it." Lemon Hearts acknowledged much to Moondancer's annoyance.

"That's enough Lemon Hearts." Moondancer actually raised her voice towards her, much to the shock of everypony in the room. Even Princess Celestia widened her eyes a little. "Would it kill you to stop being such a sourpuss?"

"You're actually defending her?!" Lemon Hearts replied. "After all those rude things she said to us?! Honestly Moondancer, you can be far too trusting sometimes."

"And just as often, you're just not trusting enough." Moondancer countered. "You always were one to hold a grudge, Lemon Hearts, but I can't believe you can't even let go of something that happened at least 5 years ago. Even Princess Celestia is willing to forgive Sunset Shimmer. So why can't you?"

To say that everypony else in the throne room was astonished at Moondancer's actions right now, would have been a major understatement. Moondancer, the mare who was shy, quiet, and super friendly 5 years ago in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, was actually standing up for Sunset Shimmer against one of her own friends.

After thinking it over inside her head for a while, Lemon Hearts's face eventually took on an ashamed look while her ears folded back against her head.

"You're right." She told Moondancer before walking towards Sunset. "I'm really sorry, Sunset. I shouldn't have said all that nasty stuff about you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I already have." Sunset replied while hugging Lemon Hearts. Lemon Hearts could only return the hug.

"If Moondancer and Princess Celestia can find it in their hearts to forgive you," Lemon Hearts said. "Then I can too."

"Same here." Lyra chimed in.

"Me too." Twinkleshine added.

"And I as well." Minuette joined in.

"Thanks, girls." Sunset answered all of them. "You have no idea how much this means to me right now."

"Well, why don't we try to get reacquainted at Donut Joe's?" Moondancer suggested.

"That does sound like a great idea." Sunset replied. "Unfortunately though, I am completely broke."

"Oh, that's OK Sunset," Moondancer acknowledged. "I would be more than happy to cover you this once."

"Are you sure about that, Moondancer?" Sunset asked. "I don't want to impose on you or anything."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Moondancer replied. "I have plenty of bits to pay for both of us."

"Alright then. Whenever you girls are ready." Sunset confirmed before turning back to Princess Celestia. "You don't mind, do you Princess?"

"Of course not, Sunset." Celestia replied with a warm smile. "I will let the six of you catch up. Just be sure to come back here as soon as you are done."

"Of course, Princess." Sunset replied before turning back to the other five mares. "Well, I don't know about any of you, but I sure could use a donut and a cup of coffee."

"Well, let's get going then." Lyra agreed.

And with that all Sunset Shimmer accompanied her five newest friends out of the throne room and towards Canterlot's most well-known sweet shop.

As soon as they were out of hearing range, Princess Celestia smiled before saying mostly to herself: "I am so proud of you, Sunset Shimmer. You have finally accepted friendship into your heart and found your way back onto the path towards your true destiny. I can already tell that at the rate you're going, you will soon earn your redemption and much more."

The Start of Sunset's Journey

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Sunset Shimmer was currently inside Donut Joe's shop along with, Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts. All of them were laughing heartily as they got reacquainted and told each other stories about what each of them had been doing since they last saw each other 60 moons ago.

Moondancer still lives in Canterlot, but she occasionally visits old friends from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns in Ponyville. An astronomy wiz, she has always had a deep interest with the night sky, her main focus being the moon.

The other four live in Ponyville, where apparently Minuette was the local dentist, and had a thing for being on time (which might explain her hourglass cutie mark). According to her, ponies are late for appointments with her more often than not.

Lyra was a musician, her preferred instrument being the lyre as her cutie mark shown, although she could also play other stringed instruments as well, including the electric guitar. Apparently, for some odd reason, she also had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with human beings, and it certainly did not help when Sunset proved the existence of humans by telling the other five mares about her adventures in the human world while showing them her locket as proof.

Twinkleshine shared Moondancer's fascination for astronomy, except her focus interest was more along the lines of constellations and the stars.

Lemon Hearts, as it turned out, was the "odd mare" of the group, despite Lyra's unhealthy obsession. Apparently, she likes to play matchmaker along with her friend Dolphin Dream in Ponyville. Nopony knew why two of the hearts on her cutie mark were blue while the third was green. Perhaps the two blue hearts were meant to show that she was a sweet mare most of the time, while the green one showed represented the rare times whenever ponies who made her mad got a taste of her "sourpuss" side. Nopony but her really knew for sure.

Sunset Shimmer was now telling the other five mares about this one time back in the human world where she and her friends had to deal with a snooty stuck-up French baker who did nothing but criticize every single treat that was not made by him, many of which were made by that world's Pinkie Pie. Then Sunset told the others about how it had gotten to the point where she could not take it anymore.

"So I took one of his cupcakes," Sunset continued. "Walked right up to him, looked him dead in the eyes, and then I said to him, 'If you call this a triple fudge chocolate cupcake, then that must make me Pinkie Pie.'"

The other five mares all burst out laughing at that comment. If they weren't the only customers in the café right now, some ponies would have mistaken all of their laughter for the sounds of a pack of hyenas hopped up on laughing gas.

"That was the best comeback line I ever heard." Twinkleshine said while giggling.

"Absolutely priceless." Lemon Hearts agreed while still in a laughing fit.

"You thought that was priceless," Sunset added. "You should've been there to see the look on that big palooka's red face. Oh, I tell you, it was hysterical."

"Well," Lyra chimed in. "I still can't believe there is a whole world filled with humans that look and act exactly like everypony in Equestria."

"By the way Sunset," Minuette said. "Did you ever meet that world's Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer?"

"Honestly, no." Sunset replied. "I remember Pinkie Pie telling me about how she asked Princess Twilight if she had a twin sister who lived in the city. But I have no idea where that world's Sunset Shimmer is. I only hope she is okay and that my time in that world did not harm her in any way."

"Well enough about that." Lemon Hearts chimed in. "Hearts and Hooves Day is a few weeks away. Do any of you have any crushes or potential special someponies? I could help you make cards for them if you want."

"You and Dolphin Dream always like to play matchmaker, don't you Lemon Hearts?" Twinkleshine asked teasingly.

"What about you Sunset?" Lemon Hearts asked her.

Sunset could only blush slightly before replying back that she did not have a crush. Unfortunately for her, Moondancer saw it and was not fooled at all.

"Oh my gosh," she said. "You DO have a crush! Who is it Sunset?"

"If I told you," Sunset started. "You probably wouldn't believe me."

"Oh yeah?" Minuette smirked playfully. "Just try us."

"Alright, I'll humor you." Sunset replied. "Have any of you heard of an alicorn stallion named Lockon Astros?"

As soon as she said that, everypony else gasped.

"Lockon Astros?" Minuette began. "Prince Lockon Astros? HE'S your crush?!"

"Yes," Sunset responded. "Although when I first met him, he was very insistent in saying that he was not really a prince. I think he might be self-conscious about his royal title or something."

"Oh, he is." Moondancer replied. "He and I are actually pretty good friends. He just feels like he did not even earn his title. He thinks the only reason he is even a prince is because he is Princess Celestia's adopted son. That's why he is always so cautious when it comes to meeting new ponies and making friends. He's reluctant to even try to find a marefriend."

"Well, that would explain a lot." Sunset began. "Wait…Princess Celestia's adopted son?! He didn't mention that part when I first met him."

"When did you meet him, anyway?" Lyra asked.

"Oh, it was a short while before I apologized to all of you." Sunset began. "I had just reconciled with Princess Celestia, who had just given me another chance to be her student again, but that's beside the point. I was walking through the castle halls on my way to the sculpture garden. I was so happy to have earned the Princess's forgiveness that I did not even look where I was going. Then as I turned a corner, I bumped headfirst into somepony, causing both of us to fall onto our flanks."

"That somepony was Lockon, wasn't it?" Twinkleshine asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, it was." Sunset replied before continuing her tale. "Anyway, I will admit that when I first laid my eyes on him, he was perhaps the most handsome stallion I have ever seen in my life. As soon as I saw his horn AND wings, however, I bowed before him and apologized. However, he seemed very insistent on not being royalty, he even asked me himself not to bow to me. His exact words were 'I may be an alicorn, but I am not really a prince.'"

"That does sound just like him." Moondancer acknowledged.

"Anyway," Sunset continued. "We told each other our names. He seemed to know about my past from five years ago when I told him my name. He said I could count him as a friend and also that he would like to meet me again sometime."

"Sounds to me like you're not the only one with special feelings for somepony." Lemon Hearts said with a sly smirk.

"Oh please," Sunset replied. "You all just confirmed for me that he really is royalty. I probably don't have a chance at being with him. Besides, I don't think I am ready to start dating again yet. I still want to learn more about the Magic of Friendship and make amends with everypony I wronged. I told Lockon about this and he said he understood and that he would wait however long it takes for me. I am glad that he is willing to be friends with me, and I am happy with that."

"I don't know, Sunset." Moondancer replied. "From what you just told us, it sounds to me like he might have similar feelings for you as well. Honestly, I'm no Princess Cadance, but I think you two would be a perfect match for each other."

"I am glad you think that way Moondancer." Sunset responded. "And I appreciate your opinion, but I think I will cross that bridge with him if and when we come to it and only if he wants to do so as well. Besides, I want to learn as much as I can about the Magic of Friendship before I start dating again."

"Wait, again?" Lyra chimed in. "You dated someone before?"

"Oh yeah." Sunset replied. "Actually it was back in the human world, before Princess Twilight Sparkle helped me see the light. Do any of you know a pegasus named Flash Sentry?"

"Royal guard?" Minuette asked.

"Orange coat?" Lyra added.

"Blue mane?" Twinkleshine continued.

"Lightning bolt on a shield for a cutie mark?" Lemon Hearts pressed on.

"And a smile that is so easily recognizable and likeable that it could even be considered a trademark of his?" Moondancer finished.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes." Sunset answered all five questions in succession. "I dated his human counterpart back in the other world. Back then I was still the same ambitious jerk that you met sixty moons ago. I was also very possessive of him as well. It was for those reasons, along with various others, that he broke up with me, though I did deserve that at the time. Anyway, after Twilight showed me the error of my ways, I started making amends with all the people I wronged in that world, Flash included. We eventually patched things up and rekindled our bond with each other, though this time as true friends just like the 5 girls shown in this locket of mine."

"I still can't believe how much they look just Twilight's friends here in Equestria." Lyra said. "They look so much alike in so many different ways it's actually kind of freaky to some extent."

The others all nodded in agreement. Then Moondancer spoke up. "Oh, goodness, it is getting late. I really should get going." The others all agreed to that.

"We should really do this again sometime." Sunset suggested.

"We could do that whenever you visit Ponyville." Lyra added.

"In fact," Twinkleshine added. "If I know a certain crazy party pony, she'll probably give us all a chance to do that at one of her parties."

"I don't doubt it." Sunset chuckled. "Well, I gotta get back to the castle. Until next time girls." She then waved goodbye.

"Bye, Sunset." The other 5 said as they waved back.

The walk back to the castle was relatively short and quick. The guards apparently got the message from Princess Celestia that Sunset Shimmer was her student once again. They let her pass without fuss and informed her that the princess was waiting for her in the throne room. After thanking the guards, she immediately headed there. When she got there not only was Celestia waiting for her, but Lockon Astros and Princess Luna as well.

"Ah, there you are, Sunset." Celestia acknowledged her with a warm smile. "I was beginning to wonder when you would return."

"My sincerest apologies, Princess Celestia." Sunset replied with a bow. "It seems that Moondancer and the others as well as myself, did a lot more catching up than we were planning on. But it was certainly worth it because all five of them are an absolute joy to be around."

"I am glad to hear that." Celestia responded. "Well, since you are going to be my student once again, and seeing as how you have already met Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, I thought it would be fitting to introduce you to the rest of the royal family. I do not believe you have met my sister, Princess Luna."

"Charmed." Luna replied in a somewhat unamused tone as Sunset bowed in respect.

"Luna, please give her a chance, she really has changed." Celestia admonished her sister.

"Forgive me for saying this, Celestia," Luna countered. "But I will believe that once I have seen it myself."

"At least give her a chance, Luna." Celestia pleaded. "Twilight forgave her."

"Very well, sister." Luna conceded. "I shall give her a chance, for you and for Twilight Sparkle."

"Thank you, sister." Celestia said before turning back to Sunset. "I am sorry about that, Sunset. It's just that Twilight is one of the closest friends that my sister has ever had."

"I understand, Princess." Sunset replied. "She is still pretty ticked at me for what I made Twilight go through thirty moons ago. She's not the only one. Shining Armor was still ticked off at me about that as well, and I really can't blame him. Though I will admit I was dumbfounded that Princess Cadance did not use her own Royal Canterlot voice on me from the first moment that we met. I mean considering the fact that she used to be Twilight's foalsitter, I would have thought she would have at least locked me up in the Crystal Castle dungeon for a while."

Then she turned back to Luna. "Honestly, Princess Luna," she began. "I don't blame you for not trusting me. You have every imaginable right to not trust me. Sometimes I even have trouble forgiving myself for everything I've done, which by the way, I am not proud of."

"But if there is one thing I have learned from the beautiful night that you always bring to Equestria," She continued. "It's that as long as you have faith in yourself and never give up hope, you can overcome any challenge, and if your friends are by your side, you'll always prevail."

"A most interesting analogous use of the moon and the stars in depiction of my night." Luna replied with a sincere smile. "Now I can see that my sister and Cadance were right about you."

Celestia could only smile at this.

"Well, now that you two are on better terms with each other," she continued. "There is one more pony I would like you to meet."

"If you're talking about Lockon, Princess," Sunset beat her to the punch. "There's really no need. We've already met."

"Oh have you now?" Celestia responded inquisitively. "When did this happen?"

"While I was waiting for Moondancer and the others to come to the castle today." Sunset replied. "I was walking through the halls and heading towards the sculpture garden. We accidentally bumped into each other, we learned each other's names and he said I could count him as a friend. Though, he was quite insistent when he told me that he was not really a prince."

Then she turned to Lockon. "By the way," she continued "Moondancer told me about how you're Princess Celestia's adopted son. Is that true?" Both Lockon and Celestia nodded.

"And please, do correct me if I am wrong," Sunset continued. "But that technically DOES make you a Prince, doesn't it?" Lockon nodded again, although somewhat reluctantly this time.

"I just feel like I did not really earn my title." Lockon said again. "Besides, not thinking of myself as a prince keeps it from going to my head, unlike a certain spoiled unicorn stallion whose name I shall not mention."

"I am proud of you in that regard, Lockon." Celestia responded. "Though sooner or later, there will come a time when you have to fully embrace your royal title. But until that time comes, feel free to take all the time you need."

"Thanks, mom." Lockon responded with a smile.

Sunset smiled at this and then let out a big yawn. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Princess Luna," she said before turning to Lockon. "And you again as well, Lockon." Then she turned back to Celestia.

"Well, Princess," she began. "I don't know about you, but I am feeling very sleepy right now."

"I don't doubt it, Sunset." Celestia chuckled before turning to her adopted son. "Lockon, would you be a dear and escort Sunset Shimmer to her quarters for the night?"

"Of course, mom." He said before heading towards the doors with Sunset.

"Oh, and Sunset," Celestia added. "Be sure to get plenty of rest. You have big day ahead of you tomorrow, my now reformed and once again faithful student."

"Of course, Princess." Sunset replied one last time as she bowed. "Well, good night." And with that she left with Lockon to her new quarters.

When they were both out of earshot, Luna finally broke the silence. "You're sending her to Ponyville tomorrow, aren't you?" She asked her sister.

Celestia replied back with a smirk. "Whatever gave you that impression?"

Meanwhile on their way to her new bedroom, Sunset and Lockon bumped into Flash Sentry doing his last patrol shift for the day. "Oh hey there, Flash." Lockon greeted him.

"Good evening to you as well, Captain." Flash replied. "I see you've already met miss Sunset Shimmer. You two seem awfully close." He added that last part with a somewhat sly smirk.

"It is not like that, Flash." Lockon quickly clarified. "Princess Celestia asked me to escort Sunset here to her bedroom for the night, now that she is once again going to be studying under her wing. And Flash, I thought I made it quite clear when I asked you not to call me captain when I am off duty."

"Oh, right." Flash replied with a sheepish smile. "Sorry Lockon, I keep forgetting about that. But you know you can address the Princess as your mother around me, right? I know that she is your adoptive mother."

"I know I can trust you, Flash. It's the others I am worried about." Lockon responded.

"Don't worry, pal." Flash quickly comforted him. "They would not think any less of you than they do now, even if they did know. But you do know that they will find out eventually."

"True." Lockon agreed.

"Wait," Sunset chimed in. "I am severely confused here. Why did he just call you 'captain'?"

"Oh," Lockon replied with a sheepish smile. "Well, since you already know about me and my adoptive mother, you should know this as well. Truth is, I am also the current captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Flash and I were sparring partners during training camp when we first joined. And we've been good friends ever since."

"I see," Sunset replied in amazement. "By the way, I hope it's not too personal, but what is your special talent?"

"Oh that," Lockon replied in a slightly more eager tone. "I am pretty good at combat over all, but my best skills are at firing attack spells from long distances. I don't mean to brag, but many of our fellow royal guards tend to call me the pony who can target and fire even from beyond the stars. Of course, I also have to be good at close range combat as well, just like any other royal guard."

"Wow," Sunset commented "An alicorn prince AND a captain of the royal guard. Never thought I'd see the day. I'd be surprised if you did not have a marefriend. Any mare would be lucky to have you."

This caused Lockon to blush slightly. Flash noticed this and smirked. "You know Sunset, he actually does not have one." He told her.

"This from the stallion who can't even work up the courage or the guts to ask a certain young and available princess that he is crushing on out on a date?" Lockon countered after realizing where Flash was going with this.

"Touché." Flash retorted playfully.

"Well, I would love to stick around and chat some more," Sunset began again. "But I am really tired. And I have a big day tomorrow. So if it's not too much trouble, Lockon, can we keep going please?"

"Sure, Sunset." Lockon heartily agreed. "Well, catch ya later Flash."

"You too, pal." Flash replied and went back on his way.

As soon as he was out earshot, Sunset broke the silence.

"Does he seriously have a crush on Princess Twilight Sparkle?" She asked with a slight snicker.

"Oh, big time." Lockon responded. "And she can try to deny it all she wants, but I know for an absolute fact that deep down inside her own heart, she has a crush on him as well."

"Somehow, that does not really surprise me." Sunset replied. "She had a bit of crush on the other world's Flash Sentry. And I think he returned those feelings. I just hope he does not spend the rest of his life waiting for her to return."

"Yeah that would just make him even sadder." Lockon replied. "Though if he gets lucky, maybe he will end up meeting the Twilight Sparkle from his own world. Or maybe even your counterpart, and she will be just as nice as you are right now."

"Yeah, that would be lucky for him." Sunset chuckled. It was then that they finally arrived at their destination.

"Well, here we are." Lockon said. "Your bedroom for the evening."

"Thanks for the escort, Lockon." Sunset responded before getting a sudden wave of nostalgia. "Oh my gosh. This is the exact same bedroom I slept in when I was Princess Celestia's student 60 moons ago. It looks like it has not even changed a day in all the time I was gone."

"Yeah," Lockon replied. "Mom wanted to make you feel as welcome as possible again. This just proves how much she missed you all that time. Doesn't it?"

"Yes it does." Sunset answered with tears of joy in her eyes. "If you see her before you turn in for the night, could you tell her I said thanks?"

"I certainly will." Lockon responded before turning to leave. "Well, goodnight Sunset."

"Thanks, Lockon, you as well." Sunset replied sincerely.

When she finally got comfortable enough in her bed to sleep, her eyelids began to close on their own accord. Her sleep went by very peacefully.

However, during one of her dreams, she saw something that really disturbed her. All around her were creatures that looked like a cross between unicorns and insects. They all had bug-like wings and black bodies with small horns on their head. Hundreds were swarming all over the place like the disgusting insects that they might as well have been.

In the center of the swarm, however, was one that was bigger than the rest. It looked feminine in appearance and looked particularly intimidating so Sunset immediately thought this one was their leader. She had eerily green eyes, and her horn had holes in it, giving it a mangled appearance, just like all of her legs. She also had a long mane and tail that was a mix of green and cerulean blue. The biggest difference though was the fact that this one was wearing a silver alicorn shaped pendant with a nearly blood-red crystal in the center.

They appeared to be performing some sort of ritual. The lead creature cast her magic and her aura took on the same color as the crystal on the pendant, and for the briefest of moments her eyes did the exact same thing. Then she fired a red beam of magic from her horn, directed at something in the middle of a magical circle.

When Sunset saw the target, she became all sorts of confused. The target was a unicorn horn, but this one was far different from any other unicorn horn she had ever seen. This one was blood-red in color and curved like a blade and it looked like it had been blown off of its owner's head.

What happened next was perhaps one of the most frightening things that Sunset Shimmer had ever seen. The red magic swirled around the curved red horn. Then a large shadow started coming out of the base of the horn. The shadow then started to take the shape of a pony. Then various body parts started fading in and appearing in place of the dark shadowy shape.

When it finished taking form, Sunset Shimmer could not believe her eyes. What was once a pony-shaped shadow was now a full-bodied unicorn with a horn exactly like the one that was used in the ritual. This unicorn had a black coat, mane and tail, a full set of dull grey armor all over his body, and a red cape with white trim on it like one would see in a stereotypical image of a king. And his eyes were the most eerie combination of green and blood-red that Sunset had ever seen.

Then, all of them noticed her and started approaching her in a threatening and evil manner. If Sunset was scared before, she was beyond terrified right now, and started backing up in fear. Fate seemed to be against her as she made contact with a seemingly unending wall behind her. But then just as she was about lose all hope of escape, a blue magic flash of light hit all the creatures in the room except for her.

"It is alright, Sunset Shimmer." A warm and familiar voice assured her before its owner finally revealed herself. "You no longer need to worry, for you are safe now."

There, standing right before Sunset Shimmer, was Princess Luna in all of her regal beauty and authority.

"Princess Luna?!" Sunset exclaimed and bowed in respect before continuing. "Not that I'm not grateful to you for getting rid of those things, but what are you doing here?"

"I am the princess of the night, thus it is my duty to come into your dreams." She answered.

"You can raise the moon and visit other ponies in their dreams?! That is AWESOME! What CAN'T you do?!" Sunset asked in an excited tone before widening her eyes and coming back to the realization that she was currently in a dream herself. "Wait! I'm in a dream right now? But that did not feel like one at all. It felt so real."

"I can assure you that you are indeed asleep." Luna responded. "Though I must admit, that string of events was quite unnerving to say the least. It felt more like a foreshadowing of terrible events that may have yet to come, though of that I cannot be certain."

"Well, I don't want to worry about that right now." Sunset replied in a sincere tone. "For now, I think that dream was probably the result of being stressed out about returning to Equestria after being gone for five years. I was half-expecting to be thrown in the castle dungeon as a traitor to Equestria or as a criminal after everything that I have done. I honestly never expected for your sister to forgive me, never mind give me another chance to be her student again."

"I don't blame you, Sunset." Luna said while gently holding Sunset's chin with her forehoof. "You and I are a lot alike in that regard. I am sure you have heard of the Mare in the Moon?"

"That was you, right?" Sunset asked, to which Luna nodded in response. "Yeah, but you had it worse than me. Being locked on the moon for a thousand years."

"And yet, Celestia was able to forgive me." Luna reminded her.

"She did forgive me too." Sunset said to herself. "But still, I am not entirely sure that I truly have earned it."

"Why do you think my sister gave you another chance to be her student again?" Luna questioned her.

And that is when it hit Sunset. "She is giving me a chance to prove how much I have changed." Luna nodded yes in response before Sunset continued on. "Well, I promised her that I would learn all I could about the Magic of Friendship, and that I would not let her down this time. Well, I swear on the locket that my human friends gave me, that I have every intention to keep that promise."

"I don't doubt it, Sunset Shimmer." Luna responded warmly. "I should leave you to get your rest. Sweet dreams, Sunset."

"With you watching over them, they will be." Sunset replied with just as much sincerity. "And thank you again, Princess Luna. I am glad to be back in Equestria where I belong."

And with that, Luna left Sunset to get back to her peaceful rest, which remained full of good dreams throughout the rest of the night.

Moving to Ponyville

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Sunset Shimmer awoke from her peaceful dream filled sleep with a yawn so cute, it could rival those of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Fluttershy combined.

After Princess Luna had gotten rid of her nightmare the night before, Sunset had the best sleep she ever had in five years. Add this to the fact that she was already off to a good start making amends as well as friends, she was already starting to like being back in Equestria.

Just then, a knock came from the other side of her bedroom door. "Come in." Sunset answered it. After which the door opened to reveal Flash Sentry in his royal guard uniform and armor.

"Oh good, you're awake." He said. "Princess Celestia sent me to inform you that she will be waiting for you in the dining hall."

"Can you tell her I'll be down there soon?" Sunset asked him. "I really need to take a shower right now."

"Of course, miss Shimmer." Flash replied. "I'll go inform her so she knows when to expect you. Try not to take too long though. I trust you remember where the dining hall is?"

"I have a pretty good idea." Sunset responded. "But I'll just ask somepony for directions if I get lost."

"See ya around, then." Flash answered. After which Sunset acknowledged him with a simple "thank you" and he left.

Luckily for her, there just happened to be a bathroom complete with shower and everything right through the only other door in her bedroom.

Sunset sighed in relief as she stepped out of the shower not even twenty minutes later and onto the fuzzy bathroom mat. She had never felt so clean and relaxed in her entire life. Taking the towel off the towel rack, she rubbed herself down, humming a hearty tune as she did. The simple act of being able to properly bathe herself had left Sunset in high spirits. A complete reversal of what she had been feeling at least 3 days ago.

She wiped a wide circle through the mist that clung to the bathroom mirror and smiled at her reflection. A squeaky clean orange unicorn grinned back at her. Her mane fell in wet strands across the sides of her face. She gave it a quick rub down with a towel before deciding that she'd just let it dry naturally. Part of this decision was made due to the growling in her stomach. And then she remembered that Princess Celestia was waiting for her in the dining hall.

She hung the towel up and left the humid bathroom, feeling the cooler air of the castle brush across her fur. The morning sun broke through the windows and gave the inside of the great palace a warm and tranquil feel. Following a delightful smell, Sunset hurried down to the first floor and soon found herself in front of the door to the dining hall where she heard two voices conversing from behind it.

Deciding to be polite, Sunset gently knocked on the door three times with her hoof.

"Come in" announced the voice of Princess Celestia. Upon entering the room, Sunset found both the princess and Lockon Astros sitting together at one end of the table, while enjoying a healthy plate of pancakes. With one untouched platter in front of an empty chair waiting for her.

Upon approaching the two alicorns, Sunset gave a respectful bow to the princess. "Good morning, Princess, I am sorry for keeping you waiting." She apologized. "I hope I did not take up too much of your time."

"Not at all, Sunset," Celestia replied with a smile. "It is perfectly understandable that you would wish to get accustomed to your natural body again, especially when it comes to your hygienic needs."

And with that Sunset started eating her stack of pancakes, using her magic to make her knife and fork carve out appropriately sized pieces, before forgetting that Lockon was there.

"Oh, and good morning to you as well Lockon." Sunset acknowledged him. "I had almost forgotten you were here."

"Same to you, Sunset." He responded. "I trust you had a good sleep last night?"

"Well, I did have a really weird and wicked nightmare at first, but after Princess Luna got rid of it, I pretty much slept like a rock for the rest of the night."

"May I ask what this nightmare was about?" Celestia asked rather curiously on her part.

And so, Sunset Shimmer began describing it as it happened from start to end, down to the absolute minor details. When she first described the insectoid ponies, Sunset noticed that Lockon formed what appeared to be an angry scowl on his face. She suddenly thought that maybe he knew what she was describing and did not like them. However, she decided not to ask him about it and continue with her recollection of her dream, even mentioning the red pony-shaped necklace and the strange ritual involving a demonic-looking unicorn forming as a shadow from what was determined to be his horn. She finished with the part about Luna getting rid of them all. Celestia's eyes grew wide with surprise upon hearing all of this.

"And the strangest part is, it all felt so real." Sunset told her now mentor. "Your sister even said that it felt like a foreshadowing of some kind to her. Though in all honesty, I think that just resulted from my whole being stressed about returning to Equestria and everything up to now."

"Well," Celestia began with a nod, "it seems to me like you had a nightmare about the changelings using the Alicorn Amulet for the purpose of reviving King Sombra."

"So that's what he looked like?!" Sunset exclaimed in surprise. "Wow, he's even scarier than I imagined him to be. Wait, what are changelings?"

"Changelings are those insectoid ponies you saw in your dream." Lockon explained with a slight hint of anger I his voice. "They take the form of somepony you love and gain power by feeding off of your love for them. They nearly took over Canterlot and almost ruined Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding in the process; when their queen imprisoned Cadance and took her place to get close enough to Shining Armor just so she could feed off of him enough for her minions to break through his shield spell. In fact, Twilight and her friends were there helping with the preparations for the wedding. Twilight was the only one who was suspicious of the queen's deception, since Cadance used to be her foalsitter."

"Yeah, Princess Cadance told me about her relationship with Twilight." Sunset acknowledged. "Wait, if Twilight was suspicious of the queen, then how did the changelings nearly succeed?"

"When Twilight tried to prove it us, and confronted the disguised queen during the wedding rehearsal," Celestia began, "her friends, her brother, even I was too caught up in the wedding planning to realize she was right. The queen took advantage of this, and made such a convincing display of fake tears before running out. It worked so well, that Shining Armor, who was probably under the queen's control at the time, chewed her out, renounced her as his best mare, and cancelled her invite to the wedding, before walking out on her. I myself, as well as Twilight's friends, did the same thing, because we still believed that Queen Chrysalis was the real Cadance. Looking back on it now, I should have apologized to Twilight after that whole ordeal ended."

"I'm sure it was not your fault, Princess." Sunset consoled. "From what I just heard from the two of you, it sounds to me like this Queen Chrysalis as you two just called her fooled everypony."

"Be that as it may have been," the princess went on, "that still was no excuse for me abandoning Twilight when she needed us the most."

"Well," Lockon added in, "let's just hope that your dream was just a dream, Sunset. Besides, even if it was not, IF those insectoid dirt bags ever do come back and try to pull a fast one on us, we will be ready to give them just what they deserve. Now if you will excuse me, I have to start my shift for today as captain of the royal guard." And with that he left with a very serious look on his face.

When Sunset was sure he was out of hearing range, she turned to the princess. "Is Lockon alright, Princess Celestia?" She asked. "Ever since I first brought up those changelings from my dream, I noticed he had this angry scowl on his face. Does he have something against changelings?"

"He trusts you enough to let you call him by his name without his title." Celestia began. "Since you are one of his friends now, I suppose it is only the right thing to do to let you know his full story."

"Full story?" Sunset questioned. "What are you talking about? And what does this have to do with the changelings?"

"All will be explained, my faithful student." The princess began. "But not here, we should take this to a more private area." And with that Celestia led her former turned current student to her private chambers. Once inside, the princess locked the door behind the two of them and cast a soundproofing spell on the entire room.

"What I am about to say to you is something that only Luna, myself, Shining Armor, Cadance, Twilight, and her friends know." Celestia began to explain. "Seeing as how he already thinks of you as a friend, you have the right to know. First of all, Lockon was not always an alicorn. In fact, I knew him and his entire family back when he was still just a unicorn colt who had just hit puberty. He still dreamed of being in the royal guard one day. He gained his wings before I adopted him. And this happened not too long after our falling out 5 years ago, in fact, he was just about the same age as you were then."

"Wait, BEFORE you adopted him?!" Sunset asked in a confused manner. "I thought one could only become an alicorn by studying under your guidance or other such circumstances."

"That's not entirely true, Sunset." Celestia explained. "Some earn their wings through the method you just described, like Twilight Sparkle. However, there are others who find them through pain and suffering. Unfortunately, Lockon was one those ponies."

"Pain and suffering?!" Sunset softly exclaimed rather worriedly, obviously not liking where this was seemingly going. "What kind, how much?"

"I knew his entire family." Celestia continued with a happy smile as she reminisced. "He had both his parents and an older sister named Sapphire. Lockon and Sapphire were as close a pair of siblings as Twilight and Shining Armor are today. He was as happy as can be back then."

"But then, one fateful night, everything was taken from him." She continued, but this time replacing her smile with a look of sympathy. "Their home was attacked by changelings and destroyed upon the very first blast."

Sunset gasped in horror at this while her mentor continued.

"Lockon and Sapphire both managed to survive the explosion, but their parents weren't as lucky. The two siblings then fled towards this very castle with the changelings hot in pursuit. They had just gotten outside castle gates when the changelings caught up to them. Lockon managed to make it inside, but Sapphire was not as fortunate, and had already been caught."

"Lockon went back to try and help her, but Sapphire had put up a shield spell between him and the castle gates, telling him to forget about her and run straight to me, while expressing her final loving farewell to him. Almost immediately afterwards, the Changeling Queen Chrysalis drained Sapphire's sisterly love for Lockon out of her, and at the same time Sapphire's life force was drained entirely from her body in the process as well. All the while, Lockon could only watch helplessly from behind his beloved sister's shield spell as Sapphire was drained of love and life right in front of his eyes."

"Oh my!" Sunset gasped while bringing her hooves to her mouth in complete and utter shock. "Poor Lockon. What happened next?"

"After losing his parents and watching his sister getting the love and life drained out of her, Lockon changed dramatically." Princess Celestia explained further. "He felt a horrible hurt, and then all of that pain turned into rage. All of that rage somehow triggered his ascension. I felt that power rising up just before his ascension and rushed to see what was happening. When I got there, I saw two of my guards left unconscious, Sapphire dead, Chrysalis and a few of her changelings on castle grounds and Lockon fighting them off as an alicorn."

"At first I did not even know what was going on or why it was happening, but as soon as I saw Lockon about to lose, I jumped in to help him. Once the changelings saw me they just turned around and retreated. Lockon tried to go after them, but I held him back, telling him it was too dangerous to go after them. He then kept shouting at me to let him go. Insistent that he needed to avenge his family, but I could not let him destroy his own life like that. All that grief and emotional pain changed him in that moment. All he could think about was avenging his own family. It was like he was a completely different pony at that time."

Sunset was starting to get teary-eyed as she kept listening to this tragic tale.

"When he finally calmed down, the first thing he saw was the body of his deceased sister." Celestia pressed on. "He just crawled over to her and cried his heart out while hugging her for the last time. I had never seen him in so much pain before."

Tears were now flowing down Sunset Shimmer's face as Celestia continued Lockon's story from her point of view. Never had Sunset even heard of such a thing happening in Equestria, never mind one of this magnitude.

Celestia noticed Sunset's reaction and continued on. "Seeing him like that brought tears to my eyes then, and they were very much like the ones you are shedding right now, Sunset. He was still too shaken up at the time to tell me clearly everything that had happened, so I just looked into his most recent memories with a spell. What I saw was horrifying to say the least. Every event I just described to you, I watched from Lockon's memories, through his eyes."

"Afterwards, I brought him into the castle to stay for the night in the infirmary." Celestia further explained. "That night I decided to adopt him, for although he was not a colt anymore, he was still much too young to be living on his own. And as I said before, I knew him and his family on a personal level back when his parents and sister were still alive. And during the time that he and I spent together, to me, he became like a son I never had. When I told him the following morning that I planned to adopt him for those reasons, he had no objections whatsoever. He even told me himself that I was like a second mother to him. He also stated that he wanted to sign up for the royal guard, telling me that he wanted to protect anypony he could from that day onwards. I agreed with him and we made everything official the following day."

"Wow," Sunset sniffled with tears running down her face, "I never imagined somepony's life could get destroyed that much like that. That must have really devastated him, having his own sister taken from him right in front of his eyes."

"Yes, and Lockon certainly still remembers." Celestia answered. "It was all the pain and grief from that very night alone that drove him to excel among the royal guard during his training. Shining Armor was so impressed by Lockon's loyalty, skill, determination, and courage above and beyond the call of duty, that he decided to appoint Lockon as his second-in-command, which is why Lockon is now Captain, since Shining Armor now rules the Crystal Empire alongside Cadance."

"When the changelings nearly took over Canterlot during the wedding incident, Lockon was the only one among the royal guard who actually put up a decent fight. In fact, he showed them no mercy at all. He only stopped when Shining Armor and Cadance used their love to expel all the changelings from Canterlot."

"He was still pent-up on revenge for his family at that time, wasn't he?" Sunset asked, even though she felt like she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Celestia answered somewhat solemnly. "And he should know full well by now that revenge never solves anything. I have tried to reason with him about it, but he can be so stubborn. He would always say that he would only be at peace after avenging his family. I fear the day that he succeeds in taking his revenge in cold blood, may come soon, and I cannot and do not even want to imagine what will happen to him afterwards if he does."

"Don't worry, Princess Celestia." Sunset replied. "Lockon is my friend now, and I promise you that if ever there comes a time where he is about to take his revenge, and I am one of the ponies there with him, I will stop him. I'll even Pinkie promise you on this one." Sunset then took a step back to do the motions.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-" Sunset accidentally poked her eye and yelped in pain.

"EVERY. SINGLE. TIME." She berated herself. "And now I'm doing it even as a pony. What's next?"

Celestia could only giggle at her students antics. "I understand, Sunset." She responded with a warm smile. "I am glad that you care about him enough to Pinkie promise that to me. Though, considering your feelings for him, I shouldn't really be surprised."

Sunset's eyes went wide upon hearing that. "Uh…feelings, Princess?" She stammered as she began to blush.

"I mean special feelings, Sunset," Celestia pried further on with a smirk. "Ones that are stronger for one pony in particular than they are for anypony else. I'm pretty sure Cadance can confirm this for me."

"Ok, Princess, you caught me." Sunset admitted. "I won't deny that I like him at least. He already knew about me even before I first met him. He knew what I had done, and yet he was still willing to give me a chance and offer me his friendship. And I will admit he is quite handsome. But with all due respect, Princess, I do not think he feels the same way about me. Besides, I do not feel like I am ready to start dating again. Perhaps when I've learned more about the Magic of Friendship I might consider it, but until then, I would like to take everything just one step at a time."

"I understand completely, Sunset." Celestia said in reply. "I can respect that decision, whatever you are comfortable with, which brings me to my assignment for you. Since you have learned so much about friendship in the other world, I would like to see you put those lessons to use here in Equestria. Therefore I am sending you to Ponyville, where you'll stay for the time being. During you're stay I would like you to send me regular reports about your adventures and any friends you make, as well as your findings on the Magic of Friendship, when and ONLY when you happen to discover them."

"I'll start packing then, Princess." Sunset agreed enthusiastically. "This is gonna be great. Lyra and her friends live in Ponyville, too. I might just surprise them with a visit. I just have one question though. Where will I be staying?"

"You will be staying in the Golden Oaks Library." Her mentor answered her. "Somepony you already know lives there. And she was more than willing to let you stay there during your time in Ponyville."

"Somepony I already know, huh?" Sunset questioned. "I think I have an idea as to whom you are referring to, but I think I'll let her confirm it for me when I get there, just to be sure. When do I leave?"

"As soon as you are finished packing, meet me at the castle's front gates." Celestia replied. "I shall arrange for a chariot to take you directly to the library."

"Then I better not waste any more time. See you there, Princess." Sunset responded with a bow before turning to gallop back to her bedroom.

Once she had gathered all essentials, including her locket, she galloped back towards the castle gates where Princess Celestia was waiting for her along with a chariot and its Pegasi guards.

"I hope I did not take too long, Princess." Sunset addressed her with a bow before starting to giggle excitedly like a little schoolfilly. "I am ready. Oh, I can't wait to get started. And I promise that I won't let you down this time."

Celestia could only smile at her already reformed student. "I have no doubts about that, my faithful student." She told Sunset before wrapping her in a quick embrace, which Sunset eagerly returned.

"Well, I better get going." Sunset said after releasing the hug. Then she got on the carriage and spoke to the pegasi guards. "I'm ready when you are, sirs." They nodded in reply and broke off into a fast gallop before lifting off the ground and took off towards Ponyville, all while Sunset was waving goodbye to her mentor.

The flight did not even last ten minutes before touching down right in front of the magnificent tree that Sunset now assumed was the Golden Oaks Library. "Thank you, sirs." She told the guards who had brought her, to which they nodded and then took off to return back to Canterlot.

As Sunset approached the arboreal structure, she could not help but stare at it in awe and wonder. She would have to ask whoever lived here how this tree even managed to still be alive while having the rooms of a house and library carved out of the insides of it.

Sunset finally came to the front door and gently knocked on it three times. "Coming!" answered a voice that Sunset had not heard in 30 moons, yet was instantly able to recognize.

'I knew it.' Sunset thought slyly to herself when the door opened and revealed the face of none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Sunset, you're here!" Twilight exclaimed before embracing her in a tight hug, which Sunset returned even though it surprised her at first. "It's so good to see you again. Celestia told me you were coming. Please come inside. How have you been doing since we last saw each other?"

"It's good to see you too, Twilight." Sunset answered her. "It took me a while to make amends in the other world, but I still managed. As well as the friends you left me with, I had even made up with Flash Sentry. Oh, and before I forget, the other Pinkie Pie wanted me to say hi to you for her."

"That's so like her." Twilight giggled. Then she noticed Sunset's locket. "What's that around your neck?" She asked.

"Oh, this?" Sunset asked. "This was a gift from the other Rarity and Fluttershy just before I left that world. It contains a photo of all seven of us when we graduated from Canterlot High School."

Sunset then opened the locket and showed it to Twilight, who could only look back in amazement with an astonished look on her face. Sunset giggled when she saw this.

"I know, right?" she said. "That's exactly how I felt when I first saw that photo in Equestria. In fact, that locket contains the only good memories I have from that world, which reminds me. Twilight, I want to thank you for helping me see the light. I would not even be here right now if it weren't for you, so from the bottom of my now reformed heart, I thank you."

"You're welcome, Sunset." Twilight responded with a warm and heartfelt smile. And the two shared another hug. Then they heard coughing from the top of the stairs.

"I don't know whether I should be crying tears of joy or gagging at the sheer amount of sappiness I just witnessed." Said the unmistakable voice of Twilight's number one assistant, Spike the Dragon.

"Spike!" Twilight scolded him lightly. "Sunset Shimmer is our guest and she is going to be staying with us for a while. The least you could do is show some respect."

"It's alright, Twilight." Sunset told her. "I don't blame him for acting like this, not after what I did to him the last time we saw each other. It just means that I need to earn his trust. Your brother did not even trust me when we first met right after I returned to Equestria. And if I know at least one Rainbow Dash, then I am pretty sure I will have to work my hardest to earn the trust of your Rainbow Dash as well."

"Well, I still feel bad for not giving you a chance." Spike said apologetically. "Let me make it up to you. I'll take your bags to the guest bedroom and then get dinner started."

"Thank you, Spike." Sunset replied with a sincere smile. "Why don't you let me help you out with both those tasks, just to get us off to a good start?"

"I really can't ask that of you, since you are our guest." Spike replied. "But if you insist, I can at least show you around. Perhaps you could cook for us when I'm not here. Twilight isn't exactly skilled when it comes to cooking. No offense, Twi."

"None taken, Spike." Twilight replied as Sunset and Spike walked into the guest bedroom.

"You're well on your way, Sunset." Twilight told herself as she turned write the newest entry in the journal she shared with her 5 other friends.

Meeting the Gang

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"So you're telling me that in all the time you and Twilight have lived here, you have never accidently set this tree on fire with your breath?!" Sunset asked Spike as they walked back downstairs.

"The whole tree itself, never." Spike answered before having a guilty look on his face. "Although there was this one time I accidently sneezed on a book causing it to go up in flames. Then I tried to hide it from Twilight, but I wasn't counting on being exposed by our pet owl, Owlowiscious. Though, at that time he was new and just joining this house and I was at first jealous of him because I thought he was trying to take my place as Twilight's number one assistant. Then again, that was the jealously at work back then."

"He tried to set up Owlowiscious for something that he did not do, after he had been found out about the burned book." Twilight joined in. "Then he ran away because he thought I did not love him anymore. He ended up inside a fully-grown dragon's cave and Owlowiscious and I had to come rescue him."

"On the other hand," Spike added, "it was the first time I ever learned a lesson. Not to mention the first time I got to send a friendship report to Princess Celestia."

"And that reminds me," Twilight started once again, "Sunset, how does it feel to be Celestia's student again?"

"Honestly, I'm kind of nervous." Sunset answered. "Don't get me wrong, I was overjoyed and in tears that she was willing to forgive me AND give me a second chance. It's just that I don't want to mess it up this time. Honestly, when I was found by the Crystal guard after returning to Equestria, I was not really expecting forgiveness. I was prepared to be punished in any way possible. Whether it was getting my horn cut off, or banishment, or life imprisonment in a dungeon, or having my horn cut off then being banished and then being imprisoned for life in a dungeon in the place that I would be banished to."

"Now where have I seen this before?" Spike said while looking at Twilight with a sly smirk on his face. Twilight could only look back with a sheepish smile.

"Anyway," Sunset continued on, "the whole reason I came back to Equestria in the first place was to face my punishment for everything I had done, I had already made amends with everybody on the other side of the mirror, but there were still amends here that I needed to make. Even if I did end up being punished, I at least wanted Princess Celestia to know how sorry I was for everything. If nothing else, it would have at least made some closure."

"So you can imagine my surprise when she puts a hoof on my mouth mid-apology and hugs me like I was the only thing she had left." Sunset kept going. "When Princess Cadance told me that I was the first thing Princess Celestia asked you about when you came back from the journey I put you through thirty moons ago, (very sorry for making you go through that whole ordeal, by the way) I was a bit shocked, but relieved as well and took that as a good sign that she had missed me. However, I was NOT expecting her to miss me so much that she blames my failure as her student on herself saying that she failed as my mentor. We were both crying our eyes out while hugging each other. You probably would have found that even sappier than what you saw earlier, Spike."

"Anyway, I still could not believe she offered me a second chance to be her student again." Sunset went on. "I promised her I would not let her down this time and I will feed myself to a rampaging fully-grown dragon before I even think about breaking that promise."

"Well, I am glad that you're committed to learning all you can about friendship now, Sunset." Twilight responded. "Since you volunteered to help Spike, why don't you two get dinner started? I've got to write to Celestia and confirm that Sunset arrived. I'll even get the spare bed and put it in the guest room for you, Sunset."

"Ok, Twilight." Sunset and Spike said together in unison.

By the time Twilight came back into the kitchen, the table had already been outfitted with silverware and plates for all three occupants. Twilight's and Sunset's plates each had a daffodil and daisy sandwich with an apple on the side. Spike had fixed himself a gem salad.

During the time they spent enjoying their dinner, Sunset had told her two hosts about her adventures in the other world since they last saw each other, all the way up to the tearful goodbye she gave her friends before returning to Equestria. "That was one of the hardest moments of my life. At least with this locket, I won't ever forget them."

Then Sunset described her time in the Crystal Empire, including being in the infirmary for a few days after her tumble and meeting Twilight's brother and sister-in-law. "I never even knew you had a brother, never mind one who was captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard and married to a princess. And honestly, I was surprised that Princess Cadance was so willing to give me a chance that she actually stood up to Shining Armor for me when he was being harsh to me, especially when you consider how close you and Princess Cadance are."

Then she described her time in Canterlot from begging for and receiving Princess Celestia's forgiveness, becoming her student, meeting Lockon Astros and Discord, apologizing to Moondancer and the other's and befriending them afterwards, to meeting Princess Luna.

When Sunset mentioned her nightmare from the previous night, and started talking about the changelings using the Alicorn Amulet to revive King Sombra, Twilight spoke up. "We've dealt with changelings and King Sombra before. We know King Sombra is gone for good. We don't know what happened to the changelings after my brother's wedding, but I doubt they will come back any time soon, if at all."

"As for the Alicorn Amulet," Spike added, "after Trixie nearly took over Ponyville with it we gave it to our zebra friend Zecora, so she could hide it away. She lives in the Everfree Forest, and hardly anypony besides us ever goes in there. So there is no way that the Alicorn Amulet is in the wrong hooves."

"Still," Sunset responded, "it all felt so real. Even Princess Luna herself said that, to her, that dream felt more like a foreshadowing of events. I really hope that really was just a dream."

Sunset then continued her tale of the following morning, how she had told Celestia and Lockon about the dream, how Celestia told her about how Lockon's parents and sister were killed when he was young, and about Celestia had assigned her to send regular friendship reports during her stay in Ponyville.

"I am very grateful to you for offering to let me stay in your house during my time in Ponyville, Twilight." Sunset thanked her hostess. "Are you going to supervise me as well during my stay?"

"Well, probably not supervise in the sense of me teaching you." Twilight said. "But I will be happy to give you advice whenever you need help with a problem about friendship."

"I don't have a problem with that." Sunset replied. "By the way, are there any books about magic and spells to learn in this library? It's been well over 24 to 48 hours since I was discharged from the Crystal Empire infirmary and the doctor advised me about using magic more complex than levitation and telekinesis. I would like to get practicing with my magic sooner or later."

"Of course we have those kinds of books." Twilight answered her. "Just ask me whenever you want them."

Spike then let out a large yawn. "I don't know about you ladies, but I am feeling tired right now. What do you say we hit the straw?"

"Yes." Twilight agreed. "We've all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow. And Sunset, since you're going to be staying with us for the time being, I would like to give you a full tour of Ponyville so you can meet all the townsponies, and introduce you to my friends. What do you say?"

"I say, I can't wait till tomorrow Twilight." Sunset eagerly agreed. "I just hope your friends are as willing to forgive me as you and Princess Celestia were. On the plus side, four new friends I made in Canterlot all live right here in Ponyville, so they can definitely help out."

"That's great to hear and to know." Twilight responded with a smile. "By the way, there is a bathroom inside the guest bedroom in case you need to use it. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight." Sunset replied. And with that, the two mares entered their respective bedrooms to turn in for the night.

As Sunset began to drift off to the dream realm, she soon found herself looking at the Crystal Empire. She then noticed all the changelings from her previous dream were looking in the same direction, including their queen Chrysalis who still had the Alicorn Amulet on her neck. Standing right beside her was the demonic armored unicorn that Sunset now knew as King Sombra. Both had malicious grins on their faces.

"It's finally time." Chrysalis spoke in a creepy two-toned voice.

"Yes." Sombra hissed like a venomous snake in agreement. "Let's get to work." His horn then glowed a dark and dull color with a few specks of green. He then lifted up his hooves and stomped them both into the ground, causing a massive earthquake. Evidently this was powerful enough to knock the Crystal Heart loose from the central pillars because as soon as Sunset Shimmer recovered from the shaking sensation of the earthquake, she saw the Crystal Heart's magic shield spell disappear right before her eyes.

"Now's our chance, ATTACK!" Chrysalis commanded her changeling hordes, and they swarmed off like locusts towards the Crystal Empire. Sunset then galloped after them, for she was not going to let these monsters have their way. But to her utter shock and horror, nopony could see or hear her and whenever she tried to touch them to get their attention, she just slipped through them as though they were ghosts.

Now Sunset could only watch in horror as the changelings took over the Crystal Empire while Sombra and Chrysalis were about to defeat Shining Armor and Cadance. They had finally fallen and were just about to be sucked dry of their love by Chrysalis when Sunset finally awoke from this awful nightmare with a scream.

She then started hyperventilating. She was glad to be out of that nightmare. The part she did not like was that it felt just as real as her previous nightmare. In fact, to Sunset Shimmer, this dream felt more like a vision. She decided she would tell Twilight about it in the morning. She was glad that her scream did not wake either Twilight or Spike. She laid her head back on the pillow and her sleep was pleasant for the rest of the night.

She woke up the next morning with a yawn after receiving a bunch of sunbeams to her eyes. After a quick shower she joined Twilight and Spike downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast, where today's meal was pancakes, not that Sunset was complaining.

While enjoying their breakfast, Sunset told Twilight about the nightmare she had last night. "I am starting to get worried about this, Twilight." She said. "What if these dreams are visions or glimpses of the future? What if these dreams actually WILL become reality?"

"Sunset, I think you're overreacting, but if you are really that worried, then how about today during our tour of Ponyville, I take you to Zecora's hut and we can ask her if she still has the Alicorn Amulet?" Twilight answered her.

"Alright, let's do that." Sunset agreed. "That ought to put my mind at ease if she has it. And it will be a good opportunity to meet Zecora in addition to your friends."

"That's the spirit." Twilight smiled. "We'll leave after breakfast."

After they all finished eating, Twilight and Sunset headed for the front door. Twilight turned to Spike and called out to him. "Spike, I'm off to give Sunset a tour of Ponyville. Will you be OK looking after the library while we're out?"

"Of course, Twi. You can count on me." Spike replied with an eager salute.

Twilight giggled in response. "Ok Spike, we'll be back by dinner at the latest, but hopefully not even that long." And with that, she and Sunset were out the door and heading for the outermost parts of town. While walking, she turned her head towards Sunset. "OK, we'll first head over to Sweet Apple Acres to meet Applejack, then we'll head over to Fluttershy's cottage, and then we'll go meet Zecora in her hut and then we can ask her about the Alicorn Amulet."

"Sounds like a plan." Sunset agreed. "If were heading towards the outskirts of town, I could use the exercise anyway."

When they finally got to Sweet Apple Acres, they were surprised to find nopony in sight when they entered the farmland.

"Does this farm normally look this deserted?" Sunset asked Twilight.

"No, usually whenever I come here I the first thing see is Applejack or her family working in the orchards." Twilight answered her.

"Come on Winona, these apples ain't gonna pick themselves up." Yelled a familiar voice with an equally familiar southern accent.

Twilight and Sunset entered the fields and saw a border collie with an apple in its mouth. Sunset immediately recognized it as Applejack's pet Winona, because believe it or not, the Applejack from the other world had a dog that looked exactly the same as this one. In fact, Sunset remembered all of their pets, with the only exception being Twilight's pet Owlowiscious, because she had never met that world's Twilight Sparkle.

Winona then noticed Sunset, dropped the apple and ran towards her. When she got close enough, she tackled Sunset to the ground and started licking her face. Sunset and Twilight couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ha-ha, okay girl, ha-ha, calm down, ha-ha-ha." Sunset laughed as Winona licked her.

"TARNATION WINONA, I told ya'll not to go jumpin' on ponies." Applejack yelled as she pulled Winona off of Sunset.

"Howdy there, Twilight." She acknowledged Twilight before turning to Sunset. "Sorry about that, name's Applejack, and you?" Then she went to shake Sunset's hoof before stopping all of a sudden. "Wait a minute; don't Ah know you from somewhere? You seem awfully familiar."

"Well, you don't really know me personally." Sunset answered. "But you probably recognize me from a certain incident 30 moons ago that you're friend Princess Twilight here was involved in. My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"SUNSET SHIMMER?!" Applejack exclaimed. "Now Ah remember you! You're that thievin' varmint who stole Twilight's crown and Element of Harmony back then! Why'd you come back here to Equestria?! Are you trying to worm yer way into our good graces just so you can backstab us and overthrow the Princesses?!" She asked angrily while Sunset folded her ears against the back of her head.

"APPLEJACK!" Twilight scolded. "Sunset Shimmer has changed. She came back to face all the punishments she expected for her actions. Princess Celestia has already forgiven her and given her another chance to be her student again. Now she's just trying to start fresh and make some friends. Can't you at least give her a chance?"

"It's ok, Twilight." Sunset somewhat cut in. "I didn't expect her to trust me. I don't expect any of your friends to trust me after what I did. I can't blame her for being suspicious of me, I mean after everything I put you through, she has every right not to trust me."

"Well, maybe Ah was bein' a mite too harsh," Applejack said somewhat shamefully, "but Twilight is one of mah best friends and Ah can't stand it when somepony messes with any of mah friends."

"I completely understand that, Applejack." Sunset responded. Then she began telling Applejack about her time in the Crystal Empire, especially the part about her talk with Princess Cadance about why she came back to Equestria and how said princess used a spell to scan her entire heart and soul for lies with no success.

"Well, Winona sure enough seems to like ya." Applejack said. "And if the Princesses are willin' to forgive and trust ya, then Ah can too. A pleasure to make yer acquaintance." She shook Sunset's hoof really fast after that last line.

"Same to you, Applejack." Sunset said with her voice vibrating from Applejack's rapid hoof shaking. Applejack then let go of her hoof.

"Sorry about that, sometimes Ah just don't know mah own strength." Applejack apologized.

"It's quite alright, AJ." Sunset replied. "You're counterpart in the otherworld is very much the same in that regard."

"Well, we'd better get going." Twilight added. "I'm giving Sunset a tour of Ponyville, since she's gonna be staying here for a while. And this is only the first stop."

"Well, don't let me waste anymore of yer time." Applejack said in understanding. "Let me just give you two some snacks for the trip." She then gave both ponies a few apples each, freshly picked from the orchard.

"Thank you kindly, Applejack." Sunset told her with an honest smile.

And with that Twilight and Sunset already headed out the gates and down the road to Fluttershy's cottage.

"I'd say that went pretty well." Twilight said.

"Yes indeed." Sunset agreed. "Although, to be perfectly honest, I was not expecting Applejack to come around that easily."

"Don't worry, Sunset." Twilight replied. "My friends all trust me. So they'll all forgive and trust you eventually. Probably at their own pace with each of them, but they all will eventually forgive you."

"Yeah, you're right, Princess." Sunset responded. "I mean if Moondancer and her friends were able to forgive me for being so rude to them five years ago, I am sure I can earn your friends' trust and your brother's forgiveness."

"By the way, can you refrain from calling me Princess, please?" Twilight asked her. "I am still trying to get used to that title."

"Not a problem, Twilight." Sunset answered before she noticed the large hollowed-out tree up ahead. "Is that Fluttershy's cottage?" She asked.

"Yes." Twilight answered. "Now, in addition to her shyness, she also has a bunch of animals living with her most of the time. She tends to be their caretaker. You find a sick or injured animal, just bring it to her and she can help them better than any vet. And if you want a pet, she can easily help you find the right one for you."

"Good to know." Sunset replied with a smile.

Twilight then knocked on the door three times.

"Coming." A delicate, demure and sweet little voice called from the other side.

"Oh, hi Twilight." Fluttershy said very politely before she noticed Sunset. "Who's that next to you? She seems very familiar for some reason."

"You probably remember me from thirty moons ago." Sunset answered her. "My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer?!" Fluttershy exclaimed softly.

"Yes, Fluttershy." Twilight cut her off before she could scream. "And Sunset's a changed mare now. She regrets everything she has ever done. She came back to face her punishments and Princess Celestia forgave her enough to let her be her student again. She's just trying to make amends and start anew."

"Well that's all you had to say, Twilight." Fluttershy said with an enthusiastic smile afterwards. "I hope we can be the best of friends."

"Same here, Fluttershy." Sunset replied with a sincere smile.

"Well, we're off to Zecora's." Twilight cut in. "Sorry to cut our visit short, Fluttershy, but I am giving Sunset a full tour of Ponyville since she'll be staying here for the time being."

"Oh, of course." Fluttershy replied kindly. "Could you say hi to her for me? I-If you don't mind that is?"

"Of course, Fluttershy. See you around." Sunset said before turning out the door to follow Twilight into the Everfree Forest.

"Now, just to tell you about Zecora," Twilight started telling Sunset, "she tends to talk in rhyme almost always, and she might seem a bit strange at first, but she is a natural when it comes to potion making. She even helped deal with the Alicorn Amulet the last time somepony used it."

"And you're saying she has possession of it right now?" Sunset asked again for clarification.

"Last time I saw." Twilight answered her. "But we can double check with her just to be safe."

"Thanks, Twilight." Sunset said slightly relieved. Then she knocked on the door a few times.

"A knock on my door, who could that be?" A voice came from the other side. The door then opened to reveal Zecora. "Why it's Princess Twilight Sparkle I see." Then she noticed Sunset. "I know all of Ponyville's ponies, all its resident's and yet, your face is one I am certain that I have never met."

"Hi, you must be Zecora." Sunset greeted with a sincere smile. "You are right to assume that. My name is Sunset Shimmer. You see, I am new to Ponyville and Twilight here was showing me around town and introducing me to her friends along the way. She told me about how you have always been helpful in strange situations."

"Yes, and there was also something else we wanted to ask you, Zecora." Twilight added before asking. "Do you still have the Alicorn Amulet?"

"Never fear, Twilight my dear. For the Alicorn Amulet is right here." Zecora said as she got it out and showed it to both ponies.

"Oh, that is a huge relief." Sunset said after releasing a big sigh. And then she explained her dreams about it falling into the changelings' hooves to Zecora, who nodded in full understanding.

"I can see why those dreams would trouble your mind." Zecora told Sunset. "But I assure you the amulet nopony will ever find."

"Thank you, Zecora." Sunset said sincerely. "This has definitely put my mind at ease."

Then she turned to Twilight. "Well, I don't know about you, Twilight, but I am rather excited to meet the rest of your friends now. What do you say we continue the tour?"

"Of course, Sunset. That's a great idea." Twilight replied before turning to Zecora. "It was good seeing you again, Zecora. Let us know if you need anything."

"I certainly will, Twilight my dear," Zecora responded before turning to Sunset, "and best of luck Sunset Shimmer during your whole stay here."

The two mares waved goodbye to their zebra friend as they went their separate ways. Twilight and Sunset were heading back towards Ponyville and were just nearing the entrance to the forest when they heard a loud yelp that sounded canine.

"What was that?!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm not sure." Sunset answered her. "But I think it came from over there." She then pointed to a nearby shrub.

The two mares looked behind the shrub, and what they saw was one of the most horrifying scenes they had ever witnessed.

There in a small clearing, was a pack of four hungry timberwolves feeding on a regular wolf's carcass. Well actually half the pack was doing that, while the other half had cornered a baby wolf pup against the side of a huge rock.

Feeling a fire of compassion burning inside of her, Sunset leapt out of her hiding place and charged straight for the timberwolves attacking the pup. She had managed to knock the two Timberwolves cornering the pup a considerable distance away. In fact, it was far enough to cause them to knock the other two timberwolves off of the wolf they were eating. Once they had all gotten back to their feet, all four of them then turned their full attention to Sunset who was charging up a spell. The wooden beasts then started charging, intent on adding this meddler to their meal.

Once they were within range, Sunset unleashed her spell, releasing a massive flame from her horn, setting all four timberwolves ablaze. The walking logs, then turned around and ran off back to the deeper parts of the forest to recover, still burning all over, while letting off a few whines.

"That's right, you better run!" Sunset yelled after them as they ran. When she turned her head towards the wolf pup, she noticed he was no longer behind her. She turned back around and saw the pup nuzzling the dead adult wolf's neck, fruitlessly trying to wake it up.

"Poor thing." Sunset said as Twilight walked over. "I think this dead wolf is this pup's mother."

"I think you're right." Twilight agreed with a slight sniffle.

"This poor pup needs a home." Sunset then said. "He'll never survive out here on his own. And those timberwolves will come back for their dinner eventually. Let's get this pup to Fluttershy's. She'll definitely take care of him."

"Definitely." Twilight agreed. "But how are we going to get him to Fluttershy's cottage?"

"Let me try something." Sunset said before walking over to the pup mourning for its mother. The pup then cringed in fear upon noticing Sunset approaching him.

"It's ok little pup, it's ok." Sunset gently said to him as she nuzzled him gently. "It's ok. You're safe with me. I'm not going to hurt you."

The pup calmed down at the gentleness in Sunset's voice, but he was still reluctant to leave his mother. "I know you don't want to leave her." Sunset continued as gently as she possibly could. "But, I am afraid she is never going to wake up. Besides, she would not want you to stay here and perish while mourning for her. I am sure that she would want you to live on and be happy. Come with me. Everything will be all right."

Sunset then knelt down on all four hooves, to a height that was just short enough for the wolf pup to climb onto her back. The pup was still a bit reluctant, but eventually climbed on. Once she was sure that he was on, Sunset then followed Twilight out of the forest clearing, out of the forest entrance, and back to Fluttershy's cottage, where for the second time today they knocked on the door three times.

"Coming." Fluttershy answered from the other side. When she opened the door and saw Twilight and Sunset together again, she was a bit surprised.

"Twilight, Sunset, what are you doing here again so soon?" She asked. "Did something happen? Are any of you hurt? Do you need some herbal tea?"

"No, we're fine, Fluttershy." Twilight answered. "But we do need your help."

"We were on our way back from Zecora's and we found this little guy." Sunset explained as she showed the pup on her back to Fluttershy. "He just lost his mother to a pack of timberwolves. He would have been eaten along with her if I did not rescue him."

"Oh my, you poor thing!" Fluttershy softly gasped as she tenderly approached and picked up the frightened pup in her hooves. "No wonder you're so scared. Well, you don't have to be scared anymore. I will take care of you from now on. You'll have so many new friends around here to play with, you won't ever be lonely again."

"Hey, Fluttershy," Sunset started, "is it ok if I stop by every now and then to visit this pup?"

"Oh, that's no trouble at all, Sunset." Fluttershy answered. "Feel free to visit him whenever you want. You know, you just performed one of the biggest acts of kindness I've ever seen by bringing him here."

"Well, I couldn't just let him get eaten out there." Sunset answered. "He's still so young. He should have a chance at a long life and happiness."

"And now he'll have one, thanks to you." Fluttershy said before taking the pup into the kitchen to check him for injuries.

Twilight and Sunset then continued back to Ponyville. They were just passing Sweet Apple Acres again when a rainbow streak slammed into Sunset full force at full speed, causing her to tumble and kick up a cloud of dirt and dust. When the cloud cleared, Twilight was not surprised to find Rainbow Dash on top of Sunset with a cross look on her face.

"So, back for revenge are you?!" She spoke in a loud and angry tone. "Trying to overthrow the Princesses again?! Don't think I've forgotten what you did to Twilight!"

Rainbow was then concealed in a bright pink magical aura and lifted off of Sunset.

"That is quite enough, Rainbow Dash." Twilight scolded her. "I understand that as my friend, your loyalty is your defining characteristic, and that you will always look out for me. But I can't believe you would be so rash and actually attack somepony just because of something that she did thirty moons ago."

"Are you kidding me, Twilight?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You're actually defending her?! After everything she's done to you?! After what she nearly could have done to Equestria?!"

"Yes, Rainbow." Twilight responded very firmly. "I have forgiven her, so has Princess Celestia, even Applejack and Fluttershy have forgiven her. The least that you can do is give her a chance."

"Fine." Rainbow conceded reluctantly, then immediately turned to Sunset after Twilight released her magical hold. "But one false move, and I'll make sure you regret it. Got it?!" Sunset nodded in response. "Good." Rainbow said. And with that she took off for Ponyville, leaving behind her signature rainbow streak.

"Yep, looks like Dash is gonna be the hardest to earn trust from." Sunset said after dusting herself off.

"I am so sorry she did that to you, Sunset." Twilight replied in apology. "She is hardly ever that violent."

"It's OK, Twilight." Sunset assured her. "The other Rainbow Dash was just as difficult. In fact, she and I had to fist fight each other to clear up all the tension between us before she and I finally became friends. Don't worry, I won't let the same thing happen with me and your Rainbow Dash."

"That's good to hear." Twilight answered her.

While they continued on their way to Ponyville, they both decided to stop for lunch at Sugarcube Corner, that way Sunset could meet Pinkie Pie at the same time. They were halfway to their destination when, they heard a female voice shouting "LOOK OUT!"

By the time they turned their heads to see who was shouting, it was already too late for Sunset, because the next thing she saw was a familiar trio of fillies before accidently getting rammed from the front and knocked over onto her back for the third time that day.

"Sunset, are you alright?" Twilight exclaimed to her in worry.

"I think I'm ok, Twilight." Sunset replied before shaking her head to get out of the daze she was in. "What just hit me?" Then she noticed the trio of fillies from just a few seconds ago. It was then that she got a better look at them.

One was a familiar white unicorn with a purple and pink mane. One was an orange pegasus with a violet mane, and the last one was a yellow earth pony with a red mane and a pink bow that tied her hair back.

In a way, these three fillies looked almost exactly like a trio of girls from Canterlot High that were always trying to find out their special talents. Sunset probably figured that she just met their pony counterparts.

"Girls, are you alright?" Twilight asked them in concern as they got their scooter and wagon back on their wheels. "You really should be more careful. You crashed into Sunset Shimmer this time. If you had been going any faster, you could've broken a bone or something."

"We're sorry, Twilight." The earth pony filly spoke in an accent similar to Applejack's. Sunset figured they might be related.

"We just got a brand new idea for how to get our cutie marks. And we could not wait to get over to our clubhouse and try it out." The unicorn filly spoke next. "We're sorry we crashed into you, miss Shimmer."

"And speaking of cutie marks," the pegasus filly spoke up while looking at Sunset's cutie mark with a look a pure amazement, "that has got to be one of the awesomest cutie marks I've ever seen!"

"Why thank you little miss…," Sunset said as she blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, I never got your names."

"I'm Scootaloo." The orange pegasus said as she pointed to her own chest.

"I'm Sweetie Belle." The unicorn filly introduced herself.

"And Ah'm Apple Bloom." The earth pony filly spoke up. Sunset was now positive that this was Applejack's little sister.

"And we're..." they cleared their throats and said in unison, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

'Wow, these three fillies have quite a powerful set of lungs.' Sunset thought to herself as she and Twilight were rubbing their ears.

"Well, it's very nice to meet the three of you," said Sunset. "So, what are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"We work together to find our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom said, showing off her blank flank. "We try just about everythin' we can think of. In fact we have already tried everythin' we can think of, and we still don't have them. You'd think we would have gotten them by now since we're almost done having to go to school."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then climbed back into the wagon while Scootaloo reconnected it to her scooter.

"Well, we'd love to stay and chat, but we have some crusading to do." Scootaloo said before turning her head to Sunset. "See ya around, Sunset Shimmer, and sorry for crashing into ya."

"It's quite alright Scootaloo, believe it or not, I've been through worse accidents before." Sunset replied. "Hope you and your friends find your cutie marks. Just be patient and you will get them sooner or later."

"We know, thanks Miss Shimmer." All three said in unison in a somewhat annoyed tone before Scootaloo mounted her scooter, rapidly buzzed her wings like a bumblebee, and shot off down the road to Sweet Apple Acres with her friends in tow on the wagon.

"Those fillies can be quite the hoof-full." Twilight said as she and Sunset continued on their way to Sugarcube Corner. "They just don't understand the value of patience. They need to learn that their cutie marks will come in time."

"Come on Twilight, can't you cut them some slack?" Sunset asked in response. "I mean, they're three fillies who are almost about to finish school and have yet to get their cutie marks. Who's to say WE were never that adventurous when we were their age?"

"Well, you got me there." Twilight answered her. "It's just that with those three, it can be so frustrating. It's ridiculously obvious what each of their special talents are. The entire town of Ponyville knows it for crying out loud. The only ponies who don't know are the Crusaders themselves. There are often times when I wish they would just figure out their special talents already and just get this whole thing over with."

"I understand, Twilight." Sunset replied with a sincere smile. "I would probably feel the exact same way if I were in your horseshoes right now." The two mares chuckled at this. And it was then that they finally reached their destination.

"Twilight, the building itself isn't edible too, is it?" Sunset asked out of curiosity.

"You know, I'm actually not so sure." Twilight answered her in full honesty. "I never even thought to ask Pinkie Pie or the Cakes about it."

Sunset stared up at the sugary decorated building that was Sugarcube Corner. She remembered its equivalent in the world beyond the mirror, but even that paled in comparison to what she saw now. With its graham cracker roof and candy coated exterior walls with a cupcake on top, this building looked like something that one could have read about in a certain fairy tale back in the other world.

"Well, if your Pinkie Pie is exactly like the other Pinkie Pie," Sunset began to tell Twilight, "then I am probably going to receive one heck of a welcome in three…two…one."

Sunset had just finished counting down when a familiar pink streak practically rammed into her in a similar manner to Rainbow Dash's aggressive one from earlier.

Her smile suddenly turned into a look of inquisitiveness and she tilted her head to one side. "Hey, haven't I seen you before?"

"You probably remember me from a certain incident in the Crystal Empire 30 moons ago that involved your friend Twilight. My name is Sunset Shimmer."

"You're the pony who stole Twilight's crown/Element of Harmony back then!" Pinkie exclaimed with an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes, I am." Sunset replied somewhat ashamed. "As for why I am here, you see…"

"After Twilight blasted you with the Elements of Harmony in the other world and left you there thirty moons ago, you made amends, righted all the wrongs you did and even befriended all our counterparts in that world. Then, when the thirty moon period was over you decided to come back to Equestria for good and face all of your punishments for all of your past actions and apologize to Princess Celestia, who forgave you and gave you another chance to be her student again and sent you here to Ponyville to learn even more about the Magic of Friendship, and now you're getting a tour of Ponyville from Twilight since you're gonna be staying here for a while!" Pinkie said all in one breath, at a ridiculously fast, before ending with a wide grin.

Sunset's jaw opened up and literally hit the ground after what she had just heard. She then rolled up her jaw back to its original spot before turning to Pinkie Pie. "How did you know all of that?!" Sunset asked her in astonishment.

"Just a hunch!" Pinkie shrugged cheerfully.

Sunset then started twitching her left eye in a weird way before she finally thought to herself: 'Remember Sunset, this is Pinkie Pie. When she's around, weird, strange, and freaky tend to be normal.'

"Well, yes." Sunset started again. "You are absolutely right about everything down to the last minor detail. Twilight here was just giving me a tour of Ponyville and we decided to have some lunch here at Sugarcube Corner."

"Okey dokey lokey! Come on in then!" Pinkie offered and hopped into the bakery with Twilight and Sunset following her.

After going inside Pinkie started shaking a bit. "Ooh, Pinkie sense coming on. Ear flop…eye flutter…knee twitch."

Sunset then noticed she was next to a closed door and immediately stepped out of harm's way before it opened to reveal the bakery's owners, Cup Cake and Carrot Cake, carrying their sleeping twin foals, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, up the stairs to their bedroom for nap time.

Twilight and Pinkie were both open-mouthed at what Sunset just did. It was Twilight who broke the silence. "How did you know what that meant or what to do?"

"You didn't think the other Pinkie Pie didn't have a Pinkie sense of her own, did you?" Sunset replied with a smirk.

"The other Pinkie Pie has a Pinkie sense?!" Pinkie exclaimed in sheer surprise before immediately getting a suspicious look on her face. "I'm not sure I believe you. What does twitchy tail mean?"

"Something's about to fall." Sunset answered her, knowing Pinkie was obviously quizzing her.

"Ears are flopping?" Pinkie asked.

"You'll start a bath for me." Sunset answered.

"Back is itchy?" Pinkie asked.

"It means it's your lucky day." Sunset responded.

"When my knee gets pinchy?" Pinkie asked.

"That means something scary's about to happen." Sunset replied.

"Achy shoulder?" Pinkie asked.

"There's an alligator in the tub." Sunset answered.

"Ear flop, then knee twitch, then eye flutter?" Pinkie asked.

"That means the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow." Sunset responded.

"Ear flop, then eye flutter, then knee twitch?" Pinkie asked.

"Look out for opening doors, as I just demonstrated a minute ago." Sunset replied.

"Itchy nose?" Pinkie asked.

"Swarm of angry bees." Sunset answered.

"My whole body starts vibrating?" Pinkie asked for the last time.

"Duh, that's a doozy. Something you never expect to happen is gonna happen." Sunset replied for the last time. "In fact, the other Pinkie had a doozy just before I told the other you's about my decision to come back to Equestria. Turns out my revelation was the doozy."

"Well, I believe you now." Pinkie said with a cheerful smile. "So, what can I get you two to eat?" Twilight and Sunset then requested their orders and Pinkie then said "Okey dokey lokey!" in reply before hopping away.

"I still can't believe the other Pinkie has a Pinkie sense of her own." Twilight said to Sunset while they were waiting for their orders. "And that you knew each and every different kind of twitch."

"Well, v there's one thing I would like to know." Sunset said. "I recognize Mr. and Mrs. Cake as ponies from when I was in the other world. But who were those cute little sleeping foals they were carrying up the stairs? I never saw either of them in the other world."

"Oh, those are Cup Cake's and Carrot Cake's twin children, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake." Twilight explained.

"Really?!" Sunset almost exclaimed. "But Mr. and Mrs. Cake are both earth ponies. How can one of those twins be a pegasus and the other one a unicorn?"

"Easy." A new and more masculine voice answered. "My great-great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup Cake's great aunt's second cousin twice removed was a pegasus. That makes sense, right?"

Both mares turned to see the Cakes standing walking right next to their table. Carrot Cake looked as though even he didn't understand what he just said.

"No, to be quite frank, it does not." Sunset replied in honesty. "Not with those slim odds."

"Oh, and who are you dearie?" Cup Cake asked her.

"Oh, how rude of me." Sunset replied. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. I'm new here to Ponyville and Twilight was taking me on a tour of the town while meeting all her friends. We figured we could come here to stop for lunch while meeting Pinkie Pie at the same time."

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear Miss Shimmer." Carrot cake responded before turning to walk back to work.

"Well, we'd better get back to work." Cup Cake added before turning to Sunset. "Enjoy your stay in Ponyville, Miss Shimmer."

Sunset replied a 'thank you' to her and then she and Twilight went back talking about their previous adventures since the last time they saw each other, even after Pinkie brought them their meals, which included a free cupcake each on the house.

As soon as they finished their meals, they paid up front thanked Pinkie and headed over to Carousel Boutique to meet Rarity.

They were halfway there, when they heard a familiar refined voice.

"Twilight, yoo-hoo!" it called.

A beautiful white unicorn with a beautiful purple mane that was brushed into very intricate curls, trotted into view, giving the two ponies an affectionate and sincere smile. Sunset immediately recognized this pony as Rarity, for there was only one person beyond the mirror who could have had a pony counterpart this beautiful.

"How are you doing today, darling?" Rarity asked Twilight before she caught a glimpse of Sunset. "Oooh, and who is this new face?" Then she suddenly let out a shrill shriek, startling the other two ponies. "Good heavens, dear, what happened to you!?"

Sunset looked down at herself, just noticing that she was now covered in dirt. She did not see any dirt on her at all after Winona, Rainbow, or the Crusaders had plowed into her.

"I was actually knocked flat on my back at least four times today." Sunset answered her.

"With the most recent instance being from having just met Pinkie Pie." Twilight added.

"She did not mean to, Twilight." Sunset replied. "Besides, after being jumped on by Winona, tackled down by Rainbow Dash, and crashed into by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I am surprised I only got dirty after Pinkie jumped me."

"Well Winona's a dog, so she can't help it." Twilight started. "And Rainbow Dash and the CMC are understandable given how they are."

"Same goes for Pinkie Pie, but still..." Rarity sighed while nodding in understanding, "That silly mare. Honestly, I love her as much as the rest of us here in Ponyville, but she could still stand to learn a decent thing or two about personal space." She then turned to Sunset to get a better look at her.

"Do correct me if I am wrong dear," Rarity started, "but don't I know you from somewhere? You seem awfully familiar to me."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot today, which is not really surprising." Sunset answered her. "My name is Sunset Shimmer. You probably remember seeing me only for a brief moment in the Crystal Empire thirty moons ago."

"You're the thief who stole Twilight's crown?!" Rarity shrieked in surprise.

"Yes." Sunset answered her. "And I'm not proud of any of the things that I have done. I came back to Equestria to face judgment for my actions. And Princess Celestia forgave me enough to let me be her personal student again. Now I am just looking for a fresh start, an opportunity to make friends. I've already met most of Twilight's friends here in Ponyville, and I'd really like to get to know you better, if you'll let me."

"Well, if Twilight and the Princess forgive you, then so can I." Rarity said apologetically. "Please, allow me to return your mane back to its healthy and natural state; free of charge, of course."

If this Rarity was anything like her counterpart beyond the mirror, Sunset knew that there was no refusing her. She ran a hoof threw her mane and shrugged. "Well we were planning on visiting you next and I've already met the rest of Twilight's friends, so I suppose it's oka—aah!"

Rarity had begun to push Sunset down the street before the words had even finished leaving her mouth. "Oh don't worry, Sunset, you're going to look as beautiful as a princess when I'm done with you!"

"Please don't tease me with images like that Rarity." Sunset giggled even though she was serious about it. "I'm trying to keep that kind of temptation OUT of my head."

Twilight and Rarity just giggled along with her in response to that.

Sunset stood on Rarity's modeling stage, feeling quite refreshed. Rarity had quickly washed and shampooed Sunset's mane and then dried it just as fast, and yet she was still able to make Sunset's mane look exactly the same as it was before. Then Rarity decided to have Sunset model a few outfits, bringing Sunset to her days helping the other Rarity and making her feel like a runway fashion model.

"So Sunset, how have things been going for you since your return to Equestria?" Rarity asked her while working with the dress. "And what are you doing in Ponyville?"

"Oh boy, where do I start?" Sunset said to herself in response. Then she began telling Twilight and Rarity about her return and her time in the Crystal Empire all the way down to her tearful reunion with Princess Celestia, even mentioning being given another chance as her student. She also mentioned how she had met her adoptive son, Lockon Astros, as well as Discord and Princess Luna.

"After Princess Celestia forgave me, she sent me here to learn about the Magic of Friendship even more than I already have." Sunset replied. "I am to send her friendship reports whenever I learn something new or make new friends."

"I see, very much like when Twilight first started, then." Rarity said as she gave a small nod of understanding before jumping back from the dress and crying, "And done!"

Sunset turned and faced the mirrors lining the back of the stage. On her was deep garnet red dress that nearly reached the floor, and was decorated with rubies and yellow topazes which made the whole dress look like it was one of those bookmarks with images that change appearance based on the angle one would look at it from. The gems made her look like she was wearing a cloak of fire that was constantly burning.

"Wow, Rarity," Sunset gasped. "I'm speechless, yet again, you have outdone yourself!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you like it!" Rarity giggled in delight. Before gasping. "Id-dee-as! Oh, I am getting so many right now, I need to write them all down before I forget any of them!" She then grabbed a pen and notepad with her magic before doing exactly that.

It was already starting to get late. Twilight finally noticed what time it was. "Oh, it's getting late. I told Spike we'd be home by dinner."

"Oh, is it that late already?" Rarity asked surprisingly. "Oh, I am so sorry I took up so much of your time, dears. Do give my best to little Spikey-wikey, would you Twilight?"

"Sure thing, Rarity." Twilight answered her as she and Sunset walked out the door, with Sunset putting the dress she had just modeled back on its ponnequin.

"Little Spikey-wikey?" Sunset asked while laughing in a confused manner.

"She's been calling him that from time to time ever since he gave her a fire ruby that he had been planning on having for his birthday dinner." Twilight explained. "Don't tell him I said this, but Spike has had a crush on Rarity ever since the two of us first met her."

"Really?" Sunset giggled. "That's so cute."

"Well, we better get back so Spike doesn't eat dinner without us." Twilight said.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Twilight." Sunset told her. "If I know Pinkie Pie, and I am pretty sure I know at least one, she'll probably be throwing a surprise 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for me by the time we get back to the library."

"You're probably right, Sunset." Twilight chuckled as they both walked back to the library. "You're probably right."

A Knack for Music

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As Sunset and Twilight finally reached the library, Twilight noticed from outside that all the lights were off. "Looks like Spike might have turned in early, tonight." She said.

As soon as they opened the door however, the lights instantly came on to reveal a massive crowd of ponies who then shouted "SURPRISE!!!!" causing Twilight and Sunset to fall onto their flanks. It was then that they noticed the huge banner on the opposite side of the room, which read in big fiery-colored letters 'Welcome to Ponyville Sunset Shimmer'. Then they both knew that this was the work of Pinkie Pie.

"Hiya, Sunset!" Pinkie exclaimed in an overhyped attitude upon getting nose to nose with Sunset from out of nowhere. "I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?"

"Very surprised." Sunset responded with a chuckle. "I kind of expected you to throw a party like this. I just was not expecting you to throw me one on the day that you and I first met."

"Although I do wish you would ask me the next time you want to set up a party for somepony else in my house, Pinkie." Twilight added with a slight hint of annoyance.

"Sorry about that Twilight." Pinkie apologized before turning to Sunset with a huge grin. "Hey, I'm just that good at planning and setting up parties."

"Well, wanna get this party started?" Sunset asked her with enthusiastic smile of her own.

"Oh, you know it." Pinkie answered her. "Let's say it together." Then they both turned to the crowd.

"Alright everypony…LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" They both exclaimed in unison. The crowd cheered in response. As the party progressed Sunset ran into Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts. They had another friendly chat and were just finishing up when Sunset noticed something that nearly blew her mind.

While she was still making friends in the other world, that Pinkie Pie had introduced her to a popular video game called Dance Dance Revolution. What she was looking at right now could only be described as a pony version of the game. Only instead of a perfectly square dance pad with four directional arrows that also appeared on the screen that you had to hit as they scrolled up, the dance pad was a rectangle that was divided into six even sections all in a different color with a hoof print in the center, with a matching design on the screen that had different sections lighting up on the screen indicating which sections you needed to step on.

As soon as Sunset saw it she instantly went over to try it out. In practically no time at all she was already dancing and mastering the game like she did in the other world. The only exception was that on some songs, there was a certain section where she had to stand on her tail and spin on it. It took her three tries and three times spinning out of control and crashing into somepony else by accident before she finally got the hang of it.

"You're good at Hoof Hoof Boogie, Sunset." Sunset turned to see Lyra and her friends looking at her with smiles on their faces.

"Thanks girls, you wanna join me?" Sunset asked them.

"What the hay? I'm game." Lemon Hearts replied and stepped up to the second player's dance pad.

Turns out Lemon Hearts had never even played Hoof Hoof Boogie before now. She was not doing very well at it. Once they had both finished the song, Lemon Hearts was all tired out and sweating profusely while Sunset had not even broken a sweat.

"Congratulations dancers!" an electronic voice exclaimed which was coming from the game. "You just completed this song. Player 1…final rank…Disco Queen!" Sunset high-hooved Pinkie Pie and Lyra in response.

"Player 2… final rank…Sweaty Cave Pony!" Lemon Hearts could only pout slightly while everypony else giggled.

Then Sunset went up against Pinkie Pie on the hardest song on the queue on the most difficult setting. They both tied in both score and rank which was 'Disco Queen' for both ponies.

Sunset then decided to take a break from Hoof Hoof Boogie. Then she noticed a certain trio of fillies conversing with each other. She noticed that Sweetie Belle looked a little down. So she decided to see what the problem was.

"Hey, girls." She greeted them as she walked up to them. "What's the matter, Sweetie Belle? You look a little down."

"Well my sister Rarity's birthday is coming up soon and-" she continued before Sunset interrupted her.

"You need help finding a present for her?" She said. "I can help with that."

"That's not it." Sweetie Belle quickly replied. "I've decided that I want to sing a song I wrote for her. The problem is I don't know anypony who can play the right instruments to go along with my singing. And then there is the fact that I can't sing in front of other ponies. I just don't know what to do."

"Sounds like classic stage fright to me." Sunset spoke. "Don't worry, Sweetie Belle. I can help you out with both of those problems."

"Really?!" Sweetie Belle asked with a hopeful smile.

"Of course." Sunset answered her with an honest smile. "How about you three show me to your clubhouse tomorrow and I can help you then. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect!" Sweetie Belle said before hugging Sunset. "Oh, thank you Miss Shimmer."

"It's no problem." Sunset responded while returning the hug. "And please, you can call me Sunset."

"Alright then Sunset, see you tomorrow." Sweetie Belle replied enthusiastically before she and the other crusaders turned around and left to try out Hoof Hoof Boogie.

Sunset then remembered that Lyra was a musician and decided to ask for her help. Sunset just noticed her and was about to walk over when she spotted Fluttershy.

"Hey, Fluttershy." Sunset called her.

"Oh, hi Sunset." Fluttershy answered her. "What is it?"

"How is that little wolf pup?" Sunset asked with concern. "Has he been doing alright since Twilight and I brought him to you?"

"Physically he has been doing alright." Fluttershy answered her. "But emotionally he is still shaken up from that incident with those timberwolves. He keeps looking out towards the Everfree Forest with this sad look in his eyes, only turning away to come get his meals. He won't even try to play with my other canine friends. I can tell he is still in mourning over his mother."

"Poor little pup." Sunset said with a sad tone. "I wish there was something I could do to help him. Wait…Fluttershy, is that little wolf pup ready for...say…I don't know…for adoption as a pet?"

Fluttershy's eyes immediately widened and her face contained so much joy and excitement. "Ohh! Y-y-Oh, really? You really want to adopt him? Really?"

"Yes, Fluttershy," Sunset answered her. "I have been thinking it over a lot ever since Twilight and I brought him to you. And I really think this is the kind of thing he needs. Somepony to love him and care for him for the rest of his life. Of course I will need to talk to Twilight about this first, but I am sure she would not mind, although I may need to have him housebroken before he can move in. But if that is the case, I can come visit him every day until then, and after that we can make everything official."

"I think that would be wonderful for him, Sunset." Fluttershy responded enthusiastically. "Let me know what Twilight thinks after you talk to her."

"Will do, Fluttershy." Sunset responded.

Soon afterwards the party was over and everypony went back to their respective homes. Sunset told Twilight about her plans for tomorrow with Sweetie Belle as well as her plans to adopt the little wolf pup as a pet. Twilight was very supportive of both decisions and happily agreed.

Before they all got ready for bed, Sunset wrote her first friendship report to Princess Celestia. She recounted how Twilight's friends were skeptical of her turnaround at first, but warmed up to her after she opened up to them. Well…all except for Rainbow Dash, but what would you expect from the pony who represents the Element of Loyalty? She even mentioned her part in saving the wolf pup and deciding to adopt him.

'I have decided to name him Shadow because of his nearly pitch-black fur.' Sunset thought to herself as she wrote the letter. 'And tomorrow I am going to help Rarity's little sister Sweetie Belle get over her fear of singing in front of other ponies. She wants to sing a song for Rarity as a present for Rarity's birthday which is coming up soon. I'll write you back about how it goes afterwards. Your reformed and now faithful student…Sunset Shimmer.'

"Hey, Spike?" She called him after just finishing. "I just finished my first letter to Princess Celestia. Could you be dear and send it to her for me?"

"No problem, Sunset." Spike replied and breathed his signature mystical green fire on the letter, causing it to be magically teleported to Celestia's private chambers.

Sunset thanked him and went to bed, where she had a very peaceful sleep that was completely nightmare free.

The next morning after breakfast Sunset let Twilight know that she was going to Fluttershy's before heading over to meet the crusaders at Sweet Apple Acres to help Sweetie Belle.

When Sunset got to Fluttershy's cottage, the first thing that greeted her was the wolf pup, who ran up to her and pounced on her so hard it sent her toppling onto her back. But she immediately started giggling when her face started getting licked all over.

"It's good to see you too, boy." Sunset told him with a smile.

"I knew you adopting him was the best thing for him." Fluttershy said as she came around the corner. "So what did Twilight say?"

"She was fully supportive of my decision." Sunset answered her.

"That's wonderful news." Fluttershy giggled with joy. "So what do you want to name him?"

"Shadow, I'll call him Shadow." Sunset answered her, and then turned her head when she heard the pup bark enthusiastically in response. "You like that name? OK then, Shadow it is. Well, I would love to stay and chat and finalize everything, but I promised Sweetie Belle I'd help her with something over at the Crusaders' clubhouse. Don't worry Shadow. Once I am done with all of my errands for today, I will come back to get you and take you home with me. How does that sound?"

Shadow barked twice in response to tell her 'yes'.

"Ok, I'll be back soon you two." Sunset called to Fluttershy and Shadow before galloping down the road to Sweet Apple Acres. Once she got to the front door of the farmhouse, Sunset gave a polite knock three times.

The door opened to reveal a red earth pony stallion who was about as big as Shining Armor. Although this pony wore a much more calm expression, Sunset still felt a little uncomfortable around him.

"Can Ah help you?" He asked in a deep-toned voice which made Sunset even more nervous.

"Hi, my name is Sunset Shimmer." She answered him in a polite tone. "I am a new friend of Applejack's. I am here to meet Apple Bloom and the other Crusaders. They invited me over to their clubhouse so I could help Sweetie Belle with something, and they told me to meet them here so they could lead me there. Is Apple Bloom here?"

"Eeyup." The stallion said. "Ah'll get her for ya."

He turned to head up the stairs and Sunset caught a glimpse of his cutie mark, which was half of a green apple. It was not long before a familiar filly came bounding down the stairs.

"Heya, Sunset." Apple Bloom excitedly greeted her. "Ah can't wait to see how ya help out Sweetie Belle with her stage fright."

"Well, Apple Bloom," Sunset told her, "I may need you and Scootaloo to help me with this at one point, but hopefully it won't come to that. Can I count on you to help me when I need it?"

"Yes mam." Apple Bloom saluted in response. "And Ah'm pretty sure Scootaloo feels the same way. We all want to help each other get our cutie marks."

"That's so sweet and noble of you Apple Bloom." Sunset said while ruffling the little filly's mane.

"Why thankee, Sunset." Apple Bloom responded with a wide smile before turning back to the stallion. "Don't worry Big Mac, we're just gonna help Sweetie Belle with her present for Rarity's birthday."

"Just don't stay out too long." Big Mac replied as the filly began leading Sunset to the clubhouse.

"Say, Apple Bloom, I know Applejack's your sister, but who was that stallion?" Sunset asked the little filly.

"Oh that's mah big brother, Big Macintosh, though most ponies usually just call him Big Mac for short." Apple Bloom answered her.

"Is he usually that quiet?" Sunset asked again.

"Usually, but not always." Apple Bloom replied. "Though he has a wonderful singin' voice which he uses in a little group called the Pony-Tones."

"You don't say?" Sunset responded. "And is it just you, him, and Applejack living together on that farm?"

"Nah," Apple Bloom answered, "there's also sweet ol' Granny Smith. Ya probably don't know this, but Granny Smith helped found Ponyville."

"Are you serious?!" Sunset replied with a gasp. "Wow, I remembered Twilight telling me that this town was founded by Earth Ponies, but who'd of thought that she and I would actually be friends with those from the family who created Ponyville?"

"Ah know." Apple Bloom acknowledged her. "It's amazing isn't it? Anyway we're here."

It was then that Sunset noticed that they were on a private part of the farm. Then she spotted a nicely built house on a tree. The house was neatly painted a light pink color. It had hearts on the windows and door. Apple Bloom began leading her up a ramp that was painted a greenish color and had steps for climbing. Outside the house were railings for safety reasons as well.

"Wow, Apple Bloom. This is one good-looking treehouse." Sunset complimented her.

"Well thanks, Sunset." Apple Bloom replied. "To be honest, it didn't always look like this. This used to belong to mah sister when she was my age. When she gave it to all three of us, it looked like a demolition site just waitin' to be torn down."

"Yeah, but Apple Bloom was able to fix it up into the little private slice of paradise that it is right now." The unmistakable voice of Sweetie Belle added.

"And all by herself, too." Scootaloo's voice continued. Apple Bloom blushed at the compliments.

"Oh, stop it ya'll." She said. "You gals are makin' me blush."

"Well, Sweetie Belle," Sunset directed towards the little unicorn filly, "you want to sing for your sister Rarity as a present for her birthday, is that right?"

"Yeah." Sweetie Belle answered. "I even wrote the lyrics for it."

She then levitated the sheets of paper containing the lyrics over to Sunset, who took them in her own telekinetic grasp and began reading. When she finished reading, she had an amazed look on her face.

"You wrote these?!" She asked Sweetie Belle in a surprised voice. "Sweetie Belle, I'm no musician, but in my honest opinion, these are without a doubt some of the best lyrics I have ever seen!"

"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked with an equally surprised yet hopeful smile.

"Definitely." Sunset answered her. "I am sure Rarity is going to love this song. Now how about we get started on your fear? You say you don't like to sing in front of other ponies because it makes you get all nervous, is that right?" Sweetie Belle meekly nodded yes in response. "Well, let me teach you a little trick I know to help you out with that. Follow me girls."

Sunset then lead the three fillies out of the clubhouse and onto the open space behind the ramp entrance. She then cast a spell and when she was done, the entire open space was filled with perfect illusory copies of everypony in Ponyville.

"Now Sweetie Belle, just to be clear, these ponies are only illusions that I created to help you out." Sunset began explaining. "These illusions are gonna be your practice audience. Now here's the trick I mentioned. When you sing in front of them, imagine that they are all your sister. Just imagine Rarity in everypony else's place. Think you can do that?"

"I'll try." Sweetie Belle gulped nervously. She then walked right up to the front of the crowd and started singing the song that she wrote. She started off a little shaky at first, but after imagining her sister in place of everypony else, she got the hang of it and continued singing with no trace of fear whatsoever.

When she finished singing, Sunset dropped the illusion spell while adopting an open-jawed look on her face with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo doing the same. To say that Sweetie Belle had the singing voice of an angel would be an understatement.

"It worked!" Sweetie Belle cheered with excitement. "I did it! The trick helped! Thank you, Sunset!"

"You're quite welcome, Sweetie Belle." Sunset responded with a warm smile. "I can't wait to see how your sister reacts after she hears your song."

"Well, actually there's one other part I need some help with." Sweetie Belle told her. "I still need some ponies to play instruments to go with my singing. I need a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist, and a keyboardist."

"Well, I have a friend who could probably help with that." Sunset replied. "Can you girls wait right here? I'll go get them right now."

And with that Sunset left to go get help from a certain musician friend of hers. When she came back she was not alone. Also accompanying her were Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, and Spike. Each of them was carrying an electric guitar, electric bass, keyboard, and drum set respectively.

"Sweetie Belle, meet the instrumentalists for your song." She told her. "I'm assuming you all have met at least once before. Lyra and I used to be classmates at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. We recently became friends and she told me about how she was a musician who likes to specialize in stringed instruments, including the electric guitar. When I told her about your present for Rarity, she was overjoyed to help out, and she even recommended Vinyl Scratch to be our bassist."

"Ok, but what's Spike doing here?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I play piano in my spare time sometimes." The baby dragon responded. "I figured the keyboard isn't that different to play. Besides, how could I say no to a friend in need?"

"Thank you, Spike." Sweetie Belle told him before turning to Sunset. "I also see you brought a drum set, but where's our drummer?"

"You're looking at her." Sunset replied with a smirk.

"Ok, let's try playing the song, then." Sweetie Belle eagerly said.

"Just one thing before we do." Sunset said before casting a soundproofing spell over the entire field and clubhouse. "That's so nopony but ourselves can hear us. After all we would not want anypony else to spoil the surprise for Rarity."

Everypony else agreed with her and then they started playing. By the time they finished they were quite satisfied. Sweetie Belle was especially excited.

"Now I know Rarity is gonna love this." She giggled. "That is exactly how I want her to hear it. Ok, Rarity's birthday is tomorrow. And Pinkie will undoubtedly throw a surprise birthday party for her. We'll play the song for Rarity at the party, agreed?" Everypony nodded yes in response. "Great, see you then. Also, not a word of this to Rarity. And Sunset, thanks again for helping me."

"It's no problem at all, Sweetie Belle." Sunset replied. "Anything to help out a friend. See you tomorrow." And with that, she and the others headed back towards Ponyville, with her and Spike picking up Shadow from Fluttershy's cottage and finalizing his adoption along the way.

When they got back to the library, they told Twilight all about Sweetie Belle's plans for Rarity's birthday the following day. Naturally, Twilight promised to keep the whole thing a secret.

The next morning, a knock on the door woke up all of the residents. When Twilight answered the door, it was Pinkie Pie who, of course, told them about the surprise birthday party she was planning for Rarity. Sunset told her about Sweetie Belle's present for Rarity and Pinkie promised to throw it in the town hall, since it was the only building large enough to house everypony in Ponyville and still have room for Sunset, Sweetie Belle and the others to play the song.

Soon, early evening came. Sunset had gotten the all clear to fetch Rarity and bring her to the party. She had just led Rarity up to the entrance to the town hall.

"Alright, Sunset Shimmer." Rarity chided her lightly. "Why are we at the town hall?"

"You're about to find out, Rarity." Sunset answered her. "Just go on in and you'll see why."

Rarity then opened the door, and was greeted by a shower of confetti and a cacophony of noisemakers, followed by a chorus of "SURPISE!!!"

The town hall was festooned with streamers and balloons, and a banner reading "Happy birthday, Rarity!" was strung across a wall. All of Twilight's friends were there as well as everypony in Ponyville. Sweetie Belle was also waiting with Spike, Lyra, and Vinyl with all the needed instruments on stage.

"Guys!" Rarity cheered. "What a surprise!"

"I told you she wouldn't suspect a thing!" Pinkie boasted. "Happy birthday, Rarity!"

"Many happy returns, sugarcube." Applejack smiled.

"Oh, you didn't have to do all this for me." Rarity told them all.

"But we wanted to Rarity." Twilight replied. "You're one of our best friends. How could we not do something like this for you?"

"Plus, your little sister and I have an even bigger surprise for you." Sunset added. "In fact, she wants to give it to you right now."

"Oh does she now?" Rarity playfully smirked. "Well then, let's see it."

"You'll have the best view of it from directly in front of the stage." Sunset recommended. "I'll go help her get it ready." And with that she left to go back stage where everything was in place.

"What did she mean by that?" Rarity asked Twilight as they sat at a table directly in front of the stage with all the rest of their friends.

"Don't worry Rarity," Twilight answered her, "you're about to find out."

Then, all the lights went out before a couple of spotlights shone directly onto the stage. Then the curtains rose to reveal Lyra heartstrings standing on her hind hooves with her horn glowing and what appeared to be two hands made out of an aura of the same color as her eyes and the aura surrounding her horn holding onto an electric guitar. Vinyl Scratch was standing in a similar position next to her with a similar spell holding onto her electric bass. Behind them was Sunset Shimmer, who was using the same spell to hold onto the drumsticks that she would be using on the set she was currently sitting at. Next to her was Spike, who was standing on a large stool so he could reach his keyboard.

At the very front of the band was Sweetie Belle. Standing in front of a microphone stand. She walked right up to it and began to speak.

"Before we begin, I'd just like to say a few things." She started. "I'd like to dedicate this song I wrote to a special pony who is very dear to my heart. A mare who puts up with me every day and still loves me all the same, even despite all my clumsiness from time to time. And so, without further ado, I'd like to say, this one's for you, Rarity. Happy birthday, sis!"

Then she turned her head towards the back. "Hit it, Sunset!" and with that Sunset started off the song with a drum beat that was mainly bass kick and tapping her sticks together with the occasional snare hit. Spike joined in on his keyboard which made an introduction for Lyra and Vinyl to join in on their guitars. After a few measures of their playing, Sweetie Belle finally joined in and sang the lyrics.

"I don't want to make a scene

I don't want to let you down

Try to do my own thing

And I'm starting to figure it out

That it's alright

Keep it together wherever we go

And it's alright, oh well, whatever

Everypony needs to know

You might be crazy

But have I told you lately that I love you?

You're the only reason I'm not afraid to sing or fly

And it's crazy that somepony could change me

Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try

And you need to know that you're the reason why"

As Sweetie Belle finished singing the first chorus, she used her magic to take the microphone out of its stand and bring it with her as she trotted over to Rarity's table for a quick sisterly hug during the second verse, even being careful not to mess up her mane.

"I don't even care when they say

You're a little bit off

Look me in the eye, I say

I could never get enough

'Cause it's alright

Keep it together wherever we go

And it's alright, oh well, whatever

Everypony needs to know

You might be crazy

But have I told you lately that I love you?

You're the only reason I'm not afraid to sing or fly

And it's crazy that somepony could change me

Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try

And you need to know that you're the reason why"

As Sweetie Belle finished this verse she made her way over to another table that just so happened to be on stage. She then sat down on it and spun on her flanks while sitting down. Then she, Lyra, and Vinyl all walked up to the front of the stage to direct the next verse at Rarity and her table.

"If it was raining, you would plead to the sun

Pick up the pieces when the damage is done

You say it's just another day in the shade

But look at what a mess we made"

As Sweetie Belle finished the last line of that verse, they all went back to the middle of the stage to finish the song.

"You might be crazy

But have I told you lately that I love you?

You're the only reason I'm not afraid to sing or fly

And it's crazy that somepony could change me

Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try

You might be crazy

But have I told you lately that I love you?

You're the only reason I'm not afraid to sing or fly

And it's crazy that somepony could change me

Now no matter what it is I have to do, I'm not afraid to try

And you need to know that you're the reason why."

And just like that, the song was finished. Everypony in the audience was giving her the biggest thundering ovation anypony in Ponyville had ever seen or heard. Even more of a surprise was the fact that Rarity was cheering the loudest of them all, even doing some rather unladylike whistles. Sweetie Belle and her makeshift band all bowed before heading offstage to join the rest of the crowd for the rest of the party.

When Sweetie Belle finally emerged from the curtain, Rarity immediately tackled her into a bone-crushing hug. "That was so beautiful. Thank you, Sweetie Belle!" She said while tears of joy were flowing down her face.

"You really liked it?!" Sweetie Belle asked her with hope and enthusiasm.

"I loved it!" Rarity answered her. "That was the best present anypony has ever given me. And it means even more to receive it from my own little sister. Though to be honest, I am a bit surprised by this considering your fear of singing in front of other ponies."

"You can thank Sunset Shimmer for that." Sweetie Belle replied. "She got Lyra, Spike, and Vinyl to help with the instrumentals, and she also helped me with my fear." Then she turned to Sunset.

"By the way Sunset, thanks for everything." She said while hugging her. "You might not believe this, but I stopped the using the trick you taught me during the middle of the song."

"You did?!" Sunset gasped. "But you looked like you were still using it up there. You mean you got over your fear without having to use the trick?"

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle replied enthusiastically, "I decided to take a chance and you know what…it paid off. After the first chorus I stopped using it so I could interact with Rarity and I saw how everypony was enjoying my singing. Once I saw that, I wasn't afraid anymore."

"That's great to hear, Sweetie Belle." Sunset smiled.

"In fact, now I actually like to sing. I feel like it's what I was meant to do…no…what I AM meant to do." Sweetie Belle continued.

And it was then that something amazing happened. Sweetie Belle's flank started glowing with a really bright white light. Sweetie Belle was so caught up in thanking and hugging Sunset that she didn't even notice it herself.

"Sweetie Belle…your flank…" Rarity gasped in amazement.

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle puzzled. "My flank? What're you talking abou-" and then she gasped in surprise on her flank was a pink heart with a microphone with a handle that was the same light green color as her eyes and her magic aura.

"I don't believe it…my cutie mark…I finally got it!!" Sweetie Belle softly built up and then exclaimed at the end before.

"Oh, thank you, Sunset Shimmer!" She said before hugging Sunset. "I finally got my cutie mark and it's all thanks to you!"

"Now Sweetie Belle," Sunset chuckled, "as flattering as that might be if it were true, you and I both know that it is not. I may have taught you the trick to help you suppress your fear, but you were the one who conquered it on your own. And you knew what your special talent was when you decided to sing for your own sister for her birthday. Your cutie mark was the result of all of your hard work."

"You're…you're right, Sunset…but still, it's good that you helped, so thank you anyway." Sweetie Belle replied before turning to Rarity. "Now let's enjoy the rest of your birthday, sis."

And the party went off without a hitch. This was one letter that Princess Celestia was absolutely going love to read.

Hitting the Slopes

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Sunset Shimmer was still tired out from Rarity's birthday party last night, even when she woke up the following morning. Still, in her mind, all of it was worth it, especially when it came to Sweetie Belle getting her cutie mark, and she definitely put that part down in her next letter to Princess Celestia.

After lunch she decided to practice her magic using the books in the library. She tried out a whole bunch of different ones. These included the attack spell and a shield spell for self-defense.

She was now in the back yard trying a spell that she had done during an exam five years ago, before she had been rude to Moondancer and the others and before she and Princess Celestia had their falling out.

She had just planted a seed that she had saved from one of the apples that Applejack gave her when they first met the day before. It was open and she had just given it plenty of water. She cast the spell and just like a certain vine five years ago, the seed had grown rapidly into a perfectly healthy and fully grown apple tree.

Then she decided to test a particularly difficult spell. If done correctly, this one would allow wingless ponies to fly for three days. She decided to cast this one on herself. This one took a lot of stamina out of her, but she managed to complete it, resulting in her now sporting a pair of bumblebee wings.

Then she got a crazy idea. Deciding to put another spell to good use, she found and old plank of wood and some discarded wheels. Using this spell, she fixed all of these objects up as good as new and put them together, effectively resulting in a makeshift skateboard.

Using the same spell, she turned a cereal bowl from the kitchen into a skateboarding helmet that was just her size.

Then she decided to try something that was based on the usual actions of a certain little pegasus filly she met the previous day.

Standing only on her hind hooves, she mounted the skateboard before buzzing her bumblebee wings rapidly, and the effect was exactly as she desired. The wing power buzzed her forward and she felt like a winged Rainbow Dash from the other world on a skateboard like Sunset often saw, only without the wings.

Soon she was buzzing through Ponyville like Scootaloo would on her scooter. Sunset was doing all sorts of tricks. Whether it was jumping off ramps or grinding on rails, she felt like a pony version of the other world's Tony Hawk.

She had just skated through Whitetail Woods and was buzzing up a rocky hill. When she got to the top she decided to go for it and jump. She then proceeded to do a 1080 judo trick. When she landed she stuck perfectly before sliding and swerving to a stop.

"That was awesome." A female voice replied. Then Sunset noticed a pegasus mare after turning around. This mare had an opal green coat and a golden blonde mane and tail. Her eyes matched her mane color and her cutie mark was a lightning bolt and three stars.

"Thanks." Sunset replied. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. What's your name?"

"Name's Lightning Dust." The pegasus mare answered. "Even though your wings were obviously made by magic, it's so cool that somepony can put them to use like that."

"Yeah." Sunset responded. "Actually, I got this idea from this little pegasus filly I know. I've never seen her fly and her wings are really small, but she uses those wings to propel herself forward while she is on this scooter she has. I was just practicing my magic, and then this idea just popped in my head."

"Hey, I know this great place where skaters and others like to hang out and test their stunts." Lightning Dust replied. "You wanna come see it?"

"Sure." Sunset agreed. And in that moment they sped off, one flying and leaving behind a blue and yellow thunderbolt streak and the other keeping pace on her somewhat motorized skateboard.

Along the way Lightning told Sunset all about her dream to be a Wonderbolt and how that dream was shattered when she was kicked out of the academy for being too reckless, when all she was doing was pushing herself to do the best that she possibly can.

Soon enough both mares reached their destination. They were at the entrance to a park filled with all kinds of downhill slope courses built into the side of the small mountain where the park was located.

"Sunset Shimmer," Lightning Dust began, "welcome to Sick Tricks Mountain. A paradise of sorts for all the skaters, bladers, and stunt ponies in general. We have a training facility for all the foals and newbies getting started. And we have many courses, each with a different difficulty level."

"I actually work here too." Lightning Dust continued. "I am one of the course maintenance ponies. And I am also in charge of safety. It's my job to make sure that nopony is left unprotected or injured around here."

"HEY!" She directed towards another pony. "Please, put your helmet back on, we hoof them out to you for a reason, you know."

When the two mares walked in and paid for their time in the park, Sunset noticed that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were also there, with Scootaloo on her scooter and wearing her helmet. Sunset was still a little uneasy about earning Rainbow's trust so she decided to go to another course entrance.

However, Scootaloo had already noticed her. "Sunset Shimmer!" She called and trotted over to Sunset's position.

"Oh hey, there Scootaloo." Sunset answered. "Haven't seen you since Rarity's birthday party last night. What're you doing here?"

"Well, after seeing Sweetie Belle get her cutie mark in singing," Scootaloo answered her, "I suddenly thought 'Maybe I've been going about this all wrong.' So I rode on my scooter to clear my head, but I still came up with nothing about what my special talent is. Then Rainbow Dash told me about this place and asked if I wanted to come try it out on my scooter. I said yes and here I am."

"That's great to hear, Scootaloo." Sunset replied. Then she got all nervous when Rainbow Dash approached them.

"Hey Scoots, what's taking so long? We're next on the course." Then she noticed Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh, it's you." She replied in a sour tone before noticing Lightning Dust. "Lightning Dust?! Now this is a surprise."

"Same here." Lightning Dust responded in an equally bitter tone. "It's been a while, Rainbow Dash. I would say it's good to see you again, but, considering our history, those are the very last words that would cross my mind right now."

"Wait," Sunset cut in, "you two know each other?"

"Oh, we go back about two and a half years." Rainbow Dash answered. "We were flying partners in the Wonderbolts Academy."

"Until miss goody two hooves here called me out to Spitfire for being reckless," Lightning Dust responded, "when all I was trying to do was push myself beyond my limits in order to do the best I possibly could."

"Pushing yourself?!" Rainbow Dash argued. "You made me clip my wing. You sent half of our class into serious tail spins on the obstacle course. You unleashed a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!"

"Hey, that tornado was half your fault you know." Lightning Dust countered.

"EXCUSE ME?!?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "YOU WANNA TAKE THAT OUTSIDE THE PARK?!?!"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Lightning Dust yelled back. At this point, both mares were looking like they were ready to rip each other to shreds.

"All right, cool it, both of you!" Sunset intervened while simultaneously placing both pegasi in separate levitation bubbles and setting them down a good distance from each other. "Now, I might not have been here when this whole thing between the two of you at the Wonderbolts Academy went down, but both of you need to let it go."

"How can I possibly let it go?" Lightning Dust asked in response. "Being a Wonderbolt was the only dream I ever had. And now that dream isn't even possible anymore, because my only chance at achieving it was wrongfully taken from me and given to HER." She pointed a menacing hoof at Rainbow Dash.

"You only brought that on yourself." Rainbow countered her.

"Just shut your yap, you egotistical, self-centered, wingnut!!" Lightning Dust nearly shouted. "I have nothing left to say to you." Then she turned around so sharply that her tail actually smacked Rainbow Dash in the face pretty hard.

"I was only…pushing…my limits!" She growled before storming away to blow off some steam on one of the courses.

"Awkward…" Sunset spoke and decided to hit one of the slopes. When she got to the entrance to one of the courses, she found Scootaloo already there.

"Hey, Scootaloo." Sunset greeted her. "Couldn't take all that tension either, huh?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo responded. "I wasn't expecting any of that."

"Me neither." Sunset responded before getting an eager smirk on her face. "I know what'll take our minds off of it. Wanna shred some dust?"

"Oh yeah." Scootaloo answered with a sly grin of her own. Soon they were both at the starting ramp.

"Race ya to the bottom?" Scootaloo asked.

"You are so on." Sunset replied.

On the count of three they both sped off. Both were doing sick tricks. Scootaloo was doing flips and barrel rolls while Sunset was tearing up the rails with her grinding skills.

As they were about to come to a tunnel in the course, Sunset had just finished a front hoof-stand grind while Scootaloo nailed a perfect landing after a quadruple forward flip.

Once they both entered the tunnel Scootaloo started spiraling forward through the tunnel, her wings propelling her along the floor, walls, ceiling, and walls again in a cycle. Sunset decided to just stay on the ground while boarding through the tunnel.

"THIS…IS…AWESOME!!!" Scootaloo shouted at Sunset every time she passed her while spiraling through the tunnel.

Scootaloo had stopped spiraling once they made it to the end of the tunnel. There was one last jump ramp before the end of the course. Both ponies jumped off at the same time for one last trick each. While Sunset had put herself upside down and spun with her board like a helicopter blade, Scootaloo did backflips at an equally fast pace.

Amazingly enough, both ponies stuck perfect landings after their tricks and crossed the finish line at the same time and then skidded to a halt both kicking up a cloud of dust. After it cleared up they both noticed Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust covered in the dust they just kicked up.

Both mares had their eyes closed and were kicking up dust. "THAT…WAS…AWESOME!!!" They both exclaimed at the same time before noticing each other and immediately looked away from each other.

"Those were some awesome tricks, Sunset." Rainbow Dash admitted. "Though I've seen better."

"I don't doubt it, Dash." Sunset chuckled in response.

"But did you see me shredding on that course with my scooter?!" Scootaloo asked in an excited tone. "All those flips and rolls! And you should've seen me while I was spiraling through that tunnel!"

"I know, you were sweet on that scooter, kid." Lightning Dust agreed.

"Twenty percent cooler in fact." Rainbow added.

"I think maybe I'll make a career out of this." Scootaloo considered. "I mean, let's face it. When it comes to scootering, I'm the best."

Then her flank started glowing with a bright white light. Everypony gasped at the sight.

"What's wrong?" Scootaloo asked in a confused manner.

"Scoot, look at your flank." Sunset told her.

Scootaloo did so and gasped in surprise. When the glow died down, there on her flank was a scooter exactly like hers. Floating behind it were a pair of pegasus wings. Floating above it was a helmet exactly like hers. And underneath and behind the back wheels was a trail of fire.

"My cutie mark…" Scootaloo murmured before pumping her front hooves in victory. "YYYYEEEESSSS!"

"Way to go, Scoots!" Sunset congratulated.

"That's my adopted little sis!" Dash exclaimed while giving Scootaloo a playful noogie. "Now you're another twenty percent cooler."

Sunset then decided that she'd probably better head back to Ponyville. However, she noticed that her bumblebee wings were now gone.

Luckily for her, Lightning Dust volunteered to take her home in a way that was fun for both of them.

With Lighting Dust flying low with a rope tied to her midsection, and Sunset Shimmer boarding behind while holding the other end, the two ponies headed back to Ponyville, where Sunset could not wait to write to Princess Celestia about this adventure.

Raising a Barn Also Raises an Apple

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Sunset Shimmer had just finished writing her letter to Princess Celestia, being sure to mention Scootaloo's new cutie mark. 'Though Rainbow Dash still does not trust me yet.' She thought as she wrote. 'And I really feel bad for Lightning Dust. Her only chance at her only dream was taken away from her. And from what I can tell, it sounds to me like she was not even given a second chance. I just wish there was something I could do to help her. At least we're friends. Anyway, I will write again sometime. Your faithful student…Sunset Shimmer.'

She had just gotten Spike to send the letter before heading for bed. Her new pet wolf pup, Shadow, was waiting for her at the foot of her bed. She petted him goodnight and she climbed right into bed.

That night, a particularly bad storm was scheduled. It was a good thing that Twilight had a magic lightning rod protecting the library. Unfortunately, that did not help the thunder clash sounds. One was so loud that it scared both Shadow and Sunset awake. After hearing him whimper slightly, Sunset magically lifted Shadow up onto her bed with her and then they both fell asleep again, taking comfort in knowing that they were right next to each other.

The next morning was relatively quiet. The storm was all everypony could talk about during breakfast.

"It even scared both me and Shadow awake." Sunset told Twilight and Spike. "I hope no buildings or homes were damaged."

Carousel Boutique was relatively damage-free, as were the library, Sugarcube Corner, and Fluttershy's cottage.

Sweet Apple Acres was a different story. The farmhouse was okay, but the barn was literally torn right in two by a bolt of lightning. The Apples were already getting ready to start building a new one. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Mane 6 were there too, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts were there helping out.

AJ, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac were lifting the frame work for the central support beams up with ropes while Rainbow Dash was hovering in place with a hammer ready to nail the frames into place. They had just gotten it standing when Twilight, Sunset, and Spike trotted up.

"Think you could use some help?" Sunset offered.

"Sure could." Applejack said and thanked them.

"I'm a bit surprised that the old barn was the only thing in town that got struck by lightning." Twilight pondered while using her magic to carry lumber and nails over.

"Just imagine if it had been our house that was hit." Apple Bloom pitched in while carrying a tool belt on her back. "Good thing Fluttershy came over, otherwise it'd take forever to calm the animals down."

"I don't doubt that." Spike chuckled while grabbing a hammer.

"The thunder scared Shadow out of his sleep last night." Sunset added. "Luckily he calmed down after I brought him up onto my bed to sleep with me."

"Who's Shadow?" Lyra asked.

"Shadow is my new pet wolf pup." Sunset answered her. Then she began telling everypony who did not know about Shadow about how she met him and saved him from that timberwolf pack that killed his mother just before.

"Oh, the poor thing." Minuette gasped.

"I had no idea fate could be so cruel." Twinkleshine added.

"I'd love to meet him sometime." Lemon Hearts said.

"And I would love to introduce you all to him sometime too." Sunset responded. "But if and when I do, you are gonna have to be gentle around him. He is still a bit spooked from the timberwolf incident and he is shy around ponies other than me, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike."

"Hate to break up this sappy tale," Rainbow Dash said a bit rudely, "but can we get back to building this new barn, here?"

"Dash does have a point." Applejack agreed. "Although, Ah must admit, she could have done without the rudeness."

"'Although, Ah must admit she could have done without the rudeness.' Hmph, 'rudeness' my cutie mark." Rainbow grumbled in a mocking sort of way under her breath in response before getting back to hammering the roof frames into place with nails.

The others still heard her make that comment and none of them particularly liked it, but they just decided to ignore it and continued their work. Between the fifteen ponies and one dragon, the whole barn was raised within the span of a few hours. All that needed to be done was the painting and the interior decorating.

"How's about ya'll take a little break youngins?" Came the cheerful voice of Granny Smith. "Ah've got fresh lemonade and zap apple pie fer anypony who wants it."

When Sunset took a bite out of her slice, her taste buds exploded with excitement at the pure deliciousness of the flavor.

"Sweet Celestia." She gasped. "That has got to be the best-tasting pie I have ever had in my life!"

"Why thank ya kindly, missy." Granny Smith chuckled. "It's thanks to the zap apples in those pies that this town even exists."

"Yeah," Sunset replied. "Apple Bloom told me all about that one time."

"She's a good little filly, and a true Apple to heart." Applejack agreed. "Hey, where is that little filly?"

"She and the other Crusaders said they were gonna go paint and decorate the barn." Big Macintosh answered.

"All by themselves?" Applejack asked them.

"I'll go check up on them." Sunset volunteered. "I'll even supervise the rest of their work." And with that she left the house and headed towards the barn.

By the time she got there, Sunset was beyond surprised. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had already painted the entire exterior of the barn a deliciously bright apple red. On one wall was Applejack's cutie mark. On the second wall was Big Mac's. On the third wall was Granny Smith's apple pie cutie mark and below that was a perfect depiction of a zap apple. The fourth wall was left blank.

The inside was even better. Above every pen was a picture of the animals that each of those pens were meant for. One for chickens, one for the pigs, and Apple Bloom was just finishing the one for the sheep.

"Wow girls, I'm impressed!" Sunset complimented them. "You did all this by yourselves in such a short amount of time?!"

"Thanks to Apple Bloom." Sweetie Belle answered.

"All the designs were her idea." Scootaloo added.

"Who knew Ah had such a knack fer arts and crafts as well as workin' with tools?" Apple Bloom said with an honest smile.

Then as fate would have it, a glowing white light encompassed Apple Blooms flank.

"Hey Apple Bloom, I just got an idea of what you can add to the blank exterior wall of the barn." Sunset told her.

"Really?! What?" Apple Bloom asked in response.

"Take a good look at your flank and you'll find out." Sunset answered her with a smirk.

"What do ya mean take a good look at my-" then Apple Bloom gasped at what she saw. There, on her flank, was an apple red rose in full bloom, and in the center was a zap apple.

"Mah cutie mark…Ah finally got mah cutie mark…" She murmured almost breathlessly before jumping up into the air and shouting "YYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!"

"What's all the commotion goin' on in here?!" Applejack immediately said after slamming the door open not even an instant after Apple Bloom's cheer.

"Applejack! Applejack!" Apple Bloom said excitedly while going hopping in circles all around her sister. "Ah got mah cutie mark! Ah finally got mah cutie mark! Look!"

"Well ah'll be a goat's nanny." Applejack smirked. "Congrats, little sis. Ya finally did it!"

"And I didn't even have to help her this time." Sunset laughed.

"Come on girls, let's go show the others." Applejack chuckled in response.

"Hang on, sis." Apple Bloom cut her off. "Ah've still got one last thing to add to all these decorations. Sunset? Gals? Could ya'll help me out?"

"Sure thing, Apple Bloom." Sunset said while the other Crusaders just eagerly nodded with grins on their faces.

Apple Bloom then led them all outside to the blank exterior wall of the barn.

"Sunset," Apple Bloom directed, "can you use your magic to make something like a stencil or a guideline image to place on the wall so we know what to draw and how to do it?"

"No problem." Sunset said as she used a spell to do just that. In no time at all, a perfect holographic image of Apple Bloom's cutie mark appeared on the blank exterior wall of the barn. "There. I even made it so that it will disappear as we put the colors over top of it."

"Then let's get ta work." Apple Bloom said as she took charge. Then she and the other crusaders started making the outline for her cutie mark by painting the outer lines black.

Sunset was holding them all up in her levitation spell to help them reach the high areas. Once they finished the lines for the cutie mark, they went onto adding the main color which would cancel out the hologram spell bit by bit as it was painted over.

Finally all of them finished. When they finally laid eyes on the newest cutie mark addition, they all nodded in satisfied agreement. Then they all started to head back to the barn.

"You really deserve that cutie mark, Apple Bloom." Sunset commented as she ruffled the little filly's mane. "It suits you quite well."

"Thanks, Sunset." Apple Bloom smiled while blushing bashfully.

After showing the others her cutie mark, the Cutie Mark Crusaders realized that all three founding members had all of their cutie marks.

"You know what this calls for…" Pinkie Pie asked. "A PARTY!"

"Why don't we make it a hoedown and have it here at Sweet Apple Acres?" Sunset suggested.

"That's a fine and dandy idea there, Sunset." Applejack agreed.

Sunset galloped home to get Shadow to introduce him to the others. When she came back she had him as well as a harmonica and she was also dressed up in a Wild West get up.

Everypony who had not met him before now remarked at how cute he was and how lucky he is to be Sunset Shimmer's pet now.

Pinkie Pie and Sunset were now playing Hoof Hoof Boogie against each other. Shadow, being the curious little pup that he is, decided to join in on Sunset's dance pad.

"Hey, what's Shadow doing here?" Pinkie said after noticing him on Sunset's pad.

"Looks like he's doing the Pup Pup Boogie." Sunset joked, resulting in getting a laugh from Pinkie, herself, and everypony who was watching.

"Careful," Pinkie responded as a tail spin sequence was coming up, "here comes the hard part."

Both she and Sunset spun on their tails, and they both spun out of control and off the dance pads until they crashed. Luckily, Shadow managed to avoid both of them and stood on Sunset's dance pad. When the regular sequences began again, he began nailing the moves like it was nothing.

"Wow Shadow, you're good at this." Pinkie giggled. Then Winona took her spot on Pinkie's dance pad and did the same thing.

"Oh man," Sunset laughed, "I am so putting this in my next letter. Princess Celestia is sure going to get a kick out of this."

"I'll say she is." came the unmistakable voice of Discord. "I know I am."

"Discord, what're you doing here?" Applejack asked with just a bit of suspicion.

"Oh, Celestia asked me to check up on Ponyville after that huge storm last night." Discord explained. "I was just about to send up a report when I overheard you were having a hoedown."

"You can join in as long as you don't cause any trouble." Applejack replied knowing full well where he was going with this.

"I'd be delighted, Applejack." He responded. "Just let me send my report and inform Celestia of my location."

Discord then volunteered to fill in the drummer position for the make shift country style band that was about to perform a song. Lyra volunteered to play her electric guitar again, while Applejack would play a washtub bass instead of an electric one. Spike had his keyboard again and Sunset would provide harmonica support. Applejack's cousin Fiddlesticks would help out with her fiddle, Apple Bloom would be playing the jaw harp when needed, Granny Smith would be blowing into an empty cider jug, and to everypony's surprise, Big Macintosh walked up to the microphone.

"Howdy, ya'll." He spoke in a moderate volume and voice. "Are ya'll havin' yerselves a good time?" Everypony cheered 'YES' in response. "Good, cuz it's only jus' startin'. Let's take it away, guys."

Then everypony in the band sang in unison.

"Good Time"

Then Lyra started off with a guitar riff before the rest of the instrumentalists joined in for a few measures. Then Big Mac began to sing again.

"Work, work all week long

Punchin' that clock from dusk till dawn.

Countin' the days till Friday night

That's when all the conditions are right.

For a good time

I need a good time.

Yea, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

I cashed my check, cleaned my cart

Put on my hat, forgot about work

Sun goin' down, head across town

Pick up my baby and turn it around

Good time,

Aahh, I need a good time

I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

Time for a good time

HEY!"

Lyra then played a solo for few measures before the lyrics came back up.

"Pig in the ground, cider on ice

Just like ole Mac taught us about

Singin' along, Ponyville songs

Rowdy friends all night long

Good time

Lord, we're having a good time,

Yea, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Whew"

After Spike finished adding his piano-like sounding keyboard during that verse, Lyra then did another solo, and this one was different from her previous one.

"Heel toe dosey doe

Scootin' our hooves, swingin' doors

B & D Kix and Dunn

Honkin' tonk heaven, Double shotgun

Good time,

Lord, we're havin' a good time

Cause I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Shot of Tequila, cider on tap

Sweet southern mare to sit on my lap

G with an O, O with a D

T with an I and an M and an E

And a good time

Shhheww, good time

I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Ahh, turn it up now."

Fiddlesticks then began her own melodic solo. Once she was finished, Apple Bloom started with a jaw harp before the next verse.

"A Shot of Tequila.

Cider on tap.

A good looking mare.

To sit on my lap.

A G with an O, an O with a D

A T with an I, an M with an E

That spells good time

A good time

Ohh, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

Time for a good time"

Sunset then made the crowd go crazy with her harmonica solo. Even Rainbow Dash could see that Sunset was having the time of her life right now.

"Twelve o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, four

Five o'clock we know were that's gonna go

Closing the door, shuttin' em down

Head for that Donut Joe's way outta town

Good time

Ohh, we're havin' a good time.

Ohh, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Ohh, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Ohh, I've been workin' all week

And I'm tired and I don't wanna sleep

I wanna have fun

It's time for a good time

Ohh, yea, a good time.

I need a good time.

Yea, a good time."

The instrumentalists then began playing an ending sequence. Once they were finished the crowd went wild. Sunset had a good time, and unknown to her so did Rainbow Dash. Of course, Rainbow would not let Sunset see this.

After that, everypony just square-danced and/or line-danced for the rest of the party. This was one night that nopony would ever forget.

Battle of the Crystal Empire

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It was a few days after the hoedown, and Sunset Shimmer was already friends with half the town. Even Rainbow Dash was starting to warm up to her, emphasis on starting.

Sunset and the Mane Six were having lunch at a local café. They had just decided to have a pony pet playdate so that Shadow could get better acquainted with the other pets.

An hour later, they had all met up in the park except for Fluttershy. Shadow got along with Winona and Owlowiscious easily enough. Gummy and Tank were a little awkward, but Shadow felt good around them.

Opal was a different story. As soon as she saw Shadow she hissed at him so loudly, he actually ran scared back behind Sunset's legs.

"Opalescence!" Rarity scolded the cat severely. "You apologize to that poor little pup this instant!"

Opal just hissed again in response, earning her a rare growl from Winona. This made Opal flinch before crawling meekly over to Shadow and mewing a soft apology before shamefully slinking away.

"Thanks, Winona." Sunset said while petting her. "You're definitely a good friend."

"Girls, girls!" the soft and yet unmistakable voice of Fluttershy cried.

Everypony turned their heads to see Fluttershy with Angel on her back leading Zecora over to their position, with expressions of worry adorning both of their faces.

"Fluttershy, what's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"I was on my way back here to the park from fetching Angel, when I ran into Zecora, and she told me some really bad news not too long ago!" she explained.

Zecora nodded to everypony. "Indeed, something is very wrong. The Alicorn Amulet is gone."

Pinkie threw a hoof over her own mouth. "Oh, no! What if they use it to take away everypony's mouths so nopony can talk anymore?"

"Pinkie, calm down!" Twilight said to her before turning to Zecora. "Zecora, can you tell us what happened exactly?"

"Off into the forest, I had gone, to gather ingredients for the brews in my throng. But when I returned, I found my hut overturned! While I cleaned my shack, I came to see, that something is no longer where it should be. Twilight Sparkle, my very dear friend, this is most definitely a matter that we must attend."

"Zecora," Sunset began, "do you have any idea as to who might have stolen the amulet? Are there any clues the thief might have left behind?"

"The only things that I found," Zecora began, "were this black scale and bug wing on the ground." Then she showed them a scale that was almost pitch-black and a piece of wing membrane that looked like it came from an insect.

"Twilight," Sunset gasped in a frightened manner, "you don't think…"

"We can't know for sure." Twilight responded. "I'll inform Celestia about it though. We need to be prepared for anything."

Then all of a sudden, Pinkie Pie's whole body started vibrating violently for a brief moment.

"Oh no," Applejack began, "not another doozy!"

Then all of a sudden, the ground shook violently, making all ponies fall onto their backs and/or flanks.

"What the hay was that?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"That earthquake did not even feel natural." Rarity chimed in.

"Uh…girls…" Fluttershy spoke softly in a scared tone.

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Sunset asked her.

"Look…" Fluttershy answered while pointing towards another town. Then all ponies were gaping in horror at what they saw the blue protection spell that was always over the Crystal Empire was now down.

"Oh no." Sunset gasped in fear after putting the pieces together, "My nightmare is coming true."

"What nightmare?!" Rainbow asked both specifically and aggressively after flying into Sunset's face.

Sunset then began telling all the others about the two nightmares she had a while back. She recounted every detail, from Chrysalis and her changelings using the Alicorn Amulet to revive King Sombra, to those combined forces launching an attack on the Crystal Empire. Even mentioning Princess Luna's opinion of the first dream.

"Well why didn't you tell us about these nightmares, huh?!" Rainbow Dash yelled at Sunset.

"I thought they were just really bad nightmares." Sunset explained. "Plus, Twilight and I visited Zecora the day that I met all of you guys, and she still had the amulet with her then."

"That doesn't matter right now, Dash." Applejack scolded slightly. "What does matter is the fact that the Alicorn Amulet's been stolen, and now the Crystal Empire's under attack. Ah say, we go to the Tree of Harmony, borrow back the Elements, and hightail it over to the Crystal Empire as fast as we can."

"While you guys get the Elements," Sunset began, "I'll head back to the library and get Spike to send a letter to Princess Celestia. If what is happening right now really is what I saw in my nightmares, then we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Let's meet at the train station when we're ready." Twilight announced. They all agreed and split up. Twilight and the rest of the Element wielders took off for the Everfree Forest while Sunset galloped towards the library.

Sunset reached the library in just a few minutes and slammed open the door. Luckily for her, Spike was still there cleaning.

"Geez, Sunset, you startled me." He panicked slightly. "What's going on?"

"Spike, I need you to write a letter to Princess Celestia, this is very urgent!" Sunset replied.

"Ok," Spike responded after getting out a quill and parchment, "ready when you are."

"My dearest mentor," Sunset began, "I am writing to inform you of a potential disaster. Me, Twilight, and our friends were just informed by our zebra friend Zecora that the Alicorn Amulet was stolen from her hut. Shortly after that, we felt a massive earthquake and then noticed that the Crystal Empire's shield spell was down immediately afterwards. We think that the Crystal Empire may be under attack. We don't know for certain, but we have reason to suspect that changelings stole the amulet and are responsible for the attack. The only possible proof we have right now is that Zecora found a black scale and a piece of insectoid wing membrane inside her hut. Also, remember that nightmare I told you about on the morning you sent me to Ponyville? I think it might be coming true. Twilight and the others are already retrieving the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony right now. Once they have them, we'll be heading to the Crystal Empire to help save it. Hopefully the Elements are all we need, but I am informing you so you know what's going on. We might need all the help we can get. Your faithful student…Sunset Shimmer."

Once Spike finished writing the letter, he blew his fire on it immediately.

"There, it's on its way." He said. "If what you say is true, you better hope the Princess sends Discord to help."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Sunset replied. "Take care of the library while were gone."

"You got it." Spike acknowledged her with a salute. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry about us, Spike." Sunset replied with an honest smile. "Nothing can defeat us as long as we have our friends by our side."

Then she galloped out of the library and towards the train station. By the time she got there, Twilight and the others were already waiting for her.

"We don't have much time." Twilight said. "Everypony except for Rainbow Dash, gather around. I'm gonna cast a spell on all of you that should increase our galloping speed to match that of Rainbow's flight speed."

Everypony else agreed and gathered around in the circle. Twilight cast her spell which enveloped everypony but Rainbow Dash in a pink aura. The aura stayed on them for a minute or so before finally disappearing.

"Did it work?" Rarity asked.

"Only one way to find out." Sunset replied and started running towards the Crystal Empire. She was running for five seconds and then stopped. To her astonishment she was already on the other side of Ponyville. When she noticed the others didn't follow her, she ran back to the train station with the same speed.

"Well, it works." She said before getting serious. "What are you waiting for, Hearth's Warming? Come on, we got an empire to save!"

And with that, they all galloped (except for Rainbow Dash, who was flying) towards the Crystal Empire.

By the time they got there, the city was already in chaos, but not even Discord would want chaos of this caliber. Everywhere they looked, changelings were chasing after crystal ponies and fighting members of the Crystal Royal Guard.

Twilight and the others immediately galloped towards the central pillars where the Crystal Heart is supposed to be. When they got there, they saw that the earthquake was powerful enough to knock the heart out of its proper place and onto the nearby floor. But that wasn't the only thing that caught their attention.

Just like Sunset had seen in her second nightmare, Cadance and Shining Armor were engaged in battle over the Crystal Heart. Their opponents were Chrysalis who was wearing the Alicorn Amulet, and to everypony's utter shock and horror, a fully-revived King Sombra.

"They actually brought him back to life?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "How is that even possible?!"

"Uh, Alicorn Amulet, remember?!" Applejack shouted in response. "That thing grants untold power. We probably should've expected this!"

"Worry about that later!" Sunset yelled in reply. "We can't let either of them get the Crystal Heart, and we need to help Shining Armor and Cadance!"

Then Sunset and Twilight galloped full speed at the demonic unicorn and the changeling queen. Both of them hit their targets dead on with attack spells blowing them back a few feet. Rainbow Dash made a beeline for the Crystal Heart and then stood directly over it.

"Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed in surprise. "I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but boy are we glad to see you!"

"Me too!" Cadance exclaimed in relief. "Although why can't our reunions ever be normal?!"

"Who dares…" King Sombra hissed threateningly as he and Chrysalis recovered from their blows.

"Ah, if it isn't little miss heroine turned Princess." Chrysalis cackled loudly and mockingly. "I see you actually managed to retrieve your elements this time. Too bad they can't help you."

"Oh yeah?!" Rainbow Dash said in a cocky tone. "We'll see about that. Let's do this, girls!" Then all six Element wielders began powering up their Elements. But before they could even fire their signature rainbow beam, their power was almost instantaneously cancelled out.

"What the hay just happened?" Applejack asked in a severely confused tone before noticing that Chrysalis's horn and the Alicorn Amulet were glowing red. "Are you kiddin' me?! That necklace can even overpower the Elements of Harmony?!"

"Guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." Rainbow Dash said while pounding her front hooves together. Meanwhile, Sunset actually saw Lightning Dust seemingly hiding behind a building and looking at the Crystal Heart.

No sooner than Rainbow Dash had spoken did a whole platoon of changelings pounce on the Element wielders from out of nowhere. They tried their best to fight them off, but eventually they were overpowered.

"We'll take that Crystal Heart now." Chrysalis spoke as she and Sombra chuckled in triumph.

"What?!" Sombra gasped in surprise when he noticed the relic was not on the spot where it fell. "Where is it?!"

"Over here, tall, dark, and uglies!" Shouted a familiar cocky voice. Everypony turned to see Lightning Dust flapping her wings a few dozen yards away from them.

"Looking for something?" She asked Sombra and Chrysalis while showing all of them what she had in her hooves…the Crystal Heart. King Sombra growled upon seeing this.

You see, before Sunset was overpowered during the ambush, she placed an enchantment spell on both the Crystal Heart and the section of floor that it landed on. With these enchantments, only Sunset and Lightning Dust could see the real Crystal Heart, while everypony else would still think it was where it had landed even after Lightning had secretly and inconspicuously grabbed the heart while everypony else was busy.

"You want it…" Lightning Dust said while getting ready, "come and get it." And with that, she took the Crystal Heart, turned around and immediately sped towards Canterlot so fast, she practically did her own version of Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom.

"Don't just stand there you idiots, AFTER HER!" Chrysalis ordered her fastest minions, who then immediately took off after Lightning Dust. Then she turned to her remaining minions. "The rest of you, throw these prisoners in the dungeons. Keep the Crystal Prince and Princess in separate cells. Same goes for the Element wielders."

"You'll never get away with this, you oversized cockroach!" Sunset shouted at Chrysalis while struggling against the changelings as they dragged her and the others towards the Crystal Castle dungeons.

"We already have my little ponies." Chrysalis replied mockingly. "We already have."

Sunset was putting up so much of a struggle against the changelings who were dragging her towards the dungeon that one of them had to knock her out cold with a punch.

When she came to, she found her hooves trapped in some strange green goo.

"Sunset!" Twilight's voice called. Turning, Sunset saw Twilight in the same cell as her as well as in the same predicament. Upon further investigation, Sunset saw that all the other Element wielders, as well as Cadance and Shining Armor, were in separate cells with goop on their hooves. The Element wielders all still had their Elements on them. This is because once a wielder dons their Element, only the wielder can remove it.

"Twilight, we have to get out of here." Sunset said as she struggled to break free. "Lightning Dust may have been able to buy us some time to hold out for reinforcements, but who knows how long she'll be able to outfly those changelings and protect the Crystal Heart."

"This slime can't be broken by hoof." Twilight explained. "I've also tried my magic like I did at Cadance's wedding, but it didn't work. Wait…do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what, Twilight?" Applejack asked from a distant cell.

"Listen!" Twilight shushed everypony else. When they were all quiet they soon knew what Twilight was talking about. A battle was going on outside.

"Is that…" Fluttershy began, only to be interrupted by a familiar cheeky voice.

"The sound of the reinforcements come to save the day? Yes, yes it is." Said Discord who had just appeared behind Fluttershy from out of nowhere.

"Discord!" Fluttershy happily yet oh so softly exclaimed. "Boy am I glad to see you."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Fluttershy on this one." Rarity agreed, so did everypony else, though Shining Armor was still just the tiniest bit skeptical.

"How did you know we needed help or where to find us for that matter?" Twilight asked

"Well, to answer your first question," Discord explained as he used his chaos magic to unlock the cells and melt the goo traps one by one, "I was just taking a short stroll through the Canterlot Castle gardens when out of nowhere, this green pegasus with a blonde mane who kind of reminds me of Rainbow Dash ends up crash landing out of exhaustion right in front of my feet."

"That's Lightning Dust!" Sunset exclaimed. "Is she alright?!"

"Oh she's just fine." Discord answered her while continuing his jailbreak rescue. "In fact, she's out there with others, helping to defend and take back the Empire. Anyway, she was being pursued by a bunch of changelings, so I had to drive them off. When I turned towards the unconscious Lightning Dust, as you called her, imagine my surprise when I find the Crystal Heart clutched tightly in her hooves. I immediately thought something was up, so I decided to bring her to the infirmary and inform Celestia and Luna. When Lightning Dust came to, she told us everything that had happened before she fled to Canterlot with the Crystal Heart. The rest you can pretty much guess, from the sound of Lockon and the other guards battling out there."

"Wait, Lockon's here too?!" Sunset exclaimed in worry.

"Oh yes, that was our plan." Discord explained. "He distracts Sombra and the Changelings while I free you guys. Oh, and I believe this belongs to you." He then handed them the Crystal Heart.

"Thanks, Discord." Twilight told him. "But we need to get out their fast."

"Alright, everypony, let's do this!" Sunset shouted in agreement. Then they all galloped out of the dungeons and towards the battle.

'I just hope that Lockon has not made a terrible mistake.' Sunset thought to herself while they galloped.

They had finally reached the central pillars where the Crystal Heart should have been housed. Royal guards were fighting all the changelings, although this time they were doing better, especially since the Wonderbolts were helping from the skies, with Lightning Dust helping out. And, as fate would have it, King Sombra was already at the central pillars waiting for them, along with Chrysalis.

"We figured you might try to pull something when your reinforcements came." Chrysalis said. "You sure are persistent, I'll give you that. But we're growing tired of this little game."

"Now…give us the Crystal Heart!" Sombra growled with his horn glowing.

"Not a chance, you monsters!" Applejack shouted in response.

"So be it!" Sombra and Chrysalis replied, both of their horns glowing, ready to get rid of them. But before they had a chance to fire their spells, they were suddenly blasted a considerable distance away from the Element wielders by a sapphire blue beam of magic.

"Who could have done that?" Sunset asked in astonishment. Then everypony turned and saw Lockon Astros armored up and ready for battle. Only, the armor he was currently wearing was different from the armor that Shining Armor wore when he was Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Lockon's armor had a few subtle spikes pointing backwards on both sides of his back.

"Are you ponies alright?" He asked.

"We're fine." Twilight answered. "But how are we going to defeat those two? With that Alicorn Amulet, they can cancel out the Elements of Harmony before we even get to use them."

"Guys, I have an idea." Sunset said in response. "What if we combined the power of the Elements with that of the Crystal Heart?"

"I think I see where you're going with this, but will that even work?" Rainbow Dash asked in reply.

"You got any better ideas?" Sunset countered. Rainbow just shook her head.

"Even if we try that, that changeling can easily cancel out the Elements again with that Alicorn Amulet." Applejack reminded them.

"Lockon, your highnesses." Sunset directed towards them. "Do you think you can distract those changelings and protect us while we power up the Elements?"

"Of course, Sunset." Cadance firmly yet eagerly agreed.

"I'm still not too sure about this plan." Shining Armor voiced his concern. "But right now it's the only one we have, so I'm willing to do it."

"LOOK OUT!" Pinkie Pie shouted just as she saw a second group of changelings just jumping out of nowhere for another ambush attempt. However, Lockon was ready for them.

"Fly, my fangs!" He shouted, and immediately afterwards all of the spikes on the back of his armor flew off on their own, towards the attacking changelings and started blasting them on their own in midflight with magic that was sapphire blue in color. The beams all hit their targets, making the entire group of ambushing changelings drop like flies.

"Let's get to work, then." Lockon said and flew off towards Sombra and Chrysalis, with Cadance and Shining Armor following suit.

"Don't worry, ladies." Discord assured them. "I'll stay with you. Nopony is getting past me." After that he snapped his fingers and put up a shield spell in his own style.

The Mane Six then stood in a circle started powering up the Elements of Harmony, while Sunset held onto the Crystal Heart in the middle of the circle. She wanted to help out by doing more than just holding the heart, but she did not know how. Then a crazy idea hit her.

It was a long shot, certainly, but everything she'd heard and/or read about the Crystal Heart supported her theory. Holding the heart tightly, Sunset thought about everything and everypony she loved; Ponyville, Princess Celestia, her friends, Shadow, Lockon…

The Crystal Heart began to glow. The light flowed over Sunset's body, and then those of the Mane Six, changing them all to crystal.

Then magic from the Elements began to flow into the Crystal Heart itself. The Crystal Heart took on a beautiful rainbow color. Then Discord lowered his barrier just before the Element boosted Crystal Heart let off a powerful explosion of light, love, and harmony that expanded at a very rapid rate. As it expanded toward the borders of the Crystal Empire and passed over the beings that were still inside, rather than push the changelings out of the city and off into the horizon like Shining Armor and Cadance did during their wedding, this shield actually pushed them all to just beyond the border of the now newly-formed rainbow barrier, while all the ponies and crystal ponies were left unharmed and some were even healed.

"Did it work?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Did we save the Crystal Empire?"

Her question was answered by the cheers of the royal guard and the crystal ponies everywhere, with no changeling in sight.

"Yeah! We did it!" Rainbow Dash cheered before turning to Sunset Shimmer. "Sunset, you are a genius!"

"Way to go, Sunset!" Applejack agreed. "That idea of yers just saved the whole Crystal Empire."

"Oh, girls, stop, you're making me blush." Sunset replied rather bashfully.

"Wait, Cadance! Shining Armor!" Twilight just gasped in remembrance. "We have to find them."

"Don't worry Twilight, they're both fine." Discord assured her. "But just to help you, I'll teleport all of you to their location." Then he snapped his fingers and in that instant all seven mares were transported to their location.

Meanwhile moments earlier with Lockon, Cadance, and Shining Armor…

They were going over the plan to distract the enemy leaders. Lockon volunteered to take on the changeling and let Cadance and Shining Armor battle King Sombra. The royal couple didn't even get a chance to tell him not to take revenge because Lockon had already hightailed it towards the point where Chrysalis and Sombra landed and were recovering from that blast.

Lockon was the first to arrive on the scene. Sombra and Chrysalis were already standing on their hooves though still recovering. When Lockon saw Chrysalis however, his blood began to boil. The only thing on his mind at this moment was his desire to avenge his parents and his beloved older sister, Sapphire.

"That's the one…" he murmured softly as his rage began to build up. "That's the changeling."

"The one who took mom and dad…" he spoke somewhat louder. Shining Armor and Cadance were just arriving at this point. Cadance was already sensing the high levels of rage in Lockon's heart.

"The one who drained Sapphire…" his volume was moderate, and yet loud enough for Shining Armor and Cadance to hear him.

"THE CHANGELING FROM THAT DAY!!!!" Lockon yelled as he fired a massive beam of magic that was the exact same color as the ones that the fangs on his armor did earlier against the changeling ambush that he stopped.

The beam hit Chrysalis dead on and pushed her back a considerable distance. Shining Armor and Cadance were too late to stop Lockon as he had already spread his wings and sped off after Chrysalis while she was still flying back. They were then interrupted by King Sombra charging straight for them before they could go after Lockon. Shining Armor kept putting up shield spells in defense, while Cadance tried to blast Sombra with attack spells

Chrysalis had just barely enough time to perform and complete a quick full health recovery spell, before Lockon slammed into her at a speed that would rival Rainbow Dash before pinning her against the wall of a nearby building.

"Remember me, Chrysalis?!?!" She shouted at her.

Chrysalis then recognized him and smirked evilly. "Ah, now I recognize you." She said. "Let me guess…trying to avenge your family, are you? You know, it's actually pretty good that you actually managed to survive all this time. I can sense the love for your deceased family powering up that hatred you are showing me right now. Once I defeat you, I am going to suck you dry, just like I drained your sister so long ago." Then she cackled evilly like a maniac.

Lockon was beyond livid now. "You'll never get that chance." He replied. "Because I'm going make sure that you pay dearly for what you've done. And unlike you, I have been training to my limits ever since that day. I don't need a magical amulet to give me an edge in a battle. All you're doing is hiding behind a magic that is not even yours, like the cowardly disgusting cockroach that you really are."

Chrysalis then blasted a red beam at Lockon, pushing him back a few yards, before getting back on her hooves and into a battle stance. "Do you even have the skills to back up your words, you little Canterlot punk?!"

"Come find out." Lockon responded while taking on a combat stance of his own.

Then they flew straight at each other full force and full speed, upon which they clashed horns and their battle began.

Meanwhile, King Sombra was using his dark magic to make black crystals pop up out of the ground and put the pressure on Cadance and Shining Armor. Cadance was starting to get tired from firing attack spells, and it was getting difficult for Shining Armor to keep his shield spells active. But the rulers of the Crystal Empire still refused to be defeated.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Shining Armor." Cadance panted to her husband.

"We have to keep fighting." Shining Armor replied as he put up another shield. "We need to have faith in Twilight and her friends. Though, whatever it is they are doing, I hope they would hurry up."

Just after he finished talking the Elemental Crystal Heart Protection spell began exploded and forced all the changelings just a few dozen yards outside the Crystal Empire.

"NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" King Sombra roared as the spell destroyed every last part of him including his horn, this time for good.

Lockon and Chrysalis were heated up in their duel, both equines matching each other blast for blast and blow for blow. However, the explosion was enough to distract both of them from their duel. When the rainbow barrier reached them, Chrysalis was pushed away and the Alicorn Amulet was destroyed as well. However, Lockon decided to end this score once and for all, and flew after Chrysalis, determined to avenge his family.

"At last," Shining Armor sighed with relief, "it's finally over."

"Not yet, Shining Armor." Cadance corrected him. "The changelings are still alive and Lockon went after the queen. We have to stop him before he makes what will probably be the biggest mistake of his life."

Then a brief flash of light appeared, revealing Twilight, Sunset, and the others.

"Cadance! Shining Armor!" Twilight exclaimed in joy and ran up to hug both of them.

"Twily you did it." Shining Armor replied while he and Cadance eagerly returned the hug. "I don't know how you pulled it off, but you did it."

"Wait…" Sunset cut in. "Where's Lockon?" She asked with worry in her voice.

"King Sombra was destroyed by the barrier." Cadance answered her. "But the changelings were only pushed just outside the Crystal Empire. Lockon went after the queen."

"Then we have to find him before he makes a life-changing mistake!" Sunset raised her voice.

Everypony else nodded in agreement and they immediately galloped after him.

Chrysalis crash landed in front of her minions. It was only when she recovered from her daze that she noticed the Alicorn Amulet was gone.

After seeing all of her minions looking pretty banged up, she spoke to them, catching all their attention.

"The plan has failed." She addressed them. "And we are in no condition to try to save it. Everyone, retreat!"

"You're not getting away from me this time!" Announced the voice of Lockon from behind Chrysalis.

"FLY, MY FANGS!!!!" He shouted. And all the magic fangs on his armor flew off and towards Chrysalis and her minions and then started firing blue magic beams at them.

Chrysalis was separated from her army, giving Lockon a chance to perform a barrier spell on the changeling minions, trapping them all inside.

Then all the fangs began targeting Chrysalis and blasting her before knocking her down.

"This can't be happening…" Chrysalis murmured to herself. "I can't perish yet…I refuse to die this way!" Then she found herself being lifted up in a sapphire blue levitation magic bubble.

"I know…" Lockon said to her. "And I'm sure you don't want to die. But my mom and dad…and my sister Sapphire…you never even gave them the chance to SAY THOSE WORDS!!!!"

Then he slammed Chrysalis repeatedly on the ground several times, making craters with each impact, before tossing her across the snowfield like a ragdoll. Then, he cast a spell which made vines pop up out of the ground and wrap themselves around Chrysalis's legs, her neck, and her midsection, thus immobilizing her.

Lockon then began charging up an attack spell to finish the job. "I've been waiting a long time for this. This is for my family." He said in pure rage. He had just finished charging his spell, and was just about to fire it when he heard a familiar voice.

"LOCKON, STOP!!" It shouted. He turned and saw Sunset Shimmer running towards him while everypony else was standing in a group not too far behind.

"Don't interfere, Sunset Shimmer." Lockon warned her. "This doesn't concern you."

"I think it does when one of my friends is about to make a HUGE mistake." She replied firmly.

"If only you knew what this monster did to me…" Lockon responded.

"I know about your parents Lockon, and about your sister." Sunset interrupted him, making him freeze for a brief moment causing him to drop the spell. "I know what happened that night, what the changelings did to you."

"Then you of all ponies should be able to understand that there is no way in Tartarus that I can let this monster live." Lockon responded.

"Is this really worth it?!" Sunset asked him in desperation. "Revenge never solves anything!"

"I know. I heard that phrase millions of times before. I've been constantly lectured about the subject millions of times before. And to be quite frank, I don't really give two flying feathers!" Lockon replied, shocking Sunset and everypony else. "As long I can finally avenge my sister and birth parents, nothing else matters to me anymore." Then he turned towards Chrysalis again.

Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor were shocked beyond words. The rest of the Mane Six all had looks on their faces varying from shocked or horrified, to practically on the verge of breaking down into tears. It almost looked like there was no hope left for Lockon.

Sunset, however, had heard just about enough. She marched right up to him and used her own magic to force him to face her.

Absolutely nopony was expecting what happened next.

Sunset Shimmer swiftly raised her forehoof and slapped Lockon across the face. This earned her shocked glances from everypony who was watching.

Lockon Astros remained where he stood, slowly raising his forehoof to his face to touch where she slapped him before looking back at her. Her eyes were teary but firm, adding to the disappointed look on her face.

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF!! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW!? IS THAT REALLY WHAT YOU BELIEVE WILL BRING PEACE TO YOUR MIND, HEART, AND SOUL!?!?" She shouted at him. "Do you really think that killing their murderer in cold blood just for the sake of revenge is going to make your parents and sister happy?!"

Lockon remained silent, but his rage disappeared.

"I've been recovering from my own darkness for far too long to just let you give in to yours." Sunset continued. "How do you think your birth parents would feel knowing that their son was about to let himself become a murderer who kills in cold blood just for the sake of avenging his family? Do you honestly think that Sapphire would be proud of her own little brother for throwing away his life just to avenge her?"

Lockon's face then turned into a look of shame. His ears even folded back against his head.

"If you really think that killing the changelings in cold blood for revenge is going to make your sister and your birth parents happy, then you are no prince…" Sunset continued this time with tears flowing down her cheeks. "You're no captain of the Canterlot Royal guard…and you are definitely NOT the stallion that I started to fall in love with."

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and Cadance gasped upon hearing this. Lockon was beyond shocked. But more importantly, he was finally understanding.

'What the hay am I doing?' He thought to himself. 'Have I really been so blinded by my own desires for revenge these past five years? Sunset's right. Sapphire would never have wanted me to end up like this. Our parents raised me better than that.'

Sunset was just about to turn around and walk away when Lockon spoke again. "You're right, Sunset…" he said, "about everything."

Then he undid the spells maintaining the vines holding Chrysalis and the cage holding her minions. Then he immediately turned to the queen.

"I can never forgive you for what you did all those years ago." He said in a firm voice. "But Sunset's right. Destroying you right now just to avenge my parents and my sister, would make me just as bad as you. And I would rather feed myself to a hydra than stoop down to your level. So just this once I'm going to let you go."

"But let me make one thing perfectly clear." He continued after getting up close face-to-face with Chrysalis and poking his hoof into her now terrified face as he spoke certain words in each of his sentences. "I don't ever want to see you or any of your minions around here or anywhere else in Equestria ever again. If I ever catch any of you targeting my friends or loved ones ever again, all of the magic users among them are going to need to cast the highest level locator spell, just to find what's left of you. Have I made myself clear?"

"C-c-c-c-crystal." Chrysalis stammered and then gulped out of fear.

"Good." Lockon responded. "Now do us all a favor, and get out of here before I have a chance to even think about changing my mind."

"RETREAT!!!!" Chrysalis ordered her minions. Then they all took to the sky and buzzed off into the horizon as fast as they possibly could. Chrysalis's wings were broken from the impacts of Lockon slamming her into the ground, so several of her minions had to carry her on their backs while flying. Hopefully, this would be the final time that Equestria would ever see the likes of the changelings again.

"It's finally over." Lockon sighed.

"I'm so proud of you." Cadance said while hugging him.

"How can you possibly be proud of me?" Lockon asked her. "I lost sight of what's really important. I almost became a monster. It's true, I'm no prince. And I don't deserve to be Captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard."

"Those statements would ALMOST be true IF you had actually decided to go through with your revenge." Shining Armor answered him. "But you finally put it to rest on your own. That makes you better than those changelings will ever be."

"Well, I never would have put it behind me if it weren't for Sunset Shimmer." Then he turned in her direction and wrapped his wings and front hooves around her in a hug. "Thank you, by the way. Looks like all I needed was to have some sense literally slapped into me."

"Oh, sorry about that, by the way." Sunset apologized.

"That's OK." Lockon replied. "I forgive you. Did you mean what you said, by the way? About your feelings for me?"

Sunset paused for a long while. "I meant every word." She replied in complete honesty. "If you don't feel the same way about me, I underst-"

Lockon than interrupted her by putting his hoof on her lips.

"That's all I needed to hear." He whispered before doing something that nopony, not even Cadance was expecting.

He took his hoof off of Sunset's lips and put it under her chin. He looked into her eyes for a good few seconds before moving his face towards her. Then, he pushed his face forward, pressing his lips against hers.

Sunset's eyes were widened in shock as she could not believe what Lockon was doing. Sunset continued staring at him in shock, but then… her eyes began surrendering to the power of the kiss. She slowly closed her eyes and accepted the kiss, feeling the warm softness of his lips.

After a moment, Lockon pulled away slowly. His cheeks were blooming intensely as they were reddened far more than Sunset had ever seen in the short time she had known him up to now.

"Now you know how I feel about you." He whispered into her ear.

Sunset smiled at him before turning back to everypony else.

"Come on, everypony." She said. "Let's go help the crystal ponies clean up whatever mess there is."

Everypony nodded in agreement and headed back towards the main city, happy that the worst of this whole ordeal was finally over.

Crowning Moment

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Sunset Shimmer and her friends had just finished cleaning up the damage that was done to the Crystal Empire during the battle. Lighting Dust and the Wonderbolts even stayed behind to help reach the highest places. Sunset saw Spitfire talking with Lightning Dust, which apparently ended with Spitfire getting a salute from Lightning Dust, who then did a hoof pump while shouting 'YES!' at the top of her lungs.

Now, Sunset and the Mane Six were at the central plaza where the energy from the Elements of Harmony was still boosting the Crystal Heart. Twilight and the others were about to call the energy back to the Elements when something amazing happened.

The rainbow energy left the heart on its own, thus returning the Crystal Heart back to its normal bright turquoise blue color. The rainbow colored elemental energy then circled around Sunset really fast. Before everypony knew it, a bright flash of light engulfed Sunset and by the time the light dissipated, she was nowhere to be found.

The next thing Sunset knew, she was in this ethereal-looking place that was empty and yet so beautiful at the same time.

"Hello?" She called and her voice echoed out through the entire area.

"Congratulations, Sunset. I knew you could do it." Princess Celestia's voice suddenly echoed back towards her and throughout the area.

Sunset saw her and trotted towards her.

"Princess... I don't understand." Sunset expressed as she greeted her with a hug. "What did I do?"

"You have done something that no other pony, not even Twilight and her friends have done." Celestia answered her. "You merged the Magics of Love and Friendship together to defeat a mighty foe and save the Crystal Empire in its time of need. And thanks to all the lessons you have learned about friendship, both in Equestria and the world beyond the mirror, you saved Lockon from his own darkness."

"I was hoping this day would come, but I never expected it to come so soon." Celestia continued. "At long last, Sunset Shimmer, you have proven that you're finally ready."

"Ready?" Sunset questioned. "Ready for what?"

With that, Celestia pulled out a glow from her heart and sent it to Sunset's with her magic, then sending it spinning around Sunset. She was lifted up and she had no idea what was going on. A large bright light was centered in the middle of her body, specifically her chest. Then, the light then grew brighter as it completely engulfed her.

Back in the Crystal Empire, the others were getting worried about Sunset, especially Twilight, Cadance, Lockon, and Lightning Dust. Then, a huge explosion formed in the sky. When they turned towards it, they saw a huge version of Sunset's cutie mark being displayed in the sky. Then, a bright white light blinded them all for a brief moment before it dissipated and revealed Sunset Shimmer lying on the ground.

"Sunset, is that you?" Twilight's voice called out to her.

Sunset then stood up by herself, and to everypony's amazement, spread out a magnificent pair of amber wings, matching her coat color. Everypony gasped in surprise upon seeing this.

Sunset noticed the wings on her and placed a hoof on them to observe them, surprised of them herself.

"Ah…Ah can't believe this is happenin'." Applejack said in amazement.

"Ha! Sunset's got wings!" Lightning Dust cheered touching her new wings. "Sweet! A new flying buddy!" She hugged her.

"You've become an alicorn." Rarity stated obviously but in amazement. "Just like Twilight."

"Another Alicorn party!" Pinkie Pie screamed out loud, wearing a party hat and swung around a rope in order to imitate an Alicorn. She blew a party kazoo.

"Does this mean we should bow to you now?" Fluttershy asked in her namesake manner.

"Please don't, Fluttershy." Sunset giggled. "I may be an alicorn now, but I am no princess."

"That is where you are mistaken, Sunset Shimmer." Princess Celestia said as she flapped down for a soft landing. "As of now, you ARE a princess."

"What?!" Sunset gasped, along Lightning Dust and the Mane Six.

"Hold on a second!" Pinkie Pie paused and then searched for something only to come out empty-hooved.

"Would you like a glass of water, Pinkie Pie?" Discord asked her as he appeared right next to her.

"Oh, yes, please." She replied before accepting a glass of water he conjured up by snapping his fingers. "Thanks, Discord." Discord gave her a thumbs up and teleported away.

She then poured some water in her mouth and then immediately spat it out.

"A... a princess? Me?" Sunset questioned, obviously greatly surprised by this new change.

"Since you have returned from beyond the mirror, you have displayed many of the qualities characteristic of a true princess." Celestia explained. "Among those including charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and leadership."

"But... does this mean I won't be your student anymore?" Sunset asked very worriedly.

"Not in the same way as before. I'll still be here to help and guide you, but we're all your students now, too. You are an inspiration to us all, Sunset." Celestia said as she herself bowed, with everypony else following suit.

"Please stop everypony." Sunset bashfully replied. "You're all making me blush."

Everypony else giggled slightly at that. "Group hug!" Pinkie exclaimed. And the Mane Six, along with Lightning Dust and even Princess Cadance and Celestia, gathered around Sunset for an enormous group hug, which Sunset eagerly returned with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh, girls," Sunset sighed in happiness, before immediately remembering something, "wait, don't we need to return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony?"

"Don't worry." Twilight assured her. "We'll take care of that."

The following day in Canterlot Castle…

Sunset was in an empty dressing room getting ready for her big day. She was wearing a bright fire-red dress with slips for the wings on the sides. She had just finished brushing her mane when a knock came on the door.

"Come in." She answered. A royal guard entered the room.

"The Princesses are finished with the preparations." He told her. "They are ready to start whenever you are."

"Then please inform them that I am ready." She answered him. The guard nodded his head in response and walked out.

Sunset then walked out of the room to then be escorted by a group of royal guards. She soon found herself behind the closed double doors leading to the hall in which she was to present herself. The group of guards that escorted her joined a group of mares holding banners that depicted her cutie mark. As Sunset stood behind the huge double doors, she began feeling 'nervicited' as Pinkie Pie would say.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, a huge crowd of ponies were gathered together. Twilight, her friends and her fellow princesses all had the biggest sense of déjà vu out of everypony else in the hall. Why, because it was exactly thirty moons ago that a certain other princess was crowned, albeit for a similar yet entirely different reason.

At the top of the small ceremonial stair case, the five royal alicorns were standing together in a row. Celestia stood in the middle. On her left was her sister, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. To Celestia's right were Lockon Astros and Twilight Sparkle. The rest of the Mane six stood together in a line to Twilight's right. Even Lightning Dust, Moondancer, Twinkleshine, Minuette, Lyra, and Lemon Hearts were standing there with them.

After a moment, Princess Celestia began her announcement.

"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion." She announced. "My faithful student, Sunset Shimmer, has done a few extraordinary things since she has moved to Ponyville. She even helped a certain trio of fillies get their cutie marks. But yesterday, she has done something extraordinary. In the Crystal Empire's recent and brief time of crisis and need, she combined the Crystal Heart's magic of love and light with the Magic of Friendship from the Elements of Harmony, proving without a doubt that she is now ready to be crowned Equestria's newest princess. Now, fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Sunset Shimmer!"

The doors opened and Sunset began her walk. The four mares and guards followed her, beginning to chant a song in unison.

"The Princess Sunset cometh

Behold, behold

A Princess is before us

Behold, behold, behold"

As Sunset looked towards Princess Celestia, then over to Twilight and then back to Celestia, Spike walked over to her with a smile on his face and presented a small pillow. On it was Sunset's new crown. The base of it looked like the tiara that holds Twilight's Element of Magic. Only, instead of a pink, six-pointed star, the jewel was a red and yellow sun with flames on the outside, red on one side and yellow on the other. Inside those flames, two solid blots of red and yellow were swirling around each other in a yin and yang pattern. Just like her cutie mark.

As the choir raised their voices, Princess Celestia magically raised Sunset's crown and placed it on Sunset's head with a gentle grace.

Afterwards, Sunset looked to her pony friends on the side. Moondancer, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts all gave her their best and sincerest smiles. Lightning Dust gave her a wink, and Lyra used her magic to form a magic hand on her hoof, which she then held in a thumbs up position. Twilight gave Sunset a proud smile of approval, as did the rest of the Mane Six.

Sunset released a modest yet heartfelt smile at them before turning around to face the crowd with another sincere smile. Then, Celestia lead her towards the balcony, with Twilight and the others following her, where a huge crowd had gathered outside the plaza and were cheering loudly for Sunset.

"Behold, behold, behold, behold

The Princess Sunset cometh

Behold, behold, behold, behold

The Princess is

The Princess is here"

The choir finished as Sunset was waving out to huge crowd of excited subjects. As she continued waving with slight nervousness, Twilight walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Say something, Princess." She whispered.

"Oh. Um..." Sunset cleared her throat and began announcing to everypony looking before us. The crowd lowered their cheering. "I need to be honest with all of you. Sixty moons ago, my teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia, tried to get me to learn about the Magic of Friendship. Back then, I wasn't the pony that I am right now. Back then, friendship was something I didn't really care about. In fact, in all honesty, back then it was something that I outright rejected. If it weren't for Princess Twilight Sparkle, who helped me see the light, I would not even be here…"

She looked over to Twilight and the girls, keeping her attention locked onto them. "…and I never would have found my way again. But now, on a day like today," Sunset gestured her hoof towards the Mane Six as well as Moondancer's group, signaling them to join her on the balcony.

"I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for the friendships I've made with all of you." Sunset began acknowledging each one of them, causing for every one of the girls to form tears in their eyes…even Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Lightning Dust and Lemon Hearts. "Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful. Today, I consider myself the second luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you, friends. Thank you, everypony!" Sunset finished as she and the rest of them looked down crowd along with her.

The crowd was a bit surprised by her revelation, but nonetheless they still cheered for her again.

Then, she began walking back inside the building where she was immediately confronted by Twilight, Cadance, and Shining Armor.

"Sunset! I'm so proud of you!" Twilight hugged Sunset slightly, revealing teary eyes when pulling back.

"Twilight Sparkle, are you crying?" Sunset asked, hinting a slight amount of laughter in her voice.

"Of course not, it's...it's liquid pride." Twilight wiped her eyes. "Totally different thing."

"Now where have I heard that before?" Cadance playfully chided while nudging her husband in the side. Then all four of them laughed.

"Way to go, Princess!" Lightning Dust cheered, the girls and Lockon joining them.

"Best coronation day ever!" Pinkie Pie screamed out loud. "After, Twilight's, of course. No offense, Sunset."

"We all love you, Sunset!" Moondancer added, initiating a large group hug between them all.

"I love you too, girls!" Sunset answered warmly.

At the bottom of Canterlot Castle, Sunset was then pulled through the crowd of ponies on a carriage by two royal guards. Once she was pulled out to see the ponies before her, she began waving at them.

Later that evening, a celebration was held in Sunset's honor inside Canterlot Castle. All her friends were there, including Lightning Dust, Moondancer and company; even the Cutie Mark Crusaders were there under the supervision of their sisters.

"Sunset!" said the unmistakable voice of a certain trio of fillies. Sunset turned around and found the Crusaders all smiling widely at her.

"Congrats on becomin' a princess, Sunset!" Apple Bloom eagerly congratulated her.

"I can't believe two princesses are our friends!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

"And one of them even helped us finally get our cutie marks!" Scootaloo pitched in.

"Now Scootaloo, you know that ain't true." Apple Bloom corrected her pegasus friend.

"Apple Bloom's right." Sweetie Belle agreed. "The only thing Sunset did was help me get over my fear of singing in front of other ponies. We figured out our talents all by ourselves."

"They're right, Scootaloo." Sunset chuckled. "Although, I am quite flattered that you credit me for helping you. Now come here, you three."

She held out her front legs and the three fillies eagerly returned the hug.

"Now that's got to be the sweetest thing Ah ever saw." Applejack said as she, Rarity, and Rainbow trotted up to Sunset.

"Indeed." Rarity agreed.

"Yeah," Rainbow added. "Hey Sunset, I just wanna apologize for giving you such a hard time ever since you came to Ponyville."

"It's ok, Rainbow Dash." Sunset accepted her apology. "You were looking out for your friends, especially Twilight. It's who you are. I forgive you."

She and Rainbow shared a quick hug. "I heard the Wonderbolts are giving Lightning Dust another chance at the academy." Rainbow said. "Apparently, Spitfire was so impressed by her bravery and willingness to help the Crystal Empire that she decided to give her another chance."

"That's great. Good for her." Sunset said. "I gotta congratulate her later on."

"Well, see ya later, Sunset." Rainbow Dash replied before turning to Scootaloo. "Come on kid, wanna go meet the Wonderbolts?"

"Aw, yeah!" Scootaloo eagerly agreed. And the two of them walked away.

"So Sunset, darling, how does it feel to be a princess?" Rarity asked her.

"Well Rarity, to be perfectly honest, this is all so sudden." Sunset answered her. "At first I thought I would be happy, now with everypony bowing to me and calling me 'your highness', I feel as though they're treating me like I am an entirely different Pony. Now I know how Twilight must have felt when she became a princess."

"Yeah, she was a little nervous and self-conscious about her wings." Applejack replied. "But as long ya keep staying true to yerself and yer friends like Twilight did and still does, everypony will remember ya for who ya are and not what ya are."

"Still as wise and honest as ever, Applejack." Sunset replied with a heartwarming smile as they shared a hug. "Thank you."

"Yer welcome, sugarcube." Applejack responded.

"See ya later, Sunset." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said in unison as their sisters led them away.

"Hey, Sunset Shimmer." The unmistakable voice of Shining Armor. Sunset turned to find him, Cadance and Twilight walking up to her. "Look, I wanted to apologize for how I treated you when you first came back to Equestria."

"It's alright, Shining Armor." Sunset accepted his apology. "You were just looking out for your little sister. She's important to you, like she is to Rainbow Dash and all of her friends. I can't blame you for treating me like you did at first. So, no hard feelings?" She stuck out her hoof.

"No hard feelings." Shining Armor said as he shook Sunset's hoof. Then he and Cadance walked off leaving Twilight to converse with Sunset.

"You have no idea how proud I am of you, Sunset." Twilight told her with a sincere smile.

"Thanks Twilight, that means a lot to me." Sunset answered with equal sincerity. "Though to be perfectly honest, I meant what I said during my coronation ceremony. I would not even be here right now if it weren't for you."

Then Sunset gave Twilight a big hug before continuing. "I want to thank you, Twilight." She said. "Despite our past, you helped me see the light and guided me back onto the correct path. We may not have been friends when we first met, but in all the time I have known you up to now, you became like the sister I never had but always needed."

"Thanks, Sunset." Twilight said as she returned the hug. "And…for what it's worth…I might not be your biological sister, but I'm proud and happy that you think of me as one."

"Thanks, Twilight." Sunset responded. "You're the best, you know that?"

"Sunset, you kidder." Twilight giggled, with Sunset following suit. "Well, I'm gonna go mingle and check on our friends. See you later, Sunset."

"You too, Twilight." Sunset answered her as Twilight trotted away.

"Hey, Sunset." a new but familiar voice said to her. She turned around to find Lockon Astros looking at her.

"Hey Lockon, what's up?" she asked him.

"Can I talk to you in private for a while?" He asked in response.

"Sure." She answered him and followed him to a relatively secluded balcony.

"Sunset, I want to thank you." Lockon began as he started lowering his head in slight shame. "For saving me from myself. I just can't believe I let myself be blinded by my own desires to avenge my parents, my sister…"

Sunset then put a hoof to his lips to stop him. "You're welcome." She said while giving him a hug, which he eagerly returned. "You were one of the first friends I made after coming back to Equestria. I couldn't just let you let your desires for revenge consume you. I practically went down a very similar path for crying out loud."

Lockon chuckled slightly at that and Sunset couldn't help but join him.

"By the way, back in the Crystal Empire during that whole ordeal," Lockon continued, "you said that you fell in love with me. Is that really true?"

"Well…" Sunset stammered. "I honestly don't know how to answer that question. I mean, when I first bumped into you, I did think you were quite handsome, but I still wanted to put off dating until I could learn more about the Magic of Friendship. The way we talked with each other when you escorted me to my bedroom the night before I moved to Ponyville, I felt a really strong connection between the two of us, and I started liking you even more. When Celestia told me about what happened before and how she adopted you, I cared about you to the point that I could not bear the thought of losing you in anyway. I even Pinkie promised Celestia that I would prevent you from making a terrible mistake if the time ever came when you tried to take your revenge."

Sunset then took one of Lockon's front hooves in both of hers and lifted them up onto the rail of the balcony.

"So, yes Lockon," Sunset continued while looking straight into Lockon's beautiful sapphire blue eyes. "I do care about you a lot, and I do love you."

"Sunset…" Lockon sighed as he looked into Sunset's beautiful teal opal colored eyes. Then he began leaning his face in towards hers. Both their eyes closed as their lips met for only the briefest of moments.

"Would you like to join me for lunch sometime?" Lockon asked her awkwardly.

"I'd love to." Sunset eagerly answered him, before they shared another kiss, this one being longer and more passionate than the previous one.

Unbeknownst to either of them, behind the entrance to the balcony, four alicorns and five unicorns were witnessing the whole thing.

"Sunset Shimmer," Lemon Hearts silently chided her, "you sly diamond dog."

"I had a feeling those two were perfect for each other." Celestia said as she smiled tearfully at her adopted son, knowing that he had put his desires for revenge behind him.

"Well, I can confirm that." Cadance joined in. "I haven't sensed a love this strong since I fell in love with Shining Armor."

"I have never seen Lockon this happy." Luna said with a warm smile.

"Oh, I can just hear the wedding bells already!" Moondancer giggled softly.

"Moondancer, it's too early to think about that." Lyra admonished her friend.

"And besides," Minuette joined in, "it's up to them what they want to do or how far they wish to go with this."

"I don't know about you," Twinkleshine cut in, "but I would like to leave now before the lovebirds notice us eavesdropping on them."

Everypony else agreed and stated to walk away from the balcony.

"How far do you think they'll go?" Moondancer asked her former classmate turned princess.

"Only time will tell, Moondancer." Twilight answered her. "Only time will tell."

Unbeknownst to any of them, Sunset and Lockon knew all along that they were all watching and listening the whole time. But both ponies were enjoying their kiss too much to care about it and they just ignored their eavesdroppers.

Sunset Shimmer was the happiest pony in the world right now. She had a special somepony, she finally earned her wings and princesshood, she had made lots of friends, and she had saved the Crystal Empire, all through the Magic of Friendship. She couldn't have been happier, wondering what would happen next.

The End.

Sunset Shimmer's Redemption

by 00RaiserGundam

Saying Goodbye

Return to Equestria

A Tearful Reunion in Canterlot Castle

Making Amends As Well As New Friends

The Start of Sunset's Journey

Moving to Ponyville

Meeting the Gang

A Knack for Music

Hitting the Slopes

Raising a Barn Also Raises an Apple

Battle of the Crystal Empire

Crowning Moment