Sunset Shimmer sat down in the grass, most of her friends already there. The seven had planned a get-together for the afternoon, and decided to meet in their favorite space to talk and hang out. It was the beginning of summer, and luckily, the temperature was perfect, so an outside meeting place seemed like a great idea.
"How has your day been, everyone?" Pinkie, the last to show up, asked as she ran into the area and sat down next to Sunset.
"Oh, it's been great, dear!" Rarity responded, a large smile growing across her face.
Rainbow Dash snorted. "Yeah, it's because your little loverboy, Blueblood, texted ya," she said, smirking. Rarity blushed.
"R-Rainbow Dash, we are not lovers! He's just... so handsome..." She trailed off as she cupped her face, light dancing in her eyes as her thoughts ran wild.
Fluttershy giggled. "Well, I guess we'll leave Rarity to her daydreams. I've had a pretty good day so far."
Applejack nodded. "Me, too! Well, except for the fact that Big Mac's been cranky all day fer whatever reason. When he's mad, it sort of rubs off on the rest of the family."
"Aww, I'm sorry! Hopefully we'll help you feel better!"
Applejack smiled. "Well, Ah hope so. Ah always feel better after hangin' out with y'all."
Pinkie beamed. "That's great! So... Dash! How about you?"
Dash shrugged. "Eh, it was pretty cool. I practiced soccer a bit, and also played a bunch of video games. Speaking of, AJ, you need to come over sometime so I can beat you again!"
Applejack snickered. "Heh, Ah doubt you'll be able to!"
Dash got in Applejack's face. "Oh, you wanna bet?"
"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, cutting off Dash and Applejack's conversation. "What about you?"
Twilight smiled. "It's been a pretty good day for me. I've started reading a really good book."
Pinkie smiled as well. "Good! So, that leaves... Sunset! How was your day?"
"Average," Sunset responded as she moved a piece of grass around in her hand. "Oh, also, Equestria's Twilight has been bugging me a lot. My book could not stop vibrating earlier."
Pinkie blinked. "Ooh! I wonder what she wants?"
Sunset sighed. "She wants me to come back to Equestria for a day."
Rarity snapped herself from her trance as she heard. "Oh, how wonderful, darling! Say, why haven't you gone back before now?"
Sunset bit her lip. "Well..."
Pinkie raised a brow. "Hey, I thought you would be so much more excited than you are now! I mean, I would love to be a pony for a day and hang out with Twilight!"
Sunset played with her hands. "It's... a lot different for me. You know I didn't leave Equestria on such great of terms."
Pinkie shrugged. "So? Twilight knows you're better now! I'm sure she's told all your friends about you!"
Sunset nodded. "She probably has, but still. Going back to Equestria would just bring back horrible memories of my old self that I would rather forget. Besides, getting accustomed to hooves again would be hard."
"Well, what's so wrong with spending an afternoon there? You can just see Twilight, have lunch, and come back, right?" Fluttershy asked.
Sunset nodded. "Theoretically. I mean, I can ask if we can stay in the castle all day, since there are definitely some ponies I do not want to run into."
Pinkie nodded. "Well, ask her! If you're more comfortable that way, I'm sure she'll be fine with it!"
"Well... it can't hurt. I mean, I guess it might be nice to eat my favorite Equestrian sandwich again," Sunset responded with a light giggle.
Applejack nodded. "Yeah! In mah honest opinion, y'all should totally go back! Twilight'll understand yer wishes, and if not, y'all can just come back."
Sunset nodded. "You're right. So... I'll go over tomorrow afternoon."
Pinkie smiled. "You better go! It'll be a great wave of nostalgia for you!"
Sunset uneasily smiled. "Um... yeah, I guess. As long as I don't remember anything too bad, I'll be fine."
"Twilight should be very happy to hear," Fluttershy said. Sunset smiled.
"You're right. She will be. Also, it would be nice to see her castle..."
Pinkie beamed. "Yay! You're committed on going!"
Sunset chuckled. "I guess so. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"
Sunset stood in front of the portal the next day, bracing herself. After she got home the day before, Sunset had told Twilight she could make it, and Twilight excitedly responded to her, ending her sentences with many exclamation points. As Sunset steeled another deep breath, she looked around her. If anyone caught her walking through the portal... that would be trouble. What if they tried to go in, too, and ended up in Twilight's castle, unsure of themselves or their surroundings? Once Sunset determined there was no one around the school, she stuck her hand in, feeling the very familiar aura around her. She closed her eyes, taking a sudden but quick dive in, hoping for the better and to not land right on her face.
Sunset felt her back hit hard ground, the momentum from the dive causing her to roll along the ground. Luckily, she stopped rolling right before she hit a wall. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, fuzzily showing the crystal walls of the Castle of Friendship. Sunset looked down to her hooves, feeling her heart race as she saw a part of her old body. She tried to stand up, feeling her legs wobbling as she did. She eventually stood up straight, fighting the urge to not stand on two legs. As she stood on four legs again, she felt like it was completely normal for her, even if it had been quite a while. Now, she could get a good look around the room. Besides the portal, there wasn't much else besides a few stray books laying on the ground.
"Hey, Sunset!" A voice greeted. Sunset turned around, seeing Spike walk up to her in his dragon form. She barely recognized him, but the colors were a dead giveaway of who it was.
"Hey, Spike! Where's Twilight at?"
Spike pointed to the hallway. "She's coming. She was putting the sandwiches in the dining room."
Sunset nodded. "Alright."
Spike smiled. "So... are you getting used to your pony form again?"
Sunset blinked. "Well, I mean, I guess so. Though, I think I'm taller than I was last time I was here. Also, something seems to be weighing down my back..."
At this, Twilight ran into the room, gasping. "Sunset!" She exclaimed, running up to her friend and giving her a hug. Sunset hugged her back.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're here! I have so much to show you! Oh, also, you need to check out my library!"
Sunset giggled. "Alright, alright. I gotta admit, this is a pretty nice castle."
Twilight hugged Sunset tighter. "Thank you!" As Twilight hugged her friend, Her hooves delicately brushed against her back. As they did, Twilight drew apart.
"Sunset... what's on your back?" She asked. Sunset blinked.
"Oh, there's something there? It feels like there is... what is it?" She asked, turning around. As she did, Twilight gasped.
"Sunset... you... you're..."
Sunset looked back to Twilight, confused. "What is it?"
As she did that, she felt Twilight poke at the side of her back, and an unfamiliar muscle moved itself. As it did, she looked down to see... a wing spreading out from her side. Her eyes widened, both wings now shooting out from her. She touched the feathers delicately, looking at them with her jaw to the ground.
"Ah... um..." Sunset tried to say something, finding it impossible to speak.
Twilight looked just as shocked as Sunset was, and Spike was looking between the two, confused.
"Why would you be an alicorn, Sunset?" Spike asked. Sunset turned to him.
"I don't know!" She and Twilight answered at the same time. Sunset moved her wings, lightly flapping them against her side.
"They're completely functional..." Sunset noticed. Twilight, meanwhile, was magically grabbing a bunch of notebooks and quills.
"Sunset! Did something happen in the other world related to you sprouting wings?" Twilight asked, preparing to write down notes. Sunset thought.
"Um... well, once-"
"When?!" Twilight asked, getting in Sunset's face. Sunset blinked.
"Well... when I was singing about how my past doesn't define me."
Twilight jotted down a few things. "Okay... okay. What happened? Did they just... appear?"
Sunset nodded. "Yeah. They disappeared after a short time and never came back, so I didn't think much of it."
Twilight gave her a confused look. "That... that doesn't make sense! Or... maybe if you sprout wings just once in that world, it gives you them in this world?"
"Um..."
"Wait... would this mean you're a... princess? I-"
Sunset's pupils shrunk. "Nope! I have done nothing for Equestria. There is no way I can be a princess! I don't even live here anymore!"
Twilight wrote down a few more things on the paper she was using, looking between her writing and Sunset. "Well... the only way we'll know for sure is to see Princess Celestia."
Sunset's heart raced as her ears pressed flat against her skull. "N-no! We are not doing that!"
Twilight tilted her head. "Why not? Celestia knows all about you! I've told her everything!"
Sunset looked to the ground. "I... she... Twilight, I really didn't leave on a good note. I never intended to meet up with her again! I-"
"Sunset, come on. You're an alicorn. Celestia needs to see this! Maybe you-"
Sunset shook her head. "No! Twilight, I cannot see her! I'll be leaving soon anyway, so what's the big deal? Sure, I have wings, but it's not like I'm going to stay here for much longer, so I can just ignore them so we can have lunch!"
Twilight shook her head. "No. Sunset, nothing like this has ever happened before! Princess Celestia needs to see you!"
"But... I can't face her! Do you know how terrible of a student I used to be?!"
"Sunset, she's forgiving! Trust me when I say that she's put all this behind her! You just said you sang a song about how your past does not define you, so why don't you take advice from that?"
Sunset blinked, staying silent for a moment as she took in Twilight's words. "Oh. You're actually... right," she replied, looking to the ground. "I just... don't know..."
Twilight put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. "I get it. It's hard. But trust me when I say that she has forgiven you, and would love to see you again. Also... I need to know why you're an alicorn. It could be that something's wrong with the magic in the other world that has caused you to grow wings. This isn't just for me, it's for you and your world."
Sunset sighed. "Well... when you put it like that..."
Twilight smiled. "So... you'll see her?"
Sunset shrugged. "I mean, I guess so. If you're really so insistent. But... I'll probably need your help."
Twilight beamed. "Great! And of course I can help you! Spike!" She said, looking to the side to see that Spike had disappeared somewhere. Twilight shrugged. "Well, he'll figure out where we are eventually. He probably left when we started shouting."
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, probably..."
"So, can I teleport us?" Twilight asked. With a hesitant gulp, Sunset answered.
"Sure."
Twilight smiled, looping a hoof around Sunset. Within a second, Sunset felt a wave of magic ripple around her, and with a bright flash, found herself appearing next to the Canterlot castle.