Sunset stared at her phone that night from her bed, trying to figure out what she should text Juniper. The only noise actually reaching her ears being the crickets outside. These people really wanted her to admit feelings that probably weren't real, let alone plausible. But what if she let her friend down? Then she could just explain why it couldn't be. But.....what if she actually liked it? It was so confusing!
"Uggghhh!" She groaned loudly. Then swung her legs over and jumped out of bed though. Living alone with money that you get from Equestria was great. It's ironic really. The bits from Equestria were real gold, so she just sells money for money. Sunset shook her head and headed down the stairs for something to drink. After opening the fridge, she pulled out a bottle of water and took off the cap, taking a swig with a relieved sigh. The house she lived in was old and alone. Quiet and silent, just how she liked it. There was no other way to describe it. Except that it was in the woods near town. Perfect. She liked the woods. The home was set inside of a very old house she redecorated, impressing herself. It was a great contrast to what was outside.
"That helped a little," she muttered to herself. After closing the fridge door, her phone vibrated through her pajamas. With her free hand, she fished through it and pulled out her phone to read the message. The text was from....Juniper. With a smile, Sunset unlocked her phone and read the message.
"Hey! Is everything alright? You said emergency, so I got worried. That and I wanted to hang today."
Sunset grinned before responding. "I don't know because it's an ongoing problem. I'll only know in the future. And I'm sorry we couldn't hangout today. Since tomorrow's Saturday, we can tomorrow."
"Great! I can't wait! By the way, did you know your hair literally shimmers in the daylight?" Sunset chuckled as she made her way up the stairs before flopping down onto her bed again and responding.
"No, thanks for telling me. Does your hair do weird things too?"
"Lol. No, just the pigtails. I think they're cute on me."
Sunset pulled in her lips and responded. "They really are. I think they're adorable on you."
"REALLY?? You think so??"
"Totally, it brings out your whole outfit. Especially the skirt."
"Ask her to dye her hair!" Sunset shrieked and jumped out of the bed in surprise at the familiar voice that just yelled by her ear. Pinkie Pie was peeking in through the window with a wide grin on her face. How did the window even get open?!
"W-what are you doing in here?" Sunset asked. Then looked back at her phone.
"Thank you!" It read. "I'll wear it tomorrow for our outing since I haven't worn it in a long time!"
Pinkie chuckled at Sunset's grin while she texted back. "Awesome! I'd love to see you in it!"
Pinkie copped a squat on the bed and teased, "So I take it the flirting is moving along nicely?"
Sunset lowered the phone and denied, "What? We're not—"
"Sunset," Pinkie interrupted. She grinned knowingly and stated, "The only reason for a girl to grin like that is because she's been given a compliment, she's genuinely enjoying herself, or she likes something. Also, you're blushing. Pretty much gives away that sugary feeling you're getting in your tummy!"
Sunset groaned before she got another text, making her smile again. "Then I'll definitely wear it! I'll see you tomorrow at our hangout spot!"
"Ok! Good night!" Sunset walked back to the bed and took a seat next to pinkie who snatched the phone out of her hand happily, eager to take a look.
After a couple seconds she handed the phone back to Sunset with a smirk. "So you like her skirt?"
"Shut it, Pinkie."
"No, I think it's cute. Do you like her glasses too?"
Sunset looked at Pinkie for a moment before sighing. "Yeah...yeah, I actually adore her glasses. To be honest...I have a thing for girls with glasses."
"So... Twilight then."
"Yeah, but don't tell her I said that!" Pinkie made a zipping motion over lips. "It feels like it's mating season."
"For you, Twilight, Anemone, and Juniper maybe. Everyone else is just relaxing and taking a chill pill. You two can chase your girls and boys alone."
"Whatever you say, Pinkie Pie," Sunset replied, chuckling. This girl was a mess.
"Okay, Celestia," Luna said as the two walked into a residential part of the castle. Luna was taking Celestia to the residential area to talk to and learn about her mind. They were being escorted by the Royal Guard to ensure Celestia didn't go haywire or anything. She already did once, and sadly, killed over five hundred thestrals in the process. "I am going to ask you a few questions. Tell me what you can remember. When did you go visit Twilight last?"
"Three months ago," Celestia answered as they walked into a room. "I congratulated her on something that I cannot remember at this moment." The guards closed the door behind Luna after she walked in after her sister. The two sat down facing each other, Luna making sure to look Celestia in the eye in case of some sign that would occur.
"Celestia? You visited Twilight nearly a week ago, remember? It was when you two had some conversation. You were telling me about it that night."
"Are you sure that I went to Twilight's?" Celestia asked. "I am positive that I stayed at the castle all of last week. I remember having some important work to do. I couldn't have went there."
"You did, sister. Now, I believe there is a major issue going on with you, the effects of which have become fatally dangerous."
"What...what do you mean fatally?" the princess asked tentatively, leaning in closer. She didn't know if she wanted to know the answer.
"The terrestrial ponies are gone, Celestia."
Celestia gasped in surprise. "What? What do you mean? Terrestrial Ponies still exist. I knew the queen of the colony in the badlands. She was a friend of mine."
"Well....Celestia....it is said, and proven, that they have gone extinct—"
"What?! How?!" Luna sighed deeply before closing her eyes and responding, pawing at the carpet in the room.
"There was a massacre, sister.....which you yourself led to kill all of the thestrals in the badlands. There was proof of this at the caves. There was a Royal Guard spear, crossbow, and a pin with your crest on it. As well as a document signed by yourself. The document read 'Sector 195b - Lockdown Thestral Camp.' We don't actually know what that means but, we are doing an active search on it during the upcoming weeks."
Celestia protested with a stomp of her hoof. "There is ABSOLUTELY no way I could have killed the terrestrial ponies!"
"Then explain why Rainbow Dash, also known as Princess Anemone, has been stranded beyond the portal, which has now been shattered by yourself, Celestia."
"Princess Anemone?! Queen Zinnia's daughter?! Why is she beyond the portal?!"
"You threw her in there after an altercation outside. Twilight said once you saw her, you attempted to attack only to be brought down by her. There is now two massive craters in the streets outside. Princess Anemone and Princess Amaryllis, Anemone's sister, have been living amongst the ponies for quite some time, although in hiding. You know them better as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. They have been living with us for for nine years."
"....." Celestia just looked at Luna shocked, slowly shaking her head in dismay. "I...I must see this for myself. At once!"
"Anemone?" Twilight yelled, looking for the two human thestrals within the house. "Girls, where are you?" She looked around the living room but they weren't in there. She knocked on the bathroom door, receiving no answer before stepping back into the living room. She was becoming a little worried. Looking to her left, she realized the balcony door was opened. It wasn't last night. Raising an eyebrow, Twilight walked out the door, hoping to find the two somewhere. She stopped and looked around the well kept backyard. "Girls?"
"Up here." Twilight looked up in a tree to see the girls hanging upside down, their wings expanded. "Hey, Twilight!" Amaryllis greeted, waving down at the girl. "How's it hangin'?"
"I should be asking you that, how'd you even get up there?" She asked confused, motioning to the tree. "I can't even rock climb, but you can somehow get fifteen feet up a tree?"
"It's easy for us," Anemone explained, shrugging. "We slept out here."
"What?! That's dangerous, we have neighbors, you know!" Twilight pointed to her right. The girls looked over to see another house with a patio and a pool.
"Oh yeah. Totally forgot," Anemone responded sheepishly, shrugging and giving a small smile. "Sorry about that. It was Amy's idea though."
"No it wasn't!" Amaryllis denied. Then slapped her sister's arm. "It was your idea to sleep outside!"
"But it was YOUR idea to sleep in the tree. So ha!"
"It was BOTH your faults!" Twilight yelled. "Now get down from there and take a bath!"
***
After the girls got groomed and dressed in some of Twilight's old clothes, they walked downstairs and took a seat at the wooden table, eating the breakfast that Twilight had prepared for them. Just some cereal and something to drink. Twilight sat down across from them and placed her cheek in her hand, her elbow propped up on the table. The two across from her glanced up while Twilight stirred her cereal around. "I have a feeling Rarity's coming over," she stated tiredly. "The second she saw that shirt yesterday she quickly saw an opportunity to start her designing. I'm pretty sure she already has a bunch of outfits made for Rainbow that she herself definitely did not want to wear."
"So she's forcing them on me?!" Anemone yelled in horror. "Why can't you guys just wrestle down Rainbow Dash and force her to wear them?" Twilight glared at Anemone unamused. Oh... Yeah. "Yeah, you're right. It's Rainbow Dash. I'll kick all of your butts without actually lifting my foot."
Twilight and Amaryllis glanced at each other for a moment. Then back to Anemone and droned, "Riiiiiiggght." Right before the doorbell rang. Anemone and Amaryllis jumped out of surprise and looked around while Twilight set down her juice and walked to the front door, stopping before she actually opened it.
"Who is it?" She called through.
"Rarity, darling! I'm here for Anemone!" Rarity sang.
"Told ya," Twilight said over her shoulder. She pulled open the door, letting in the way too giddy fashionista with a box full of clothes.
"Anemone! I have a surprise!" she yelled out. Then stepped in, heading towards the living room.
"Unless it's a portal back to Equestria, I doubt I'll enjoy it," she replied. Rarity set the box down on the floor. It was big. Amaryllis could only guess what was insidw.
Rarity scoffed and responded, "Oh not even close. I have got you a new wardrobe!"
"Rarity," Anemone said void of any amusement as she turned around in her chair. "Hate to burst your bubble. But if Rainbow Dash won't wear them, what makes you think the exact same person from a different dimension is going to wear them?"
"Because—"
"THAT," Anemone interrupted. "And the fact that I'll only be wearing them for only a certain amount of time. I'm sure Twilight and the others in Equestria are looking for a way to get us back home. It must be easy for the egghead, right?"
***
"I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE!!!" Twilight yelled. The others looked up from their searching to see the princess hovering around, scanning book after book with her magic. "If I don't have it, then it'll take forever to get those two back! Why couldn't Starswirl be more famous?!"
"Oh yeah, more famous than all of Equestria knowin' about 'em," Applejack said sarcastically.
"SHUT UP!!"
"Oh yeah, she's agitated," Cadance whispered to herself. After Twilight landed, she quickly walked over to her. "Twilight, why don't you take a break? We'll take over from here."
"I can't take a break!" She protested, continuing to scan the line of books. "I don't want those two trapped over there in that world!"
"That wasn't a request, Twilight Sparkle," Cadance clarified sternly.
Twilight dropped her books on everyone underneath them and shot Cadance a disappointed look. "Cadaaaaannnce!" She whined like a filly.
"Go get some food or something, missy!" She pointed to the door of the room, making Twilight groan and sulk towards the doors.
"Wow, can I try that?" Spike said, impressed at the authority before clearing his throat. "Twilight Sparkle! I want three rubies this instant, young lady!"
"Yeah, not happening, Spike," she replied over her shoulder before closing the door behind her. Spike shrugged before he went back to skimming the books. It was worth a shot.
Sighing and slamming a book closed, Rarity complained, "You girls got the best magic. I can't even scan the books. I just levitate them over."
"You should invest some of your time in magic like we do," Cadance suggested scanning the books. "It's easier than having to do what everyone else in here is doing."
"We're tryin' over here!" Pinkie yelled out, her face deep inside the book.
"Hey, she's not broken!" Spike announced. He was beyond shocked. "Pinkie hasn't been speaking for the longest, even when you went to the Crystal Empire. Strange."
"I think it's great that Pinkie hasn't been talkin," Applejack inserted. She picked up another book and opened if. "Things start to make more sense."
"I just finished fourteen books and I still haven't found anything!" Pinkie cried out. The other ponies looked at her strangely.
"Pinkie we've only been in here for an hour," Cadance clarified. "The others have only been through three to five, yet you've somehow managed to read fourteen?"
"I told you things make a lot more sense when she doesn't speak," Applejack confirmed. She turned a page in her own book and added, "I haven't found anything so far. Twilight stayed in the portal for two or three days. Anemone and Amaryllis could be stayin' in there for weeks, maybe months. Starswirl's work isn't always easy to find."
"I know," Cadance admitted. She dropped her current spell, finishing up the book scanning. Then sighed before setting the books back up in a stack. "It could be hidden in a bunch of books. Maybe even the archives. But that's very unlikely."
Rarity looked up and asked, "Why? Wouldn't it be in there since it is history?"
"Because the archives are being emptied. The books that are the oldest are being destroyed."
"What?! Why?!" Twilight yelled as she strode back into the room with a peach behind her. "That has most of Starswirl's famous work! Why didn't we go there first anyway?!"
"Because your library hosts a copy of all the most important documents in all of Equestria," Cadance clarified, gesturing to all the books in the room. "If it's not in here, it will be much harder to obtain."
Twilight rubbed her face with her hoof and muttered, "Celestia, you have put us in a very, VERY deep hole."
The sun shone that same morning in the city of Canterlot, rousing Sunset enough to get up that morning feeling spectacular. She let out a whoop then jumped out of the bed to pop all of those joints. Then sauntered to the bathroom downstairs to freshen up and get ready for the day out. Excited for her day with Juniper. She grabbed her oral tools and began brushing her teeth, sure that her breath was fresh before hopping in the shower. After determining that she smelled good, she looked towards her perfume sitting near the sink. Shrugging, she sprayed it on then put on her clothes.
Finally, after eating breakfast, she grabbed her phone and keys. Then headed out the door for downtown towards the movie theater where Juniper and her meet at. Pulling out her phone, she texted her movie-going friend. "Hey! I'm on my way!" Sunset put her phone down, waiting for a text back. Juniper usually texts her back within a minute, something that others rarely do for Sunset. Even Pinkie Pie doesn't text that fast! Her phone vibrated, catching her attention.
Looking down at the screen, she read the text from Juniper. "Great! I'm already here! Can't wait to see you!" Sunset grinned before accelerating to a small jog to reach the location. Eventually, she made it to the theater, spotting the pigtail wearing girl standing in front of the entrance.
Sunset raised her hand to wave and yelled, "Hey, Juniper!" Juniper looked over before gasping and gaining a huge grin on her face. She ran over and gave Sunset a tight squeeze, making Sunset chuckle and hug back.
"I take it you missed me?" Sunset asked her.
"Most definitely!" She replied. Then let her go and stepped back. "I missed you a lot actually! I got pretty worried when you said there was an emergency. Are you sure everything's alright?"
Sunset shrugged and answered honestly, "Well, we're still not sure. But only time will tell. Hey, you're wearing your old outfit!" Juniper was wearing a black skirt with purple dots, a purple jacket, teal shirt, knee high socks and purple flats.
She blushed and swiveled on her feet a little, asking, "Do you really like it?"
"I really really like it. I love it, actually!" Sunset grinned at her friend's slowly-turning-red face. Deciding to move this along to cease anymore embarrassment from Juniper, she asked, "So what do you wanna do?"
"Let's just go for a walk," Juniper suggested. Sunset nodded before she and Juniper walked down the sidewalk to whatever destination she wanted to go. It was a nice day out that everyone around seemed to be taking advantage of. A walk sounds good.
~✶~
"I can't believe she actually got me in these things," Anemone stated blandly. She stood still while Rarity looked over the shirt that was fit on her. Although she kept protesting, the shirt actually did look good on her. The back even had slits for her wings! Something she greatly enjoyed.
"Well darling, I have my ways," Rarity boasted. She reached to the side and smoothed them down to get a better picture. She couldn't have Anemone looking a regular ol' Thestral. Twilight and Amaryllis were just chuckling in the background at Anemone's pouting face. Clearly uncomfortable. She's been up there for a while now. How long, an hour?
From below, Amaryllis rolled her eyes and ordered, "Stop pouting. You're already enjoying yourself, don't deny it. I know you very well."
Anemone groaned in irritation, "UGGGGHHH! Are you done yet?! We've been like this for an hour. On this one shirt, it's ridiculous!"
Rarity stood up with the most serious expression she's ever had and asked, "Anemone? Perfection is a time investment, I do not waste it."
"What if I ripped the shirt?"
"Don't you dare!"
"OKAY, OKAY, put down the needle!" Rarity slowly pulled back her arm with the needle in it, letting Anemone relax before she could get poked. Mental note? Rarity's dangerous. Anemone continued standing there while Rarity completed her work. So Twilight decided to start a conversation.
She grabbed a shirt to just look at. Then asked, "So... What are your plans today, Rarity? Besides fitting Anemone?"
"Well, sewing and taking my sister out. She wants to go someplace, I can't remember where at this moment." Rarity took the pin and thread it through a couple more times through. "Then after that, I'm pretty much free for the remainder of the weekend. What about you, Twilight?"
"Gotta babysit these two." Amaryllis and Anemone shot their sights to Twilight unamused. "Well I can't have you two running around the city like... That." She motioned to their bodies, gesturing towards their wings, fangs, and eyes. "If you guys didn't have all of that extra stuff, it would've been fine. But you don't, so..." Twilight folded the shirt she was string at back up and set it into the box where she got it from.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Amaryllis coalesced. "Just because I have fangs doesn't mean I'm any different from the average pony."
"Human."
"Whatever. Are we seriously staying in here all day? I feel so locked up!"
Anemone shrugged only to get a slap on the shoulder from her torturer. "Hold still!" Rarity scolded.
"Why am I still... Still?! I thought we would've been done! Why are you still trying to put these clothes on me?!"
Rarity grinned and whispered, "Because it's fun seeing you squirm."
Anemone just stared at her nonchalantly. Then stated sternly, "I will rip this off my body if you don't allow me to take it off in five seconds. Five..."
"Anemone..."
"Four..."
"I need to make sure this outfit works."
"Three..."
"OKAY, OKAY, take it off." Anemone sighed in relief. Seriously, how long does it take to try on clothes?! She finally slapped her arms to her sides and slid the horrid garment off of her body. Once they slid off her wings into Rarity's hands, she turned around and put on a white button-up that Twilight loaned her, cutting slits in the back for her wings.
"Yes, freedom!" She proclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Much love to Twilight for handing me this shirt!" Rarity stared dumbfounded at the thestral while the others just chuckled. "Don't worry Rares, your day will come when—ow!" Rarity took her pin and poked it in her arm, making her grimace.
"That was for not acknowledging me!" She scolded. The others laughed while Anemone got off the stand, rubbing her arm. Mental note? Keep Rarity away from pins. Even if she is a seamstress.