//------------------------------// // "Thank You..." // Story: "She didn't use the Memory Stone on you." // by LuluCalliope //------------------------------// “She Didn’t Use the Memory Stone on You.” “So, Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia were just as surprised as we were?” Applejack asked. Sunset nodded in response. She and her six Canterlot friends (and Spike) had gone to Sugarcube Corner to discuss what had happened after the confrontation with Wallflower...more specifically, what had happened to Sunset’s geode necklace. Nobody knew why it had gone from a pendant to a gem in a tiara...so Sunset had returned to Equestria to see what Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia thought. “They don’t know for sure, but they have a theory.” “What is it?” Twilight asked. Spike, who was in her lap, looked at Sunset, just as invested as everyone else was. “Well…” Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s a bit complicated to explain...okay, you all know about the Elements of Harmony, right?” The girls and Spike nodded, remembering the Fall Formal (or, in the cases of Twilight and Spike, what they had been told about that event). “There are six Elements of Harmony in Equestria...and now, there are seven over here. One for Honesty…” She pointed to Applejack’s geode necklace. “...one for Generosity…” She pointed at Rarity’s geode. “...Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic.” She pointed at Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. “And then...there’s me.” Sunset blushed as she remembered the conversation between herself and the Equestrian princesses. “Empathy? A seventh Element?! I can’t believe it! My mind is officially blown!” Princess Twilight was over the moon, her mind racing with possibilities and theories after hearing Princess Celestia’s thoughts. Sunset’s mouth dropped. “I’m an Element of Harmony? But...how? This doesn’t make sense!” Princess Celestia smiled. “From what I can gather, you proved yourself worthy of being an Alicorn when you redeemed a powerful opponent with the Magic of Friendship. And when you gave a reformed companion the confidence to find the magic within herself, you proved yourself worthy of bearing an Element of Harmony. The magic in your world works differently from the magic in Equestria, so even I can’t explain how or why this is how it turned out...but my theory is that your Element transformed into your crown after you sacrificed your memories to protect your friends.” Celestia looked into the amber Alicorn’s eyes. “And it is that kind of act that defines a princess.” “W...what are you saying…?” “Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…” Sunset coughed. “Long story short, but...you’re now looking at…” She bowed her head. “Sunset Shimmer, Princess of Peace, Element of Empathy, Friendship Ambassador to the Humans…” She mumbled. She peeked at her friends, who stared her with open mouths and wide eyes. “Sunset…” Rarity breathed. “You’re a princess now?!” “Please don’t hate me!” The fire-haired girl blurted out. Pinkie Pie giggled. “Hate you? Why would we hate you, silly?” “I...I don’t know!” She fidgeted with a strand of her hair. “I brought magic to this world on a power-hungry quest to become a princess...and now...I’m actually one...and I...I don’t think I deserve it!” “Now, hold on a minute, sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted as she reached for Sunset’s hand. She gave it a reassuring squeeze as she explained, “You’re a different person from the girl who first arrived in our world three years ago. You’re a princess now because you’ve proven that you’re worthy of it!” “You’re a princess because you DESERVE it!” Rainbow Dash emphasized. “And we’re so proud of you!” Fluttershy beamed. “But...where’s your crown now?” Twilight asked. Sunset reached into her backpack. “It’s right here. I told Princess Celestia that I’d look really...unusual wearing a crown in this world, and Princess Twilight helped me explain why. So, she and Princess Luna made a few minor adjustments, and…” She pulled out a gold necklace that held an orange gem shaped exactly like her cutie mark. “It’s not exactly like the geode necklaces...but it is what it is…you don’t mind? You really don’t mind?” She asked her friends. “Are you kidding? This is so exciting! This calls for a celebration!” Pinkie Pie squeed. “How about we meet at my place tomorrow evening for pizza and milkshakes?” Sunset perked up, but shook her head. “It sounds tempting, but I can’t. The yearbooks are coming tomorrow, and I have to make some special deliveries…” The next day… “No student parking in the faculty lot,” Vice Principal Luna called out as Flash Sentry drove through one of Canterlot High’s parking lots. Sunset stifled a giggle, then turned her attention to the delivery truck that was right behind Flash’s car. When it came to a stop, she hurried to help unload the contents: boxes containing the school’s yearbooks! As everyone lined up to get a copy, she grabbed a stack of the books and slipped away to find her Canterlot friends. She found them hanging out by the portal between worlds, talked with them for a few moments, then headed off to the school’s garden. “I’ve got a special delivery for ‘Best Gardener’!” She called to Wallflower Blush. She handed the green-haired girl a yearbook, which had been autographed by her seven newest friends at Canterlot High. The girl in the striped sweater hugged Sunset in thanks, and then the president of the yearbook committee excused herself. She just had to stop at her locker before heading out, and she walked with a skip in her step through the hallways, not a care in the world until... “Hey!” The silver-haired girl who everyone seemed to adore or hate pushed her way through the crowd of students until she was in front of Sunset Shimmer. “I demand to speak to the yearbook president! I demand an explanation for...this!” She opened her yearbook and shoved it in Sunset’s face...more specifically, the page labeled “Greatest and Most Powerfulest”...which boasted a picture of Trixie in the middle of a fantastic performance. “What? What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this to be in the yearbook,” Sunset folded her arms. “Of course I did! Trixie KNOWS she’s Great and Powerful, but…” She cocked her head to the side. “She’s confused. You were so reluctant to have this picture in the yearbook! You even said that there wasn’t going to be a category for ‘Greatest and Most Powerfulest’...so what changed your mind?” She narrowed her eyes at Sunset, who smiled back. “Well...I realized the other day that not being mean to everyone doesn’t equal automatically being nice to everyone. And if I want people to really see that I’ve become a nice person, I need to put in more of an effort to make them feel important.” Sunset looked Trixie straight in the eyes. “You’re an interesting and energetic person, Trixie, and I’d really like to be your friend. I was hoping that this could be the start of a friendship.” Her phone buzzed, and when she turned her attention to the screen, she gasped. “I gotta go!” She speed-walked down the hallway. Trixie watched her leave, totally stunned. She waited until no one was looking at her, then hugged her yearbook close to her chest and smiled. Later… “Hey Sunset, what’s up?” Indigo Zap greeted as she walked into the fire-haired girl’s apartment. Sunset had texted her, the other Shadowbolts, and Juniper Montage, asking them to meet her at her apartment. Spike had also been invited to come over, and he seemed quite content with having his belly rubbed by Sugarcoat. “I figured out what happened with my necklace...sort of…” Sunset said. Once her guests were all settled in, she explained everything that she could to them. They reacted more-or-less in the same way that her Canterlot friends had reacted. “Should we start calling you ‘Your Majesty’?” Sour Sweet asked, half-joking, half-serious. Sunset snorted. “Please, don’t! Over in Equestria, I may be a princess, but over here...I’m just Sunset Shimmer. And right now, that’s just how I want things to be.” She sighed. “Everything is back to normal…” “I still can’t believe how cool you’ve been about all of this,” Sunny Flare complimented. “If I were you, I’d be at least a little upset over what had happened.” Sunset smirked. “Well…” Sour Sweet’s jaw dropped before she burst out laughing. “Oh my gosh, what did you do?! You sneaky...pony...creature...you!” Meanwhile, back at Canterlot High… “Oh, come on! Seriously?!” Rainbow Dash groaned as she looked at the “Best Friends” picture in her yearbook. The picture of her, Sunset Shimmer, and the rest of their classmate friends had been placed on the page next to Bulk Biceps’ “Best Muscles” portrait. Every time she closed the book, it looked like the girls were kissing him! “I thought I asked her not to do that!” “Maybe she asked me not to do that...or maybe not. I can’t remember,” Sunset said, a coy, mischievous glint in her eyes. The other girls stared at her, surprised by her deviousness, then laughed. “Karma’s a pain, isn’t she?” Lemon Zest snorted. “Is that why you asked us to come here?” Sugarcoat asked. “Just so you could tell us about the necklace and getting even? You could have just called us, you know.” "And you already told me about this yesterday!" Spike added. “I could have,” Sunset said as she stood up and walked into the kitchen. “But then I wouldn’t have been able to give you guys these!” She returned with a stack of seven yearbooks in her arms. She placed them on her coffee table and looked at the girls. “They’re for you.” “For us? Why?” Juniper Montage raised an eyebrow. “We don’t go to your school, uh duuuuuuuuuh,” Lemon Zest said, as if Sunset had forgotten. The former pony smiled. “I’m the president and editor of the yearbook committee. I was able to fit a few small changes into this edition...see for yourselves!” The girls each reached for a yearbook. Spike, who was still curled up in Sugarcoat’s lap, looked at her book as she and the others flipped through the pages. After they turned the page from “Best Muscles”, they found what Sunset had wanted them to look for, and they all froze. Some of them got tears in their eyes, others blushed, but all of them were overwhelmed and touched by what they saw. It was a picture of the Shadowbolts, Juniper Montage, Sunset Shimmer, and Spike, taken on the evening that the stolen memories had been returned. The girls had their equine features and magical wardrobes. Sunset was in the middle of the group, and Spike was in her arms. Everyone had the biggest, happiest smiles on their faces. And above the picture, in bold text, was the label: “Honorary Canterlot Wondercolts and Best Friends”.