//------------------------------// // Back to Equestria // Story: The Blazing Dawn // by DeadpoolMLP //------------------------------// Spike roamed the halls of the Friendship Castle. It was 3 AM and he needed his 3 AM Coffee. It was his ritual. His sacred- CRAAAAAASH!!!!!!! Spike jumped a foot in the air at the sound of destruction. Was it a burglar? An Assassin? His real mom? He rushed to the source of the noise, pulling off a piece of the crystal wall that he passed in an attempt to make a make-shift weapon, opening the door to see- "Oh....hey Sunset...what are you doing here?" "Uhhhhh.....visiting?" "oh cool. Hold on. I'll go get Twilight." Sunset watched as Spike let out a booming hollar "YO TWILIGHT!" Sunset chuckled at the sound of Twilight, obviously very tired, yelling back "SPIKE IT'S 3 AM WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" "SUNSET IS HERE TO VISIT!" There was a brief pause, the sounds of rustling echoing through the halls of the castle, and after a minute, Twilight appeared through the doors of the room, her hair in a state of disarray and her wings disheveled from rolling in bed "Hey Twilight." "H-hi Sunset...what are you doing here?" Sunset chuckled, walking over to Twilight. "Just...needed some time away from the girls. Thought I'd hang around here for a while" "Isn't Graduation soon? I remember you writing me about that..." Sunset went quiet, Twilight rubbing her eyes "you don't wanna graduate, do you?" Sunset looked down in shame "No...I don't..." Twilight gave her a sweet smile. She knew Sunset had issues with confronting the idea of her friendship ending, so she wasn't surprised by this. "Hey...if you wanna stay here, you're always welcome" "Oh thanks...because...I kinda sorta...moved everything out of my apartment and gave it all to the girls..." "Oh....so you wanna..." "Yeah....Mind if I live here with you for a while? I just wanna get my hooves back on the ground and find a place of my own. I'm not planning to stay here much, just need a place to sleep. Tomorrow I'm planning to head to Manehatten to look up some ponies" Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, though with her eyes bloodshot from waking up, it made her look kinda crazy. "Manehatten? Why Manehatten?" Sunset smirked "I'm from there. Manehatten Born. What...did you just assume I was from Canterlot?" Twilight gave a guilty blush "I mean....yeaaaah?" Sunset rolled her eyes. "I was born in Manehatten and was taken in by Celestia when I was seven. She saw me at a Talent show at my elementary school. I used a Lupin Ignitus spell on a house plant my mom let me borrow." "Did she ever get it back?" Spike chimed in "No, Spike, the Lupin Ignitus spell is the Moon flame spell! That's high level offensive magic! Where did you learn that at age 7?!" Twilight asked, bewildered by my claim of magic prowess "I lived next door to the Manehatten National Library, and knew how to pick a lock. Well...I didn't, my friend did." Before Twilight could respond, yet another crash came from inside the room. "Oh yeah...Ummm...Twilight...say hi to Ray." As Sunset spoke, the head of a huge serpent poked out from behind the portal, Twilight screeching like a banshee and darting to the ceiling with a flap of her wings "Well that's one way to wake her up" Spike said with a smirk "WHY IS HE A DRAKE?! THOSE THINGS ARE KNOWN TO STRANGLE PONIES AND THEN EAT THEM WHOLE!" "I dunno. Portal doing weird stuff I presume. He's nice though. You know Ray...." Sunset said, rubbing the underside of Ray's now enormous snout. "I mean...I do...but..." Twilight carefully lowered herself down to the ground, still keeping her distance from the now 7 foot serpent. "Just...take him over to Fluttershy in the morning. She can take care of him while you're in Manehatten...okay?" "Alright, Alright. I'll take him over in the morning." Sunset said with a smirk. It was then the group heard the loud groan of a very grumpy Starlight, Sunset letting out a laugh. Starlight poked her head in, her eyes still half lidded "Why were we yelling?" "Hey Starlight!" Sunset let out with a cheery grin "....Sunset?" Starlight took a second to rub her eyes, "What are you doing here?" "Moving in" Starlight gave a very uninterested stare before responding "...cool...I'm going back to bed now" "Bye!" Twilight gave Sunset a deadpan stare "You should go to bed too" Sunset blinked at Twilight, before letting out a nervous giggle "Yeah...I guess I should...spent all night packing stuff up...Where's my room?" Twilight let out a long sigh, obviously caught off guard by all this. "We got a free room down the hall. 13th room on the left." "How you survive in such a large castle by yourself I will never understand. Thanks though!" Sunset happily replied, walking to her new room. "Come on Ray!" She called as the huge serpent followed her down the hall. As Sunset stretched, she took note of her surroundings. A Crystal walled room with a large bed an a huge serpent curled up around her. Today was gonna be interesting. Getting up, she fell forward as she tried to stand on her back hooves. A habit she's gonna have to try and break. "Every time you come here Sunset...every time" She muttered to herself, before trotting over to the bathroom across the hall. Looking around the bathroom, she spotted something she hadn't seen in ages, a Bathtub. She was SOOO tempted to start a bath..but she didn't want to impose and use up all the water... "TWILIGHT!?" No Answer. "I mean...Gods, I really wanna bath...I haven't had a good soak in ages..." Sunset sighed "Maybe later..." Starting the shower, Sunset let the water flow over her coat. It was a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time, but she missed dearly. The feeling of water flowing through your coat, getting all your hairs evenly wet. While most ponies would complain, Sunset was in heaven. She hadn't felt this in six years. Looking around, she spotted a bottle of shampoo on a ledge, and reached to grab it, failing as it slipped to the shower floor. "oh come on! Darn....wait..." Looking up at her horn, she facehooved. "Why I do ALWAYS forget you're a thing? Every time I come here, I somehow forget I have a freakin horn attached to my face." Using her magic, she picked up the shampoo bottle and gave it a squeeze over her mane, using her magic to soak it in before rinsing. She couldn't help but smile at this. "You know...you never really appreciate how handy it is to have magic until you aren't able to use it. Then again...hands are pretty handy too....fuck, I'm gonna miss my motorcycle...and my gaming rig...I really didn't think this through...AH!" She let out a yelp as shampoo got in her eye, trying to rub it out with her hoof "Okay NOW I miss hands..." Making her way to the kitchen, Sunset sees Starlight sitting at the table "Hey Starlight" "Wait...so you're like actually moving in?" Starlight asked, tilting her head a bit in confusion "Yeah...I'm avoiding Graduation because, you know...I don't wanna have to deal with-" "Seeing all your friends go away to far away places and potentially forget you exist? Yeah, I feel ya" "You have some expertise on that front?" Sunset asked, genuinely curious about Starlight's past. "My childhood friend got his cutie mark in magic, got picked up to go to Celestia's School for gifted unicorns...kinda drove me nuts to lose a friend." "is that why you started a cult around everypony having the same cutie mark? Because that's a really dumb reason to start a cult..." "Dumber than trying to take over Equestria with an army of teenagers who would end up being turned into ponies who don't know how to be ponies once they crossed the portal?" The two stared each other down for a few seconds, before Sunset let out a snort and they broke down laughing "We really are a pair of dumbasses aren't we?" Starlight said, clutching her chest as she caught her breath "Yeah...so like, where's the food? I didn't see a kitchen." "Next room over, food's in the pantry. Take whatever you want. Twilight puts labels on what's hers, but I don't really listen to them. Mostly just out of spite." Starlight said with a grin. Sunset looked to the pink unicorn with a smirk. Starlight and her had known each other for a year now, and they seemed to get along pretty well all things considered "Wow, is that your master plan for revenge?" "No, I'm just a jerk. Also, making Twilight mad amuses me" Sunset couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, fair enough" Trotting into the kitchen, she opened the pantry, looking inside "Holy Crap....I CAN MAKE A HAYBURGER!" Sunset squeeled, excited over the prospect of making her favorite childhood food. The next few minutes were a blur of noises emanating from the kitchen, dishes and pans clattering together, Sunset letting out occasional yelps and screeches, and most importantly...lots of fire. "THERE! I DID IT!" Starlight couldn't help but poke her head in, noticing the small flame lit on Sunset's back "You okay there Sunset?" Sunset looked at Starlight with a crazed smile, gesturing wildly at the hayburger in front of her "IT IS MY MOST BEAUTIFUL CREATION! WITNESS MY MASTERPIECE!" "So you're not okay...good to know..." Starlight deadpanned, internally questioning if she'd have to crack open the Elements of Harmony. Sunset let out a groan, flopping her hooves and head onto the table, staring at her creation "Ugh...I haven't had a Hayburger in 6 years. I need this...heh, guess I did go a little nuts there..." "A little?" "Okay, okay...a lot. But hey...I got my burger" Sunset said with a smile, picking up the burger with her magic and chomping down on it. "Oh gods....that tastes..." Sunset had to pause for a second "Not as good as I remember...huh...all that hype for a bland piece of hay and a bun that I'm like fifty percent sure is stale..." "Sounds like a Hayburger to me" Starlight added, trying to hold back a laugh. It was then Ray slithered into the room, flicking his tongue as he smelled the air, and of course scaring the non-existent pants off Starlight "WHAT IS THAT?!" Sunset smiled, trotting over and petting Ray "He's my pet Gecko. Don't you remember Ray?" Starlight's eyes went wide "THAT'S RAY?!" "Yup. Portal magic never ceases to amaze doesn't it?" "Apparently not!" Starlight let out with a bewildered yelp "Anyways...I need to drop this guy off at Fluttershy's...wanna come with?" "Uhhhh...sure. I could use some fresh air" As the two unicorns walked through Ponyville, Sunset seemed to take it all in. She had visited Twilight's castle many times, but rarely didn't she ever actually leave the castle itself and explored where Twilight lived. Ponyville was such a quaint little town, large enough to be considered part of Equestria's economy, therefore recognized by the Princesses, but small enough to where you'd probably know everyone in town by the end of your first week living here. What was weird for the Sriracha haired pony, was that she could name practically everypony in town, but she didn't know any of them personally. "Having a bit of Deja Vu there Sunset?" Starlight asked, poking her dazed friend as they walked "Little bit yeah. Weird to see all these ponies you know the name of, but don't know the first thing about their personal lives" "I'm surprised you're less weirded out by the fact no one seems to notices a 7 foot Drake walking around town" Sunset rolled her eyes "I just assume with Twilight and you living here that's nothing new to them." Starlight stopped in her tracks, realizing just how right Sunset was there "Fuck...you're right..." Sunset let out a chuckle, letting her friend catch up to her "Hey, I had it the same way at CHS. After the 5th monster attack, people really didn't bat an eye at the talking dog running around" "Eh, fair enough. Speaking of which, did you ever hook up with that Twi? You always seemed to have a thing for her." Sunset let out a sigh "No. I mean...I dropped her hints left and right, but She never seemed interested. I asked those girls at Crystal Prep about it and they said Twilight just never really had any interest in romance. I dunno. I gave up after a while and just kinda moved on." "Huh. Well...date anyone else since then?" "Not really...I mean, I had a one off thing with Aria, but she was a bit clingy and her sisters REALLY wanted to form a harem, and I wasn't interested" "....a harem?" Starlight finally got out, her brain blue screening for a second as she tried to process that thought "Yeah...it got weird. Kinda figured to leave myself open to any one I find outside of my social circles from then on" The two continued to talk, passers by seeming to notice the two as they walk, but while most of them seemed to go on their merry way after taking notice of the two, one pony had to do her job...and that was scaring the crap out of Sunset "HI SUNSET!" Sunset gasped as Pinkie Pie speared her to the ground, Sunset letting out a quiet "ow..." "Hey Pinkie Pie" Starlight said with a bemused smirk. Starlight knew at this point, when anyone new entered town, you were guarenteed to get a warm welcome to town, and compliance to this welcome was less than optional "Hi Starlight!" Pinkie replied with a huge smile and a wave, helping Sunset off the ground "My ribs..." Sunset groaned, rubbing her chest "Pinkie...why?" "I am legally obligated as the resident Party Pony to greet every new pony to town silly!" Sunset let out a strained groan. This wasn't anything new to her, but you can only get tackled to the ground so many times before you start hating it. Pinkie gave her a boop to her nose, letting out a giggle "Silly Sunset, you can't hate hugs!" Sunset stammered for a second, trying to figure out how Pinkie knew she was thinking about that "Anyways, I gotta go, Brad just wanted me to make a cameo to flesh out the world." Pinkie walked over to Ray and pat him on the head, before running off "I have...several questions..." Sunset let out a sigh, "Best not think too hard on that one..." "Yeah, We should keep going. Never known who's gonna come by next" As they entered the forest outside of Fluttershy's cottage, Sunset took note of everything. Her Fluttershy did live an extravagant life style in the forest....but nothing like this. The White oak trees surrounding a small cottage were a thing of beauty, and critters unafraid of her as they skittered across the front lawn between the trees was something she'd never seen in her life. Even with Ray, a seven foot Drake, none of them seemed to notice. Starlight on the other hoof, seemed to be endlessly amused by my wide eyed outlook at the forest. She'd had the same wide eyed stare when she came here the first time, and it never got old to see ponies react to this. "Didn't you grow up in Equestria?" Sunset gave a nervous smile at that, "I did. I just...grew up in the city. Manehatten, then Canterlot. I never saw this side of Equestria." "You like it so far?" Starlight asked with a chuckle. Sunset was one of the few ponies that, while she did enjoy messing with, she liked enough to drop the act and have a serious conversation without devolving into snark every other sentence. "Yeah, very pretty." Sunset let out a loud sneeze, causing Starlight to laugh "I could go without all this pollen though. Makes my nose all stuffy." Starlight let out a giggle as the two walked up to Fluttershy's door, Ray seeming to attempt to sit down, his extra long body making him more flop than sit. As Starlight knocked on Fluttershy's door, Sunset had a moment of nervous fright. She didn't know this Fluttershy, and even though she was sure Twilight had at least mentioned her to this version, she was terrified of awkward conversations. She considered running, but she knew she had to drop off Ray. She- "Hey...You okay Sunset?" Starlight looked to her friend with a look of worry. She knew that Sunset had some issues, but this was a new one for her. "Sorry...I have a bit of anxiety towards talking to ponies I don't know, and in this case I do know, but at the same time, don't. You know?" Starlight smiled, "Hey, Don't fret. Fluttershy will probably be more anxious about this than you'll ever be." Sunset laughed, "Yeah" They then heard hoofsteps from inside as the door slowly creaked open, Fluttershy poking her head through "Hello Starlight..." "Hey Flutters, how's it hangin?" "It's hanging....good..." "Cool, Cool...so do you mind letting us in? Sunset has something to ask you." Fluttershy opened the door all the way this time, looking to Sunset with a small smile "Sunset Shimmer?" "That's me" Sunset responded, her nervous grin being the only outside sign of her internal firestorm of anxiety "You're the girl from the human world Twilight talks about right?" "Well, actually I'm from Equestria originally" "Oh...Is that a drake?" Fluttershy asked, noticing the 7 foot long reptile behind her. "Oh yeah, that's Ray. Twilight told me you could take care of him while I go do some stuff for a few days. Is that okay?" Sunset had never felt this awkward. She knew Fluttershy, but not this Fluttershy. In fact, this whole town was throwing her off her game. So many familiar faces, and yet she was the stranger once again. She needed to get home. "Oh, well...I'd need to make some special arrangements, but I can keep him here for a few days, yeah. Where are you going if you don't mind me asking?" Sunset smiled. This was the kind of thing she remembered from her Fluttershy. The shy, but genuine kindness. The willingness to listen to whatever you have to say, and a genuine curiosity of what you were up to. "Oh, just retreading my old stomping grounds, and looking to hook up with some old faces. Hoping I can find my parents back home in Manehatten." Fluttershy gave a kind smile, "Well I hope you find them. I'll take Ray around back. Anything I should know about him in particular?" Sunset thought for a moment. Ray had a habit of being fickle when it came to food...then again, he was a completely different animal now, so who knows what he'd want. "You wouldn't happen to have giant crickets on you by chance?" Fluttershy, not even skipping a beat, answered back, "I can get some." Sunset blinked, bewildered by the prospect. She was joking, and yet the butter coated mare seemed to reply with complete certainty...She decided it was best not to question it. Sunset knew that when someone answers a question with that kind of response, asking questions will either gonna get some convoluted answer that you'll most likely never understand, or you'll get an answer that only makes you ask more questions. Questions you don't want an answer to. "Okay...well, I need to get going. I need to figure out the train schedule to get to Manehatten." Sunset said, looking to Ray with a stern look "Now you be a good Drake. I know momma's going away for a while, but Fluttershy is gonna take care of you. Can you promise me you're gonna be good?" Ray simply looked at Sunset with a derpy smile, flicking his tongue a few times before blinking twice. Sunset smiled, patting the drake on the head and scratching under his snout, "Good boy." Sunset and Starlight walked up to the Ponyville Train Station. Sunset was beyond nervous at this point. 6 years she had avoided coming back home, and 9 years since she had actually been back to Manehatten. She was never the type to ditch her studies for a "Home Visit", especially in the prime of her time as Celestia's pupil, always preferring to keep herself on track no matter how much stress and emotional stunting it did to her. The last time she saw her parents, they had left her in the care of a lonely goddess, and while Celestia was a good teacher of the magical arts, she wasn't exactly a good parental figure. "Soooo...I guess this is goodbye." Sunset snapped out of her daze. She hadn't thought of Starlight until now. "I mean...I guess. I'm not gonna stop you if you wanna come with." "Eh, I think I'll let you have your fun. Big cities aren't really my thing. I prefer small towns." An evil grin formed on Sunset's face "Because they're easier to form cults in?" Starlight punched Sunset in the side, Sunset laughing "Oh shut up! Go have fun catching up with your folks, you walking lightbulb!" Sunset paused "Walking Lightbulb?" "Look, I'm out of witty insults. You have an orange coat. It's the best I could come up with on the spot! You try coming up with a new witty nickname on the spot every time you talk to someone." Sunset smirked. She had a history with this kinda thing. "Okay Mr. Bubbles." Starlight squinted "Who in the hay is Mr. Bubbles?" Sunset laughed "It's Pinkie's favorite shampoo. Their mascot is a giant pink dude who can create bubbles...it's weird." "Oooookay then." They two of them heard the sounds of the train pulling in, the conductor yelling in the distance "I should go get my ticket. Don't wanna miss my train." "You go do that. I'll see you when you get back." The two exchanged one last glance, smiling before Sunset rushed to the ticket booth "One ticket to Manehatten please!" The pony behind the booth gave Sunset a tired look "That'll be 15 bits please..." Sunset winced. She hadn't paid in bits in 6 years. Panicking, she dug into her saddlebag, pulling out nothing but lint and an empty wallet. She cursed under her breath, her brain internally burning to the ground before a cloud of pink energy phased into existence next to her. "Don't worry Sunset. I got this." Pinkie said as she pulled out a hoofful of bits and laid it on the table "P-pinkie, you don't need to-" "Oh don't be silly filly! Brad needs to move the plot along anyways, and I get tax free trips all over Equestria as part of Twilight's posse. Don't sweat it!" Sunset, knowing not to question that first part, decided to take the act of kindness at face value, and just accept the ticket "Okay...but I'm gonna buy you a cupcake when I get back." Pinkie squinted her eyes, getting right up in Sunset's face "is that a....Pinkie Promise?" Sunset looked at Pinkie with fear for her life. She knew the gravity of a Pinkie Promise... "No....?" "Okie doki Loki! At least you were honest! Here." Pinkie handed Sunset a pouch, it seeming to have a hefty weight behind it "here's some more bits to get you around Manehatten. Don't question it, just take it. It's dangerous to go alone." And before Sunset could even question it, Pinkie had evaporated into a cloud of pink dust, leaving Sunset to question what just happened. "Lady....your ticket..." Sunset turned around, looking to the pony behind the booth, who looked as if they were dying a little every second. "Oh, right. Thanks!" Sunset took her ticket, taking her seat at a bench on the side of the tracks. "Guess this is it Sunset. No turning back. Time for Sunset Shimmer to go home..."