Sharing Beat Up Stories

by Graglithan The Greater


An Overdue Return

In Twilight’s castle, most of the group was still present as they waited for word from Sunset. The only absentees were Equestria’s CMC, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie. Of the older five, all but Pinkie had been in agreement that their counterparts needed something to take back as a souvenir, as the pink wonder wasn't even part of the conversation this time. While Twilight was hesitant, she eventually relented so long as the gifts were not something that would be highly magical, which got the CMC to join in and go with their sisters to see what they could get.

Why Pinkie left, was anyone’s guess. Knowing her though, it had something to do with parties. There wasn’t much time for Twilight to ponder this, however, when her journal buzzed.

Dear Twilight,

Can I just say, that I absolutely hate dealing with Discord? Thankfully, despite him messing with me repeatedly and ‘helping’ by giving us a tour of Firelight’s home sans the basement we needed to see, he did assist in providing us with proof that this world is Starlight’s home. We’re headed back to the portal now, so hopefully, you and the girls are ready by the time we get back. Starlight’s Dad looked pretty depressed when we met him. Just to be double sure, here are some of the details that we saw in the main house.

Her father has a stupidly massive library. Like, STUPID massive. I can’t even begin to describe how much it’s like Princess Celestia’s private collection back in Equestria. He also made a batch of brownies that Discord was willing to break us into his home just to eat. Other than that, we didn’t really see much other than her basement-lab, and the absolutely massive kite collection in the photos Discord gave us. I’m sorry if that’s not enough to convince her, but we got what we could.

Sincerely,
Sunset Shimmer

P.S. I meant it when I said I hate Discord. He is the most immature man I have ever met, and if I never deal with him again, it will be too soon.

Twilight looked over the message she’d gotten from Sunset, sighing a bit with a smirk. “Figures Discord would still mess with anyone’s head, regardless of what world.” Turning to the room, the princess smiled and walked over to her friends. “I have good news. Sunset and Pinkie just got back from their investigation.” Turning to the pink unicorn looking at her expectantly, she nodded. “It’s your home unless your dad doesn’t have an entire room dedicated to books, makes brownies that Discord would lie to get his hands on, or the secret lab you turned the basement into.” She leaned in a bit closer to whisper the last detail. “Or has a shrine for kites in the back corner.”

Blushing a bit, Starlight gave a nervous laugh. “Uh, yeah, that sounds about right.” She turned to the portal and looked hopefully at her reflection. “So... I’d just have to walk back through? That’d be it?”

“In essence, yes.” Twilight gave her friend a small hug. “So, I guess we just got to wait for the others to get back?”

Nodding, Starlight walked back with Twilight to the rest of the group to wait. “Looks like it.”

And wait they did. All of the humans turned pony, Starlight included, sat in a small group and chattered away. Their conversations went from how much more mature their other selves were physically, yet how much like themselves they still acted, despite that age difference, to how the two worlds seemed to translate with each other. Fluttershy’s time at the animal shelter and her counterpart’s sanctuary, to Rarity’s studio at home and the resident unicorn’s boutique.

It would be half an hour before the Equestrians came back. With a familiarity only one who visited the castle often would have, Applejack pushed open the door and waltzed right in. “We’re back Y’all!”

The group perked up, and Applejack adjusted her hat at her counterpart. “Well, ya sure took yer sweet time.”

The visiting Scootaloo scratched her head and looked at the others with a raised eyebrow. “So what’d you all run off for?”

Applebloom’s Equestrian counterpart beamed and pointed to the paper gift bags they’d brought in with them. “We went off to get you guys some souvenirs!”

The three visiting Crusaders all looked at each other with smiles before turning back to the Equestrians. “Really?”

Rarity’s laughter drew the fillies attention. “Well, it’s not like it’s every day one gets to travel, let alone to another dimension. We thought it would only be fair to let you take something with you.”

Rainbow popped her head over the group and looked at the gifts excitedly. “So what did you get us?” The Equestrians all shared a nod before breaking into groups of two, each one talking with their own counterpart, or in the CMC’s case, all six in one huddle.

Applejack handed over a small orange paper bag with an apple on the side, and a second slightly larger bag, adjusting her hat a bit as she set them down. “It might be a while before they grow proper, but ah think a piece of Sweet Apple Acres, for Sweet Apple Acres, is the best thing ah can offer.”

Looking inside the bag, Applejack saw several smaller plastic bags full of different seeds. Each bag labeled with a different kind of apple. In the larger bag, there was a bunch of full-grown apples, ready for eating. “Shucks, ya didn’t need to go that far.”

Smiling proudly, Applejack gave herself a wink. “Granny insisted.”

Meanwhile, the two blue pegasi had their own gift exchange. Rainbow hastily opened her own package, only to frown when she looked inside. “Books? Can’t I get something more awesome?”

Smirking, her older-self put a hoof to her chest. “Hey, Daring Do is like, the best book series I’ve ever read. And that says a lot if I think it’s awesome.”

The smaller Rainbow’s ears perked up as she looked back into the bag. “Wait, these are the Equestrian Daring Do stories!?” She got a quick nod in return and looked back down into the bag with excitement. “So, awesome!”

A tap on her shoulder drew her attention back up to her counterpart, who leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Look behind the books, but don’t say anything.” Rainbow took another peek inside, eyes going wide as she pushed the books aside. With a shared nod, the two gave each other a hoof-bump.

Next, were the two Rarities, as one gushed over the contents of her gift. From within the bag, came a few bolts of cloth, some inlaid with gems as they rolled out. “Oh my! These are simply fabulous!”

Smiling elegantly, the older Rarity nodded. “From my own personal collection. I’m sure you can find a good use for them.”

Hugging a bolt that had sapphires in it, the smaller white unicorn nodded excitedly. “Most certainly so!” Rarity could only giggle at the thought of how much her dresses would cost with fabric like this. She might even be able to afford to start her own boutique and stop working out of her room!

The two versions of Fluttershy were next and smiled in both nervousness and kindness as one gave a gift to the other. “Um, I know it doesn’t seem like much, but here.”

Opening the bag, the smaller Fluttershy gasped slightly and pulled out the charm laying within. “Oh, a dreamcatcher! These feathers are lovely.” The butter yellow pegasus idly played with the feathers, noting how they matched her hoof’s color. “Um... What bird are they from? I hope they molted them...”

“They’re um... my primaries.” Blushing, the older Fluttershy hid behind her hair a bit. “They’ll grow back. When I found my old dream catcher, I saw that the feathers had fallen off and none of my bird friends had any to spare since they’d used them to make their nests, I um, made do. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you anything more.”

The young pegasus’s eyes went wide, and she looked back to the dreamcatcher. With a few tears in her eyes, she hugged it to her chest and smiled. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” She frowned a bit and looked at her counterpart. “But... is it really okay for me to have this?” Fluttershy got a quick nod from her older-self before she began hugging her counterpart.

Next in line was all six Crusaders. Applebloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo each had a simple-looking, matching package for their counterparts. The young farm filly held hers out and was quickly followed by her companions. “And we got Y'all these!”

Excitedly taking the gifts, the three visiting crusaders quickly opened them up. It was their farm girl that spoke up first, as she pulled the cloth from the paper. “Capes?”

Bouncing as she beamed, Sweetie Belle nodded excitedly. “Yep! Now, you’re the newest member of The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Matching her counterpart, Sweetie grinned as she looked over the cape, noting of the sparkly interior. “Ooh! Is that a club?”

Scootaloo puffed her chest and put a hoof over it. “And we’re the founding members!” She chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of her head as her pride deflated a touch. “We’d give you a full initiation, but we’re kinda short on time.”

Nodding in contemplation, Scootaloo looked up at the ceiling. “Makes me wonder how awesome it would be. I mean, I was involved in making it.”

The equestrian Scootaloo smirked. “Two words. Drum Solo.”

The smirk was matched by her human-turned-pony self, much to their friend’s amusement. “Sweet.” The six shared a laugh as they helped the three newest crusaders get their capes on. “Wow, this is a lot harder with hooves.”

Starlight was laughing at the sight herself, only to pause as a thought occurred when she looked at Pinkie. “So wait, what did Pinkie go with you guys for?”

It was a question; the pink pony was glad to answer herself. “Duh, to get something for the other me!” With an excited bounce, Pinkie pulled out a stack of bright pink presents and thrust it into Starlight’s face. “See? I got her a recipe book, some cupcakes, a mini-party cannon to go with her regular party cannon, and a secret ingredient for the best recipe of all time, and the best recipe of all time, so she can make them for her friends!”

A beat passed before Twilight and Starlight both shared a laugh at the scene before them. The princess turned to her friend with a somewhat sad smile, knowing what had to come next. “I’m going to miss having you over here. Even if you spent most of the time listening to me ramble on about magical theory.”

The pink unicorn jokingly gasped. “But those were the best moments you were rambling!” The two shared a laugh as Starlight hugged the purple princess. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Returning the embrace, Twilight smiled brighter. “Just remember to bug Sunset into letting you borrow the journal every now and again.”

“Will do.” Starlight broke off the hug and looked at the mirror, rubbing her foreleg. “I’d be lying to say I wasn’t still nervous.”

The purple hoof that landed on her shoulder brought a bit of comfort, and Twilight’s smile did the rest. “You’ll have Sunset and the girls there to help you. Sure, it won’t be the same ones you’ve known since coming here, but that just means you’ll have new friendships to forge.”

Rolling her eyes, Starlight snickered. “Okay Princess of Hammy Speeches, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Pouting a bit, the princess grumbled. “My speeches are accurate, and you know it.”

A smirk grew across Starlight’s face. “And full of ham.”

“Shush.” Twilight shared another laugh with Starlight before the journal vibrated. A quick peek into the book, and the princess turned to her departing friend with a sad smile. “Ready to go?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Taking a deep breath, Starlight started over to the rest of the group. As she joined the eight other members of the party leaving Equestria, she stood towards the back as they all shared a parting wave.

The Equestrian Crusaders started the vocal farewells, with Sweetie Belle unable to keep herself quiet. “It’s been fun!”

Scootaloo followed suit. “Later everypony!”

Applebloom wasn’t any better. “Y’all take care now!”

The rest of the Equestrians shared a laugh at the young fillies’ excitement before they joined in, Fluttershy taking the lead. “I hope you all stay safe!”

Pinkie shout-cheered as she exaggeratedly waved. “Don’t forget to write!”

Rarity gave a quick bow before she waved herself. “Take care Darlings!”

Rainbow pumped a hoof into the air. “Show the world how awesome you all are!”

Applejack tilted her hat and gave a nod of approval. ”Don’t be strangers now.”

One by one, all of them hopped through the portal. Before Starlight could join them, however, she took one last look back at the Equestrian friends she had made and made to wave, only to see some tears brimming in the corners of Twilight’s eyes. “You okay Twilight?”

The purple princess sniffled and nodded. “Yeah... I just... I don’t like saying goodbye. Not to friends.”

Starlight looked at the portal for a moment, before looking back to Twilight with a smile. “Then let’s settle for a see you later.”

Nodding, even as a few tears escaped her, Twilight smiled back. “Yeah. See you later.”


On the other side of the portal, Sunset and Pinkie waited for their friends to come back. “I wonder what’s keeping them.”

“They’re probably having a long series of heartfelt goodbyes that are being overlaid with a really somber piano and violin piece.” Pinkie nodded sagely, making the amber girl blink in confusion. “Just trust me.”

Hesitating as she leaned to the side, Sunset took a step away from her pink friend. “If you say so.”

A moment later, the rest of their friends stumbled out of the portal one by one. It inevitably led to them all getting stuck in a makeshift dogpile, but it was alright. The presents landed off to the side, and Applejack happened to be on the bottom of the pile. “Consarn it Rainbow, get your butt out of my face!”

“Get your face out of my butt!” Indeed, Rainbow was the picture of elegance and wit.

The only one not to fall into the pile was Starlight, who managed to catch herself when she stepped out. “Woah... that’s a trip and a half.”

“So, this is what you look like over here.” Sunset raised an eyebrow as she looked over her penpal, taking note of the beanie and jeans. “Nice hipster look.”

“Hey, I at least make it look good.” Starlight snarked back, before taking a look at herself. “I was kinda hoping I’d come back with my lab coat though. Guess it got eaten up in the first warp.”

Sunset shook her head and chuckled as she pulled out her cell. “Hey, you can probably get a new one, so it’s not exactly an emergency. Course, a missing person suddenly re-appearing at a high school does warrant a call to be made.” With a quick set of taps, she dialed and called. “CPD, this is Sunset Shimmer. I have more than information on the Starlight Glimmer disappearance. Please send a patrol car to Canterlot High School.” Sunset looked over to the pink-skinned girl and smiled. “I’m pretty sure she wants to go home.”


The ride in the patrol car was calm for the most part. Since only so many could fit inside, Sunset and Starlight both sat in the back as it drove off. The rest of the girls had wanted to join but decided to let Sunset handle this one. The police officer driving looked at them periodically through the rear-view mirror and had a smirk on his face. “Gotta say, this is probably the first time I’ve had you back there for doing something good.”

“Wait, what!?” Starlight looked at Sunset with shocked eyes.

Scratching the back of her head with an embarrassed smile, Sunset shrugged. “Yeah... I wasn’t exactly the best at being bad and sneaky at the same time. Easy in a high school, not so much on the street.”

“Still, it’s good to see you’ve gotten better.” The officer chimed in. “I was starting to worry that my bet with the others was going to cost me.”

“Wait, you made a bet on me getting better!?” Sunset semi-shouted. “Gee, thanks Shining. I thought we had something special.”

“That’s Officer Armor to you.” Armor chimed in joyfully. “And hey, I was saying you would, so that counts a little bit in my favor here.”

“I still find it worrying that you know a Police officer this well, Sunset.” Starlight added, with a frown.

“My past is not today.” Sunset chimed as the patrol car started to slow. “And grill me about it later. I think there’s someone who wants to see you, anyway.”

Starlight’s head turned to the door of the patrol car as another officer opened it up. On the far side of the drive, Firelight was standing next to another officer, jaw dropped. Slowly at first, Starlight exited the car. After a few moments of slowly moving towards each other, the two ran to the other and met in the middle of the drive with a hug that would outshine any other.

A hiccup from the pink girl preluded her sniffling speech. “I missed you.”

Tears streamed down each of their faces, and Firelight held his daughter close. “Welcome home, my baby girl.”