Chapter 14: Goodbyes
All attention shifted to the newcomer. The Mane Six looked as well, noting that there was something oddly familiar about the girl. The Equestria Girls, however, recognized her right away.
"Hey," said Rainbow Dash, "isn't that…?"
"Starlight Glimmer!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily. She began jumping up and down, waving her arms. "Starlight Glimmer! Hey, Starlight Glimmer, over here! Over here!"
Starlight looked to where her name was being called and saw the Equestria Girls and Mane Six. She let out a relieved sigh and hurried over to them. "Thank goodness I found you all."
Sunset stood up and moved to hug her. "Starlight, it's great to see you again!"
Starlight happily hugged her back. "It's great to see you again too, but I'm afraid this isn't a social call. Princess Celestia sent me here on urgent business." She looked at the Mane Six. "All of you need to come back to Equestria right away."
Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Whatever's the matter, dear?"
Twilight had her suspicions. "It's Discord, isn't it? He's trashing the castle, isn't he? Or worse." She slapped her forehead. "I knew asking him to help out was a mistake."
Starlight shook her head. "No, it's not Discord. He's actually been behaving himself pretty well." She paused for a moment. "Well, ok, he wasn't at first, but he started behaving when I said that Fluttershy would probably be angry at him for literally turning the castle upside-down."
"He did what to the castle!?"
"Is it the map then?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is it calling us to solve a friendship problem?"
"I guess our Cutie Marks wouldn't be glowing here since we don't have them in this world," Rarity remarked. "If the map can even reach us here at all."
"How did we not think of that?" Applejack exclaimed in concern.
Again, Starlight shook her head. "No, the map's been quiet too."
"Well, what is it then?" Twilight asked, getting impatient.
Just then, there was another series of starbursts. This time, not just the Equestria Girls and Mane Six ducked for cover, but several nearby students did as well as the range of the area the starbursts covered increased.
When it ended, Starlight pointed at the lingering distortion. "That! That's the problem!"
Fluttershy's hands went to her mouth. "Oh dear. Are you saying that it's happening in Equestria too?"
"Yes!" Starlight exclaimed. "That's why Princess Celestia sent me to come get you."
"Why?" Spike asked. "Does she know what it is?
Starlight nodded. "Yes, she figured it out." She motioned to the two groups. "It's you guys, here in this world together. Too many versions of the same ponies, I mean people, are too close together. Something about the same matter not supposed to be occupying the same space or something. You guess have been together for too long. It's causing an imbalance that's weakening the boundaries between the two worlds. If you guys don't separate, then the walls separating the two worlds will eventually break down and cause both worlds to collapse into each other."
They all stared at her, letting this horrific revelation sink in.
"That… sounds pretty bad," Applejack muttered, not knowing what else to say.
Twilight picked up her notes and began flipping through them. "Oh, I think I see now. Yes, it makes sense now that I know the cause. It's like trying to fit too many objects into a box or something. Eventually there will be too much and the box will break apart. And now that I think about it, it was happening a lot more often when we're all together. Too much of the same thing is in one spot."
Twilight slammed her palms down on the table and stood up, looking angry with herself. "I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner! The first time I came here, Princess Celestia even said that too many of us coming here could cause havoc and upset the balance of this world. Starlight, why didn't you let us know sooner?"
Her pupil's mouth dropped open. "I did! I came as soon as Princess Celestia told me to bring you back."
"No, I mean why didn't you just send a message? You know it would have appeared in Sunset's notebook. That's why I left the other one for you in case you needed to contact us if an emergency occurred."
Starlight stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly looking embarrassed. "Oh… yeah… I guess I could have just done that instead of coming here."
Twilight sighed. "It's fine, but I'm sorry, girls, it's time we went home."
"Aww!" both Pinkie Pies groaned. "But we were having fun with ourselves."
She gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry you two, but we can't be here if it puts either world in danger. We better get going right now."
They immediately left the cafeteria and headed to the portal to Equestria. It wasn't until they came to a stop at the statue that it sank in that they were going to have to say goodbye to each other. They had thought that they would have a few more days before they had to go back, but now they suddenly had to depart. And with this newfound realization that too many of them together would be a threat to the worlds, they realized that it would be the last time they would all be together like this.
"Well, shucks, this sure stinks," Applejack grumbled. "It was kind of fun having my other self around."
Her counterpart tipped her hat to her. "Well, as strange as it was, it was kind of fun being here. Sure wish we could stay longer."
"And I'm going to miss playing dress up with myself," Rarity lamented sadly. "You were by far the best model I ever had."
Rarity gave her a smile. "And I will certainly miss modeling for you. It was quite a unique experience being your own model."
Both Fluttershys were gently pulling on their hair awkwardly as they tried to think of what to say.
"Um… it was nice having you around."
"Thank you. It was nice to, um… be around. Will you, um, say goodbye to all your animal friends for me?"
"Oh, yes. And please say hello to all your animal friends for me."
Rainbow Dash reached into her bag and pulled out the surprise she had been saving for when their counterparts had originally planned to go back in a few days, and was glad that they had gotten done in time. "Here, I guess I should give these out now. The first copies of the Rainbooms' music. Vinyl burned a copy for each of you. And one for her pony self too. We put them on records since you don't have CDs in your world. Seriously though, you should look into making those."
Rainbow Dash beamed as she took the records, admiring the artwork on the covers. "This! Is! Awesome! We loved your music. Hey," she smiled mischievously, "you think we could pass these off as us singing these songs in Ponyville and get famous?"
Spike snorted. "With as often as you guys break out into song, I'm sure you can."
His counterpart looked at him with hooded eyes. "Oh, you have that problem too, huh?"
Twilight also had something for her counterpart, and she pulled it out of her bag. "Here, I loved this when I was a kid. I think you should have it."
She handed it to her counterpart. It was, of course, a book, and Twilight looked at the cover curiously, noting that it was either a picture of a unicorn transforming into a human girl, or the other way around.
"The Last Unicorn," she read the book title. A horrified gasp suddenly escaped her. "Oh no, this isn't some book of prophesy that shows a doomed future of Equestria, is it?"
Twilight just laughed. "No, just a copy of a book from my childhood. I saw it in a bookstore and thought you'd like it. I'm sure you'll find the main character to be very… relatable."
A sigh of relief escaped her counterpart as she gave the book another look and smiled. "Well, if you enjoyed it, then I'm sure I will too; something tells me we have the same taste in books." She tucked the book into her bag. "Thanks a lot. I'm just sorry that I don't have anything for any of you guys."
Sunset just waved this off. "It was just great to see you again." She glanced at the rest of the Mane Six. "And to finally meet all of you." Her smile faltered a bit. "But I guess this is the last time all of us will be together like this, won't it?"
A deep sigh escaped Twilight. "I'm afraid so, what with the worlds being at risk when too many of the same people are in each others presence for too long."
"Hold up there a second," said Applejack. "If that there's the case, then what about Sunset and SunShim? Won't them being together cause that world breakdown thing?"
Twilight shook her head. "I think it will be ok. That wasn't a problem before now, was it?" She looked at the Equestria Girls for confirmation, and they indicated that it wasn't. "And we didn't have that problem the last time I visited and met Sci-Twi. I think it's only when there's too many of us too close together for too long of a time that it becomes a problem."
Rainbow Dash perked up at that. "Then this doesn't have to be goodbye for good. We just can't have too many of the same people together in one world all at once for days on end."
Twilight smiled and nodded. "That seems to be the case. But it's still best if we head back now and give the borders between the worlds time to recover. Besides," she glanced at her pupil, "with Starlight here, Discord is probably literally turning the castle inside-out or something."
A chuckle escaped Sunset, even though she knew that Twilight probably wasn't joking. "I guess a princess' duty is never done."
"Not usually, but this was a nice break. Thanks for having us."
"It our pleasure."
"Always good to have you visit, sugar cube," Applejack told her.
"Do try to visit more often," said Rarity.
Rainbow Dash playfully punched the princess' shoulder. "Yeah, we miss you when you're gone."
"We love you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie practically shouted. She looked at the Mane Six. "And everyone else too!"
Twilight smiled sadly, already missing her human friends. Then something caught her eye. Trying to stay hidden in the bushes a distance away was Sunset, watching them. She quickly ducked out of sight when she saw Twilight look her way. The Princess of Friendship considered her for a few moments before tapping her chin in thought and then smiling.
"Hey, girls, huddle up for a second," she told them, and they all leaned in.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Sunset poked her head out from behind the bushes she was hiding behind, wondering if she had been seen. It didn't look like it, as the others all had their heads together like a sports team discussing a game strategy. She wondered what they were talking about.
No, she knew what they were talking about. They were going back to Equestria due to some problem that needed to be solved. She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it had been more than obvious that they were saying their goodbyes. Whoever that new girl was that had come here looking for them was obviously from Equestria, and had been sent to bring them back. For some strange reason though, she seemed somewhat familiar to Sunset; she reminded her of her old childhood friend, Starlight Glimmer, whom she used to fly kites with before she'd moved to the city with her parents.
A sigh escaped Sunset as she sank down behind the bushes, turning her back on the discussion happening over by the statue. This really was just her luck. She felt like she had been making a real connection with the Mane Six and really learning about friendship from them. It had been easier to get along with them than the Equestria Girls since she didn't have the guilt of her betrayal hanging over her with them since she decided to set aside her fears and give friendship a chance again.
And now they were leaving. She'd known they would have to, that they would only be able to stay for a few days before being needed back in their world, but that had somehow been pushed to the back of her mind as she simply enjoyed spending time with them. How foolish she had been.
"It's karma," she muttered gloomily. Of the two groups that had tried to befriend her, one she had betrayed, and the other was leaving.
She didn't want them to go. After losing so much to this cruel world, she was now going to lose her friends, and after she'd just recently decided to give connecting with others a second chance. Her only true friends were going away, and the others who wanted to be her friends she didn't think she would ever be able to look at without being reminded of her past mistakes. And even if she did manage to work through that and get close to them, she would eventually have to return to the city; she couldn't afford to stay in town doing odd jobs like she had been indefinitely. So she would lose the Equestria Girls eventually too.
The urge to scream built up inside her, but she resisted. It just wasn't fair. She hated this whole world and the rotten hand it had dealt her. She truly had nothing left. If only she could be more like her counterpart and shape her own destiny. If only Fate would stop throwing her all these curveballs that left her life in ruin. If only-
"Hi, SunShim. What are you doing over here?"
Sunset yelped in surprise and whirled around, finding the Equestria Girls and the Mane Six looking down at her from her hiding place. She immediately leapt to her feet, wondering when they had snuck up on her. No, not snuck up, she had simply been too busy thinking about her sad, sorry life to notice them come over.
"N-Nothing," she stammered, trying to come up with an excuse as to why she was crouching down behind some bushes when she was supposed to be in the cafeteria. "I was just, uh… looking for an earring I dropped. Oh, look, there it is."
She bent down and quickly picked up a rock off the ground before slipping it nonchalantly into her pocket and giving the others a forced smile. For some reason, this made her counterpart chuckle and give her a knowing look, though she wasn't sure why.
"Well anyway," said Twilight, having been the one to have spoken earlier, "I'm glad you're here. The girls and I need to go back to Equestria."
At those words, Sunset felt as if she had been punched in the gut. Her shoulders sank, and a deep sadness filled her. She didn't know why, she had surmised that this was the case, but it was still upsetting to hear.
"Oh…" she muttered, trying not to show just how upset she was, "well, I had a feeling you would. But I thought you were going to stay for a few more days."
Twilight gave her an apologetic smile. "That was the plan, but something pretty big has come to our attention."
"That's putting it mildly," Applejack muttered.
"It's called sugarcoating, darling," Rarity told her. "And it's not quite lying."
Sunset shifted from one foot to the other. "Are you sure you can't stay just a little longer?"
"Not unless we want to make both worlds blow up," Pinkie Pie replied cheerfully.
Sunset stared, not sure if she was kidding or not. But by the looks on everyone's faces, what she'd said was more or less the truth.
Rainbow Dash motioned between herself and the Equestria Girls. "Turns out there's too many of us around too many of them, so it's causing some sort of imbalance problem or something."
"That's why there's been all those freaky but fun to watch firecracker thingies happening around us," Pinkie Pie explained, not sounding the least bit concerned.
Sunset's eyes widened. That was the cause for the starbursts? Well, she supposed it made sense. They should have realized that something as unnatural as having the counterparts of eight different people in the same world would have consequences of some kind.
"I see…" she said sadly, lowering her eyes. "I guess you really do have to go then."
"Yeah, about that," Twilight began, looking like she was choosing her words carefully, "the girls and I were talking, and we were wondering… do you want to come back with us?"
It took a few moments for her words to sink in, but when they did, Sunset looked back up at her with wide eyes. "What?"
Twilight gave her a smile. "We wanted to know if you wanted to come to Equestria with us. Since Sunset wants to stay in this world, that means that our world won't have one of you. And I think a world without a Sunset Shimmer in it would be a much gloomier place."
Sunset stared at her, trying to wrap her mind around this. "You want me to go with you guys? To Equestria?"
"Only if you want to," Twilight clarified, not wanting her to feel pressured or forced. "You'd be welcomed there and could make a whole bunch of new friends. We'd be happy to help you get settled in and adjust to living there. You could live in Ponyville, or Canterlot, or anywhere else you want, it's up to you."
Sunset came up to stand beside her. "This could be your chance to start anew. You said that there was nothing left for you in this world and that you wanted a fresh start. Maybe this is the opportunity you were looking for." She shrugged. "Or if you want to stay here, we'd love to have you here too and be your friends. We could even help you find a way to stay in town if you don't want to return to the city. But whatever you decide to do, we'll support you and help you get through it."
Sunset was still staring in disbelief, utterly shocked by this turn of events. Slowly, her gaze shifted from the two groups of girls to the statue containing the portal to Equestria. She subconsciously began walking towards it, coming to a stop in front of it, and simply stared at the spot where she knew the entrance was.
This was highly unexpected. Moments ago, her life had seemed to be a dead end to nowhere, but now the possibility of a whole new life was being presented to her. She had to admit, ever since she had learned about magic and Equestria, she had taken an immediate interest in it and had been immensely curious. Now she was being offered a place there? And what more, she wouldn't have to say goodbye to her friends.
"A fresh start…" she said, repeating her counterpart's words. "I can start over? As a magic horse?"
Sunset wobbled her head. "Well, as a unicorn, but yes."
This fact was added to the jumbled mess that Sunset's thoughts had become as she realized how new and unfamiliar things would be in this new world, and the thought of maybe going was suddenly terrifying, even scarier than the thought of putting herself out there and making connections with others. She began to hyperventilate without realizing it, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Twilight giving her an encouraging smile.
"No one is trying to tell you what you should or shouldn't do, Sunset," she reassured her gently. "We're simply putting the offer on the table. If you decide to come with us, we'd love to have you, and we'll do everything we can to help you get settled in. I can understand that it'll be scary and a big change for you, but we'll be there for you." She motioned to the Equestria Girls. "Or you could stay here. They're willing to help you out here too and help you with whatever you need."
Sunset looked at the Equestria Girls and saw the sincere looks on their faces. There wasn't the slightest trace of anger, hatred, disgust, or even blame seen in any of them. They truly had forgiven her for her betrayal and were willing to help her. The realization brought tears to her eyes, and she suddenly felt foolish for how she had behaved, and for even suspecting that they had any hard feelings for what she did.
As the tears ran down her cheeks, she buried her face in her hands, trying with all her strength not to start balling. "I'm so sorry," she said through her tears. "For everything. For pushing you away when you tried to be friends, for lying to you, for getting jealous, for betraying you, for stealing your magic and trying to kill you, for doubting your sincerity when you said that you forgave me. I'm sorry for everything. I've been a fool and a terrible friend."
They just gave her kind, understanding smiles. Rarity reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Darling, there is nothing to be sorry for. You're already forgiven."
Twilight smiled. "Forgiveness is another important part of friendship. It's up to you to decide where you would like to continue learning about it. The choice is entirely up to you."
The tears slowly stopped falling, and Sunset wiped her eyes. She looked like she was about to say something, but then the moment was ruined by another round of starbursts going of around them, and they all dropped to the ground.
It was the worst one yet, the starbursts being larger than ever and going on for nearly a minute. And the aftermath was more serious too. This time, a crack had appeared within the distortion, leading into the dimension beyond. It was much like the time when Twilight had become Midnight Sparkle and had begun tearing holes in the dimensional borders.
The crack wasn't that big, but Equestria was clearly visible beyond it. And at that moment, a curious mail delivery pegasus with a light blonde mane and crossed eyes that just happened to be passing by while munching on a muffin noticed the crack and flew over to examine it. She stared at it for a few seconds before the crack sealed shut and the distortion surrounding it ceased, leaving a clear empty sky once again.
Starlight lowered her hands from her head and let out a sigh of relief. Getting up, she brushed herself off before turning to the others. "Ok, I really hate to ruin this big, touching moment, but this seems like it's getting risky. Too many of us have been together for too long. We've got to get back home now."
Twilight stood up as well as she reluctantly agreed. "Yes, you're right. We're coming."
Starlight nodded before glancing at the Equestria Girls and giving them a smile and a salute. "It's been really great seeing you guys again. We'll have to catch up properly next time when both our worlds aren't in danger of collapsing. See ya."
With that, she climbed into the portal and was gone. The others realized that they couldn't put it off any longer and began to say their goodbyes, exchanging hugs and parting words before making their way to the portal. Almost naturally, it seemed as if they gravitated to their counterparts for their final goodbyes as they got ready to leave.
"Well," said Spike, "it's been fun seeing you guys again, but I got a lunch date with some diamonds. No offense, pal, but as good as dog treats are, gems are better."
His counterpart just smiled at him with hooded eyes. "I'll take your word for it."
And so, taking a running start, the dragon-turned-dog jumped into the portal after Starlight. Rainbow Dash went next, not bothering with any sappy goodbyes. She simply walked up to the portal and held her hand up in departure. "Well, it's been real, but I'm looking forward to being at 120 percent again. Oh, and thanks for these," she held up the music records her counterpart had given her, "I can't wait to share your songs with the Wonderbolts. Later."
And then she was gone. Next up were the two Pinkie Pies. They approached the portal together, arms interlocked. When they were right in front of the statue, they turned to their friends.
"Hey," they said together, "bet you can't guess which is which."
Then they joined hands and began rapidly spinning around. They spun so fast that they became a pink vortex before suddenly stopping. Then the one on the right did a backwards swan dive into the portal while the other one skipped happily over to her friends.
Both Applejacks raised an eyebrow as Pinkie Pie skipped passed them, and they exchanged uncertain looks. "That was our Pinkie Pie that went through, right?" Applejack asked uncertainly.
"Course it was," her counterpart replied. She glanced at the Pinkie Pie that remained, noting how the two had looked exactly identical with no distinguishing differences. "I'm pretty sure… Yeah, definitely. It had to be."
Rarity turned to her counterpart and took her hands. "Oh, I just hate goodbyes."
"Oh, I do too, darling. Lets just make it quick, otherwise I'll start crying and my mascara will start to run."
"As will mine, and I'd hate to return to Equestria with my makeup running." She sniffled. "Oh no, it's happening. Goodbye!"
Covering her eyes, she made a run for it, jumping into the portal. Fluttershy went next. She hesitantly approached the portal before pausing and looking shyly back at the others.
"I guess this is goodbye…" she said sadly, shyly. "So… goodbye."
Then she stepped into the portal and was gone as well. That just left Twilight and Applejack. The latter turned to her counterpart and offered her a smile. "You take care of yourself, you hear."
Applejack clamped her shoulder. "You do the same, sugar cube. And take care of your family."
Returning the sentiment, Applejack clamped her shoulder as well. "Yeah, you too."
They stared at each other fondly for a few seconds, almost feeling as if they were saying goodbye to a family member. Then, at the same time, their eyes drifted a little higher. Realizing that they had the same idea, they both reached up, removed their hat, and placed it on the other's head. They laughed at the trade since the hats were exactly the same, especially since they both had several duplicates of them in their closets. With that, Applejack stepped into the portal and vanished inside.
Only Twilight remained. The Princess of Friendship sighed as she looked back at her friends, and a regretful look appeared on her face. "It's been so great seeing you guys again. I'm just sorry that our time together was cut short."
Rarity just waved off her concern. "Not to worry, darling. We understand perfectly, what with the fate of our worlds at stake and all that."
"Just try not to stay away for too long," said Rainbow Dash. "We kind of miss you when you're not around. Oh, wait, I said that already."
Twilight chuckled lightly. "I miss you guys too. Even though I have my pony version friends of you, they're still not you." She looked at Twilight and Sunset. "And it's been really great getting to know the two of you. I hope we can become even better friends in the future."
Sunset didn't say anything, but Twilight returned her counterpart's smile. "Well, it's been great getting to know you as well. We didn't get much time to get to know each other the first time we met. It's nice to hang out with someone who loves books and studying as much as I do."
"I know, right," the Princess of Friendship agreed with a laugh. "The others just aren't into it the way I am."
"You're right," Rainbow Dash agreed, sounding rather proud of herself, "we're not. Except for Daring Do books. They're ok."
Twilight shook her head, smiling as she turned to the portal. "I'll see you guys around."
As she started to climb through it, a sound of protest escaped Sunset, and she took a step forward, reaching out to the Princess of Friendship. She stopped though and pulled her hand back as she looked at the statue uncertainly.
Twilight heard her protest and glanced back at her, one foot already through the portal. She saw Sunset's downcast eyes before they shifted up to her, a look of fear and hope in them.
Smiling in understanding, Twilight held a hand out to her. Sunset looked at it for several long moments before glancing at Twilight once again. Then slowly, very slowly, she reached out and placed her hand in the Princess of Friendship's.
As Twilight slipped through the portal, she gently pulled her along. Sunset looked back at the Equestria Girls, and a genuine smile full of gratitude and appreciation made its way across her face before she too vanished through the portal with Twilight.
That was it then. The Equestrian visitors were all gone, and it seemed as if they had gained a new resident. The Equestria Girls felt a mixture of happiness and loss, happy that Sunset would be able to start over, but sad that they had lost a friend.
"I guess she made her choice," Fluttershy said quietly.
Sunset sighed. "Looks like it. But who knows, perhaps this was supposed to happen. Maybe she and I were always meant to trade worlds, like destiny or something."
Rarity nodded in agreement. "It certainly seems that way, darling. But still, I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss all of them."
"Me too," Twilight replied. "I just hope she can be happy now."
At that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. It seemed that they had wasted all their time saying goodbye that they hadn't even gotten time to eat. It was more than worth it though to see their friends off.
A sigh escaped Rainbow Dash. "We better go before we're late for class."
"I've got snacks!" Pinkie Pie declared, and was suddenly holding a tray of cookies. "Since we missed lunch."
Slowly, they turned around and began to head back inside. Fluttershy stopped part of the way and looked back at the statue. Sunset noticed that she wasn't following and glanced back at her. "Fluttershy? You ok?"
"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just worried about SunShim. Do you think she'll be ok?"
Sunset just smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry." She looked back at the statue, smiling confidently. "Something tells me she's going to be just fine."