//------------------------------// // Family // Story: Terminal Chaos // by Eternal Sunset //------------------------------// “Here we are,” Sunset said as she opened the door to their band practice room and held it open for everyone. “Welcome to our band room. Now, I will be happy to answer any questions.” “I have a question,” Discord said, dressed as a reporter while taking notes. “What can you tell us about the scandal going on with the band turning on one of their own bandmates over something she didn’t do?” The Rainbooms flinched at this. “I don’t know the answer to that so you’ll have to ask them yourself,” Sunset answered as she and her family looked at the Rainbooms. Applejack let out a sigh and as she opened her mouth to start explaining, Princess Celestia stopped her. “Just a minute, Applejack. Let me make this room appropriate for the discussion we are about to have,” Princess Celestia said as she gathered her magic, causing pony ears to sprout from on top of her head and her hair to extend into a ponytail as her wings appeared. A golden magical aura surrounded her hand as she waved it and caused the room to transform into the royal throne room. “Unbelievable,” Rarity gasped as she witnessed the beauty of the throne room. Princess Celestia and Luna walked up the red carpet and sat on their thrones. There was a third slightly smaller throne set in between Celestia and Luna and the girls assumed that it was Discord’s. But they were surprised when the Ruler of Chaos teleported next to Celestia’s throne, leaning against it. “Sunset, come take your place at our side,” Celestia said with a smile. Sunset’s eyes widened before she smiled brightly. She approached the small throne with the grace of a princess and sat down. As soon as she did, her clothes magically transformed into a beautiful red gown with her cutie mark on the hips. Her hair became styled in an elegant bun as a golden necklace appeared around her neck while she wore earrings that looked like Celestia and Luna’s Cutie Marks combined. The Rainbooms and Crusaders gasped in awe of Sunset’s beauty. “Oh, my,” Rarity whispered as she was mesmerized by Sunset’s beauty. If she hadn’t been convinced that Sunset was a princess before, she definitely was now. “Wow,” Applejack said as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Rainbow Dash was speechless as she gazed at Sunset, her cheeks rosy as she was enraptured by Sunset’s beauty. Princess Luna grinned at seeing the looks of the girls. She wrapped her arm around her niece and brought her close. “Just look at them, my niece. You’re already knocking them dead,” Luna whispered as she nuzzled Sunset, her niece shining as brightly as her mother. Discord was beaming with pride. He and Celestia shared a knowing look before she cleared her throat and gained everyone's attention. “Now then, may Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle please step forward,” Celestia ordered, her voice commanding. The Crusaders swallowed the lumps in their throats. The Solar Princess’ tone terrified them. Diamond Tiara gave Applebloom’s hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go. The three young girls stood before the royal family and took in the family’s expressions. Luna looked at them with disappointment, Sunset had an unreadable expression, Discord narrowed his eyes at them and Celestia gave them a look that sent chills down their spines. Suddenly, they all felt significantly smaller against this towering woman. “You three have committed the crime of plotting against a member of the Equestrian royal family. I want to hear what your reasons are for this serious crime,” Celestia demanded. All the color instantly drained from the three girls’ faces as they heard this. “S-serious crime?” Applebloom asked nervously. “Yes, and the punishment is banishment at best and death at worst,” Luna said, which frightened the girls. “Now, hold on a minute!” Applejack raised her voice as she stepped up to stand in front of her sister along with Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “Your Royal Highnesses, don’t you think that punishment is a bit too harsh?” Rarity asked as politely as she could. “They are only children.” “Yeah, can’t you take it easy on them?” Rainbow Dash pleaded. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I cannot,” the Princess said. “That’s bullshit!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “If your own family committed a crime against you, would you banish them?!” The Solar Princess raised an eyebrow while Luna and Sunset tried to contain their laughter. Discord, on the other hand, was laughing hysterically. “What’s so funny?” Rainbow Dash asked as he looked between Luna, Sunset and Discord. “I tried to plunge Equestria into chaos and was turned to stone by Celestia and Luna,” Discord said after he calmed down. “I tried to overthrow my sister and was imprisoned on the moon for a thousand moons,” Luna said with a smirk. “I accessed the forbidden section of the library and was confined to my room but I escaped and exiled myself to this world,” Sunset said as she scratched the back of her head. “As you can see, my family has been properly punished for their crimes,” Princess Celestia stated. She smiled at seeing the shocked look on the rainbow-haired athlete’s face. “Although you and your friends are in trouble yourselves.” “What? What did we-oh!” Rainbow Dash realized before a look of shame appeared on her face. “My daughter trusted all of you and you betrayed that trust,” Princess Celestia said angrily, her calm mask starting to slip. “And what makes it worse for you, Rainbow Dash, is that you had feelings for my daughter.” “It’s not just her, Kaykay,” Discord spoke up as he eyed Applejack and Rarity. “It’s those two girls as well.” Princess Celestia rose from her seat, her wings flaring as she walked down the red carpet towards the girls. Fearing what she might do to them, Sunset rose from her seat but Princess Luna grabbed her arm. “Just watch, for now, Sunset,” Luna said. “But-” “Trust in your mother,” Luna said as she smiled reassuringly at her. Celestia approached the girls, each step echoing around them and making the girls increasingly nervous. The columns around her were consumed by fire as she passed them. She burst into flames as she stopped in front of the girls. “It wasn’t bad enough that you betrayed my daughter’s friendship but you betrayed her love as well,” Celestia seethed, her flaming hair extending outwards to form a circle of fire around the six girls. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t incinerate you where you stand.” Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity held their sisters close and away from the intense flames. Rainbow Dash looked into the Solar Princess’ eyes, eyes filled with anger. The rainbow-haired athlete gathered up her courage before speaking. “Because then we wouldn’t be able to make it up to Sunset,” Rainbow Dash said. “We know we messed up, badly, but we want to make it up to her, show her how sorry we are for doubting her and that she truly means the world to us.” “Yeah! We love Sunny!” Pinkie Pie shouted tears pooling in her eyes. “She’s the bestest friend we’ve ever had!” “Please, Your Highness! Give us a chance!” Fluttershy cried. “Your Royal Highness, please believe us. Sunset is very dear to our hearts,” Rarity pleaded as her mascara started running down her face. “Ah know yah don’t believe a word Ah say, but please believe me when Ah say that we’ll do everythin’ in our power to make up fer our mistake. Ah swear it!” Applejack vowed. Princess Celestia continued to glare at the girls, the flames intensifying around them. “Princess, wait!” Applebloom spoke up as she pulled away from Applejack to stand before the bringer of the day. “Blame me! This whole Anon-A-Miss thing was mah idea! If yer gonna punish someone, punish me!” “Applebloom!” Applejack gasped. “I’m to blame too, Princess!” Scootaloo spoke up as she stepped up next to Applebloom. “Me too!” Sweetie Belle stepped up as well. “I’m the one that posted the photos that made Sunset’s friends believe it was her!” Princess Celestia looked down at the Crusaders, her towering and imposing figure dwarfing them. The CMC had never felt so small, especially in the presence of a goddess. They couldn’t help but compare this feeling to when they were scolded by Principal Celestia. “Tell me everything,” the Princess commanded. The CMC gulped nervously before once again telling the princess, along with her family, what they had done. When they were finished, Princess Celestia simply closed her eyes, Princess Luna let out a tired sigh, Discord merely shook his head and Sunset had an unreadable expression. “You poisoned your sisters’ love for my daughter because you were jealous of them spending more time with her,” Princess Celestia spoke, her eyes still closed. She was already formulating a plan. “Very well.” The CMC looked at each other in confusion. “I have decided on your punishment,” Celestia clarified as she opened her eyes and eyed Diamond Tiara. “Applebloom, what’s your relationship with Diamond Tiara?” Sunset’s eyes widened as she realized what her mother was planning. ‘She must have noticed the way Diamond Tiara held her hand,’ Sunset thought. “Uh, she’s mah girlfriend,” Applebloom answered with a blush as she turned her head to look at Diamond Tiara whose cheeks were red. “I see, and how long have you been together?” Celestia asked, not taking her eyes off of Diamond Tiara. “Um, not long. We just got together a few minutes ago,” Applebloom explained. “But we’ve known each other fer years.” Princess Celestia smiled as she walked past the CMC and towards the rest of the Rainbooms, stopping in front of Diamond Tiara. The young girl looked up at the princess and recognized the playful look in her eye. “Applebloom, as the one responsible for all of this, I shall punish you by taking away Diamond Tiara’s love for you,” the Solar Princess declared. The Rainbooms and CMC gasped in shock. Even Discord comically fainted. “W-what?” Diamond Tiara asked nervously. “Your girlfriend poisoned her sister’s love. It’s only fitting that the punishment fit the crime,” Princess Celestia explained as she knelt down in front of Diamond and raised her hand. “Do not worry, you won’t feel a thing.” The tip of Celestia’s finger started to glow and Diamond Tiara was starting to panic. She didn’t want to lose her love for Applebloom and there was that look in the Princess’ eyes that just didn’t add up with the seriousness of this situation. Celestia reached for Diamond Tiara’s heart to extract her love when her ears picked up hurried footsteps before Applebloom got in between her and Diamond Tiara, shielding her from the Princess. “Please don’t!” Applebloom shouted, a look of terror on her face. “Diamond has nothin’ to do with this!” “Be that as it may, you will never learn your lesson until you’ve experienced what Sunset and your sister had to go through,” Celestia said as she reached for Diamond Tiara again. “Please! Ah’ll do anythin’! Just leave her alone!” Applebloom begged. “Anything?” the Sun Princess asked with a sly smile “Y-yeah,” Applebloom said nervously, she didn’t like that smile on the Princess’ face. It reminded her of Sunset’s smile whenever she had a wicked idea. “I think I’ll let Sunset decide that and I’m sure she has something special planned for all of you,” Princess Celestia said with a smile. “Oh.” Applebloom did not like the sound of that. They had experienced what Sunset was capable of when she got vindictive. “Which brings us to what happens next,” Princess Celestia turned back to the Rainbooms. “Sunset will be coming with us back to Equestria.” “What?!” The Rainbooms shouted in shock. “But why?!” Rainbow Dash demanded. “For one thing, she needs time to unwind from the hectic ordeal she has been through,” Celestia explained as she walked back to the thrones. “Not to mention that our family is finally whole again and I would like to take this opportunity to spend time with them on a family vacation.” “Wait, yer just going on a family vacation?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s exactly right, Applejack,” the Sun Princess said as she stopped at the foot of the red carpet that led up to her throne. “A family vacation is just what we all need.” “Then why didn’t you say so to begin with?” Rainbow Dash asked in annoyance. “My sister likes to play jokes on unsuspecting ponies. But considering your actions, taking Sunset back home and never return to this world might be for the best,” Princess Luna said as she rose from her throne and descended down the carpet path to stand by her sister. “She may look innocent and unsuspecting but that works to her advantage.” “Kind of like someone we know,” Rarity said with a smirk as she eyes Sunset who stepped up next to her mother. “What can I say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Sunset said as she gave Applejack a wink. “I’m sure you have a lot to talk to your friends about, my Little Sunshine,” Celestia said affectionately which caused Sunset to blush in embarrassment and her friends to giggle. “We’ll go see your principals and tell them that you won’t be in school for the next few days.” Celestia leaned down to kiss Sunset’s cheek before she snapped her fingers which caused the room to turn back to normal. “See you in a bit, my Dreamcatcher,” Luna said her own affectionate nickname for Sunset as she kissed Sunset’s cheek before nuzzling her. “Try not to miss us too much,” Discord teased as three copies of himself appeared around Sunset and gave her a hug. “Daddy!” Sunset giggled before turning into a snake to wrap around her fathers and hug them back. “That’s my little chaos princess,” the Discords said with pride before they merged back into one. The princesses and Discord left the band room. The room was silent as everyone was wondering who would be the first to speak. “Sunset?” Fluttershy broke the silence. “How are you feeling?” “Thanks to you girls and my family, I’m all better!” Sunset said as she struck a pose. “Even better, I learned even more about myself and I’ve got a dad now!” Everyone’s mood was lifted by Sunset’s happiness, but it quickly fell when they realized that they still needed to apologize for what they did. “Sunset?” Rainbow Dash spoke up, looking at Sunset with sadness and shame. “I’m so sorry for thinking you were Anon-A-Miss.” “We really messed up,” Applejack spoke next. She had her hat in her hands. “We said yah were like family, but we sure didn’t act like it.” “I’ll say,” Sunset said in a monotone voice, causing the others to flinch. “Now that I’m sound of mind, tell me everything that has happened since the pictures of the slumber party at Rarity’s was posted.” The girls told Sunset everything with the Crusaders adding their side of the story. Sunset listened closely, her face unreadable. When they had finished explaining, Sunset let out a big sigh which turned into a strong gust of wind. “Alright, I can see why you girls thought it was me and I’m happy that at least one of you had enough sense to see through this!” Sunset glared at her friends who felt less than dirt right now. “But the fact that you girls didn’t trust me enough to know that I would never do this to any of you really hurts!” “You’re right,” Rainbow Dash admitted, as she stepped up to Sunset. “You trusted us and we let you down.” “There’s no excuse, we are terrible friends,” Applejack said as she stepped up beside Rainbow Dash. “We’re simply the absolute worst,” Rarity said as she stood beside Applejack. “Sunny, you deserve better than us!” Pinkie cried as she went to stand beside Rainbow Dash. “We completely understand if you don’t want to be friends with us anymore,” Fluttershy bitterly said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Rainbow Dash reached inside her pocket and pulled out Sunset’s spare key. “You should have this back,” Rainbow Dash said sadly as she showed Sunset the spare key. Sunset reached over and closed Rainbow Dash’s hand over her key. “Nah, it’s better with you,” Sunset said with a smile. “A-are you sure?” Rainbow Dash said in surprise. “Yep,” Sunset said simply. “But I didn’t trust you, how can you still trust me with this?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “Because, I trusted you to use the key in case of emergencies and you did,” Sunset answered. “Even when you thought I was Anon-A-Miss, you still took care of me when I was sick. Who knows how all of this could’ve turned out if I didn’t trust you with my spare.” “I’m glad we don’t have to find out,” Rainbow Dash said as she happily placed the kay back in her pocket. “My dad and aunt told me about what you guys went through,” Sunset suddenly said, her voice growing soft. “You literally had to face your demons in order to rescue me. That couldn’t have been easy.” “No kidding,” Rainbow Dash said. She could still see those horrible images of Sunset’s death whenever she closed her eyes. She would be having nightmares for a long time. Sunset could see the torment in Rainbow’s eyes and placed her hands on the sides of her face. “Remember that those were just nightmares,” Sunset assured her rainbow-haired crush. “Right,” Rainbow Dash agreed as she covered one of Sunset’s hands with her own, Sunset backed away and looked at all her friends. “What do you girls say about starting over?” Sunset offered with a smile which shocked her friends. “But this time we’ll do it right. I know you girls still have issues with what I did in the past so let’s work through them together.” Smiles appeared on the Rainbooms’ faces before they all rushed towards Sunset and hugged her, apologizing to her profusely as they cried tears of joy. They promised that they would be better friends. Sunset basked in the warmth of her friends. She could tell that her friends were genuinely sorry for what they had done. Honestly, she couldn’t stay mad at them for long as resentment only ever brought misery. She and her aunt knew that well, and hopefully, the girls would move past their resentment. She looked over to the Crusaders and motioned for them to join. The CMC happily obliged as they rushed to join the group, offering up apologies of their own. “Do you have everything you’ll need, sweetheart?” Princess Celestia asked as she, her family and Sunset’s friends were all gathered by the Wondercolt statue. “Sure do!” Sunset said excitedly. She couldn’t wait to spend quality time with her family. She walked over to Rarity and handed over her journal. “You’ll be needing this to keep in touch with Twilight in case a magical event happens.” “Let us hope we don’t have a crisis while you’re gone,” Rarity hoped as she took the journal from Sunset. “Take care, darling.” “Thanks,” Sunset said before leaning in and kissing Rarity briefly on the lips. “That’s for the detective work and seeing through the deception.” “Oh my.” Rarity’s face was as red as a tomato. Discord and Luna grinned. Sunset was just like her mother. She could be such a charmer sometimes. Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt a pang of jealousy but they knew that Rarity had earned this. They still didn’t have to like it though. “Have fun with yer family, Sunset,” Applejack said, smiling warmly at the former unicorn. “Thanks, Applejack,” Sunset said gratefully to the farmer. “Bring back souvenirs,” Rainbow Dash said with a cheeky smile. “Be safe,” Fluttershy said with concern. “Don’t forget to take lots of pictures!” Pinkie Pie said happily. The girls gave shared a group hug before they reluctantly parted. They waved goodbye to Sunset as she and her family stepped through the portal. The group stood silently in front of the statue for a few seconds until Pinkie Pie broke the silence. “I miss Sunset already,” Pinkie Pie said, feeling depressed. “Cheer up, Pinkie. Sunset will be back before you know it,” Applejack assured the party girl. “Did they ever said when they will be back?” Fluttershy asked worriedly. “They mentioned that they’ll be gone for a couple of days,” Rarity said. “But they never specified exactly when they will return .” “Ah hope they come back in time for the Christmas party at Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack said with worry. “We have the journal to ask,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Besides, Sunset needs this.” The girls knew that Rainbow Dash was right, which was a surprise considering her track record. Sunset finally got to spend time with her family. They should be happy for her but they couldn’t help but feel like they were missing out on learning more about their friend. “Guess we got no choice but to go about business as usual,” Applejack said in a depressing tone. “On the bright side, we are presented with an opportunity to reflect,” Rarity pointed out. “Reflect on what horrible friends we’ve been,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. “That’s exactly right,” Rarity agreed. “While Sunset is gone, we should list the reasons why we betrayed her the way we did and then figure out how we’re going to fix things when she comes back..” The girls flinch at that word, but they knew it was the truth. “It’s as Sunset said, we still have lingering resentment towards her and if we don’t work through it, then we will never be able to fully trust Sunset again. Not to mention that she will no longer trust us either,” Rarity said. “I don’t wanna lose Sunset’s trust,” Pinkie Pie said, her lip trembling. “Then we got a lot of soul searching to do,” Applejack said with a sigh, but then she smiled. “Can’t imagine it’ll be too hard since we already faced our demons.” “Oh! Oh! We can have a soul searching party!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly as she bounced up and down. “It’ll be way easier if we do it together!” “Pinkie’s right, Ah’d feel a lot better about this knowing mah friends were with me,” Applejack said happily, really liking the idea. “We’ll have it at my house. It was my turn to host the sleepover after Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ll have it tomorrow, how’s that sound?” Applejack asked. “That sounds fine, darling,” Rarity agreed with a nod. With everyone in agreement, the girls bid each other farewell as they each went back to their respective homes. They were very hopeful that everything would be alright. “Zip! Lineeeee!!” Princess Celestia cheered as she rode down the zipline, followed by her excited daughter and a reluctant Luna. It felt nice to go on a family vacation and be like everypony else. A week had passed by in Equestria. After instructing the staff on what to do in the absence of the royal sisters, the family kicked off their vacation by skydiving. Both Luna and Celestia had different ideas on what to do on their vacation. Luna just wanted to relax while Celestia wanted to seek thrills. Fortunately, Sunset enjoyed both as she enjoyed visiting art museums with her aunt and even painted herself. The two even enjoyed reading together while Celestia and Discord were off spending some quality time together. Luna loved spending quality time with her niece. She learned a lot about Sunset and realized that her sister was right about Sunset having her kind heart. Sunset’s curiosity and enthusiasm mirrored her own as they both tried out the different activities that were offered. Luna even had Sunset help her raise the moon. She offered words of encouragement as she watched Sunset try to get the spell just right. She was going to offer her assistance but was surprised when Sunset herself asked for help. Luna happily combined her magic with Sunset’s as the two of them raised the moon. She then tried to find out if Sunset had the power to enter ponies’ dreams but unfortunately she didn’t. But Luna was surprised to discover that her niece had a power of her own, which was the power to read a pony’s heart. Luna was ecstatic as with this power Sunset could better understand and help ponies. She had the potential to be a princess that would surpass herself and Celestia. Even more surprising was that her powers also extended to other things like a single snowflake, as she was able to see all the stages of its cycle. Not counting her niece’s harmony and chaos magic, this kind of power was truly frightening. Discord also spent one-on-one time with his daughter as they caught up on everything they missed. He taught her that, as a being of chaos, she needed an outlet as repressing her chaos magic was not healthy. He taught her how to create her own pocket dimension where she made the rules. During their special father-daughter time, Discord learned that Sunset got her creativity from himself. When creating her own pocket dimension, Sunset made her own world filled with bizarre creatures, machines, superheroes, monsters, etc. Sunset told her father that this world was modeled after the sketches in her sketchbook. “What should we do next?” Celestia said in excitement. She just couldn’t sit still. “Maybe we should take a break?” Luna asked, her legs were wobbly before she collapsed. “Why don’t we go get lunch?” Sunset offered as she used her magic to conjure up a bottle of water for her aunt. “I guess we can take a break,” Celestia pondered as she took out her list of family activities. “Our next activity is decided by you, my little Sunshine.” “I know just the activity,” Sunset said before she started looking around. “Say, where’s dad?” “Right here, my little Supernova,” Discord said as he appeared in front of his family with a magazine in his hand. “I was just reading an interesting magazine article.” Discord floated the magazine in front of his family and they were surprised to see themselves on the front page. “‘The ‘Royal Family’. Well, they’re not wrong,” Celestia read out loud the title of the magazine. “I also picked up this one,” Discord said as he pulled out another magazine. On the cover were three images, one of Celestia and her family, the second of Cadance and her family, and finally Twilight and her family which consisted of Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “‘Which is the best Royal Family?’” Sunset read out loud, a look of amusement on her face. “I also found this one to be an interesting read.” Discord produced another magazine with Sunset on the cover, the magazine entitled: ‘The First Heir.’. “They really nailed the traits you’ve inherited from your mother.” Celestia took hold of the magazine with her magic and flipped through its pages until she found the article. “‘Princess Sunset Shimmer has the grace, intellect, beauty, and leadership required to rule Equestria. No doubt she will lead Equestria into a golden age of peace and prosperity like her mother’,” Princess Celestia read out loud, an amused smile on her lips. “‘She will set a good example for her fellow heirs: Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Kingdom and Prince Spike of the castle of Friendship’.” “Wait, Spike’s a prince and Twilight’s heir?” Sunset asked in confusion. “When did this happen?” “They’re not technically wrong,” Luna said as she was reading the article about which was the best royal family. They won of course. “Since Twilight hatched him,” Celestia said simply. “The two of them are genuine parent and child.” “Huh? I would have never thought,” Sunset shrugged. She and her family made their way to a nearby restaurant while ponies took pictures of them. “What will you be having, Sunset?” Celestia asked as she looked over her menu. “Just a simple daisy sandwich,” Sunset said. “The common pony food is so much different than the food the staff at our castle serves us,” Luna commented. She has been loving the new food experience. “Oh sweet Luna. You really need to get out of the castle more and experience life,” Discord said as he took a bite of the menu. “Maybe you’re right,” Luna pondered. “Perhaps I can visit Sunset’s world.” “I would love to have you for a visit, Auntie Lulu,” Sunset said with a smile. “Ohhh, what fun we’ll have!” Luna said excitedly. The family enjoyed their lunch and paid no mind to the onlookers who were excited to be eating at the same restaurant as the royal sisters and to see for themselves the royal heir. After lunch, Sunset wanted to go for a simple hike in the woods. Unfortunately for Celestia, they happened to come across a chicken and she immediately backed away and climbed up a tree. “Are you seriously scared of chickens?” Sunset asked, giggling as she watched her mother hold on to a tree branch for dear life. “Cellie has always been terrified of chickens,” Luna snickered, using her sister’s childhood nickname. “Back when we were living in our little cabin in the woods, there was a group of chickens outside our door and she refused to come out.” “Not to worry, my ray of sunshine, I’ll save you!” Discord snapped his fingers which caused the chicken to disappear. “The offending bird is now safely at Fluttershy’s house.” “My hero!” Celestia said with joy as she teleported herself in Discord’s arms, her hooves wrapped around his neck and showering him with kisses. Sunset and Luna gagged at the display and resumed their hike with Discord following them. “Are you looking forward to returning to your friends, Sunset?” Luna asked. “Yeah, I can’t wait to show them the pictures we took and give them their souvenirs,” Sunset answered as an image of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and especially Rarity popped in her mind, causing her to smile. “What are you smiling about?” Luna asked, a sly smile forming on her lips. “Nothing!” Sunset quickly said, but her smile and blush gave her away. “You can’t hide anything from me, Sunset. I’ve seen your dreams,” the Princess of the Night reminded her niece. “Fine, if you must know, I’m thinking about Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity,” Sunset said as she stuck her tongue out at Luna. “The mares who’ve won your heart and then trampled upon it,” Luna said a little bitterly. “Auntie, they’ve apologized for what they did and we’re going to work through our trust issues,” Sunset reminded her. “I know. I guess I’m still a little upset that they didn’t have much faith in you,” Luna admitted. “I want you to be happy, Nightlight. After learning about what they did to you, you can understand my concern.” “I know,” Sunset said with a smile as she nuzzled her aunt. Luna wrapped her wing around Sunset and nuzzled her back. The family enjoyed the rest of their hike and made their way to a hill overlooking the forest. “Alright, Sunset. Just like we taught you,” Celestia said as she watched her daughter’s horn light up. Sunset focused on the sun and started to lower it. “Good, now raise the moon,” Luna said excitedly. Sunset felt for the moon and latched her magic to it, sweat formed on her forehead as she struggled to lift the moon and lower the sun. “You can do it,” Discord encouraged. Sunset continued to struggle. Controlling one celestial body was hard enough, but two was another thing entirely. She added her chaos magic to the mix and it helped a little, for the sun and the moon were almost together. Her cutie mark was slowly glowing the closer the sun and the moon were to each other. As soon as they were side by side, Sunset’s cutie mark and eyes started glowing. She rose into the air as she fully set the sun and raised the moon before gently descending and collapsing. “Sunset!” Celestia was quickly at her daughter’s side. “Are you alright?” “I’m alright,” Sunset assured her mother as she sat up. “What just happened?” “I haven’t the faintest idea,” Discord said as he placed his hand on his chin in a thinking position. “Were you doing anything different, my little Dream Catcher?” Luna asked with worry as she wrapped her wings around Sunset and brought her close. “Nothing, except that I used my chaos magic to help me a little,” Sunset answered. “Balance!” Discord suddenly said. “Balance?” Sunset and Luna questioned. “When the sun and moon were together and using my chaos magic along with your mother’s and aunt’s magic to get them that way symbolized a form of balance,” Discord explained. He was suddenly wearing a lab coat and glasses. “This makes perfect sense as Sunset is the perfect balance of all of us, despite her taking after one of us more than the other.” Celestia smiled proudly at this and Luna pouted a little. “My little star is simply amazing!” Discord said as he grabbed Sunset from Luna and hugged her tightly. Sunset giggled as she hugged her father back. She was soon joined by her aunt and mother. Their moment was broken when Sunset spotted a shooting star. This family vacation had been the best time of her life, tears began to well up in her eyes before finally falling. “What’s the matter, Sunset?” Luna asked with concern. “It’s just that...I had a great time and I’m sad that it has to end so soon,” Sunset said as she wiped away her tears. “You can always stay here,” Luna suggested, feeling sad herself at the reminder that Sunset had to return to the other world. “You don’t have to go back.” “I have to go back, Auntie. I’ve made a home there,” Sunset explained. “Besides, I can’t just leave my friends.” “I suppose you’re right,” Luna begrudgingly admitted. “You are a grown mare and you live your life the way you want to.” “Thanks, Auntie Lulu.” Sunset hugged her aunt. “Anytime, my little Dream Catcher.” Luna hugged Sunset back. “Besides, we can always visit each other,” Discord reminded her. “Not to mention that you have your pocket dimension.” “Thanks, Dad,” Sunset said to her father in gratitude. “There’s still so much I have yet to teach you about chaos, my dear,” Discord said with a smile. “Do your best my Sunshine,” Celestia said as she nuzzled Sunset. “I will,” Sunset said as she nuzzled her mother back. The family gave each other a hug with Sunset at the center, even though they knew that this wasn’t a goodbye. They just couldn’t help but feel saddened that they had to be apart. The following day, the royal family was gathered in Twilight’s library and saying their last goodbyes before Sunset returned to the other world on the other side of the mirror. “Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?” Celestia asked with sadness in her voice. “I appreciate it, Mom, but this is something I gotta do myself,” Sunset resolved. “Always so independent, my little Sunshine,” Celestia sighed. “Don’t forget that you’ll always have a home here.” “That’s right,” Discord said. “And don’t ever forget who you are. Now go, go and show them what a real Princess of Chaos can do!” “Discord,” Celestia chided but still smiling. “I promise, Dad. But I’m not going to do anything too overboard. Just a bit of chaos here and there to keep things interesting,” Sunset said with a mischievous smile. “That’s my girl,” Discord said with pride before hugging his daughter. “Remember to use your new power responsibly,” Princess Luna advised as she wrapped her hooves around Sunset and nuzzled her. “I will, Aunt Luna.” Sunset replied, nuzzling back. “I have something for you,” Luna said as she pulled away, magic covered her horn as she floated a small box to Sunset. Sunset took the box in her magic. She opened it and gasped at seeing a beautiful silver necklace that had each phase of the moon carved into it. It also had a special charm that resembled Luna’s cutie mark. “It’s beautiful!” “I’m very happy that you love it,” Luna said, very pleased that her niece loved her gift. “I’ve placed a spell on it that will protect you in your dreams, as well as allow you to travel into the dream realm and find me.” Luna brought Sunset into another hug, tears welling up in her eyes. “The time we had was too short for me to really get to know you, but I can plainly see that you are a special pony, Sunset. I love you and I will always be there for you!” Luna cried. Tears spilled from Sunset’s eyes as she felt her aunt’s love flow through her. With shaky hooves, she wrapped them around Luna’s neck and buried her face in the Lunar Princess’ shoulder. “I love you too, Aunty Lulu!” Sunset cried. She then looked to her parents. “I’ll make you all proud!” Discord and Celestia soon joined the hug, with Discord crying waterfall of tears. They reluctantly broke the hug as Sunset turned to Twilight who was standing next to the portal along with Spike who was quiet throughout the family’s tearful goodbyes to give them some privacy. “Thank you, Twilight,” Sunset thanked her best friend as she moved close to hug her. “Anytime,” Twilight whispered before breaking the hug. “Are you sure you don’t want to message the girls that you’re coming back?” “I’m sure,” Sunset said as she used her magic to place her saddlebags filled with goodies inside on her back. “I want to surprise them.” Sunset bent down to hug Spike. “Take good care of your mom, Spike,” Sunset teased, smiling playfully. “Like I haven’t been doing that already,” Spike said with a snicker before breaking the hug. He was then wrapped by a wing and brought close to Twilight. “Have a safe trip,” Twilight said with sincerity. “Thanks,” Sunset thanked the Princess of Friendship. She took one last look at her family before going through the portal.