//------------------------------// // New Problems // Story: Mirror Equestria // by FujiwaraJunko //------------------------------// It had been just a little over a month since Sunset arrived in this world. During her time here, she had gotten along well with the Mane 5 and together, they were able to return Ponyville to its former state, where everypony were friendly and cheerful. Sunset also shared with them stories of her world and confessed to them how she had been before ending up in this world. To her surprise, her newfound friends not only believed her, but they also assured her that they would still be her friends. “But…I was a horrible pony!” Sunset exclaimed, aghast. “Yeah, but just because you were once that pony doesn’t mean you’re that pony now.” Rainbow Dash said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “But-” “There are no buts, darling. All that matters is that you’ve changed. You’re are no longer that pony from before.” Rarity assured her. “Yeah, you even helped to bring the smiles back to everypony in Ponyville!” Pinkie cheered loudly. “I’m sure that if you show remorse for your actions, I wouldn’t mind being your friend even if you had bullied me before.” Fluttershy said. “Yeah! So long as you’re honest, I’d be willing to give you a second chance too!” Every single one of her arguments were shot down as soon as she brought them up. Eventually, Sunset gave in and smiled to her friends. “Thanks, girls. That really means a lot to me.” Recalling the memory, Sunset smiled as she looked at the books around her. After fixing the mess in Ponyville, she moved into Golden Oak Library, where she pulled several all-nighters to read all the books and gain as much knowledge as she could about the new world she was in. She chuckled to herself when she remembered how her friends often had to come over just to pull her out of her new home for a change in scenery. It didn’t bother her, she did always love to learn things hands-on. She helped Applejack at her farm, Rarity at her Boutique, Fluttershy with her animals, Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner, and Rainbow Dash always loved to show off her new tricks to her. She gave them advice on how to do certain things more efficiently, especially Applejack whom she had to admit was quite the workaholic, and pointed out certain things dos and don’ts to Rainbow Dash so she wouldn’t injure herself while performing her tricks, knowing the pegasus’ recklessness at times. “SUNSET!” The sound made her jump up, startled, before she opened the door to a frantic Pinkie. “Uh, what’s wrong, Pinkie?” Pinkie’s eyes watered as she held up a small cannon. “My party cannon’s ruined! Without it, parties wouldn’t be much fun at all…” Sunset frowned at seeing Pinkie so down. “Don’t worry, Pinkie. Let me check it out for a bit.” She said as she examined the Party Cannon. After a while, she stepped back with a confident smile and her horn lit up. “And…done.” She nodded at her work before turning to Pinkie. “Give it a try now.” Pinkie did as told and instantly lit up when the cannon worked perfectly, leaving a seemingly endless amount of confetti floating down. “You’re the best, Sunset! Thanks!” Pinkie gave her a tight hug before bouncing off, Sunset only shaking her head at her before picking up all the confetti with her magic and disposing of them. Stretching, she decided to go on a short walk, only to run into problems after problems. It seemed like everypony had a few of their items damaged and Sunset did her best to help them out wherever she could with her magic and her knowledge of how things work. She even managed to improve the ponies’ bonds with one another by handing off items she couldn’t fix to those who could, such as Rainbow Dash’s Tank slippers, or Rarity’s dresses. Determined to find out who was up to no good, they gathered together at Applejack’s farm, only to find Applejack in an extremely foul mood. “Hey, uh, AJ, what’s up?” Applejack growled. “I woke up this morning to find ALL the animals out of their enclosures! It took me all day to get them back in and organised again.” Sunset put a hoof to her face thoughtfully. “Hm… Who would do such a thing?” Applejack frowned as she took something out of her saddlebag. “I don’t know, but I found this near one of the pens.” She said as she placed a few strands of red hair on the ground. Rarity jumped at that. “Oh, me too! I found these stuck on the dress that was destroyed.” She said as she placed a few orange fur on the ground next to the hair. “My slippers had orange fur on them too.” Rainbow Dash said. “The wrecked birdhouse had yellow hair too.” Fluttershy added. “I don’t know about any fur or hair, but the flowers on the wheels of my party cannon were replaced by a sun.” Pinkie said. “Red and yellow hair, orange fur, and a sun?” Sunset looked down at herself. “But… Then...that just leaves…” Sunset shrunk back as her friends’ gazes turned to her. “Not to mention you’re probably the only pony that didn’t have anything destroyed.” Applejack pointed out. Sunset’s ears drooped. “But I…I didn’t do it! I promise! You have to believe me! I-I…I wouldn’t do anything like this! I had nothing to gain from it!” Her words grew more frantic as she stepped back with every step they took forward. “Sunset Shimmer.” Before she knew it, they had formed a circle around her. She curled up, afraid of what they would do to her. Of all the possibilities running through her mind, the last thing she expected was a group hug. “Wha-What?” “Oh, silly you! How could you ever think we’d doubt you?” Pinkie said as she ruffled her mane. “What? B-But…everything you found pointed to me!” “Yeah, which clearly only means one thing. Somepony’s out there framing you for these misdeeds.” Applejack nodded. “We may have only known you for a while, Sunset, but even we know you’re not this sloppy.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “That’s right, darling. It just doesn’t seem like you.” Rarity said. “Don’t worry, we’ll help you find the real culprits. That’s what friends are for.” Fluttershy said. Sunset couldn’t help but tear up as she listened to them. “Aww…guys, I don’t…I don’t know what to say…” She wiped her tears away as she returned the hug. “Thank you. You’re the best friends ever.”