195
Equus
Ponyville, Equestria
4:35 p.m.
To say things had changed for Equestria was putting it mildly.
With the Royal Sisters assuming command over the firmly-established Equestrian Empire, they sought not to undo the hard work and achievements made by Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Instead, they assured their ponies and allies across nations that further reconstruction would continue as planned, and those who were among the Vanished—now the Returned—would be eased back into society with open hooves. It would be a daunting process, but one both sisters would face together. One they would all face together, as one united species.
There were still refugees, but much smaller in number. Most of the humans entering Equus did so for traveling purposes, as tourists, as friends seeking to further understand Earth’s new neighboring world and the creatures that inhabited it. Most that came to Equus were among the Returned. They were in awe to the multiple species across Equus, to the many nations that gladly welcomed them. It allowed for stronger connections between Earth and Equus, neither planet feeling overwhelmed with refugees any longer. They just had visitors.
Commerce and trade boomed. New deals between businesses were established that ultimately skyrocketed the economies of both worlds. Overflowing resources were shared equally between each, an overabundance of food, supplies, technology, and other necessities traded back and forth. Several businesses from Earth had expanded onto Equus—as well as the other way around. There was a firm crackdown on warlords, crime syndicates, and other unlawful actions of the past five years finally being addressed and dealt with, and with those new businesses, security was needed to help horde off the criminals. X-Con Security Consultants finally found their opportunity and expanded their horizons, with Luis, Kurt, and Dave leading the show and taking their company into Equus. They found strong partnerships with Grubber and the Storm Creatures, learning of their own criminal backgrounds. They couldn’t have found a better set of partners to represent X-Con Security Consultants on Equus.
People went back to their old lives. They returned to their old homes. Some found their worlds completely changed, some found them oddly the same. Captain Celaeno and her crew returned to that pirate’s life, first choosing to finish what Tempest had started. She owed her friend that much. Whatever smaller syndicates of the Storm King’s Empire were hunted down and properly dealt with, until none were left. Until the world was finally rid of Tempest’s damaged past. As for others, such as Capper, Klugetown was more than happy to welcome him and the many others who were taken back. Dapperpaws continued to help in smaller ways, in any way he could, to help spread what he learned about friendship. To help make the world a better place with each small act of kindness.
Rulers and leaders of nations were reestablished into their prior roles before they were unfortunately among the Vanished. The Dragon Lord descended respectfully from the throne to rightfully return it to Ember. Rutherford was honored back, the Yaks celebrating for days on end. Pharynx—having never found comfort in that position of royalty—couldn’t wait to hand the crown back to Thorax. The Crystal Empire was in the process of its reconstruction, with the Heart repaired and Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Princess Flurry Heart returning to the throne. Crystal Ponies from across the worlds finally returned to their rightful home. Hippogriffia found its young princess returned to them, Queen Novo embracing her daughter in a loving display of affection. She, as well as her fellow Hippogriffs both spared and Returned, all celebrated Princess Skystar’s homecoming. So many other nations celebrated in their own personal ways. In their own cultures. It was a beautiful time to be alive in Equus’ long history.
While many visitors to Earth and Equus were just that—just visiting—others chose to stay and make permanent residence. Korg and Miek, especially, decided to stay in Equestria, in Ponyville of all places. They found it be relatively calm, relatively peaceful. Exactly what they were looking for. Maud Pie noted that if Mudbriar didn’t come back from the Decimation, she would totally be into Korg. Everypony could understand why.
With the Returned coming home to Ponyville, festivities and reunions were held almost every single day, lasting almost through every single night. The Pie and Apple families came together to welcome home their loved ones that were taken, Pinkie Pie taking the backseat for once when it came to throwing a party. She, Applejack, and the many others were the guests of honor. Of course, the trio of mares, Spike, and the others among the Vanished were welcomed home by their best friends, from Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Sunset, Starlight, and the whole town of Ponyville. It was a momentous and loving reconciliation, a sharing of comradery and friendship that should have lasted forever.
But nothing ever did.
Because for some, amending the past and paving the future took time, pain, and hope. Fixing what was broken was never an easy path to follow, and facing it even more so. But with the war over, with their efforts yielding its fruit, the worlds did not need them anymore. At least for now. In that moment of peace, every branch needed to be clipped.
Because for Sunset Shimmer, there was a home she had yet to return to.
After so long of remaining in Equestria—of giving her time and strength to the ponies she loved—there was no other perfect moment to take a much-needed and deserved rest. There was no better moment to return to the world she had come to call her home away from home. Sunset’s friends and family were present that day in the Castle of Friendship, with the afternoon light quickly falling and the warmth of the sun shimmering into the castle’s library. It felt so empty without Friday.
Among those present to wish her a safe journey ahead were Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. They were the first, with the many entering the castle shortly afterwards. Starlight, Spike, Derpy, Maud, Mudbriar, Trixie, Celestia, Luna, and her parents all traveled, all made the time, to ensure that Sunset knew how much she meant to them. All of her goodbyes with her Earthen allies and fellow Avengers was done.
Leaving just them.
Just to be safe, Discord established a firm connection between their world and the human dimension, confirming their worries that there was, in fact, a disruption. A blockade. A flow of space and time that was distorted and cut off their world from the human world. Discord said it was most likely after Thanos had snapped his fingers, igniting the powers of the universe in one grand feat to bring his own version of balance, when all it caused was chaos throughout the space-time continuum. It seemed none of Twilight’s earlier messages to Sunset had gone through, what with the Mirror Portal destroyed following the destruction of the Castle of Friendship. When the portal was gone, the flow of magic through the multiverse was severed. Sunset wondered why her friends on the other side never sent a message to ask about her current situation; it was partly why she didn’t send a letter herself. It was all because of Thanos. If Sunset even wanted to send a message to her friends earlier, they would have never known. Even with the portal repaired, there was never a stable connection to begin with. That connection to the human dimension was severed, by that disruption in time and space and the unbalanced chaos that Thanos had brought to their universe with the actions of the Infinity Stones.
Discord assured them that all flows through space and time had been cleared after Tony had snapped his fingers. It was if balance had been brought back in more ways than one. There was yet another reason to thank Stark for his selfless act of love, one Sunset knew she would be thanking for a long, long time.
And Sunset, with nothing else to hold her back any longer, finally found the courage and strength to send a letter through her journal, to which Twilight in the other dimension almost instantly replied. The magic was fixed. Time and space were fully restored. Sunset could not explain everything in her letter. She wanted to do it in person. Facing that Mirror Portal, staring into its empty face, Sunset knew that her friends were just a few steps away. Just a life away. They were all together in front of that statue by Canterlot High. And they were waiting for her.
Her work in Equestria was done. Her friends and family would handle things well without her, urging her to take that next step towards the right path of healing. Sunset knew she had made a mistake. One of many. All it would take to amend it would be to face it head-on, knowing that all would be well, that her efforts in Equestria had not gone in vain.
She had that assurance with her friends and family that stayed behind, the ones that wished her goodbye.
“Now remember ta visit every now and again,” Applejack told her. “We don’t want ya gettin’ too comfortable without us. Or… us us. Or… heck, ya know what Ah mean.”
Obviously referring to their doppelgängers in the other dimension, Applejack scratched her head just trying to wrap her mind around the whole ordeal. Sunset laughed it off. “It’ll be a long time before I’m comfortable. But yeah… I’ll definitely visit,” she assured them.
Rarity gently bowed her head, hoof resting over her heart. “We can’t thank you enough, darling. For everything you’ve done. It was an absolute pleasure to have you around… and an even greater honor to call you our friend.”
Every one of them held that same thankful expression, those same warming smiles that burned Sunset’s already wounded heart. The unicorn sniffed, wiping at her sweltering eyes with the tip of her hoof. “Come on, don’t do this to me now.”
“Too late!” Pinkie cried, leaping forward and wrapping Sunset in a heartwarming hug. The unicorn felt that pain in her heart amplify, earning that distorted expression on her face, on the expression that tried to remain strong for her friends. To her surprise, it wasn’t Sunset that started crying first. It was the mare that held her. “We’re gonna miss you so much!”
“Goodbyes are always the hardest,” Fluttershy said, trembling forth and embracing Sunset. “Even when we try to make it seem so easy…”
“Ah, Flutters…” Rainbow whispered agonizingly, trying to face away. Failing miserably. She gave in, shaking her head and shooting her hooves to the ceiling. “Ah, screw it.”
She flew down and joined in the group hug, filled quickly with Applejack and Rarity, with Spike flying in shortly afterwards and holding Sunset in the heart of their embrace. Tears and hugs were shared amongst them, those murmurs and whimpers wishing Sunset the best on her new journey just being enough to crack the dam. Tears broke free from her clenched eyelids, the unicorn’s smile quivering as her hooves tried to hold every mare and dragon against her.
“Thank you all so much,” Sunset whispered. And she meant it. For the ponies that accepted her into their bonds of friendship. Even after all she had done in her broken past, they accepted her for who she was, for the pony she had become. There were no other words to describe how thankful she was for that.
Her tears and her hugs spoke higher volumes than she ever could.
When she broke away, when Spike and the mares managed to give Sunset some breathing room, the floor was Sunset’s to finish off her round of goodbyes. Not knowing truly where to start, Sunset simply went down the line of the ponies scattered before her, pausing firstly in front of the lovely and albeit… expressionless couple of Maud and Mudbriar.
Maud blinked slowly. Pinkie wailed in the background after seeing such vivid emotion from her older sister, blowing her nose harshly into Rarity’s handkerchief. Ignoring the pink mare to the best of their ability, Maud met Sunset’s eyes and murmured, “Tell my human self to find human Mudbriar.”
Mudbriar added, “I believe our destinies are indefinitely intertwined with one another, even across dimensions. Such as with all things rock and stick related, like—”
“Yeah, I’m gonna… stop you there,” Sunset interrupted with a weak chuckle, breaking the distance and hugging the couple one last time.
Breaking off and moving down the line, Sunset came across the familiar blonde-maned, gray-coated, derpy-eyed mare that she had come to befriend over the years. Derpy did not seem to share the tears or the pain that Sunset felt, instead smiling hopefully and telling her, “It was a blast having you around! Be sure to deliver all your letters to Twilight in our post office! I’m the manager now!”
Sunset didn’t have the heart to tell her that that wasn’t how her magical journal worked. Instead, she just smiled and hugged the Pegasus.
Next, Sunset approached the vibrant and smirking unicorn standing tall in her magician’s attire. Trixie met Sunset’s hurting expression with a comforting one, asking curiously, “Is my human persona as great and powerful as me?”
Sunset chuckled. “I’d say she’s just as great. No competition there.”
They hugged and moved on. Sunset moved on, right up to…
Starlight Glimmer almost seemed to freeze on the spot the same moment Sunset Shimmer had. The moment their eyes connected, both unicorns could feel those memories instantly flush into one another. From their unscheduled first encounter in Twilight’s library, to the series of exciting events in the human world that followed, and even to their time-traveling, space-bounding adventures together. They were memories neither would ever forget. They were stories both mares would undoubtedly share with their friends for many years to come.
They were at least grateful to have experienced those adventures together.
“We’ve been through quite a lot, huh?” Starlight scoffed, slight astonishment slipping off her breath. Sunset nodded at that, dropping her eyes and rubbing her foreleg gingerly.
Those eyes rose up, met Starlight’s wounded pair with an assuring and grateful gaze. “Here’s to all the adventures,” Sunset said, holding out her hoof. “And hopefully… more to come?”
Starlight smirked. She smacked her hoof against Sunset’s. “Count on it.”
They ended their goodbye with an elongated hug.
Moving on, Discord offered her a hand/hoofshake, bowing gratefully to the fiery-maned unicorn. From the reactions across the library, it seemed to be a genuine rarity for Discord to perform such an action. It was the least he could offer, for her daring and selfless actions that ultimately helped bring him back into the realm of the living.
What—or who—came next nearly broke her.
Celestia and Luna stood as one, finding the time out of their heavy schedules to at least wish Sunset Shimmer a safe journey ahead, and a strong goodbye for the time being. Sunset seemed breathless and awestruck when she stood before them, having not seen either for over five years. She was at a loss of where to begin, what to say, but realized that she really didn’t even need to say anything. They hugged her together, affirming to Sunset that actions most definitely spoke louder than words.
Except that time, when Celestia whispered to her, “I am so very proud of you.”
Luna tightened her foreleg around the unicorn, adding, “Keep making us proud.”
Sunset let a tear slip down her cheek while nuzzled into her former teacher’s chest. She embraced both fully, holding the princesses with all of her strength and all of her will. Somehow, someway, she found that semblance of strength to respond. To promise, “I will.”
It never seemed to get any easier with each break and each step onward. The hugs were something Sunset did not want to end, that friendship and love she felt for everypony present making her only want to stay longer. She knew she couldn’t. She had stayed long enough and there were friends on the other side that desperately wanted her home. There was a life she needed to return to. But there was another life… that she still held dear.
Her parents were the next ponies she came across. Just seeing the tearful and proud expressions from Sunrise and Evening Shimmer broke their daughter fully, fresh tears falling spontaneously to meet Sunset’s loving and gracious smile. She was sad, yes, especially to see her parents crying over her leaving again. Only, that sadness was coupled with that peaceful sense of ease, that happiness that assured Sunset that she was leaving on a good note. One that they all agreed on.
“Guess I’m thankful this goodbye is done the right way,” Sunset said, tried to chuckle through her quivering breaths. She was unable to, pursing her lips and keeping her strength long enough for her parents to see her off. “I’m gonna miss you guys.”
“Promise you’ll visit soon?” her mother, Evening, asked. She was already a mess of tears, her husband comforting her to the best of his ability.
Sunrise, her father, with a hoof draped over his wife’s withers, patted her gently and said, “Hey now, Sunset’s got a lot of work to do in her human world. You take as much time as you need, baby girl. Don’t you worry about us.”
Sunset nodded gratefully. “Thanks, Dad.”
“But if you can… for your mother’s sake…”
She interrupted his train of thought with a sudden, leaping hug, capturing both of her parents within her forelegs. “Promise,” she whispered.
With that, her parents embraced their daughter for as long as they possibly could. They only let go because they trusted her, because they knew she had to face the challenges of her own mistakes once again. She had grown into a strong, caring, independent, and responsible mare, one her parents were proud to have raised. The time they lost her was a painful reminder of their failures. The time they spent with her was a blessing. But the time she spent fixing her own failures was a gracious reminder that she had changed for the better. And they knew, with certainty, that she could absolutely succeed.
Only then when everypony saw her off did Sunset realize there was one more. Only when she broke away from her parents and spun around to the portal did she face that pony. It was that pony that had been responsible for changing her, for leading her on the path of redemption that made Sunset Shimmer into the pony she was today. It was that pony that saved her life, that made her better, that led Sunset to her true destiny.
Twilight Sparkle.
If there were any words Sunset still had the strength to say, they still wouldn’t have been enough to describe or thank the princess standing before her. Twilight seemed to share a similar sentiment, eyes burning, smile warming as she met Sunset’s tearful gaze with her own. The library fell silent for them, for two close friends having shared an unforgettable story with one another. A story of redemption, of healing, and of friendship. Sunset hugged her especially longer.
And Twilight easily fell into that embrace, forelegs wrapping tightly around the trembling unicorn. Both were crying, both already well aware they were the center of attention and ignoring it all anyway. That moment, that goodbye, was between them and them alone. Even when others cried around them, even when their friends shared their smiles and mirrored their emotions, it was not enough to break the friends from each other. It was not enough.
“Don’t know what we would’ve done without you,” Twilight told her, still holding Sunset close. “Thank you for everything you’ve done, for us… and for the magic of friendship.”
Sunset cried softly, an honored smile gracing her lips. She responded, “Thank you for helping me realize who I was.”
Both felt those appreciative remarks strike their hearts, filling their spirits and minds with exactly what the other meant. For Sunset knocking some sense into her, Rainbow, and Tony, which ultimately led to the healing of their fractured friendship. Which ultimately saved the Elements of Harmony. For Twilight and all the years she spent leading Sunset down the path of redemption, which led her to the end of the goal she never thought was in reach. To her destiny. No mere words could describe that feeling of infinite gratitude.
Their loving display of friendship sufficed.
Finally, they broke the hug, Twilight resting her hoof over Sunset’s neck and telling her, “Keep that Element safe. Goodbye, Sunset… and good luck.”
Sunset rose her hoof the moment Twilight took hers away, caressing her Element of Harmony that rested around her neck. She lifted her eyes back to Twilight and nodded gently to her, that even gentler smile warming Twilight’s aching heart.
Every goodbye was given and nothing more needed to be said. Sunset Shimmer approached the Mirror Portal with a caravan of friends and family following behind her. She opened her bag resting against her back, pulling free her journal and placing it upon the mirror’s stand. A swirl of magic unfolded before their very eyes, creating an array of vivid colors to form that perfect gateway to the human dimension. To the world she knew and loved. To the next step on her new journey.
She removed her journal and placed it back into her bag, the portal remaining active long enough for one pony to step into its light. She turned back one last time to her friends, seeing them all wave to her. She waved back. Her eyes met Twilight’s, met that assuring gaze and even stronger nod from the Princess of Friendship.
Her hoof rose and rested over her Element of Harmony. Over her heart. She nodded back and faced forward, stepped into the light and dimensions that swirled forevermore. Just one step back into her old life, one step that took her away from the world and the ponies she fell in love with once again. Until next time. Much sooner… next time.