The sudden sound of clapping jerked Sunset’s mind back to the present. The yak smiled at the applause and gave a small bow. “That song always remind Yigrid of home and family. So, I often play it while traveling,” she explained, with a warm, friendly voice. “Would pony friends like to hear more yovidaphone playing?”
The crowd, which had gotten quite large, responded with a round of excited murmurs and nods. Sunset, however, got up to leave. While the music had been beautiful, it had also brought up memories that left her with a crushing sense of guilt. Some sister I was, she thought bitterly. I didn’t even leave her a note to say goodbye.
Sunset was so absorbed in her brooding that, when she turned around, she walked headfirst into a nearby mare who was decked out in a pink sun hat; yellow-rimmed sunglasses; a red, long-sleeved shirt; and a matching skirt.
“Sorry,” Sunset mumbled, barely glancing at the unicorn. She felt a small pang of guilt at her rudeness, and a part of her wanted to go back to apologize properly. However, a massive wave of self-loathing pushed that thought from her mind.
No, what she needed right now, was a quiet place to sit; someplace that was far away from the bittersweet music and the failures of her past.
A few blocks from the Hero’s Square, Shining Armor had finally arrived at the train station. Slung across his back were two sets of saddlebags and held in his left foreleg, was a happy baby alicorn.
Flurry Heart was the most adorable baby pony imaginable. She had a light pink coat, baby blue eyes, and a short, curly mane of light purple with blue highlights. She also wore a green jacket and had a small knit cap on her head to protect her from the slight morning chill.
As they approached the station, a loud whistle blew. With a start, Flurry Heart looked in the direction of the train, then turned back to Shining Armor with an excited expression on her face. “Gabu!”
“That’s right Flurry, we’re going to ride the train!” he confirmed. “We just need to wait for mommy to show up and we’ll be good to go. In the meantime, why don’t we go say ‘hello’ to an old friend?” Flurry in hoof, Shining trotted over to the information kiosk.
“Thorax, good morning!” He called out to ‘Crystal Hoof’.
The turquoise pony looked up and smiled. “Shining Armor, Flurry, good morning!”
Flurry Heart turned toward the kiosk with delight. However, when she saw the pony standing in it, her expression soured. She gave a confused grunt, flared out her wings, and proceeded to glare suspiciously at the pony across the counter.
Shining Armor blinked at the baby’s odd reaction. “…Flurry? What’s wrong?”
Crystal Hoof cocked an eyebrow at the adorable attempt at intimidation that was being leveled at him. Then, his eyes lit up and he gave a small chuckle. “Oh! I get it!”
There was a flash of green light and the turquoise pony transformed into a small creature that looked part-equine and part-beetle. He had a black carapace that covered his body; a webbed mane and tail; solid blue eyes; a small set of fangs; and transparent wings that glittered in the morning light. “See, Flurry? It’s just me!” he assured the baby.
Upon seeing the changeling in his regular form, Flurry Heart’s expression regained its initial delight. She began babbling happily and reached toward Thorax.
With a chuckle, Shining Armor floated her across the counter.
“She must’ve been confused, hearing my voice come from a pony she didn’t recognize,” Thorax speculated, carefully taking hold of the baby. “I guess she prefers me in my regular form.”
“Well that makes sense,” Shining reasoned. “For the most part, this is how Flurry’s always known you.”
“Hm, I suppose that’s true,” Thorax agreed as he affectionately tickled the baby. “By the way, where’s Princess Cadance?”
“Ah, she didn’t get breakfast this morning. So she took a small detour to go get a cinnamon roll… or five. But, onto more serious matters,” Shining Armor glanced around, to make sure they were alone and lowered his voice to a whisper, “are you excited for tonight?”
A huge smile spread across Thorax’s face; an impressive feat, given that Flurry Heart had apparently decided to begin scaling the side of his head like a mountain climber. “Are you kidding? I can hardly wait for my shift to end! I’ve never been to a guy’s night before! But from the way Spike tells it, it sounds like it’s going to be amazing!”
“Oh, it will be,” Shining assured him confidently. “The campaign I’ve got prepared for tonight is one of my best. I’m not gonna spoil anything, but it’s very much in the… spirits of the season!”
“And you’re sure you don’t want me to bring anything?” Thorax asked, closing his left eye as Flurry used it as a stepping-stone.
Shining smirked. “Thorax, relax. Spike makes the snacks, Big Mac brings the drinks, Discord creates the special effects, and I run the campaign. Since it’s your first guys’ night, all you have to bring, is your thirst for adventure!”
Flurry spread her wings and gave a triumphant cry, having successfully reached the summit of Mt. Thorax.
Not far from the Hero’s Square, Sunset had found a secluded bench where she could sit and think. Her eyes stared down at the crystal cobblestones, but her thoughts were miles away.
Home and family, huh? She mused, her mind drifting back to the Yak’s music and the memories it dredged up. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the approach of an extremely odd figure.
“Excuse me, can I ask you something?” A muffled voice said.
Sunset looked up and blinked in surprise. Standing before her was the Ursa Minor mascot that she had seen earlier handing out balloons. “Uh…I don’t want any balloons, thanks."
The mascot cocked its oversized head. “Huh? Oh! No, No! I already handed all of those out! Actually, I was hoping you could help me with something. You see, I’m doing a divination act later and I’ve been practicing the routine but, I haven’t had a chance to try it out on a pony I don’t know, yet. Would you mind running through it with me? It’ll only take a few minutes.”
Truth be told, Sunset wasn’t in the mood to do anything other than sulk, but it didn’t seem like this would require much on her part, and it might take her mind off things. So, with little to no enthusiasm, she shrugged. “Sure. How’s it work?”
“It’s pretty simple,” the mascot assured her, “I’m going to make seven guesses about you, and you just need to tell me whether I’m right or wrong.”
Sunset gave the mascot a questioning look. “That’s it? I don’t give you clues or anything? You just…guess?”
The mascot nodded. “That’s right. I make my guesses by reading the invisible threads of fate that are attached to you,” she explained, in a mysterious showmare’s voice.
“If they’re invisible, how do you read them?” Sunset asked, nitpicking the flavor text of the act.
“I’m glad you asked,” the mascot cheerfully replied. “While it’s true that ponies can’t see the threads of fate, I —as an Ursa Minor— am clairvoyant because of my connection to the heavens. Thanks to that, I can see them with my bear eyes.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes slightly. “Don’t you mean naked eyes?”
The mascot shook her head. “No, not bare, B-A-R-E. Bear, B-E-A-R! …You know, cause I’m a bear?”
Sunset gave the mascot a judging look. “You know, it’s not a very good pun if you have to explain it.”
“…well the children always get it,” the mascot replied snidely.
“Ugh! Whatever!” Sunset groaned. “Now, smoke and mirrors aside, how do you actually do this?”
“In truth, I just make seven deductions about you or your past based on whatever observations I can make,” the mascot explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
Sunset straightened up a bit. “Ok, now that sounds kinda interesting. Let’s do this, but I want to know your reasoning behind each guess.”
The mascot nodded. “That sounds fair.” She placed her claws on either side of her head. “Ok, a vision is coming to me, Ummm, I see that you had… a sweet and sticky breakfast!”
Sunset blinked. “I did! How di- Wait! Is there still some frosting on my face? I thought I washed it all off.”
“You missed a spot,” the mascot said, pointing to Sunset’s lower jaw.
With a groan, Sunset rubbed the area with her hoof. “Did I get it this time?”
“Yep,” the mascot answered, after taking a look. “Now, for my next vision! I see that you… grew up… in Canterlot!”
Sunset didn’t respond immediately, unsure if she should count that or not. She hadn’t set hoof in Canterlot until she was nearly nine, but there was no doubt that she had spent most of her life there.
“It’s close but, I’ll give you that one,” Sunset conceded. “How’d you know?”
“Your voice,” the other pony explained. “Compared to the other major cities, the Canterlot accent is very subtle, but it’s still noticeable if you know what to look for.”
“Okay. Two for two. You’re doing pretty good.”
“Thanks! Ok, next… Ummm… I see that… you sell timeshare condos for a living!”
“Pfft! WHAT?” Sunset laughed. “Where’d you get that?”
The mascot chortled. “That’s an intentional gaffe. If I get the first two guesses right, I throw the third one to make myself look fallible and get the audience to loosen up.”
“Well, wouldn’t that have backfired if I did sell timeshare condos?”
The mascot pony waved the concern away. “I knew you didn’t. The thing about ponies who sell timeshare condos is that they always try to sell you one almost immediately. Now, onto the fourth thread, which says that you… have come to the Crystal Empire from far away.”
“Right again,” Sunset confirmed. “How’d you know that?”
The mascot pony giggled. “Well, you’re in full tourist mode, so it’s obvious that you don’t live here. And since the Crystal Empire is far away from anywhere else, that means you must’ve come here from far away.”
“Fair enough. So, what’s my fifth thread say?” Sunset asked excitedly, getting more into the routine.
“It says that…hmmm…something weighs heavy on your mind.”
Sunset’s face fell. “Explain.”
“When I first came up to you, wearing this big bear costume, you didn’t even notice me until I said something. Then, when you did lookup, you thought I was going to give you a balloon, even though I clearly did not have any balloons to give you. To put it simply, you were really out of it. And since you don’t appear tired or intoxicated, that means you were seriously lost in thought.”
“Well, that’s pretty vague, but correct,” Sunset conceded. “But I’m not interested in discussing that topic any further, okay?”
The mascot pony nodded. “Of course. Do you still want to continue?”
“Yeah, you’re doing pretty good. Only one wrong so far and two to go. Show me what you got.”
“Let’s see. Hmmm…you came here…on a train!”
Sunset rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Oh come on. How else would I have gotten here? It’s not like I was going to hoof it across a frozen wasteland just to avoid the train.”
“Well, it’s not a total wasteland,” the mascot pony countered. “The Crystal Heart keeps the weather inside the city lovely at all times, but it also subdues the more extreme blizzards outside the city as well.”
Sunset perked up. “Wait, what!? I thought the Crystal Heart just protected the city itself.”
The mascot pony chuckled and shook her head. “Oh no. If that was the case, we’d never get a train out here. There would always be vicious blizzards just outside the city limits, covering the tracks.”
Sunset nodded. “That makes sense.”
“You see,” the mascot pony continued, joining Sunset on the bench, “on its own, the Crystal Heart shields the capital and keeps the weather springtime, year-round. While that’s nice, we wouldn’t be much of an empire if we were just one city in a giant frozen wasteland. Fortunately, the central spire seems designed to channel some of the heart’s power and spread the effect out over a much larger area. While the effect is weaker than what we get here in the capital, it does calm things down enough in the region to allow ponies to live outside the city. We have villages near the mountains that provide us with minerals, towns near the forests that bring in lumber, and a few hamlets that are just made up of ponies who like the snow.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that,” Sunset said, sounding impressed. “Buuuuut as interesting as all that is, it doesn’t offset the fact that your last observation was super weak.”
“Well… I never said the readings had to be of equal quality,” the mascot pony snickered. “That’s on you for assuming that.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So what’s your last great deduction? I have an amber coat? I’m a unicorn? Oh! Are you going to tell me the color of my eyes?”
The mascot pony raised her claws to her head once more and hummed in concentration. “Ah yes…I see it…your name is appearing before me. You are called…Su-sun…”
Sunset’s eyes flew open and she leaned forward, hanging on the mascot’s every syllable. She hadn’t let her name slip, right? There was no way the mysterious mare could guess it…right?”
“SUNSHINE BERRYSPRINKLE!”
Sunset fell off the bench.
“SUNSET SHIMMER!” the unicorn yelled, leaping to all fours.
“…are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure! How’d you even come up with that last one!?”
The mascot pony shrugged. “I was having trouble picking the last one for you, so I decided to do another gaffe based on your cutie mark.”
“Hmph, well, five out of seven isn’t bad,” Sunset noted. “Especially since you knew nothing about me going in. You might need a bit more practice, but I think you’re gonna do alright.”
“That’s the goal! Thanks again for doing this with me Sunset. I feel more confident now.”
“No problem. Honestly, I should be thanking you. This got my mind off things and cheered me up. What’s your name?”
The mascot pony hopped off the bench and bowed dramatically. “I am Ursa Mi! The friendly bear of the Crystal Empire!”
Sunset smacked herself in the face with her hoof. “No, not the mascot’s name. What is YOUR name?”
The pony chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her bear head with a paw. “Oh, right. My name is Mia.”
“Thanks for cheering me up, Mia,” Sunset replied with a smile.
“Of course! As an employee of the Crystal Empire Department of Entertainment and Tourism, it’s my job to ensure that everycreature has a wonderful stay in our city. Which reminds me, what brings you here today? Did you come to visit somepony?”
Sunset shook her head. “Actually, I’m jus—”
The shrill call of a whistle tore through the air, interrupting Sunset. The amber pony groaned casting an annoyed look in the direction of the station. “Already? Ugh. Sorry, Mia, I’ve got to go,” Sunset explained, giving the pony an apologetic smile.
“GO!?” Mia squawked. “But…you just got here!”
Sunset sighed. “I know, but I have a train to catch. It was great to meet you, though. I’ll see ya around.” Sunset waved and started trotting away.
“Sunset, wait!”
Sunset stopped and turned to give the mascot pony a questioning look. “What is it?”
“Well, …you see…I…”
Sunset wasn’t sure what was going on. Mia obviously wanted to say something, but she seemed to be having a hard time finding the right words. Sadly, Sunset just didn’t have the time to wait around for her to locate them. “Sorry Mia, but I gotta get to the tra—”
“THE TRAIN STATION! OF COURSE!” Mia shouted excitedly.
“Wh-what?” Sunset stammered, caught off guard by the sudden outburst.
“I’ll walk you to the station!” Mia said, at a more reasonable volume. “Just…gimmie a sec.” A quill and parchment, held aloft in a light blue aura, magically appeared in front of Mia and she began scribbling something down. “Just…let me send a quick note to my manager telling them where I’m going, and we’ll be good to go!” Mia finished writing the note, magically sent it on its way, and rushed after Sunset. “So, where were we?” she asked as the two of them began trotting toward the station.
Sunset was happy that Mia had decided to see her off. Sure, it was a bit odd walking alongside a pony that was dressed as a big blue bear, but Sunset enjoyed talking with her. There was just something about the mare that put her at ease.
“I’m really looking forward to tonight,” she told Mia as they approached their destination. “I’m going to this special exhibit in Canterlot.”
“Wait, you mean the Old Pony Nation exhibit?” Mia asked.
“Yeah, do you know anything about it?”
Mia snorted. “Sunset, I work for the Crystal Empire Department of Entertainment and Tourism. Promoting things is our job. That exclusive showing you’re attending, tonight? We arranged that as a tactic to increase tourism.”
“You did? I thought it was about catering to nobles.”
“Oh no, if anything, we’re the ones using them,” Mia laughed. “You see, ponies get curious about something when they’re told they aren’t allowed to see it. So, we hold an exclusive, one-night, invite-only showing of the new exhibit in Canterlot, then, when the museum here opens after Hearth’s Warming, BOOM! Tourism jumps fifteen percent, as ponies flock to see the exhibit they weren’t allowed to see before!”
“Ah, so that’s why the showing’s in Canterlot,” Sunset mused. “By having it there you’ll be able to draw in ponies from outside the empire. That’s pretty clever. But, what can you tell me about the exhibit itself?”
“Well, most of the artifacts were recently discovered thanks to the research of a local scholar named Sunburst. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but I was able to get a peek at the exhibit and it is spectacular! I know you’ll love it.”
Sunset was nearly prancing with excitement as she entered the station’s plaza…and froze. Standing just twenty yards away, between her and the station, was Cadance.
Sunset grabbed Mia and pulled her back behind the corner they had just rounded.
“Ow, Sunset!” Mia complained. “What’s the idea?”
Sunset shushed her and cautiously peeked back around the corner. Fortunately, Cadance was talking with Shining Armor at the information kiosk and didn’t seem to have noticed her.
Why is Cadance here? Sunset thought to herself. She knew that Cadance and Shining Armor ran the Crystal Empire. But she figured that given the early hour, the station’s location on the edge of the city, AND their responsibilities; the chances of running into either of them during this thirty-minute interval was basically nil.
“Oh, it’s Princess Cadance and Shining Armor,” observed Mia, who had joined Sunset in peeking around the corner. “They’re really nice. Would you like me to introduce you?”
With a frustrated growl, Sunset turned to Mia, placed her forehooves over the bear’s big mouth, and pushed her back. “What part of ‘shhhhh’ do you not get?” Sunset frantically hissed.
“Okay, you do realize that covering the mascot’s mouth doesn’t actually impede my ability to speak, right?” Mia quipped.
Sunset groaned. “Just be quiet!”
“I am being quiet, Sunset. I’m whispering. But I still don’t know why I’m whispering.”
Sunset gave the plaza another glance, then pushed Mia about halfway down the block.
“Okay,” Sunset said, her voice returning to a normal volume. “There’s too much to go into, but suffice it to say, I can’t go that way. We’ll have to circle around and approach the station from the other side.”
The shrill sound of the train’s whistle cut through the air, adding an extra layer of urgency to the situation.
Mia clicked her tongue. “Well, I’m sorry to break this to you Sunset, but we don’t have time for that. What’s the big deal? Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are really nice. Honestly, they’ll probably just wave as we pass by.”
“Look, I just can’t let them see me, okay?! Now shush! I need to think!” Maybe…I could try to teleport past them? The moment Sunset thought this, echoes of demonic laughter, the intoxicating feeling of power, and a boatload of guilt, flooded her mind.
Shaking her head, she began to run down her remaining options. Magic was out of the question; she didn’t have time to wait for Cadance and Shining Armor to just move on; the information kiosk’s location in front of the station would make it impossible to sneak by; there weren’t enough ponies nearby to just blend in with the crowd; she didn’t have a disgu—!
Sunset’s attention snapped to Mia. “I need your Ursa Mi costume!”
The mascot pony jumped back in surprise. “WHAT?”
“It’s perfect,” Sunset explained. “It’s one-size-fits-all, covers everything, and doesn’t seem out of place! I can walk right by Cadance and she’ll be none the wiser!”
“But…ummm… you’re not licensed to wear CEDET property! It’s illegal for you to put this on!” Mia stated, a hint of panic in her muffled voice.
Sunset rolled her eyes, almost amused by the warning. “I’m already a fugitive for treason, so what’s another misdemeanor or two?” She stood on her hind legs and grabbed hold of the mascot’s head. “Now get undressed, the train’s going to leave soon.”
“NO!” Mia’s paws shot up and gripped the head like a vice. “I…have mascot mane!”
“That’s—urgh— not a thing!” Sunset grunted as the two ponies struggled to pry the head from each other’s grasp.
“Yes—argh—it IS! My mane is super messy! I can’t let anypony see it like this, Sunset!”
“Come ON, Mia! Your mane can’t be that bad! But I can’t let Cadance see me.”
“Why?”
“Reasons!”
“Is she angry at you?”
“No!”
“Are you angry at her?”
“NO!”
“Then why don’t you want to see her Sunset? WHY!?”
“BECAUSE I DON’T DESERVE TO!” Sunset shouted.
“Wh-…WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?”
All the fight seemed to leave Sunset as she released the head and slumped down. “…We were supposed to be family, Cadance, and I. We were supposed to always be there for each other. But I turned my back on her. I walked out of her life, without even so much as a goodbye.” Sunset looked up at Mia, her eyes filled with shame. “I abandoned her…just like her parents did.”
“…Sunset, I…eh I’m sure she would forgive you.”
“Of course she would,” Sunset replied, as though it were obvious. “Cadance loves me. She’s the only pony that ever did. She’d forgive me in a heartbeat if she hasn’t already.”
“So just go over there! I’m sure she’d be ecstatic to see you again after all these years! Don’t you want to see her?”
“Of course I do,” Sunset said sadly. “I’d give anything just to be held by her one more time.”
“So—”
“But,” Sunset cut in, interrupting Mia. “I can’t. I abandoned my sister, Mia: my orphaned sister. I took the worst thing that ever happened to her and I made her go through it, again! I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I don’t deserve to be a part of her life.” Tears filled Sunset’s eyes. “I don’t deserve to call myself her sister.
“…And that,” she continued, after a brief pause. “…is why I need THIS!” With a sudden motion, Sunset grabbed the head with her hooves and tore it off the other pony’s surprised shoulders.
The world stopped.
Standing in front of Sunset, still wearing the lower half of the Ursa Mi costume, was Cadance.
The pink alicorn bit her lower lip and gave Sunset a nervous grin. “…Sooooo, on a scale of one to five, how would you rate your stay in the Crystal Empire?”
Sunset gave a small whimper and collapsed on the sidewalk.
The gentle rocking and rhythmic click-clacking of the Northwest Express slowly pulled Sunset from her comfortable slumber. As her eyes blinked open, the cabin she shared with Twilight swam into focus. She was curled up on the bench beneath her loft, and there was a warm, pink blanket draped over her.
…wait, I don’t have a pink blanket.
As Sunset sat up, she realized her error. It wasn’t a warm, pink blanket at all: it was a warm, pink wing. Before her groggy mind could make the obvious connection, a voice to her immediate left made her freeze, like a deer in the headlights.
“Do you remember the last time we were on a train together?” Cadance asked.
Sunset didn’t respond.
“It was shortly after you graduated from CSGU. Neither of us had ever seen the Mysterious South before, but it sounded like an interesting place to take a trip. So, we hopped on a train and rode it all the way down to that small coastal village at the end of the southern line. Unfortunately, a kelp farming community is about as far from interesting as you can get. That was a real letdown, wasn’t it?”
Sunset remained silent.
“We were so disappointed, that we drank the local tavern dry and stumbled into the Bone Dry Desert, looking for some kind of adventure. Of course, heading into a desert in the middle of the night, while drunk, without a map, wasn’t the best idea we could’ve come up with. But you were able to lead us from oasis to oasis with that dowsing spell of yours, so we never had to worry about water. Lucky for us, huh?”
The corners of Sunset’s mouth twitched.
“Despite how miserable that desert was, it was totally worth it when we reached the other side. I can still clearly remember the hilariously adorable expression on your face when you laid eyes on that… incredible dump of a town. Your mouth dropped open, and you stared at it like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. What was its name again?”
“…Klugetown,” Sunset quietly replied, a small grin creeping its way onto her face. “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
“Pfft. That should be on the town’s welcome sign,” Cadance snorted. “While it may not have been the nicest place, it certainly was interesting. You spent the next several hours browsing seedy shops for illegal alchemy ingredients; using magic to cheat swindlers at their own rigged games; starting fights with the local toughs; and —at the end of the day— you actually stole an airship from a group of pirates and flew us back home!”
“Hey, I didn’t steal that airship,” Sunset objected, rounding on Cadance. “I just… confiscated it,” she finished sheepishly.
“’Confiscated!?’” Cadance guffawed. “Sunset, you went down to the docks, acting like a helpless and naïve pony; let yourself be captured by those pirates; then, once they took you to their ship and got it ready to set sail, you threw them all overboard!”
“…Yeah, that was a good day,” Sunset agreed, sighing happily. “Though, I would like the record to show that I waited until we were over some nice, soft sand dunes, before I made them walk the plank.”
“Noted,” Cadance chuckled. “But, do you remember the look on Captain Ironback’s face when we docked that thing at Canterlot?”
Sunset lost it. Upon arrival, the two of them had jumped off the ship, dressed horn to hoof in pirate swag, and shouted ‘AVAST!’ at Captain Ironback and his guards. In a single moment, the expression on the huge earth pony’s face went from one of grim determination to a wide-eyed glare that could only be described as ‘livid incredulity’. It had been one of the funniest things Sunset had ever seen. “I remember that!” she screamed, howling with laughter. “He was so angry when he realized it wasn’t a real pirate raid! There he was in full battle gear, with fifty guards at his back, prepared to defend the city from the evil pirate horde, only to have the two of us hop off the ship, instead!”
“I later learned that it was even worse than that!” Cadance added, with clear delight. “You see, while we were busy pulling the ship up to the docks, he was giving his troops this incredibly passionate battlefield speech about defending the homeland and how proud he was to be standing at their side. According to Shining Armor, it was very inspirational.”
As Cadance laughed, a wicked expression crossed Sunset’s face. “Shining Armor? Who’s that?” she asked, quickly looking away to hide her smirk.
Without warning, Sunset was magically jerked back into Cadance’s clutches. The alicorn’s forehooves wrapped tightly around her middle and two large pink wings encircled her, feathers facing in.
“Oh, you know who I’m talking about,” Cadance whispered dangerously in Sunset’s ear. “The guard who casts a ‘halfway decent’ shield spell.”
“Oh! You mean Gleaming Bulwa-AAAAHAHAHA!” Held securely in Cadance’s grip, Sunset could do nothing to stop the alicorn’s wings from tickling her with dozens of feathers simultaneously. “CA-CADANCE! HAHAHA WAAITAHAHAHAHI’M SORRRIIIIIEEEE!”
Cadance paused her assault to allow Sunset to catch her breath. “What’s his name?” She asked the amber pony threateningly.
Sunset gulped as she stared at the feathers, poised to resume their attack at a moment’s notice. With a sigh, she looked up at Cadance and defiantly said, “His name is Radiant Aegis-SAHAHAAHA!”
This time Cadance didn’t stop for the interrogation. “I know you know his name,” she said as the amber pony squealed hysterically.
“AHAHAHHHAOKOKITSAHASHI-SHINING ARMORHAHA” Sunset shrieked.
Cadance stopped the attack and folded her wings at her side. “See, you can do it if you try.”
Sunset was practically limp in Cadance’s grip as she struggled to catch her breath. “That…*gasp*…wasn't…*huff* …fair,” she managed to choke out.
Cadance giggled. “And who was it who told me that playing fair is for those with no imagination?”
Sunset smiled as her breathing calmed down. “How dare you use my own words against me.”
The two of them laughed and Cadance squeezed Sunset affectionately. Smiling, the unicorn leaned back into her sister’s warm embrace. For a few minutes, they just sat and enjoyed their moment together.
However, there was still something they had to address. So, Cadance let go of Sunset and turned the amber pony around to face her. “Look Sunset,” she began. “I know that you feel guilty about running away, and I can’t force you to forgive yourself if you aren’t ready. But I do need to make something absolutely clear to you.”
Sunset looked away as the tide of guilt rose inside her once more. She took a deep breath, dragged her eyes back up to meet Cadance’s, and nodded for her to continue.
“I don’t care what you’ve done, or what you’ll do in the future,” Cadance said, with a firmness in her voice that Sunset had only heard once before. “You do not get to decide that you don’t deserve to be my sister. You are my sister, Sunset; there is nothing you can do that will ever change that. I will always be your sister. And I will always love you. Because we’re family.”
“…Family?” Sunset whispered, her voice filled with both apprehension and longing.
“That’s right. We’re family, and we always will be. So take your time working through your guilt, but I am not going to lose you again: not to a mirror, not to Aunt Celestia, not even to you,” Cadance stated absolutely.
A shadow crossed Sunset’s face and she hung her head low. “Are you sure?” she hesitantly croaked out.
Cadance blinked. “Am I sure…what?”
Sunset slowly lifted her head to look at Cadance once more. “That you really want me for… f-family?” she asked, her voice cracking under the weight of the final word.
The anguish in her sister’s voice went through Cadance’s heart like a knife. “Sunset, is that even a question?” she cried out in disbelief, spreading her wings and reaching out pleadingly.
The torrent of emotions that had been building up inside Sunset finally smashed through the patchwork dam in her heart. Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself forward into Cadance’s embrace and began bawling like a foal. Cadance wrapped her wings protectively around her sister, buried her face in Sunset’s fiery mane, and began to sob as well.
As the train carried the two crying ponies south, a single, wonderful thought crossed both their minds, bringing them a sense of relief, that neither had felt in nearly six years:
I have my sister back.
Hundreds of miles to the south, there was a loud knocking on an hourglass-shaped door. After a few moments, a light blue unicorn opened it and stuck her head out. She had steel-blue eyes; an hourglass cutie mark; and a two-toned mane of periwinkle and dark blue, that was slightly reminiscent of toothpaste.
Standing before her in the morning sun, was a weird mare dressed in a black bodysuit that ran head to hoof. Overtop this outfit, she wore a dark tactical vest with numerous pouches containing who-knows-what; and her head was completely obscured by a ridiculous-looking full-cover helmet with an attached pair of large green goggles. After a moment, the mare spoke in a deep, raspy, and heavily modulated voice. “Minuette, I need your help. IT has begun.”
Minuette stared blankly at the weird pony for a full minute before she burst out laughing.
“AHAHAHA! Oh my gosh! WHAT are you wearing? HAHAHA! Don’t you know it’s ten in the morning? You stick out like a sore hoof! AHAHAHA! Or-or-or, do you think it’s SO obvious, that it’s subtle? Pffft-AHAHAHA! Where did you even get that? WAIT! Did you wear that on the TRAIN!? All the way from Ponyville?! BWAHAHAHAHAH—”
*Two Minutes Later*
“—HAHA-haha-ah-ah-ah-ha-haaaa.” Minuette sighed happily as her laughing fit finally came to an end. Picking herself up off the ground, she faced the weird mare once more. “Okay, sounds like fun!”