//------------------------------// // Awkward Returns // Story: Mission to the Pony Planet // by ersmiller //------------------------------// “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Scraaak “I’m trying!” Wrcak “Give me a break! These wings are new!” Wrrccaak! “What did you call me!?” “She said watch out for that tree!” “Wahhhhh!” Pranking Princess Luna did not go well. The castle chef had recently suggested she switch to decaf over concerns about her high caffeine intake. Combined with a stressful week and the Princess of the Night was not in the mood. At least the long escape had given Sunset an opportunity to put into practice what she had learned from the flight books. “Watch your left wing! Tilt it back!” On the third loop of the castle, Princess Celestia had joined them. But instead of trying to appease her sister, she flew alongside and gave Sunset flying advice. She always did love being a teacher. The experience was equal parts invaluable and horrifying. Once the chase was over, Sunset and Philomena retreated to safety for the rest of the night until they were sure Luna had gone to sleep. The next day and night in Canterlot Castle were spent more leisurely. Sunset had more time to reconnect with Celestia—and the winged pest—and even enjoyed an evening flight together just for fun. Sunset got to watch Celestia set and raise the sun again, apologize to Luna, who was back on her preferred blend, and it was time to say goodbye. She fixed her dress back in place over her wings, got a larger set of saddlebags, as her new correspondence journal/textbook wouldn’t fit in the set she got from the Raritys, and headed out. But she had one more pony to visit before returning to Ponyville and the portal. *** *** *** “They still need to work on their lighting,” was Sunset’s first thought walking into the familiar, dark, and foreboding foyer. “At least there’s a bit more color now though.” She looked over at the new decorations. Clearly not Rarity-grade, but perhaps somepony took inspiration from her work throughout Ponyville? “Something changed, I guess. Foal-steps in the right direction. Now to see if I can still find his office.” She slipped past the receptionist, proceeded down the utilitarian hallway from memory, and came to the familiar office door. Though, there was a new decoration here too. A photograph was affixed to the door depicting a group of creatures. An earth pony, a yak, a dragon, a griffin, hippogryph, and one creature she’d never seen before. Some pony/ladybug hybrid? She took a breath to steady herself and thought back. Cadance, Sunburst, Celestia, even Philomena. She’d weathered the storm, now for the tornado. She knocked on the door and the reply was almost immediate. “Enter,” came the stern voice she remembered, or was it softer now? One last reading of the door’s nameplate to be sure it was the right office and she opened it. EEA Chairpony – Chancellor Neighsay “Hay, Dad.” *** *** *** A day later, wearing just her saddlebags and a hat to hide her horn, Sunset touched down on one of the balconies of Twilight’s castle and shook out her wings. “Ugh, too much luggage,” she complained, taking a look at her bulging saddlebags. Her new correspondence journal, the flight books, the dress the Raritys made to hide her wings, and her crown all weighed her down, but she wanted to put her flying ability to the test under a load. She only had herself to blame for the ache, but also the achievement of managing the laden trip without much incident. Finding a shady place to relax, she opened one side of the saddlebags and took out the newest treasures, photos given to her by her father. One of herself and her parents from her sixth birthday, another of Sunburst and Stellar Flare from some happy moment they’d shared, and one rare photo of the siblings together albeit one in which she looked like she had just eaten a sour lemon being made to sit so close to “The Twerp.” During the meeting in her father’s office there had been yelling, tears, hugs, and ultimately a lighter heart for both of them. The stallion was still stern, still ridged, but more open and caring. He actually had changed. So had the house, she later found out. Sunburst was right about Stellar Flare’s redecorating. No remodeling though, that was good. Mom’s original intent for the design was still there. And Sunset’s bedroom had been left untouched. Sleeping in that bed was strange after all that time away. It had been used only a hoofful of times since she’d become Celestia’s personal student. Just being in the room with how she left it was a bit unnerving, but it felt right to stay close to Dad instead of returning to her castle dorm for the night. And, as a bonus, she found her latest draft of the Fire Flower spell which she immediately mailed to Sunburst. Being a reformed villain and a royal alicorn ambassador didn’t mean she couldn’t still mess with her little brother a bit, right? She smiled and put the photos back in the saddlebags then took off the hat and added that as well. She didn’t need to pretend she wasn’t an alicorn anymore. It was a quick teleport to Twilight’s library to return the borrowed books, then to the portal room to drop off her saddlebags for the trip home. But she instead turned for the door. She couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. “S’up.” “Waah!” Sunset startled back. By the window was a half-filled bookcase, a towel rack holding several towels in multiple degrees of wetness, and a bed table beside a … bathtub? “Aria?” “Took you long enough.” The kelpie pushed herself up over the rim of the tub to examine her. “Where’s the crown?” “Wait. What are you doing here? Weren’t you off on a journey to find your people?” “Found some. Got back. Make with the crown already, you royal anus.” “You found more kelpies?” Aria rolled her eyes. “There was a Coltlantis museum near where I used to live. Run by mermares and such. Kelpies migrated or something after we left. Live with the zebras now. Weird. Did you get a scepter too?” “A scepter?” “Ugh. The thing a prissy princess carries so everyone ‘cept-her has to do the work.” Sunset put a hoof to her face. “That’s not—never mind. You found out you’re not the last of your people and you just came back to lounge in a bathtub?” “Told you I’d be back. Would have been out in the pond, but wanted to make sure you didn’t sneak off without me.” “You were waiting for me?” “Pff,” Aria laughed, casually drying a hoof and using it to turn the page of a book on the bed table. “Just didn’t want the Pink One to do her party thing on me. If we go back together, she’ll be focused on you and I can slip out without her trying to, ugh, hug me. And you ponies need waterproof books.” Sunset just stood blinking a moment. “You’re afraid of a hug?” Aria shot her a glare. “Right, right. Not afraid," Sunset kidded, "of course not.” Aria raised a hoof toward her. “What do you know; That’s twice now I missed having fingers. Who’d-a-thunk?” “Hahah,” snickered Sunset, walking up to her ornery friend. “Cool, calm, collected Aria.” In the tub, Aria failed to hide a blush. Sunset continued with a softer voice, “Just don’t forget you can always talk to me about anything, anytime.” Aria shifted a bit in the tub and opened her mouth a few times as if to speak. “Hay,” she began after a pause and Sunset leaned in. “Did you know Equestria has video games now?” “Wait what?” Sunset back-stepped at the change of topic. “Wait really?” She perked her ears up. “Yeah, but they suck. Like arcade games from the 70’s and no Space Invaders or Shark Attack. I mean, if you gotta go retro, bring the goods, right?” Sunset’s ears drooped at the diversionary tactic but she adopted a slow smile. “Yeah. So how about we do some rounds when we get home? Compare scores and … talk?” While Aria had stiffened at the word home, for a moment there was no other reaction, just blandly turning another page in her book. “Yeah,” she eventually said. “We can do that.” Smiling, and braving the water that soaked her fur, Sunset hooked a foreleg around Aria and hugged her as well as she could with the bathtub in the way. Aria gave a halfhearted, annoyed groan, but there was definitely a blush as Sunset pulled back. “Sorry,” Sunset giggled, “Didn’t mean to scare you.” Aria returned a flat look and splashed water in her direction, losing to a smile afterward that Sunset returned. “Oh, by the way,” Aria said, “your bird’s here.” “Bird?” “Yeah. Red, about as tall as a pony, likes to stand on heads, hates water,” Aria finished with a smirk. “Philomena?” Aria put a hoof to her lips and whistled loud. Warrrrk In shot the phoenix from the window, giving the bathing kelpie plenty of space and landing on Sunset’s head. “Really?” she deadpanned up at the bird. Wark “Does Celestia know you’re here?” … Wr-rk? “Well I hope so.” Aria pointed a hoof at the phoenix and clicked her tongue. Philomena returned the gesture with a wing. Sunset’s ears dropped. “Don’t tell me you two made friends.” “Game recognizes game.” Wrrak, Philomena agreed. “What?” asked Aria. “I thought you wanted me to make friends.” “Maybe I should have been more specific.” “Too late for that.” Wark! Sighing, Sunset bobbed her head, and the phoenix standing on it. “Could you go tell Twilight I’m here? Spike too.” Wark! Philomena called, launching off Sunset and easily opening the hoof-shaped doorknob with her talons to get into the hall. Once alone, Sunset turned to Aria. “I did include ‘don’t start any fires’ on the list.” “Talk to the bird.” “Aria ….” “Relax, Downer. The ponies had other things to keep them on their toes yesterday.” A raised eyebrow was all Sunset had time for before Twilight’s familiar teleport brought her, Spike, and Philomena into the room. “Sunset!” Twilight cheered. “Twilight! Spike!” grinned Sunset as Philomena perched on her back. “Thanks for the distraction back in Canterlot. That could have been bad.” “I’m happy I could help.” “Nice dance moves, by the way.” “Thank you! Always makes a statement!” Spike laughed, “That’s certainly true.” “Did Flash go home yet?” asked Sunset. Twilight’s smile softened a bit. “Yeah, yesterday.” Then, with a groan, “And that’s when Lyra came through!” “Lyra? You mean—“ Sunset pointed at the portal, “that Lyra?” “Yeah, galloped all over town. I’ll fill you in later.” Twilight looked over to Aria. “You could have stopped her. You were right here.” “I could have,” Aria agreed. “But watching her was more fun.” As Twilight groaned, Spike walked up and addressed Sunset. “I heard you got a crown.” Smiling, Sunset turned and levitated it out of her saddlebags. “Yes, take a look.” “Oh sure,” complained Aria, “show the dragon.” Dragon, kelpie, and pony looked closer as the crown floated between them. “Sweet duds, Princess,” commented Aria. “Oh, I’m not a princess.” “Huh? What gives?” “I turned it down and Celestia will be making me a royal ambassador to Pedestria instead,” Sunset explained, while putting the crown on. “NICE! Diplomatic immunity!” Aria shouted. “We can get some real fun going with that!” Sunset’s eyes widened but she shook off the thought. “Nope! I’ll be a representative of Equestria and I will make Celestia proud!” “Pff,” scoffed Aria, “teacher’s pet.” “That’s the bird.” Sunset pointed to the phoenix on her back. Warrk “But you got this sweet deal and you’re not going to use it? And your new magic’s not going to work there either?” “Nope. There’s just not enough active magic in that world to support our own. If there’s any difference in my abilities there it’ll be barely noticeable.” “Oh lame! After everything you went through, you ought to get something!” “I did,” Sunset smiled. “I got my family back.” Aria’s eyes softened. “Yeah, I guess that’s something. So, we’re going back now?” “Yeah, everything’s done that I needed to do. Including things I didn’t think I needed to do. And it’s good to know that Equestria can survive two Pinkie Pies.” “HA!” Twilight barked a laugh. “Two Pinkies. That’s easy.” “One’s enough” Aria grumbled, jumping out of the bathtub and hopping over to the portal. “And is the Pink One waiting for us?” Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but paused with a smirk. “Nope. It’ll be a surprise.” “Good. How do you turn this thing on?” Possibly thinking over the past annoyances and messes left by the kelpie, Twilight was quick to teleport to the portal and demonstrate the process. “And remember,” she concluded with the portal active, “once opened, the portal will stay open for five minutes before closing on its own. However, once used, it will only allow additional uses from the same side until shut down and reopened. This way we can avoid further Lyra occurrences.” Nodding, Aria stuck her hoof into the portal. After a moment, she brought it back out and stared at it, and then down at the rest of herself. She shuddered slightly. Sunset came up to her side and put a foreleg over her shoulder. “Anytime you want to come back, just let me know. We can still spare a few uses.” Aria put her hoof over Sunset’s for a moment, held back a breath, and hopped into the portal. “Is she okay?” asked Twilight. “She will be,” answered Sunset. “She’ll have plenty of friends with her, despite what she might call them.” When she got a curious expression as a reply, she added, “I lied. I had Celestia send word ahead that I’d be coming back about now so they’re all waiting for us.” Just then there was a thud from the portal as a pink shadow seemed to slam into it and slowly slide down. “Surprise,” chuckled Sunset. “Looks like the one-way traffic idea is working. Aria must have dodged her pink hug of doom.” Once the pink shadow retreated, Twilight walked up to Sunset. “Your turn?” “Yeah,” she answered, taking Twilight and Spike into a hug. “But I do have a message for Starlight,” she added after pulling back. “Tell her I want to know when she plans on making me an aunt.” “Huh?” Spike tilted his head, missing Twilight’s snicker. “Don’t worry, Spike. I think she’ll get it,” giggled Twilight. “Philomena?” Sunset looked back to the bird using her as a perch. “It was strangely nice seeing you again.” Wuuk “But stay out of my room, Pest.” Wararrrk Philomena took wing and circled while continuing to chirp. “Um, sorry, but I don’t understand Phoenixese as well as you think I do.” Wak, Philomena called in a clearly annoyed tone and landed on the floor in front of Sunset. As the others watched, she shifted and blushed before stepping forward to wrap her wings around Sunset’s forelegs. “Awe,” Sunset hugged back with her own wings. “I’ll miss you too.” Watching, Twilight and Spike smiled at the display. Seeming to have had enough, Philomena pulled back and flew up to perch on some furniture. “I’ll be sure to visit so long as it’s safe,” Sunset told the three of them, putting on her saddlebags and straightening out her crown. “Can’t wait to find out what the girls think of this. Rarity’s gonna flip!” “You know,” Twilight chuckled, “when we met I was the one just getting used to having a crown and wings.” Standing next to the portal, Sunset looked back. “And next time we can go out flying together.” “Me too!” added Spike. Waaark! “We’ll look forward to it,” Twilight agreed. Sunset smiled and walked through the portal. *** *** *** Not long before, on the other end of the portal, seven high school girls, a boy, and a dog waited on the lawn in front of the Wondercolt statue. Most were spread around a picnic blanket topped with assorted sandwiches, desserts, a tea set, and other drinks. “Anything yet?” asked Rainbow Dash, absently playing hackysack. “Nope,” Twilight Sparkle answered, adjusting her glasses and checking her laptop. No shift in energy. They haven’t activated the portal yet.” “Do you think we should send a message?” asked Rarity, hooking an arm around Applejack’s. “The message said Sunset hadn’t even left for Ponyville yet at the time,” Applejack replied. “She had to make an estimate she’d be here at four.” “Yeah,” agreed Pinkie Pie, balancing a doughnut on her nose. “And with all the wackydoodle ways time wibblely-works there and here and here and there when you put them together with the portal in the middle … uh, what was the question?” “It was how long do we have to wait before Sunset gets here?” answered Spike. “I wanna go for walkies!” “And Pinkie just pointed out Sunset would have had to make a difficult estimate,” finished Flash Sentry. Nearby, Wallflower Blush walked around the yard touching the grass every so often. Her other hand was clasped with one of Fluttershy’s with the girl’s magic geode between their palms. “The soil's a bit low on nutrients here. I’ll have to remember to add some compost to the garden after her welcome back party. Did the message say anything about Aria?” Behind her, Fluttershy quietly smiled as one of the few girls shyer than her touched the ground near a wilting flower and made it stand tall and healthy again. “Posey wrote she went on a journey to find other kelpies. I hope she finds some.” “Ah'm still confused by this kelpie thing,” said Applejack, blushing when Rarity snuggled closer. "A-Ah thought she was a siren." “She said she’s normally a water kelpie,” explained Wallflower. “One of several aquatic horses in their world, like sea ponies.” “Huh,” Applejack wondered before shrugging. “I guess a horse is a horse of course, of course, unless you're in Equestria.” “And Sunset turned into, what was it again?” asked Rainbow. “An alicorn,” answered Flash. “Like a majestic, winged unicorn,” added Rarity. “Or a horny pegasus!” offered Pinkie, getting groans from the others gathered. “What?” “We’ve had enough horn jokes, darling.” Rarity put two fingertips of her free hand over the middle of her forehead. “Oddly enough I actually miss mine. Can’t imagine what it's been like for Sunset in our world.” “Severe horn envy.” ““Pinkie!”” the others yelled. “What?” Rolling her eyes, Rarity reached for a cup of tea. While bringing it up to take a sip, a circular device beside Twilight began to beep softly. “Portal’s open?!” Rainbow rushed. A confused expression on her face, Twilight picked up the device and slowly waved it around, the beeping varying in volume and tempo. “No, that’s not the portal, that’s—“ a loud beep rang out when Twilight pointed the device at Rarity’s cup. “Rarity, what’s in that?” “Oh, one of the new teas I got from Share. It’s delightful! It did taste better in Equestria, but it’s still better than most teas I’ve ever had in our world. It has this sparkling quality to it.” “But there’s magic in it!” “Yes, I know dear,” Rarity calmly agreed before taking a sip. “I suspect that’s what makes it sparkle so.” Twilight made an adjustment to the device and multiple lights lit up as the beeping increased. “Did you girls bring back anything else that was magical?” Flash, Applejack, Wallflower, and Fluttershy all said no or shook their heads. Nearby, a yellow ping-pong ball with a red pupil blinked and skittered behind a bush on tiny legs, having been much more nosy than an eye had any right to be. “I brought all our magic books over,” said Rainbow. “A pair for Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna too. You know, to write to all our ponies.” “I doubt it’s magical, but you traded hats with Ponyjack,” Rarity pointed out. “You noticed?” asked Applejack. “We thought it would be a fun way to stay connected.” “Of course I noticed, darling. A lovely idea.” “I brought magic sugar!” cheered Pinkie, pointing to all the desserts on the picnic blanket. Twilight pointed her device at the goodies from Pinkie’s picnic basket and got a series of high-frequency beeps. “I was wondering what those readings have been about,” Twilight mumbled before letting out an exasperated shout. “We’ve all been eating magic desserts for the past week!” “Yeah! Just like we did in Equestria. No biggie, and they taste so good! So sparkly.” “Um,” Fluttershy began, her and Wallflower having come back to the blanket when the voices raised, “is that a bad thing?” “Well,” Twilight considered, relaxing a bit, “it is just sugar and tea, and we did all have the same stuff in Equestria. Twi and I already determined that the amount of magic in our world isn’t affecting the boundary between our worlds, just uses of the portal is doing that. So, I guess not. After all, Pinkie couldn’t have brought more than a couple of bags with her.” “Just one actually,” Pinkie confirmed. “But I also brought the recipe! I made like ten pounds of it using my geode already!” "Ten pounds of magic sugar?" "It would have been more but it I had to figure out a bunch of things, oh and I blew up the first few batches and the teacher got mad so I did some at home instead and Mom and Limey got mad when batch four blew up, but then I perfected the process with Mrs. Cake's help! Now I can magicise more sugar anytime I want! You know, after I finish cleaning the kitchens I blew up. There's one left. And I have detention for it." "I did hear there had been trouble in the HomeEc wing," Rarity commented. “The fire alarm went off twice, didn’t it?” "Um, Pinkie," Rainbow spoke up, "those voices you kept hearing in Equestria, did they ever tell you to burn things?" "Some.” Pinkie gasped. “How'd you know?" Fluttershy eeped. "Oh no, Pinkie. Do you still hear them?" Pinkie used her fingertips to clear out her ears then cupped her hands over them. She closed her eyes and sat serenely with her legs in the lotus position. The others all flinched from the oddity of the sight, so different than Pinkie’s normal oddities, and then flinched again when Pinkie suddenly opened her eyes and shouted, "Nope!" There was a sigh of relief that Pinkie cut short with her next statement. "Just the normal ones." "The 'normal' voices?'' asked Flash. “Yep!” Pinkie gleefully answered before putting a couple of magic sugar cookies in her mouth. Deciding there were more important, and hopefully less disturbing, things to discuss, Twilight got back on track. “I think I’ll have to research the food made with your sugar, but—“ Pinkie grabbed an assortment of desserts and held them out in front of Twilight. “Help yourself!” “I-I mean scientifically.” “Ooh! Science has a sweet tooth! Now why don’t they ever teach that in school?” “They do in a way. The culinary arts are a form of chemistry … that I’ve never been able to grasp, but we’re getting off topic. Being that it’s still just magical books and food items that we’ve brought back with us and we’ve not been influencing our world itself, then—“ "Actually,” Applejack cut her off with an uneasy look toward Wallflower. “Me and Wally have been running my geode on some of our trees. They look so much healthier now! We’re gonna get a lot more apples this year. Maybe double next year with how well they're producing already!” Twilight pointed her device at a Sweet Apple Acres apple pie on their blanket getting more beeps in return. “U-um,” Wallflower waved weakly. Once she had Twilight’s attention, she pointed at a small garden around a hoof-shaped statue on the front lawn. “There’s also that.” Everyone turned to see an impressive collection of lush, green, healthy bushes and glorious flowers so bright they seemed to sparkle. Twilight turned her device to the display and got the highest level of beeping so far. Angling the device around the school’s front lawn also returned beeping, even some distance away from the garden. “I kind of used a bit of magic directly on the soil too. For the grass.” "It looks so pretty," Fluttershy gushed softly. "It's been a lot of fun helping Wallflower around town, especially here and at the park. The animals have been so thankful." "Squirrels have been gifting me nuts all week." "How thoughtful of them," Fluttershy beamed. Twilight gave the screen of her device another look. “You’ve been doing this ‘around town’?” "Is that bad?" squeaked Wallflower. For a moment, the only reply was a low groan. “I think I’ll have to run these readings by Twi and Sunset. No more magic unless there’s an emergency until then, okay?” Disappointed sighs came from the group but they all nodded. “Hey,” perked up Rainbow with an eager expression. “You think being in Equestria and eating all this magic food will power us up anymore?” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You mean like instead of ponying up, we’ll horseup?” Everyone turned as one to Twilight. “Uh ….” Twilight picked up her device, pointed it at herself, and adjusted some knobs and dials causing the beeping to change in pitch and frequency. Finally, when the beeps turned into a steady tone, she checked the screen and—“Neep!”—flinched back. With an exasperated groan, Twilight announced her findings. “Enough of this and we’ll be ponying up if we just sneeze together!” “Acchooo!” exclaimed Pinkie. The others all turned to see her checking her head for pony ears. “Nope,” she said simply. “Darn,” tisked Rainbow. “Maybe if we all do it together!” suggested Pinkie. “Yeah! How do we make ourselves sneeze?” “I was being facetious!” cried Twilight. “So we can’t sneeze out ponytails?” asked Pinkie. “No, but,” Twilight sighed. “When I got back from Equestria, I checked my magic level and I found that it was considerably higher than before our trip there. However, that level had—“ she shot the desserts a look, “—been dropping back down. But now it’s up again! Not to post portal travel numbers, but I imagine that could happen with enough of that sugar.” “But they’re so good!” whined Pinkie, picking up a small stack of cookies. “Put the cookies down, Pinkie.” Pinkie looked at the cookies in her hand, easily four inches worth stacked on top of each other. They slowly made their way closer to her mouth, almost like she wasn’t trying to stop them. “Pinkie,” Twilight warned. “But, but,” the cookies came closer. “We don’t know what this much magic will do to us over time.” “If it’s in sugar form it’ll make me happy.” “Drop the cookies!” “I’m trying!” “No you’re not!” “You’re right! The cookies are calling me!” Pinkie ate the cookies. “Pinkie!” “I ate the cookies.” Twilight frowned and focused on the deserts. Each began to glow in her aura and float away from the bottomless pit of Pinkie’s stomach and near the more responsible pair of Applejack and Rarity. “Twilight!” Pinkie whined. “Too much sugar!” “But magic sugar is so good and not even fattening!” “No?” Rarity perked up, eyeing the desserts that were now much easier to reach. “Rarity!” Twilight chided. “But they’re not fattening!” “Maybe not the sugar, sugarcube,” Applejack began, “but what about the butter and other ingredients?” Rarity let out a breath. “Thank you, darling. My resolve was weakening.”  She giggled, “ ‘Sugarcube’,” while giving Applejack’s arm a squeeze, then took a sip of her tea. “Rarity!” Twilight slapped a palm over her forehead. “Yes?” Rarity paused and Twilight pointed to the teacup with the hand that left a red mark on her head. “Oh! The tea. Yes, of course. Such a pity. Sighing, she poured the rest onto the lawn a bit away from the blanket. “Rarity!” Twilight groaned again. “What now?” “The ground already has enough magic in it!” “Sorry,” Wallflower apologized sheepishly. “No, it’s … fine,” Twilight forced past an eye twitch. “These magic readings shouldn’t be all that bad, not really. Not yet at least. But it’s a good thing it’s just been us and not anyone else who’s been having magic food.” “It is?” Pinkie giggled, with an awkward warble in her voice. “Pinkie,” Twilight focused on her, “how many people have been eating your magic sugar goodies?” “Um. You want the list of people who came to all our welcome back parties?” “You’ve been feeding the school magic at the parties?” “Well, not the first two. Didn’t have the magictization process down yet and I wanted to save the bag I brought with me.” “But at least we know about magic,” said Flash. “Just about all of us at CHS have been hit with at least a little magic already, not just the seven of you.” “Eight,” added Spike. “I’m here too.” “Sorry, Spike. I can’t believe I forgot the talking dog.” “Oh, it’s fine. I’ll just pee on your leg later.” “Spike!” admonished Twilight. “Kidding.” “I’m with Flash,” announced Rainbow. “Everyone here knows about magic. If there’s a problem we just tell Principal Celestia and make an announcement over the intercom or something.” Begrudgingly, Twilight nodded. “Right, it could be worse, but at least it’s been kept to just the school, and apparently the park’s flora.” Applejack turned her head away. Pinkie whistled in a way that might have been intended to be innocently. Twilight dropped her face into her palm. “Applejack? Let me guess. You’ve already sold some magic apples?” Applejack coughed. “Uh, just a few. We’d only magic’d the older and less producing trees so far, but we have actually gotten a yield out of them already. Maybe a bushel or two were sold.” “Isn’t a bushel about a hundred apples?” “About.” Slowly, the flat look Twilight was giving Applejack rotated to the still whistling Pinkie. “And you, Pinkie? How much magic sugar have you sold?” “None!” Pinkie exclaimed resolutely. “Not a single granule!” “What about foods made with magic sugar?” The whistling resumed. “Pinkie? How much?” “Thaaaaat’s a little hard to answer.” “Why?” “Well.” Pinkie swallowed. “Remember how I said I perfected the sugar magical-magicing process with help from Mrs. Cake?” “Are you telling me that The Sweet Shoppe has been selling your magic sugar goods?” “That would explain why those doughnuts we picked up yesterday were so much better than usual,” noted Rainbow. “And why there was such a line to the register,” added Fluttershy. “Pinkie,” Twilight groaned. “Yes?” Pinkie answered. “Pinkie,” Twilight repeated. “Y-yes?” “Has the FDA approved the sale of magic sugar baked goods?” “Uh … y-yes?” “No they haven’t!” “Oops.” “Call Mrs. Cake and have her stop using the magic sugar. Sunset, Twi, and I need to make sure it’s safe.” “Right away!” Pinkie saluted, taking out her phone. “Applejack, you too.” “Ah’ll fill the family in once Ah get home. But it’ll be okay, right?” Twilight thought back to her own history. “We already know that too much magic can cause, uh—“ “She-demons?” offered Rainbow. “Yes, ugh, she-demons,” Twilight shivered. “But that takes a lot of magic. Small amounts like this shouldn’t cause harm without a catalyst to enable people to tap into that magic.” “Like your geodes!” Wallflower pointed out. “I’ve had plenty of the magic apples and Pinkie’s desserts, but I still can’t feel nature without holding onto Fluttershy or Applejack’s.” “So we’re okay?” asked Applejack again. “I think we should still be fine,” Twilight finally allowed herself a smile and Applejack took a calming breath. Rarity gave Applejack a comforting squeeze. “Everything will work out, darling.” “Thanks, sugarcube.” “And with that, while we wait on Pinkie and Sunset, I need to excuse myself for a moment.” “Too much tea?” joked Rainbow as Rarity was standing. Caught off guard by the ghastly gag, Rarity stumbled and fell into Applejack’s arms. “Oh, my,” Rarity giggled. “Je suis tombé dans les pommes.” “Uh, Ah don’t speak Fancy.” “I know you don’t, dear,” Rarity giggled again, getting to her feet successfully this time and walking toward the school. Applejack watched Rarity with a blush until she entered the school and quickly got up and grabbed Fluttershy. “Oh, wah, Applejack?” Fluttershy wobbled as much as her legs while being led away from the group. “You gotta help me, Fluttershy!” Applejack quietly exclaimed. “What’s wrong?” “Y-you’re closer to Rarity than the rest of us, right?” “Um, maybe I used to be, but I think that’s you now, isn’t it?” “That’s the thing. I don’t know what we are anymore. It’s like she’s hanging all over me! She brushed my hair three times just today!” “It was so cute seeing her wear your hat while brushing it at lunch. It looks really shiny and smooth now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so silky.” “My hair has never looked so good!” Applejack squeaked. “And,” Fluttershy paused, “that’s a good thing, right?” “Ah-but-uh,” Applejack stuttered. “Yes! Ah happen to like it, but that’s not the point!” “Is she making you dress fancy or use makeup you don’t want to? Like before we go on stage or dance?” “No, just little things like the hair and ironing my clothes.” “She ironed your clothes?” “Got caught in the rain while on our last d—evenin—study session! Put ‘em in the wash and pressed ‘em and everything while we ….” She blushed almost as red as her family name. “Yes?” “Uh, played dress-up and hung around in our s-skivvies?” The mental image was too much for Fluttershy and she let out a giggle. Applejack grabbed her shoulders and brought her closer. “She even came over to brush my hair and iron my clothes before school today! What do I do with this?!” Startled, Fluttershy took a moment to think and noticed something peculiar. She sniffed the air. “Are you wearing perfume?” “Um, Ah—just a little?” “Did Rarity do that?” “N-no. It’s something Ma used to wear. Ah thought Rares might like it.” Smiling brightly, Fluttershy put a hand on one of Applejack’s arms. “It’s lovely, Applejack, and I’m sure ‘Rares’ feels the same way.” “But, what do Ah do with her?” “I think you’re doing just fine and we’ll all support you two.” “ ‘Support us’? What, what do you mean?” Before Fluttershy could get her giggle to die down enough to answer, out of the corner of her eye she noticed Rarity had returned and turned to smile at her. But the face that she saw chilled her blood. That face could kill at thirty paces. Fluttershy took a step away from Applejack, getting out of her arms, and meekly waved. Instantly Rarity switched to a bright smile. “Hehe-he,” Fluttershy gave a pained chuckle. “G-good luck.” Applejack scratched the side of her head in confusion watching Fluttershy grab Rainbow and pull her down to the picnic blanket with her like she was a shield, muttering something about “territory.” She didn’t have much time to think it over before Twilight’s laptop beeped. “They just opened the portal!” she announced. Excitedly, everyone not already at the picnic blanket got seated back around it. Rarity claimed Applejack’s arm with her own, getting a blush from the taller girl and an “Eep” from Fluttershy when their eyes met. Pinkie set out a few yoga mats should Sunset trip on her way out of the portal and reached for a doughnut which floated out of her grasp in Twilight’s aura. “And thus ends our little group’s mission to the pony planet,” lamented Rarity. “I hope we can go back some time,” wished Wallflower. “I didn’t even get to go,” complained Spike. “I bet as a dragon I could chase squirrels up any tree!” “I wish I got to talk more with Twi,” Twilight mused. “Imagine all the magical and scientific projects she, I, and Sunset could have worked on!” The others all traded apprehensive looks. “We’ll miss ‘em alright,” said Applejack. “But it is good to be home and that things can calm down and get back to normal.” As the others nodded in agreement, in the distance another pair of girls were leaving the school grounds. Once the pair noticed them, one tried to run over but was held back by the other. “They look like they’re waiting for something. I think they’re going to open the portal again,” Lyra gushed to her best friend. “You’re not jumping in there again,” came the stern reply as Sweetie Drops dragged Lyra away. Pinkie Pie giggled seeing the display. “That Lyra really gets excited about the portal, huh? It’s like she can’t help but run to it every time it opens.” Suddenly, the portal rippled and a purple girl shot through. “Weahh!” she yelled, awkwardly coming to a landing on her hands and knees atop the yoga mats. “Aria!” Wallflower smiled. “Aria!” Pinkie cheered, jumping to her feet and rushing the girl with both arms locked in her atomic tackle-hug position. “The hay!?” Aria Blaze yelled before deftly ducking and rolling to the side causing Pinkie to miss and tumble into the portal where she was slapped against the side like a bug on a windshield. ““Pinkie!”” The others cried. “Heh,” Aria laughed as Pinkie slid down what was effectively a glass wall. “Bookhorse made the portal one-way each time it opens now. You can’t get in.” Pinkie rolled back from the portal and raised a hand. “Seems effective,” she groaned. “And Shimmer told me we’d be alone here,” Aria grumped. “We didn’t know you’d be here,” explained Twilight. “Then you won’t mind if I bug off then,” Aria answered, hooking a thumb down the sidewalk. “You don’t have to leave,” protested Wallflower, shifting over on the blanket. “You can sit here.” Aria looked down the sidewalk. “Or I could just go.” ”You could,” Wallflower agreed. “But it would be nice if you stayed. I think Sunset would like to see you here with us.” Looking between her two options again, Aria growled and sat beside Wallflower. “Fine, but you owe me.” ”Owe you what?” ”I don’t know!” Aria argued, picking up a cookie. “Something!” ”Um, Aria,” warned Twilight. ”Yeah, Four-Eyes?” ”There’s magic sugar in that.” ”Magic? You mean earth pony sugar?” ”Yes. Pinkie found a way to make it here.” ”Nice!” Aria took a big bite out of the cookie and swallowed it down. “Best part about being on the surface. Their sugar is like a fat-blocker. You can actually tone up with it.” ”Really?” Rarity gasped, eyeing the treats again. ”Easy there, Rares,” Applejack steadied her. ”But, we’re worried about what effects magic foods could have on us in this world,” Twilight explained. ”Meh,” Aria shrugged her off, taking a doughnut. “You worry; more for me.” The others all watched her happily—a strange state for the normally grumpy girl—eating the delicious, and apparently healthy, treats, and turned to look at Twilight, pleadingly. “Oh, fine!” she relented, and everyone grabbed a treat or two. “But just a little! Once Sunset gets back we can study all this magic we brought back with us and get everything back to normal.” It was then that the portal rippled again. “N 'ere she fin'lly is!” cheered Rainbow through a mouthful of cupcake. Aria quickly felt around her left hair tie and pulled out an amber feather. She shrugged before tucking it back in and watching the portal with interest. But the rippling increased more than it had before and shone with a yellow light. Along with a rush of wind, their friend shot out of the portal but didn’t make a landing. Instead, the gathered girls, boy, and dog tilted their heads upward, each holding up a hand or paw to block out the shining light that hadn’t dissipated once the portal settled down. Above them, wearing a crown, a backpack, and the clothes she had from before, they saw Sunset’s familiar red and yellow hair flowing in a non-existent breeze behind a long, glowing horn all hovering with the aid of sparkling yellow wings of pure light. She looked down at herself in confusion. “So much for normal,” Aria laughed. From within her hair, Pinkie retrieved a pair of sunglasses and put them on to dim the lights. “Eh, what’s ‘normal’ anyway?”