"Decorations? Check. Music? Check," Spike listed off as he ticked the checklist.
"Everything alright?" He heard Twilight ask as she walked in from across the great hall.
"Yeah, everything's in place. All we need now is Sunset," Spike said. "Oh, and someone who will pass the crown to her?"
"Hmm, what about Snowdrop? Since you did that for my coronation, I thought maybe it would be better to have Snowdrop do it for Sunset."
"That sounds great. Oh, where's Starlight? Didn't she come to the castle?" Spike asked.
"No, she's back at Ponyville waiting for Sunset and the girls."
"Ah. Hopefully, this will all go without any incidents. There has been too many for my tastes," Spike said dryly.
"You realize you just jinxed us, don't you?" Twilight said while Spike laughed, rubbing his neck.
Back at the castle of friendship, Starlight waited in the library in front of the mirror portal for Sunset and her guests. It didn't take long before the portal started to swirl brightly before an orange blur shot from it. Sunset adjusted herself in midair in preparation for the landing and managed to land on her hooves.
"Haha! Take that, you stupid mirror," Sunset boasted in joy. The joy was short-lived, however, as she was then hit by a dozen more ponies. "Why…?" Sunset said weakly from within the pile of ponies.
"Haha! You have a tendency to celebrate too early," Ari said, flying from above.
"Uh… you guys okay?" Starlight asked, looking at the ponies in concern. The ponies looked at the mare in confusion.
"Oh, you must be Starlight, would you mind?" Sunset said, holding out her hoof.
"Right, of course," Starlight said, pulling her out of the pile.
"Anyway, you must be Starlight. I'm Sunset. Nice to meet you," Sunset said.
"It's nice to meet you too."
"Okay, so introductions, these are the counterparts of Twilight and her friends, Twilight."
"Salutations," Twilight said awkwardly while pushing her glasses up, trying to stand up like everyone else.
"Wait she's a pegasus? I thought Twilight was a unicorn before," Starlight asked confused.
"Yeah the human world works a little different sometimes, I'll explain later," Sunset said before continuing with the introductions. "Applejack."
"Howdy."
"Rainbow Dash."
"Y-yo."
"Fluttershy."
"H-hi."
"Rarity."
"Wonderful meeting you, darling."
"Pinkie."
"EEE! Starlight, it's so nice to meet you. You should really come to the human world with us so I can give you a really big party," Pinkie said without stopping to breathe and somehow walking and jumping despite being just transformed.
"Y-yeah, of course."
"YAY!"
"And this is Aiko Whiskers," Sunset said, pointing at the Japanese girl.
…
"Aiko?" Sunset said, looking for the girl, only to see her flying in place, grinning like a little child that just received a bag of candy.
"O-oh, sorry," Aiko said, snapping out and flying towards Starlight and landing. "I'm Aiko Whiskers, hajim- It's nice to meet you, Starlight-San," Aiko said, bowing.
"Oh, it's nice to meet you too," Starlight said.
"And this is my mom, Celestia, and aunt, Luna."
"Hello, Starlight," Celestia said.
"And this is my little sister, Snowdrop."
"H-hi," Snowdrop said, waving in Starlight's general direction.
"Aww, aren't you the cutest?" Starlight said, rubbing the girl's head while the girl blushed but smiled nonetheless.
"Also, that snow phoenix with the smart mouth is Ari." "Hey!"
"And that's Spike," Sunset concluded.
"Spike, I'm pretty sure you are supposed to stand on your back legs," Twilight said.
"L-like this?" He asked, trying to stand up.
"Yeah, at least I think so. I don't really have any data on dragons, and even if I did, I don't know how accurate that data would be considering the social difference and the different governmental structures compared to Earths. Equestria is obviously-"
"A simple yes or no would've worked," Spike grumbled but was ignored by Twilight as she really began to fall into her rant while Aiko listened to her thoughts.
"Okay, so it's really great to meet you all. But first, it's time for lessons. Who here wants to learn how to walk?" Starlight asked, ignoring the scientist in Twilight breaking out so soon.
And so, Sunset, Starlight, Celestia, and Luna helped the remaining five girls get used to walking on four legs while Aiko busied herself flying around the room. Once they got the hang of it, Starlight took them all to the Canterlot Castle, where Princess Twilight is preparing the coronation. Or at least she was going to before they were stopped by a voice.
"Well, well well well well, who do we have here?"
"Oh no, not him," Sunset said, annoyed.
"Oh, but it is me," the voice said before the owner of the voice appeared. There was a snapping sound before they found a figure in front of them with a flash of light.
"Discord," Sunset and Starlight said, deadpanning while the rest of them said in confusion.
"Discord?"
"Oh, looks like I'm famous in your world as well."
"No, you are just the chemistry teacher," Rainbow said in a slightly excitable tone. At the question look from the girls, she suddenly became defensive. "What?!? Chemistry is cool. It is learning how to make things explode."
"That's not even remotely correct in what chemistry covers," Twilight said to correct the rainbow-haired girl.
"Well, that's what Mr. Discord said it was about."
"Mr. Discord?!?" Discord all but shouted in surprise and disgust.
"What are you doing here, Discord?" Starlight asked to cut him off before he could enter a rant.
"What? Can't I congratulate the soon-to-be crowned Princess? I mean, honestly, doesn't Equestria have enough princesses now. With so many now, when will I get a chance to ascend the throne? It's honestly unfair, don't you think?" Discord asked, clutching his heart as he addressed the group only to notice a pink and yellow pegasus. "Fl- fl- fl- Fluttershy…? T- t- two Fluttershy's? Oh, this is wonder-"
"Now, just hold it right there, Discord," Sunset stopped him. "If you even lay a finger on her, I will incinerate you," Sunset said, wrapping a wing around Fluttershy and glaring daggers at Discord to make the message clearer, her eyes glowed red.
"They are together," Pinkie stage whispered to Discord.
"Oh… well, my apologies. And would you look at that? It's time for me to go now," Discord said, looking at a watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist before snapping and suddenly vanishing.
"Okay, now I know why I hate Discord back at CHS," Rarity said.
"You hate him because you suck at chemistry," Applejack said.
"No, I don't. Just because I have a C doesn't mean I'm bad at Chemistry. It's not my fault that I can't understand him when he goes off on random tangents."
"Speaking of CHS, why don't we see if everything is okay there," Celestia asked.
"Good call, the last thing we need is another rumor wreaking havoc," Sunset said.
"Rumor?" Starlight asked.
"Long story, we'll tell you when we are at the train," Sunset said, levitating Twilight's journal to write a message to Chrysalis, who was in charge of Sunset's journal and making sure that the forum stayed closed as much as possible while she was gone.
It took about an hour for the Sunset and co to get to the Canterlot Castle. While on the train, Sunset told Starlight about the problem they had back home. Upon arriving at the castle, they were greeted by Princess Twilight, who took them to their rooms.
"So everything okay back home?" Princess Twilight asked.
"Yeah, all is fine. We asked Chrysalis to look after the journal and the forum," Sunset said.
"I still can't believe Chrysalis is a good person in your world," Starlight said.
"Just because they are counterparts doesn't mean that they are the same," Sunset said.
"So Princess, what about our dresses? I really want to see them soon," Rarity said.
"Just call me-"
"No, that'll just be confusing," Sunset said, pointing at the human Twilight.
"Oh right, so to answer your other question, Rarity finished them and is here at the castle along with the rest of the girls. Their rooms are just across from yours," Princess Twilight said as they arrived at their rooms. "Your counterparts are on the right side. Your rooms are on the left side," She said, pointing at each side. "I'll go inform Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. You guys are here."
The visitors chose their rooms as Princess Twilight left while Sunset and Snowdrop agreed to share the same room.
The day went by as everyone tried their dresses on while both Rarity's adjusted anything that required adjustments. During this time, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna came to greet the visiting humans and took Sunset and Snowdrop to practice for the coronation. Rarity also made some wristbands for the humans to where, so they could identify each other easily and decided to call the humans by nicknames.
The day went quite great without any incidents. And everything looked like they were going great.
[The next day]
The ponies woke up the next day and started to get ready for the big event. As the time drew closer to the coronation, the humans began to put on their dresses while the pony Rarity took Sunset to get her ready for the event.
"You must be really excited," Rarity asked Sunset.
"I don't know. I'm kind of excited but also nervous? I mean, I'm not even going to live here."
"Hm... if Pinkie is here, she would say you are nervosity."
"That's not a word, but I get what she means."
"Also, even if you don't go to live in this world, you still earned it and are from this world, so I don't think it matters much, darling. Should anything happen to the Princesses or Twilight, we can all take heart in knowing that Equestria has one Princess that is safe that we can all look to when the need arises."
"Maybe. I-"
"SUNSET!!" They were interrupted by Princess Twilight, who stormed into the room shouting Sunset's name. "We have a huge problem. Something is in the castle and- the coronation is about to begin in an hour-"
"Whoa whoa, Twilight, calm down, deep breaths, are start once your calm," Sunset imitated while Twilight did the same to calm herself down. "Okay, now tell me what happened."
"I was on my way to meet you when all of a sudden I was assaulted by... this thing, it looked human and had a giant scythe."
"What? That sounds like Death. But how is there a reaper in the castle?" Sunset asked.
"I don't know. I managed to trap it in a room and asked two guards to keep an eye on it. I immediately came to you since you might know more about it than me."
"Oh my, don't we need to tell the Princesses? They might know what to do," Rarity said.
"Yes, you are right. Go tell this to the princesses. And-"
"Sunset? We have a problem," Sunset's mom said as she entered the room.
"Great, now what?" Sunset asked as she looked at her mom only to see Twilight's journal opened up to a page. She took the book in her magic to see what it was. "It's from Chrysalis," Sunset said.
"Chrysalis?!" Rarity shouted.
"Long story, but she says there is a problem," Celestia said.
"What is she saying?" Twilight asked.
"It's a printed copy of the message. She probably did it to save time," Sunset said. "Let's see."
Crimson Chaos
Hey, a friend of mine told me about this forum. My uncle once told me a story about a ghost that terrified me a lot when I was little. The story goes like this. It was a very long time ago; there was a family that had a lot of riches. They were like lords. And also very prideful and cruel when it comes to giving out punishments. They had a son who was very handsome. He fell in love with a girl from a family of farmers. When the parents found out about this, the man's father ordered to cut the girl in half in public using a scythe used for farming to show where they stand. While the girl was screaming in pain, she cursed them that she would cut every one of them as they did to her. It is said that the ghost of the girl crawls with only the top half of its body and a scythe looking to kill any rich people that came across her. And if she lays eyes on anyone, she wouldn't stop at anything to cut them in half.
My uncle also said that a friend of his from a rich family got killed like that, but I'm pretty sure it's just something he said to scare me more. Whether it's true or not, I don't know, it bothered me so much, and I'd really like to see what you know about this.
"This is just great. Not only do we have a coronation in an hour, but also a wannabe death ghost trying to kill us." Sunset said.
"What are we going to do now? And why is it here?" Sunset's mom asked.
"I don't know how it came here, but we are royalty. If she has something against rich people, we should be on the top of her death list. Anyway, Twilight, where did you trap her?"
"What about your coronation? You get ready, and we'll stop this," Twilight said.
"Rarity, how long would it take for you to get me dressed?" Sunset asked.
"10 – 15 minutes," Rarity said.
"If we hurry, we have time," Sunset said, walking towards the door.
"But-"
"What good is it being a princess if I can't protect my subjects? This is more important to me than the coronation. Mom? Go tell the others about what's going on. We need all hands on deck," Celestia nodded before running to find the others. "Twilight?"
"O-okay," Twilight said before leading the two mares to the room she trapped the scythe-wielding ghost.
"P-Princess," The guards bowed when the three walked towards them. The guards also looked terrified.
"Open the door," Twilight said.
"Y-you sure, highness?" One of the guards asked
"Don't worry, I got this," Sunset said, walking towards the door.
"B-but princess-"
"It's okay. Your fears are understandable. Who wants to fight someone that looks like a grim reaper," Sunset said, standing in front of the door. "Okay, get ready," Sunset said once the guards readied themselves beside the Princess. "Here goes," Sunset said before quickly opening the door while Twilight got ready to blast the ghost if needed.
"What!?" Twilight said in confusion while the others looked around the room for the ghost. "It's gone."
"How did that happen?" Rarity asked.
"Did you two hear anything?" Twilight asked.
"No, once you gave us the orders, we stayed here with full attention. Nothing passed us, nor did we hear anything," The guards said.
"Well, it is a ghost. It might have vanished," Sunset said. "Though the blood looks real."
"BLOOD!!!" Twilight and Rarity screamed while the latter fainted when she saw what was on the ground.
"Oh, great. Twilight, go inform the princesses. No need to cancel the coronation. If things get too long, try to stall for us. And you two, take Rarity to her room or to the infirmary," Sunset said.
"Yes, Princess," the guards saluted before taking Rarity to the infirmary while Twilight ran off to find the Princesses.
"Sunset! What happened?" Sunset heard Applejack. When she turned her head, she saw that the rest of the girls were there with Celestia and Luna. "Did it hurt Rarity?"
"No, she just saw blood," Sunset said.
"BLOOD!!!" Just like before, everyone screamed.
"Don't worry. It's from the ghost. You do leave a lot of blood when you are missing half your body."
"Oh, thank goodness. I thought it hurt her," Rares said.
"Okay, listen. The ghost is after rich people. It's filled with hate for them. So we need to stop the rumor as soon as possible and prevent the ghost from going to the main hall. I want some of you to go and keep an eye near the hallways to the main hall. Since it already saw Twilight and me, it might try to follow her or me. Let's hope it follows me, so we don't have to worry about the nobles," Sunset said.
"Aye aye, Princess," Rainbow said before running towards the main hall with the rest of her friends.
"Mom, take Snowdrop to the Princesses."
"Okay, Sunset, just be careful," Celestia said.
"Don't worry, mom. I'll be fine," With that, Sunset is left with her human friends and Luna. "Okay, so time to hunt a ghost. Luna, did you reply to Chrysalis?"
"Oh- no, I forgot," Luna said, opening her saddlebag and taking the journal.
"It's okay, I'll send a quick reply," Sunset said, taking the journal in her magic. But she stopped for a while.
"What is it, Sunset?" Aiko asked.
"I don't know. All of this smells fishy."
"How so?" Luna asked.
"I don't know. It just feels like it," Sunset said before quickly replying to Chrysalis. "Well doesn't matter. We need to stop the rumor. Let's split up into groups. If you find it, try to lure it to this room. Do not try to fight back. I'll call some unicorn guards here so they can try to keep it at bay."
With that, the group split into smaller groups to find the ghost.
Meanwhile, Twilight made it to the main hall where Princess Celestia and Luna were greeting the nobles.
"Um... excuse me, Princess Celestia, can I have a quick word?" Twilight asked, gaining their attention.
"Yes, of course, Luna," Princess Celestia said before walking back to talk to Twilight. "What is it, Twilight? Everything okay?"
"Not exactly," Twilight said, smiling awkwardly. "You remember that problem in the human world? Well... it came all the way here somehow."
"What? What happened?"
"Well... there's a scythe-wielding girl with only half its body, crawling around the palace trying to kill any nobles that it comes across."
"What!?" Princess Celestia almost shouted. Lowering her voice, "We have to cancel the coronation then."
"Actually, Sunset and the others are hunting it now, and since this is something she's familiar with, she said she'll be able to stop it soon. I just wanted to tell you just in case so you can be ready."
"I don't know Twilight. What if something happens?" Princess Celestia asked uncertainly.
"Sunset looked like she knew what she was doing. She pretty much took control of the situation as soon as I went to her. I'll just take some guards so we don't have to alert anyone and would be able to fight back easily," Twilight said.
"If you are sure."
"Princess Celestia?" They looked up when they heard her counterpart calling her.
"Tia, what is it?" Celestia asked.
"Can you keep Snowdrop with you? You don't have to look after her. I just don't want her anywhere with a monster running around," Tia said.
"Of course, I'll keep her safe," Celestia said, wrapping a wing around Snowdrop as she came closer.
"Please be careful, mom," Snowdrop said.
"Don't worry, my little snowflake, everything will be fine."
Back with Sunset, she was walking through one of the corridors with Fluttershy and Aiko, keeping an eye and ear out for the ghost. They had alerted any guards they came across and specifically asked unicorn guards to restrain it or hold it back with their magic while earth ponies came to her so she could deal with it.
"No sign of it anywhere," Aiko said.
"G-g-good then. I don't want to look at s-s-something like that," Fluttershy said.
"Don't worry, my butterfly, I won't let it harm you," Sunset said, wrapping a wing around Fluttershy.
"B-but it could hurt you."
"Awww, don't you worry any. It can't escape my fire," Sunset said before looking at Aiko, who suddenly found the ceiling interesting.
"Sorry if it made you uncomfortable, Aiko."
"W-what? Oh no, it’s okay,” Aiko said.
"I mean, soon you'll be in the same boat, so..."
"N-Nani!? (w-what!?). I don't think of anyone like that," She quickly defended.
"Oh, don't tell me you don't like her. I've seen how you-"
"SO!! How are we going to stop the ghost? Burn it?" Aiko said, quickly changing the subject. Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Well, we could do that, or we can use the elements. But to do that, we need to trap it first. And keep it from vanishing like before."
"H-Hey... is it j-just me or i-is it s-suddenly darker in h-here?" Fluttershy asked, getting closer to Sunset looking around.
"Huh, now that you mention it, it is darker here," Sunset said, looking towards the windows that should cast some light in. But it was like it was cloudy outside.
"D-do you hear that?" Aiko asked.
"Hear what?"
"Listen," Aiko said. And as instructed, the other two focused their ears. That's when they heard it. It was like a grating noise. Like something metal is being pulled through the ground.
"It coming from this way," Aiko said, pointing at a hallway that was in pitch black. Everyone turned towards the hallway while Sunset readied herself as the grating noise got louder and louder until suddenly, it stopped. Sunset ignited her horn in preparation for an attack. But nothing happened.
"I-i-it stopped," Fluttershy said.
"Come on. Stay close to me and watch my back," Sunset instructed before she took a step forward. “Okay, slowly- *swish-clank* AHHHHHHHH!!!” Sunset shouted, startling everyone as a giant scythe suddenly embedded itself on the ground, just in front of Sunset. "Back up! Back up!"
The girls quickly ran back while the ghost gave chase and somehow caught up to them.
"How is it so fast!?" Aiko asked, flying in front of the group.
"I don't know! Just run!" Sunset shouted as the ghost suddenly lunged at them and swept the scythe, ripping a tapestry hanging off a wall. Carefully, Sunset cast a fire lance that shot at the ghost only to be blocked with the scythe. It once again retaliated, causing her to throw up a fire shield, and Sunset gritted at the pressure behind the blow.
"Tsk, take this," Sunset growled before her shield flared out, lighting up the hallway in a bright flash. The ghost screamed from the flash, and Sunset withdrew her magic, casting the hallway back into darkness before rounding around and chasing after Aiko and Fluttershy, where they were waiting at the hallway junction. "Go!"
After what felt like forever, the three made it to the room where her mom and Princess Twilight were waiting with some unicorn guards.
"SUNSET!" Celestia shouted.
"GET READY!" She shouted as the guards and Twilight readied themselves. Aiko and Fluttershy ran behind them while Sunset turned back to attack the ghost. "This ends no-" Sunset stopped herself when she saw that no one was behind them.
"Where did it go?" Fluttershy asked.
"I-I-I don't know. It was right behind us," Sunset said. "Come on, Twilight, with me. It couldn't have gone far."
"Right behind you," Twilight said as she and Sunset walked back through the hallway.
"Hm, this is really weird," Sunset said.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. I just feel like there's something else going on. The ghost has been roaming around the castle for a while now, but we only encountered it twice."
"I mean, it's a big castle."
"Then why did it disappear now? And why is it that none of the other guards have seen anything? Plus, its aim is off. Granted, it has to be a lot hard to swing a giant scythe without the bottom half of your body, but I felt like it's missing on purpose. Especially when we first met it. It attacked just in front of me. I didn't even have to dodge it."
"Hm... interesting. Uh... Sunset? Are we going the right way?" Twilight asked.
"Uh... yeah, why?"
"There is no blood on the floor," Sunset looked down at the floor, and just like she said, there's no blood.
"Huh? Hey, did we pass any... ripped off tapestries?" Sunset asked, stopping.
"No, we didn't."
"We didn't?" Sunset said before she looked down in thought. They saw Celestia, Luna, and a couple of unicorn guards running at them when they looked back. They then heard the sound of galloping.
"Mom? What is it?"
"We are running out of time, Sunset. Princess is going to cancel the coronation. It's too risky," Celestia said. "What do we do now?" Sunset then looked at Luna.
"Luna, did Chrysalis reply?"
"Oh yes, she did," Luna said before Sunset took the book in her magic. She quickly opened up to the last page to see the message.
We got the message, and the ghost is here somehow. The book is with you-know-who.
-Sunset-
I'm really sorry for what happened. And please be careful, Luna
-Chrysalis-
After reading the message, a smile slowly appeared on Sunset's face.
"Here, Twilight, take this," Sunset quickly tossed the book at Twilight before flying off through one of the hallways.
"Sunset, wait! What are you doing!?" But it was too late as Sunset was already too far ahead. "Come on," She said as Twilight, Celestia, and Luna ran after Sunset.
Sunset, meanwhile, made it far away from the group and into an empty room with an open balcony. She landed on the ground and slowly walked to the center of the room.
"Hey, grim reaper! You want me? Well, then come and get me! Let's end this," As soon as Sunset finished that sentence, the light streaming from the balcony got darker like before as the room filled with dark smoke.
*clink* *clink*
"There you are," Sunset said, turning back towards where the sound was coming from. As she expected, the ghost is lying there with the scythe in ready. "Give me your best shot," Sunset said, narrowing her eyes.
The ghost slowly crawled towards Sunset while the soon-to-be Princess stood her ground. Once it got close enough, the ghost used the scythe as support to stand up before hoisting it in preparation to attack. The sound of galloping indicated that Twilight, Celestia, and Luna had already caught up to Sunset, but it was too late. In one swift motion, the ghost swung the scythe down.
"SUNSET!!!" All three of them shouted while Celestia closed her eyes, unable to look at the scene.
*Shwing*
*Shiwck*
*Crunch*
Silence filled the room for the next few seconds that felt like an eternity. Celestia slowly opened her eyes and gasped at what she was seeing. The scythe was embedded on the ground beside Sunset while the mare in question stood unharmed.
"The game's over... Discord."
"What?" Twilight said in disbelief as the smoke that covered the room disappeared, and the ghost suddenly shifted before morphing into a familiar shape.
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Discord laughed while still holding the scythe in his paw. "Bravo, Sunset bravo. You solved the rumor. I gotta ask, how did you find out the rumor is fake?"
"Oh, I had my suspicions, like, for instance, how the rumor came to this world, the portal is closed," Sunset began. "Also, Chrysalis glued a copy of the rumor into the journal. Looking at the length, it's safe to assume she did it to save time, but then again, she doesn't know exactly how the journal works, nor did I have anything glued in any previous entries. And the name of the user is basically your name. But the final clue that told me this is fake is Chrys's last message. She doesn't call Luna by her name. She always calls her by a different name."
"Now that you said that, I did think it's strange that she would call me by my name, especially since she's worried about me," Luna said.
"But why did you do this, Discord?" Twilight asked.
"For a little fun, of course. That and to see if our new Princess has what it takes to be a princess. I've gotta say you did really well. You'll make a better princess than both Celestia and Twilight."
"Hey!"
"Also, it's Halloween in your world."
"Uh... it's not," Sunset said, confused. Discord looked surprised before he summoned a calendar.
"Oops, I got the wrong world, haha. Anyways, I believe we have a coronation to attend," He said before snapping his fingers, making Sunset's dress appear on her. "There we go. Now you better hurry, don't want to be late to your own party and crowning," He said, disappearing in a flash of light.
And so, after fighting a blood-thirsty ghost, who later turned out to be just Discord, the time has finally come. Sunset waited outside the main hall door with the rest of the choir and flag ponies, waiting for Princess Celestia to announce her name. She could hear Celestia's words from beyond the door, and she couldn't be happier.
"... she not only helped Princess Twilight spread the magic of friendship into a whole new land but also uncovered the Seventh Element of Harmony. Fillies, and gentle colts, may I present to you, for the very first time, Princess Sunset Shimmer."
And with that, the doors opened, and Sunset walked forward, towards the throne, where the four princesses, along with Snowdrop holding the crown waiting for her. The choir ponies sang as they, along with the flag ponies, walked behind Sunset. Once she made it to the throne, she climbed up the steps and stood in front of Celestia. Snowdrop passed the crown to Celestia as she lifted it up using her magic. Sunset knelt down as Princess Celestia lowered the crown on Sunset's head.
"Rise, Princess Sunset Shimmer," Princess Celestia said as she rose back on her hooves and faced the gathered ponies, and opened up her wings.
Then it was time to see the ponies, waiting outside to see the newly crowned Princess. Sunset walked up to the balcony with the rest of the princesses. As she revealed herself for the ponies, everyone cheered for her in joy as confetti sailed through the sky. After a while, Sunset cleared her throat to address the gathered ponies.
"A few years ago, Princess Celestia came to me and took me under her wing as her student. I learned many things from her. But it's a shame for me to say that I was a lot different per- pony then. I was stubborn and arrogant. It led me down a dark path. But with Princess Twilight's help, I was able to see the errors of my ways. Today, I stand here as a Princess. But I believe that it's something I don't deserve. I believed that I would always be the same old pony. But with the help of my friends and family, I was able to change my ways and become a better pony. They pulled out the good in me. I did a lot of bad things in the past. And I don't know what the future holds for me. But I know one thing. That even the worst person can change, that everyone can be good if they just try and are given the support to do so."