//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - Work and Play 
// Story: Spring Surprises 
// by TheGJ90 
//------------------------------//

When Rainbow Dash had returned from the grocery trip, she helped her mother get the groceries put away before running up to her room. What she found was Sunset sitting on her sleeping bag in a lotus position while writing on her journal with barely contained soft snickering. Rainbow was a prankster at heart and with the experience to match. It was that experience that helped her recognize the opportunity that presented itself. Sunset was not aware of Rainbow's presence in the room, which meant only one thing:

It was time for a prank!

With the quietness of a ninja, she snuck out of the room and back into the kitchen. She opened up the fridge, which doubled as her recently restocked armory, and inspected her current set of weapons.

Pie... a classic choice. But, she was not in the mood to clean up her floor.

Tomatoes... seeing red tomato bits and juices on Sunset's amber face was a hilarious image in her head. But, this would cause the same problem that the pie would.

Rainbow needed something less messy this time around. Something that would produce the coolest reaction possible.

That was when she saw them: the perfect weapons for the job. Her manure-eating grin was as large as her ego at that moment as she thought to herself with nigh-evil glee;

"Okay, SunShim... time to heat up your day: Rainbow Dash style!"

Sunset was still far too busy writing and snickering to notice Rainbow returning to her room with two blue plastic cups in her hands. Both cups were filled with the same drink: red fruit juice with the same amount poured into each cup. With a quick breath to steady herself, Rainbow told Sunset with excitement in her smile and voice;

"I'm home and I've got us some drinks!"

Her friend promptly closed the journal, stood up while carrying it under her left arm, and turned to face Rainbow, who was holding a cup in her right hand out to her. Sunset knew that prankster well enough to suspect trouble just from seeing that oversized grin of hers. But, she decided in her head to play along for now by taking the offered cup while giving her a confident smirk. The two friends sat down on Rainbow's bed and toasted each other while Sunset declared calmly;

"Cheers!"

They then started to take a large sip of their drinks. Or at least, they were about to before Rainbow's father called out to his daughter from the living room;

"We missed a few groceries down here!"

With an embarrassed laugh, Rainbow Dash put her cup down on her nightstand before running off at a non-magical pace to resolve the issue. Sunset, who had managed to avoid getting a drop of her drink into her mouth, saw a chance to really get the drop on her mischievous friend. Every part of her, even the bad girl inside, felt like singing over what she was about to do, if her twisted smile was any indication.

Once Rainbow had returned a few minutes later, she quickly got back onto the bed, grabbed her cup, and raised it to Sunset while proudly declaring;

"To our friendship: may it always be awesome!"

They then toasted each other again before taking the delayed sip. It took all of five seconds for the appropriate reaction to come up. Rainbow held her cup tightly after sharply lowering it from her face, which was riddled with tears born from intense internal heat. Heat that gave her mouth and tongue a most disagreeable burning sensation as she cried out in pain;

"I need water!!!"

She then ran out of the room within an instant with magic flowing through her veins, a rainbow streak left in her wake. No wings or Pony ears this time. The poor girl simply could not concentrate enough to bring them out. Sunset, with a chuckle, counted down with her right fingers, soft anticipation being prominent in her voice;

"Three. Two. One."

Rainbow yelled out to the stars in the infinite vastness of outer space;

"I NEED MILK!!!"

The bacon-haired girl laughed her butt off while holding her belly with both arms for a few seconds before an annoyed cyan girl with prismatic hair and a face drenched with water and milk came running back into the room to stand within inches of her face. She gave Sunset an intense glare before her face morphed to express a smile filled with mirth and laughter that she could not contain longer than three seconds. The two friends laughed out loud for about a minute before calming down, after which Rainbow told the victor of that day's impromptu prank battle while pointing at her chest with her right index finger;

"You haven't lost a step, Shimmer!"

"I learned from the best.", said Sunset with a wink and a smirk. Rainbow Dash responded by pointing at herself with her right thumb and declaring with pride in her smile and voice;

"Well, I am awesome, after all."

It was at that moment that Rainbow had noticed the journal, which decided right then and there to emit a purple glow while vibrating repeatedly. This gave Sunset a bit of a fright as she quickly raised it up to her face to open it with both hands while keeping the pages out of sight of her friend. With a raised right eyebrow and hands on her sides, the athlete asked;

"What's going on with the Princess these days? You haven't talked about her lately."

After taking a few seconds to read the newest message, Sunset snapped the journal shut and placed it back under her right arm before giving Rainbow a solid answer while sounding as confident as she looked;

"She's doing fine, RD, I'll fill you and the girls in on the details later. Also, don't you have to help them work on my house soon?"

With a smug grin and a thumbs up aimed right at her friend, Rainbow Dash announced;

"No problem! We'll make that house of yours one-hundred and twenty percent awesome!"

Without any further ado, she ran off at speeds only magic could make possible, leaving Sunset alone... for two seconds. She darted back into the room to give her a sharp reminder and wink, her smug grin still on point;

"No peeking!"

She ran back out before Sunset could say another word at the same speed as before.

Now, while Sunset was more than happy to keep conversing with her first and greatest Pony friend ever, she needed some time away from the journal to have a little bit of personal fun. So, after graciously saying goodbye for now to Twilight, she walked over to her gaming PC, grabbed the headphones on the desk to put them on, sat on the chair, and went to work on setting up a video game for her play. As the creator and host of the somewhat popular Shimmer Code streaming and video show, Sunset saw the need to grab any game she could find that was interesting to her. Thus, she had acquired a vast array of games over the years that covered a wide variety of genres and generations. It did not matter to her if a game was old or new, obscure or popular. If it was fun to play, she was going to play it. After looking through her library of games on her Smoke account, she picked the one she wanted to play. It was the newest addition to her library: an online cooperative game that some of her Wondercolt friend had recommended to her before. Thankfully, those friends were online at the time, as shown on her friends list. Seeing an opportunity, she opened up her Bedlam client (her username being PhoenixPony) and DM'd three specific Wonderbolts. It didn't take long for them to get into a group chat together, with Sunset greeting them all once the voice call was started up between them;

"Hey guys! I'm ready to play that co-op game you all have been raving about."

Those Wonderbolts were none other than Flash Sentry (DorkofPuns), Bulk Biceps (ArmDayEveryDay), and Big Mac (AtotheC). Flash was the first to respond with his typical supportive enthusiasm;

"Glad to hear it, pal! I have just one question though..."

A quiet pause filled the call before he exclaimed;

"Who's ready to rock and stone?!"

Bulk jumped in to bellow out with absolute intensity;

"Did I hear a rock and stone?! YEEEEAAAAHHH!"

Big Mac responded as only he would, chill baritone voice and all;

"Eeyup, rock and stone!"

Sunset listened to her friends throw all manner of verbal rocks and stones at each other while feeling utterly perplexed;

"Either magic or this game has driven them nuts...", was the mental jest she had picked to help her process what was going on as she chuckled to herself, having found humor in her friends' silliness. Once the rocks and stones were put aside, they helped her get the game set up, so that she could start the solo tutorial to get a taste of the fun that only a game like Deep Rock Galactic could provide.





It took Rainbow a solid five seconds to arrive at her destination: the rundown, abandoned, and barely habitable house that Sunset once dared to call home. Standing near the front door were her fellow band mates, with the CMCs not too far from their sisters. Applejack had two fully stocked toolboxes in each of her hands while wearing a tool belt that was just as stocked. In front of her stood a large wooden table that she had brought in from Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight had the blueprints of the house rolled up under her right arm while rocking a backpack that was clearly overstuffed on her back. Rarity was carefully inspecting one of her fabric cutting tools in her right hand while surrounded by decorative luggage, which was laid on the ground. Some of them were already opened, revealing numerous fabrics, curtains, and bed sheets that bore various shades of red, yellow, and purple as well as a wide variety of patterns. Fluttershy was talking to Angel Bunny, a few birds, and a cat about how they would help with the project, her Pony ears and Pegasus wings in full display. She wasn't using her full magical power, so her outfit was still her traditional pink, white, and blue ensemble instead of it being transformed. The CMCs, like Applejack, each wore their own decked out tool belt. Just like the others, they also wore large yellow hardhats and protective work gloves. Apple Bloom herself brought her own toolbox as well as a black box that showed the name and logo for Appleloosa Power Drills on both sides. She had placed both boxes on the ground next to her upon arriving. Scootaloo was carrying something that was no tool; a sturdy brown unmarked case that was the shape and size of a book that she carried under her right arm. Sweetie Belle carried in her right pants pocket a rectangular wooden box that fit snugly in the pocket. The trio talked amongst themselves about how they would help make Sunset's house a home, their occasional excited giggles warming up the hearts of the older girls around them.

Spike, ever the dutiful pup, had taken on the important role of watchdog. With regular sniffing of his nose, a keen eye, and sharp ears, he patrolled the area near the girls and the house for any sign of trouble-makers, with a certain former principal and an angry Griffon being at the top of his 'Bark on Sight' list. Even he was wearing a hardhat fit for a dog his size, complete with adorable paw gloves that he insisted on wearing to 'look tough' as he had put it. The only person who was not wearing a hardhat or gloves was Rainbow Dash, a fact that Applejack noted with a raised eyebrow when the girls noticed her and happily said hi;

"RD, are ya' really gonna work on this 'ere house, which by the way is fallin' to pieces, without a hat or gloves?", she said with a tone not too far off from that of a concerned mother. With a quick facepalm, Rainbow gave off a sheepish grin before dashing (no pun intended) away at magical speeds.





In record time, she returned to her bedroom, scoured her closet for the hat and gloves, got them on, decided to check in on Sunset, who was busy playing Deep Rock Galactic at the time. She and her fellow players were in the midst of her first real mission when Rainbow had returned. She had noticed her friend's rainbow streak, but figured her host had forgotten something, so she didn't pay any mind until she said to Sunset almost as quickly as she could run;

"Oh, you're playing DRG? Rock and stone!"

Thanks to Flash and company, she had already learned the importance of that phrase. As much as she wanted to say it back to her, Sunset knew that Rainbow was long gone by now. So, instead, she decided to say it to her gaming pals via the game's salute feature. When her dwarf, a Driller, belted out the phrase, the others joined in solidarity with all the gusto of dwarves taking care of their nine-to-five in the deep caverns of the world. Mere seconds later, the game's Mission Control character announced to the team;

"Swarm incoming! Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

When the game's electric music started picking up, Sunset saw that as her cue to bring out her war face and burn things. All of the things. No bug on Hoxxes would escape her cleansing flames that day.





A few seconds later and Rainbow returned to the group of girls, this time wearing proper work attire along with them. With that business taken care of, Sci-Twi called for the girls to gather around the table as she walked towards it and laid out the blueprints on it. Not skipping a beat, Applejack took a small case of pins out from one of her tool belt's compartments, carefully grabbed a pin, and stuck it onto a corner of the blueprint. She did this three more times for the other corners to keep it held in place. With her work done, she returned the case of pins to its compartment and waited for her friend to speak. With a breath, Sci-Twi spoke with clarity and calm enthusiasm;

"Okay, I've drawn up a copy of the house's blueprints while adding all of our suggestions that could reasonably be implemented."

They all looked at the blueprints to find that many of their choice suggestions were added in. Rainbow Dash groaned and complained over one particular omission;

"What do you mean, we can't fit in a fitness room?! Sunset will totally need that to stay in shape!", she exclaimed.

With an apologetic grin, Sci-Twi looked over at her and clarified;

"Sorry, Rainbow Dash! But, I'd rather we not risk causing a cave-in while attempting to add a fitness room and a study to the basement level."

Rainbow pouted for a bit while grumbling to herself about how awesome fitness was compared to 'egghead stuff' as she called it. That little remark got the attention of Applejack, who made sure to reward her by briskly walking up to her back and giving her right arm a good friendly punch while telling her with a groan;

"Learn some tact, why don't ya'?"

That got the athlete to learn real quick what she had done wrong. So, she looked at Twilight with a sheepish smile and said honestly;

"Sorry, Twi! You're an awesome egghead."

Sci-Twi was used to Rainbow's well-meaning digs at all things nerdy and took no offense from her over such things. Still, her honest apology brought out a warm grin from the intellectual. With the matter settled, she went on to explaining the revised blueprints and divvying out tasks to each of the girls, including herself. Only the CMCs were not given any tasks, much to their shock and dismay. Apple Bloom was the first to complain with annoyance all over her face;

"Now hold up! Ya'll haven't given us anythin' to do around 'ere!"

Sweetie Belle squeaked her own complaint while holding her hands in a pleading fashion;

"We promise to be good, honest!"

Scootaloo was more motivated than frustrated, for she declared with confidence radiating from her face;

"You can count on us! You give us a job and we'll get it done!"

The other CMCs were emboldened by their friend's drive as they nodded in agreement, their frustration weakened. Of course, all of this had made Sci-Twi more than a little nervous as she replied with a slightly shaky voice;

"Now now, we've got something for you to do whenever you're not providing assistance with the rest of the tasks."

Hearing that raised their hopes to the cosmos! With sparkles in their eyes, they exclaimed to Sci-Twi in unified joy while bouncing over to within inches of her;

"TELL US! TELL US! TELL US!"

That was enough to make the poor scientist quite flustered. Thankfully, their sisters caught this, with Applejack telling them with pride and a hearty laugh as she ushered them away from Sci-Twi;

"Ya'll still got that mighty strong spirit of yours, Ah reckon!"

Her words got their attention and appreciation as they looked over at her with loving smiles. Rainbow Dash was quick to encourage the kids;

"Okay, squirts, follow me!"

She then motioned them to do so with her right hand. With happiness in their hearts, doubly so for Scootaloo, they followed her over to the stair-less stairway that led to Sunset's bedroom. Rarity and Applejack followed behind while the others went to do their own tasks around the house. With wide eyes, they looked around the stairway before Apple Bloom asked their sisters while staring daggers at the door;

"Where does this 'ere door lead to?"

Rarity answered politely and with an exasperated sigh that hinted at her distaste for the quality of the house;

"That door leads to what we consider to be one of the most important aspects of Sunset's house: her bedroom."

The CMCs' faces went from excited to shocked and to confused in a matter of seconds;

"Ah beg your pardon?", deadpanned Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle, however, gave a more specific question;

"You mean to tell us that Sunset has to climb in and out of her bedroom?!"

Before Scootaloo could chime in, Rainbow interrupted with a quick clarification;

"Just so you all know, we'll be handling the stairway, so that SunShim can just walk in and out of the room. You know, like a cool person."

Rarity added with a warm smile;

"We would like for the three of you darlings to help us renovate our dearest friend's bedroom into one that is up to a reasonable standard."

The CMCs gasped in shock over this momentous reveal. Apple Bloom was the first to react verbally and loudly;

"Ya'll want us to help fix up Sunset's bedroom?!"

Sweetie Belle's response was squeaky and just as loud;

"Her personal sanctuary?!"

Scootaloo yelled out her own take on the matter;

"Her place of awesomeness?!"

Their shock quickly gave way to unrelenting joy as they squealed in delight and began to bounce about in a circle while laughing out of sheer happiness and holding hands. Their sisters took a few moments to enjoy the beautiful child-like glee that was expressed in front of them before Applejack yelled out with enough volume to get the kids attention without coming off as mean or angry;

"Simmer down, youngin's!"

They did so as instructed, although their giant smiles would not leave their faces as they lined up in a row to stand at attention in front of their sisters, with Apple Bloom in the middle, Scootaloo to her left, and Sweetie Belle to her right. Applejack then explained to them with the authority of an older sister;

"Now listen up and listen good. When we first discovered this 'ere house, Ah went and took a peep in the bedroom to see what was goin' on with it. Ah won't lie to ya' none..."

She lowered the front of her hat down a bit and expressed a serious frown to emphasize the magnitude of her point;

"It ain't no pretty sight."

She raised her hat back up and gave the girls a warm smile before continuing;

"That's where ya'll come in."

Rainbow Dash stepped up to elaborate further with her usual level of gusto;

"We want you to help turn that uncool bedroom into one that's just as awesome as Sunset!"

Rarity raised her right index finger while pointing out;

"But first, we must give her room a full inspection, so that we may better understand what kind of shape it is in and plan our work accordingly."

She looked over at Applejack and told her with a little bit of trepidation in her voice;

"Surely, Applejack, it cannot be nearly as bad as you claim."





"Oh my stars, it is worse than I could possibly imagine.", was Rarity's deadpanned response to gazing at the cracked, plain, and outright unappealing bedroom, her wide-eyed stare making her shock all the more apparent. With Sunset's personal affects out of the house, all that remained as the furniture, with most of it having seen better days, save for the wooden table in the center. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, after working with Rarity to get the kids into the bedroom safely via the steel ladder that was once tucked away in the bathroom, had climbed up into it after Rarity had entered it first. Seeing how the room looked surprised the farmer and the athlete, to say the least. But, no one, save for Rarity, were as shocked as the CMCs. They walked around the room while inspecting every piece of furniture with their eyes in utter silence. After spending a whole minute of doing this while their sisters tried to deal with the deafening silence, they walked up to them and stood in a row just like before. Only this time, their heads were lowered to face the floor. Apple Bloom asked in an unusually low voice that was filled with seriousness in every syllable;

"This... this is where Sunset... our Phoenix Friend... has been sleepin' in?"

She raised her head to reveal an expression on her face that every Apple in Sweet Apple Acres could point out from a mile away, the same one that any Wondercolt who knew her could catch: a look of pure righteous indignation. The voice she used when she exclaimed was a perfect match with the look;

"That just ain't fair!"

She then began pacing left and right with her hands in her pockets while looking back down at the floor. With an irritated grumble, she reiterated with the same level of indignation as before;

"That just ain't fair!"

"You said it, AB!", exclaimed a furious Scootaloo, who ran over to the cracked bookshelf and gave it a swift kick with the tip of her right shoe to express her discontent with the quality of Sunset's old lodgings;

"Sunset Shimmer deserves better than this barren lameness in bedroom form!", she declared angrily while crossing her arms and giving every crack and broken furniture in the room a glare that basically said 'I'm gonna kick your butts'.

Sweetie Belle stood still while trying desperately to not yell out of anger as she uttered;

"Sunset's bedroom should be beautiful and welcoming, just like her!"

She stretched her arms out from her sides to visually drive home her point while adding;

"This room is neither of those things!"

"Exactly, my dear Sweetie.", declared Rarity, her earlier shock having given way to calm politeness and surety. She then went on to explain to the attentive children while being visibly disgusted by the state of the room she stood in;

"This abhorrent squalor that hardly qualifies as Sunset's boudoir will simply not do. Thus, it shall be your duty to do whatever you can to help turn this living space disaster into a bedroom that is utterly smashing in comparison. Fixing up the walls and ceiling alone would go a long way towards fulfilling that requirement, not to mention replacing the damaged furniture. Although..."

She looked around at the walls with a fashion designer's eye for a brief moment before suggesting;

"I would not say no to giving the walls a fresh coat of paint to start with. Perhaps some decorative wallpaper would suffice instead?"

Before Rarity could go all the way into one of her fashion tangents, Applejack stepped in to both put a stop to that and make the job ahead abundantly clear to the CMCs;

"Our point bein' that this 'ere room needs some good ol' fashioned TLC and we want your help with givin' it exactly that."

With a warm grin as encourage as the look in her eyes, she told the kids confidently;

"So then, ya'll up for it?"

With big smiles, the CMCs gave each other fist bumps before Apple Bloom promptly declared to the three older ladies that stood before them;

"Ya'll can count on us, big sis! We'll help get this bedroom all fixed up good and proper."

The three girls emphasized their shared desire by happily performing their traditional group high-five with their right hands for added affect. Right after the high-five was finished, Sweetie Belle started mentioning something that was on her mind ever since they were offered this job;

"Getting the broken stuff out is one thing, but..."

Hearing this got the other girls' attention, with Scootaloo asking her;

"What are you thinking, Sweets?"

She contemplated for a moment longer before explaining with a cheerful grin and an excited voice laced with the occasional adorable crack;

"Think about it: this room belongs to Sunset Shimmer. So, it's gotta look the part, right?"

The girls nodded their heads, which gave her clearance to elaborate further with a happy bounce;

"Well then, we need to fill this room with stuff that she would love to have in here. Stuff that screams 'Sunset'!"

Everyone else got the idea really quickly, with Scootaloo doing a fist pump while exclaiming;

"Yeah, we can bring in some video game posters! She loves video games!"

Apple Bloom jumped in with an idea of her own, her unbridled joy sparkling in her eyes;

"How about a picture or two of wide open fields and grassy hills? She is a pony back in Equestria, ya' kn-!"

Just like that, the three young friends went silent, their exuberance stopped in its tracks as they stood as stiff as statues with their hands flat on their sides. Their eyes went wide, with their irises as small as pinpricks, for a few seconds before growing back to their original large size. Their big sisters watched them with worry in their hearts, until something happened that soothed them, albeit briefly. Slowly, but surely, the little ones' mouths curled to form three gigantic teeth-baring smiles. The sight of this had eased their big sisters' minds for a single second before they felt a familiar sense of dread as they promptly remembered the meaning behind their smiles:

The CMCs had gotten an idea.

A wild idea.

The Canterlot Movie Club had gotten a beautiful wild idea.

Luckily for the Rainbooms, CHS, Canterlot City, and the surrounding Crystal Lands, those little ones knew better than to not tell their sisters about their outlandish plans before enacting them. Well, that time at least.

Whilst the CMCs and their elder kin discussed the work to come, Sci-Twi was working with Pinkie Pie on inspecting the living room, kitchen, and laundry room. The scientist was already making plans in her head, aloud, within ear-shot of the party planner, who was looking at the uneven concrete floor with her right hand grasping her chin while showing a pondering expression on her face.

"The ceiling is still dripping from some spots, a clear sign of leaky water pipes. Will need to investigate the house's plumbing.", Sci-Twi noted while staring at the ceiling, specifically a part of it that was dripping water onto the floor. She went on with her commentating to keep her thoughts in her order;

"We should consider consulting a plumber. Perhaps Applejack or another Apple can be called in to help with this?"

While she was contemplating the situation with the plumbing, Pinkie decided to look more into figuring something out herself. She reached deep into her poofy pink hair with her right hand, rummaged around inside of it, and grabbed an item that caught her attention. She then briskly pulled out what was, apparently, a hammer, and looked at it while announcing;

"Hammer...?"

With a quick head shake, she tossed it aside, causing it to land with a loud bang, while declaring;

"Nope! Too small!"

She shoved her hand back into her hair for two seconds before pulling out something tall that had a wooden handle and a round steel mallet. It's unbalanced weight forced her to hold the handle with both hands. She inspected it while noting aloud;

"Sledgehammer...?"

Pinkie then readied herself to take a swing on the floor below her with it while revealing a manic smile. Sci-Twi, by now, had noticed what was going on and managed to catch Pinkie pulling a fully-sized sledgehammer out from her hair, thanks to the loud bang of the fallen hammer. She was now watching her friend's eccentric nature on full display with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. After holding her swinging position for three seconds, Pinkie shook her head again while expressing a frown and saying calmly;

"Fitting, but no."

She then moved the sledgehammer over to her right side to hold it there over the floor for a brief second before releasing it from both hands simultaneously, allowing it to fall onto the floor with an even louder bang than what the hammer produced. The first bang had made Sci-Twi wince when she heard it. But, the second one nearly made her jump with its volume in spite of her watching it fall, her shock-induced stupor having taken the hint and left her alone. Before Pinkie could reach back into her hair a third time, the logic-minded lady sighed and exclaimed with a small friendly grin;

"You, Pinkie, are the wonderful living definition of inexplicable."

Pinkie's response was one of her cheerful smiles that could brighten up nearly anyone's day or night. Without any further interruption, she reached into her hair and pulled out a jackhammer decorated with different shades of pink, which she carefully positioned on the floor via its steel hammering end with both hands firmly grasping its handlebars. Sci-Twi was, simply put, in awe. She pointed right at Pinkie with her right index finger, ready to give a verbal warning about the safety measures required for proper use of such a tool, when the party planner turned on the jackhammer with its power switch. As it turned it, it was battery-powered and far from running on empty. Pinkie bounced rapidly in fierce repetition, the jackhammer hitting the concrete below with enough force to slowly create a crack in the surface. Twilight did not even wait for danger to strike, and she knew she didn't need her wings or Pony ears for this. Her hands glowed with a purple magical aura as she aimed her right hand at the jackhammer and her left hand at Pinkie, who was exclaiming in the midst of her bouncing with one of her larger smiles on her face;

"It-t-t's Par-r-r-rty Pinki-e-e-e-e-e Ti-i-i-ime!!"

Before she could continue with her performance, she found herself floating above the floor with the jackhammer gently pulled out of her grasp. Undeterred by the sudden loss of gravity, she found plenty of fun to be had with her situation;

"Weeeeeee!", she cried out.

While this was going on, the still active jackhammer was floating about a foot away from Pinkie and clear away from the floor. Both the gleeful girl and her tool were glowing with the same aura as Sci-Twi's hands, which she kept aligned with each of them, her index fingers pointing at their respective targets. With careful focus and skill cultivated by years of regular practice and study, she tuned her mind to take note of where the jackhammer's power switch was, and set it to the off position with her magic. The jackhammer's hammering end stopped it's rapid movement, which prompted Twilight to gently set both it and and a giggling Pinkie back down onto the ground. She then felt a combination of relief and pride that, combined with her friend's mirth, encouraged her to join in on the laughter. Once the two good friends calmed down, Twilight declared with a smile;

"It is as I insinuated, Pinkie: you're wonderfully inexplicable."

She then looked around at the floor before noting with a head nod;

"I do agree with you though, this floor does need replacing."

As if on cue, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and their sisters had carefully climbed out of the bedroom to check on the two of them, having heard the commotion from earlier. Fluttershy, who was searching the area outside of the house for animals that could help with the project when the noise had occurred, walked in to join the group after sending a family of birds away to find other critters who could assist them. Rarity was the first of them to speak with the girls with concern in her voice;

"I hope you two are okay, darlings. We heard the banging and decided to investigate."

Rainbow chimed in with a smirk while expressing confidence in her friends;

"Yeah, but it looks like you two got this handled!"

Sci-Twi and Pinkie couldn't help but express sheepish grins as the former explained;

"Pinkie here had the idea of replacing the floor, but I had to stop her from accidentally breaking more than that."

Applejack noted with a warm smile;

"Think nothin' of it, sugarcubes. Ya'll are just fine and that's what matters. Now..."

She pointed her thumb at the CMCs, who stood behind their kin, and noted with a smirk and a hearty laugh;

"The youngins' 'ere want to bring us to their clubhouse in secret tomorrow to talk about this idea they got for Sunset's bedroom. After our mornin' check-in, of course."

The trio then ran up to stand within inches of a surprised Sci-Twi. They then whispered to her with faces full of smiles;

"The walls have pony ears, Miss Twilight."

With a giggle, she nodded her head in agreement as Pinkie stuffed her hammer, sledgehammer, and jackhammer back into her hair before anyone noticed what she was up to.





With that bit of silliness out of the way, the girls went right to work on fixing up the house. Applejack used her Earth Pony strength with control and precision to break apart the cement floor, with Pinkie helping her with disposing of the broken pieces. Sci-Twi used all manner of measuring tools to make sure that their combined efforts resulted in a more even area that they could work with. Rainbow Dash worked with the CMCs to move the bedroom's broken furniture out of the house while noting what could be salvaged and what had to be trashed. Fluttershy went back to her animal hunt, only to find that the family of birds she had just sent away came back with a whole flock ready to help! Overjoyed by this development, she thanked each and every bird and started giving them instructions on what to do. This time around, they were sent to handle pest prevention by scaring off any invasive creatures, from bugs to rabid dogs, before they could set up shop in or near the house. As for Rarity, she went through her luggage to find any fabric, sheet, or curtain that, in her mind, would fit perfectly in a home made for Sunset. After two whole hours of hard work, the formerly concrete floor was now bearing the gravel that once laid underneath for all to see, only now it was even enough for even Twilight's discerning eye to be satisfied. Which, obviously, meant that it was as straight as it could possibly be. The bedroom was now without any sort of furniture or appliance, all of which was placed with care on the sidewalk in front of the house, to be taken to Sweet Apple Acres by Big Mac upon his eventual arrival. Rarity had marked what she wanted to use for the house in her luggage, which was now closed tight and placed somewhat near the pile of furniture.

Taking the opportunity to rest, the girls were now sitting in a row next to the luggage on the sidewalk. The girls were sitting in silence while relaxing in their own ways. Fluttershy chatted it up with a squirrel that carried an acorn in his little hands. Rainbow drummed on her lap with her hands to fight back her boredom. Pinkie hummed to herself while swaying from side-to-side. Rarity checked on her fingernails in search of any damage done to her finger-polish. Sci-Twi, who would normally be triple-checking notes and such by now, decided instead to look over at the CMCs, who sat to her immediate left, out of simple curiosity. Apple Bloom was looking at one of the tools she had pulled from her tool-belt, a small hammer, in quiet contemplation. Sweetie Belle gazed down at a microphone, which she held in her right hand after taking it out of the box that was once in her pocket. Said box was now on her lap. The two kids' expressions were utterly unreadable to the egghead, much to her fascination. But, what had also gotten her interest was what Scootaloo was doing. She was holding that brown wooden box of hers with both hands while it rested on her lap. She quickly looked around while showing a hint of nervousness on her face before it melted away to make room for joyful anticipation as she lifted the box's lid off of it, placed it to her left, and pulled out what was inside. It was a book with a dark-green spine as well as matching front and back covers, that much Sci-Twi could tell right off the bat. What she also noticed was that the book had a transparent sleeve that carried no cover art whatsoever, leaving both covers completely blank. Not even the spine bore any evidence of the book's title, publisher, or author! With a breath, Scootaloo began to read the book with a look on her face that was as indecipherable as her friends' were. She could not tell what was more perplexing about Scootaloo's behavior: her reading a book with no cover art on it or her enjoying it! In fact, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were acting about as strangely as well. Their faces had never been so hard for her to read before! Still, she would not allow her curiosity to run rampant at their expense, so she decided to let this oddity be for now, as it was harmless in her eyes. Instead, she gave them some heartfelt props;

"I'm glad you three came to help us out today.", she said with a smile. The CMCs looked over at her, smiled back in a way that warmed her heart a little, nodded their heads to seal the deal, and promptly went right back to what they were doing before, previous expressions and all. Now, her curiosity had grown through the roof, but her strength of will rose to match it. Thankfully, her internal struggle between politeness and the acclimation of knowledge was interrupted by Rarity, who was sitting to her immediate right. With a polite tone, she declared softly;

"It makes sense that the CMCs are so driven to help spruce up this specific house."

Sci-Twi turned to face Rarity, who showed dignified sweetness on her face and the tiniest hint of an old sadness in her eyes as she continued to speak;

"They hold Sunset in considerably high regard."

Pinkie, who sat in between Rarity and Applejack, bounced in place while happily declaring;

"Yepperoni! Those four are like cupcakes and frosting: they're great by themselves, but together, they're amazing!"

Pinkie the began to salivate a little over the deliciousness of cupcakes. After belting a deep jovial laugh, Applejack added proudly while looking out at the street before them;

"Darn tootin', Pinks. What they got goin' is lot like what we all got with each other and Sunset..."

She looked up at the sunny blue sky with a wide grin and nostalgia in her eyes before finishing;

"A friendship forged in fire, snow, and magic."

Sci-Twi turned to gaze at the street while deep in thought. Her friend's words encouraged her to reflect on some of her past experiences with her friends. These memories produced a smile on her face, pride filling her heart as she looked back.


Giving the tour bus the mother of all makeovers...

Conducting both magical and non-magical experiments with Sunset...

The Dance Contest with the Shadowbolts...


Her smile grew as bright as the happiness in her eyes as she kept on reflecting while listening to the gentle breeze in the air.


The Starswirl Music Festival...

The Cruise Incident...

Camp Everfree...


"Wait...", she thought as a commonality in those last three memories revealed itself, one that made her eyes grow wide in surprise. She sharply turn her head over to the CMCs, only to find that they were already gone, their hats and gloves neatly left behind. Surprised by this turn of events, she looked over at the Rainbooms, who were clearly missing three members. From what she could tell, the CMCs had run off, which prompted their sisters to chase after them, all while she was busy contemplating things. Only Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie remained sitting one the sidewalk to Sci-Twi's right. They were looking at her with warm smiles, with Pinkie telling her sweetly;

"Don't worry about the kids, Twilight! Their sisters will keep them safe and sound!"

Fluttershy, with a fearful shudder, elaborated softly;

"With Gilda back, we can't have those little ones running around on their own right now."

She gently hugged herself and whimpered as she added;

"The last time they were unsupervised when she was around..."

Pinkie, recognizing what was eating at her friend, stood up, walked over to Fluttershy, and gave her a mighty hug from behind that quickly eased the kind girl's mind and body. Fluttershy's grateful chuckle was the party planner's cue to release her from her grip. Pinkie then looked over at the curious Sci-Twi and explained with a rarely seen serious expression on her face;

"That really big mistake the CMCs made had hurt a lot of people, Gilda included. So..."

With a saddened sigh and the loss of some of her hair's poofiness, she added softly while looking down at the cement to her right;

"She made them pay for it..."

She finished the sentence with surety, a fierce head shake, and a hint of old anger;

"With a punishment that they'll never ever deserve!"

Sci-Twi, with a grimace and internalized shudder, made sure to keep in mind the importance of never letting Gilda catch her, or the kids, alone. Just then, Pinkie's bubbly smile returned along with her hair's once-lost poofiness. She then sharply looked back up at Sci-Twi and happily declared while bouncing repeatedly as she was wont to do when feeling a strong abundance of joy;

"Buuuuut, that didn't keep them down forever and they've worked super-hard ever since the Battle of the Bands to make things right with the people they wronged!"

This revelation helped to resolve a point of confusion that Sci-Twi had wanted to ask the CMCs about;

"Ah, so that's why we didn't see those girls in some of our previous major vacation trips!", she declared with her right hand grasping her chin in thought. Fluttershy nodded along with Pinkie as she stood up and turned around to face the scientist, the squirrel having run off at some point. With a smile as warm as her heart, she chimed in;

"Yes, we tried to get them to join us for the cruise, the festival, and Camp Everfree. But, they turned down the invites every time, because to them..."

She looked up at the flock of birds that were flying high in the sky with peace radiating from her face before she finished;

"Making amends is far more important."

Pinkie jumped back in to exclaim in a most dramatic fashion;

"The Great Crusade, they call it!"

With her two friends watching intently, she placed her right hand on her heart, looked up at the sky with eyes filled to bursting with sparkling pride, and loudly declared;

"For they've been crusading against the pain caused by their super-terrible mistake! No scar unattended to! No hurting unhealed! No problem unresolved!"

With a sudden heartfelt sniff, she wiped a few happy tears that were produced as she spoke before finishing with a higher-pitched voice;

"They've come so far..."

Sci-Twi quickly understood the CMCs' mindset. She, too, had experience with righting wrongs she had committed. Still, she figured it best to convince them to join her and the other girls on a vacation during the Summer. They deserved the rest, as far as she was concerned. But then, she wondered something that she quickly asked herself as she scratched the ears of her beloved puppy, who had made himself comfortable on her lap during the conversation;

"I wonder how far along they are with their crusade?"






The CMCs' Clubhouse, back during their special meeting.


"This is it, ya'll!", exclaimed a positively exuberant Apple Bloom to the other girls in the room as she kept her gavel pointed squarely at the list that hung over their club logo. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were just as excited, with Scootaloo jumping in to add to their leader's point;

"After years of hard work, we're almost done with doing right by the people we've wronged!"

Sweetie Belle raised her hands and head up to the ceiling as she drove home the point further with a loud, proud, and squeaky;

"Our Great Crusade is almost complete!"

Hearing all of this drove Sunset, Octavia, and DJ-P0N3 to applaud and cheer in heartfelt support of their young friends. It was hard to tell which of those three friends looked more proud of the kids as the CMCs performed graceful bows in appreciation. Apple Bloom then took the time to explain the situation with that big beaming grin of hers on point as she walked over to the list itself;

"Let's take stock of who we've got left to help out. Firstly, we have the leadin' lady herself."

Sweetie Belle gave a certain amber-colored girl a look that was both affectionate and adorable as she exclaimed;

"The kind!"

All three of the young women sitting in attendance knew precisely what was up, but saw no reason to interfere. Octavia and P0N3 looked on with knowing smirks, while the lady in question tried her best to hide the redness on her cheeks. Scootaloo glared at that same girl with happiness, gusto, and love in her eyes whilst she declared with a fist pump;

"The awesome!"

Apple Bloom, with a happy Apple glare very much on target, made her own loving contribution to the praise being delivered to the girl who, quite frankly, was starting to better appreciate how Fluttershy felt whenever she was surrounded by people who all looked at her at the same time;

"And the honest!"

After a quick pause, the CMCs all yelled out with voices full of love and happiness while pointing directly at the girl they held so dear to their little hearts;

"SUNSET SHIMMER!"

Poor Sunset had to use a lot of her inner strength to not retreat into herself out of sheer nervousness. Of course, that nervousness was quickly squeezed out of her by a surprise group hug from the trio that nearly knocked her chair over with her on it! With laughter and a smile warm enough to melt solid ice from a distance, she hugged the little ones back with gentle love while telling them honestly with a slightly shaky voice and a blush;

"Oh come on, girls, I'm trying to be humble these days!"

That little comment encouraged them to tightened their grip on Sunset, albeit not nearly enough to hurt her. After a few seconds, they broke out of the hug to stand back near the list. Apple Bloom then looked over at each of the other girls while telling them with pride;

"Do ya'll hear that humility from Miss Sunset 'ere? A far cry from her old self, Ah tells ya'!"

After a quick bout of laughter from the whole group, Octavia decided to make a fair point while giving the CMCs a most supportive glare, her Trottingham posh in full effect;

"Come now, my young friends. Surely, you have done more than enough good deeds for Sunset by now?"

With her confident smirk back in full force, Sunset herself noted calmly;

"Well, you did talk with me after the Battle of the Bands, worked with the other students to make for me that wonderful gift I have stashed away, helped me make it up to Twi for lashing out at her, helped me get Wallflower to come out of her shell..."

She tried to think of other examples of the CMCs' goodwill towards her, but Octavia was quick to assist with that while giving Sunset a warm expression to ease her mind;

"Let's not forget about them taking on those background roles for that coal miners play you had organized."

She looked right back at the string player with gratitude in her eyes as she told her;

"Right, thank you."

She turned back to face the CMCs, who were still beaming with joy, and expressed to them while adding a layer of pride to her smirk;

"Trust me, girls, you've done enough to check me off that list."

Apple Bloom walked right up to Sunset and placed her right hand on her left shoulder before responding with sweetness in every word she uttered;

"Oh, sugarcube... Those good deeds we did for ya' absolutely count to us. But..."

The joy on her face was sharply replaced with a deeply rooted regret and sadness in her large eyes, the sweetness in her voice smothered by sorrowful hurting as she continued;

"Out of all of the people on that there list, we had hurt ya' the most! That don't sit well with us."

Sunset looked over at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as she listened to their leader's words. They both expressed the same regret on their faces that Apple Bloom had. Sweetie, in particular, was teary-eyed, while Scootaloo looked down to her left side with her hands in her pockets. Right when Apple Bloom started speaking again, however, her sweetness and joy came roaring back, much to Sunset's relief;

"So, we gotta do a mighty big good deed for ya'. Somethin' that'll balance the scales, if ya' will."

Like an invisible flowing river, Apple Bloom's immense positivity had spread over to her two friends, who felt their sorrows get swept away by the currents as their smiles returned as well. Sweetie Belle jumped into the conversation with renewed vigor;

"Something wonderful!"

Scootaloo did the same thing right after her while adding an excited hop to her words;

"Something cool!"

Apple Bloom gave her pals happy grins before returning her gaze over to Sunset, who couldn't help but beam over her young friends' drive to be good to her.

"Those three little apples didn't fall far from their trees, didn't they?, she thought to herself as Apple Bloom noted with a sly expression;

"Well, it just so happens that somethin' came up that fits the bill perfectly and we'll get to that in a bit. But first..."

She walked over to Scootaloo and asked her in a kind voice that was meant for consoling others during times of great difficulty;

"Ya' still wanna go through with this, Scoots?"

Her daredevil for a friend looked her dead in the eyes and told her with certainty all over her face and voice;

"I do, AB."

They gave each other a fist bump before Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo a quick hug. The girl with the cool purple hair then reached into her right pants pocket and pulled a No.2 pencil that was recently sharpened. With pencil firmly in hand, she walked over to the list, thus creating confusion among the girls who watched her write on it from their seats. Sunset was the first to express that confusion with a raised eyebrow;

"Hold on, I thought for sure you listed down all of the people you wronged."

The other two girls nodded their heads in agreement with her claim. Apple Bloom, with an exasperated sigh, looked over at them and put that notion to bed with a most serious glare from her face;

"Not until now, sugarcubes..."

She, along with the others, looked over to see Scootaloo as she finished up her writing. She stood in front of the list as stiffly as a statue, her body hiding much of the list itself, save for the title as well as the name near the top;


#1 - Sunset Shimmer


Scootaloo felt the hands of her two best friends on both of her shoulders, which helped to drive back an old terror and pain that threatened to overwhelm her just a moment ago. With a sigh and renewed conviction in her eyes, she walked away from the list alongside them. Once they stopped to stand at the list's right side, the three Honorary Club Members looked at it closely to find what had been changed. Sunset's name and the ones below it were obviously left alone, so they skimmed passed them to speed things along. They almost missed a new name that was written just below what used to be the bottom of the list. The mere sight of this name brought shock and concern into their hearts:


#27 - Gilda


Right then and there, the shock gave way to memory as Sunset recalled why that lady wasn't on the list until that exact moment. She mentally kicked herself for forgetting this important detail.






Rainbow Dash's bedroom, present time.


Escort Duty seemed like an annoying mission type to Sunset the Greenbeard Driller when she first saw it selected on the mission table. She figured it was going to be one of those situations. The type where she and her fellow dwarves had to protect something that was tailor-made to be utterly weak and defenseless against swarms of bugs as it traveled to its destination. Bonus points if it paid no mind to any dangerous traps it walked towards, only for it to be annihilated by them within seconds due to her team not babysitting it for too long. Still, her teammates were her friends, and friendship made everything better, even escort missions! Thankfully, however, she didn't have to worry this time, for the thing they were to escort was the Drilldozer: a giant, tough-as-steel, gas-powered robot that came fully equipped with a huge mining drill that looked more like a lethal weapon than a digging tool! The dwarves took to giving the robot the affectionate nickname Doretta as they worked. While Sunset stood on top of Doretta as it slowly drilled through the cave system like a hot knife on butter, she saw that her fellow dwarf, Flash Sentry the Engineer, was petting its head. It showed its appreciation by bobbing and spinning its head around as it worked while making surprisingly adorable robot noises. She couldn't help but join in on the petting for a bit before returning to watching their rear for Glyphids. Just then, Mission Control announced to the team;

"Swarm! Swarm incoming! Lock and load, team!"

As if on cue, a whole slew of the critters came digging out of the walls and ceiling of the giant hole that Doretta was making in her wake. The Glyphids came in several varieties that time: large numbers of Grunts, Soldiers, Praetorians, Swarmers, Spitters, and even a Menace for good measure. Standard fare for Hazard 3, Sunset decided in her head as she allowed a large smile to be let loose on her face. Whilst her teammates began shooting at the swarm of bugs that crawled after them and the Drilldozer, she made ready to, as she aptly put it in a loud, excited, almost manic voice;

"PURGE THEM WITH FLAME!"

In the real world, Sunset was having the time of her life burninating virtual bugs from her computer while her three friends unleashed their own firepower upon them. Her flame-broiled mania dropped to keep the joke reigned in, she settled for a more chill disposition, smirk and all. It wasn't too long before she and her teammates found themselves defending Doretta from an endless wave of bugs as it dug into a big round rock with its giant drill. Turns out, that rock was sentient and angry at them, for it floated smaller rocks over to the robot and, later on, made laser-firing rock pillars rise from the ground, all in an effort to destroy the robot. Regardless of the challenges sent their way, however, the team kept the robot going until it finally broke through the round rock, allowing them to claim their prize. Soon after that, they made their escape onto the drop pod while carrying the head of Doretta with them. This success prompted Sunset's teammates to yell out in the Bedlam voice chat;

"Rock and Stone!"

Sunset, fired up by their shared success, cried out with enough gusto for all four of them;

"LIKE THAT, ROCK AND STONE!"

"To the bone!", exclaimed a most pleased Rainbow Dash from Sunset's left side.





Her friend's voice pulling her clean out of the immersion of the game, Sunset turned to look right at Rainbow, who was standing step or two inside of her bedroom with the door opened opened behind her, with Scootaloo standing just outside of the room while reading her cover-less book, which she held in front of her face. The athlete's face showed genuine happiness and excitement all at once. With a smirk, the lady with hair as fiery as the flamethrower she used in the game told her as she quietly muted her headset's mic;

"I can see why you'd play a game like this."

Rainbow replied with an excited laugh;

"I know, right?! DRG brings players challenging, blood-pumping, team-based awesomeness that's tough for other games to beat!"

"That. Sounds. AWESOME!", exclaimed a most excited Scootaloo, who rushed into the room after lowering her book to get clear sight of where she was running to, stopped to place it on Rainbow's bed with tender care, and then went right back to running up to Sunset. She then stopped to bounce in place while asking happily with excitement at the possibility at enjoying some virtual thrills all over her young face;

"May I play, please?! Kicking butt with a team in a video game sounds like so much fun!"

Sunset looked over at Rainbow with a smirk and a glare that silently said to her 'be responsible', a glare that she had caught within moments. Even though the thought of Scootaloo mining and fighting like a dwarf in the game was amazingly cool in the athlete's head, she loved her sister-at-heart enough to handle her request with care. Rainbow Dash looked down at her with a big smile and said;

"This game is awesome, but it's also super-violent for cool squirts like you."

She playfully ruffled her little buddy's purple hair with her right hand, which caused the little girl to giggle a little before Rainbow added with a slightly more stern tone of voice;

"Tomorrow, after my check-in with the girls, you and I can talk with your Aunts about you playing the game while awesomely responsible grown-ups like me watch you. Deal?"

She had the little ball of energy at 'playing'. Scootaloo ran up to Rainbow, hugged her tightly, and exclaimed out of pure excitement;

"Deal!"

After releasing the athlete from her grip, Scootaloo ran out into the kitchen to grab a snack, but not before taking a moment to grab her book from the bed just as carefully as she had placed it down. While this went on, Sunset had unmuted her mic to say goodbye to her team and exited out of the game, which allowed her to give Rainbow Dash some props with a playful punch on her right shoulder;

"Good call, RD."

With a warm laugh that balanced out her overly confident smirk, Rainbow replied; 

"What can I say? I gotta be an awesome role model for Scoots!"

She also added with a wink;

"It also helps that DRG's violence can be seriously toned down with mods."

The two girls went over to the bed, sat down on it, and chilled for a moment before Rainbow decided to ask Sunset;

"So, how did that special club meeting go?"

Her amber friend responded with a soft chuckle and a warm smile;

"It went well, actually. The CMCs have two more people left to check off of their list!"

A gigantic smile grew on the face of Rainbow Dash upon hearing this, which was strengthened by a loud gasp as she held both of her cheeks with her hands. She did this for a second before darting out of the room and towards the kitchen with her magical speed, leaving behind a rainbow streak in her wake. The streak lasted for half-a-second before vanishing as Sunset heard the far from subtle sounds of her loyal friend giving a surprised and overjoyed Scootaloo some hugs and praise, including the former calling the latter several variations of awesome. After about five or so seconds, Rainbow Dash returned to the bed, sitting down as if she had never left, with only an expression of pride and relief on her face breaking the illusion. As for Sunset, she silently enjoyed being a witness to Rainbow's loving reaction, if her satisfied smirk was any indication. After giving each other a celebratory high-five, the proud sister and rocker told Sunset;

"I'm glad those squirts are nearly done with their crusade! I mean, they've been working on it for years now!"

"I'm proud of the kids too.", said a happy Sunset. At that moment, Rainbow Dash decided to ask her excitedly;

"So, besides you, who do they have left to make amends with? Do we know them?"

Sunset's smile gave way to nervousness as she replied hesitantly;

"Yeah... they're asking the six of us to meet them in their clubhouse to discuss the matter."

Seeing her friend act so nervous made Rainbow feel a tad concerned;

"Oh man, it must be pretty serious if they're calling us up.", she asked with a look of worry on her face.

"This is probably gonna be after our secret house-renovating meeting...", she figured in her head. She then realized a key detail about the kids' request that she quickly decided to address;

"Wait, they asked the six of us to come. Why didn't they call Twilight too?"

"Remember their Pinkie Promise?", asked Sunset with a raised eyebrow. Hearing that got Rainbow to figure out the situation rather quickly as she replied with clear understanding;

"Oh... they're not ready talk about that yet."

The shaking of her friend's head affirmed her claim. Rainbow noted in her mind to not blab about the meeting or... that... to Twilight for the kids' sake. She lowered her head to look at the bed she sat on while noting softly;

"I wish we had told that egghead about it sooner."

"You and me both, RD.", Sunset said in solemn agreement before elaborating with a heavy sigh;

"But, it wouldn't have been right to tell her without the CMCs' involvement, and they said no every time we asked if they could be involved in that talk."

Silence crept into the bedroom for a few seconds before Rainbow's confident smirk lit it up. She looked over at Sunset and told her with beaming pride;

"Yeah, well, the squirts will tell her the story. I mean, they know better than to break a Pinkie Promise and they're awesome!"

Rainbow Dash's confidence spread over to Sunset, who smirked in silent agreement. Just then, another thought popped into the mind of her cyan pal, which she was quick to express;

"You know, with Wallflower working hard on herself and being nice to you, I'd say you're in the clear."

That got a raised eyebrow from Sunset, who asked out of confusion;

"What do you mean by that?"

As soon as she finished asking that question, her answer came to her mind, prompting her to express in a deadpanned voice with wide eyes;

"Oh."

"Exactly, SunShim!", exclaimed Rainbow Dash, who went on to explain further with gusto;

"An entire high-school's worth of enemies and you managed to befriend every single one! Even our families like you now!"

She playfully punched her right shoulder with her left fist as she finished with a supportive smile;

"Like I said, you're in the clear."

It didn't take long for Rainbow's point to really hit home for Sunset and when it did, she could feel a wonderful wave of relief flow through her body and mind. Years spent redeeming herself had led to her achieving a major long-term goal: she had earned the respect and friendship of the entirety of Canterlot High-School! As tempting as it was to just let everything go and relax on the bed for a bit, a question came up in Sunset's mind that she felt needed to be considered first. With a warm grateful smile aimed squarely at Rainbow Dash, she asked herself calmly;

"Yeah, but then, who else is there?"

For a reason that she could not fathom at the time, Sunset Shimmer felt a subtle chill creep up her spine. She didn't pay too much attention to it though as she figured it was just an oddity that came with being Human. She and Rainbow talked some more before taking care of business around the house, leaving the question unanswered.