//------------------------------//
// Epilogue 
// Story: Honestly, It Really Seemed Like A Good Idea... 
// by SundropStriker 
//------------------------------//

It was fairly cold but clear morning, and Sunset noticed her friends were all already gathered at school, awaiting her arrival. She jumped from the car and ran up the steps to meet them, noticing slightly astounded expressions on their faces.

"Darling, not to be nosy but...did you just arrive at school with Principal Celestia??" Rarity asked in some confusion.

"Oh. Heh, yes." Sunset rubbed her neck suddenly embarrassed. "She uh, she made sure I went home after school yesterday with no delays or detours, and then we...talked. For a long time. And then it got late, and well, she stayed."

"Oh, well that explains it, I suppose."

"Was her talk about yesterday's, uh...." Rainbow stopped, not sure if she wanted to finish that thought.

"I do not believe we should talk about that unfortunate incident." Rarity stated.

"I agree." Twilight nodded, somewhat flushed.

Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy added their agreement and Sunset followed suit. After a moment of awkward silence, Rarity cleared her throat.

"So! How are we all this morning? I for one am just fabulous."

"Um, fine."

"Totally awesome!"

"Doin' fine."

"Excellent."

"Doing alright."

"Thinkingweshouldtotallyhaveapunishmentpartytocelebrateusallgettingintosuchepictroubleatonce!"

All eyes snapped to the final responder.

"Pinkie Pie!" Rarity exclaimed in annoyance. "I thought we just agreed to to talk about it!"

"Well yeah, but I mean come on, Rarity, let's be real here, do you have any idea how hard it is for me to NOT talk about something?!"

Everyone laughed at that, the awkwardness broken.

"Well, I suppose it really wasn't one of our finest moments." Rarity said, shaking her head.

"I don't know about you," Rainbow said in an embarrassed tone, "But uh, my mom was less than thrilled about that."

"Reckon it's safe to say we all six got our hides handed to us at home." Applejack spoke up with a slightly red face.

"Indeed." Rarity said. "Sunset, you have no idea how lucky you are that you avoided such a fate!"

Sunset reddened considerably and rubbed her neck nervously. "Uhhh, well...I kinda...didn't."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked in confusion. "You live at your apartment alone with no...I mean..." She stopped.

"Wait, does this have something to do with the principal taking you home?" Applejack asked.

"Uh huh."

"Are you saying she-?" Rarity was wide eyed.

Sighing, Sunset nodded. "When we got back to my apartment, she scolded me for my part in Rainbow's plan. And then, well, to quote Applejack, I got my hide handed to me."

"Oh my." Fluttershy put her arms around her in a sympathetic hug.

"Man." Rainbow said with a grimace.

"I deserved it." Sunset stated emphatically. "I didn't even put up a fight when she put me over her knee, because I knew I deserved it and plus it wasn't fair that I escape when all of you were getting punished again. And believe me, she made sure I won't be behaving that way ever again!"

"I believe that goes without saying." Rarity said drily. "I for one have no intention of ending up in that undignified position again."

The others snickered, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Uh, hey guys? I'm really sorry I got you all in trouble yesterday with my ideas." Rainbow apologized sheepishly. "Especially you, Fluttershy."

"We made our own choice, Rainbow Dash." Twilight returned calmly. "You didn't get us into anything."

"GROUP HUG!" Pinkie screamed, before trying to hug them all at once as the bell rang. They ignored it.

Laughing, they enthusiastically hugged each other.

"I think we can agree, no more fake attempts at getting out of school." Sunset offered.

"No way. Never again." Rainbow said, with the others quickly agreeing with her.

"Ahem!"

The familiar voice made them all jump as they spun to face Principal Celestia, who arched an eyebrow at them.

"The bell has rung." She stated casually. "You all have sixty seconds to get inside to your classes before I schedule an appointment for you after school with the board of corrections."

In a split second the girls were scrambling inside and rushing in different directions to get to class. As Sunset passed, Celestia threw her a conspiratorial wink before vanishing back to her office. Sunset giggled and put on speed, all of the girls making it to their respective classes just in time to avoid being marked as late.