Starlight, Spike, and now Sunset Shimmer all came back out of the mirror into the empty room deep within Canterlot Castle. This time it was Sunset’s turn to wobble around and nearly collapse after reflexively trying to stand on two hooves and losing her balance nearly immediately before realizing that ponies stood on four legs. With a sharp exhale she stayed put where she was for a moment to get her bearings. After so long as a human this felt really weird.
“Need a moment?” Starlight asked her.
“No, I’m fine, it’s just-” Sunset’s eyes widened and she started frantically looking around, patting down her body. “Wait, my cigarettes are gone!”
“Oh for the love of—get over it!” Starlight rolled her eyes.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find cigarettes in Equestria?” Sunset asked her.
“Do you have any idea how much bigger things we have to worry about right now?” Starlight sarcastically asked.
“This is going to be even more miserable than I thought...” Sunset groaned.
Spike merely stared in frustration at the mare. “I’m not sure if this is actually going to help Celestia. She might be a little disappointed.”
“She’ll be overjoyed, Spike. You saw how she was. She’ll probably start acting the same weird way to Sunset that she is to Twilight,” Starlight said.
“What?” Sunset frowned at them. “What do you mean weird way? Exactly how much has she changed?”
“It’s fine, she’s fine, or she will be as soon as she see’s you’re okay. Don’t worry about it,” Starlight smiled. “You still want to learn all you can from me, right?”
“Yeah...” Sunset nodded.
“Then it’s time to come with me. And since we’re back here in Equestria and I have my magic and I really don’t want you running off on your own anywhere...” Starlight’s horn lit up.
Sunset grinned nervously. “N-Not still upset about that punch, are you?”
Starlight’s horn flashed and Sunset immediately found herself encased in a turquoise bubble and levitated off the ground. “Nope~”
“Arghhhh! This isn’t fair! I can barely remember how to use magic right now!” Sunset yelled as she kicked and shoved against the bubble, trying to pop it to no avail. “I’m going to get you back for this!”
“You should be trying to get on better terms with her, you know? Not doing stuff like this,” Spike said.
“We’re here to fix the problems in this world, Spike. Not do the impossible and try and fix my relationship with this Sunset,” Starlight said and walked out of the room, levitating Sunset behind her.
“Cause this couldn’t possibly have anything to do with friendship and harmony...” Spike sighed and followed along.
Former Empress Starlight was fiddling with her ponytail, acting like she couldn’t be bothered since she didn’t really want to converse with her twin-tailed alternate. Sunburst on the other hoof she would’ve liked to actually talk to but she couldn’t draw up the nerve. And he was pretty terrible himself at reading the atmosphere. The very strange Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle, so different from the ones she knew, were also not ponies she had an interest in talking to.
“What’s your deal?” The sharp voice suddenly cut across the table.
The former Empress startled a bit, sitting up straight in her chair. “Um, who? Me?”
Her angry self glared back at her. “Yes, you. How could I ever turn out like you? And do something as horrible as you did?”
“I really don’t want to talk about that...”
“Well I do. And you’re our guest so you should probably answer me. From what you and that other me told us, this whole situation is at least partially to blame on you too,” angry Starlight defiantly pressed her.
However before the confrontation could continue the doors to the room were loudly thrown open.
“TA-DA!~” Starlight Glimmer shouted as she strode in with Spike. “Princess Celestia, get ready to be amazed and happy once again! I’ve come back to fix your problems and show you that you never needed to be so worried and indecisive in the first place!”
Celestia dropped the brush she had been using on Twilight’s mane out of surprise. “W-What?”
The others were equally surprised, though not quite as caught in an embarrassing situation after being called out.
Starlight rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever—it’s time for a happy reunion!”
Her horn glowed and in floated a floating bubble with a very put-out Sunset Shimmer inside it. Now actually, the other two Starlights, Twilight, and Sunburst, had no idea who this mare was, what was important about her, or how this was a happy reunion. The only other pony in the room who recognized Sunset and knew who she was was the Princess who had the closest connection to her. Sunset, as soon as her eyes met Princess Celestia’s, calmed down slightly, standing still in the bubble but still wearing a frown on her face.
Princess Celestia... she was just frozen up completely. If she had still been holding the brush she would’ve dropped it all over again. Instead she just sat there next to Twilight with her mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide, her pupils shrunken, and her mane flowing. Somehow she still managed to look more regal and pretty than the average pony ever could.
The others in the room were quiet, eyes going back and forth between the two mares to see if anyone would say anything.
Sunset’s expression slowly softened as she stared at Princess Celestia and saw the different aura the Princess exuded from what she remembered. She looked more confused and worried than annoyed or upset now.
“Sunset?” Princess Celestia finally whispered. “Is that really you?”
Starlight took the moment to set Sunset down on the floor and got rid of the bubble, her and Spike moving off to the side so the two could have an uninterrupted reunion. “We found her, Princess. She’s okay. She’s always been okay. It was... a good intention gone a little bad, but you never needed to worry about Sunset. She’s strong enough to thrive wherever she is.”
“I don’t entirely know what’s happened here since I’ve been gone but the problem causer is right,” Sunset said, stepping forward and nodding to the Princess. “You um... honestly you’ve really seen better days, Princess.”
“I was so worried. All this time I was so worried about you,” Princess Celestia said, her eyes starting to water. “I thought I had done something wrong, made a mistake, and I didn’t want to lose anyone else precious to me again.”
"So is that why there’s a war going on here? You’re too worried about what could go wrong to try and fix it?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like the Princess I know.”
Celestia slowly shook her head. “No... it certainly doesn’t. But I’m not sure that Princess is here anymore.”
“Princess Celestia...” Sunset sighed and dragged a hoof down her face. “You need to get it together!”
Celestia shrank back while Twilight gasped and Sunburst’s eyebrows shot up.
“I can’t exactly say I know what it’s like to be in your horseshoes... as the ruler of Equestria you have so much more to worry about than I ever did. But how can you let a few unexpected things or the disappearance of one mare, even your student, turn you into this!” Sunset frowned.
“It was different than what I had gone through before, for the first time I felt real fear for everything around me,” Celestia said.
“I was lost and afraid when I ended up in that strange other world but I still stood up and moved on!” Sunset said. “You need to too, Princess! Geez, I didn’t think I’d be saying something like this or care half as much anymore, but seeing you like this has just made something snap in me.”
“Well...”
“At the very least you can look at me now and know that I’ve been okay. Stop worrying so much and do something!” Sunset shouted at her.
Princess Celestia slumped over in her seat, looking like an admonished dog almost. Her gaze drifted over to Twilight Sparkle, wordlessly asking what she thought.
“There’s... definitely some things that need to be fixed around Equestria, Princess,” Twilight Sparkle said.
Celestia looked at her for a long time before she nodded slightly. “Yes, and I’ve always known who could be the one to fix them.”
Starlight’s ears perked up, her eyes sparkling a bit in hope, and she grinned down at Spike. He also smiled and nodded right back up at her.
“I think this might be the start we needed,” Starlight said.
“I think so too,” he said.
Princess Celestia took a deep breath and stood up. “Sunburst? Could you notify Shining Armor and Princess Cadance that I need to speak with them? Set something up for two hours from now. And Twilight... I need to speak privately with you after that. I have many things I need to tell you.”
Twilight Sparkle was a bit confused, she had an eyebrow slightly raised in question but still silently nodded in acquiescence to Princess Celestia.
“Well, I don’t think the three of us need to be around here much longer,” Starlight said.
Meanwhile, her twin-tailed self from this world sent a silent glance over to her.
“So what exactly happens now? Do we just leave?” Former Empress Starlight asked as they all stood outside on one of the castle’s many balconies together.
Starlight nodded. “I kind of want to before Sunset remembers I was supposed to tell her about her potential life if I didn’t interfere. And we have helped things here a lot, Celestia looks like she’s going to take care of stuff now and let Twilight and her friends become the Elements of Harmony. This world is still going to have a long way to go with how crazy things have gotten, but it’s on the right path.”
“And we should probably leave before Starlight screws things up even worse,” Spike said.
Starlight rolled her eyes. “Yes. That too.”
“I just... I feel like I didn’t help that much. You two were the ones that did everything,” the former Empress said.
“Hey,” Starlight smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re here to help yourself, alright? You don’t need to worry about the big problems like me and Spike. Just do the best you can and try and find yourself. Also... are you sure you still need to keep your Cutie Mark off?”
The former Empress vehemently nodded. “Absolutely. I-I’m just not ready for that yet. I can’t trust myself.”
Starlight was about to reassure her again when-
“Aha! I knew you had snuck out of there for a reason! You’re trying to ditch me, aren’t you?” Sunset shouted as she found them.
“Oh great...” Starlight groaned.
“Don’t even start! I kept my promise, I’ve helped out Equestria and Princess Celestia, the least you can do is keep up your end of the bargain!” Sunset accused as she walked right up to Starlight and started poking her in the chest. “Tell me what you know about me, what could my life have been like if you didn’t interfere? I already know that that Twilight Sparkle pony is my replacement, what’s the deal with her too?”
Starlight looked back at the angry Sunset, frowning, she stood up tall and straight. “No.”
Sunset’s eyes shot open. “Excuse me?”
“Mistake I made or not, nothing good is going to come from telling you anything. If you want to just take up the offer of punching me or beating me up, go for it, but you have a good life and you should make peace with it. Especially after how you just helped Celestia,” Starlight said.
Sunset pulled back a hoof and prepared to punch Starlight—but put the shaking hoof back on the floor. She was very angry as she glared at the hated unicorn in front of her, but she wasn’t going to punch her just yet. “Then I’m coming with you.”
“What?!” Starlight jumped in shock.
“I’m coming with you. You’ve got more worlds to help out don’t you? Let me come with you. I wouldn’t be able to relax knowing the fate of all worlds everywhere lies on your shoulders,” Sunset said. “Besides, there’s nothing for me in this world anymore. Celestia may have needed me to help her but she doesn’t need me for anything else in Equestria. And school back in the human world is just school, I can afford to take a bigger break.”
“No way. No way, no way, no way!” Starlight shook her head.
“Let me make something of my life! Give me the opportunity I never had because of you!” Sunset argued.
“This is a really careful adventure we’re on, bringing you along could make things more chaotic! That’s the opposite of what we want,” Starlight said.
“You brought your double with you to another world,” Sunset pointed at the former Empress.
“She’s a special case,” Starlight said.
“I’m a special case. And honestly, from what I know about you, when did you start caring about the rules so much?” Sunset asked.
“She has a point there,” Spike said.
Starlight frowned at him. “Are you on her side now? Discord won’t like this.”
“I think she deserves at least a little respect from us,” Spike shrugged. “And you’re the one who’s been doing stuff based off your gut feelings. Right now that’s what I’m doing. If we make up with Sunset and let her come along to help with friendship and harmony across the timeline, that should be a good thing, shouldn’t it? Maybe this Sunset will learn to be even better.”
Like the Sunset we know, was the unspoken finish.
“I think it’s only fair if she wants to come along too...” Former Empress Starlight whispered.
“Ughhhh...” Starlight dragged a hoof down her face. “So now it’s my turn to be the annoyed one? I guess we’ll have to keep Discord from flipping out over this. Also—what about Princess Celestia? Won’t she be upset that you’re leaving again? We don’t want her to relapse.”
“I already told her before I came after you that I was planning on going again. Frankly I didn’t want to be around that Twilight Sparkle much longer. I didn’t plan on asking you this but I was going to go back through the mirror soon. She already knows that I’m okay and where she can find me. She’ll be alright,” Sunset smirked. “She’s starting to become the Princess I know again.”
“I can’t believe this...” Starlight shook her head.
“So that’s a “Welcome aboard”, isn’t it?” Sunset mockingly asked.
“Yeah. It is. We better get a move on quickly then before anything else crazy happens here,” Starlight said.
“I think you’re a little bit slow for that.”
The ponies and dragons on the balcony turned and saw the third Starlight Glimmer walk out from behind the doors, joining them. She gazed over the four of them and frowned.
“I want to come too.”
“Noooooooo...” Starlight slumped down to the ground. “Noooooo waaaaaay...”
Spike, deciding to be a little more cooperative, actually talked to her. “Um, why though? If you were listening to us and what you heard from Princess Celestia, why would you want to come with us instead of just stay here?”
“Because I’ve never liked my life here,” the angry Starlight shook her head. “I’ve never been happy with it, I’ve always just drifted around with no focus, no dream. I don’t want to be stuck here like that anymore. And-” she glared right at Starlight. “From what I’ve heard it’s because of you that my life is like this. This big, awful, directionless, nothing.”
“Hey,” Starlight’s head shot up and she glared right at her alternate. “Hey, hey, hey, hey. I can 100% guarantee you that your life has been better than 90% of mine and 99% of hers,” she pointed at the former Empress. “You have no idea how good you’ve had it compared to what we had to go through before coming here. You heard our stories, you should get it.”
“Well guess what, all it does is frustrate me with the fact that my life has been completely meaningless in comparison. You’re responsible for this so why don’t you take some responsibility. Let me come and do something meaningful with my life too,” the angry Starlight refused to back down.
Starlight glanced over at Spike.
He shrugged. “I mean, she has a point too.”
“And she’s just another one of us... so would it actually make things more chaotic?” The former Empress suggested. Angry Starlight’s glare turned to her in surprise and she wilted for a moment. “I-I know we haven’t gotten along and you don’t like me but I think you should be given a chance too. You certainly deserve it more than me.”
“Five of us and Discord now too, this is getting to be a little crazy,” Starlight said.
“By the way, who’s Discord?” Angry Starlight asked.
“Yeah, you mentioned that name before. Who is that?” Sunset asked.
The other three all shared a close look.
“Three Starlight Glimmers now? And a Sunset Shimmer to boot? Do you perhaps not recall what our mission is and why I refused to bring Twilight along?” Discord questioned Starlight, arms defiantly folded.
“I know, Discord. Believe me, I know. But even Spike thinks that this is probably the right thing to do now,” Starlight said as she held him.
“This is kind of weird,” angry Starlight whispered to Sunset as the two stood back and watched this.
“I guess traveling through dimensions takes some pretty strange magic,” Sunset shrugged.
Discord snorted. “You know what? I’m so beyond arguing at this point—the Lord of Chaos can’t be so responsible, it’s bad for my image. If you want to bring two more ponies along then so be it. Things seem to always turn out fine anyways.”
Starlight sighed in relief. “Thank you, Discord. I’ll make sure things work out.”
"There’s a little problem that needs to be sorted out first before we leave though,” Discord said.
“What?” Starlight asked.
He scoffed in faux-annoyance. “Like I said, three Starlight Glimmers? That’s far too confusing!”
“Well what are we supposed to do about that?” Starlight frowned.
“This,” Discord smirked and pointed at her. “From here on out, you shall be referred to as Starlight.” He pointed at the former Empress. “You shall be referred to as Glimmer.” And lastly he pointed at the alternate from this world. “And you shall be referred to as... eh, let’s go with Moonlight.”
“I’m just getting my last name?” Glimmer asked.
“That’s right,” Discord nodded.
“Wait, hold on, I don’t agree to this,” Moonlight angrily stomped up to Starlight and Discord. “And why Moonlight?”
“Well it fits the naming convention. And it’s a reference to one of the author’s favorite stories,” Discord immediately shuddered in disgust. “Eugh, breaking the fourth wall is the lowest form of comedy.”
“So I’m Moonlight now? Why does my name have to change?” Moonlight growled.
“Because you were the third one to show up,” Discord shrugged.
Spike sighed and patted Moonlight on the side. “Might as well get used to it, this is just how Discord is.”
Moonlight frowned and clicked her tongue. “Ugh, fine!”
“Well I guess this should make things a little easier for all of us,” Starlight said.
“I’m okay with it,” Glimmer shrugged.
“Glad I still get to keep my full name,” Sunset Shimmer smirked.
Moonlight glared at her.
“Okay, enough!” Starlight announced. “Discord, can you make the next portal now?”
“Wait a second,” Spike said and looked at Moonlight. “Don’t you need to tell anyone that you’re leaving?”
Moonlight thought for a second. “Meh. Sunburst will sort it out.”
“Works for me,” Discord said and snapped his fingers, a glowing blue portal appearing once more for all of them. “For you newcomers, keep close and try not to get lost in there.”
Starlight patted Spike on the head. “Don’t worry about it. I know me best, things will be okay for her here when she returns. I hope by the time she comes back the rest of the problems in this world have been fixed too, but we at least already know for sure that harmony has taken a big step here.”
The four ponies and one dragon lined up in front of the portal, and on Starlight’s cue they stepped in together.