Sunset Shimmer and her friends went into town with Twilight Sparkle and her own friends. They all split up, going to different parts of town. Golden Sun and Sunset Shimmer went with Twilight Sparkle to the Golden Oak Library. They went inside, and sat themselves down in front of one of the bookcases.
"I've got to say that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna must be very proud of you by now, Sunset." said Twilight Sparkle. "In just over a month, you've already made so many friends here in Equestria, helped so many ponies in need, and jumped through so many hoops to redeem yourself. Good job."
"Thanks, Twilight." said Sunset Shimmer. "And I'm glad that I was able to make so many friends, too. But getting my family back together again wasn't exactly a walk in the park, either."
"I'm sure it wasn't." said Twilight.
"Oh, yeah." said Sunset. "Twilight, I'd like to introduce you to my father, Golden Sun."
Twilight's eyes widened when she saw Sunset's father, who simply nodded his head in acknowledgement and made a small grin.
"I can't believe it." she said. "I'm actually meeting Professor Golden Sun. The Professor Golden Sun! Oh my gosh..."
"Oh, so I take it you've heard of me, princess?" asked Golden Sun.
"Yes!" said Twilight. "You wrote the foreword to the First Edition of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue!"
"Yes, and I'm actually a very good friend of Ms. Yearling. So that little introduction I composed was pretty much my way of showing my approval of her work."
"And my mother Twilight Velvet always told me about how you taught her at the University of Baltimare!"
"Twilight Velvet, eh?" repeated Golden Sun. "I certainly remember her. She was one of my best students there. And you sure look an awful lot like your mother too, Princess Twilight."
"Please, just call me 'Twilight Sparkle'." said Twilight, before turning to speak with Sunset Shimmer. "But Sunset, how come you didn't tell me that Professor Sun was your father?"
"You never asked, Twilight." said Sunset, blankly. "Besides, I didn't really know how important my father was, since I hadn't seen him since I was a little filly."
"Good point." said Twilight. "But it sure explains how you got to be so smart and clever."
"Thanks, Twilight." said Sunset, grinning.
"But still, I was expecting Professor Sun to look...ahem, older." Twilight said. "Not that I mean any offense, professor."
"None taken." said Golden Sun. "In fact, I actually get that a lot."
Then he chuckled a little.
"Oh, and I could recite my foreword, if you want." said Golden Sun. "I remember it by heart, down to the last vowel."
"Go on, dad." said Sunset. "I'd love to hear it."
Golden Sun took a deep breath, and spoke with a clear voice:
"'As a professor at one of the most prestigious universities in Equestria, I have read and told many great tales and translated an innumerable amount of ancient tomes and hieroglyphs, but none have captivated my interest in adventure and the unknown like the works of Ms. A.K. Yearling. They say that big things have small beginnings, but Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue is by no means a small beginning, but the first in a long line of grand adventures undertaken, not by a brave band of brothers, but by a single pegasus mare pitted against dangers that should be too great for anypony to face alone.'
"'You can relate to Daring Do, whether you're a bookworm, an athlete, or even an all-powerful deity. Her bravery has inspired countless others, and I can only hope she can do the same for you. And thus, I am proud to present the first story in my collague's brilliant series. Read on, and let the adventures begin!'"
Twilight applauded so loudly, the library echoed with the sound of her hooves clapping together.
"Beautiful, just beautiful!" she said. "Bravo!"
"Yeah, that was actually very good!" said Sunset. "In fact, I think I might even start re-reading those books again."
"Well, I have all the books here in the library." said Twilight. "So you can start wherever and whenever you see fit."
"Really, are you sure you have all of the stories?" asked Sunset, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep! I've checked five times, too!" said Twilight.
"Even...Daring Do and the Storm Tower?" said Sunset.
Twilight gasped.
"That...that book is real?" she said, shocked. "I thought that was only a rumor! A myth among even the most fanatical of Daring Do enthusiasts!"
"So I take it you don't have it?" asked Sunset.
"No!" said Twilight, shaking her head. "Do you?"
"Yep!" said Sunset. "It's right here in my saddle-bag!"
She turned to show Twilight the knapsack she carried. She used her telekinesis to levitate the old, slightly battered book into the air.
"This thing was read to me all the time as a bedtime story when I was a little filly." said Sunset Shimmer. "And look, it's signed by A.K. Yearling herself!"
"So it is!" said Twilight. "Well, I must congratulate you, Sunset Shimmer. It's not every day you see somepony with such an impossibly rare book in their possession!"
"And that somepony is you, Twilight." said Sunset, levitating the book between them.
"Um...what?"
"I'm giving this book to you, Twilight." said Sunset. "I'm happy with my life now. So I think I ought to give this to you."
"Oh, Sunset!" said Twilight. "Thank you!"
"Aww, that's such a generous thing you did, Sunset." said Golden Sun.
"Friends?" asked Sunset.
"Friends." said Twilight.
Sunset and Twilight gave each other a quick hug.
Nose Nip and Frosty decided to go with Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres.
"This here's Sweet Apple Acres!" said Applejack. "This is where all the apples in Ponyville come from."
They went into the orchard, where Big Macintosh was in the middle of some routine applebucking.
"How's it goin' Big Mac?" Applejack called to him. "I betcha we'll be gettin' lotsa good apples this tahm 'round!"
"Eeyup." said Big Macintosh.
"Big Mac's the best applebucker in all of Ponyville." said Applejack.
"Oh, yeah?" said Nose Nip. "That's nothing! I'm a mountain-climber. I make a living bucking boulders and stuff! I could buck all the apples in this orchard to the ground faster than you can tie a knot!"
"Them's fightin' words, stranger." said Big Macintosh.
"Ha! I don't care!" said Nose Nip. "We're both strong ponies aren't we? I challenge you to a hoof-wrestling match! No, scratch that! A double hoof-wrestling match! You think you can do that, farmboy?"
"Eeyup!" said Big Mac.
Nose Nip and Big Macintosh both sat in front of each other, and crossed their front hooves with each other's.
"Does your friend normally act lahk thayat?" Applejack asked Frosty.
"Only when he's bored...or he had too much to drink." said Frosty. "Come to think of it, I barely even had a bottle's worth to drink out of that whole mini-bar on the blimp....Nose Nip, you cow! You drank all the good stuff!"
He ran up to Nose Nip as he was hoof-wrestling with Big Mac, and the two started brawling and rolling around on the ground. Big Macintosh just sat there, completely lost for words.
"What?" he said simply.
"Well, this sure is interesting." said Applejack. "Mighty interestin'."
"Eeyup." said Big Macintosh.
Just as Applejack was contemplating how she would break-up the fight, Pinkie Pie came over to them, followed by a gray earth pony mare with a flat purple mane.
"Hey, guys!" said Pinkie Pie. "I hope you don't mind, but my sister Maud accidentally left her pet rock around here! She can't stand to have one second without it. Just look how distressed she is!"
She pointed at Maud, whose face was relatively emotionless and worry-free.
"Pinkie, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but there's no need to make a fuss." said Maud Pie, evenly.
She turned her head and saw where Frosty and Nose Nip were wrestling.
"There." she said.
She walked slowly to where they were fighting, and picked up a small rock just a few feet away.
"Found you." she said.
Nose Nip and Frosty stopped fighting out of exhaustion. Nose Nip sat himself up, trying to catch his breath. He looked at Maud with visible curiosity.
"Nips, what're ya doin'?" said Frosty.
Nose Nip said nothing.
"What's got your saddle in a knot?" said Frosty again.
Nose Nip got back up and walked up to Maud Pie.
"Nips! I'm ovuh here!" Frosty yelled after him.
"Found him, Pinkie." said Maud. "Now I can finally go back to the rock farm."
Nose Nip cleared his throat. Maud made no response. Nose Nip cleared him throat even harder. Then he gave up and decided to just talk to her.
"So, you have a pet rock, do ya?" he asked Maud.
"Mm-hmm." said Maud. "His name's Boulder."
"Boulder?" repeated Nose Nip. "But...he...is no bigger than a pebble!"
"I know." said Maud, bluntly. "If you will excuse me, I have to make it to the train station."
"But...but hang on." said Nose Nip. "Please, I didn't properly introduce myself. My name is Nose Nip."
"I'm Maud Pie."
"Nice to meet you, Maud. So you like rocks, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I'm a mountain-climber from Vanhoover." said Nose Nip. "I climb mountains all the time. I even see all kinds of precious minerals when I'm up on those mountains, too."
"Sounds interesting." said Maud, as monotonously as ever.
"Do you like diamonds at all?" asked Nose Nip. "Maybe I could get you one the next time I go climbing."
"I like all rocks." said Maud. "It's my thing."
Nose Nip started to sweat. Before the conversation could get anymore awkward, Nose Nip decided to end it.
"Well, I think I'll see ya later, Maud." he said.
"Maybe." said Maud, who continued walking away.
Nose Nip started panting like a dog. Pinkie Pie rushed over to him and squealed happily.
"Awww, it looks like somepony's got a crush!" she said.
Nose Nip stopped panting, and instead started to blush.
"Uh...um." he fumbled.
"Nips, are you serious?" said Frosty. "There's like a hundred mares in this town, and you go with that one?"
"Hey, don't criticize me!" said Nose Nip. "I know what I'm doing."
"Okay, okay." said Frosty. "I'm just sayin': Weird choice, buddy!"
"Whatever." said Nose Nip. "Now where was I again? Oh, yeah! Double hoof-wrestling!"
He rushed back to Big Macintosh and the two resumed their match.