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// New World, "Old" Friends 
// Story: How the Night was Lit Up 
// by Sunset_Sparkles 
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Traveling through the portal was the same as always for Sunset. Step in, shapeshift, step out. And this time, it was not different. What was different was the place she found herself. A crystal palace, different from the one she had seen during her visit to steal the crown. Right next to the portal, Princess Twilight was waiting for her while reading a book.
Trotting over to the princess, Sunset started saying, “Sorry for being late Twilight, it’s just that Pinkie made this farewell party and then Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat appeared and it took a lot of time and… Twilight?” Seeing as the princess still hadn’t acknowledged her, Sunset called her louder. “Twilight? Are you listening? I’m here already, you don’t have to wait anymore.”
Still too immersed in her reading, Twilight hadn’t even nodded, proving that she was totally inaccessible right now. Suddenly, Spike appeared on by the door. “Oh, hey Sunset. How’s it going?”
“Well, aside from the fact that I was late and Twilight’s not even paying attention to me right now, everything’s alright.” She started glancing around the library, as if looking for a specific object. “Say, Spike, do you have any objects that are hard to damage, but heavy enough for her to feel it hitting her?”
“Here, take this piece of paper and rip it in half. That’ll certainly make her notice you. Unless…” He made a pause and checked the book Twilight was reading. “Okay, this will work. If she was reading anything by Star Swirl, it’d be virtually impossible.”
Sunset tried to take the paper and rip it with her hooves, without much success. “How do earth ponies and pegasi deal with not being able to manipulate objects using their magic? Or even fingers. Those were really useful.” Trying to use her magic, Sunset still couldn’t tear the paper apart. “I really need more practice with magic.”
“If you want, I can help you with that paper. I may not have telekinetic spells, or fingers for that matter, but these claws can do that work for me.” When Sunset didn’t agree with his suggestion, he tilted his head slightly to the right. “Why? Do you have any other ideas?”
“Actually, I have one. Can you help grab something from my saddlebags? I think you and Twilight will recognize it, maybe it’ll be able to get her attention.” Reaching Sunset’s saddlebag, Spike looked for any kind of familiar object. When he found it, he picked it up, confused.
“The thingy that other Twilight made that could store magic? Why do you have that? Isn’t it dangerous?” As soon as he finished his sentence, Twilight looked up from her book and saw Sunset talking with Spike.
“Oh, hey Spike. Hi, Sunset… Wait, Sunset? How long have you been here?” Noticing the object on Spike’s hand, she continued. “And why, in the name of Celestia, do you have that spectrometer that almost destroyed a world and conquered another?”
“One question at a time, Twilight. Let me answer Spike first. Yes, because she gave it to me as a parting gift, and not anymore.” Looking at Twilight now, Sunset started talking again. “Hi Twilight, for about five minutes, and that other question was already answered, so I see no need to repeat myself.”
“Oh. But wait, you said it’s not dangerous anymore. What happened to it? Did it break?” Twilight’s questions were coming one after another, and so were Sunset’s answers.
“Actually, SciTwi just modified it. Now, it can only track magical energy, but not store anymore. Also, she discovered magic works like sound waves, with different frequencies, so she upgraded it. Now, you can track specific types of magic.” Seeing Twilight’s eyes glowing, she continued. “Yes, Twilight. You can study it later. You probably won’t understand much, though. This is way more human science than you’ve ever seen.”
“Wait a minute. SciTwi? And what do you mean by ‘you won’t understand it’? Is that a challenge for Twilight?”
“You just love asking questions, don’t you? First, we called her SciTwi because we had to separate her from Princess Twilight during our conversations. It was also a funny nickname. And no, it isn’t a challenge. It’s just that science doesn’t work like magic. Believe me, I tried. Avalanche of apples and Rainbow explosions happened. But I do think that, with enough work, we can replicate its function. We might need to find new ways to cast spells, though. It would have too many layers, and simple magical objects, like gems, wouldn’t be able to hold it.”
“Let’s just get to the point already. Welcome back to Equestria, Sunset. You’ve never been here, so let me introduce you to the ponies of Ponyville. Come on, let’s run.” Twilight, eager to leave the castle, started trotting over to the front entrance.
“Uh, Twilight? I’m still not used to running and using magic all that much. Last time, I had managed to cast a spell that helped me walk on four hooves, but this time, I don’t remember that spell, so we can’t run a lot.” Going to the door slowly, Sunset kept talking. “Also, why do you want to go so quickly? Is there some magical disaster happening right now and we need to prevent it?”
“Sunset, not everything around Ponyville is about magical disasters. We also have attacks from the Everfree Forest creatures, friendship problems and even normal days. Today, the latter applies. I just want to show you around town.”
“Okay, if you say so. Where do you want to go first? Is there a version of Sugarcube Corner here? I’m really hungry, and I didn’t have much time to eat the cake Pinkie prepared before I realized the portal was already open.”
“Well, we do have a Sugarcube Corner, but I want to take you to another place right now. And it’s a surprise, so don’t try to ask more. I’ll just say I think you’ll like it.”
Walking by the city, Sunset saw lots of ponies, of all three kinds, walking and talking. Unlike Canterlot, Ponyville was more of a mixed city, but with Earth Pony roots, so it had that country feeling. Looking behind her, she saw the giant crystal castle that they had just left.
“So, Twilight, has that always been here? The castle, I mean. It doesn’t seem to fit the town.”
“I know, but when the Tree of Harmony gives you a castle that came out from a magical chest after defeating an evil overlord that had ALL the magic from the ponies, including all of the princesses, you just can’t say ‘No, thank you’. Seriously, that tree has some kind of power to predict the future. If it gives you something, you can’t deny it. Kind of how we saved the world after Tirek had taken our magic.”
“Oh. So, what you’re saying is that Tirek came back, stole the magic from all the ponies, including the princesses and the Element Bearers-”
“He also took Discord’s magic, so he was pretty much indestructible at that point.”
“Okay, so… Wait a minute, did you just say Discord. Like, Discord Discord? The Lord of Chaos that governed Equestria before the Princesses turned him to stone? Was he freed by Tirek so he could steal his magic?”
“No, Discord was reformed way before. The first time we met, he was already on our side. Took a long time for him to truly understand Friendship, though. Ah, we’re here! Sorry, we’ll have to finish this later.”
In front of the two ponies, stood a massive tree, with a door and some windows on the upper floor. On the sign right next to the door, were the words ‘New Golden Oaks Library’.
“So, Sunset, this is where you’ll live from now on. I’d like to let you live in the castle with me, but it’s not exactly a comfortable place. Especially when you’re not used to a pony’s body. This is the place where I lived before… Tirek blew it up.” Seeing tears coming out from Twilight’s face, Sunset walked and hugged her friend. “Thanks, Sunset. It’s just that this place meant so much to me, and it simply disappeared in a ball of fire. But now, I want you to live here, just like I did when I started studying the Magic of Friendship. This is going to be your new house, so I suggest you get used to it. And seeing as you still need to practice walking as a pony and using magic, tomorrow, our lessons begin.”
Opening the door, Sunset saw nothing but darkness. When she got inside, the lights suddenly went on, and she saw a pink mare appearing out of nowhere. “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, SUNSET SHIMMER! My name is Pinkie Pie, but you probably know that already, since Twilight said the Pinkie from your world looks and acts just like me. This is your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, so why don’t you enter and be welcomed by the Ponyvillians? Not to be confused with Pony Villains. We have a lot of those too.”
“Um… Thanks, Pinkie. I’ll remember that.” Unsure of what to do now, Sunset decided to just go for idle questions. “So, do you also have a party cannon?”
“Of course I have, how don’t you know already? You’re actually standing on top of it!” When Sunset looked down, she saw she was really on top of a small cannon, which surprised her, making her fall from the top of the cannon. Which wasn’t a height that most ponies couldn’t reach, but since she wasn’t expecting a cannon under her hooves, she fell and faceplanted.
“Say, Twilight. When you mentioned Discord was reformed, did you take away his chaos magic and give it all to Pinkie? Or is she normally like this?”
“She’s normally like this. I don’t even like to think about what would happen if she had Discord’s power.”
“As if you girls could actually take it from me. Tirek only managed to do it because I was caught off guard.” Looking for the source of that voice, Sunset turned her head over all directions. “Hey, don’t move that much, I’ll get dizzy!” Derping her eyes a little bit, she saw her mane had a face and was talking. A little bit after, that face disappeared and Discord appeared right in front of her. “Hello Sunset Shimmer. My name is Discord, but you can call me John.”
“Um… Hello Discord.” Hearing a slight ‘Hmmph’ coming from him, she tried again. “Oh, sorry. Hello, John. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I’m just checking out Pinkie’s party. They are always chaotic. Say, was your world’s Pinkie as chaotic as this one?”
“Well, I guess. I still don’t understand, you are the God of Chaos and we’re simply chatting about parties. Was it some kind of reformation spell?”
“Twilight actually tried to look for one, but Discord had eaten them all.” Hovering above their heads was Rainbow Dash. “So, you’re the pony who stole Twilight’s crown some time ago. Gotta say, pretty impressive of you, managing to escape like that. I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest pony around.”
“Hey Rainbow, I’m Sunset Shimmer, best Element of Magic thief that lived in another world you’ll ever meet.” Looking over to the corner, she saw a yellow pegasus, who she presumed was Fluttershy, walking over to them.
“Umm… Hi, I’m Fluttershy. Are you Twilight’s new student?” Seeing the nodding unicorn, she continued. “Your name’s Sunset Shimmer, right?” As Sunset nodded again, Fluttershy simply said, “Good to know.”
“Well howdy, Sunset. I’m Applejack, how’s it going?” When Applejack suddenly appeared in front of Sunset, she was already used to it.
“I’m fine AJ, thanks. Does your family here live at Sweet Apple Acres too? In my world, they had the best apple-related products I could find.”
“Well, I guess some things don’t change even between worlds, then. Come by someday, we can always use some company from outside the family.”
“Okay, so that’s Twilight, Pinkie, AJ, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Discord. Wait, where’s Rarity?” Sunset looked all over the library, but couldn’t find anypony that looked like Rarity.
“Oh, she couldn’t come today, taking care of the CMC. Speaking of them, you should have a story of how you got your cutie mark done by tomorrow’s morning. They’ll probably appear and start hitting the door a while after you wake up. I swear these kids have some kind of Pinkie Powers.” After making a pause to gather her thoughts, Twilight continued. “So, I guess that covers your close friends from CHS. Now, just enjoy the party, Sunset. I know this is a library, and it’s supposed to be quiet, but when Pinkie throws you a party, doesn’t matter where, you must have fun.”
“Well, I guess I could… Say, is there any cake? I couldn’t eat the one from my farewell party earlier, and I’m kind of needing something sweet right now.”
“What kind of party would it be it if there was no cake? Of course there is, it’s right there.” After finding it, Sunset carefully trotted over to the cake. A while after, she remembered she still didn’t have much practice with using telekinetic spells, but she still tried to grab a piece. Surprisingly enough, she managed to get one.
“Well, it looks like I’m already remembering how to use magic. It’s like riding a bike.” Taking a bite of the cake, Sunset’s face was filled with joy. “Wow, this is really good. Did you make it yourself, Pinkie?”
“Yes, I can give you the recipe for it later, if you want. Also comes in Cupcake version.” When Sunset looked at the table to pick another slice, her face was filled with confusion, since the cake disappeared and the cupcakes took its place.
“How did you… You know what? It’s Pinkie, no amount of knowledge will ever explain her.” Sunset ended up picking one of the cupcakes, which was far easier than cutting a piece of the big cake.
A lot of idle chatting later, and about ten cupcakes, Sunset decided it was time for her to sleep. “Sorry girls, but I’m really tired from what happened before coming here, so I have to call it a night. I still have to organize some things.” Sunset shifted her eyes to Pinkie. “It was a great party, thanks Pinkie. And I’ll definitely get that recipe later.”
“Way ahead of you. Just go to your bedroom and you’ll see.” Not questioning Pinkie, Sunset said goodbye to the ponies on the room and went upstairs. There, she found a paper containing the recipe for the same cake she ate.
“How in the world does she manage to do this? She never came up here after I asked for the recipe.” Stopping for a while to take some objects from her saddlebags, she came to her senses. “Why am I still trying to understand Pinkie after all this time?”
Looking over to the small gift she had gotten from her friends at CHS before leaving, she decided now was a good time to open it. Upon carefully removing the wrapping, she found out why Rarity wanted it to be a surprise. It was a photo of her and her friends. “Thanks, girls. I’ll never forget you.” Putting it over the nightstand, she noticed she was actually using her magic to do it all. “I guess there’s no way to forget how magic works. Makes it easier for me.” Leaving the Magic Analyzer right beside that photo, Sunset decided it was a great time to rest. “Tomorrow’s a big day, so I better sleep now." Looking at the photo once more, she said, "I'll never forget this day. I’m really lucky for having friends as good as these."