"Whoa whoa whoa. Sunset's where doing WHAT?!"
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity had gathered at Sugar Cube Corner later that morning. Applejack sighed at Rainbow's outburst, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She held up the journal—Sunset's magic journal and her primary link back to Equestria. "Look, here's whut Ah know," Applejack said. "That one Dazzling, Sonata—y'all remember her, right?"
"Oh yeah," Pinkie said. "She was the goofy one, right? I kinda liked her. I mean, other than the whole being evil and stuff."
"She did...rather remind me of you," Rarity said contemplatively.
"Right, well, anyhoo," Applejack continued, "she decided she wanted ta go back to Equestria, so she tried ta bust open th' portal with some weird gizmo she whipped up outta whut was left of her magic gem. Best Ah understand, she goofed up somethin' fierce an' opened a portal ta some whole other world entirely. A couple'a folks fell out an' got stuck in our world, so now Sunset's done took all three of 'em ta Equestria ta see if Twilight can help those two git back where they came from." She scratched her nose. "An' Ah reckon t' see if Sonata can be trusted in Equestria."
"So how long's that gonna take?" Rainbow wondered.
"I can't imagine it'll be a simple matter," Rarity said with a frown.
Applejack sighed. "Sunset said she might be gone a while."
The others let out a collective disappointed whine.
"Did Trixie hear correctly?" a smug voice intruded. "That dreadful demon is gone? Never to return?"
"She ain't gone never to return, Trixie," Applejack said tiredly. "She's just takin' a little trip. She'll be back soon."
Trixie sneered. "If she knows what's good for her, she'll stay gone and never show her face again."
"Oh, shut up, Trixie," Flash Sentry said as he walked up behind her. "Look, Sunset...she's changed, okay? Even I see that. You could learn a thing or two from her."
Trixie glared at him, sniffed haughtily, and stormed off.
"Way to go, Flash!" Rainbow cheered. "You got rid of Dripsie for us!"
Flash chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "So...did I hear right? Sunset's gone to see Twilight?"
"That's right," Applejack said.
"Cool, cool," Flash said. He jammed his hands in his pockets. "So, uhh..."
The girls looked at each other and groaned. "This is...probably not a good time, darling," Rarity said with a game grimace.
"Oh...right, right." Flash sighed. "Well, uhh...if you can get a message to Twilight, tell her hi for me, okay?"
"We'll get right on that," Rainbow said with a smirk.
* * * * *
Sunset Shimmer looked around the room which had once been her home in Canterlot Castle.
Everything was exactly as she had left it.
"I've had the maids keep it clean, but ordered them not to touch anything except to dust it," Celestia said from behind her.
Sunset turned around, tears in her eyes. "Princess..."
Celestia dipped her head. "I missed you," she said.
Sunset sniffled. "I..." She swallowed. "I told myself I hated you, but..." She walked over to her old bed and climbed onto it, laying flat and stretching her hooves in front of her. "And then every day, seeing that other Celestia's face at school, it made me angry, and I used that anger, turned it into fire in my gut..." Sunset sighed. "But ever since...ever since Twilight and...and my new friends showed me how stupid and mistaken I was, every time I see Principal Celestia, I feel...lost, sad..."
Celestia trotted over and stroked Sunset with a wing. "I'm afraid Twilight hasn't told me every detail of that world," she said. "I know that you've learned and changed, that you have friends...that you're happy."
Sunset took a deep breath. "Yeah," she said. "But seeing you again...finally having the chance to apologize..." She laughed shakily. "I think that's what I really needed."
Celestia smiled. "I am very delighted to hear that, my little pony." She sighed. "I would like nothing more than to sit and talk with you for hours, but I imagine you need a few minutes to settle in, and I need to confer with Kibitz to rearrange my schedule for the duration of your visit. You'll come to tea, of course? With Twilight and your two new friends?"
"Of course!"
Celestia nodded. "And...and later this evening, we'll have a long talk...if that's alright with you."
Sunset smiled. "I'm looking forward to it..."
* * * * *
Adagio and Aria sat in a cheap, greasy diner not far from their apartment.
"Do you think she'll really find a way for us to go back, Adagio?" Aria asked.
Adagio frowned thoughtfully. "Well, it's not like we have anything to lose by letting her try." Shrugging, she added, "Those ponies are fools if they think we'll just decide to act however they tell us to act."
Aria grunted. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind just going back to living in the sea, catching and eating fish..." She shook her head. "Nobody bothering us, no need for money..."
"We're better than that," Adagio said. "Even without our magic, we can do so much better for ourselves here."
"Maybe you can," Aria said sourly. She sighed. "I guess I don't really care which world we live in, just as long as we're left alone."
"Hmm." Adagio toyed with the salt shaker on their table. "Wouldn't mind getting a little revenge on Sunset Shimmer, though."
Aria snorted. "Yeah, I'll go along with that."
"So...you want revenge on Sunset Shimmer, do you?"
The two Sirens looked around for the source of the voice.
At the next table over, a girl in a hoodie turned around, flashing them a wicked grin from the shadows of her pulled-up hood. "I'm more than willing to help you with that..."
5941778 Why not make one?
Sweet Celestia IT LIVES!
I don't a have a good feeling about that mystery girl at the end. Knowing your stories I have a small idea on who it could be, but how would she know Sunset Shimmer?
It's alive! ALIVE!
Well, another complication showing up there at the end. Oh, and nice to know about that other chapter.
7554028 Is this an alternate universe where SHE is not Sunset's psychologist?
7553991
7554071 Are comments like this really necessary? Do they contribute anything beyond making me feel like a jerk for not updating this for a really long time?
7554092 Sometimes it is necessary but I can understand where you're coming from.
7554092 ...sorry, it was meant to be celebratory.
Anyway, as for the content of the chapter itself, it was good to check in on the Rainbooms, have Sunset talk with Celestia and meet Luna, and that tease with Adagio and Aria was plenty interesting itself. All and all, a nice refresher.
I wanna say Shego, but I know that's impossible.
Nice recap, looking forward to more!
Nice explanation. Do you have one for why we haven't seen the Sunset native to Canterlot High world?
7555649 Are we sure that's not one and the same?
7555649 Didn't it say earlier in the story that she died? I don't remember how or when, though.
7560913 Not in this story, no. You're thinking of one of my other stories.
7578822
Oooof course you did.
Hmm. Yeah, going by a stylebook, that SHOULD be capialized. I'll fix it.