Not Fully Forgiven

by smirker

Day 2

Morning comes and Sunset Shimmer wakes up, she looks and sees Arcana was already awake and present,

"Good morning." Arcana said,

"When did you get here?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"About an hour ago." Arcana replied, Sunset Shimmer looks at the clock on the wall and sees it was 6:00 AM, Sunset Shimmer has trouble getting up,

"Sorry, but I'm not a morning person." Sunset Shimmer said,

"At least you can get some sleep, even with my sleeping pills, I only slept two hours last night." Arcana replied,

"Oh, well, what do you need me to do?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"I need you to go out and pick more grapes, I'll be picking with you today." Arcana replied,

"Alright, give me a minute to wake up first." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Alright, I'll get you breakfast." Arcana said, and she gives Sunset Shimmer grapes and grape juice, the two have breakfast and head outside.

---

Sunset Shimmer and Arcana head outside and see everypony was awake and having breakfast, she sees Paladin eating watermelons and drinking watermelon juice, and Robin eating pineapples and drinking pineapple juice,

"Do you ever open shop, Arcana?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Sundays." Arcana replied,

"Oh." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Well, let's get picking." Arcana said, and the two start. Sunset Shimmer picks grapes by hoof while Arcana looks around and picks multiple grapes at once with her magic, she sees Arcana filling almost three to five buckets at once, Sunset Shimmer gets back to picking grapes and fills her first bucket, she gets a second bucket and continues to pick by hoof, Arcana picks grapes quickly while Sunset Shimmer takes her time, she picks the grapes and watches Arcana do everything with magic,

"Say, Arcana, I was wondering, is Archmage Astral Plane your father?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Oh no, my parents died a long time ago." Arcana replied,

"What happened?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Old age." Arcana replied,

"Oh." Sunset Shimmer said,

"How about you? What about your parents?" Arcana asked,

"I don't know my parents." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Wait, you don't?" Arcana asked,

"No, I was an orphan who lived on the streets before I went to Canterlot." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Do you have any siblings?" Arcana asked,

"No." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I'm an only child, too." Arcana said,

"Well, I did get a boyfriend in that world, his name is Flash Sentry, we broke up, though." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Wow, I'm surprised someone actually fell in love with you." Arcana replied,

"I only dated him to become more popular." Sunset Shimmer said with her head down, Arcana notices regret in her tone, trumpets are heard afterwards,

"I have to go do my morning training now, I'll leave the grape picking to you." Arcana said,

"Alright, see ya." Sunset Shimmer said, and Arcana trots away.

---

Sunset Shimmer continues picking grapes and sees Arcana did not leave much left to be picked, she picks them and finishes, she sighs in relief at being done,

"This task is getting boring." Sunset Shimmer said, and she heads into the winery and goes through the front door, she arrives outside and sees the unicorns training, she sees Arcana doing double duty, she was a student training to make her own magic stronger, and acting as a teacher to the younger ponies,

"Wow, I sure am glad I don't have to do that." Sunset Shimmer said, and she looks around and sees Paladin and Robin were doing double duty as well. Sunset Shimmer watches them and Arcana eventually notices her and trots to her,

"Did you finish picking the grapes?" Arcana asked,

"Yes." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Just wait a bit, I'll be with you shortly." Arcana said, and she goes back to the unicorns and continues training and teaching the foals at the same time. Sunset Shimmer decides to look around and sees the earth ponies lifting weights, doing cardio exercises, and running uphill while carrying heavy rocks and wearing suits of armor, and the Pegasi hiding weapons in their outfits, target practice with bows and guns, and fighting with knives and daggers, she watches and sees the Pegasi hiding weapons in their jackets and coats. Sunset Shimmer watches and looks at the unicorns, she sees the older unicorns teach the younger ones, she also sees several young foals get mad or nearly cry at failing some of the training, they were sent away to meditate and have better control of their emotions,

"Okay, that's enough, go have brunch everypony." Archmage Astral Plane said, and they all finish,

"Follow me." Arcana said, and they go into the winery.

---

Arcana leads Sunset Shimmer to behind her counter and opens a cellar, the two go down and Sunset Shimmer sees a crushing machine,

"Put the grapes in the machine and it'll crush it." Arcana said,

"Are you making red wine or white wine?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Both." Arcana replied,

"Which one are you making today?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Again, both, whichever one you want to do first is your choice." Arcana replied,

"Well, in that case, I'll do white wine first, since I have to remove the seeds." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Go on and put the grapes in the crusher then." Arcana replied,

"No, I want to crush them by hoof." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Alright, clean your hoofs then, I'll get a tank." Arcana replied, and Sunset Shimmer sees a white towel nearby and cleans her hoofs with it while Arcana gets a steel tank,

"Alright, here goes." Arcana said, and she puts grapes in the tank after using her magic to remove the skin,

"It's ready." Arcana said, and Sunset Shimmer starts working. Sunset Shimmer stomps on the grapes while grape juice is made,

"Not all of that juice is going to become wine, some of them are going into a bottle after you finish." Arcana said,

"What? How come?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"I sell grape juice, too." Arcana replied,

"Oh, alright then." Sunset Shimmer said, and she continues crushing the grapes with her hoofs while Arcana puts some of them in the crusher, she looks and sees Sunset Shimmer stomping quickly with a big smile on her face,

"This is fun." Sunset Shimmer said, Arcana chuckles while she crushes the grapes with the machine. Sunset Shimmer continues crushing the grapes until they were all crushed,

"I'm done." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Hold on." Arcana replied, and she gets more grapes while Sunset Shimmer steps out of the tank, Arcana uses her magic to remove the skin from the grapes and Sunset Shimmer gets back to crushing,

"Do you ever leave Dreaming Paradise, Arcana?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Sometimes." Arcana replied,

"For what?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Selling my wine, getting ingredients for alchemy and potions, that kind of stuff." Arcana replied,

"Do you offer private magic lessons?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"No." Arcana replied,

"Princess Celestia did for me." Sunset Shimmer said,

"What was she like?" Arcana asked,

"Strict, bad tempered, Princess Celestia had no patience or sense of humor when I was her student." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Does she now?" Arcana asked,

"Yeah, she actually mellowed out a bit when I met her again, we're on good terms now." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"You on good terms with Princess Celestia? That sounds hard to believe." Arcana said,

"Arcana, I told you, I'm not the pony I used to be." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I don't believe that, people don't change." Arcana said,

"This is why I'm working for you, it's to prove to you that I have changed and wish for your forgiveness." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"My dad actually had a saying on forgiveness." Arcana said,

"What would that be?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Nothing gets forgiven." Arcana replied,

"What about those people we have forgiven and offered friendship?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Haven't you ever wondered that they only accepted it out of fear of being punished?" Arcana asked,

"That's crossed my mind a few times." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"My dad said the reason why people forgive is because it's an easy way to say they don't care anymore, they may forgive you on the surface, but deep down inside, they're still mad and resentful." Arcana said,

"Are you still mad at me?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Yes." Arcana replied,

"Did you forgive Paladin and Robin when they did something that made you mad?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"They never made me mad." Arcana replied,

"Never?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Nope." Arcana replied,

"Huh." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Well, go on and rest, it's time for brunch." Arcana said, and they rest and the two eat grapes and drink grape juice, they went back to working after twenty minutes, Sunset Shimmer and Arcana crush the grapes and Sunset Shimmer begins taking the seeds and stems out, Arcana puts yeast in the juices,

"Okay, we're done for today, we all play and have fun before lunchtime, so you can take a break now." Arcana said, and she leaves the winery and Sunset Shimmer follows her.

---

Sunset Shimmer heads outside and sees everypony in Dreaming Paradise hanging out and playing with one another, Arcana meets up with Paladin and Robin,

"How's that rival of yours holding up?" Paladin asked,

"Not too bad, she hasn't caused any trouble so far." Arcana replied,

"I told you, I've changed." Sunset Shimmer said, the three face her,

"Yeah, right. People don't change." Paladin said,

"What makes you say that?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"All of us still behave the same way we behaved when we were kids." Robin replied,

"Some people do change." Sunset Shimmer said,

"They just get wiser and more tolerable as time goes on, but their core personalities remain." Paladin replied,

"You said it yourself, Sunset Shimmer, you're still short tempered and you still hate losing, just like when you and I were rivals." Arcana said, Sunset Shimmer becomes speechless,

"So, how's your magic training, Arcana?" Robin asked,

"I'm still trying to learn spells to enhance my physical capabilities." Arcana replied,

"Why don't you exercise then?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"I'm usually busy studying magic or running the winery, I don't have the time." Arcana replied,

"You do now." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Well... I guess so." Arcana replied,

"Great, let's try running first." Sunset Shimmer said, and the four stand together,

"On my mark, get set, go." Sunset Shimmer said, and the four run together. Sunset Shimmer runs and sees Robin was to her left, she sees Arcana behind her, and Paladin even farther back, Sunset Shimmer runs while Robin laughs and manages to keep up with her, she hears panting behind herself after about twenty seconds and looks back and sees Arcana panting and she falls over, and Paladin passes her. Sunset Shimmer keeps running with Robin keeping up with her, she soon starts to pant and stops while looking down, Paladin passes her and runs after Sunset Shimmer, she looks back and sees Paladin had a smile on her face, she makes it to the end and Paladin catches up to her,

"*chuckle* Impressive." Paladin said,

"Thanks." Sunset Shimmer replied, she looks and sees Arcana and Robin were still catching their breaths,

"Are they alright?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Yeah, give them time, unicorns and Pegasi don't really train in endurance and stamina in our village." Paladin replied, Robin catches her breath and walks while Arcana still pants, she stops panting and struggles to stand up, Sunset Shimmer trots to her. Sunset Shimmer helps Arcana stand up,

"Thanks." Arcana said,

"Wow, you're actually worse than I thought." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I've always been the most out of shape of me and my two friends, I'm also the slowest runner." Arana said,

"You were faster than Paladin." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"That's because Paladin's wearing a suit of armor." Arcana said,

"Well, you're wearing a tight dress, and you have heels on, maybe you and your two friends should take your outfits off and I'll see how fast you three really are." Sunset Shimmer replied, and Arcana takes her outfit off, so did Paladin and Robin. The four line up together again and Sunset Shimmer sees Paladin's cutie mark was a double-edged broadsword and a kite shield, and Robin's cutie mark was a dagger and a light blue jewel, and she wore a white long-sleeve collared shirt under her vest,

"Go!" Sunset Shimmer said, and the four run. Sunset Shimmer runs and sees Robin was the same speed, she looks back and sees Paladin catching up to her, and Arcana was in the back and running slowly, she pants and falls over again after fifteen seconds, Sunset Shimmer keeps running and Robin gets tired and stops running after about a minute, Paladin keeps running and was catching up to Sunset Shimmer, she makes it to the end and Paladin came to the finish line five seconds later,

"Okay, let's try something else." Sunset Shimmer said, and she waits for Arcana and Robin to catch their breaths. Sunset Shimmer has Paladin, Arcana, and Robin try to do push-ups, Sunset Shimmer and Robin do them at regular speed, Paladin goes faster than them, and Arcana was very slow, she grunts as she tries to go down on her first one, she manages to go down after much grunting and sweating, she tries to go back up but falls, she pants while the other three keep going, Robin falls after doing fifteen push ups, Sunset Shimmer falls after doing twenty five push ups, Paladin chuckles while she keeps going. Sunset Shimmer has the three do sit-ups with her, Sunset Shimmer and Paladin do them easily while Arcana and Robin have trouble, Arcana does ten sit-ups and falls over exhausted, Robin keeps going and falls over after doing thirty sit-ups,

"Oh, my stomach." Robin said as she covers her own abdomen with her front hoofs, Sunset Shimmer falls after doing thirty five sit-ups, Paladin stops after doing fifty sit-ups,

"What's next?" Paladin asked with a smile on her face,

"Weight lifting." Sunset Shimmer replied while catching her breath, Paladin meditates to pass the time while she waits for the other three to catch their breaths. Sunset Shimmer borrows barbells from the earth ponies and puts it on her and the other three's backs with telekinesis,

"How much weight do you all want on your barbells?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Twenty." Robin said,

"Fifty." Paladin said,

"No weights." Arcana said,

"Wait, what?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"The barbells weigh fifty pounds on their own." Paladin replied,

"Oh, that is a little heavy, I'll put ten pounds on mine then." Sunset Shimmer said, and she puts weights on their barbells with her telekinesis,

"Alright, lift." Sunset Shimmer said, and she and the other three grunt while they try to stand up with the barbells on their backs, Arcana stops while standing halfway up and falls down, she pants while the other three continue, they stand up and go back down, the three try to do a second rep but Robin falls and she pants, Sunset Shimmer falls after doing three reps, and Paladin takes the weights and barbell off after doing five reps,

"We have time for one more." Arcana said,

"Alright, let's try something simple then." Sunset Shimmer replied, and the four leave. Sunset Shimmer goes to the earth pony area and borrows a wagon,

"Let's try pulling a small wagon, basic stuff." Sunset Shimmer said,

"I can't pull this." Arcana replied,

"What? You're kidding." Sunset Shimmer said, Arcana puts the harness on and tries to walk, she grunts and could not pull the wagon, she pants,

"What? You're joking, you can't pull a small, empty wagon?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"No." Arcana replied,

"Then how do you carry your things?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Telekinesis." Arcana replied,

"Truth be told, it does have some advantages." Paladin said,

"Like what?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Well, first of all, you don't have to worry about things getting stuck on rocks or wheels breaking off." Robin replied,

"That is true." Sunset Shimmer said, and Arcana takes the wagon off,

"What about you two?" Sunset Shimmer asked, Robin pulls the wagon with no problem, so did Paladin,

"Well, lunchtime, time to go back." Robin said, and they all put their outfits back on and head home.

---

Sunset Shimmer goes to Arcana's home and sees it was a tower, Arcana lets her in and Sunset Shimmer looks around,

"Wow, you're quite a bookworm." Sunset Shimmer said,

"It's a requirement, ponies start training at the age of four." Arcana replied, and the two sit together and have grapes for lunch,

"So, what have you been up to ever since you left Canterlot?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Not much, I've been going in and out of Dreaming Paradise, I mainly travel from place to place to sell my grape juice and wine." Arcana replied,

"You sound like you've been fine." Sunset Shimmer said,

"I have, what have you been doing?" Arcana asked,

"Busy, Equestrian magic has leaked into my world, and it's my fault it came into the world." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"What have you been doing in that world?" Arcana asked,

"Fighting Equestrian magic, the first one was because of me, I took Princess Twilight's crown, put it on, and became a raging she-demon." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Why did you become a demon?" Arcana asked,

"Because the crown was powered by friendship, which I didn't know the first thing about." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"What happened after that?" Arcana asked,

"Princess Twilight and her friends transformed and shot me and changed me back, I was left in a crying mess, I cannot describe how humiliated I felt, but Princess Twilight offered to be my friend, and so did her five friends." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"*sigh* As usual, you ponies are too forgiving of one another." Arcana said,

"Actually, those five in that world are human versions of Twilight's friends in this world." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, are you saying that there are that world's versions of us in that world you're staying in?" Arcana asked,

"Yeah, I haven't met my other self yet, though." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Did those world's creatures forgive you immediately as well?" Arcana asked,

"No, not at all, I had to work for it, that is when Equestrian magic started to leak into that world, it caused three sirens to come after to the school, they enchanted us with their singing and formed a band called the Dazzlings." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"When did they forgive you?" Arcana asked,

"When I sang with Princess Twilight and that world's version of her friends and destroyed their amulets that give them their singing voices." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"What was the next Equestrian magic incident?" Arcana asked,

"When that world's Twilight discovered it and went to investigate, her device began absorbing the magic while I was trying to figure out what happened, I snapped at her for being careless and made her cry, she eventually released the magic when she was pressured and she changed to a demon, I had to fight her when she tried to destroy this world and that one." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Princess Twilight didn't help you?" Arcana asked,

"No, she said she was stuck in a time travel loop." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Ah, so she was busy dealing with Starlight Glimmer at that time, if I was the one who caught Starlight Glimmer, I would've killed her after she undoes everything." Arcana said,

"You wouldn't forgive her?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"No, she started acting like that because her best friend got his cutie mark, ponies thought he was gifted, and he got taken away, that's a stupid reason for her to behave like that if you ask me." Arcana replied,

"Okay, um... after that, I went on a field trip with my school to a place called Camp Everfree, my friends and I began to develop powers there, I developed the ability to see one's memories through physical contact, we eventually discovered a cave filled with these geodes empowered with Equestrian magic, I learned that the camp's owner, Gloriosa Daisy, has been using those geodes to cause disasters to happen, she added more geodes to herself and transformed, me and the others had to encourage that world's Twilight to embrace her magic, and she took Gloriosa's necklace apart, we then got our own geodes and fixed the camp, it got saved and we had a ball after that." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Wow, I always liked ballrooms, waltz dancing is one of my favorite activities." Arcana said,

"Shortly after that, me, my friends, and students from that world's Twilight's old school made a music video together, we also went to go see a Daring Do movie get made from behind the scenes, we caught a thief there who was stealing the props because she wanted the role as Daring Do, she got a job through her uncle, and she eventually found an Equestrian magic enchanted mirror and transformed, Starlight Glimmer came to that world with me at that time, me and the others got trapped in the mirror, and Starlight Glimmer saved us, we became her friend shortly afterwards." Sunset Shimmer said,

"You befriended her? Does that world have any law enforcement?" Arcana asked,

"Yes." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"You should've contacted them and had her arrested." Arcana said,

"We would have to explain what happened, none of them know about magic of any kind." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I see, I can see how that can cause problems, you shouldn't have befriended her, you should've took her back to her uncle so he could punish her." Arcana said,

"I think he did." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Oh, well, how's she been?" Arcana asked,

"I haven't heard from her." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I see, what happened afterwards?" Arcana asked,

"After that, I was making a yearbook, and this girl named Wallflower Blush erased my friend's memories to make them think I was the bully I used to be, I had to go back here and reunited with Princess Celestia, she said she actually missed me and was glad to have me back, I learned she used a device called a Memory Stone, she erased my memories with it, but my frineds and I managed to get our memories back and destroyed the Memory Stone, I befriended her and another old enemy of mine in the end." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Did you find out why she erased your friends' memories?" Arcana asked,

"She was jealous of how many friends I had and her always being forgotten." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Sounds like a certain somepony." Arcana said,

"I don't get jealous anymore, Arcana." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"What was the next Equestrian magic incident?" Arcana asked,

"That world's Rarity eventually got a summer job as a fashion designer at an amusement park called Equestria Land, me and that world's Twilight played a ring toss game and always lost, but anyway, her boss there, Vignette Valencia, had Equestrian magic affect her phone, which allowed her to make things disappear and was able to create holograms of how she wanted things to be, everyone including myself except Applejack got transported, we were in a white room, I almost lost my temper completely, but we made it out, stopped the concert Vignette was doing, and we learned that she never had any real friends, so Rarity befriended her and we did our show." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Acted that way because she had no friends? What a flimsy excuse." Arcana said,

"What would you have done?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Give her the beating of her life." Arcana replied,

"She was a celebrity, Arcana, you would cause a lot of problems if you did that." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Oh, well, in that case, I'd expose her first, then give her the beating." Arcana replied, Sunset Shimer looks at her with discomfort,

"What's next?" Arcana asked,

"My friends and I were on a cruise ship, and a storm happened, me and two of my friends went through a portal in a quicksand and came to Ponyville, we learned from Princess Twilight that it was magic from the Storm King, it destroyed the ship, but we managed to escape by using the portal and went through the mirror in Princess Twilight's castle to go back to the school." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I remember the Storm King, he shattered into pieces after being turned into stone, it's good he died." Arcana said, Sunset Shimmer becomes more uncomfortable,

"What's next?" Arcana asked,

"This is the last one, I was going to go see a band called Postcrush with that world's Pinkie Pie, their names were Kiwi Lollipop and Supernova Zap, because of Pinkie Pie, I couldn't see the concert, but when I was on a hill, more Equestrian magic appeared, and the same day kept repeating over and over, I wrote a message to Princess Twilight and she said it's a device called a Time Twirler that allows one to make the day repeat, I did see Postcrush but got stuck in the same day, I originally thought it was Dazzlings since they were there too, but it wasn't, eventually, I discovered it was Kiwi Lollipop who was using it, Pinkie Pie and I got ahold of the Time Twirler and destroyed it, and Pinkie and I got to perform onstage with them." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"How long were you stuck in that time loop?" Arcana asked,

"I forgot, it was either three weeks or a year." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Did you find out why they kept resetting?" Arcana asked,

"They wanted the concert to go perfect and kept messing up." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Again, what a flimsy excuse, even if you do mess up, the show has to go on, those two are lucky they didn't do any serious damage." Arcana said,

"What would you do to them?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Let them go, what they did wasn't too serious." Arcana replied,

"Oh, well, everything's been normal so far." Sunset Shimmer said,

"I see, well, let's finish lunch, it's almost time to get back to work." Arcana said, and they finish lunch and head outside.

---

Sunset Shimmer gets a broom and begins sweeping the dirt around Arcana's home, she sweeps while Arcana floats in the air and meditates, Sunset Shimmer looks and sees rocks, water, fire, and a tornado spinning around her,

"Whoa." Sunset Shimmer said, and she sees lava, ice, and thunderclouds form around her. Sunset Shimmer gets back to sweeping the dirt from around Arcana's home and begins humming a tune while she sweeps, she finishes and puts the broom down,

"Go ahead and rest, Sunset Shimmer, it's almost tea time, so I'll need you serving my meals again." Arcana said,

"Wait? You can see and hear me while you meditate?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Yes, but I cannot be too distracted, or the magic around me will no longer be under my control." Arcana replied,

"Wow, I've never thought about doing meditation, too boring for me." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Well, maybe you should give it a try to calm your nerves, it's time for tea, Sunset Shimmer, come with me, same spot as yesterday." Arcana replied, and they go.

---

Tea time starts and Arcana sits with Paladin and Robin, Arcana eats grapes, Paladin eats watermelons, and Robin eats pineapples, Sunset Shimmer serves Arcana her grapes,

"How does it feel, Sunset Shimmer?" Arcana asked,

"What?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"You always considered everypony beneath you, but now, you're the one who's beneath us, how does it feel?" Arcana asked,

"It's actually not that bad." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Maybe you've been too easy on her, Arcana." Paladin said,

"No, I think I've been hard enough, trying to make her as miserable as possible will only make things worse." Arcana replied,

"Say, Sunset, why don't we spar during today's afternoon training?" Robin asked,

"Fight me?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Truth be told, I've been longing to challenge you to a duel as well." Paladin said,

"How come?" Sunset Shimmer asked,

"Just want to test you." Paladin replied, Robin nods,

"Well, I guess I can, I do have some training in martial arts and fencing." Sunset Shimmer said,

"Great, I'll go first." Robin said, and the three finish their meals and drinks and let Sunset Shimmer have the leftovers, all of the ponies gather together.

---

Everypony gathers together and afternoon training was about to begin,

"Hold on, excuse me, everypony." Robin said, they look at her,

"Paladin and I would like to challenge Arcana's rival to one-on-one duels." Robin said, the others nod and Sunset Shimmer walks forward. Sunset Shimmer watches Robin carefully and she takes daggers out of her coat, she flies forward and tries to slash Sunset Shimmer with her daggers, Sunset Shimmer shoots a beam from her horn and Robin is pushed back a bit, she flies forward and tries to cut Sunset Shimmer with her daggers, Robin flies to Sunset Shimmer's right blind spot,

"Huh? What the?" Sunset Shimmer asked, and Robin cuts Sunset Shimmer's side with the dagger in her front right hoof, she exclaims and faces her, she sees Robin flying around, she tries to shoot beams at her but Robin flies around and dodges them with ease, Sunset Shimmer growls and tries again, she sees Robin fly to her left and Sunset Shimmer casts a teleporting spell, Robin looks around and Sunset Shimmer appears behind her and bucks her, she exclaims and falls onto the ground. Robin jumps up and does spins her hind legs around to try to kick whoever was close to her, she does a back flip and was on her feet again, she jumps and tries to stab her daggers into Sunset Shimmer, she jumps back and shoots beams at her daggers and knocks them out of her front hoofs, she casts telekinesis to break them apart. Robin reaches into her coat and takes two small crossbows out, she fires one and Sunset Shimmer jumps over the bolt, Robin fires the second one and Sunset Shimmer gets on her abdomen to dodge it, she shoots a beam at Robin and hits her tricorne and it flies off of her head,

"My hat!" Robin said, and it lands behind her. Robin throws her crossbows at Sunset Shimmer and she rolls to dodge them, Robin reaches into her boots and takes knives out, she tries to stab Sunset Shimmer with them while flying really closely to her, Sunset Shimmer turns her body left and right to dodge the stabs, Sunset Shimmer punches Robin in her face with her front left hoof and Robin exclaims while she slides back a bit, she goes back to Sunset Shimmer and goes to her right blind spot to try to cut her, Sunset Shimmer side steps on impulse to her left to dodge her, she looks to her right and fires a beam from her horn, Robin grunts and is shot back while she drops the knives. Robin stands up and flies to get her knives, but Sunset Shimmer throws them behind herself with her telekinesis, Robin reaches into her coat again and takes out two double-bladed knives, she flies to Sunset Shimmer and tries to slash her, Sunset Shimmer jumps back and Robin lets go of her weapons, the double-bladed knives float around in the air and almost cut her,

"What the?" Sunset Shimmer asked, she looks and sees Robin's double-bladed knives were connected to very thin wires wrapped around Robin's front hoofs. Robin swings her front hoofs around and the wires swing around, Sunset Shimmer exclaims and yelps while she dodges the double-bladed knives, she casts telekinesis and sees the wires were very strong and could not be broken. Robin spits at Sunset Shimmer and she screams while moves to her left to dodge it, she gets distracted and stops casting telekinesis, Robin flies to her and swings her front hoofs around in an attempt to get the double-bladed knives cut Sunset Shimmer, she ducks and grabs the wires, they slide on her front hoofs and cut her, she screams and steps back, she looks at the cuts and looks on with utter disbelief that the wires were razor-sharp, Robin snickers and swings her front hoofs again, Sunset Shimmer growls and casts telekinesis to pull the wires off of Robin's front hoofs, it cuts her and she screams. Robin runs to her hat and puts it back on, she reaches for her belt buckle with her front left hoof and it detaches, much to Sunset Shimmer's surprise, she looks and sees a knife blade on the back of the belt buckle. Robin flies to her and tries to slash her a few times, Sunset Shimmer shoots the belt buckle out of her hoof, Robin takes her belt off but her pants stay on, Sunset Shimmer looks and sees the belt was also a whip, Robin swings it around and Sunset Shimmer just pulls it away with her telekinesis,

"Anything else?" Sunset Shimmer asked, Robin looks at her boots for a second,

"I'll stop here." Robin said, and Sunset Shimmer gives her things back, Robin puts her belt and its buckle back on and walks back while putting her weapons back in her clothes, Sunset Shimmer watches her but could not shake off the feeling that she called it quits so she does not reveal what her other weapons are.

Paladin walks forward and gets ready to face Sunset Shimmer, she unsheathes her sword and holds it in her front right hoof, she puts the shield on her front left leg and was ready. Sunset Shimmer steps back a little while Paladin walks towards her, Sunset Shimmer sees she was very slow and relaxes, she shoots a zap from her horn and Paladin blocks it with her shield and deflects it back, Sunset Shimmer ducks and dodges the blast, Paladin runs to her and tries to stab her with her sword, Sunset Shimmer teleports back while scared and shoots a zap at Paladin, she holds her shield up again and blocks it, the zap gets deflected and Sunset Shimmer jumps back. Sunset Shimmer teleports to behind her and shoots Paladin in her back, she grunts a little and turns around, Sunset Shimmer sees Paladin's regular armor did not deflect magic,

"You scared?" Paladin asked through her helmet,

"What? No." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Then come up and fight me directly like a brave pony." Paladin said, Sunset Shimmer sweats but decides to obey. Sunset Shimmer runs to her and Paladin tries to slash her with her sword, Sunset Shimmer jumps and kicks Paladin's helmet with her hind hoofs, Sunset Shimmer sees Paladin was unfazed, Paladin hits her with her shield and sends Sunset Shimmer flying away, she screams and hits the ground and sends debris flying up. Sunset Shimmer groans and grunts while she was on the ground in pain, Paladin walks to her and Sunset Shimmer groans in pain, she sees Paladin coming and Sunset Shimmer looks at her and fires another zap from her horn, which Paladin blocks with her shield and it gets deflected back and hits Sunset Shimmer, she yelps and is shot back. Sunset Shimmer pants and stands up after a few seconds,

"Impressive, most unicorns are too hurt to recover after a blow from me." Paladin said, Sunset Shimmer looks at her and huffs while getting into a fighting stance,

"You still wish to face me even though you're outclassed? Very well, I'm glad to see an outsider has that trait." Paladin said, and she runs to Sunset Shimmer. Paladin does a diagonal slash with her sword and Sunset Shimmer runs under it, she shoots a zap at Paladin's chest, she lets out a quiet grunt and slides back a little bit, Sunset Shimmer shoots another zap and Paladin grunts from it, Sunset Shimmer shoots another zap and Paladin jumps to dodge it, she lands and debris flies up, she turns to her left and hits Sunset Shimmer with her tail, Sunset Shimmer screams as she is hit into the air and falls onto the ground. Sunset Shimmer feels pain on the left side of her face and she pants, she gets up and sees Paladin running to her again, Sunset Shimmer shoots a zap from her horn and Paladin jumps over it, she sees Paladin coming to her and she teleports away, she teleports to behind her and tries to buck her in her hind legs, she looks back when she sees Paladin was unharmed, she chuckles and then bucks Sunset Shimmer, she screams as she gets hit and flies through the air, she lands on the ground and debris flies up. Sunset Shimmer pants heavily and was paralyzed from the pain,

"It hurts, so strong." Sunset Shimmer said, Paladin runs to her and she tries to stand up but could not,

"Come on, body, not now." Sunset Shimmer said, Paladin stops running,

"That's enough." Paladin said,

"What?! But we barely did anything." Sunset Shimmer said,

"You can't stand, it is dishonorable to strike a downed opponent." Paladin replied, Sunset Shimmer lets out an angry grunt while Arcana carries her away with her telekinesis and heals her, afternoon training goes on while Sunset Shimmer sulks.

---

Sunset Shimmer goes back to Arcana's home and sulks while Arcana prepares her dinner,

"Still hate losing more than I thought." Arcana said,

"It doesn't matter what the competition is, I just want to win." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"What's more important to you, Sunset Shimmer, winning, or having fun?" Arcana asked,

"Having fun, I want to win, but the win's not worth it if I don't have friends to celebrate it with." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I remember when you were younger, you tried to win by cheating." Arcana said,

"Um... I don't do that anymore." Sunset Shimmer replied while smiling embarrassingly and blushing,

"You only cheated sometimes, you didn't cheat if you knew you were going to win." Arcana said,

"Yeah, I stopped cheating altogether." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"So, what are you doing for a living now?" Arcana asked,

"I work at a sushi restaurant, it's serving fish, rice, and vegetables as food, I'm also in a band, I'm the rhythm guitarist." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"You serving food? How did somepony like you get a job that involves customer service?" Arcana asked,

"I managed to control my temper when I work there." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I should've guessed, I still thought you would've been one of those people who talk others out of doing something." Arcana said,

"It seemed boring at the time, I... enjoyed it more when I talked people down." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"Did anyone talk you down?" Arcana asked,

"Yeah, the Dazzlings, it didn't bring me down, though." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"I see, well, I'm going to have dinner now." Arcana said,

"I'll pass." Sunset Shimmer replied,

"How come?" Arcana asked,

"I'm getting kind of tired of having grapes." Sunset Shimmer replied, and Arcana enters her home, Sunset Shimmer looks through a window and sees Arcana eating grapes and drinking wine, she walks around and sees other unicorns,

"Excuse me." Sunset Shimmer said as she trots to them,

"Do you have anything I can eat besides grapes?" Sunset Shimmer asked, two unicorns chuckle,

"Yeah, that's Arcana for you, always eating grapes, here, we have some leftover apples." a male unicorn said, and he gives them to her with telekinesis,

"Thank you." Sunset Shimmer said, and she walks back and eats the two red apples,

"Hmm, this is actually very sweet." Sunset Shimmer said with her mouth full, and she eats them quickly. The door opens and Arcana comes out,

"I have nothing else to do for you today, so go on and rest if you want to, I'll be in my room studying if you need me." Arcana said,

"Okay." Sunset Shimmer replied, and Arcana closes the door. Sunset Shimmer walks around and sees nothing of interest, she sees the unicorns in their towers and pursuing their hobbies, she sighs and walks around since the streets were empty, she goes back to the tower after wandering around for about forty minutes, she sees Arcana having dessert, which was more grapes, and she was drinking grape juice, she took her sleeping medicine afterwards, Sunset Shimmer goes back to the winery and sleeps there for the night.