> Shimmering Gem > by D0CT0RWHOOVES > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ch.1 Return > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunset Shimmer and Spike had been married and they couldn’t be happier. They decided to take a bit of a long honeymoon of one month. They had decided to go to Bahllamas. It was an amazing month of relaxation and other “activities.”  Well it had been one month since they left and were coming back today. The mane six had gathered at the train station to welcome their friends back. “Now remember, Sunset likes being referred to as Princess as much as I do.” Twilight said reminding her friends. “Yuppers Twi, don’t call her princess!” Pinkie said with her natural enthusiasm. The rest of the group just nodded their heads in recognition. Twilight had been missing them both more than she thought she would. Now that she thought about it, it made sense. She had been with them just about every day for a year. She had been with Spike for most of her life. Twilight was very happy that her two best friends were coming back. Then Twilight heard something. She looked to the right and saw the train pulling in. She immediately put on the biggest grin one would ever see and pointed with her hoof. “They’re here!” Twilight said with glee. The other ponies followed her hoof and saw the Ponyville Express coming into sight. They all became even more excited for their friends to be coming home. They watched as the locomotive pulled into the station and stopped. The doors opened and then something odd happened. Trumpets began to play a regal tune and a red carpet rolled out of the car. The ponies all raised an eyebrow except for Pinkie who just smiled. Then out from the train came Sunset Shimmer and her new husband, Spike. But what was odd was that they were both wearing traditional Royal attire. They also seemed to be peeved off. “Why in Celestia’s name are they dressed like that?” Twilight thought to herself. “Thanks Discord.” Sunset said aloud. “Oh.” Twilight thought. After removing their clothes, the couple ran up to greet their friends. “Oh, we’ve missed you sososososososo….” Pinkie started while grabbing everypony into a hug. “We’ve missed you guys too.” Spike said. Pinkie then let everypony go. Air never felt so nice to Sunset. “So did you two have a fun time?” Everypony asked in their own fashion. “Yes we did. We absolutely loved it there. The beaches are amazing.” Twilight then noticed something else wrong with Sunset. “Why do you have wings?” Twilight asked. Sunset sighed. “Discord thought it would be funny to give these to me for the rest of the day. They are really uncomfortable.” Sunset said in frustration. “I don’t know, they look good on you.” Spike said in a sly tone. Then out of nowhere Discord appeared and began laughing. “You should have seen the look on her face when I gave her those.” Discord said in between laughs. Everypony but Spike and Sunset began snickering, or in Pinkie’s case, straight out laughing. Sunset began shouting and Spike climbed onto her back to hug her. After a few minutes Everypony calmed down. “Well, I would looooove to stay, but I have legally abiding chaos to cause.” Discord said and with a poof, he was gone. “So, now that that’s over, shall we be off?” Rarity suggested. Everypony nodded and began walking towards the library. Along the way, Twilight thought of a question. “So, now that the year is up and you two are married, does this mean you two are going to move away?” Twilight asked in a slightly worried tone. “If you would be okay with it, we’d like to stay at the library.” Spike replied, earning a nod from Sunset. Twilight nodded and felt relieved. She really didn’t want them to leave. “So what’s happened since we’ve been gone?” Sunset asked. “Oh Oh!” Pinkie said raising her hoof. “Yes Pinkie?” Sunset asked. Pinkie then pulled Applejack over to her. “Well Twilight figured out that me and AJ are related but AJ wasn't sure so I went on a Road trip with the apple family!”  Pinkie said, surprisingly in one breath. Sunset looked quizzically at Twi. “It’s true; she found it in a genealogy scroll I was looking at.” Twilight said. “Yup, so now Pinkie is a member or both the Pie an’ Apple families!” Applejack said in her southern drawl. “Well that’s something.” Spike commented. They kept up their idle chat up as they walked to the library. Both Sunset and Spike were really happy to be home. Though Sunset wasn’t happy about the new stares she was getting for being both a princess and an alicorn. She couldn’t wait to be rid of the wings. They felt awkward and she didn’t even know how to use them. When they reached the library Pinkie spoke up. “Hey, you gotta knock first silly!” Pinkie said. “But wh…. Never mind.” Sunset said bringing a hoof to the hard wood door. As it opened they all saw Pinkie inside and yell surprise. Everypony looked back to where she had been and saw nothing. They all came to the conclusion that Pinkie was secretly a unicorn who somehow lost her horn but could still use magic. Twilight actually decided to test this later. Sunset and Spike were both happy nonetheless that their pink friend thrown them a party. They all walked in and began the festivities. It was one of Pinkie’s best parties. Pinkie even got DJ P0N3 to play. They all danced and had a merry time. Even Fluttershy came out of her shell a bit. Though the best part was, surprisingly, when they learned Discord could DJ just as good, if not better than DJ P0N3. It was a night to truly remember. But all good things must come to an end. Around nine, everypony had left. The three cleaned up the mess and put away leftovers. Soon they were all in their beds. Spike had taken up permanent residence in Sunset’s room. They both clambered into bed and snuggled up close. “Welcome home honey.” Sunset said to Spike. “Love you.” Spike said. “Love you too.” Sunset said as she kissed her drake. > Ch.2 The Door Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had now been one week since Sunset and Spike had returned. Everything had been normal, even more so than usual. But today would be a reprieve from that normality for Sunset Shimmer and Spike. Sunset’s eyes fluttered open to the sound of birds chirping. But Sunset didn’t feel like waking up so she used a silencing spell on the birds, which they did not like and proceeded to flip out. “Dumb birds, I’m tired.” Sunset said and attempted to go back to sleep. However her dream would never be realized as she felt Spike move next to her. Sunset then silently resigned to the fact that she was not going to be sleeping anymore. She opened her eyes and rolled over to see Spike now awake. “Morning love.” Spike said looking into her eyes. “Morning sweetie.” Sunset replied and then kissed her husband. The couple then decided to get up and ready for the day. As soon as they stood up there was a knocking on their bedroom door. “I got it” Spike said already moving towards the door. Spike opened the door to reveal a purple alicorn. “Good morning you two!” Twilight said in a cheery tone. “Morning.” Both Sunset and Spike replied wondering why she was already bothering them. “What do you want?” Sunset said knowing the look Twilight was giving. “What can’t a good friend stop in to say good morning?” Twilight said in an attempt to keep up the facade. Both Sunset and Spike gave her a knowing look. “Okay, okay. I wanted to ask you if you two could help with my research with the crystal door.” Twilight asked. Sunset’s expression changed from one of annoyance to one of slight fear. Spike happened to notice and he put a soothing claw on her back. This helped calm the orange mare. “Sure Twi, we’ll help.” Spike said; stroking his wife’s back. “Thank you, I’ll see you two downstairs.” Twilight said skipping away. Sunset groaned and began to stretch. However she felt something that should not be there. Sunset gave off a noise of confusion. She looked and saw that she still had wings. “What the!? I thought these would be gone!?” Sunset yelled. Spike looked and just now noticed them. “What the? Maybe after we're done helping Twi, we should go see Discord?” Spike said in an attempt to sooth his mare. “Fine. I suppose.” Sunset said but immediately began to feel a bit queasy. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you're going to throw up.” Spike said, voice full of concern. “No, no I don’t. Spike, I think I need to find a bucket.” Sunset said feeling like something was going to come up. Spike immediately went and grabbed the waste basket that was in the room and out it in front of Sunset. Sunset then began to throw up. Spike began to rub her back to sooth her while whispering words of comfort. Sunset soon began to settle down. She spat a few times but felt she was done. “We should see a doctor” Spike said. “No, no I’m fine. It was just the shock of still having wings is all.” Sunset said. “Are you sure?” Spike asked, still concerned. “Yeah, let’s just get rid of this and go downstairs.” Sunset assured Spike. “Alright.” Spike said with trepidation. The couple then left their room and down to the foyer.  When they got down, Spike went off to make breakfast. Sunset looked around and saw Twilight next to the door. Sunset walked over to Twilight. “Hey Sunset.” Twilight said, looking up from the book she was reading. “Hi Twilight, so why are you still researching the door?” Sunset asked while looking at the door. “Well I’ve determined that the door can control time and space, love and death. The door can see into your mind, the door can see into your soul!” Twilight said in a creepy tone. “Re-really, th-the door can do all that?” Sunset asked in fear. “Ha, no.” Twilight said with a giggle. Sunset face hoofed and walked away into the kitchen. She walked over to Spike, who was making omelets. “Hey honey. Speaking of such, could you put some honey on mine?” Sunset asked. “Honey? On an omelet?” Spike asked scratching his head. “Yeah, I don’t know, sounds good. Also pickles.” Sunset said while absentmindedly licking her lips. “Okay...” Spike said with confusion. Spike then continued to cook for a while longer adding the odd ingredients to Sunset’s omelet. To pass the time, Sunset read a Daring Do book. Once breakfast was done, Spike called everypony in for breakfast. Everypony sat around the table. “Sunset, what is in your omelet?” Twilight said looking at her friend’s plate. “Pickles and honey, why?” Sunset said, telekinetically raising a fork and knife. Twilight just passed it off as Sunset being weird and began to eat. Breakfast went by smoothly and Sunset loved her odd omelet. After breakfast they began to stand around the door. “So what exactly do you want us to do?” Spike asked holding Sunset’s hoof. “Well, we know what happens when one person looks in the door at a time yes?” The couple nods their heads. “Well, I wondered what would happen if two ponies, or pony and dragon, looked at the same time? I wonder if it would have an entirely different effect, or if you would both be in the same “dream”, so that’s were you two come in.” Twilight explained. “Alright, I suppose that makes sense.” Spike said. Spike could feel Sunset tremble slightly. He looked in her eyes. “It’s okay, this time we’ll be there together” Spike said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I love you.” Sunset said “I love you to.” Spike said. Sunset leaned in to give her Spike a kiss. They did exactly that, even forgetting that Twilight was watching for a moment until she coughed. They both blushed and looked forward at the door. “Are you two ready?” Twilight asked. The two nodded and Twilight opened the door. As she did Sunset grabbed Spikes claw as their vision flashed white. > Ch.3 The Door Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Both Sunset and Spike experienced a fleeting moment of light-headedness. This however passed when they reopened their eyes. When they did, they both looked to see if the other was still there. They were in fact both there. This relieved them. Sunset however thought of a troubling idea. What if this Spike was a fake and part of her nightmare? “Spike?” Sunset asked with trepidation. “Y-Yes?” Spike asked with a hint of fear. “Is that really you?” Sunset asked. Sunset knew that it was a dumb question, but she had to ask. “Yeah. That is you, the real Sunset Shimmer, yes?” Spike asked now sounding relieved. “Yeah, it is me.” Sunset said, relatively convinced it was him. The couple then observed their surroundings. They were in a field, it looked really familiar though. “Hey Sunset?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah?” Sunset replied. “Does this look familiar to you?” Spike asked and began to look around. “Yeah it does. Hey, isn’t this where we got married?” Sunset said, realizing where they were. “Hey yeah, it is!” Spike said realizing the same thing as her. Not a second after they had come to this conclusion did the field change. No longer was it empty, now it was full. Not just with random items either, but it looked as though there was going to be a wedding. It actually looked just like theirs! Sunset looked around to see if this were true or not. She saw the single empty bowl left out from the tarp the rest of the food was under. Sunset actually laughed at the memory. She and Spike knew Discord would make it rain Chocolate milk, so they left that out to gain some of the delicious drink. “Hey Spike, why do you think we’re here?” Sunset asked whilst looking around. “I don't know, the last time I was in the door, I was already in a nightmare. “ Spike said. “Do you...” Sunset started. “Do you, Prince Spike, take Sunset Shimmer to be your lawfully wedded wife?” A ghostly image Celestia said. Both startled, they quickly looked to see the apparition of Celestia. Sunset and Spike also noticed ghostly apparitions of everypony who had been at the wedding, in the spot they were. “Spike….what’s happening?” Sunset said moving towards Spike. “It looks like we’re watching our own wedding. But that’s no nightmare.” Spike said, perplexed at the situation. “I say we watch and see.” Sunset suggested while motioning for a place to sit. Spike merely nodded, interested in seeing how this would play out. “I do!” The ghostly apparition of Spike said with enthusiasm. “And do you, Sunset Shimmer, take Prince Spike to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The pseudo Celestia asked. “I do!” The apparition of Sunset said with the same enthusiasm. “Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Dragon and Mare, you may kiss the bride.” The ghostly Celestia said, just as she had said before. During the short time in which this occurred, Sunset and Spike had ended up hugging each other. After that played out they kissed each other, in synch with their pseudo counterparts. “Wait, that was more of a dream come true, not a nightmare. What’s going on?” Sunset asked to nopony in particular. “Because, this door can only show your worst fears.” The ghostly Celestia said looking at the two. “Yeah and now you guys have no fears, you have each other and you know you always will.” Said the apparition of Spike. “So instead, we showed you your greatest joy!” The apparition of Sunset said in suit. “Wow.” Was all the couple could muster. Without another word, they were both enveloped in a bright light. When they both reopened their eyes the scene had changed. No longer were they at their own wedding, now they were at a beach. Sunset raised an eyebrow and looked around, she saw Spike who was doing the same. “Hey Sunset?” Spike called while continuing to look around. “Yeah?” Sunset asked doing the same. “Isn’t this where we stayed in the Bahllamas?” Spike asked. Sunset then realized that was where this was. The memories of their honeymoon began to flood back into her mind. But an apparition of both her and Spike appeared before she could say anything. “Shall we watch?” Sunset said taking a seat close to him. Spike silently agreed and took a seat next to her. Spike and Sunset watched the scene play out before them as it had when they had actually done it. Even after that memory was finished, the door wasn’t. It played back many other pleasant memories for what seemed like weeks to the couple. However they did not mind, they felt as if they had all the time in the world. This continued until the final scene played out, the train ride back. “Well, this was, unexpected.” Sunset concluded. “Yeah, I expected to cry like a hatchling, but this is better.” Spike said with laugh. Sunset giggled and hugged her dragon. In that moment they felt the world shift around them. They didn’t get a chance to say a word before they were engulfed in light. They both reopened their eyes to see Twilight watching over them. “So, what happened?” Twilight said cutting to the chase. “Well we didn’t have bad nightmares for one!” Spike said with happiness. “So what did you see then?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, we saw all of our happy memories.” Sunset replied dusting herself off. Twilight’s eyebrow rose higher and she urged them to continue. “Well, there was a voice.” Spike said. “And it said that since were together and have no more fears, that it showed us our joy instead.” Sunset added with a smile. Twi smiled at the two. “Well I’m glad it was good experience then. You two have been a great help. I now have a greater understanding of this door. And if what you said is true, then maybe I can contact the spirits in the door.” Twilight said starting to ramble off. Sunset and Spike decided to slip out silently while the purple alicorn rambled. They had another issue to deal with. By the look of the sun, they had only been out for an hour at most. It was time Sunset confronted Discord and got rid of her wings…… but that could wait until she had some pickle ice cream…. “Shall we be off?” Sunset said as she finished off her odd desert. “Yeah, and I’m starting to worry about your cravings.” Spike said as they walked out of the library. “Fine, I’ll see a doctor later, first Discord.” Sunset said with determination.