> Foreign Correspondence
>  by Stormie-squall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day Twilight Sparkle left Canterlot High to go back to Equestria again was a sad one. Although everyone present knew that Twilight could come and go as she pleased, she was a princess and had duties first and foremost to her own world.

Sunset felt like she got the tightest hug. She knew that she gave the most heartfelt one, although the winner for tightest went out to Pinkie. Twilight was still recovering from that one when Sunset wrapped her arms around her.

“Promise me you’ll write?” she sniffled into Twilight’s shoulder.

“I promise. And you’ll do the same?” Twilight replied, and pulled away slightly so that she could talk properly.

“Yep,” said Sunset with a nod, her eyes still watery. “I haven’t used that journal that much since I was Celestia’s student.”

“It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? Last time I left, you were in a crater crying. No crater this time, though.” Twilight gently wiped away a tear.

“And it’s daytime this time,” said Pinkie, poking her head in between the two before slowly retracting it.

“Yes, well, I didn’t turn into a demon this time,” said Sunset, feeling just a tiny bit better. “I grew ears and a tail. Just like you and your friends.”

“Friendship is magic,” said Twilight with a smile, and let go of her.

“Don’t I know it,” Sunset said with a grin.

Twilight only smiled at her fondly before moving on to be embraced by Fluttershy. But Sunset wasn’t left standing alone for long.

“Pinkie,” she managed to gasp out, “I’m not leaving.”

“I know, but you looked like you could use a hug,” the pink girl replied, smiling cheerily.

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “I did. I don’t know how you do it, Pinkie, it’s like you just know when someone’s unhappy.”

“Well, yeah,” scoffed Pinkie. “I can always sorta feel when someone’s sad, but it’s always strongest when it’s one of my friends. Just the other day I had to run over to Fluttershy’s with a batch of cupcakes because her kittens were adopted.”

Sunset smiled. She was glad to have her friends, and glad that Twilight had given them to her so freely.

“Well, I guess that’s everyone,” said Twilight, standing in front of the portal. “I’ll close off this portal when I get home, both to keep it safe and because I’m gonna need that book that’s powering it. I’ll send a message via Sunset when I get some free time to visit. Bye, everyone!”

A chorus of goodbyes and waving followed Twilight as she stepped into the portal. Pinkie Pie withdrew a handkerchief from somewhere on her person, handed it to Sunset, then produced another one for herself as she began to bawl loudly. Sunset’s shoulders slumped as the last of Twilight disappeared, shortly followed by the portal back home becoming concrete once again, rather than a mirror-like surface.

A gentle hand landed on Sunset’s shoulder, and Fluttershy’s floral scent swirled around her.

“It’s okay, Sunset,” she cooed gently. “You’ll be fine here with us. And I’m sure that Twilight will write to you tonight.”

“I want to go home,” said Sunset. Luckily, only Fluttershy heard. She quietly led Sunset away from the group, ending up in a quiet corner of the school.

“That’s right, you’re not from this world originally, are you?” asked Fluttershy.

Sunset shook her head and angrily wiped away tears.

“I was banished here a long time ago, just like those sirens,” she said. “Only it was Celestia who banished me. She was like a mother to me, you know?”

“Oh, I understand perfectly,” said Fluttershy, nodding. “But why did she banish you? Was it because you were…?”

She trailed off, but Sunset knew what she meant.

“Yes,” she sighed. “I was… evil, I guess you could say. I still don’t know what it was, but Luna was jealous of her sister and that jealousy turned her evil. I didn’t look into it, because by the time I realised what was wrong, I’d been banished.”

“Maybe it was magic,” Fluttershy suggested. “Equestrian magic is quite strange and wonderful, after all.”

“I’ll have to ask Twilight,” Sunset decided. “Maybe she’ll have some answers, or maybe she even has some theories.”

“I’m sure she does,” Fluttershy nodded. She thought for a moment, opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

“I guess we should head back to our friends now. I’m sure they’re worried about where we’ve got to,” said Sunset. She wiped her eyes and made to walk away, but Fluttershy redirected her towards one of the bathrooms.

“Wash your face first,” she said quietly. “I always do when I’ve been crying.”

“I know,” said Sunset. “I’m sorry I was so horrible to you back then.”

“It’s okay,” said Fluttershy. “I’ve already forgiven you. That’s what friends do, after all.”

And, although they were just words, Sunset did feel better.

***
Her book vibrated and lit up with a glow later that night when she was in her bedroom reading. Dropping her book in her excitement, Sunset grabbed the tome from her backpack and opened it to the new page.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I am writing to let you know that I got home okay. The portal is now closed (obviously, considering I’m writing in its power source right now), and Equestria is just like it was when I left. Celestia congratulated me on vanquishing the sirens, and she seemed especially proud when I mentioned your part in it.
She also mentioned something else. Now, I know that it’s late (I have a clock showing the time of your world in my study) but I’m just too excited to wait! Celestia suggested that you become my student, just like we were Celestia’s students back when we were fillies! How exciting is that?! Wow, I’m using exclamation points like an excited schoolfilly! Anyway, write back when you can! I hope I didn’t wake you.
Your (hopefully potential teacher) friend,
Princess Twilight.

Sunset giggled when she read of Twilight’s excitement, but then the full message sunk in. She looked up and thought about it, chewing on her lower lip. Was she ready to be a student again? Would Twilight be a good teacher? Would Celestia forgive her for replacing her? Although, she had replaced her in the first place…

That last thought, and the flare of unwelcome anger that it brought, decided it for Sunset. She picked up a pen and opened the book to a clean page.

Dear Princess Twilight,
Yes, I would love to be your student. You can teach me about friendship and fill me in on the happenings in Equestria while I tell you about what’s been happening here. I’m looking forward to sharing my lessons and experiences with you.
Your faithful student,
Sunset Shimmer.

She gave a little squeal of delight, then lay back on her bed with the book clutched to her chest. Sleep probably wouldn’t come easy, but at least it was for a good reason.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Sunset walked through the halls of Canterlot High, she hummed a familiar tune. The Rainbooms’ song was right- friends really were everywhere as she walked the halls. Although some were still a little wary of her (especially Scootaloo- that girl had heard too many ghost stories), the vast majority had come to like her again after she’d helped save them from the Sirens.

“Hey, Sunset.” Rainbow Dash sidled up next to her and nudged her playfully with her shoulder. “Pretty catchy tune, huh?”

“Yeah. Your band’s pretty good, Rainbow.” Sunset knew, even without looking, that Rainbow was puffing her chest out in pride.

“Yeah, I know,” she chuckled. “I wrote it with you in mind, you know. I mean, after that whole demon fiasco and turning the school against each other. I hoped that it’d catch on and people’d start doing what it says.”

“You mean like a Siren song?” Sunset teased.

“No!” Rainbow said quickly, gasping. “It wasn’t like that, was it?”

Sunset laughed. “No, Rainbow. Even if your Equestrian magic did have some effect, it was only a good one. I guess it was the magic of harmony.”

“Twilight calls it the magic of friendship,” said Rainbow. “So it makes sense for it to make people friendlier with each other. Oh, and your book’s vibrating.”

Sunset gasped and reached behind her to take the book from her bag. In her haste, she opened it upside down so at first couldn’t read the writing.

Once she’d righted the book, she walked to the lockers and leaned against one to read. The greeting made her squeal in delight, louder than she’d intended. She blushed and covered her face with the book.

To my personal student,
Celestia told me to use that greeting. Is it okay? Anyway, I know that you’re (hopefully!) on your way to class, but I wanted to talk to you. Or, write to you. Before I left, I gave the girls a notebook each with the same spell on it that Celestia has on this book. Fluttershy wrote to me and told me how upset you were when I left, which is why I decided to write this now. Do you want to talk about it? (Write about it, ugh this is confusing!) If not, that’s okay. It took Luna a while to open up about her past too. But if you do, I’m more than ready to talk you through it. You can always talk to me, okay? Or if you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can tell Fluttershy and she can tell me. Did you know that my Fluttershy befriended a former villain too? Nopony else would trust him, but she took him under her wing. He’s Discord, the lord of chaos, and he’s living in my friend’s cottage.
Let me know if you want to chat. Or not. I can wait.
Your teacher in friendship,
Princess Twilight.

Sunset frowned at Twilight’s words. She’d started rambling, a habit that Sunset knew all too well.

Twilight, 
Have you slept at all since we last wrote to each other?
Your faithful student,
Sunset Shimmer.
P.S. Yes, I will talk to you. If you can help a princess who was banished for a thousand years, you can surely help a mare who got too power-hungry and turned evil for a few years.

Sunset had almost had to force herself to write the post-script. Would Twilight still want to help her if she knew the truth? Knew what she’d tried to do and what she’d ultimately done? She swallowed past the lump in her throat, and turned her watery gaze back to the book when it vibrated in her arms.

You sound like Spike.
Your teacher, Twilight Spa-

The message trailed off, a spot of drool covering most of it. Sunset chuckled. She could just see the purple alicorn fast asleep, using the pages as a pillow. She’d done it more than once. More than a few pages were stained with drool from late-night messages to the princess.

“Excuse me.” Sunset looked down to the little red-haired girl tapping her foot impatiently. “Yer standin’ in front of mah locker.”

“Oh,” said Sunset, moving away. “Sorry about that, Apple Bloom. I was just writing to my friend.”

“And ya couldn’t do that at yer own locker?” The youngest Apple pointed with her thumb towards the locker two doors down and across the hall.

Sunset blushed and scurried over there, ignoring the laughing Rainbow Dash.

While school had once dragged on for Sunset, she found herself to be enjoying it again now. Sure, there was no magical theory or lessons on how to use magic or self-defense classes, but normal human classes had their own kind of magic. And Sunset soaked it all up like a sponge.

Hospitality was the one class where Sunset struggled slightly, but not because of the subject or even the cooking. Rather, it was who she had to work with.

“Trixie, please stop throwing burnt toast at me,” she growled, brushing crumbs off her shirt. Another slice landed right on her face.

“It is the only thing that Trixie can cook in a wheelchair,” the other girl huffed indignantly.

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have tried climbing over a bleacher three feet off the ground.”

Trixie mimicked her, and more bread went down in the toaster.

“And do you have to burn the toast?” Sunset asked, glaring at the offending appliance which was quickly filling the room with a vile smell.

“Yes,” said Trixie. “It is like in Trixie’s song.”

Sunset groaned. She was certain that Celestia was punishing her. Or maybe this was one of Luna’s tricks. Another piece of toast hit the back of her head, and Sunset fervently wished that she could burn it to ash.

At last, free period came around and Sunset joined the other girls in the senior study room. She sat on a table, brushing crumbs from her hair and clothes. Fluttershy sat on a beanbag, cuddling a fluffy white bunny, Rarity gave herself a manicure, Rainbow Dash read a book that Twilight had lent her, and Pinkie Pie bounced in with a tray of steaming cookies fresh from the oven. Applejack followed her with bottles of soft apple cider from her farm.

“Soup’s on!” Applejack announced, and dropped down onto the sofa next to Rarity. The poor fashionista found herself with nail polish on her nice skirt, and screamed.

“Applejack! You did that on purpose!” She glared at the farmer.

“You know it,” Applejack chuckled. “Aw, relax, Rares, ya got plenty of skirts like that one.”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean that I can just go spilling nail polish on them willy nilly,” said Rarity with a huff.

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had pronked over to Sunset.

“Hey, Sunset!” she called. And then she frowned. “Why’ve you got crumbs in your hair?”

“Ugh, Trixie was throwing burnt toast at me in hospitality,” said Sunset, brushing the crumbs out. “I thought I’d got them all.”

“You mean like in her song?” asked Rainbow, putting her book down. Sunset was surprised to see that she had a marker in it- Rainbow wasn’t the most enthusiastic about reading normally.

“Yeah,” said Sunset. “She started singing it under her breath eventually. I could’ve told the teacher but you know what Trixie’s like.”

Rainbow snorted. “Do I ever. She’d have been all ‘oh no miss, Sunset is simply framing Trixie. She is making fun of Trixie because Trixie is a cripple’”.
Her mimicking of Trixie was met with laughter all round.

“She’s lucky I went to check on her,” said Fluttershy. “In all the chaos, nobody else heard the sound she made when she fell.”

“She’s just lucky it was only broken legs and a cracked fibula,” said Rainbow Dash. “A fall like that could’ve paralysed her, or worse.”

Sunset was glad that she wasn’t the only one confused at Rainbow’s sudden knowledge.

“What?” asked Rainbow. “I want to be a personal trainer. They’ve gotta know these kinda things.”

“She’s right,” said Fluttershy. “I have to learn these things to be a vet. Although I don’t look forward to seeing animals in pain. And losing a patient…” Her eyes teared up and Pinkie quickly zipped over to her.

“Aw, don’t cry,” she said, gently taking the bunny and handing it to Sunset, “you’ve got the magic touch, ‘Shy, I’m sure you won’t lose any patients. And if a person decides to have their pet put to sleep, you’ll be able to talk them out of it.”

Fluttershy wailed at that and clutched Pinkie tight to her. Now Sunset knew why she’d been handed this soft little bunny. She stroked its ears as Fluttershy cried it out on Pinkie’s shoulder.

Of course, because the universe hated her, Sunset’s book vibrated as soon as the bunny went to sleep in her arms.

She groaned. “Rainbow? Can you grab my book for me?” Times like these, she missed her magic. Levitation would definitely come in handy at times like these.

“Sure.” Rainbow placed the still-vibrating book beside her, then took the bunny and sat back down on one of the comfy chairs.

Sunset opened the book, her belly twisting in a nervouscited (pony Pinkie’s word, apparently) bundle.

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I feel a lot better after my sleep. How’s your day been so far? Reading over my last messages, I feel so embarrassed. Sorry you had to see that. Anyway, are you ready to talk about it now? Also, have you heard of Discord?
Your teacher,
Twilight Sparkle.

Sunset grabbed a pen out of her bag and clicked it on, then wrote back.

Dear Princess Twilight,
You don’t need to be embarrassed. I’m surprised you haven’t read the old messages that I sent to Celestia. I sent many late-night messages to her. I can’t talk about it right now, I’m sorry, Fluttershy’s too upset to play the role of comforter. Maybe tonight? I’ll invite her over for a sleepover, or I’ll go to her house. I have heard of Discord- Celestia and Luna defeated him a long time ago. I liked that story. So he’s out now? And living with Fluttershy, of all ponies?
Your faithful student,
Sunset Shimmer.

Rarity eyed Sunset knowingly.

“What?” Sunset asked.

“You were smiling the whole time you read her message,” said Rarity. “Seems like you are over Flash.”

“She’s my only link to Equestria,” said Sunset, not even sure if she was telling the truth or lying. “She’s home to me.”

Rarity cooed in delight, but Twilight had written back.

Sunset,
Okay, I guess I’ll find out everything tonight. You won’t mind if I tell Celestia, will you? She kind of has a right to know, being your old teacher and everything. I haven’t read your old entries yet, and I won’t without your permission. And yes, Discord is living with Fluttershy in her little cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She keeps him under control because they’re friends. He’s still the same old Discord, but he has rules now. Why was Fluttershy crying?
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S. What about your dou- never mind, I’ll ask tonight.

Sunset shot a look at Rarity, who was outright grinning at her. Damn that girl and her eye for match-making. Although even she couldn’t deny the fact that she felt warmed up like sunshine whenever she read messages from Twilight. The feeling, however, was quickly eclipsed by mounting anxiety.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” said Sunset. “Can I come over tonight for a sleepover?”

“Slumber party!” Pinkie Pie screeched, leaping to her feet.

“No, Pinkie,” said Sunset. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to be writing something to Twilight and I’d like some privacy.”

“I completely understand, dear,” said Rarity. “Something private.” She fluttered her eyelashes.

“No,” said Sunset, glaring at her. “Not that kind of private. It’s the ‘sobbing on a friend’s shoulder’ kind of private.”

“Ohhh,” said Pinkie. And then she brightened. “But then we can have a sleepover at my place tomorrow night!”

“Sorry, I can’t,” said Rainbow, “I have an anatomy test the day after.”

“Oh.” Pinkie deflated, complete with the sound of a balloon deflating as she sank onto the sofa and then slid onto the floor.

“So, are we on for the sleepover?” asked Sunset.

Fluttershy nodded as she brushed a strand of long pink hair behind her ear.

“Yes, I can have you over tonight, Sunset.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy,” said Sunset with a smile. “You’re a great friend.” She just hoped that Fluttershy was up to hearing this.

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night found Sunset sitting on Fluttershy’s bed with the book sitting in front of her. For such an innocent object, it suddenly had the fear factor of a manticore.

“Are you sure you’re ready to do this?” asked Fluttershy, sitting on the bed with a kitten held in her lap.

“No,” said Sunset. “But if I don’t tell someone now, I’m just going to bottle it up and ignore it again.”

“Is this about what you were like before you came here?” asked Fluttershy.

“Kinda.” Sunset shrugged. “But also what I was like when I first came here. I wasn’t a good person, Fluttershy, or a good pony.” She began to pluck at the fluffy blanket, so Fluttershy put a kitten in her way before bending to scoop a cat up off her bedroom floor.

Sunset cuddled the kitten, rubbing her face against its soft, fluffy body. She left tears behind, but the kitten either didn’t feel it or didn’t care.

“But you’re good now,” said Fluttershy, looking at her firmly. Fluttershy could match a cockatrice for a stare, somehow Sunset just knew this. It saw through everything, right to her soul, black as it was.

“I killed her.” It came out quiet, and then she was crying again. No amount of petting the kitten could make her feel better, only Fluttershy’s hugs could do that.

“Oh, but I’m sure that you didn’t mean to. And you obviously feel sorry for it now,” said Fluttershy.

Behind Sunset, the book vibrated.

“I can’t write it,” sobbed Sunset. “You write it and t-tell Twi-twilight that I c-can’t.”

Fluttershy opened the book and read Twilight’s message aloud.

“Dear Sunset Shimmer, 
It’s night now so I can only assume that you’re at Fluttershy’s. Are you ready to talk now?
Twilight Sparkle.”

“Write it,” said Sunset, lying on her side. The cat rubbed against her back and the kitten played with her hair, so at least she could speak. If she sobbed too much, the cats would be disturbed and that, at least according to Fluttershy, was a cardinal sin.

“How about you dictate and I write?” asked Fluttershy. “I’ve already wrote that I’m writing it because you’re too upset to put pen to paper. Oh, and I told her why I was crying earlier.”

Sunset could just tell that Fluttershy had a cat twining around her- she sounded too calm.

“Okay,” said Sunset. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began.

When Sunset came through the mirror, she took a moment to adjust to her new body. Fingers and toes, just like a dragon. But they weren’t tipped with claws. Her mane hung down her neck, brushing against the leather jacket she now wore, and her tail was gone. She had a nice dress on, though, and boots. The boots were her favourite.

“So this is what Celestia was hiding,” she mused aloud. “An interesting realm.”

“Hello?”

Sunset looked around and soon spotted the source of the voice- her mirror image.

“Oh, I thought I heard someone talking. Who are you? Where did you come from? And why do you look like me?” The other girl came towards Sunset, looking confused.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer,” she supplied. “Who are you?”

“Sunset Shimmer,” said the other girl. “Wow, did you come through a mirror portal or something?”

“Something like that,” said Sunset. “I’m new to this realm.”

“Do you not stand in your other realm?” The other girl was almost laughing. The nerve of her!

“Not on two legs,” said Sunset. “You can help me get accustomed to this realm. Although I don’t know how we’re going to explain the fact that there’s two of us.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either.”

Sunset had been rummaging in her pockets, and now her hand touched something that she thought she’d left in the other realm. It was a blade, sharp and curved. Her hand closed around the hilt.

“Tell me, other Sunset, do people here all walk and talk like you?” asked Sunset.

“Why, yes,” said the native Sunset. “I mean, not exactly like me, but similar enough, you know?”

“Yes,” said Sunset. “Thank you for your assistance. Perhaps you can take me to your house?”

The native Sunset was all too eager to talk about the town and high school along the way. She never shut up, much to Sunset’s annoyance. It was almost as annoying as the fact that she couldn’t use her magic. Stupid human bodies not having a horn.

“We’re here!” The native Sunset walked into the house, then up the stairs and into a bedroom. Sunset made a note of where it was.

“Is anyone home?” asked Sunset. This other girl was beginning to bore her.

“No,” said the human girl. “My parents are out. Do you want a tour of the house? Ooh, I can’t wait to introduce them to you! I always told them that magic was real but nobody believed me.”

“Sunset,” said Sunset, and the feeling of saying her own name was foreign, “would you take me out to get some dinner? I’m starving.” She placed a hoo-hand on her stomach for emphasis.

“Oh, sure!” And the native Sunset jumped up and lead her a few blocks away.

Sunset followed her, looking around furtively. There was really nobody around. If it was so late, what had this other girl been doing up so late? And why weren’t her parents home?

All questions were shelved for later when Sunset found the perfect opportunity.

“There’s a short cut through this alley,” said the human. “The pizzeria’s just on the other side.”

In the darkness, nobody saw Sunset awkwardly draw the blade from her jacket pocket. Nor did they see the spray of blood, or hear the tiny scream that the human managed to emit. And only Sunset saw the light fade from her confused and frightened eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said, after the tale had been told. “A-after that, I h-hid the b-body and went back h-home. Her parents never k-knew any different.” Sunset shivered, and pressed her face into the mattress.

Fluttershy was silent as she wrote far more than what Sunset had said.

“Read it back to me,” said Sunset. “What else did you write?”

“Oh, uh, just that you’re very very sorry for what you did and to please not shoot you with rainbows again or banish you or turn you in to the authorities.” Fluttershy turned a smile on her.

“You,” said Sunset, “are amazing, Fluttershy. I tell you a story about trickery and murder and you don’t even flinch, yet an animal gets hurt and you scream the house down.”

“A girl doesn’t go her life being bullied without learning to distance herself from the act,” said Fluttershy simply. “Where did you hide the body? Her parents ought to know about it.”

“Buried her in a shallow grave,” Sunset sniffed. “And I burned her so that nobody would recognise her on the off chance that she was dug up.”

Fluttershy stiffened and suddenly busied herself with petting a cat.

“What?” asked Sunset. Fluttershy didn’t respond, just kept scratching the neck of the purring kitty.

“Puppy might’ve dug her up and I might’ve thrown the remains into the river,” the other girl finally said.

Puppy was the wolf that Fluttershy had owned for a while, until she’d had to give it up (amid much sobbing) due to being a wild and dangerous animal. Apparently, it had attacked some people. That had been Sunset’s fault, too- she’d framed the animal so that Fluttershy wouldn’t win princess of the fall formal.

“And you didn’t think to report it to the police?” asked Sunset.

“I didn’t know that it was a murder case,” said Fluttershy. “I just thought it was an old grave, like an army grave or something.”

“Way out near the forest?” Sunset felt somewhat calmer now, although she dreaded reading Twilight’s reply.

“I was panicking, okay?” said Fluttershy. “But you did a good job of burning her body. Even I didn’t recognise her.”

Now that Sunset allowed herself to think about it, that night had some black spots in it. Just like when she’d turned into a demon.

“Fluttershy,” she said, shaking slightly, “I can’t remember what I did to her. I remember that I burned her, then the next thing I remember is finishing burying her and going home. Maybe I used some sort of dark magic.”

“Well, you did lose the memory of when you turned into a demon,” said Fluttershy. “Maybe you should ask Twilight Sparkle about it.”

“That’s if she even replies,” said Sunset, looking at the book the same way she might look at a spider. 

“Well, I’m sure that it’ll take her a while to read over. So in the meantime, why don’t we go get some ice cream?” Fluttershy suggested. “It’ll make you feel all better. Or we can have some chamomile tea.”

“That sounds-“ began Sunset, but then a sudden noise caught her attention.

Another rock bounced off the window, so Fluttershy opened it.

“Oh, hi Pinkie,” she said, smiling at the other girl. “You do know that my house is only one storey so you don’t have to throw rocks, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I knew that,” said Pinkie, giggling. “I just forgot for a minute.”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Sunset as she climbed off the bed and made her way to the window to stand next to Fluttershy. “What brings you here?”

“I could smell tears,” Pinkie declared. “So I brought over some emergency cupcakes and ice cream. And cupcake ice cream.” She grinned.

“Come on in, then,” said Fluttershy, and Pinkie climbed through the window.

“I have a door,” said Fluttershy quietly, but Pinkie only giggled.

“C’mon, girls, let’s go have ice cream and cupcakes in the kitchen!” Pinkie declared. “And leave that book behind, Sunset!”

Sunset smiled sheepishly as she followed the girls out. Maybe this would take her mind off things.

In the kitchen, Pinkie plonked herself down at the table, opened both ice cream containers (honeycomb ripple, cupcake, and chocolate) and spread out the cupcakes. She’d also brought over some brownies, as Sunset soon discovered once she also took a seat and had a plate full of them placed in front of her.

“So,” said Pinkie after Fluttershy had got some bowls and spoons and divvied them out, “what brought on the tears? Tell your Auntie Pinkie Pie alllll about it.”

“Are you sure you want to tell her?” asked Fluttershy, and ate a spoonful of ice cream.

“I won’t tell you what I told her but… let’s just say it was a memory I’d rather forget,” said Sunset as she placed brownies in her bowl of honeycomb ripple. The slabs of cake reminded her of tombstones, so she ate one and smiled at the taste.

“Pinkie Pie’s insta-smile brownies triumph again!” Pinkie cheered. “And that’s okay, Sunset, you’ve got it off your chest now so soon you’ll feel all better.”

“Thanks, Pinkie Pie,” Sunset smiled into her ice cream. “For the emergency dessert and for helping me feel better.”

“Oh, but it’s not dessert,” said Fluttershy, “we haven’t even had dinner yet.”

“It’s always a good time for sweets,” said Pinkie seriously. 

“Well, will you be staying for dinner?” Fluttershy asked. “I’m ordering pizza.”

“Weeeellll, I don’t have anywhere to be tonight so okay!” Pinkie grinned. “Make mine a pepperoni with extra olives!”

After pizza, Pinkie decided that the three of them should play video games, have makeovers, and talk about boys.

“Or girls or whatever you’re into,” she grinned.

“I’m glad Rarity isn’t here,” said Sunset to Fluttershy. “She’d be trying to get me to talk about my feelings for Twilight.”

“And what are your feelings for Twilight?”

Sunset’s face turned as red as her namesake at Pinkie’s words. 

“She makes me happy,” she finally said, picking at some nail polish that had slopped onto her big toe. “But I’m sure that it’s just because she’s my only connection to Equestria. And she doesn’t judge me, even though I stole her crown and used it to hypnotise the entire school. But that’s just how she is, she’s so forgiving.”

“Well, not to everyone,” said Fluttershy. “She told me that when Discord was reformed, he had to live with my pony counterpart because she was the only one who would give him a second chance. Twilight didn’t trust him.”

“And she didn’t forgive Chrysalis,” Pinkie piped up. “Or the sirens.”

“She hasn’t had a chance to yet,” mumbled Sunset. “I’m sure that once she discovers that they could only live by leeching off emotions, she’ll forgive them and even try to help them.”

“Would you?” asked Fluttershy.

“I’d try to,” said Sunset, brushing some hair back behind her ear. “But if they said no, I wouldn’t push it.”

“So you like Twilight because she’s kind, she makes you happy, she feels like home, she doesn’t judge you, and she’s forgiving,” Pinkie summed up, counting off the points on her fingers. “Honestly, Sunny, that sounds an awful lot like love to me. It’s too mushy to be friendship.”

“You sound like Rarity,” Sunset scowled.

“No, I sound like Pinkie!” the cheery girl replied, and they all laughed.

Sunset fell asleep that night cradling the journal. It wasn’t the first time she’d fallen asleep holding a book, but it was the first time that she’d wished it was a pony.

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight entered Canterlot castle and was unsurprised to find Luna seated atop the throne. She was also unsurprised by the lack of ponies at the night court- then again, it was pretty late. She’d spent hours searching her books for information on the dark magic that she believed Sunset had been a victim of. She just couldn’t believe that someone as sweet as Sunset, someone who’d left tearstains on her shirt before she left, could have just killed an innocent person like that. Her diary from Fluttershy had lit up with another message not long after that, explaining her own fears and Sunset’s own admission that her memory of that night was spotty.

“Good evening, Princess Twilight,” Luna greeted, breaking Twilight out of her thoughts. “It is good to see a friendly face around here. One that isn’t asking for something, anyway.”

“Oh, Luna, don’t call me by my title,” Twilight blushed. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Very well then, Twilight. Have you come to see me for something? It is a little late for this to be a social visit.”

“Not with all the work I have to do now as a princess,” Twilight chuckled. “Not to mention setting up my castle.”

“You only need populate your castle with your belongings and furniture, my sister and I had to build ours from scratch. With a little help of course, but still.” Luna looked around the castle. “At least, we built our last one together. Celestia hasn’t yet told me how this castle came to be.”

“She told me that her ponies built it out of their gratitude for her defeating you,” said Twilight, and then cringed. “Er, sorry. Defeating Nightmare Moon, I mean.”

“Nightmare Moon and the pony I am are one and the same,” said Luna, eyes fixed firmly on the marble floor. “It is something that I deeply regret. Is this what you have come to talk about? We have not yet spoken of the dark magic that led to me becoming that raging beast that you and your friends defeated with the Elements.”

“Yes, actually,” Twilight nodded. “Sunset said something similar, about dark magic, and it reminded me of you.” Luna had once let slip that Nightmare Moon was vile, dark magic, but she’d quickly clammed up after that.

“Perhaps it is something better discussed in my private chambers,” Luna decided, and stood from the chair, stretching her stiff limbs. “That chair is uncomfortable. I may just take Tia’s suggestion to use a pillow.”

After informing the guards that Night Court was now over, Luna led Twilight to a part of the castle that she had never been in before, not even when she’d been a filly. It had never been occupied, or so the castle staff used to say. Then again, they’d also said that it was inhabited by ghosts, Celestia’s illegitimate daughter, and a mother dragon.

They came to a large set of obsidian doors with a crescent moon made of moonrock taking up the majority of the space. It glowed when Luna lit her horn, and then both doors opened to allow the two alicorns to enter before closing again behind them.

Luna’s bedroom was actually quite red, from the paler red walls to the red carpet and then to the rose-red bed. Lighter or darker colours probably reminded her too much of her banishment. But the ceiling did glitter with stars.

While Twilight was looking around the room, Luna headed over to a more normal-sized door and slipped inside. When she came back out, she carried several books and scrolls in her magic.

“Twilight,” she called. “Stop analysing the magic that makes up my bedroom and come here.” Twilight blushed and obeyed, trotting over to the cushions where Luna had settled down with books and scrolls spread out.

“Did you write all these yourself?” Twilight asked.

Luna shook her head. “Nay, only the scrolls. But I beg of you, please, read the books first before the scrolls. It may be less frightening that way.” Twilight didn’t think that anything could be more unsettling than what she’d already read tonight, but she didn’t say anything.

“You may remember that your Spike found a book of dark intents in our old castle,” said Luna, gesturing to the book bound in dark leather. “This book is similar, in that reading it aloud will unleash the magic.”

“Spike did what?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“Oh, perhaps I was not meant to tell you that. Never mind, though, he sorted it out. But my point remains, Twilight, do not, under any circumstances, read this dark book aloud. Even speaking the title awakens the magic. You must read it in brightest daylight, in an area free of magic, and do not use your horn for anything. Not turning page, not holding the book, not even to get a better breeze.”

“Okay.” Twilight gulped as she eyed the book more nervously now. “Did you read this book?”

“Long ago,” Luna confirmed. “I was young and foolish. I thought that it was just a silly book, nothing to worry about. Starswirl had it, though, in his library. Locked up in a private room.”

“But wasn’t Celestia the more studious of you two?” asked Twilight. Her mind itched to read that book, even as her heart pounded in fear.

“Yes, and I never liked reading. But this book is different. It draws you in, it makes you want to read it. You want to read it right now, don’t you?”

Twilight lowered her head sheepishly. “More than anything.”

“The stronger the magic of the pony, the greater the book’s influence.” Luna gripped the book in her hooves and held it away from Twilight. “I should burn it, but I cannot risk the dark energy in the book escaping. I don’t think that even Celestia’s sun would be hot enough.”

“Do you think that Sunset read it?” asked Twilight. Thankfully, the pull of the book was lessened now that it was closer to Luna.

“Undoubtedly. A pony of her magic potential would have been an ideal target for the book. And I have no doubts that she read it aloud.”

“And what does the book do?”

“It corrupts the reader. Their mind is corrupted as a new entity slithers in and makes itself at home. It takes whatever is there and twists it, makes it evil. For me, it was my jealousy. For Sunset…”

“I don’t know,” Twilight finished. “I’ll have to ask Celestia in the morning. She’ll know Sunset better than I do. I suppose I could always ask Sunset.”

“After the reader is cleansed of the book’s influence, they experience many lapses in memory. They do not remember why they were so angry in the first place, or what pushed them to become so evil. Even I only remember wanting ponies to love my night. I don’t remember becoming the Nightmare or fighting my sister or hurting all those ponies… I can only remember that I did, and be horrified at what I did.” Luna abruptly growled and flung the book with all her might across the room, where it hit the wall and bounced to land on the floor. Still closed, thankfully, due to the wards that briefly glowed on it.

“But where would Sunset have got the book?” asked Twilight. “Did she go all the way over to the old castle to get it?”

“I do not know.” Luna looked weary all of a sudden. “You would be better off asking my sister in the morning. For now, you should try to get some rest, Twilight. You, of all my little ponies, need it.” Her horn glowed, invisible against her mane.

“You’re right,” Twilight nodded, suddenly becoming drowsy herself, “I should sleep.” She closed her eyes and was asleep before she landed back in her own bed, borne along on a cloud of blue fog filled with stars.

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Sunset dreamed that she was a pony again. She walked through the Everfree Forest confidently, the oppressive darkness not daunting her in the slightest. It was only scary to those who didn’t understand it or couldn’t counter it. And to those who didn’t have a mini-sun spell that Celestia had taught them. The tiny sun hovered about two pony-heights above her, spreading warmth and light into the dark forest, and keeping away the forest’s more sinister inhabitants.

Once she was deep enough into the forest, Sunset found a bridge. It looked old, dripping with moss and swaying precariously in every small breeze. But Sunset wasn’t scared- she’d crossed this bridge many times and hadn’t fallen once. Today was no different, as she trotted along the bridge and made it safely to the other side. Then she cast a simple illusion spell to cover the bridge with heavy fog.

Sunset sighed happily as she entered the castle of the two pony sisters. Celestia never came here, so she could read the forbidden tomes without her teacher finding out. She couldn’t read them at home, either, because her parents would undoubtedly snitch to the princess.

The old library smelled like old books, latent magic, and sunlight, a welcome contrast to the dank and dusty smell of everywhere else in the castle. Sunset settled herself down on one of the plush recliners, sent the mini sun to hover in the middle of the ceiling, and pulled out one of the dark books.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Sunset closed the last book she’d brought with her and got up to shelve them, stretching her legs and cracking her neck as she did so. Celestia hadn’t yet noticed that the darker books had gone missing, and why would she? She’d never expressed any interest in dark magic before, deflecting Sunset’s questions about it and changing the subject whenever she brought it up. Her throat was a little dry from reading aloud, so Sunset stopped at an old fountain. She boiled the water first to purify it, then cooled it. It all took a few seconds, so she was on her way in no time.

As she was leaving the castle, Sunset caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. It was something dark and pony-shaped, but it darted away when she laid her eyes on it. Her heart thudded a little harder and her now-wet throat felt dry again.

“Get a grip, Sunset,” she said to herself, “it’s just your imagination from reading all those books.” Surely reading aloud couldn’t summon a demon twice in one week. Still, though, she brightened her mini-sun before continuing on her way to the bridge. She hurried across it this time, keeping an eye out for the mysterious dark pony figure. She wasn’t looking at her feet, so she missed the broken board.

Suddenly, she was falling from the bridge. She flailed her legs wildly and tried to catch herself in a field of levitation, but to no avail.

“Celestia!” she screamed. That damn pony was there again too, but not helping.

Sunset hit the ground on all four hooves somehow. But it wasn’t the ground of the gorge beneath the bridge. Instead, it was the sticky ground of an alley beneath her hooves. The stench of garbage permeated the air, and there was something rotting in the air. Sunset covered her nose with a hoof and gagged.

“You did this,” a raspy voice hissed, and suddenly a figure lurched into view in front of her. It was a human, but that was all that Sunset could say for sure about it. Ragged tatters that might once have been clothes hung off it, and its skin had begun to slough off. As Sunset watched, the finger that the zombie was pointing at her fell off, bounced off her nose, and hit the ground. The pony gaped in horror at the sight and then threw up.

The action woke the real Sunset, who sat up with a scream, sweating and shuddering in revulsion.

“Sunset?” Fluttershy asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, “are you okay?”

Sunset’s only response was to run to the toilet and do exactly what she’d done in the dream.

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy, and followed her into the bathroom to wait behind her with a wet cloth to wipe her face with.

“I had a nightmare,” Sunset said, walking to the basin and picking up her toothbrush to clean her teeth. “I guess talking about it must’ve triggered it.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Fluttershy asked. It was kind of her to ask when she looked so tired.

“No,” Sunset replied with a shake of her head. “You just go back to bed, I’ll brush my teeth and drink something to calm down and then I’ll join you.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said quietly, and patted her on the shoulder on her way out of the bathroom.

Sunset leaned against the kitchen sink, sipping a glass of water. The dream had terrified her in a way that nothing had since the Fall Formal. In a way, she supposed a nightmare about her past deeds was better than the demon laughing at her and torturing her friends. She’d take zombies and regrets over fire and brimstone any day.

“Maybe I should tell the real Sunset’s parents about what happened to their daughter,” she contemplated aloud. “It’s what Celestia would want me to do.”

“Well, of course it is.” Sunset wasn’t surprised to hear Pinkie Pie’s squeaky slippers entering the kitchen. “Principal Celestia preaches honesty, even when it hurts. Also kindness, generosity, laughter, and loyalty.” She grinned, making a squeaking noise.

“Thanks, Pinkie, but I was referring to Princess Celestia, the-“

“Solar alicorn of Equestria, diarch of Equestria and ruler of the sun?” Pinkie finished, and smiled again.

“That’s the one,” Sunset nodded. “She’d want me to apologise, I think. Maybe that’s what the nightmare meant.”

“But I thought Princess Luna was the one who controlled dreams,” said Pinkie. She sat down at the table, opened the brownie container, and grabbed one to munch on.

“Apparently, before she was banished. I don’t know about her now, but how do you know about her?” Sunset raised an eyebrow before downing the rest of her drink.

“Twilight’s journal,” Pinkie replied through the brownie she’d just popped in her mouth.

“Ah.” Sunset nodded. “But she can’t find dreams in this world, can she?”

Pinkie’s only response was something garbled around another two brownies, so Sunset went back to bed. Before she slept, she decided to say something she’d once heard of a long time ago.

“Princess Luna, guide my dreams and protect me from the nightmares,” she whispered into her pillow. She didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try at least.

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia took tea with her favourite ex-student the next day. It was good to catch up with her, even if she did have to officially have it be a royal meeting just to keep Raven happy. The two sat out on the balcony jutting off from her room, soaking up the rays of her beautiful sun.

“You’ve really outdone yourself today, Celestia,” said Twilight after taking a sip of her tea.

“Oh, it’s hardly anything special,” said Celestia with a small smile. “But do my ears deceive me? You just called me by name without adding my title.”

“Oh my gosh, princess, I’m so sorry,” Twilight gasped, cringing. “Please don’t banish me, it was an accident!”

Celestia laughed. Even after all this time, Twilight was still afraid of the sun’s wrath.

“It’s quite alright, Twilight, I was joking,” she said with a gentle smile.

“Ah. Of course you were.” Twilight’s ear flicked as she gave a sheepish grin.

“What is the matter, Twilight? You seem stressed.” Celestia didn’t miss much, although it was quite easy to discern when Twilight was stressed. Her tells were just so obvious.

“Nothing, I’m fine.” Twilight took in a deep breath and then let it out, waving her hoof with the motion of her chest. Celestia had seen Cadance doing the same thing.

“If you’re sure,” said Celestia, and took another sip of tea. “Would you like a piece of cake? I had the royal chefs bake it special for you.”

Twilight nodded and took a cake, nibbling on it daintily for a second before munching it down.

“My sister tells me that you were asking about dark magic yesterday evening,” said Celestia. She sighed and patted Twilight’s back as the poor young alicorn choked on her cake.

“It wasn’t for me,” Twilight wheezed, “just something Sunset-“ she broke off into a series of hacking coughs, “Shimmer told me.”

“Mm-hm.” Celestia nodded and levitated Twilight’s cup over to her. “I know that Sunset Shimmer dabbled in the dark arts. It broke my heart.” An unfamiliar sadness cast a dark cloud over Celestia’s features.

“Was she your daughter?” asked Twilight. “The way she talks about you, you were clearly like a mother to her.”

“Oh, Twilight, no,” Celestia chuckled warmly. “She was like a daughter to me, just as all of my little ponies are like children to me. She admired me, much like you do, but she loved her parents too. Before she turned, that is.” Her face became sad again, and suddenly she looked her age. “She was my first student, and I failed her.”

“Oh, Celestia.” Twilight was there to catch the first tear, draping a smaller feathery wing across Celestia’s back. It wasn’t quite a hug, but it was the thought that counted.

“I should have paid more attention to her, should have never shown her the forbidden tomes or given her the chance to be near them,” Celestia sobbed. The fact that the sun remained shining brightly on the scene seemed sacrilegious. “It was Luna all over again.”

“Nay, sister, do not blame yourself.” A larger wing covered Twilight’s over Celestia’s back, and Twilight made to withdraw her wing. “Twilight, do not move your wing. Tia, Sunset was secretive. She read of the books in the old castle, far away where nopony would hear her reading aloud or stumble upon her reading them.”

“But I should have known,” Celestia insisted, her voice hoarser than usual. Twilight levitated a cup over to her after sweetening it with honey, and Celestia sipped it gratefully. “I should have seen the signs or sent those books to my sun.”

“And risk having the dark magic spill out?” Luna asked. “You did all that you could, considering the circumstances.”

“I did nothing,” Celestia said firmly, and her coat grew warm. “I simply sat by while my student got herself caught up in dark magic.

“There is nothing that you could have done.” Luna’s voice was firm, and her wing tightened over her sister’s back. “You know not how the dark magic works, sister.”

“But you do.” Celestia turned streaming eyes to her sister. “I should never have banished you.”

“And left your ponies to suffer? An eternal night would not have been good for them, nor would the other plans that the dark magic had for them,” said Luna, tapping her hoof against the ground. “Rest your heart in the fact that you did not have to banish Sunset.”

“No,” said Celestia, “I simply told her that I found out about the dark magic. I could feel it in her. Festering, like a poisoned wound. I didn’t even get the chance to try to stop her, she ran through one of Starswirl’s old portals and disappeared forever. But I did get the chance to reprimand her.” She grimaced. “They were the last words I ever said to her.”

“Luna,” said Twilight, “how did you find out about Sunset’s secret reading and dark magic use? She never told anyone about it.”

“The human world’s Pinkie Pie wrote to me. Do not ask me how she did it, I can barely wrap my mind around our Pinkie’s strange powers. The message simply appeared on a piece of paper on my desk. She asked me if I would try to find Sunset’s dreams, and last night I found her. She is plagued by nightmares.”

“I hope telling me didn’t bring them up.” Twilight would hate to upset her friend like that. Maybe she shouldn’t have even asked about it.

“Nay,” said Luna confidently, “that girl’s dreams are all plagued with the darkness of nightmares. It is not a normal darkness, either. It is tainted by the residue of dark magic.”

“But I thought the Elements cleansed her,” Twilight protested. “They reformed Discord and cleansed you, didn’t they?”

“Did they?” Luna asked. “I still carry darkness within me, only it is directed inwards now. Discord is still prone to chaotic outbursts. And now Sunset is suffering much as I often do.” Luna looked tired too, but then she yawned.

“Sister,” Celestia chastised her gently, “it is daytime and you need your energy for dreamwalking tonight. Return to bed.”

“Of course.” Luna dipped her head with a soft smile and left after giving her sister a gentle nuzzle.

“Princess, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask what made Sunset go to the mirror portal?” Twilight asked, refilling their cups.

“I do owe you the truth behind one of my regrets, at least,” Celestia chuckled. “I was quite cagey about Luna’s banishment.” She took one long sip of tea before continuing.

“Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia’s stern voice today carried with it airs of disappointment and sorrow. The guilty unicorn gasped, cutting off her sentence halfway through, and slammed the book shut. She turned around and tried to hide it behind her, but it was too late.

“Celestia, no, I-I wasn’t-“

“Do my ears deceive me? Was it or was it not your voice ringing off these walls, reading the evil books that I specifically forbid you to touch? I am disappointed in you, Sunset.” The pony was pinned by her sad, sad eyes. And then she turned tail and ran. Celestia didn’t follow.

The sense of strong magic being activated that woke Celestia the next morning wasn’t her magical alarm clock which ensured that she’d be up in time to rise the sun. But it did get her up just as quick. She ran to the source of the disturbance, and skidded to a halt when she saw the place.

The doors that had long been closed to everyone were no longer closed. Instead, one hung open, and Celestia stepped through it tentatively. The room that lay before her was filled with dust and cobwebs, and the greenish light from a familiar horn bounced off the inactive mirrors.

“Sunset,” Celestia said, reaching a hoof out to stop her.

“You can’t follow me through here,” Sunset grinned, and jumped through to another world.

“I’ll never forget her eyes,” said Celestia with a heavy sigh. “So full of sadness, but with the crazed glint of dark magic colouring her gaze.”

“And you couldn’t follow because Starswirl forbid you from using the mirrors, right?” Twilight asked.

“Correct.” Celestia took a sip of her tea. “And Sunset knew that. That’s why I had to send you through to deal with her.”

“That makes sense. I wonder if Sunset remembers going through the portal, or even the way you sounded when you reprimanded her.” Twilight wished that she’d brought her book with her.

“I hope that she does. For a while after she left, I was worried for the fate of that world. I was almost ready to follow her through, but my oath to Starswirl had been sworn with magic so I couldn’t break it without having a curse inflicted upon me. That and the fact that the portal had closed. By the time it opened again, I feared that any damage done would be too great to right.”

“But weren’t the portals originally kept in the old castle?” Twilight asked after consulting her inner timeline.

“Yes. I had them moved to this castle after Luna’s banishment so that no stray monsters could stumble through one and inflict damage upon another realm. Can you imagine an ursa stumbling around in a strange place, making a mess of things?” Celestia chuckled, and Twilight soon joined in the laughter.

“So Sunset wasn’t banished?” Twilight asked hopefully. If that was true, she might someday be able to return.

“No, although she would have been if she hadn’t fled through the portal,” said Celestia with a shake of her head. “When she is ready to return to Equestria, even if just temporarily, I will be ready to speak with her again, and to see her. It has been far too long.”

“I’ll tell her that,” Twilight promised, “and I’ll let you know when she’s ready to come back and talk to you.”

Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I spoke to Celestia today. She told me everything. Don’t worry, though! It didn’t change my opinion of you, except in a good way. I feel sorry for both of you. Also she said that she would like to see you again, when you’re ready. Luna stopped by today too, while we were talking. She said that she’s been dreamwalking in your dreams, and that you’re plagued by nightmares. Don’t let them get you down- Luna will step in if things get too tough, and you can always tell your friends about them if you have to. Or me, I have a pretty strong stomach. Hopefully this gets to you after school, I wouldn’t want to interrupt your studies.
Your friend/teacher,
Twilight Sparkle.

When Twilight laid the quill aside, she looked at her sundial. It was around the time that school finished in the human world, from what she could remember. Although it wasn’t that far past four, so hopefully she hadn’t interrupted Sunset’s homework either. The next message from Sunset made her feel better:

Dear Twilight,
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll try what you suggested, and I’ll think about returning. Maybe when it’s the holidays. Pinkie’s looking at me funny now so I have to go and finish my chemistry homework.
Yours,
Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight frowned. She could’ve sworn that last ‘i’ was dotted with a heart.

> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Advanced English class at Canterlot High was the perfect place to secretly write in a magical journal to pony friends in another world about the nightmare she’d had a few nights ago. At least, this was Sunset’s reasoning for why she’d even risked having the book out in public.

“Miss Shimmer?” Sunset gave a loud squawk and quickly slammed the book shut and drew it closer to her protectively.

“Y-yes Miss Quill?” she asked, grinning up at the older woman.

“Would you like to share your story with the class?” Quick Quill asked. “I’m sure that we would love to hear what you’ve written.”

“Uhhhh…” Sunset quickly glanced left and right, looking for a way out of this.

“C’mon, Sunset, we’re waiting,” one of the male students grinned at her. 

Sunset sighed and then reopened her book, hoping that Twilight wouldn’t write to her while she was reading an old entry.

“It’s a letter written to a fictional person,” she hastily explained, and then began reading. “Dear Princess Celestia, I have read the books that you have suggested to me and would like to meet with you to discuss these. I’m particularly interested in knowing more about the beliefs regarding curses and demons. Not for anything bad, of course, I’m just curious- you know me, curious little Sunny! Write back to me as soon as you get a minute spare, please, with the details of when and where you can meet me. Your student, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset cringed as she shut the book after her voice trailed off and kept her eyes firmly cast downward.

“Very good, Sunset,” Miss Quill commended. “You truly captured the spirit of this ‘Sunset Shimmer’. But as you know, I have been stressing the importance of not inserting yourself into a text.”

“I know,” Sunset sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“It was good for a random letter you just wrote now, though,” a girl in her class said, smiling as she ran her fingers through her long purple hair. “Have you thought of what Princess Celestia will write back yet?”

“Yeah,” said Sunset with a nod. Reading the letter hadn’t been a very good experience, but at least now she could lie about this. Make it better, how it should have been. “Celestia responded that she would meet Sunset to talk about these curses. They met in her castle the next day and, over tea and sandwiches, they discussed the nature of demons and curses.” The truth was that Celestia had responded to Sunset with a curt warning for her to stop looking into curses and demons at once. Instead of a meeting, the next day Sunset had asked around and found out where the forbidden texts were kept.

The book vibrated as the bell rang, much to Sunset’s relief. Because her day just couldn’t get worse, though, it was the fire bell due to some idiot named Trixie setting off fireworks in the gymnasium.

Outside, Rarity wailed about her ruined hair and make-up while Sunset carefully extricated her book from her jacket. It hadn’t gotten too badly wet, so she opened it to Twilight’s new message and read it in the huddle of her friends.

“Dear Sunset Shimmer,
Your dream sounds like it must have been awful. How much of it was real? I’m sorry, that wasn’t a very nice question to ask, but I do want to know. I suspect that Celestia will too. That dark pony shape could have been your mind’s way of dealing with your past demon transformation, but I’m willing to place my bits on it being Princess Luna keeping an eye on you. Do you want me to come through so we can talk about it? Or you can come through, but I wouldn’t feel very good having you here without letting Celestia know. My point is, would you like to talk to me in person about your dream? Maybe it’ll make you feel better, or you’ll at least be able to understand it better. I’ll write to you again after school (and please don’t write me messages in class again! Pinkie told me. It never ends well, trust me.).
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle.”

“Pinkie,” Sunset sighed, rolling her eyes at her snitch of a friend.

“Sorry!” Pinkie chirped. “Twilight said to keep an eye on you, so I am!”

“That’s great, Pinkie,” said Rainbow Dash. “So, Sunset, are ya gonna go back to Equestria? Orrr we could have a sleepover with Twilight.”

“Sleepover!” Pinkie screamed. Other students turned to look at her, but then shook their heads and muttered about it just being Pinkie Pie.

“A private sleepover, Pinkie,” Sunset emphasised.

Rarity paused in her lamentations to giggle and wink at Sunset.

“Private past business,” said Sunset with a sigh. “We’re not gonna kiss or do anything like that, Rarity. Maybe hug.”

“Yeah, Rares,” said Applejack, bopping Rarity on the head with her hat, “git yer mind outta the gutter.”

Rarity scoffed, scandalised. “Oh, Applejack, my mind was far from the gutter. A lady does not take a roll in the hay on the first date, you know.”

“Who said I was a lady?” Sunset teased, and then laughed at Rarity and Applejack’s faces. Rarity had returned to her dewy-eyed happiness, and Applejack had turned the colour of one of her apples.

“E-excuse me.” The group turned and their eyes widened as they saw what appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be Twilight in black pants and a sweater-vest over a white blouse.

“Yes, how can we help you?” Rarity quickly asked, beaming at the newcomer. 

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help overhearing my name,” the girl said, playing with the ends of her long purple hair. “But then I thought to myself, ‘don’t be silly, Twilight, they couldn’t possibly be talking about you! They’ve never met you before!’” The other Twilight laughed through a grin.

“Oh yeah, that’s our other friend called Twilight,” said Pinkie, pushing Rarity aside. “She’s called Twilight Princess, though. No relation.”

“I think I’ve seen you before, actually,” said Twilight to Pinkie. “I saw you one day when I was out walking my dog, Spike.”

“Yup!” Pinkie affirmed with a nod. “Have you got the little guy with you now?”

“Oh no, you aren’t allowed to take animals to school,” said Twilight while Fluttershy frantically tried to stuff wet and frightened animals back into her schoolbag.

“Hey, aren’t you in my English class?” asked Sunset. She’d thought that the purple-haired girl had looked and sounded like Twilight, but she also knew well how the heart could fool the mind into seeing their love everywhere.

“Yes, I am. That letter you wrote today was strange but also interesting. Fictional, too, obviously, things like demons and curses just don’t exist.” Sunset laughed a fake laugh at Twilight’s comment. She could still feel her magic, just not use it.

“Thanks,” she said, to get rid of the awkwardness. “So is this your first day?”

“Mm-hm,” Twilight nodded. “My first day and there’s a fire, but I guess at least I didn’t cause it.”

“Yeah, that idiot Trixie is to blame for that mess,” Rainbow snorted. “Who the heck even lets off fireworks inside? And how’d she get them into the school?”

The Stupid and Soaked Trixie was currently being berated by Vice-Principal Luna, and everyone in a five-mile radius around the school could hear it.

“Soon she’ll be the Grounded and Remorseful Trixie,” said Twilight with a giggle.

“Nah, more like Grounded and Broke,” Applejack decided. “If Vice-Principal Luna is gonna stick to her usual tactics, Trixie’ll have to come up with the money to replace and repair everything her stupid fireworks ruined.”

Sunset shuddered at the memory of that. She’d had to work her butt off to raise enough money to repair the school after the Fall Formal. “Better her than me,” she said.

“So, Twilight,” said Rarity, “what brings you here to CHS? And halfway through the school year, too.”

“Oh. I, uh, just decided to try living amongst the public school students,” she said with a too-wide, fake grin. 

“This isn’t about all those rainbows and lasers around the battle of the bands, is it?” asked Sunset with a cringe. Twilight mirrored her expression and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

“Maybe,” she said, twirling hair around her finger.

“Seems like some good came of it after all,” said Rainbow with a grin, and stepped in front of Twilight with her hand out. “Pleased to meet ya, Twilight.”

“You too,” said Twilight, and shook her hand. By Rainbow’s pleased expression, this doppelgänger had a good, firm handshake.

“So, what other classes are you taking?” Sunset asked. “And do you need any help getting to them? Usually Principal Celestia asks me to show the new students around, so I’m surprised that she didn’t want me to show you around.”

“Oh, you know, all of the Advanced classes and Science classes,” said Twilight. “I’m very interested in science and I’m a pretty good student in all of the academics-based classes. Thanks for your offer but like I told the principal, I came here a few days ago to figure out where everything is. I like to be prepared.”

“Huh. I bet you’ve already started all of the assignments too?” Rainbow asked, fighting a growing smirk. Sunset glared at her and Applejack nudged the athlete warningly.

“Of course!” said Twilight with a smile. “You can never be too prepared, after all. I don’t even mind that my marks will be scaled down for the grade average.”

“I admire your dedication,” said Sunset. “You remind me of a certain someone else.”

“Yeah, Princess Twi- I mean, Twilight Princess is a bit of an egghead too,” Rainbow nodded. This time, Applejack elbowed her sharply in the ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”

“Sorry about her, Twilight,” Applejack apologised. “Her mouth and brain don’t have a filter between them.”

“I can see that,” Twilight giggled. “But it’s okay, it’s not the first time I’ve been called that. My big brother calls me an egghead too, so it’s kind of a nickname for me.”

“That’s nice,” Fluttershy smiled. “It must be good to have a kind older brother to look after you.”

“Yeah, it is. Shiny's a great guy,” said Twilight. “Anyway, when do you think we’ll be able to go back in? I’m missing out on so much learning.”

“As soon as the fire department turns off the sprinklers and makes sure it’s safe to go back in,” said Applejack. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, so it should be pretty soon.”

Sure enough, the firefighters soon gave the all-clear and the students and staff all filed back inside while one firefighter lectured Trixie on proper firework use.

Sunset next got a chance to write to Twilight when she had a break between classes.

“Dear Princess Twilight,
You’ll never guess who enrolled at CHS today. Her name is Twilight and she looks and acts just like you, although she’s more scientifically-inclined. She almost reminds me of me when I was younger, all caught up in books and research. I had to read out a letter I’d sent to Celestia a long time ago in Advanced English today, all because I got caught writing in this journal. I know, it was a bad idea, but I had to tell you about my nightmare. Anyway, reading the letter reminded me of just how bad I feel now about looking into curses and betraying Celestia like that. My parents must be worried sick, too. I think I’ll come back to Equestria before I tell Sunset’s parents about what happened to their real daughter- I can’t exactly visit Equestria if I’m in prison! But I do have a lot of mid-term exams coming up, so I’ll wait until after them. I’ll write to you again soon.
Your student,
Sunset Shimmer.”

“Writing more letters?” Sunset jumped and then tried to hide the book when this world’s Twilight walked into the study room.

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “I was writing to my penpal. Remember in primary school when we had to write letters to people living in different countries?”

“I have heard about public schools doing that but I never did. My school had us research different countries instead. But you still write to them?” Twilight said as she took a seat across from Sunset.

“Of course. We’ve kept in touch and she’s a good friend of mine. She’s teaching me so much about her own country, and I’m teaching her about mine.” The lie came easily, probably because it was mostly truth anyway.

“I guess sending correspondence would be a more personal way of gaining information,” Twilight mused. “Seems like your school had the right idea. Where does she live?”

For a moment, Sunset was stumped. But then an ancient history lesson came back to her. “Greece,” she said.

“And what’s her name?” Twilight looked about as comfortable as a cat on a pillow, so Sunset resigned herself to lying from the seat of her pants.

“Twilight Princess. Yeah, I’ve told all my friends about her and they started writing to her too. Well, me and a few others write, Rainbow prefers email because at least a computer has spellcheck. Pinkie prefers email too because she can attach images easier that way and doesn’t have to pay the shipping cost of sending all that glitter and confetti.”

Twilight giggled. “And she’s coming here?”

“Um.” Sunset swore silently. “I think so, I’d like her to.”

“I’d like to meet her,” Twilight decided. “Although it might be a bit awkward when there’s two of us with the same first name. My mum has the same first name as me, so I know all about that.”

“I’ll let her know in my next letter,” Sunset decided. She’d also ask Twilight how to turn off the vibrate feature on the book. Surely there’d be a spell for that. Or maybe she could turn it into a real mobile phone. Magic in Equestria had surely progressed since she’d left, so anything could be possible.

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight had just flipped the library sign to ‘closed’ when the journal vibrated from inside her saddlebags. She’d opened her library in her castle to the public once it had been organised, and it felt good to be doing something she was familiar with.

“Hey Twilight, tea’s ready for you in the kitchen,” Spike said, poking his head into the castle’s foyer.

“Perfect timing,” she grinned. “I just got a message from Sunset, so now I can read it with a nice cup of tea.”

“You keep that journal with you?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Twilight nodded, “I decided to keep it on me just in case she needs me urgently. It’s not like it can come running to me with a message, after all.” She giggled, and followed Spike into the kitchen.

As Twilight drank the tea, her eyes drank in Sunset’s words. The new development was interesting, so much so that she had to sit back and think about it.

“What’s up, Twilight?” Spike asked, noticing her silence.

“Sunset said that she found my double in the human world,” said Twilight, levitating a cookie and nibbling on it. “She’s just like me only human and without magic.”

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Spike asked. “She found another friend.”

“I know,” said Twilight with a smile, “but I’m worried that if she is like me, she’ll be incredibly nosy. What if she finds out about magic and Equestria?”

“Sunset’s not stupid,” said Spike, shrugging. “She’ll be able to keep a secret. Does she seem like she’s worried about this other Twilight finding out about Equestria?”

Twilight scanned the letter again. 

“Not that I can see,” she said. “I’ll ask her about it, though, just in case. I should probably ask Celestia about how to teach about friendship, too, because so far our letters haven’t mentioned any lessons at all.”

“Tomorrow,” Spike decided. “Celestia will be getting ready for bed now, no doubt.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “But I should probably still send her a message asking for a meeting tomorrow anyway.”

“I’ll take a letter,” Spike decided, “after we finish off all of these delicious cookies.”

“Don’t spoil your appetite for dinner,” Twilight scolded, but then munched through a few more cookies herself. For once, she let her mind wander while she ate. She couldn’t let this human version of her find about Equestria. But if the world on the other side of the mirror continued needing to deal with threats of a magical nature, she was going to find out about Equestrian magic eventually. The sirens had, after the battle with Sunset.

“So much for not spoiling your appetite for dinner,” Spike chuckled. Twilight blinked and found that she had as many crumbs on her muzzle as there were on the plate.

“Oh, ponyfeathers,” she cursed, and then laughed with him. “I guess my mind ran away and my mouth and stomach decided to have a party while it was out.”

“You never believe that when I say it,” Spike huffed, but he smiled when Twilight ruffled his spines.

“Well, consider this me understanding you now. Now that I think about it, Celestia does the same thing. Hopefully that natural alicorn metabolism works on me too.” Twilight giggled, remembering that conversation with Celestia. As a little filly, she’d asked her mentor how she could eat so many cakes and remain thin. Celestia’s response had been a cryptic ‘magical alicorn secrets’. Later she’d elaborated.

“Twilight!” Spike called, waving a claw in front of her face. “Wow, you’re spacey today. Want me to write that letter to Celestia now?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, nodding, and then began to dictate.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Sunset Shimmer and I have been keeping up a steady correspondence, although so far our letters have been focused around our different worlds and Sunset’s past. While this is interesting, I’m concerned that I haven’t been teaching her about friendship as you suggested. I know that I learned about friendship but how would I go about teaching somepony else about it?

Your friend in magic,

Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. Sunset Shimmer met my double in the mirror world. She seems harmless right now, but if I know me, she’s at that school for a reason. Perhaps this calls for another morning tea discussion?”

“Twilight, if you want to have morning tea with the princess, all you have to do is ask. I’m sure she’d love to discuss things over tea and cake with you, even without needing to talk about anything dire. Hay, I’m sure she’d like nothing more than to just have a chat with you,” said Spike after sending the letter.

“But I do want to meet with her about this, it’s important,” Twilight argued. “The fact that her personal assistants make delicious tea and cake has almost nothing to do with it.”

“Uh huh. Sure,” said Spike, clearly not believing a word of it.

Twilight didn’t even have time to further her argument before a knock came at the castle’s front doors.

“We’re closed!” she called, forgetting her status for a moment. When she did remember, she paled and galloped to the front doors.

Fluttershy was standing on the other side of them, hiding a tiny smile behind her mane.

“Oh, hello Twilight,” she said in her soft little voice. “I hope you’re not too busy for me to come over.”

“Of course not,” said Twilight. “What is it?” She stepped aside and let Fluttershy come into her castle, closing the door behind her.

“Well, I was thinking that, since my mirror double is shy like me, maybe I could have a journal to write to her in?” Fluttershy asked, rubbing her foreleg with a hoof.

“That’s a great idea, actually, Fluttershy,” Twilight grinned. “That way we can all learn about the world on the other side of the mirror through the eyes of our doubles or, in my case, Sunset. Would you like a cup of tea or something? Sorry I can’t offer you a cookie, I ate them all.”

“A glass of water would be lovely,” said Fluttershy. “Will we sit in the throne room or somewhere else?”

“The throne room doesn’t have a table, but I know that the kitchen does. Come on, I’ll show you to it.” Twilight hadn’t had a chance to explore all of the castle yet or show her friends around it, despite it having been a while now since it’d appeared. Being a princess came with a lot of duties, not to mention the increased amount of patrons she’d had in her library.

“Actually, now that we’re here, I’d like an iced tea if you wouldn’t mind,” said Fluttershy as she took a seat at the table.

“Long island or regular?” Spike asked, then ducked as Twilight swatted him with a wing.

“Regular please,” said Fluttershy with a smile. “I should have known to ask for that, Discord started serving me the Long Island Iced Tea until Angel Bunny noticed and kicked him.” She giggled at the memory of the god of chaos being kicked around like a hoofball by a tiny little white bunny.

“I wish my life was that exciting,” said Twilight with a laugh. “The ponies who visit my court are mostly doing so because it’s a fancy new castle and they just want to gawk at it. It’s a castle, not a tourist attraction!” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well, I’m sure that the tourists will trickle away once the newness wears off,” said Fluttershy, and nodded her thanks to Spike as he placed the glass of amber liquid on the table in front of her.

“Let’s hope so.” Twilight smiled and took a seat at the table across from Fluttershy. “Now, you said that you wanted to send and receive private messages from your mirror double?”

“Yes,” said Fluttershy with a nod. She took a sip of her drink. “Like you said, I can learn more about the mirror world through the eyes of someone exactly like me. I’d love to learn how they treat animals there, and if any animals there are different to how they are here.”

“I was thinking about taking you with me through the mirror portal to find out firsthand when I have time, but this way the results are the same only without the trouble that’d come with two of everyone. Not that it’d be troubling with two Fluttershies or anything, it’s just that some ponies…” Twilight trailed off, trying to ward off thoughts of two Pinkie Pies destroying the world with their physics-defying powers. She shuddered.

“I know.” Fluttershy smiled. “I only suggested this because I’m too shy to speak to her face-to-face, and I’m sure that she is too considering she’s my double.”

“Pinkie’s been suggesting the face-to-face route since Twilight first went to that world,” said Spike.

“And that’s why I’ve had to put wards around the room with the mirror portal in it,” said Twilight. “I tried just hiding the book, then I tried locking it away, but wards are the only things that she can’t get through.”

“And we can’t have a physics-defying pony girl running around wreaking havoc in another dimension,” Fluttershy agreed. “It would be almost as bad as Discord when he first broke out of his prison.”

“My theory is that if the two met, the very fabric of reality would unravel,” said Twilight with a smirk. “That or they’d both explode. But that law wouldn’t apply to anyone else meeting her double because you’re all relatively normal.”

“So, should I call a meeting with all the other girls?” Spike asked. “If it’s not too late or anything.”

Twilight glanced out the window, humming thoughtfully. “Well, Rarity will be shutting up shop soon, Applejack and Rainbow do all their work during the day, Sugar Cube Corner will be closing soon, and Fluttershy and I are already here. But maybe I should ask Celestia about this?”

“Twilight, you’re the princess of friendship here,” said Fluttershy. “Make this your first official decision made solely by yourself as the princess of friendship.”

“You’re right,” Twilight decided, pushing thoughts of making a mistake to the back of her mind. “And I think that this is a good idea. Spike, send a mass-message to the other girls. We’ve got a meeting to attend.”

Twilight chose to hold the meeting in the room with the mirror portal after carefully ensuring that Spike had sent Celestia’s journal to its original owner for safekeeping.

“Alright, everypony,” she announced, standing in front of the rough semicircle her friends made as they sat on cushions. “The meeting has started. Spike, start taking notes. Rainbow Dash, wake up.”

“I wasn’t sleeping!” Rainbow protested as she wiped drool from her chin.

“This meeting concerns all of you. And your doubles in the mirror world.”

“I knew it!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You’re finally letting us go visit them!” She ran towards the mirror and got a headache for her trouble.

“Not quite.” Twilight sat Pinkie back down on her cushion and conjured an ice-pack for her poor head. “Fluttershy, you suggested it, so why don’t you tell everyone?”

For a moment, Fluttershy froze. But then, remembering she was among friends, she let out a long breath and spoke. “Well, I thought that it might be nice to be able to speak to my mirror double through the journal that Twilight has. That way, I can learn about her world through her eyes. And I can make a new friend.”

“And I thought that it would be a good idea to let all of you do the same with your mirror doubles,” Twilight finished. “So, what do you say? Are you willing to send and receive messages from your mirror double and learn more about them and their world? Of course, I’ll be needing you to tell me as much as they’re comfortable sharing so that I can compile notes to make into a book on the mirror world. If Celestia lets me make the book. But if not, I can just use the notes for my own education.”

“I dunno,” said Applejack, rubbing her chin with a hoof contemplatively. “Would I even have time in the day to write to her? Would she have time to write to me?”

“Can she even write?” Rainbow asked, and ducked a flying pillow.

“Well, she has time to write to me. Of course, her writing is a bit messy and she does make some spelling mistakes, but that’s just me being picky. So yes, Applejack, she’ll have time to write to you. And you can write to her when you’ve finished your work on the farm for the day or whenever you have some down time. Besides, you had plenty of time to write in the journal that we found in the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters.”

“Okay, I’ll do it,” the farmer nodded. “Maybe I’ll learn somethin’ interestin’ ‘bout the way they farm on her side of the mirror.”

“Excellent.” Twilight grinned, eyes lighting up. “Anyone else have anything to say on the matter?”

“Well, I, for one, am looking forward to finding out about human fashions and how style and clothes-making works there without the aid of magic,” said Rarity. “And it will be lovely to have someone more sophisticated to talk to at home.”

“If the me in the mirror world doesn’t have wings, how does she keep up with my active nature?” Rainbow wondered. “How can they cope without wings?”

“You’ll find out,” Twilight promised. She turned to the only member of the group who hadn’t yet spoken. “Pinkie, what do you think of writing to your mirror world counterpart?”

“Well,” said Pinkie, drawing out the word, “I’d rather meet her in person but writing to her is good too. For now.” She glared at Twilight.

“Great!” Twilight clapped her hooves together in excitement. “I’ll write to Sunset soon and distribute the journals tomorrow morning.”

As soon as Pinkie was safely back at Sugar Cube Corner (Twilight had followed her secretly just to make sure), Twilight asked Spike to return Celestia’s journal to her. When it arrived (much to Spike’s discomfort and begging to never have to transport a book again), she flipped it open to a blank page and started writing.

“Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Fluttershy came to me today with an interesting suggestion that I hadn’t yet considered- why not have my friends in the mirror world write to their counterparts? I figure that by having six different points of view, I’ll be able to get a broader view of the mirror world and how it works. Of course, I probably could have done this on my own anyway, but part of being a good friend is to let your friends share things with you and help you out. Besides, I didn’t want to do everything myself and have another riot put at my hooves. Celestia would probably actually punish me this time. So ask your friends what they think of writing to their mirror world counterparts and I’ll hand out the journals to their respective recipients tomorrow morning. This is going to be great! 

Now, to answer your last letter- come back whenever you’re ready. I’m going to have a meeting with Celestia tomorrow about the mirror-world me and about my plans to compile the notes I make on your world into a book.

Yours in friendship,

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. Please don’t write in the journal in class. We wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands if a teacher takes it off you. And you did confess to murder in one of your entries. Not good!”

With the message sent, Twilight finally set to making dinner for her and Spike. Cooking, after all, was just another form of science, and science was something that the princess excelled at.

> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight’s letter arrived at just the right time for Sunset. All day, she’d had a gnawing feeling of guilt in her stomach. But that had always been there on her birthday. Right now, her real parents would be mourning the loss of their daughter on what should have been her twentieth birthday. And here were the other Sunset’s parents, celebrating the birth of their daughter with an imposter. It was so messed up.

As Sunset stared into her mirror, fiddling with the edge of her golden dress with the red frilly hem, the magical journal sitting on her bed vibrated. Sunset pounced on it and opened it, desperate for an escape from her problems. As she read, her worries were replaced with an overwhelming feeling of happiness towards Twilight Sparkle and her pony friends.

“Thank you, Twilight,” she whispered, and wiped her eyes. Mascara-tinged teardrops were flicked onto the blank page that she’d opened to automatically, but Sunset was too busy glancing at the clock to notice. She supposed that she’d have time for a quick message, but Twilight wrote to her again before she could.

“Are you okay? You just sent me tears.”

“Yes, I’m okay,” she wrote back. “It’s just my birthday and this is always a hard time for me.”

“I can understand why. You poor thing, and you’ve had to live through, what, ten years of this?”

“Something like that. I just feel so guilty because the real Sunset’s parents have been celebrating her birthday with the very stranger who killed her.” More tears dripped onto the page, and Sunset could feel the mess that her eyes had become.

“I wish I could come over to help but I’m just starting dinner. I’ll send someone over to help, though.”

“Thank you. Sunset’s parents are taking me out to dinner tonight for my ‘eighteenth’ birthday so whoever you send to help will just have to wait at the house for me to get back.”

“I’ll let them know. Stay strong, Sunset. You have good friends to help you.”

“And a princess.” Sunset smiled and gave a little laugh, then stood to fix her make-up.




Pinkie Pie let out a loud gasp when she read the news sent by her pony self.

“She has beautiful handwriting!” she screamed. “Also, I have to plan a party.”

“Don’t stay out too late,” her big sister Maud warned as the pink blur dashed out the door laden with party supplies.

“It’s Saturday, Maud!” the pink menace screamed back, but her sister just blinked and closed the door behind her.

Rainbow Dash was startled from her nap in a hammock at Applejack’s, and a party hat was plonked down on her head while a party favour found itself crammed between her lips.

“Wha?” she asked, and launched into a coughing fit after nearly inhaling the party favour (which let out amusing sounds as it was dislodged from Rainbow’s mouth).

“Party!” Pinkie screamed. “Didn’t your pony double tell you?”

“No,” said Rainbow, still looking confused.

“Oh right, the rest of you girls aren’t getting yours until tomorrow morning. Silly me, I forgot. Anyway, party at Sunset’s, c’mon!” And with that, Pinkie grabbed Rainbow’s hand and dragged the girl behind her.

Applejack was knocked off the ladder she’d been standing on to pick apples from her family’s farm and landed with a crash on a conveniently-placed crash mat.

“What in tarnation?”

“Party at Sunset’s,” Rainbow explained. Applejack nodded in understanding, a solemn look on her face. 

“Why so glum?” Rainbow asked as the two were dragged behind Pinkie.

“Well, you know what her situation is,” said Applejack, not elaborating because talking about those things in public was just plain stupid.

“No?”

Applejack’s hand slapped her own face in exasperation.

“Her parents aren’t her real parents, you dummy. They’re back in Equestria. And their real daughter…”

“Ohhh, okay, I getcha now,” Rainbow nodded, and then she took up a sad disposition too. “And she’s had to live through this for years with no one to help her. Although that does explain why around this time there’d be more trips to the nurse’s office for the weaker kids.”

“She did seem a lot angrier around this time,” said Fluttershy. She was hung over Pinkie’s shoulder for lack of arms to be dragged by. “I can almost forgive her for breaking my arm one year.”

“Well, I can’t!” Pinkie declared. “I had to take you to the hospital, Fluttershy, that’s how bad it was!”

“She was hurting more than she ever hurt any of us,” Fluttershy whispered, sliding further over Pinkie’s shoulder. “And that was when she was evil. Now she has no anger driving her, nothing to stop her fr- PINKIE!”

“Well how else was I supposed to drag you back over my shoulder?” Pinkie asked once her mouth was free of Fluttershy’s bottom.

“We could’ve taken my car,” Fluttershy said, and it sounded like it wasn’t the first time she’d offered.

“Rarity’s is bigger, she has a Hummer,” Pinkie reminded her. “Man, it must be good to have rich parents.”

The awe in her voice said that they were now in front of the mansion that Rarity lived in, and soon the three girls were deposited onto the ground while Pinkie skipped inside to fetch Rarity.

Pinkie worked fast, and soon they were on the road on the way to Sunset’s house.




Sunset barely tasted any of the delicious food that she ate at the restaurant, and she was surprised that she’d even managed to finish a plate with how twisted her stomach was. All of Sunset’s aunts and uncles congratulated her on turning eighteen, and it was all Sunset could do to not blurt out that she was actually twenty. She was glad that she looked younger.

“We have a surprise for you, Sunset,” Sunset’s father said as they left the restaurant. “We all saved all year for this and, since you can drive, we thought that you could drive us home.”

Sunset teared up at the sight of the gleaming red Jeep sitting there in the restaurant carpark, but not for the reasons her parents thought. It just twisted the little dagger of guilt in her heart.

“I love it,” she whispered, slapping on the fakest grin that she could muster. “Thanks, mum and dad.” She hugged them, feeling like a traitor. The girl who should have been driving this was long gone by now.

Nevertheless, Sunset did drive her new vehicle home, and parked it in the driveway beside a suspicious white Hummer.

“Oh, my friends are here,” she said brightly, and this time she didn’t have to fake the emotion. She opened the door first and flicked the lights on, and all her friends jumped out from behind the furniture.

“Surprise!” they cried, and Sunset just grinned and joined in on a group hug.

“Thanks,” she whispered to Pinkie.

“Thank Twilight,” Pinkie whispered back, and gave Sunset another squeeze.

“Well, you girls have fun but don’t stay up too late,” Sunset’s mother warned. “Some of us have to work in the morning.”

“Sure thing, mum,” said Sunset with a nod. “We’ll try to keep it down.”

When Sunset’s parents had left the room, Sunset finally let the façade drop.

“I really am grateful that you girls are here,” she said, sitting shakily on the couch. Pinkie gave her a party hat and party favour before sitting on the couch next to her. Fluttershy sat on the other side of Sunset, while Rainbow leaned over the back of the couch and Applejack sat on the floor. Rarity, meanwhile, sat in one of the armchairs.

“Twilight asked my pony double to write to me and tell me that you needed help,” Pinkie explained. “So I decided to throw you a surprise party. Did it help?”

“Yeah, it helped a lot,” Sunset nodded. “It’d help even more if Twilight was here, but I understand that she’s busy.”

“Yes, I imagine that being a princess must be exhausting despite being glamorous,” Rarity agreed. She sighed wistfully.




The portal at Canterlot High shimmered and let out a graceful, dark figure. Tiny specks of light glimmered in her flowing hair, and her dress looked like it had been plucked from the night sky itself. As she straightened herself up, she looked around and then frowned at the night sky.

“This has none of the finesse that my night sky has. I should give the guardian of the night here a stern talking to. Not to mention the fact that they’ve been letting their subjects have nightmares without intervening.” She sighed. “But I’m not here for that.” She closed her eyes, found her harmonious centre, and flashed away with a blink of starlight.




The party attendees were momentarily stunned at the flash that filled the room.

“And I thought that my sister made good entrances,” the new figure giggled. “Hello, everybody.”

“Princess Luna.” To her own surprise, Sunset rose from the couch and strode over to the princess of the night with a smile. “I thought that Twilight’s help would only be my friends.”

“Twilight?” Luna cocked her head to one side. “No, I came here under my own stead. I’d already risen the moon so I decided to pay you a visit. Your dreams have been concerning but I haven’t been able to break through, Sunset Shimmer. Curse that Starswirl and his rules about magic not working between the dimensions.” She scowled.

“You’re a princess? How many princesses does this Equestria have?” Rarity asked, rising and then dipping into a curtsey to greet the diarch.

“Four,” Luna replied. “Well, at the last count, anyway. Who knows how many there will be next week.” She laughed. “But you don’t need to curtsey before me, Rarity. You are not my subject here.”

“How did you know my name?” Rarity squeaked.

“I am not a dullard, I can make the connection. Besides, my sister has told me extensively about mirror worlds, mostly as cautionary tales. Although I am surprised that none of you have questioned my use of magic.”

“I was getting to that,” said Sunset. “How did you use it so quickly? This world doesn’t naturally have magic.”

“Twilight Sparkle told me about how you girls managed to access your magic, so I looked within myself to find my harmony. In my case, it’s the harmony of how the night and day work together to create the perfect environment for ponies to live in. Try it now- think of something that makes you feel harmony.”

One by one, each girl grew pony ears, wings, and longer hair as they found their harmony. Sunset, however, found it more difficult.

“Sorry, princess,” she apologised sheepishly. “I just can’t find it in me today.”

“The road to reformation is one filled with bumps and potholes, you must just be careful not to fall in one,” said Luna, placing a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “It is only too easy to return to the darkness. But with friends, it is possible to become once more the pony you were meant to be.”

“Sunset, who else is there?” Sunset’s mother called from up the stairs. In a flash of negative light, Luna disappeared.

“Nobody, mum, we’re just watching a movie!” Sunset called back up.

“Okay, well try to keep it down,” the older woman called back.

“Okay!” Sunset sighed in relief and Luna reappeared as the negative light melted away.

“I confess, that works better when it is dark,” she said with a giggle. “Should we shift somewhere else?”

“No, we can stay here,” said Sunset. “We just have to lower the volume.”

“I am still unused to that,” said Luna, her voice now at a more normal volume. “Is this better?”

“Perfect,” said Fluttershy with a smile and a nod.

“Oh, good. At least this Fluttershy isn’t too terrified of me to be honest. Now, Sunset, as I was saying before, the dark magic has left you but you are still tainted by the aftereffects. Coming to terms with what you have done and trying to make amends will take time, and a lot of support from friends. I have only recently got there myself. Only in my case, I had to regrow from a relatively powerless alicorn foal to a fully-powered one because the dark magic had seeped into my magic and it made me sick to use it. Fortunately, you are a relatively powerless being now and you were only a young unicorn when you were infected so it will not affect your magic so much.”

“But princess, the dark magic made me kill someone,” Sunset whispered. “How can I possibly come back from that?”

“Does not your legal system believe in reformation? Are murderers in your world not sent to prison to be reformed until such a time as they are deemed reformed?” Luna asked in response.

“She’s right, in this country anyway,” Applejack nodded. “Even if that doesn’t seem like enough to the family affected.”

Sunset’s heart began to pound and she trembled, her legs turning to jelly.

“Easy now, child,” said Luna, curling a wing around her to hold her up. “We are not speaking of imprisoning you. That would not be something that a true friend would do.”

“But I should be,” Sunset sobbed, leaning into the princess. “I have to tell her parents and then they’ll…”

“And she is old enough now to be sent to prison,” Rarity added. “It’s no place for an eighteen-year-old.”

“I’m twenty, actually,” Sunset corrected. “I was young when I came here.”

“So you were only eleven years old when you killed someone?” Rarity gasped, but remembered to keep her voice low. “That’s horrible!”

“In Equestria, we begin to be treated as adults when we have our cutie mark,” Luna elaborated. “Sunset got hers when she was around five. She was in her final years of Celestia’s school when she discovered that cursed book.”

“It wasn’t really appropriate reading for a ten-year-old,” Sunset said with a sniff. “No wonder Celestia kept it locked away.”

“But why did you read it?” Fluttershy asked. “If Princess Celestia was teaching you, and she is something of a goddess in your world, why did you need that much power?”

“It promised to turn me into an alicorn,” said Sunset. “Celestia never gave me any answers about how to become an alicorn. I just wanted to be like my mentor and with my cutie mark, I was sure that I was destined to become a princess like her.”

“So that’s why you hated Twilight so much,” said Rainbow Dash. “You tried so hard to get answers on how to become an alicorn, and then Celestia goes and makes Twilight one while you were gone. She didn’t even try to look for you, she just threw herself into that project.”

“My sister is like that,” Luna nodded. “She often overlooks problems and chooses to forget about them, instead focusing on something else. And somehow, that something else ends up benefiting the problem that she’d been seemingly avoiding. She avoided the problem of me to teach Twilight that she needed friends. Then, she avoided all the major problems in Equestria to train Twilight to be a princess by dealing with problems. My sister is a strange one.”

“She sure sounds like it,” Applejack agreed. “How do you put up with her?”

“How do you put up with her?” Luna asked in reply, pointing to Pinkie Pie who was somehow managing to inhale food without using her teeth.

“Ah, I gotcha.” Applejack nodded. “You just let her do her thing and hope that she doesn’t somehow destroy the universe by sneezing at the wrong time.”

“That only happened once,” Pinkie whined. “And then that guy in the blue box showed up and fixed everything.”

“Ah, your world has him too. He is also strange,” said Luna.

“Lots of things are,” Sunset nodded. “Hey, you managed to make me feel better.”

“It comes with the territory,” said Luna with a grin. “Not only as an Equestrian princess but as the ruler of the night and guardian of dreams. One has to become good at helping others feel better if one is to comfort frightened ponies.”

“I wish you’d been there ten years ago, Luna,” Sunset sighed. “You could’ve interfered in one of my dreams of ruling and told me to stay on the path of light.”

“And I could have better protected those books,” Luna agreed. “But nothing ever comes of wishing to change the past. All that can be done is to learn from our past mistakes and not repeat them.”



Luna stayed there that night along with everyone else, although she simply sat in the corner of Sunset’s bedroom in a meditative state, an invisibility spell keeping her from being seen or even noticed. As the girls dropped off to sleep one by one, the doors to their dreams appeared in Luna’s mind. Curiosity as to what the girls dreamed about scratched at her mind, but she knew that it would be rude to intrude on their privacy. When the familiar gilded door to Sunset’s dreams appeared, though, Luna immediately entered the dream and stayed on the fringes like she had done previously. This time, though, she knew that she could interfere if necessary. She could feel it.

A human Sunset Shimmer walked down the stairs and sat at the breakfast table like every other morning. Then, she ate her breakfast and got ready to go to school. On her way to school, though, a winged figure launched itself off the roof and landed in front of her in a circle of flames.

“N-no,” Sunset gulped. “You’re not real, I-I killed-“

“You killed me, yes.” The girl was a perfect copy of Sunset, save for the fact that she had a scar running across her throat and leathery wings on her back. “I just thought I’d come to return the favour.”

Luna tensed herself, ready to jump in, but Sunset acted quickly. The dream changed around her, turning Sunset into a pony.

“That’s better,” Sunset smiled. “Now I can fight you.” Her horn charged with opal light and a spell struck the demon girl on the wrist, causing her to drop the knife she’d been holding.

Luna watched as the fight continued. The demon bent to pick up her knife. Sunset’s hoof slammed down on her hand. The demon screeched and swiped at Sunset, now bearing claws. The claws cut, spattering blood onto the pavement. Now Sunset cried out. But already her horn was glowing again as she prepared another spell. A magical blade clashed against the claws. Again and again and again the blade met claws, but then finally the demon let out a roar. Fire emitted from the demon’s hands and licked at Sunset’s hooves. Somehow, they’d become fused to the pavement. The demon closed in as Sunset whinnied in fear.

“STOP”. Luna finally jumped off the building in her pony form and fired a lightning spell at the demon, which disappeared in a wisp of smoke. The danger gone, Luna turned to help Sunset. The pavement became the grass of Equestria, and Sunset gasped as she finally moved her hooves.

“Princess,” she smiled gratefully. “That’s the first time I’ve ever not died in a dream.”

“It is annoying,” Luna agreed as she landed. “It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to help you, too. Do you have any other injuries?”

Sunset shook her head. “They’re hardly the worst. One night I dreamed I became an alicorn and she-“

“I know, I was there. But the dreams can’t hurt you, Sunset. The demon is gone now, and with it the original Sunset Shimmer of the human world. Nothing can change that.”

“Then how come I keep dreaming about the demon?” Sunset asked. “Sometimes I’m the demon and I wake up thinking that Twilight saving me was a good dream.”

“I had the Nightmare in my head for a while too. She haunted my dreams, definitely living up to her name.” Luna chuckled darkly. “But she’s gone now. She can’t hurt me anymore. Once I became reformed, I stopped having those nightmares.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Sunset simply. “You didn’t sleep tonight, you just went into a meditative state to watch over dreams just like you do in Equestria.”

“Well, ponyfeathers,” Luna cursed. “You have caught me out. No, I have not slept for some time now. Meditation is sufficient for alicorns anyway, and it allows me to fulfil my role as the guardian of dreams.”

“I wish it was enough for regular ponies too,” Sunset grumbled. “Just one night I’d like to dream about something that wasn’t the demon. Sometimes I think I’m dreaming about something else but then suddenly she appears and kills Twilight.” She blushed fiercely as she realised what she’d just said.

“I could make a fortune as a journalist with all the gossip I pick up on,” said Luna with a laugh. “But it would not be fitting of a guardian of dreams to go around blurting out secrets. So fear not, Sunset Shimmer, your secret is safe with me. Although, if Twilight ever happens to dream about you, would you like to know?”

“I don’t know,” said Sunset, shifting her hooves uncomfortably. “It might make things awkward. And how can I love another if I don’t love myself?”

“You’re asking me?” Luna asked, and laughed. “But seriously, Sunset, these dreams should go away in time. Once you accept that you are not the pony you were before, you can move on. Become something great. As my sister would say, you cannot move on while one of your hooves in stuck in the past. Let go of it, Sunset Shimmer. Don’t let it hold you back.”

“Are you quoting that new movie?” Sunset asked.

“It has some good advice,” said Luna. “Let it go. Don’t let it hold you back anymore.” She began to sing, and Sunset laughed. Never, in her life, did she imagine that she’d be here with the princess of the night singing to her. It didn’t even matter that Luna was getting the context of the song totally wrong. It was the best birthday present she’d ever had.

> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and princess of the sun and day, should have had another title added to her name- tea addict. Twilight came to this conclusion as she watched the princess start on her third cup of tea in ten minutes. They had decided to have their morning tea in the usual place, on the balcony jutting out from Celestia’s bedroom.

“So, Twilight, how have my former students been doing?” Celestia asked. “I trust that you have both been well?”

“Yes,” said Twilight with a nod. “Well, I have been, anyway.”

“Oh?” Celestia asked, inclining her head ever so slightly towards Twilight. “Does that mean that Sunset Shimmer has not been well as of late?”

“No,” Twilight admitted, sagging noticeably and staring into her teacup. “She’s been struggling to come to terms with everything. But at least she’s been talking to her friends about it, and that’s what friends are for.”

“You should tell her that,” Celestia suggested. “You are her teacher, and this would make a great lesson on friendship.”

“I understand now,” said Twilight with a smile as she sat up straight again. “Thank you, princess! You always know just what to say.”

Celestia smiled and said, “That is because I know you well, Twilight Sparkle. And while you are talking to Sunset, please tell her that she was not banished.”

“How did you know that she was thinking that?” Twilight asked. “She mentioned it to me but not to anybody else.”

“My sister paid her a visit last night,” said Celestia, and extended her wing to gesture to Princess Luna who stood in the doorway to the balcony.

“Indeed I did,” Luna confirmed as she stepped out into the sunlight. “Sunset Shimmer and I discussed a great manner of things, including her fears. She has been struggling so much with her personal demons, and it is only the presence of her friends that stops her from succumbing to the darkness completely.”

“Was she also taken over by the nightmare like you were?” Twilight asked. She looked guiltily to Celestia, who only smiled and nodded to her that it was okay to speak to her sister during their meeting.

“A version of it, yes,” Luna confirmed with a nod. “The darkness has been purged now, but Sunset has-“ She suddenly stopped and looked at her sister, unsure if she should continue.

“I am aware of Sunset’s crimes,” said Celestia. “Yet, because the crime was committed in another world, she will not be subject to imprisonment here. Should she choose to come back, however, I cannot let her escape punishment.”

“That’s what she’s afraid of,” said Twilight, and sighed. “I can’t lie to her, I have to tell her that she’ll be punished if she comes back. I’ll be confirming her worst fears.”

“Doesn’t your friend Applejack know a thing or two about painful truths?” Celestia prompted. “Ask her for advice on how to proceed.

“I will,” said Twilight with a nod. “Thanks for the advice, princess.”

“May I stay, sister?” Luna asked. “I would also like to continue aiding Sunset through her dreams. The nightmares are the worst of it.”

“Yes to both,” Celestia allowed.

“I also wanted to ask, Celestia, if it was alright if I compiled notes on the mirror world and published a book or paper on my findings?” Twilight asked.

“Starswirl would have done so eventually, so yes,” Celestia allowed. “If we were ever to open travel between the worlds to the rest of the population, it would be crucial for them to know what they were in for.”

“Thank you,” said Twilight with a smile. “Of course I’ll have to do princess duties on top of that, I understand, but it can be my passion project.”

“I thought that Sunset Shimmer was your passion project,” said Luna with a teasing grin.

“They’re connected,” Twilight said, fidgeting her wings. “Learning about humans is a side project to teaching Sunset. And I have my friends involved in my little project too, each of them learning about an area relevant to both their and their double’s interests. Rainbow Dash is studying sport, Fluttershy animal care, Rarity fashion and how clothes are made, Applejack farming, and Pinkie Pie… well, I actually don’t know. But I’m sure that I’ll figure out something. Maybe human socialisation or parties. ”

“Ah, I have taught you well,” said Celestia with a giggle. “You are good at defending yourself using your words and steering the conversation away from topics you’d rather not broach. And I am so pleased that you decided to involve your friends in this.”

“It is an important skill to learn for a career in politics,” Luna declared. “Sometimes, a skilled tongue is more powerful and important than all the political power in the world.”

“Oh, and speaking of humans,” said Twilight, “Sunset met my human double. She’s really interested in science but she’s also kind of a loner.”

“Interesting,” said Celestia, and took a long sip of her tea. Twilight knew exactly what that meant, and eagerly awaited Celestia’s conclusion.

“Do you think that she is a threat?” Luna asked Twilight in the interim. “If she is like you, she will stop at nothing to learn about everything.”

“I think that she’s a concern,” said Twilight. “What if she found out about magic?”

“My advice,” said Celestia at last, “is to have Sunset keep an eye on your double, Twilight. Have her watch her and report to you anything suspicious that she does. Sunset will know what is suspicious and what is not. Tell her that I have asked her to do so, it might make her feel more welcomed by me.”

“I will,” said Twilight with a nod. “Thank you for the advice, princess. And thank you for your help, Luna. It’s nice to know that she has a friend in her dreams.”

“I am glad to be of help,” said Luna. “Nothing makes me happier than helping my little ponies through their dreams. Even if they are in another dimension, and they were born before I returned.”

“I’m sure my friends over there were happy to meet you too,” said Twilight. “Probably a little in awe too.”

“My attire probably garnered more awe,” said Luna with a chuckle. “It is a dress made of moonlight. I can only imagine what my sister’s attire would be.”

“Simple white robes that glow with the power of the sun,” said Celestia quickly. “I visited there once, many hundreds of years ago. I believe I was in the human equivalent of Roam.”

Twilight gaped at her. “No way. So you’re Apollo? Or one of the sun gods?”

“I am all of them,” said Celestia. “I do not know why I was made male when the humans wrote about me and created art of me, but I just put it down to a human strangeness.”

“From what information I managed to gather before I left, the human world is male-dominated despite the even split between male and female in their world,” said Twilight. “I suppose that it would be different if they had women who could control the cosmic bodies, though.”

“Whoever does control them, their night sky is filthy,” said Luna. “It is horrible and alien and I detest it. Yet I shall endure it to aid Sunset Shimmer.”

“In their world, nobody controls them,” said Twilight. “There are several religions that disagree on the subject, but the science there says that the sun, moon, and planets all have their own little system with the sun at its centre.”

“You picked up on much when you were there for just a few days,” Celestia remarked. “I am proud of you, Twilight.”

“Thank you,” said Twilight, smiling at her mentor’s praise. “And Pinkie Pie over there taught me how to use the internet, so now I can learn everything next time I’m there.” Twilight’s eyes glimmered with excitement. 

“I am sensing a desire to travel there again,” said Luna with a grin. “Perhaps you would like to accompany me there one night, Twilight?”

“Oh, yes please,” Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “I can’t go during the day anymore now that my double is there, but surely it’ll be safe to go at night.”

“I shall provide myself as a distraction,” Luna offered. “My moonlight dress should be enough of a distraction.”

“I can imagine,” said Twilight, chuckling.

“Do you have any other concerns, Twilight?” Celestia asked. “You can ask me or confide in me anything.”

“I’m just worried about my double,” said Twilight. “She transferred to Canterlot High, and I’m just wondering why she did that. It almost reminds me of when I transferred to Ponyville to study friendship. She must want to study something there, something non-academic. I’ll have Sunset ask her, maybe try to befriend her.”

“Befriend her, gain her trust…” Celestia sighed. “I hate that we have to treat this stranger as a potential threat.”

“But until we know her better, we have to do that,” said Luna. “Sunset Shimmer was a friendless loner once, and Twilight was too. It is up to the circumstances as to how the pony, or person, reacts. Surrounding the human Twilight with friends will possibly lead to the outcome that it did with our Twilight.”

“Let us hope so,” said Celestia. “But in the meantime, we shall monitor her. Does that put your mind at ease, Twilight?”

“Yes,” said Twilight with a nod. “It does. I’ll tell Sunset all about it later this afternoon, just in case she wants to spend the day with her friends. Oh, and Celestia, do you have anything that could tell me the time in the human dimension compared to the time here?”

“Next time you are there, obtain a watch with the local time on it,” said Celestia. “When you bring it back, it will always be able to tell you the time in that dimension. Just be sure to take it back with you, and have Sunset tell you if the time ever changes for some reason.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” said Twilight, and chuckled. “It seems so obvious. I mean, the school had clocks and quite a few people walked around wearing watches.”

“Sometimes even the very intelligent can overlook what is blindingly obvious to others,” said Celestia. “Just look at me.” She sighed heavily and then sadly finished off her tea.

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was mid-morning by the time Sunset finally awoke. She sat up and stretched, yawning in the morning sunlight streaming through her window. She hadn’t slept that well in a long time. And she had the ‘snoozing’ princess over in the corner to thank for it.

“Your book has been vibrating,” said Luna, breaking the façade of sleep immediately. Sunset smirked, even though it was sad that Luna couldn’t sleep.

“Thanks for last night, I haven’t slept so well in ages,” said Sunset, getting out of bed and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she walked across her bedroom.

“What did you do last night?” Rarity asked, walking into Sunset’s bedroom with a takeaway coffee cup in her hand.

“I do have coffee downstairs, you know,” said Sunset, taking the offered cup from her friend.

“But darling, that’s instant,” said Rarity, acting as though Sunset had suggested drinking mud.

“There’s nothing wrong with instant,” said Sunset.

“Okay then, I’ll just take it back,” said Rarity, reaching for the cup.

“No, no! Thanks for the coffee, Rarity,” said Sunset, smiling at her friend and taking a sip.

“You’re welcome. I had to get you up somehow,” said Rarity. “Darling, you were sleeping the day away.”

“Well, I needed it,” said Sunset. “I feel great.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but you have looked simply wretched lately,” said Rarity.

“Thanks,” said Sunset with a snort.

“So, what helped you sleep?” asked Rarity. “A certain Equestrian princess, perhaps?”

“Yeah, actually,” said Sunset, then blushed when Rarity smirked. “Oh, not like that! Princess Luna has the power to dreamwalk, so she stopped my nightmare and then turned it into a good dream.”

“That’s a useful power,” said Rarity, smiling at the princess. “Thank you for helping dear Sunset, Princess Luna.”

“It brings me great joy,” said Luna. “My sister makes her ponies smile with her tricks and kind presence, I make them smile by making their dreams sweeter.”

Sunset sat down at her desk and opened the book, sipping at her coffee while she turned the pages. Many of the pages towards the front were now tear-spotted, but hopefully there would be no tears this morning. She felt good, better than she had in a long time. It was amazing what a good night’s sleep could do.

When she finally got to the newest message, Sunset had to chuckle at the irony. Here she was, worrying about her past, and Twilight was starting a new project.

“Dear Sunset Shimmer,
After discussing it with Celestia, I have decided to start a project that will benefit not only my studies but also your friendship lesson. It is a cultural exchange program, in which the human versions of my friends will exchange messages containing information about your world with my friends. I think I mentioned this before. Have you talked to your friends about it yet? Let me know what they think about my idea. Also, what do you think of the idea? I don’t think you got a chance to tell me, what with everything that’s been happening. Completely understandable, of course, but I’m really eager to start this new project so could you get back to me as soon as possible with the answer? Please?
Yours in friendship,
Twilight Sparkle”

The next letter read simply:

“Another late sleeper, huh? I can relate.”

Sunset chuckled at Twilight’s latest message, then turned to Rarity, who had a strange smile on her face.

“I know that look,” Rarity trilled.

“W-what?” Sunset asked, blushing.

“Someone’s crushing on the pony princess,” Rarity teased.

“N-no I’m not,” Sunset protested. “I’m just happy because she’s giving me something good to focus on.”

“Don’t worry, dear, your secret is safe with me,” said Rarity. “Now, what has our darling royal friend sent to you that’s got you smiling like a lovestruck schoolgirl? Unless it’s too private to share, that is.”

“Uh, no, it’s not too private,” said Sunset, wishing she could stop blushing. “Twilight has suggested that my new friends can exchange letters with Twilight’s pony friends and find out about each other’s worlds. Using a book like we do.”

“Ooh, that sounds like a marvellous idea,” said Rarity. “I could learn about pony fashion, what materials they use, the latest trends, how clothes work on small horses, what purpose clothes serve in that society.” Sunset smiled as Rarity began to pace around the room while listing off ideas on her fingers.

“Well, looks like I can tell Twilight that you agree to it,” said Sunset.

“Yes!” Rarity cried, her big blue eyes sparkling. “I love that idea! When do we start?”

“As soon as I talk to the other girls about it and Twilight arranges a way to get the magical journals over here,” said Sunset.

“Well, then, come on! Everyone else is downstairs in the kitchen,” said Rarity. “And don’t worry, your parents are at work so there’s nobody to overhear us talking about magical ponies in a different dimension.”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming,” said Sunset, laughing at Rarity’s eagerness.

The other four girls were sitting around the kitchen table, tucking into a large plate of pancakes which Pinkie Pie was still busily cooking up. Sunset wondered who was going to get stuck with the washing up. Maybe they’d draw straws for it.

“Morning, girls,” said Sunset.

“Hi, Sunset!” Pinkie called out, waving to her. “There’s plenty of pancakes if you’re hungry.”

“I can see that,” said Sunset, laughing. She took a seat at the table and began pulling pancakes onto the plate that had been left out for her. She spooned whipped cream onto them, then drizzled them with some syrup. Popping a forkful into her mouth, Sunset moaned blissfully. Pinkie was such a good cook.

“Well, you sure look happy, sugarcube,” said Applejack, chuckling. “Have a nice night?”

“Yes, I had a great night’s sleep,” said Sunset. 

“That’s wonderful to hear,” said Fluttershy. “Sometimes, all you need is a good night’s sleep to make the world seem better.”

“Even if you do wake up in the middle of the day,” said Applejack.

“Hey, not everyone wakes up with the rooster,” said Rainbow. Applejack elbowed her, but they both laughed.

“So,” said Sunset as she polished off her first plate of pancakes, “I received a message from the princess yesterday but I was kind of distracted. She’s come up with an idea for transferring information about our different worlds to each other.”

“And I think it’s a marvellous idea,” said Rarity.

“How would we do that?” asked Rainbow.

“Well, each of you would get a journal like the one Twilight and I have,” said Sunset. “You’d be able to write messages to your pony counterparts.”

“That sounds lovely,” said Fluttershy. “A world where animals can talk… oh, I can’t wait to find out how things work there!”

“And my pony counterpart can tell me how it feels to fly,” said Rainbow. “And give me some pointers just in case we figure out a way to make my wings appear whenever I want them to.”

“I dunno if my pony counterpart would be able to teach me anything,” said Applejack. “Well, maybe how they farm over there. Must be different without any farming machinery.”

“What about you, Pinkie?” asked Sunset, turning to Pinkie who had been silent this whole time.

“I love it!” Pinkie cried, jumping up in the air as confetti exploded behind her. “We can talk about parties, and come up with ideas for even more parties, and she can give me some sweet new recipes!”

“Excellent,” said Sunset. “I’ll let Twilight know that you’re all excited about the idea.”

“When will it start, do you think?” asked Rarity.

“Well, after I tell her, she’ll have to enchant the journals and then we’ll have to figure out a good time for her to come over and hand out the journals,” said Sunset. She felt a thrill of excitement at the thought of Twilight coming to see her. Well, and to see her friends, but Twilight would be here again.

“The weekend would be a good time,” said Applejack. “Though it might be a bit weird, seeing a bunch of students meeting outside the school.”

“Why not after school one day?” asked Sunset.

“Nah, I’ve got farm chores,” said Applejack.

“Soccer,” said Rainbow.

“And the rest of us work,” said Rarity. “Sorry, Sunset.”

“No, it’s okay,” said Sunset, even though she was disappointed.

“Maybe she could arrive on a Friday afternoon and then we could hand out the books on a Saturday?” asked Fluttershy.

“That might work,” said Sunset. “And she could leave Monday morning. It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about the portal closing now.”

“That does make things a lot easier,” said Rarity. Sunset frowned at the hidden meaning in those words, but Rarity just smiled.

“Well, I’ll let her know after breakfast,” said Sunset, feeling excitement rush through her at the prospect of seeing the Equestrian princess again.

With the taste of coffee and maple syrup still dancing on her tongue, Sunset sat down at her desk after breakfast and turned to a new page to write a message to her favourite princess.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I’ve discussed it with my friends, and they’ve all agreed to your plan. They’re looking forward to discussing things with their pony counterparts. And thank you for giving me a distraction. When will you be here to give out the enchanted books?
Your student,
Sunset Shimmer”

The answer came through so quickly that Sunset knew that Twilight must have been waiting for it by the book.

“Dear Sunset,
That’s great news! Now I can enchant the books, which will take a while as it means enchanting ten books to work between dimensions. That’s a pretty huge project, but I’m sure I can do it. I may need to ask the princess for help. Sorry, that’s just me thinking while I write. I do that sometimes. Anyway, once I’ve got the books enchanted, I’ll let you know and then we can arrange a time to meet. I’m so excited!
Yours in friendship,
Twilight Sparkle”

Sunset grinned as she read Twilight’s message, then closed the book and sat back with a smile. Twilight was coming. She didn’t know when just yet, but she was coming. And that was all that mattered.

“It is good to distract yourself with a new project,” said Luna. Sunset turned to smile at the dark-skinned woman.

“What was your project?” asked Sunset.

“You mean apart from fixing my skies?” Luna chuckled. “Sister tried, but she is no artist. That was always me.”

“I look forward to getting to see your night sky,” said Sunset. “I didn’t get a good chance to look at it last time I was in Equestria.”

“Now, now, don’t think about that mistake,” said Luna. “You must think about the future, and what you can do to avoid making those mistakes again.” She got up from her chair and walked over to lay a hand on Sunset’s shoulder.

“I wasn’t,” said Sunset with a smile. “I really mean it, though. The night sky was nice when I lived in Equestria, but I always thought that it could be more beautiful.”

“I have heard quite a few ponies commenting on my night,” said Luna. “They say that it is beautiful. If only my younger self knew that someday, things would change.”

“Hey, now you’re the one thinking about your mistakes,” said Sunset. “What is your project?”

“Helping ponies with their nightmares,” said Luna. “My sister tries to get me to help her with paperwork or hearing petitions, but I am more interested in the emotional health of my little ponies. I guard them when they sleep, but I also hold night court.”

“Do you also fight the real dangers that lurk at night?” asked Sunset.

“My night guard does that,” said Luna. “And, as part of my new project, I am going to stay here until the nightmares no longer plague you.”

“That might take a while,” said Sunset. “What about your night court, though?”

“Hardly anypony comes there, anyway,” said Luna. “And this is the project that is closest to my heart. No longer the Nightmare, I am now trying to be the Guardian of Dreams.”

“That sounds wonderful,” said Sunset. “Maybe someday I’ll be more than just a she-demon, too.”

“I know you will,” said Luna. “Twilight Sparkle is quite good at helping people, I know that she can help you too.”

“I hope so,” said Sunset. She really hoped so.