> Saving the Sirens.
>  by SkyeSilverwing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A terrible Mistake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the sounds of sobbing that drew Sunset Shimmer to the alleyway a few blocks from Canterlot High School.
It had been three days since the Battle of the Bands, and Twilight had returned to Equestria, with promises to return when she was needed, and Sunset and her friends had returned to playing music in their band for the simple fun of it. It always made Sunset feel somehow more complete to sing with her friends and form that magical connection with her old pony self. 
It had been a surprise to her when she had transformed for the first time along with her friends, facing off against the Dazzlings in the Amphitheater in the park near the school. She never would have believed that the magic of friendship had been inside her as well. It felt good to have that connection, both with her friends, and the self she had left behind all those years ago.
Still, sometimes she liked to go for walks on her own, and think about her life, and how it would have changed if she had known then what she knew now. That is what brought her to this alley, and the sound of crying within.
What she found there surprised her. 
Sitting on a low step outside a long disused and boarded up door, Adagio Dazzle held her sobbing sister, Sonata Dusk. Leaning against the wall nearby, their third sister, Aria Blaze, glared at the walls around them.
“There has got to be something we can do, Adagio!” Aria was saying.
Adagio shook her head sadly and continued to gently smooth Sonata’s hair. “There isn’t.” she said, not turning from her attentions to her youngest sister. “I… I am so sorry… I’ve doomed us all.”
Sunset stepped out of the shadow where the girls could see her. 
Aria saw her immediately and glared at her.  “What do YOU want?” she demanded, “Come here to gloat?”
Sunset shook her head. “What did you mean when you said you had doomed yourself?” she asked, looking at Adagio.
The eldest of the three former Sirens looked up at Sunset with a sad look in her eyes. “It was my plan…” she said, “My greed to have back the power that we once held… that caused us to be in the state we are in.”
Sunset looked at the three of them, confused. “Do you mean because we beat you and took away your power?” she asked.
Aria rounded on Sunset.  “Because you broke our heartstones and took away our ability to FEED!” she shouted, stomping over to the girl. “Starswirl the Bearded may have been a big jerk, but at least he didn’t have the stomach to kill us off. You and your bratty friends have sentenced us to STARVE TO DEATH!”
Abruptly, Sonata burst into full on weeping. “I don’t wanna die!” she wailed.
Aria immediately spun to face her sisters, holding her hands out, trying to calm Sonata. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, “It’s not that bad. We can find a way to make it better, right Adagio?”
The eldest of the three looked at Sunset as she spoke. “I don’t know.”
Sunset was shocked. “You… can’t eat like normal people?” she said, surprised.
Aria frowned at her. “What, you thought we would have just kept making everybody around us miserable if we could have avoided it?” she said, then her eyes softened a little. “Life is lonely when you have to hurt everyone just to survive, but we did what we had to, to live.” She sat down and hugged her knees. “Not that it matters anymore.”
Sunset looked stricken. “We… we didn’t know.” she said. “We never would have done something like that on purpose. “
Adagio looked at Sunset with a pained look. “I know.” she said, “But it won’t save us.”
Sunset Shimmer left the Alley with a new destination in mind. She needed to talk to her friends. All of them.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Dear Princess Twilight,
I think we have made a terrible mistake. We need you to come and help us find a way to make it right. Please. We need you.
Your Friend,
Sunset Shimmer.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. 
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, stared at the words in the book. What could have possibly gone wrong? She nodded to herself, shut the book, and levitated it up into position on the contraption connected to the portal leading to the human world. 
Twilight looked at her faithful dragon companion, Spike. “Spike, take a letter and send it to my friends here in Ponyville, as well as Princess Celestia, letting them know that you and I are going back to the human world for a little while.” She said, “It seems that our friends their need our help with a matter of some urgency. They should take the precautions we discussed while we’re gone.”
As the dragon took care of the dispatch, and the portal hummed to life, Twilight gathered several of the books that she had picked out from the library specifically pertaining to situations that might occur in the human world. Her friends would likely be arriving to see her off, and since the book would not function while it was in use in the human world, they had discussed having one or two of them here around the clock so she could send requests for assistance back through the portal, not to mention making sure that the open portal did not get any unsuspecting humans lost in Equestria.
As Twilight’s Pony friends arrived, she confirmed again that they understood their roles. “Alright, girls,” she said at last, “Spike and I are heading out. Keep in touch.”
Applejack smiled. “You too, Sugarcube.” She said, “And don’t you worry none. We’ll hold down the Castle until you get back.”
Twilight nodded. “Thanks, girls.” She said, “I am glad you are all here for me.”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “I just wish we could be there for you.” She said, “Sitting around here is just not something I can enjoy when I know you could be in danger.”
Rarity joined her.  “She is right, Darling.” She said, “As much as I love this castle, even I can’t feel comfortable just sitting here while you go gallivanting off in the other world getting in Celestia knows what trouble.”
Twilight smiled at the two of them. “I know you are worried about me,” she told them, “But we can’t just have two of all of you wandering around on that side of the portal. It would raise too many questions and Principal Celestia is having enough trouble keeping the existence of the portal and magic in general covered up as it is.”
Both of her friends frowned and nodded. “I guess that makes sense.” Rainbow said.
“It still does not stop me from worrying about you, Darling,” Rarity said.
Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry.” She said, "if there is any trouble, I will have the other world versions of you all at my side. And if it comes down to it, I can always call you in to help.”
“Sounds good to me!” Chimed in Pinkie Pie. 
Twilight looked around at all of her friends and smiled. “Don’t you worry,” she said, “I will be back as soon as the problem is solved. Come on, Spike.”
Twilight’s friends wished her well, and together with Spike, she stepped into the portal, unaware of what lay in store.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
	
> Deliberations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Twilight!”
Twilight Sparkle barely managed to regain her feet on the far side of the portal when she was enveloped in hugs all around by five of her best friends in this world. “It’s nice to see you girls, too.” She said, “Where is Sunset Shimmer?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I don’t know.” she said, “She just sent us all some cryptic message about how we made a big mistake and asked us to meet us here.”
Applejack nodded. “Yeah, she didn’t even tell us you were coming, Sugarcube.” She said. “You got any idea what is going on?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, I don’t know.” she said, “I brought a lot of books to help us figure it out, whatever it is.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Books?” she said incredulously, “What use are those when we have the Magic of Friendship to blast enemies in the face with?”
Twilight gave the girl a withering look. “That’s not really how it works.” She said, “Friendship is a passive magic. It is incredibly powerful, but it can’t hurt anyone. It mostly banishes power opposed to it, like hatred or greed.”
“That doesn’t mean it can’t hurt anyone.”
All of their eyes turned to see Sunset Shimmer walking up, her eyes filled with concern. “It just means that it can’t hurt them directly.” She said. “I am glad you’re all here. I just found out… We’ve done something awful.”
Twilight’s eyes filled with worry at the concern of her friend. “What happened, Sunset Shimmer?” she asked.
Sunset sighed. “I just saw the Sirens.” She said, “Without their gems, they can’t feed anymore. They… They’re starving to death. And it is all our fault.”
Twilight felt a tremor of sympathy run through her body.
Fluttershy was the first to speak. “This is terrible!” she said, “We have to find some way to help them.”
Rainbow Dash let out a growl. “I don’t see why it’s our problem.” She said, “They are the ones who cast their stupid spell over the whole school. We just beat them. It’s their own fault if their plan backfired. They deserve what they get.”
Sunset Shimmer’s face fell, and she turned to look at Rainbow directly. “Part of me wants to think like that, too.” She said, “But it sounds too much like the old me. Sure, maybe they deserve to die for what they tried to do. Maybe they deserve it. But who are we to make that call?”
Rainbow’s face fell, as she was unable to develop a response, but Sunset was not done.
Sunset turned to cast her gaze over the others. “What have they done, that I did not do worse at the Fall Formal?” she asked, “I deserved far worse of a punishment than I got for what I did, and you all know it. Instead, I got forgiveness, and love, and the best friends I have ever had.” Her eyes filled with tears. “If I was worthy of a second chance, why shouldn’t they be?”
All of the girls seemed a little lambasted by Sunset’s impassioned plea. She looked around at each of them. “We could leave them to die.” She said simply, “We could cling to the excuse that we did not know that our actions would destroy them. We could even try to claim that it is their own fault, and that they deserved it… But if we did, what does that make us? No one that I would want to be. And I don’t think that any of you would want to be either.”
Applejack stepped up and put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunset, if you think that we need to save them, and we can, I think we need to try.” She said, “Because we wouldn’t be us if we didn’t.”
Rarity and Fluttershy both nodded, Pinkie Pie cheered, and Even Rainbow seemed ready to help. Their eyes turned to Twilight. 
The Erstwhile pony stared at the ground. “I was afraid this would happen.” She said, “The books I had were never that clear on the use of the gemstones… But I knew Star Swirl the Bearded would not have left them with the Sirens if it would not have meant their destruction to do otherwise. I wanted to believe that I was wrong. That or if I was right, I did not want any of you to find out about it.”
Applejack’s jaw dropped. “Why would you keep something like that from us?” she asked.
Twilight sighed. “I didn’t want any of you to be concerned about it… Especially if I could not find a way to make it right.” She replied, “Sometimes it is just best not knowing.”
Sunset and the others stared at Twilight for a long moment.
Sunset nodded to herself. “I can understand that, at least.” She said, ultimately, “I suppose if there was nothing that could be done for them, I would rather not have found out about it.”
The others nodded in agreement. “That said,” Rarity said, “Did you find any ways to help them?”
Twilight nodded slowly. “Maybe.” She said. “I found a spell a few months ago that allows me to take the Genotype of one race and apply it partially to members of another race. I think that it might be possible to modify it to suit our purposes.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “You think you can do that?” she asked. 
Twilight smiled at her. “We will have to take them back to Equestria with us, but once we are there, I can contact the other Princesses.” Her smile broadened. “With all five of us working on it, we should be able to figure it out.”
Pinkie suddenly raised a hand. “Wait.” She said, with an excited tone to her voice, “Does that mean we all get to go through to Equestria?”
That brought an excited murmur from all of the girls who had been born on this side of the portal. Twilight had previously forbade even Sunset from going through the portal into Equestria, citing the possibility that, without all of their magic on this side of the portal to hold the connection, it was possible that the magic Connecting the books that held the portal open might be severed trapping them in Equestria until the next convergence.
Twilight sighed and nodded. The truth was, she was more than a little concerned that her human friends were too like her pony friends, which could cause issues if they were to meet. With each pair serving as a mirror to each other’s flaws, she feared they might not like each other. Add that to her worry about them being trapped, and it could be a very bad situation.
It could not be helped, though. They would need all the magic they could get if they wanted to have any chance at saving the Sirens. This was literally life or death.
“Alright.” Twilight said, finally, “Let’s go get them.”
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
They found the Sirens where Sunset had left them less than an hour before. When Twilight saw them, she could tell immediately that they were in trouble. They looked drawn and pale, the same way you would expect a starving pony to look after several days without food.
Sonata now lay sleeping with her head in Adagio’s lap, with Adagio gently stroking the back of her head. Aria sat against the wall, head resting on her knees. 
Both of the conscious sisters looked up as the group of girls walked into the alley, and Adagio’s eyes widened and pulled Sonata a little closer protectively. 
Aria stood, swaying slightly as just moved between the girls and her sisters. “What are you doing back?” she demanded, “Can’t you just let us die in peace?”
Sunset stepped forward. “We have discussed it, and we want to help you.” She said.
Aria glared at her. “I think we have had enough of your ‘help’.” She said bitterly.
Adagio held up a hand, forestalling her sister. “You can’t help us.” She said sadly, “Our heartstones are destroyed. Without them, even if you gave us all your magic, we couldn’t metabolize more than a trickle of it. All it would do is buy us some time.”
Twilight Sparkle stepped forward and looked at the three girls. “That time might be just what we need.” She said, “If we can get you back to Equestria, we might be able to keep you going long enough for us to work out a way to make it so that you can draw sustenance from regular food, just like anypony else.”
Adagio looked doubtful, but Sonata stirred from her lap, propping herself up on her elbows so that she could look at Twilight, a slightly hopeful look in her eyes. “Even tacos?” she asked in a thin, willowy voice.
Adagio’s resistance broke as she heard the tone of hope in her sister’s voice. She too, turned a hopeful gaze on Twilight. 
Twilight nodded and gave the girl a gentle smile. “Yes.” She said, “Especially Tacos.”
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
	
> The Cost of Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What is taking her so long?”
Rainbow Dash’s exclamation was echoed by several of the others as they stood waiting by the portal. 
They had headed straight back to the portal after meeting up with the Sirens, but Sunset Shimmer had excused herself, claiming that she needed to go retrieve something. She had yet to return, so the others had little to do but stand around and wait.
Adagio poked the portal experimentally. “So you are telling me that this thing was open nearly the whole time leading up to the battle of the bands?” she asked.
Twilight nodded. “Yes.” She replied, “I opened the portal after Sunset sent me a message through her magic book warning us that you had used your magic to take over the school.” Seeing Adagio’s face fall, she placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have brought that up.”
Adagio offered her a small smile. “It’s alright.” She said, “I have had several days to reflect on my greed, and where it got us. I just… don’t know that I deserve forgiveness. I just want to make sure my sisters are alright.”
Twilight smiled at her. “That is why you deserve forgiveness.” She said, “If your first concern is for those you love, you can’t be all bad.”
Adagio smiled at her. “Thank you for that.” She said.
Next to the side of the statue where the portal was located, Rainbow Dash and Aria both sat, looking bored. “If she doesn’t show up soon,” Aria grumbled, “I’m going to starve to death.”
Rainbow looked at the girl. “She is taking forever, whatever she is doing.” She said, “But I am sure she will be here soon. Sunset won’t leave us hanging.”
“You got that right.” Said Pinkie Pie, who was standing next to Sonata. “I am sure she is doing something important.”
Sonata looked at her. “You really think so?” she asked.
Pinkie grinned back at her. “I know so.” She said, pointing, “Check it out!”
Sunset Shimmer walked up, carrying several bags, each emblazoned with the words “Taco Loco” the name of the best taco shop in the Area. 
Sunset smiled as Sonata squealed in glee. “I figured you girls might be hungry when we fix you up, so I swung by Taco Loco for some provisions.” She said, “Now is everyone here? Are we ready to go?”
Twilight nodded.  “I’ve already sent Spike back through the portal with orders to explain what’s going on and send a letter to the Princesses requesting their presence as soon as possible.” She said, “I am not sure how high we should get our hopes up, though. This could be a very complicated procedure.”
Sonata got to her feet and shot Twilight a smile. “Are you kidding?” she said, “Three hours ago, we were certain that we were all going to die. No hope, no light at the end of the Tunnel, just three washed-up musicians dead in an alley. Not even worth a news spot. Now, we not only have a chance, but for the first time ever, we have people who could actually be our friends for us, instead of just for our next meal. You have saved our lives, even if you can’t prevent our deaths.”
Twilight and her friends all teared up and drew the three Dazzelings into a big group hug. 
Sunset looked around at the girls. “That’s it.” She said, holding up a fist, “There is no way we can afford to fail. We’ve got to make this work for our friends.”
“YEAH!” everyone agreed.
Twilight nodded and turned to the portal. “Alright.” she said, “Let’s go.”
Twilight waited for last, and Sunset hesitated as well. “Will… Princess Celestia be there?” she asked in a small voice, “I… don’t know if I am ready to ask for her forgiveness for all I did. All my betrayals.”
Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder. “I had a lot of time to get to know Princess Celestia during my years as her Student,” she said, “and it was really only in the time after I moved to Ponyville that I really began to understand her. All she really wants is for those she cares about to be happy. And from the look in her eyes when she talks about you, I think she cares about you very much.”
Sunset looked at Twilight, tears welling up in her eyes. “Y-you think she will be able to forgive me?” she asked.
Twilight’s smile deepened. “I know she will.” She said, and together, they stepped through the portal.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
The other side of the portal was a flurry of activity.
Twilight’s Pony friends were helping their counterparts to get used to four legs and hooves, while the Sirens, now returned to their natural form, were being tended to by Zecora and spike. They had collapsed into unconsciousness upon arriving. They looked like they had not eaten in months, but the Zebra was keeping them stable. 
“Their life force will more swiftly drain, unless they can be made whole again.” The Zebra said. 
Twilight and Sunset had barely had enough time to see to it that everyone and everypony settled before the Princesses arrived. 
When Princess Celestia saw Sunset Shimmer, both of them stopped, and they held each other’s eyes for a long while, and then Sunset shifted her hooves and looked at the floor. “Princess…” she said, “I…”
That was as far as she got before Celestia’s great white wings wrapped around her. The Princess leaned into the hug. “I know.” she said, “I missed you, too.”
Princess Luna looked at Twilight. “I take it from the urgency of your summons that time is of the essence?” she said primly.
Twilight nodded. “If we can’t find a way to modify the transformation spell to make it permanent and complete…” she said, and looked up at the Princess of the Night, “Those three creatures are going to die, and it will be all our fault.”
Princess Cadence set a large book down on the table nearby with a loud thump and gave Twilight a grin. “Then we had better get to work.”
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. 
What followed was a session of research, study, and math equations that would make a Physics Professor cry out for mercy. 
The Four Princesses and Sunset Shimmer took the original spell and broke it down to its basic components, and then began to modify it on its most fundamental level. Hours of work, and no small amount of Princess Luna’s private stock of Coffee, finally resulted in a complex equation, spanning five large blackboards lined up on one end of the room. 
The five of them stared at the board, each working out the Equation in her head. It was Twilight who finally voiced the result. “Well… It looks like if we use the magic of Friendship from the Canterlot High Girls, along with the our Rainbow Powers, plus four Princesses Alicorn magic, with the Tree of Harmony as a focus, we should be able to transform the Sirens permanently and fully into ponies and save their lives.” She said.
Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, you are aware that you are included in this Equation Three times?” she said, “Four, if you count being the strongest connection to the Tree of Harmony. You are literally the focus of all four loci. Are you certain you can handle it?”
Twilight nodded.  “I am the only one who is truly connected with everypony involved.” She said, “These are all my friends. With all of them at my side, I can handle anything.” 
Sunset raised a hoof. “How are we going to access the Rainbooms’ magic?” she asked, “They only know how to bring it out when they are playing, which isn’t going to be very easy for them with hooves.”
Twilight smiled. “That’s easy.” She said, “I can use the original form of the transformation spell to put them back in their human forms, so that they can play their music. You and I can sing in our pony forms. We can access our magic easier that way.”
Cadence looked over the Equation. “This variable over here…” she said, “It’s the last thing, isn’t it? Connection to the subjects? We are using the Mirror for that, aren’t we?”
Twilight nodded. “It is the only thing that makes sense as a connection.” She said, “It was meant to serve as a conduit for a lot of power, so it can take it.”
Celestia nodded. “Alright.” She said, “If we all agree that this is ready, we should begin as soon as possible. Those girls don’t have much time.”
Sunset stared at the Equation a bit longer. “Will the Tree go along with it?” she asked, “Everything I have read about it suggests that it would not take action lightly.”
Twilight nodded. “The Tree is a focal point of the Unity and Harmony of those around it.” She said, “If we all work in concert, it should be willing to assist.”
Sunset looked doubtful, but she nodded. “All right.” She said, “For Adagio and the others, let’s do this.”
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
“As fun as it was to be a pony, it is nice to be my awesome self again.” 
The rest of the Rainbooms agreed with Rainbow’s sentiment. Being a Pony was… interesting but weird. 
Rarity looked at Sunset. “Darling, I simply don’t know how you could stand to stay in a form that isn’t your own for such a long time.” She said, “It felt so alien to be out of my own body for even a few minutes.”
Sunset smiled at her. “I have been in the human world for nearly three years, Rarity.” She said, “My human body is as much mine as this one.” She shrugged. “Though it does feel good to be in my natural form again. Not nearly as good as the fusion I get when we play, though… When we do that, it feels like the two parts of me being merged into one.”
Twilight turned and looked at the girls and ponies assembled around her, and then she looked at the prone forms of the Sirens. “Alright, girls,” she said, “Rainbooms, start playing. Music in our hearts. Just like the Battle of the bands.”
The Rainbooms, along with pony Sunset Shimmer, began to play the song Twilight had indicated, with Twilight joining in as she and her five pony friends powered up to their Rainbow Powered forms. The Other Princesses took up their positions, and Twilight took up her position at the center of the formation, facing the Tree, with the Mirror and the Sirens in front of her. She closed her eyes, singing along with her friends as she directed the intricate flows of magic.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
The magic swirled around them all, shining in all of the colors of the rainbow. She watched and did her part, as planned. It was near the end of the spell that she saw the power of the tree reaching out. She could feel the call. More was needed. And she knew, she was the only one who had more to give.
As the power of the tree touched her horn, she thought of the three Sirens, who they all sought to save. She thought of her friends, as they stood around her, and she knew what the cost would be.
Tears fell from her eyes, but she gave the tree her assent. Its magic wrapped around her horn, and all went white.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
As the light faded, all of those who had acted to save the Sirens were rewarded with the sight of three Earth Ponies where they had lay. Adagio, Aria and Sonata began to stir, and in a few moments, were ravenously assaulting the bag of tacos that Sunset Shimmer had brought.
Twilight’s Pony friends let go of their Rainbow Powers, and returned to their normal forms and they watched the former Sirens eat. The Princesses talked amongst themselves animatedly, discussing how fun it is to actually be out solving problems and considering ways that the magic could be used in the future.
When Twilight’s gaze shifted to her human friends, however, her heart dropped into her hooves. 
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight pleadingly from the center of a circle of concerned friends. “Twilight!” she cried, “She won’t wake up! Why won’t she wake up?!”
Twilight was at her friend’s side in a flash, taking in the burnt and smoldering horn, the vanished cutie mark, and the limp and un-moving body of Sunset Shimmer cradled in her arms.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
	
> Let the Rainbow Remind You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She drifted, alone in the darkness, the emptiness in the depths of her soul mirroring that of the void around her. A black blank nothing filled only with pain and regret. Over what, she could not say. Nor did she truly want to. The Darkness was all there was.  And in that Darkness, the emptiness and loneliness was all. There was nothing else, and there had never been, that she could recall, so here in the dark, she was content. 
Then, there was something. 
In the distance, on the very corner of her awareness, she sensed it. She had no awareness of what that glimmer could be, but it shimmered, and shifted. It was not like that darkness at all. It was different. It was special. This tiny speck of light was something, and in that darkness and emptiness, it was easily as consuming as the dark. It felt… nostalgic. It felt… like home. 
Whatever it was, she let herself drift toward it. Soon, it resolved into colors, a kind yellow, a loyal blue, a generous violet, an honest orange, and an optimistic pink. She did not know why she had attributed these feelings to these colors, but it felt right somehow. 
There were more colors, too, though she could not attribute one feeling to any of them. The white, the Purple, and another shade of pink… All felt wise and abiding.
Then there was lavender. Lavender felt… 
The colors swirled around her and everything came flooding back.
Sunset Shimmer awoke.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Sunset took her time opening her eyes. The exhaustion she felt pressing her into the mattress on which she lay as inexorably as gravity could. She did not believe that she would be able to move from that spot if she tried. Even her eyelids felt so heavy that it should have been impossible for her to open them. But she did.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw the interior of a hospital room. In a chair across from her friend, Rarity, was in her human form, reading a fashion magazine. In another chair beside her bed was Aria Blaze, also in human form. 
Aria was watching her intently. When their eyes met, the former Siren’s eyes widened and she leapt to her feet. “She’s awake!” she announced.
Rarity, too, then jumped to her feet, her magazine falling, forgotten, to the floor. “Oh, thank goodness!” she said, rushing to her side. “We thought we lost you.”
Rarity took Sunset’s hand while Aria hurried to the door. A moment later, there was an influx as the rest of the Rainbooms and the former Sirens flooded in and crowded around her. 
Sunset smiled at the sight of them all. “I think…” Sunset said to Rarity, “You nearly did. I was gone, but the light of your friendship brought me back.”
This elicited a group hug from all of the Rainbooms, leaving the three Sirens standing back against the wall awkwardly. Sunset looked at Adagio, Aria, and Sonata and smiled. “I am glad to see you all looking better.” She said, then the side of her mouth quirked up, “Relatively, of course.”
Aria smiled back, matching Sunset’s smirk. “This from the girl who has been in a hospital bed for a week.” She said playfully. 
Sunset grimaced slightly. “No wonder I am feeling so weak.” She said, “What happened?”
Twilight Sparkle sighed. “The Tree of Harmony is about balance.” She said, “We were essentially giving a small amount of Pony magic to each of them, so it demanded more magic than the equation suggested.”
Sunset nodded. “I felt it.” She said, “I thought it that if it wanted to take my life so that these three could live, it was a good trade.”
The three Sirens gasped. “What?” Sonata cried, “We aren’t worth that!” 
Sunset Chuckled and took the girl’s hand. “Of course you are.” She said, “I would give my life for any one of my friends.”
Twilight sighed. “You… may have lost more than that.” She said sadly.
Sunset looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Twilight didn’t meet Sunset’s gaze. “When you collapsed…” she said, “Your horn was destroyed, and your Cutie Mark was gone. It… Stripped you of all your magic... we barely managed to get you back through the mirror before it could kill you.”
Sunset Shimmer blinked for a long moment. “So… what you’re saying is…” she asked.
Twilight hung her head. “You will never be able to use magic again.” She said, “And Princess Celestia does not think you will be able to survive returning to Equestria again either. I’m afraid you’ve lost your pony side forever.”
Sunset’s heart sank as the ramifications hit her. Even if she had not really thought about it, she had been looking forward to being able to study with Princess Celestia again… and see her parents… and… make new friends and….
She found tears falling. She had not been a good pony, but a pony was what she would always be at heart. To lose that connection… It felt like a piece of herself was gone forever. 
She looked around at the nine girls around her. Each of them mirroring her pain, knowing how she must feel. And then she knew. It clicked in her mind as the light from the window struck a vase on the nightstand and cast a rainbow across the room.
“It’s alright, Twilight.” She said, bringing a smile onto her face. “I might miss the old me, and regret the choices that brought me here, but I have never been so happy to be here now. I have so many friends that I could not have imagined having before, and these three girls now can have that chance too. It may have been a hard road getting here, but I would not change one thing about it. I have finally forgiven myself for my past mistakes, like my friends have forgiven me, and I realized that as long as I have my friends, I have all the magic I need.”
This drew another round of hugs from Twilight and the others, but the Sirens hung back, looking like they weren’t sure if they should be included.
Sunset smiled. “You girls can come in for the group hug, too.” She said, “Forgiveness includes everyone.”
Aria and Sonata glanced at each other and then joined in the hug.  Adagio held back and rubbed her arm nervously.
Sunset Shimmer looked at the girl and then looked at the rest of them. “Girls, can you give Adagio and I a minute?” she asked. The rest of them nodded in assent, and herded out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Sunset slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position in the bed and looked at Adagio for a long moment. “So what’s the problem, Adagio?” she asked.
Adagio hung her head. “I… I am not sure I deserve to be forgiven for all I have done.” She said, “It was my greed, my desire to gain back all of the power that we had when we lived in Equestria, which brought about this whole incident. Everything you have been through since we arrived… everyone turned against you in the Battle of the Bands, forcing you and your friends to the breaking point, and now losing your magic… It was all my fault!”
Sunset looked at the orange haired girl with a good-natured smile. “What you did was teach me that I had to forgive myself before I could expect anyone else to truly forgive me for what I had done.” She said, “After Twilight and her friends showed me the true meaning of the Magic of Friendship, I spent months wondering around trying to figure out why no one else was forgiving me, why they would not see me as different from the way I was before. It wasn’t until I had put aside my grudge against myself and let myself be the friend I needed to be for my friends, that I finally was able to be accepted around here.” She reached out and took Adagio’s hand. “I forgive you, whether you think you deserve it or not. And I thank you for showing me how to forgive myself. I just hope that you can forgive yourself as well, so that everyone else can see the real you.”
Adagio’s chin trembled for a long moment, and then she burst into tears and flung her arms around Sunset Shimmer. “Thank you…” she said between sobs, “You don’t know how much it means to me that you can forgive me…” she seemed to have a flash of inspiration. “I… have something I want to give you.” She said, moving over to her bag and pulling out the broken necklace that had once held her heartstone. “I kept it after the Battle of the Bands because I thought there might be a way to fix it… But that me just isn’t me anymore… You know?”
Sunset Shimmer nodded.
Adagio held the necklace out. “Now, it seems like it is a good thing to symbolize our friendship…” she said, “Because you broke this when you set me free and then you forgave me for all I had done to you.”
Sunset took the necklace, and, for a moment, it felt like she could see a rainbow race across its surface. Suddenly, she did not feel as exhausted as she had a moment before. “Thank you, Adagio.” She said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and hugging the girl more closely.
Adagio pulled back from the hug after a few moments. “Do you think that the other girls will be able to forgive me, too?” she asked.
In response, Sunset Shimmer stood slowly and walked over to the door. “I don’t know.” she said with a mischievous smile on her face. “What do you think, girls?” With that, she swung the door open, causing seven eavesdroppers to fall through it, landing in a confused jumble of tangled legs and skirts.
Behind the rest of them, Twilight Sparkle leaned against the wall across the hall, a knowing smile on her face. 
As soon as they disengaged themselves from the pile, each of the Rainbooms expressed their forgiveness for the siren’s former leader, with a round of hugs.
Sonata and Aria waited until the others had finished, and then approached their sister.
“You know we forgive you, right?” Aria said, punching Adagio lightly on the arm. “You are family.”
“Yeah!” Sonata said, throwing her arms around them both, “And family is for forgiveness! They even start with the same letter! We can always forgive family!”
Aria glared at Sonata. “I forgive you for being an airhead.” She said sourly.
Sonata returned the glare with a grin. “I forgive you for being a meanie-head.” She replied.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie flung her arms around all three of them. “I forgive all of you, too!” she announced, “Families are fun! Hey – that’s another f-word!”
“I’ll show you an f-word…” Aria grated.
Adagio moved her hand to Aria’s shoulder. “Forgiveness is fine, Aria.” She said, a genuine smile on her face.
Aria gave a snort and then the four of them broke down giggling. 
Twilight Sparkle smiled watching the entire seen and then glanced at Sunset Shimmer. “I think that you might survive a trip back to Equestria after all.” She said, then nodded toward Sunset’s new accessory, “And if that is what I think it is, it might change things… a lot.”
Sunset looked from the necklace in her hand, and then Twilight Sparkle, a smile spreading across her face.  “I think I have had enough change for one day.” She said, “Things are fine the way they are. There will be plenty of time for more magic later.”
Twilight smiled at her. “I thought you might feel that way.” She said, “I have to be going. Write me if you need help or advice, or just to talk. I will see you soon enough.” With that, she turned and departed, arguably heading back to the portal.
Sunset turned back to her friends, and smiled. 
More magic could wait. She had plenty.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o.
Back in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle descended into the basement of her castle, down into its core, where the crystal seed from which it sprang hung suspended from a crystal vine. 
The box stood open, hanging like a flower, its six petals spreading out from the center, where a seventh and final keyhole had been hidden. 
Twilight smiled and thought about her friends in the human world. Then she turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. Yes, there had been much changing lately. She could wait, too.
.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.