> What Happens at Clipper's, Stays at Clipper's
>  by SunnyDays
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Three Suns and a Dawning Heart (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight sat across the table from Sunset, slackjawed. “It was the Crusaders this whole time?!”

“Eeeyup.” Sunset nodded, sipping her soft drink with a neutral expression. The two were sitting outside a fast food restaurant, as it wasn’t cold enough today to really warrant being cooped up inside. The two had ordered a large plate of fries (Not cheese fries, mind you, because Twilight had some weird thing against cheese. Sunset didn’t really understand that.) and were currently sharing it between them as they caught up on the last few weeks.

 	“And the girls couldn’t tell?! Their own sisters!” Twilight’s exclamation only made Sunset roll her eyes.

“No.” She said simply. It wasn’t taking long for her to get peeved at this already, it seemed like nowadays Anon-a-Miss was all she heard about from everyone. At least the girls had some sense to shut up about it, and her new main group were just as sick of the rumors and talk as she was. Twilight recoiled a little at the forceful tone she had taken, and Sunset sighed. “Sorry, Twilight. It’s not you that I’m irritated at,” This was a half-truth, “it’s all the fuss that’s still going on.”

“It’s only been a week.” Twilight said, giving Sunset a sheepish look, “G-give it some time.” Sunset responded simply by putting her head in her crossed arms on the table. “Yeesh, is it really that bad? Are they still blaming you and everything?”

“They’re in the minority if they are. There’s probably a few who still want to pin this on me. But everyone is being rather strange around me. Not a clue why.” Sunset said casually, popping another fry into her mouth.

Twilight frowned down at the fries, as if thinking something. “...Sounds like you could use a break, Sunset.”

Sunset swallowed the fry she was eating, going for another. “Like what, taking a field trip?” She asked.

“Actually… I mean like coming home.” Twilight said.

Sunset’s stomach tied itself into some ridiculous and probably impossible knot. “To Equestria.”

Twilight nodded with a smile, “To Ponyville with me for a few days! Just to go back to our actual world for a time.”

“I don’t know, Twilight…” Sunset gave a tight grimace, almost like it hurt, “It’s been more than four years now, and I haven’t really even considered going back.”

“Is this about Princess Celestia? Because I can assure you that she’d be nothing but accepting of you coming back to Canterlot. The first time I came back from this place, the first question she asked was-”

“-I’d just rather we not.” Sunset bit her lip, looking away.

“Well, nothing says we have to go back to Canterlot. I mean, the portal comes out in my castle now.” Twilight assured, “I know it isn’t the best solution, but I think for your own sake, you need to step away from all this. I can offer you place in Equestria; I can’t offer you anything here.”

Sunset looked up at the lazy, dark clouds drifting above them as she thought about this. Twilight wasn’t sure why, but pain spread across her face as she did so, her eyes heavy. Silence gathered between the two like freshly fallen snow and blanketed around them for some time. Twilight watched Sunset’s face shift through several different emotions as she deliberated, and let out a breath, defeated.

“Alright.” She decided finally, “I can afford to take off two days from school. Just… give me some time to prepare.”

“Of course.” Twilight smiled. She wasn’t exactly sure what Sunset could possibly be preparing but kept her mouth shut. It was perfect timing, though, considering what Twilight prepared herself to do. “Think the rest of the afternoon will do for that? I did promise the girls I’d spend the night with them tonight.”

Sunset waved her off, “I’ll make it work. Oh, and tell the girls I’m not coming. But thanks anyway.”

Twilight gave her a weary smile, finally grabbing a few fries before Sunset could finish them off. “I’m sure they’ll understand. But in that case, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.” She bit into one of the fries before heading off in the direction of Fluttershy’s home.

 Sunset watched her go, noting the brisk stride to her walk and her straightened back. She almost felt sorry for the girls. Almost. Sunset had known the princess long enough to spot the “I’m so giving a lecture soon” walk when it was in action. It was pointless to try and warn them, so Sunset sat up, dumped the empty fry carton unceremoniously into the outdoor garbage can, and made her way over to her bike.

It wasn’t anything special, really. She had bought it off of Misty’s older sister earlier this week, and it was serving her just fine. It was probably a vibrant yellow, once upon a time, but with age, the yellow had faded to a muted gold. She ran her hand over the frame, brushing the snow off her seat to warm it up a little before perching on top of it and kicking off.

She rode down to the strip mall that Clipper’s was located in, empty and quiet as always, even without another snowstorm on top of them. Soarin said it really picked up once spring started, but Sunset was sure he was just being optimistic. Despite the empty streets, lights were streaming out from each of the shops. Sunset only cared about one, though, and left her bike chained up at the front of Clipper’s before pushing her way in haphazardly.

“Hey, Sunnybuns.” Nightshade didn’t even look up from her phone as Sunset came in, “Bro’s in the back, finishing up for the night.”

“Lovely. I’ll be in my room.” Sunset muttered, pushing past everyone to head toward the break room.

Spitfire caught her wrist, “Woooaaah, wait a minute there Firespewer, what’s going on?”

Sunset groaned, “Spits, I’d like to kindly ask that you let me go, as a friend.”

“Well, as a friend, I deny that shit. What’s up?” She repeated back.

“This thing called Anon-a-Miss, ever heard of it?” Sunset snapped.

Spitfire stared at her for a moment, “I take that to mean CHS hasn’t shut up yet, have they?”

“NO! They haven’t!” Sunset roared, putting her face in her arms and clenching her fists.

“Yeeaaah, I’m not surprised.” Putting her hand on Sunset’s shoulder, Spitfire motioned the two to Sunset’s room. “Come on, let’s get this shit out where we aren’t in the middle of a store.”

Sunset allowed herself to finally slump over into her bed once they were inside. “Ugh.” She growled, “It’s not even just that I’m upset about, Spits, I just can’t explain all of it!”

“Well, why not?”

“Because it’s pony stuff from the world I’m from! You just downright won’t understand!” She fluffed her pillow aggressively before pounding her face into it.

“...Christ, if it keeps you from doing that again, try me.” Spitfire grimaced at how harmful that looked.

Sunset let out a muffled breath into her pillow before sitting up, “You won’t understand half of this, but fine!” She threw her hands up, “Twilight wants me to go back to Equestria for a few days because it’s,” -Air quotes- “‘Good for me’, but she doesn’t understand! I ran away to this world because I was a selfish asshole who wasn’t going to listen to her mentor because she denied me some knowledge I probably wasn’t ready for. But that’s also her fault too, so I won’t be that sorry for what I did, which makes me an ass still. What I really did, what I’m really afraid of…!” She paused, the anger and tension draining from her body as she flopped over onto her bed with a sigh, “Is that I hurt my sister. I know I did, too.”

Spitfire blinked, “You… Have a sister?”

“Not a blood sister, but a friend who became an older sister. Her name’s Mi Amore Cadenza, but everyone calls her Princess Cadence. I usually went with ‘Cady’ or ‘Big Sis’, but hey, that was me.” She laughed dryly.

“And… You’re afraid of going back to Equestria, because you’ll possibly have to face her again.”

“Right on the mark.” Sunset rolled over to her side, facing Spitfire, “I left without a goodbye, a note, or a second thought. I just… up and left in a rage. I left her behind completely, and I feel terrible about it.” Spitfire sat back and let Sunset continue on, “And now I’m trying to come up with excuses to how I can’t go. It’ll be embarrassing to be chewed out by Celestia,  sure, but it’ll be downright crushing if I have to look into Cadence’s eyes and explain that I left without even thinking about her.” She slunk over the bed, “I was so selfish…”

Spitfire then struck the final blow. “So… Then you’re going to continue to be selfish and stay here.”

Sunset bit her lip, attempting to sit up and send the young woman a harsh glare, but… Damn it, why did she have to be right?

She put her hands up, “I’m just saying, Sunset. If you care about her this much, shouldn’t you go back anyway? If I were her, I’d want to at least know you’re okay, and that you didn’t forget about me.” Sunset flinched, biting her lip. She sat up again, running this over and over in her head. “I think you should just suck it up and go.”

“...I mean, it would finally let go of that guilt, I guess.” Sunset sighed. “Okay, now here comes the other problem… I doubt she’ll be around when I go through. Cadence has always been busy with her own life.”

“Well then, what were you worried about in the first place?” Spits asked.

“It was the idea of possibly running into her that I was so worried about.” Sunset groaned, “Okay, now I’m equally worried about her not being there.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes with a smile, “Okay, now you’re just downright being ridiculous. Either way, Phoenix, it’ll be fine.” Spitfire put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder, “Just relax, enjoy your visit, and let things come as they come. That’s how Soarin lives his life on the daily.”

Now that made Sunset chuckle weakly, “Not everyone can be Clipper.”

“Well, that’s true. I don’t think everyone wants to, but just for this occasion, take a note outta his book.”

“Speaking of… I have to let him know I’ll be gone for a few days.” Sunset said, rising from the bed.

“There you go.” Spits nodded, “You know you won’t be missing much with us for the next few days.”

“Yeah, I do know.” Sunset agreed. “Think all those orders will really take him a week?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Oh geez. Maybe he should teach me how to make them later.” Sunset mused, “I’d feel a little more useful that way.”

“Bring it up with him, I’m no judge of that.”

“Alright then, judge Spitfire, is court closed now?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow and heading to the door.

“I just said I wasn’t-” Spits paused, “...court dismissed, you’ve been found guilty. You have been sentenced to indefinite hours of dork community service.”

Sunset laughed, “Thanks, Spits.” She closed the door behind her, following the sound of muffled whirring to Soarin’s workshop and the small warehouse in the back. She knocked thrice once the sounds had quieted.

“Come on in!” Said the deep but always cheery voice of Soarin.

Sunset went in at once, casually leaning up against the door. “You know, maybe you should teach me how to help you fill out these orders.”

Soarin’s smile didn’t waver. “Sorry, Sunset, maybe when I’m not swamped with orders I’ll have the time to show you properly. That’s not something I want to rush.” He said, sanding off one of the guitars he had just carved. “But, sure! That’d be a huge help. And I’d pay you more for it.”

“Cool. I look forward to it.” She nodded. “But until then… Just wanted to let you know-”

“-OH! Sorry, Sunset, I just remembered!” He tossed her something, “These are yours!”

She nearly didn’t catch the ring of keys she was suddenly thrown, “I take it these are the keys to the shop?”

“Yep! Just in case.” Soarin nodded, “Made no sense to have me run over here every time you had to leave, so I made copies.”

“Perfect!” Keys made things official, and Sunset was incredibly happy about that. “Even more perfect timing, because I’ll be gone for a few days.”

“You’re leaving me?” Soarin pouted playfully at her, turning away from his work.

She laughed, “You massive dweeb. Yes, I’ll be gone for like two days. Princess Twilight actually managed to convince me to visit Equestria. Do I have your permission?”

“No.” Soarin shook his head.

Sunset blinked at him. “Uhhh…”

Then, he burst out laughing. “Do you really need my permission, Sunset?”

Her cheeks burned, “I-I mean, no, but if you want me to stay, I can tell Twilight to-!”

“You’re too cute, Pheenie. Go. It was just a little joke.”

“Th-thanks Soarin.” They shared a short chuckle and both turned away, Sunset backing out of the office and closing the door softly. She crossed the hall, passing the main room, where Spitfire and Nightshade were both looking at her with sly expressions. She glared at them, “Oh, go back to bickering.” The heat in her cheeks didn’t fade, and her brows furrowed, “I’m packing, goodnight!” She said with a huff, retreating to her room quickly.

---

Twilight was waiting at the fast food restaurant from yesterday, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity waiting there with her. Rarity’s van was parked next to them, the engine whirring softly.

‘Huh. Wasn’t expecting Rarity or Applejack to be here.’ Sunset was a little taken aback by the sight of the other two as she walked up to the group.

“Good morning, Sunset. The rest of the girls send their regards.” Rarity said to her.

“Aren’t you three going to be late?” Sunset asked them, looking the group over suspiciously.

“Well, yes, but what’s one late day?” Rarity asked, smiling weakly.

“Dash and Pinkie said sorry that they couldn’t make it,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, they have clubs this morning. I know.” Sunset said, “Then again, so do you, Rarity.”

Rarity smile grew a little softer, “That’s true. But it’s alright, I wanted to be here to give you two a ride.”

“And ah’m here just because ah wanted to see ya off,” AJ said simply. “Ah know ah’d have no excuse not to.” She gave her own weary smile. “Come on now, don’t just stand out there in the cold, Sunset! Get in!” She opened the back door to Rarity’s van, motioning for Sunset to get in first.

“Thanks.” Sunset nodded, taking her offer. Twilight slid in next to her, and AJ on the other side of Twilight.

“Mmm…” Twilight mused aloud. “So… Are you at all looking forward to coming over a little bit?”

“Well… It’ll be kinda nice, I guess. I haven’t walked on four hooves in a few months.” Sunset said.

“Is there anywhere specifically you want to go?” Twilight asked her, “Anywhere you want to see? The Crystal Empire? Manehatten? Cloudsdale?”

“I think we should just start with Ponyville, honestly,” Sunset said. “You know… Start off small. Besides….may have already been to the Crystal Empire for a bit, worried the guards might recognize me.” She joked weakly.

“Right, right.” Twilight nodded as Rarity stopped her car in CHS’s parking lot. “Anyways, let’s get going!”

“Yeah, see ya later, Sunset. You too, Twilight. And thanks for last night.” AJ nodded as they all climbed out of Rarity’s car.

“Tell us all about it when you get back,” Fluttershy said, smiling at Sunset.

“Oh yes, don’t spare any detail!” Rarity agreed.

The two groups walked up to the front of their school, and Twilight was the first to duck her head through the portal.

“Bye, girls,” Sunset said.

“SEE YA LATER, SUNSET!” Several voices echoed from the front steps as Dash and some of the Wondercolts joined in. Misty and Surprise flashed her their smiles before completely disappearing from Sunset’s sights, the portal’s strange magic blurring Sunset’s vision as she fell through.

“Oof!” Sunset was thrown out of the portal backward in a heap. “...Well, that was a lot smoother the last time. Still need to work on the landing.”

She heard a giggle before she was pulled to her hooves by Twilight. “Welcome home! Or, well, to my home.”

“This is your castle?” Sunset’s vision was coming back to show her a crystalline network of blue crystal walls and purple carpeted floors. Looking deeper showed shelves of books lining the massive walls, which made a whole load of sense for Twilight Sparkle. “Looks about how I pictured. Well, the books at the least.”

“Well, this is the library.” Twilight said, “...Obviously.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“Well. It's you.” Sunset chuckled. “So… You were going to-”

“Sunset?” The two turned toward the door to see a certain dragon standing there.

“Spike, hey!”

“No way! Welcome back!” He ran over, tackling her into a hug.

Twilight giggled, “He looks different as a dragon, doesn’t he?”

“Well, I’d hope so. Not quite sure what a ‘dog as a dragon’ would look like.” Sunset snickered.

“Even more handsome, she means,” Spike smirked.

Ruffling his fins, Sunset chuckled, deciding to humor the baby dragon, “Absolutely, Spike.”

He beamed up at her, and Twilight playfully battered him with a wing, “Come on, you, let’s show Sunset around the place.”

Spike grinned, “Yeah! Just in time for the big gathering!”

“The big… gathering?” Sunset looked between Twilight and Spike.

“Oh, shoot!” Twilight put her hoof to her head, “I forgot about that! Spike and I’s family have a get-together starting this afternoon.” She scanned Sunset over in thought, “...which is perfect! My family will absolutely adore you.”

“They… will?” Sunset asked, suddenly remembering being trapped under a stage for some reason.

“Absolutely.” Twilight repeated, “Embarrassing as they can be, I promise they’ll help you get things out of your head.”

“Oh yeah. Our family can definitely make somepony forget where they were.” Spike snickered. Twilight hoped beyond hope that Spike didn’t know what he meant when he said that, but the dumb grin on his face said otherwise.

Sunset chuckled, ruffling his fins again, “You’re cute.” The little dragon beamed with pride. “Anyways, this tour?”

“Oh, right! Um… I, uh, still don’t know the castle very well myself, so… Don’t laugh at me?” Twilight gave a weary smile, “I get kinda lost in here.”

Sunset smiled back, “Don’t worry, I won’t really care.”

“Good.” Twilight laughed quietly, “Alright then, on with the totally improv tour!”

“Woo improv!” Sunset cheered teasingly, following the princess along as they attempted to navigate the massive castle.

Twilight was right about one thing, being here wiped all the thoughts and responsibilities off of Sunset’s shoulders. It was, admittedly, nice to come back to Equestria again, despite the lingering worry of running into two of the other princesses. But she had no time to focus on her worries for now. For now, she just enjoyed the good time she was having with Spike and Twilight.

“Man, you should’ve seen how Twilight looked! Her face, her mane, everything! Now that was a way to meet one of your best friends for the first time.” Spike snickered.

Sunset chuckled, feeling even better, “You sound a lot more like me whenever you first came to Ponyville.”

“No way! You’re not nearly as bad as I was.” Twilight said.

“No, you’re right. I was worse.” Sunset jested, “I doubt you accosted any of your friends for lunch money.”

“Well, uh, no. But I was kinda an…” She paused, glancing at Spike.

“She was still an anti-social asshole at that point.”

“SPIKE!”

Spike raised his claws in defense, “Am I wrong?”

Twilight paused, “...no.” She hung her head with a sigh.

“And we love you all the same.” Sunset giggled.

With that, there was a knock at the castle’s front door. “Oh, that’s them!” Spike grinned excitedly, “Can I go get it, Twi?!”

“I dunno, after that comment… Oh, what the hay, we’ll catch up.” Twilight giggled, “Go ahead.”

Spike ran off excitedly, Twilight elbowing Sunset and trotting ahead. With a smile and nothing to fear, Sunset laughed and trotted along. Maybe Twilight was right, after all. Maybe her family would have heard of all the shit that she had been through and would take pity on her.

Sunset skid to a stop when she saw who was at the door.

“TWILY!” Shining Armor laughed, pulling Twilight into the hug he and Spike were already sharing. Next to him, the pink alicorn was smiling, waiting patiently for her turn to greet her husband’s siblings. But before Shining could finish noogieing his little sister and Sunset could process the idea of retreating, purple eyes met cyan.

“Sunset?!” Cadence breathed.

“Cad-” Sunset began to croak out the name of her adopted sibling but was swiftly cut off by said alicorn roughly wrestling her into a hug.

“You.” Cadence said with a sly grin, “Are in some kind of trouble, young mare.”

Sunset couldn’t help but hold back her laughter. “Good to see you haven’t changed, Sis.”

“Sis? Cadence, you have a sister?” Shining’s voice asked. The two paused their hug, smiling at each other as Cadence put Sunset down.

Twilight looked just as confused, glancing between Cadence and Sunset, “Wh-what? H-how?!” She asked. “I didn’t even know you two knew each other!”

Cadence laughed, “Of course we did! We’ve both lived together with Aunty since Sunset was small.”

“Yeah.” Sunset nodded with a smirk, “How could we not know each other? I became Celestia’s student waaaay after she took in Cadence.”

“So… does that mean… WE’RE SISTER-IN-LAWS?!” Twilight exclaimed, grinning broadly at the two, “SUNSET! YOU’RE MY SISTER-IN-LAW!” She put her hooves to either sides of her face, and her brothers backed away knowingly.

“Oh, here it comes.” Cadence chuckled.

“Here what-?” Once again, Sunset was cut off by another forceful hug, this time with Cadence as a target as well.

Shining chuckled, “Twilight, I’d appreciate it if you’d not suffocate my wife and her sister.”

“This is nothing.” Cadence waved him off, “But, come on, we clearly have things to talk about, Sunset. Twilight couldn’t fill me in on much, but I’d rather hear it from you, anyways.” Out of Twilight’s grasp now, Cadence laid a wing over Sunset’s back. She looked back at her husband, “You going to be okay by yourself, hun?”

Shining rolled his eyes with a smirk, “Just go. I know a thing or two about having a sister that I haven’t seen in awhile.” He said, bumping Twilight. “Now, show me around this castle of yours.”

As Twilight, Shining, and Spike walked off, the conversation between the three began to grow muffled, but before they left completely, Sunset and Cadence could hear bits and pieces.

“Twilight, seriously, what’s with you and treehouses?” Shining asked her, his chuckle echoing in the big, empty castle.

“Oh shut up, Romeo!”

Cadence chuckled as the rest faded into incoherent mutters. “Come on, Sunset.”

“Yeah. How’s my room sound?” She asked, smiling at where Twilight had just headed.

“Sounds excellent.” Cadence motioned, “Lead the way.”


---

Twilight wouldn’t have recognized the Cadence lying on her back beside Sunset, not to this level at least. She didn’t look composed or Princess-like anymore. Now, she looked like the Cadence Sunset knew. Mane let down to the floor, all the jewelry piled up in a corner, and lying on the bed with her wings spread, gesturing into the air with her pink hooves.

“One of those motorbike things sound amazing!” Cadence grinned, dropping her hoof and letting it hang lazily off the side of the bed, “And you said they’re loud?”

“You can hear them from two blocks away sometimes, I swear.” Sunset giggled, pulling her cell phone from her saddlebags. She had no connection here for obvious reasons, and no place to charge it, but she at least had pictures. “I’m going for one of those.” She pointed to the picture she had pulled from the internet.

“Oooohh~!” Cadence pulled her phone over as if she were handed a piece of cake. “I have no clue how to judge these things, but I like the look of it.” She turned the phone onto its side, tilting her head. “So, what’s this rectangle?”

“That’s a phone, Sis. Usually, it does more, but right now I’m showing you pictures on it. Here.” Sunset reached around Cadence, swiping her phone and showing her the next picture on it. “Oh, that’s what I look like in that world.” She pointed a hoof at Soarin, whom she was taking the picture with. “And that’s one of my new friends I was telling you about. Soarin.”

“Oh? Like the famous Wonderbolt?” Cadence asked.

“Uh, yeah. I guess he’s famous here. But over there, he’s my boss, and one of my best friends.” She smiled at the picture.

“Oh~?” Cadence raised an eyebrow. “Your friend, hmm?” Sunset didn’t like her sister’s tone. Looking over, she noticed that Cadence was raising an eyebrow at her.

“Did I mention… boss?” Sunset stressed, cheeks dusted pink again.

“Mmmhmmm~” Cadence hummed, eyes raising to the ceiling. “Well, I just have to say that you look as gorgeous over there as you do here.” She paused, “You know, I love that leather jacket of yours.”

Sunset smiled, nodding, “It just seemed like something you’d like.”

“And your little skirt is just adorable as well.” Cadence smiled, “You’re just cute. Cute all around!” She reached over, noogieing Sunset as Shining had done with Twilight earlier.

“No! Cadence! You’re going to ruin my mane!” Sunset yelped, squirming.

“Mwuhahahaha! I am Cadence, destroyer of perfect mane-dos!” She announced, raising the ham to max power. Sunset rolled off the bed, successfully escaping from her older sister’s clutches and quickly working at fixing her mane again. Cadence watched her, too lazy at the moment to get out of the bed. “...I missed you, you know that?”

Sunset turned back to face her, “Missed you too. ...I’m sorry for leaving in the first place.” She sighed, “It was stupid and selfish.” She gave a strained chortle, “And to think I was scared of coming back…”

Cadence pulled herself up, “Why?”

Sunset shrugged her shoulders, “I’m pretty sure leaving you and Celestia without a note or clue as to where I was going has something to do with it.”

“Well… Let me just say this first: I forgive you.” Cadence came to her side, sitting down beside her and laying a hoof over her shoulder. “And you know, this place seems to have taught you some things that Equestria wouldn’t, so… Maybe it was for the best.” She smiled, and Sunset returned it weakly. For all Cadence knew, that was just nervousness.

“Maybe so.” Sunset was suddenly thankful that she wasn’t going to tell Cadence everything about Anon-a-Miss. She knew where that would go. “But it’s good to be visiting home.”

“I’m glad you’ll be staying for a few days,” Cadence said, hugging her. “After this, I’m going to be personally showing you the Empire.”

“Sounds great, Cady. Can’t wait to see it in the light.” Especially when the goal of the visit wasn’t theft.

“Then we’re going parachuting with Mrs. Velvet.”

Sunset just burst out laughing again. She could never truly admit how great it felt that her sister was still the same old Cadence. At the least, for real and for true, she had a family to fall back on just in case she ever needed them again. Twilight was officially apart of it too, which made things even more simple, she hoped so at least.

“Come on, I need to really sit down with that brother-in-law of mine.” Sunset said finally, “I need to tell him he’s not good enough for you.”

“Aunty has already, but I have a good feeling that yours will be a tad more intimidating.” Sharing a knowing chuckle, the two sisters headed back into the maze named Twilight’s castle. They had one hell of a family gathering to join in, and an awesome weekend ahead.
> Three Suns and a Dawning Heart (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer had never felt more wanted in her life. Cadence was pressed firmly to her side, her pink wing draping over her back in almost a protective gesture as the two approached the entrance to the Crystal Empire Palace. 
   
“This is my sister,” Cadence announced as curious and tightly-lipped guards began to crowd around them. “The Duchess of the Crystal Empire. You will treat her with the same respect that you treat Princess Twilight, or you’ll be hearing about it from me.” 

Those that had looked suspicious before eased a little, making a way for their Empress and Duchess to pass through their barrier. Sunset smirked, lifting her chin high as she passed them all. There was nothing like the feeling of smirking at the guards she had so easily slipped by on her first night here when she had stolen Twilight’s crown. From the look of one of the crystal guards, in particular, Sunset mused that she had crushed his precious little ego with her escapades that night. 

Duchess. The title made her stomach flutter. Duchess of the Crystal Empire. It wasn't the title itself that threw Sunset for a loop, but the idea of being of the Crystal Empire. She had found somewhere that was hers; she was wanted somewhere, by someone. It was a feeling that Sunset thought, once upon a time, that she'd get by becoming a Princess of Equestria. And somehow, Sunset figured being the Empire's Duchess felt more wholesome than becoming a Princess ever would have. 

“So! Looks way different in the light, doesn’t it?” Cadence teased her as if reading her thoughts. 

Sunset did have to admit that the Crystal Palace was a lot prettier in the daylight, not that she’d seen the outside. She remembered her confusion when she went through the portal for the first time in four years and came through in a place that wasn’t the restricted section of Canterlot Castle. It hadn’t taken long to rewrite her entire plan - it helped that the portal had moved, in fact - but she hadn’t gotten the chance to really tour around. Though, looking back, Sunset was upset at herself for not looking past her ambition long enough to see her sister earlier. Maybe a lot of things could’ve been stopped if she had just been embraced by Cadence again. 

“It does.” Sunset agreed, not acknowledging the teasing as she looked over the bright, glossy castle. It shone brightly in the sunlight and almost made you forget that it was entirely surrounded by winter blizzard clouds of death. “So… You lived here as a child?”

“I was born here.” Cadence nodded in return, leading her to the very bottom of the castle. There, the Crystal Heart stood between two pedestals that held it in position as it spun, radiating warmth and an aura that Sunset could feel. “Before the Empire fell, that is.” 

“Right.” Sunset nodded to show that she was still listening as she crept up closer to the Crystal Heart, “Clover the Clever’s greatest enchanted artifact…” Sunset muttered softly to herself, taking a moment to appreciate the sheer power pumping from the giant artifact.

“Don’t get too close,” Cadence warned as Sunset inched closer and closer to the Heart. Cadence dragged her away from it with her magic, and Sunset huffed behind her shoulder as she was pulled away like a foal.

“Sorry Sunset.” Cadence walked up, chuckling as she stood at Sunset’s side, “I didn’t tell you; the Crystal Heart’s magic can be… unpredictable.” 

“Like any other artifact.” Sunset rolled her eyes, teasingly brushing their shoulders together, “I know that.”

“Well, you’ve never been blasted by it before.” Cadence replied, “Come on, let’s get you settled in for the night.” 

...Blasted by it? Sunset followed her, musing to herself. “Are you saying that you’ve been blasted by it before? ...Doesn’t that just mean that you become all sparkly and fancy?” She quirked her eyebrow in amusement, imagining herself all decked out in sparkles. 

“Well, most times, yes.” Cadence said as they climbed the stairs, “So, does Auntie know that you’re home?” She asked, changing the subject.

“...No.” Sunset said cautiously, “At least, as far as I know. Twilight might’ve told her.”

“I doubt she’ll tell her without your knowledge,” Cadence assured, the two heading into the main lounge to relax and talk. “But… have you thought about trying to patch things up with her?” 

Sunset hesitated as Cadence plopped down onto the couch, taking up the whole thing with her body in a very unladylike fashion as they finally had all eyes off of them.

“...thought about it?” She paused, debating whether or not to lie to her older sister for her own grief’s sake. But for her own sanity, she decided to come out with it. “A little.” She admitted, “Before… everything in my life went downhill.”

Cadence’s ears perked up and she pulled herself into a normal sitting position, “What do you mean…?”   

Sunset’s shoulders sagged as she told Cadence everything, right from the beginning. She had been putting off telling her big sister about all the terrible things she’d done in the human world because of the big happy reunion that they’d unexpectedly shared this weekend. She didn’t spare a detail, going over what she had done in her first few years at CHS, her fight with Twilight as a she-demon, the Battle of the Bands and her struggle with her own redemption, the Anon-a-Miss incident, and everything else leading up to her new job and group of friends. 

As her story went along, she saw Cadence’s lips purse harder and harder, and her eyebrows furrow. She had gone from concern to anger by the time Anon-a-Miss came around, and her purple eyes lit with a fiery determination. By the time Sunset had finished, defeated by her own story, Cadence’s lips had drawn back in a near snarl. 

“...And that’s why Celestia’s been the last thing in my mind.” Sunset sighed, “Maybe, after the Battle, I would’ve thought about coming to her. Her triumphant student, having saved her school from sirens… But that’s not who I am now.” Her body sagged into Cadence’s couch.

Cadence didn’t respond from a moment, and Sunset let herself take a few calming breaths. She didn’t realize how much that story had taken out of her, emotionally. Cadence didn’t seem to be taking it well, either.

Finally, Cadence’s voice boomed with anger,“How could Twilight not have told me about this?!” Cadence clenched her teeth. She looked right at Sunset, and Sunset suddenly realized how great it felt that Cadence wasn’t mad at her for any reason.

“Twilight didn’t know we were so close,” She replied with a sigh, “She might’ve thought that I’d be embarrassed if anyone else knew.”

“And what about Celestia?” Cadence asked with a huff, “Does she know how you’ve been treated there?”

“No idea.” Sunset replied flatly, “Maybe? Not like you guys could really do anything about it.”

Cadence seemed taken aback by that, “Are you kidding, Sunset? Yes, we could’ve! We could’ve ordered Twilight to bring you home! We could’ve stayed with you in the human world for a while!” Sunset flinched slightly at the idea of the two alicorns floundering around in the human world as she and Twilight had the first time they had set foot in the strange land. It was admittedly a little funny, but it wouldn’t have been any help to her situation. Cadence continued despite the faces her sister was making, “We could’ve spoken to someone about this! We could’ve done something, which is much better than nothing!” She stood, frowning.

Sunset stood with her, “Please don’t take this out on Twilight.” She pleaded softly, “I asked her to avoid bringing up Celestia around me, and she might’ve taken that as the other way as well. Because of our last meeting-”

Cadence cut her off, “-Celestia can’t admit that she made a mistake.” 

“...pardon?” Sunset blinked.

“Celestia can’t admit that she tried to motivate you in the wrong way, or that she denied to properly teach you about why the things you wanted were out of reach,” Cadence said, glancing down at her. “I knew you then, Sunset. I knew you while you were her student. You were ambitious, and she saw that as a threat. She treated you as a threat, and you pushed each other away.” Her face softened, “But I never saw that side of you. I listened to you, to your ideas, to your dreams and ambitions, and you never shied away from me. Why should that have been any different from your relationship with her? She was your mentor, for Lumensia’s sake!”

When Sunset’s voice came back, it was hoarse, “...I was terrible to her too, though.” She was so used to others - even Twilight - telling her that she had left Celestia’s side because she was just too ambitious to be something more. But having someone stick up for her was different, and Sunset almost wasn’t able to respond to it through the tight sadness, relief, and joy that came swelling to her chest all at once. It was a hard feeling to describe, and it hit her so suddenly that she could barely stand it.        

“That was in return for Celestia showing you the mirror.” Cadence pointed out.

Sunset gasped for breath, fighting back tears, “But Cadence! I went behind her back, I snuck into the restricted section of the library! I told her all these terrible things! I’ve done…” Tears began to fall, dripping from her chin and onto the hard floor beneath them, “I’ve done so many terrible things…” She blurted out everything that she’d done, letting her tears flow and form a small, reflective puddle on the ground before her. Cadence didn’t see what a horrible embarrassment she was, and it hurt trying to explain it to her. 

She saw Cadence’s hoof appear on the ground before her, and she felt her mane being brushed softly out of her face. “Yes,” Sunset let out a choking noise as Cadence began, but she continued, “But you’ve fought your way back into their trust. And now, something bad has happened to you, right as you felt comfortable enough to let your guard down. I’m sure there have been others that made you believe that you deserve it, too.” Cadence said softly, slowly scooping Sunset into a hug. 

Sunset pressed her face into Cadence’s neck, letting all of her emotions go as she wailed in the safety of her big sister’s embrace. The only family she’d ever really known. The first, and for a while, the only mare she had ever really trusted. The mare who had always listened and advised her without judgment. She was still here, right by her side, and Sunset couldn’t possibly voice how thankful she was for that. 

For a few moments, the sisters sat in silence as Cadence let Sunset cry. 

Then, she continued, softer than before, “You don’t deserve that, Sunset. No one does. But… This is about your well-being now. Not about this grudge between you and Celestia. If it weren’t about your safety, I’d let you confront her alone and at your own pace. But now… We can’t let Twilight keep information from reaching either of us. Celestia and I need to know. We need to be able to help you if anything goes wrong.”

Sunset pushed away, “But what do I tell her, Cadence?” She sniffled loudly, her voice rising, “That she was wrong? That I was wrong? Do I apologize? Do I tell her everything?” 

Cadence smiled softly, “You tell her everything. Hold nothing back, and apologize after. I’ll be there at your side, standing up for you and holding her accountable for how she hurt you in return.” She brushed Sunset’s mane aside again, “And we’ll work this out. Trust me.” 

“O-Okay.” Despite the shaky response, Sunset was feeling uplifted by Cadence’s assurances. She couldn’t have asked for a better way to face her old mentor than side-by-side with her sister. 

“I love you, Sunset.”

“L-Love you too, Sis.” 

Tears came anew as Sunset looked up at Cadence again, and hugged her tightly in return. Warmth and love returned to Sunset in a way that she hadn’t felt in years, and it filled her body up to the brim. The warmth and fire from Cadence dried most of Sunset’s tears, and a thought returned that she hadn’t recalled in years.  

One of the true reasons Sunset had wanted power all of those years ago, and what was possibly both the least and most selfish reason of all:

She had always, desperately wanted to be her sister’s equal.

---

As promised, two days later, Cadence led the charge through the Empire and towards the train station. With guards swarming around Cadence for the moment, Sunset was left to her own thoughts as she trotted after. 

To say that meeting with Celestia after all these years was going to be difficult was an understatement. Twilight told her about only one time that she had mentioned Sunset to their mentor, and that Celestia had been “more than happy” to hear that Sunset was doing alright on her own. Other than that, though, Sunset had been told very little about Celestia’s reactions were about her other escapades if Celestia was even told about them. Considering Sunset’s own unenthusiastic response to Twilight telling her this, she didn’t think it was that big of a stretch for Twilight to have taken it as: “Let’s not tell either of them what’s going on unless we really had to”. Then again, that made her feel a little bitter towards Twilight for thinking that way. 

   Cadence shooed her guards ahead, slowing to match Sunset’s pace, “You worried?” 

   “A little?” She admitted, “What did you even tell her in that letter?” 

   Cadence glanced at her, “Only that you and I requested a meeting with her at that specific time.”
   “...Well, that’s surprisingly formal.” Sunset noted, “...Wait. You told her that I was coming with you?!” 

   “Of course I did.” Cadence nodded, “She has to know you’re here. If circumstances were better, I’d let it be a surprise. ...But she has to be mentally and emotionally prepared for this.”

She paused and put out her hoof, the two narrowly avoiding being slammed into by an orange unicorn with his head in a book. 

“HEY!” Sunset shouted at him, and he jumped. The books he was balancing on his back fell to the ground as he did so. “Watch where you’re going.” She said to him, her voice even now, “You nearly ran us down.” She pulled the books into her aura, setting them back down on his back as they were before. 

The stallion blushed heavily, and stuttered, “O-Oh! Oh dear, sorry, your highness! That’s t-totally my fault!” He apologized, bowing to Cadence quickly and pushing up the glasses on his face. He retreated quickly, and Sunset watched his cape flutter in the wind behind him with mild interest. 

“...Any idea who that is?” She asked Cadence, raising an eyebrow, “He had a cape on.” 

Cadence shrugged as the stallion disappeared into the crowd of crystalline ponies, “Nope. Just a civilian, I guess.” 

“And he wasn’t a crystal pony,” Sunset added.

Cadence flashed her a smile, “Well, sure. There are plenty of Equestrians who have decided to live here after the Empire came back. That’s not new.” They continued walking, the guards closing in a circle around both of them this time as they trotted over to the train station, “My guess is that he’s studying the Empire’s history and culture.”

“Yeah,” Sunset replied, only to acknowledge that she was listening still. “Anyways, are you sure that’s a good idea?” She asked again, a little nervous now that Celestia knew that she was coming. 

Cadence nodded, “As I said, she needs the time to consider what she’ll say, just as you have. Besides, the less tension in that room, the better.” She muttered, motioning Sunset on as they climbed aboard their train. 

“Y-yeah.” Sunset gulped, “Tension.” She looked out the window as the two sisters went quiet, and Sunset prepared exactly what she’d need to bring up to her mentor when they were once again face-to-face. 

---

It was strange being back in the castle again, this time as a guest and not a resident. Sunset had lived out her entire foalhood here, playing with Cadence in the gardens and studying alongside Celestia until it all ground to a halt. A part of her was eager to walk the grounds again, maybe boss around a few of the maids and cooks for nostalgia's sake. But, that wasn’t for now.

Now, she and Cadence were facing down the doors to Celestia’s grand throne room. Glancing at her sister for reassurance, Sunset saw that fiery determination had returned to them, and Cadence drew herself up to the most formal Sunset had ever seen her. Even angry as she was, Cadence was still the picture of grace in public, as she had been taught to by her Auntie. A picture that Sunset knew would disappear the moment those doors had closed behind them. This was family business. 

As if on cue, the guards opened the throne room doors.

“Announcing Empress Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, and Duchess Sunset Shimmer of the Crystal Empire.” The guard announced, and the two strode inside. Normally, hearing her new title would flip Sunset’s stomach for a loop and give her a little flutter of happiness, but she was too focused on the white alicorn sitting at the end of the room to notice. Celestia’s eyes were right on her.

She almost faltered in step, but Cadence’s side so close to her helped to keep her balance. 

Celestia stood from her throne, coming down to meet them at the foot of it, “...Sunset Shimmer.” She said in slight awe, beginning to approach her ex-student.

   “Yes. And you have some grievances to answer for, Auntie.” Cadence said bluntly, her earlier facade broken away to scowl up at her taller aunt. 

Celestia did a stutter-step in shock at Cadence’s tone. “Grievances?” She asked, her large wings fluttering as if agitated. 

“Yes.” Cadence puffed herself up, “When Sunset came back from the human world this weekend, she told me about a few incidents that you may or may not know about that are heavily concerning to me. I was never told about them, and if you don’t know about them either; it’s because of this stupid hesitance you two have toward each other. So, for Sunset’s safety, you two need to start working toward dropping your grudges and moving on.” She looked up at Celestia, “Which means you have to admit that you didn’t treat her right as your student.” 

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat. She wasn’t scared of Celestia like Twilight was, but she had never really seen her mad, either. With the bluntness and insistence that Cadence showed toward her aunt, Sunset was sure that she’d see it today from the old ruler. She bit her lip, glancing between the two alicorns uneasily as they stared at one another.

Celestia puffed up defensively, her brows furrowing like Cadence’s for a moment.

“You’re right.” She said at last, letting out a breath and relaxing her face. “There were many ways that I failed you, Sunset. I lost my temper with you when I shouldn’t have, and I baited you with what you weren’t ready for. I’m sorry.”

As she approached, Sunset let out her breath in surprise. “You… are?” She hadn’t expected it to be this easy if she were honest with herself. 

“Yes,” Celestia dipped her head respectfully, “I can’t - and shouldn’t - blame you for everything that happened before our fight. I’m not perfect, and pretending to only make the others around me hurt.” Her eyes drifted over to Cadence, who seemed to relax at this admission. “I could’ve talked things out with you when I found you in the restricted section of the library, I could’ve listened and explained instead of keeping secrets. I knew you were untrusting and reactionary, but I didn’t think about it long enough without my emotions getting in the way.” She sighed, “So, yes… I am sorry.” 

“...I’m sorry too.” The apology seemed more natural to Sunset now, and she smiled softly, “I was younger and reckless, and I didn’t think of anything other than proving you wrong.” She sighed, looking down at her hooves, “And I hurt you both with my dumb decision to run away. I’m so sorry.”

She was met with an embrace. Large, white wings wrapped around her and Cadence and Sunset couldn’t help but laugh a little. Just as she remembered, Celestia was a huge softie. The three held an embrace for some time before splitting away, Sunset smiling up at her mentor.

“Let’s get some tea, and you can tell me about everything that’s been going on.” Celestia said, stretching a little, “I’ve been wanting to get off of that throne today anyways.” 

“‘Everything that’s been going on’ isn’t good news, though.” Cadence reminded her, having mellowed out at the least. 

Celestia sighed, shaking her head, “I know… Let’s just talk things out between the three of us. You two can even stay in your own rooms. It’ll be fun.” Celestia’s smile soothed Sunset a little as they were all corralled into the more casual of Celestia’s rooms. 

Unlike the last few times, though, Cadence didn’t relax after the doors shut, or kick off her regalia. That cold formalness of a dignitary and ruler stayed firmly in place, and Sunset mused idly why. She’d thought things had gone well.

“Go ahead, Sunset.” Cadence softened her demeanor when Sunset was addressed, nodding toward Celestia. Celestia, too, seemed concerned by her niece's formality. “If you could start from the beginning.” 

With another heavy sigh at the emotional exhaustion that normally came with repeating this story, Sunset repeated the full story again. But this time, she found that it was easier to tell it, as if the more she communicated it, the less power it had over her. Instead of defeating her, as it had done earlier, this time anger fueled her telling of the Anon-a-Miss incident. Cadence had been right; everything that had happened had been infuriating. And the more she thought of it, instead of pushing it out of her mind as she had done earlier, the more rage filled her. Tears stung at her eyes, and she tried to fight against them. 

She realized as she came to the end, that Celestia had been staring at her in muted horror. Her shoulders slumped again, but she felt more freedom from those memories than ever before. 

“Oh by Mother…” Celestia choked out after a moment, “I can’t believe… Twilight said that you were safe with those girls…” 

“Clearly not,” Cadence said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Celestia drew herself up with a frown, “You’re absolutely right. We can’t just sit by and let things like this go on any longer.” 

Both relief and a small hint of satisfaction washed over Sunset as Celestia said this, pointing up her snout.

“I don’t know about you, Cadence, but I see an obvious conclusion to this mess. That portal will be closed for good, and Sunset will be staying in Equestria with us.” 

Sunset froze, her eyes widening. Even after she had run away, Celestia was still her legal guardian here, and she had all right to decide where Sunset could live. That meant that if she wanted to keep Sunset here, she very well could.

“W-Wait!” Sunset stammered, “Don’t you think that’s a bit of a hasty conclusion?” She asked, looking over at Cadence in a panic.

“No, not really.” Cadence admitted, “We should’ve never let you go there by yourself in the first place.”

“But my friends-!” She argued. 

“You can visit them and the human world, of course.” Cadence soothed, “But it’s for your own safety, Sunset. I’m sorry; I agree with Auntie here.” She perked, “Besides… You can live with me instead! Wouldn’t that be great?” She asked. 

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat; she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

“It’s settled then.” Celestia nodded, “Since Twilight’s fixed the portal to be opened at all times now, we’ll have it closed for some time after Sunset returns with her belongings.” 

Sunset stood shakily, swallowing hard. “I’ll… I’ll be right back.” She dashed out of the room, eyes wild. 

How was she going to do this? How would she have the heart to look her new friends in the eye, and tell them she’d be leaving them right away? What about CHS?

She had to try to change her sister and mentor’s minds, and she knew just how to do it. 

Celestia and Cadence both gave her a worried glance as she came into the room again, taking a breath before starting to speak, “That world isn’t as dangerous as you might think.” 

“I know you like being with your friends, Sunset, but without good support around you, it could get worse.” Cadence said. 

“But I did fine by myself for over four years!” 

Cadence grimaced, “But you were homeless then.” 

Sunset flinched slightly, “But I was fine, and you two didn’t support me then!” A hurt look flashed in Cadence’s eyes. “I-I don’t say that to blame you!” Sunset backpedaled quickly, “I know I wouldn’t have listened if you did…” She scratched the back of her neck, “...Besides, I have a support group now,”

“The soccer team?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. 

Sunset gave a weary smile, “They’re not perfect, but they’ll have my back.”

The two alicorns didn’t seem entirely convinced. 

“Well… I’ll show you.” Sunset said, “Maybe Cadence should come to the human world for a few days and scope it out. And if it’s not safe… I’ll come back to Equestria, no questions asked.”

“No.” Celestia spoke firmly, “Cadence has an Empire to run; I’ll go with you. It’s my fault that you’re there in the first place, so I’ll look over your conditions and write to Cadence about what I find. We’ll decide from there.” She looked over to see how her niece felt about that. 

“Alright.” Cadence let out a sigh, “But you’re visiting me on weekends no matter what.” She pouted playfully at Sunset.   

Sunset chuckled, “Deal.” 

“Then it’s done.” Celestia nodded, “We’ll rest for tonight, and then travel tomorrow.” 

Sunset bowed respectfully, “Thank you, Princess.” 

“Celestia will do, Sunset, and I look forward to seeing your world.” She replied with a warm smile.

Sunset had a good feeling that everything was going to be alright.
> Three Suns and a Dawning Heart (Part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So…” Sunset trailed off as she sat alone in the main room with her mentor. Former mentor? Guardian? Sunset added ‘figure out where you and Celestia stand’ to her mental to-do list. “Cadence has Twilight’s brother to watch the Empire, why shoo her away from coming?” She asked Celestia. 

Celestia was currently working on pulling on her regalia, so she didn’t look at Sunset as she responded, “Well, Cadence isn’t the right pony to go with you for a few reasons. She knows very little about the human world, to where I have at least gone on an expedition into it at least once.”

Sunset blinked, having never heard this before, “What were you doing there?” She asked Celestia.

Celestia let out a remorseful sigh, “Looking for you.”

Sunset’s heart nearly skipped a beat. “You… went looking for me?” 

“Several times, actually. But I was absolutely clueless about where to start looking, where you might’ve gone, how far you might’ve traveled in that time.” She shook her head, “Eventually, I realized that all I could do would be wait and hope you’d come back. Then the portal closed.” She sighed, and even from the side, Sunset could see the hurt and hopelessness in her eyes.

Sunset shuddered to herself slightly as a not so distant memory came back to her.

Homesickness and regret had flooded her mind only a few days after coming into the human world. Her jacket did little to protect her from the cold autumn winds that battered her that night, and she sat at the foot of CHS’s statue. Her fists stung as she swung them at the hard concrete that had once held a portal back to Equestria.

She cried out in agony at every swing but continued to do so anyway. Her knuckles swelled, turning a dark purple, and leaving blood marks with every strike.

“CELESTIA! CADY!” She wailed out into the night, shaking like a child throwing a tantrum. She wanted to go home. She wanted her mentor to yell at her for being an idiot. She wanted her sister’s assurance that she could recover from their fight. She wanted her posh life in Canterlot Castle back. “TAKE ME BACK! I’M SORRY!”

She didn’t want the gnawing pain in her stomach or the feeling of ice biting at her bare fingertips. 

At some point, she collapsed at the foot of the statue, her hands sharply throbbing with every beat of her heart. She devolved into messy sobs, calling out for those she held dear and the life she had just given up. 

That night, she learned that Celestia wouldn’t be there to pick up her mess anymore. That Cadence couldn’t be there to soothe her ills. That she had really and truly left Equestria behind.

And that she’d have to live with that choice. 

She knew it was her own fault for doing something so reckless, and not studying the portal enough to know that it would close behind her. But over the years, in her revenge-fueled psyche, she somehow managed to convince herself that Celestia had closed the portal behind her. That she was banished from Equestria of her own choice, and her mentor had made it clear that she was no longer welcome. 

Looking at Celestia now, however, Sunset could see that notion as a complete fabrication in her own mind. 

“I’m so sorry…” Sunset hung her head, “I know I hurt you from this, Celestia.”

“I’m more relieved that you’re alright,” Celestia responded, wrapping a wing around her, “And despite the setbacks, you seem to be enjoying your life. Why else would you fight for it like you are?” 

“...Is that why you changed your mind about closing the portal?” 

Celestia nodded, “If you had wanted to leave it all behind, that portal would’ve been closed in a heartbeat, I assure you. But Cadence is more protective of you than I am, and I wanted to give you space to live your own life. You’re a grown mare.” 

Sunset laughed quietly, “She just wants to have me all to herself, doesn’t she?” 

“If you’d let her,” Celestia agreed with a chuckle, “I worry that it might make her decisions more biased about the way you live, though. She’s known nothing but palaces for her entire life, and I think that’s what she wants for you. Her heart’s in the right place,”

Sunset shook her head with a smile, “I think you give her too little credit when it comes to that. I know she’d let me do whatever makes me happy,”

“Well, perhaps you’re right. But that leaves me with my final point: Cadence will hog you up, and I want to actually spend some time with you,” Celestia giggled softly with a more playful tone, “She’s very selfish in that way,” 

“I can’t say that I can deny that.” Sunset laughed, “And I guess it’s good that you sent her away then. Just this once.” 

“Are you ready to go, then?” Celestia asked her, rising from her spot on her cushion, “Oh, and tell me more about your world as we go. I’d like to know as much about it as possible. 

“Right.” Sunset nodded, rising as well, “I think I’ll start with telling you more about my friends.”

“The soccer team, yes.” Celestia smiled, “The WonderCOLTs, right? I have the strangest feeling that I might know who they are…”

“You… do?” Sunset tilted her head as the two of them approached the portal’s room, “Um, how?” 

Celestia simply chuckled as the two of them stared into the mirror, “It seems that I have a few things about Equestria to catch you up on, Sunset…” With that, the Princess led the charge into the swirling vortex, Sunset right on her tail.

Sunset still wasn’t really used to the sensation of using the portal, especially since she stumbled out on her hands and knees. Looking around, it seemed like no one was within eyeshot of them. Unless students looked out of the upstairs windows at just the right moment, that was. 

She was even more thankful for that fact when Celestia stumbled out of the portal. On her hands and knees as well, and looking like a fool. As Sunset expected, her mentor looked like Principal Celestia. But, there were a few key differences in what she was wearing. 

She was in a light pink sweater that fit uniformly, and a pair of black dress pants. In the place of her regalia, a gold necklace with three purple gems hung around her neck and a black pair of heels were seen on her feet (not that she needed the extra height). The most noticeable feature of her was her hair. Instead of the several colors that Sunset was used to, Celestia’s hair was only a flat shade of pink. She looked just different enough for Sunset to tell the Princess and her counterpart apart. 

Sunset helped her to her feet and supported her as she wobbled unsteadily in the heels. 

“I’ll be alright, thanks,” Celestia assured, walking on her own after a moment. She wasn’t all that natural at it, but Sunset could tell that she had figured it out before. “Alright, so where is this Clipper’s?”

Sunset led the way, feeling an excitement well in her chest as they approached the strip mall that Sunset called home. She hadn’t felt this anywhere else, not even in Equestria, and she let out a contented sigh at just being in proximity to the shop.

The bell rang into the guitar shop, and Soarin perked up from his obviously bored state. 

“Sunset!” He called out to her, beaming, before his eyes set on the woman behind her. “And a guest?” 

Sunset wasn’t sure if he knew that this wasn’t Principal Celestia, but he didn’t jump to conclusions.

“Soarin, this is my mentor, Princess Celestia. Princess, this is my boss and my friend.” 

“What an… interesting place.” Celestia said as she looked over the racks of guitars around the shop, as well as the black leather couches and the countertops. 

As she did so, Soarin elbowed Sunset and nodded towards the back.

With a blink, Sunset got the message and followed him, calling to Celestia, “Uh, I’ll be right back!” 

“That’s fine.” Celestia said as she continued to browse. 

Now in the back, Soarin took a moment to look as scared as he felt, “I didn’t know you’d be bringing your Mom here! I could’ve cleaned up a bit more!” 

Sunset’s eyes widened, “Sh-she’s not my Mom! She’s my… uh… mother figure… mentor...” Heat flashed across her cheeks. 

“Sorry. I didn’t know you’d be bringing your Mother Figure here!” 

Sunset only blushed harder, “There was no way for me to!” She argued, “She’s here because she and Cadence are worried about my safety if I stay here.”

“So you’re moving back to your dimension?!” 

“Not if we can convince her that I’m fine living here,” Sunset said, motioning out to the Princess who was lounging on one of the couches as if trying them out. 

“So then you told them about Anon-a-Miss, right?” Soarin asked her. 

“I couldn’t stop myself,” Sunset admitted, “It was too complicated to work around and not make things look even worse.” 

Soarin ran his hands through his hair in silence. “...So what do we do?” He asked. 

“We show her around and hope it’s all good with her. She’s kinda closed off, so I have no idea what’ll be ‘all good’ in her book.” Sunset admitted, “She can be an enigma at times.” 

Soarin frowned, “That’s not a good sign.” 

“I know, but we need to work with it.”

Celestia’s voice was heard from the main room, “So… Do you sleep on these sofas?” 

The two looked over, and the adult woman was splayed out on one of the couches, her feet hanging off of one of the ends. She looked like a giantess in comparison to the seat.   

“This can’t be very comfortable.” Celestia continued as they looked over at her.

“No!” Sunset said quickly, “I actually have an apartment to myself in the back.” She motioned that way, leaving Soarin to ponder what she had said. 

Celestia rose from the couch, following Sunset into her apartment. 

To Sunset’s relief, she had cleaned the room before she left for the weekend. Not perfectly, as there were still dishes in the sink, but enough to where the bed was made and there were no clothes on the floor. 

Celestia left Sunset’s side to explore the one-room living space. “It’s pretty clean, for a surprise visit,” She noticed. She looked over Sunset’s pink and purple daybed, littered with throw pillows (mostly gifted to her by Misty). Then, she looked over the old locker in Sunset’s room, “What’s this for?” 

“That’s my, erm, a stand-in for a closet.” Sunset said.

“It’s not very big.” Celestia said. 

“Well, erm, no.” Sunset scratched the back of her head, “But it works just fine.” 

“You don’t have a lot of clothes, do you?” Celestia asked her. 

“I have enough,” Sunset lied, the heat returning to her cheeks. Most of her wardrobe was either stolen, gifted to her, or had magically appeared when she came through the portal. She admittedly didn’t have much. 

“Mmm.” Celestia’s hum didn’t sound very impressed. Sunset clenched her fists and bit her lip as she continued to follow her mentor around her room. 

“This little kitchen’s pretty usable,” Celestia said, only really glancing over the space, “All in all, I suppose this room will do.” She nodded. 

Sunset let out a quiet breath that she had been holding.

“There’s just one problem,” Celestia continued, “Does that stallion have the keys to this room?” 

“Wha- Cele- I-I mean, yeah…” She rubbed the back of her head, “He’s my landlord, more or less, he has to have access to my room.” 

“No, he really doesn’t.” Celestia frowned down almost pityingly at Sunset, “I don’t know if I trust that.” 

“I don’t blame you, Princess,” Soarin’s voice made Sunset jump, and she spun around to see the muscular ex-Wondercolt lounging in the doorway, his arm resting on the doorframe. He smiled softly at them both, “You don’t know me as Sunset does. So, how would the two of you like to dine with myself and my sister tonight?”   

Celestia smiled back at him, “I’d love to,” She nodded, looking over at Sunset. 

If there was ever a time to be thankful to Soarin, Sunset thought this topped it all, “Sounds perfect. ...Thank you, Soarin.” She beamed brightly at him, holding back the urge to run over and throw her arms around him. 

He simply nodded and backed out of the room, “I’ll start closing up shop early. 7 good for you?” He asked the two. 

“Actually, 7 is perfect,” Celestia said, walking up to him and handing him a small purse, “Also, will this cover Sunset’s rent?” 

Soarin blinked, taking the purse from her and opening it. His eyes widened as he saw the pure gold coins inside. “W-Wait!” He stuttered in shock, “No, no, don’t use these here!” He stumbled out of the room, coming back with the purse and handing it back to Celestia.

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset peeked over Celestia’s shoulder to find that Soarin had filled it with bills. 

“People here will rob you if you carry around pure gold like that.” Soarin said with a concerned frown, “This should be about the same amount in our bills.” 

“Oh!” Celestia plucked a crisp 100, looking it over excitedly, “This is what your currency looks like!” 

“Hope that’s okay,” Soarin’s brow furrowed as he looked over at Sunset. 

She smiled back at him reassuringly as Celestia continued to study the money. “Are you sure that you don’t want these?” She asked Soarin. 

“The gold will be enough…” Soarin said quickly, “D-Don’t worry about it.” 

“Excellent!” Celestia nodded in pleasure, “Our scholars will want to study this currency.” 

Sunset couldn’t help but snicker at her enthusiasm over something so simple, and Soarin made his way out of the room. 

“Alright Sunset.” Celestia announced, “Come on, we’re getting some new clothes for the dinner tonight.” 

“W-We are?” Sunset stuttered as she was dragged along, “Are we talking, like, formal clothes?” 

“Up to you.” Celestia replied, “Where would we go for clothing?” 

Sunset pulled her hands away, looking at her phone, “I’ll call a cab to the mall.” 

“A cab?” Celestia asked her.

“It’s a service,” She explained about cars, and how someone could be called to chauffeur you around. 

“Ah, like a taxi in Manehattan.” She nodded, “That makes sense. But… these cars are motorized and not being pulled around by someone?” 

“Nope, completely self-propelled.” Sunset said, leaning up against a mailbox casually. “So, um, Celestia.” 

“Yes?” Celestia peered curiously around them before her eyes settled on Sunset. 

“...Thank you.” 

Celestia almost did a double-take, “For what, exactly?” 

Sunset quietly hoped that her gut was right in what she was about to say, “For helping me set myself up here. And for not being angry at me for… for everything. I acted like such a child.” 

“You were a child, then.” Celestia put a hand on her head, “But you’re not anymore, you seem to have yourself pretty taken care of, all things considered.”

“Well… You know me.” 

“I do.” Celestia nodded, “Just as resourceful now as you were then. More so, even.”

Sunset blushed, going silent. The two watched as a sedan pulled up, and they got inside. The drive took about ten minutes, and the two didn’t talk much on the way there. It was odd enough having Celestia there, in the human world, being casual like this. It wasn’t that Sunset didn’t want to talk. Questions floated around in her mind, but she simply sat there. 

“You’re tense.” Celestia noticed, Sunset glancing up to just look at her mentor. 

She replied by just simply sighing, “Sorry, still on edge a little from the threat of being pulled away.” 

Celestia chuckled airily, “Don’t let that get to you. We’ll get you set up, and there’ll be no doubt that you can stay. Even if Cadence comes to look herself.” She went to look out of the window again, watching as the city flew by them. She was clearly intrigued by the car and the differences in Manehattan between the two dimensions.

The sedan dropped them off in front of the mall, and Sunset let out a sigh. She'd been avoiding this particular mall for weeks now, even though she had long promised Fleetfoot a hangout here for the two of them. In the mess of the Anon-a-Miss incident, she hadn't been able to take the time. But now that it was behind her, she was reminded that many of the friends who had thrown her to the side had part-time jobs here. It didn't make her already frayed nerves any better.

Celestia pulled her into the building by the wrist and immediately looked around. It looked as malls normally did: crowded, and attempting not to just be a boxy warehouse by decorating itself with fountains and modern art. 

"Our first matter of business is to find you a wardrobe to hold all of the clothing we buy," Celestia announced in a tone that told Sunset that she wasn't about to be swayed. 

Sunset pointed to the nearest furnature store, relieved that she didn't have to worry about any of the girls being around. Following her mentor inside, Sunset noticed that Celestia was able to handle being a human fairly well. As they shopped, Celestia wasn't making nearly the fool of herself that Twilight had on her first trip to CHS. 

It wasn't until they stopped a clerk to check out that Sunset realized how. Celestia had taken a step back, allowing Sunset to take control when it was needed. Not only that, but Celestia paid careful attention as she did small, mundane things, such as paying. 

The clerk turned away, and Sunset let out a strained laugh, "You're making me nervous," 

"Oh? I am?" Celestia blinked, "I'm sorry. I'm learning a lot just by watching you." 

The clerk turned back around, quirking an eyebrow at Sunset.

"She's foreign," Sunset excused quickly, her cheeks burning again as the clerk focused back on her order. 

With the paperwork done and a delivery expected in exactly 3 - 5 business days, they headed back into the mall proper. 

"Is every transaction going to go that way?" Sunset muttered, her face still oddly ember-like. 

"No, no, I think I've got it, actually." Celestia walked ahead confidently, still doing oddly well in her heels. Sunset cursed her shorter legs and quickly scurried up to Celestia's side. She caught up just in time for Celestia to duck into a clothing store. Sunset swerved after, only to meet with a face full of jacket.

"Cadence is going to kill me for not letting her be here but doesn't this jacket just scream 'Sunset Shimmer'?"

Sunset backed away, noticing what Celestia meant. They were in the typical punk-rocker sort of shop, and the leather jacket she was holding out in front of her was admittedly kind of Sunset's style. It was black and had several stylized belts covering the front of it, decorated with golden buttons and simple spikes on the shoulder. It was admittedly closer to a biker jacket, but Sunset didn't particularly care. 

"Yes..." She gasped, eyes wide.  

Celestia handed the jacket to her, digging through the racks of clothes next to it, "Okay, and now we need a blouse to go with it." 

"I'm surprised that you know what a blouse is." Sunset replied.

Celestia paused in her rummaging to look at Sunset, "Sweetheart, just because we don't normally wear clothes, doesn't mean we don't know what clothing is." 

Sunset's pupils shrank, and she looked around to see if anyone had overheard that. "Celestia!" She exclaimed urgently.

Luckily, the music in the store had been too loud for anyone to really be paying them any attention. Sunset let out a sigh.

"Oh! Here's the perfect piece to go with your jacket, Sunset!" Celestia exclaimed suddenly, holding up a lacy, black and red corset. 

"CELESTIA!" Sunset nearly shrieked, wanting to sink into the floor as everyone suddenly did notice them. 

Their foray into punk had won Sunset a new jacket, and a few other additions to her wardrobe. As they walked, Sunset hugged the new, concealed corset to her chest. "Not a word of this to anyone else." She muttered, only her eyes poking out from over the bag.

Celestia smiled at her, "I think you should've gotten the spiked boots to match." 

"Shut uupp..." Sunset groaned. 

That only made Celestia titter to herself as she strolled into the next store, "Sunset, isn't this your school?" 

Sunset pulled her face away from the bag completely to see what Celestia was looking at. On one of the walls in the store was merchandise for the local schools, the wall shared equally by Shadowbolt and Wondercolt merch. 

"Yeah, actually, that is." Sunset said, going over to the wall and running her hand over a Wondercolts hoodie. It was pleasingly soft to the touch. "Oh yeah, I want this." After finding her size, she scooped one up in a heartbeat.

Celestia simply nodded, continuing to look through the related merchandise. Sunset paused suddenly, however, noticing something on one of the racks that she'd never seen before. She wandered over to it, plucking it off of the clearance rack. It was a varsity jacket, proudly boasting the blue and gold of the Wondercolts. But even more important to Sunset was the number on the back. 54. Soarin's number. 

"This too." She told Celestia quickly, not caring that the jacket was a size bigger than she normally wore.

"Okay!" Celestia nodded, "I think we only need one more stop after this."

"Where?" Sunset asked as they paid for the merch. 

Their last stop of the day happened to be one of the department stores in the mall.

"I'm going to grab myself a gown for tonight." Celestia told Sunset, "You're fine on your own for now, right?" 

Sunset waved a hand, "If you're good, so am I." She looked at the various racks of jeans in front of her, already digging idly into it. She didn't even really notice when Celestia did leave, just enjoying herself as she dug through the clothes. She pulled out a pair that she particularly liked, taking a moment to appreciate them.

"Do you need any help?" A clerk asked her.

Sunset folded up the pants, "Actually, can you-" She paused, seeing who the clerk was. 

"Sunset?" Rarity gasped, eyes wide, "L-Lovely to see you! Haha... So unexpectedly..." She cleared her throat. 

"Yeeeaaah..." Sunset drew out awkwardly, scratching the back of her head, "You too." 

"So, erm, are you looking for something... specific?" 

"Just pants." It sounded dumb coming from her mouth, and it seemed to reflect in Rarity’s face as well. 

"You never struck me as a pants kind of girl."

Sunset recoiled as if she were hit, "Excuse me?" She frowned. 

"I-I don't mean that in a bad way, darling! I just... You've always been the skirt and leggings sort." Rarity said, pushing together her fingers, "And, well, I could give you a suggestion on where to look?" 

Sunset's anger drained away, surprising even herself with the sudden calm. "Actually? That'd be helpful." 

Rarity blinked, "Of course... Follow me." She motioned, bringing Sunset to a corner of the store that was sort of out of the way. There was a wide selection of leggings, in every possible color she'd need. 

"Oh wow, thanks," Sunset said, busying herself with looking through the clothing. 

"You're... You're welcome, darling." Rarity nodded and scurried off when it seemed clear that Sunset didn't want to talk further. 

Her arms full of everything she'd need and more, Sunset went off to find Celestia. 

She found her eventually in the gowns section, holding two gowns. One was teal, and the other, white. 

"Those are both pretty," Sunset told her as she approached. 

"Perfect, because I want you to try this one on." Celestia said, trading all of Sunset's stuff for the teal dress. 

"O-Oh, um, really?" Sunset looked it over. It was a tight dress that extended out at the bottom. 

"Yes! Go put it on!" Celestia exclaimed. 

Doing as she was asked, Sunset walked into the stall and slipped on the shimmering blue gown. It fit her every curve just right, and she didn't even seem to mind the two slits to her sides, showing off some of the bare skin of her belly. 

She strutted outside to pose for her mentor, even going as far as to strike a pose for her. 

Celestia clapped as any good audience would, a grin plastered over her face. But there was something else, too...

"Are you... crying?" Sunset asked in hushed bewilderment. 

"Shh, I can't help it!" Celestia replied, wiping the moisture from her eyes with her finger, "You're such a beautiful and intelligent young lady. It's just hard not to sometimes." 

Sunset's throat tightened as well, and she bit her lip. She stared at her mentor for a few long moments, smiling at her genuinely for the first time in at least five years. 

Celestia sniffled, "Now go grab a pair of heels and let's get out of here, okay?" She was having a hard time hiding the emotion.

Sunset hurried back into the dressing room stall, a few sniffles escaping from her as well, and the thought from earlier re-entering her mind again. This time, it brought more force with it.

It lingered and niggled at her even as she found the perfect heels to fit her new dress, and as she watched Celestia meticulously count out the hundreds of bills that she needed to pay for the mountain of clothes that Sunset had brought to the front counter. Even as Celestia closed the door to the cab that would bring them back to Clipper's to get ready for the dinner that night, it pushed at her mind, waiting to be pushed out. 

"Celestia?"

"Hmm?" Celestia looked over at Sunset, the piles of bags and clothes stacked beside them. 

"What are we now?" 

Celestia thought about this for a moment, scanning Sunset over in thought, before deciding, "What do you want us to be, Sunset?" 

Sunset rested her head on the seat, her eyes pointing up at the roof of the cab. "I know what I want us to be. I know what I want you to be for me."

"And what's that?" 

Sunset hesitated as she formulated her answer in her mind. It was so simple, yet so hard to say. Even as Celestia stared her down, Sunset was worried that the word wouldn’t be heard as it escaped her lips. 

“Mother.”

Celestia smiled warmly, curling her fingers around Sunset’s and giving them a tight squeeze of reassurance.

“We’re already there, Sunset.”
> Three Suns and a Dawning Heart (Finale)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset took in a shaky breath as she unlocked the front door of Clipper’s, Celestia at her side. It’d be hard to start her mentor and guardian “Mother”, but it seemed that Celestia didn’t mind. They’d work into it, slowly but surely, Sunset decided.

As she opened the door, Sunset peeked around inside. It seemed that Soarin had indeed shut down the shop early and had already gone home. She stepped confidently inside and had Celestia shut the door behind them. The lock clicked into place, and Sunset headed into her room, dumping her mountains of shopping bags onto the bed. 

"Do you have a better place to put all of that until your new wardrobe comes in?" Celestia asked her. 

"I mean, the locker will work." Sunset assured, "I'll just have to stack everything for a few days. It'll be fine." 

"Mm." Celestia hummed again, not judgemental, but with a hint of worry. 

Sunset began to tuck some of the bags into the locker, glancing over at Celestia as she smoothed the elegant white dress out onto her daybed. It struck Sunset as being a bit too formal for this occasion and worried that Soarin and Nightshade wouldn't have enough heads-up to prepare. It was apparent that Celestia had lofty expectations for this meeting, and Sunset idly wondered if the two could size up to it. 

That led her mind to Nightshade, just sort of in general. She didn't really know much about Soarin's little sister, though he talked about her often. She was another factor in this that Sunset couldn't quite pin down. What was she really like, and would she go along with Soarin's escapades? She'd been one of the most heavily affected by the Anon-a-Miss incident and was most likely still hurting from the secret spilled about her. Sunset didn't want to think about the details. 

Sunset laid out one of the dresses she'd bought from their excursion to the mall today, a short red dress with a black netlike overlay sown over it. It allowed the red to show through the neat circular cuts in the black netting. In all, it had the nice effect of showing some depth while still attaining the tough look Sunset loved to portray. Paired with her new heels and the jacket, she looked like the powerhouse of a woman. 

Meanwhile, Celestia gave off a different vibe. Now sporting the sleet white dress, her mentor looked like a goddess. The dress flowed around her in several layers, including a cape like train that rolled off of her shoulders. The gold and purple jewelry she had come through the portal with only added to that sense of wealth and elegance. 

It was almost deceiving. And intimidating as well. 

"So, are we ready?" Sunset asked, feeling severely underdress in comparison to the woman next to her. It was needed, though. At least it wouldn't look bad if Soarin and Nightshade did the same. 

"Do you know where we're going?" Celestia responded, looking herself over in the full-sized mirror Sunset had hanging on the back of her door. 

"I do. And we can take another cab to get there." She paused, "Not that they live far, really."

Celestia fluttered out of the door, the dress billowing behind her like a wedding gown, "Let's go, then!" 

Sunset followed confidently, feeling natural walking with heels. It did admittedly feel nice to have new clothes on. Not that she disliked the old jacket or anything, but her new one smelled like new leather and was cold to the touch. She regretted not wearing leggings or stockings under her dress as they stepped outside, however. Her fingers shook as she called for the cab to pick them up. 

Celestia glanced behind at Sunset when she heard the sound of her teeth chattering. "Cold? Here, let me summon some fire to warm you-"

"-No, no, don't." Sunset replied, "I don't think you can, but I wouldn't risk summoning fire here or letting anyone see you try magic." 

Celestia blinked, "Oh. Right." She mused, "Have you tried, though?" 

"Tried? Yes. Failed? Absolutely." 

"Didn't Twilight say that there was a little bit of magic here, though?" 

"I mean, she figured out a piece of it. Kind of. Something about bursting into song or playing music giving us tails, wings, and/or horns." 

Celestia gave her a look, "Erm, music?" 

"I know. I don't understand either." Sunset frowned and crossed her arms, "And I'm pretty sure it was Dash who found it out for us. On accident." 

Celestia mused on this for a moment, "I honestly have no idea how to explain those things, Sunset." 

"Neither do we. Twilight assumes it's friendship and shrugs it off. I've tried studying it and found absolutely nothing." 

Celestia chuckled quietly, "I'm not really sure what to tell you, honestly."

"That's alright." Sunset sighed, "It's not like I'll be focusing on that any time soon." 

The cab pulled up, and the two climbed in. They rode for about a minute in silence before Celestia spoke up.

"Oh! What about these new friends of yours? Do they have any magic?" Celestia asked.

"The team?" Sunset mused. "Um, not that I know of. Soarin plays instruments all the time, and I've never seen him start floating and gain a tail." 

"Then perhaps you can look into crossing ‘friendship’ by itself off the list," Celestia said simply. "It must've been something to do with the element that you brought into this world."

"That would make sense." Sunset nodded, "But aren't the elements studyable in some way?" 

"Not really." Celestia replied, "Or at least, not that Twilight's come to anything conclusive over. I'd say she's in the same spot as you when it comes to being stumped over that magic."

"Funny, I'd think 'Twilight Sparkle not knowing something about magic' would become a high priority on the freakout scale or the fanatic, obsessive study list."

Celestia frowned, "That wouldn't be healthy for her." 

"No, but that's who I know," Sunset smirked.

"Well, I suppose that her student and her self-assigned royal duties are keeping her busy enough." 

"...Self-assigned?" 

Celestia watched as they pulled up to the household in question, "I think that's a topic for later." 

"Mmm, maybe so." Sunset shrugged, paying the cabbie and getting out. They’d be getting to that discussion later, Sunset decided. Something about Celestia’s flippant attitude towards Twilight’s studies rubbed her the wrong way.

Her attention pulled from the cab as it headed off, Sunset got a look at the home before her. She had never seen Soarin's home before, though she had the address in case of emergencies. It was small and only had one story. But it was in the Cloudsdale district of the city, which tended to be the nicer side of the neighborhoods. The outside looked clean and trimmed, but also a little cramped. There was no backyard to speak of, and Sunset could hear the distant sounds of cars rushing by on a busy road in the distance. 

She knocked on the door three times and waited. 

Spitfire opened the door, much to Sunset’s surprise, and smirked at them both. “Evening. You two look nice tonight.” She, too, looked good. She was wearing a long, tight red dress with a slit on the right side. It was classy and… admittedly rather sexy, Sunset confessed to herself. She had done herself up to the nines with evening gloves and everything.

In comparison to her, Sunset was definitely underdressed. 

“Sp-Spits?” Sunset sputtered out, “Um, hey! Wasn’t expecting you!” 

Spitfire smirked, holding open the door and ushered them inside, “Hope you two don't mind. Soarin decided that I needed to meet the Princess too. Good to meet you, Celestia, I'm Spitfire." She held out her hand to Celestia without hesitation and Celestia took it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Spitfire." She glided past, already looking pleased. 

Sunset walked up to Spits as she closed the door behind them, noticing the glowing mood Celestia was in. "...I dunno what you just did, Spits, but I think it saved my ass somehow."

Spitfire winked at her, "It's the natural charm, Pheen, you'll understand someday." 

Sunset pulled her into a hug, "Whatever you want to call it, thanks."

"Not a problem." She placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder, "Let's get to the dining room." 

Spits guided the two to Soarin's formal dining room. It wasn't anything fancy, considering Soarin had a whole of three hours to throw it together, but it was obvious that he had done his best. A large platter of salad and a bowl of steamed, mixed vegetables sat atop a cheap purple tablecloth. 

Soarin stepped forward first, and Sunset blushed lightly when she saw him. He was also decked out as far as he could go, in a full suit with a dark blue tie. He smelled like a mixture of shaving cream and cologne, and Sunset took a moment to appreciate exactly how wide his shoulders were. She knew the man was muscular, but with the crispness of the black suit, it was outlined even more than usual. 

Celestia raised an eyebrow at him as she took his hand, "My, don't you clean up well?" She sent a knowing glance over to Sunset, who froze up for a moment under her watch. 

"Why thank you." Soarin smiled at her before looking at Sunset as well, "Um, you okay?" 

“Oh, um, yeah, I’m fine.” Sunset cleared her throat, “I was just a little stunned. You guys didn’t have to get all dressed up.”

“Hey, it gives us an excuse to.” Nightshade swaggered over, and to Sunset’s relief, she was also wearing a short dress that was fairly simple. It was a flat indigo color with a triangular slit on her chest. It was fitting nonetheless, and the gold eyeshadow she had on glimmered in the dim light, somehow only making her eyes brighter, especially against the contrast of her dark blue hair. 

Sunset pressed her mouth into a thin line, and she found that she was no longer cold. ‘...What’s going on with me?!’ She asked herself as she watched Nightshade shake hands with Celestia and smile, ‘I don’t normally look at them like this.’ She swallowed hard and smiled at Nightshade when attention was turned back to her, ‘I-It has to be that everyone’s just all dressed up. There’s no other-’ Spitfire glided back into the room, and Sunset’s eyes followed her, ‘Oh, why am I noticing just now how attractive my friends are?! Really, Sunset, not the right time!’ 

As Sunset argued with herself internally, the five of them sat around the table, and Soarin laughed nervously, “I’m sorry that dinner’s not all that grand, I know that you and Sunset are both vegetarians, but I admittedly don’t know many appropriate recipes.” 

Celestia chuckled, “That’s alright. I’m certainly eyeing up that salad you have.” She looked over at the salad coyly, “Thank you for the invite tonight, and on such short notice of my arrival.”

“Hey, it’s not a problem.” Soarin said, “Besides, I figured this was the best time for you to ask us some questions, if you’d like.”

“I would, actually. Where are the two of your parents?” Celestia watched and Nightshade and Soarin both tensed.

“...They passed away.” Spitfire answered for them, scooping some salad onto her plate and avoiding eye contact, “About a year ago, now.” 

Celestia’s face softened in a slight panic, “Oh dear, I’m sorry, I didn’t know-”

“It’s alright.” Nightshade was the one to speak up, giving a strained smile, “...We’re happy without them. Right?” She looked over at Soarin, who seemed more openly distraught. 

It took him a minute, but he pulled a few pieces of squash onto his plate before answering her, “...Yes, we’re happier without them.” 

Celestia looked between the siblings, feeling the tension fill the room because of her question. So, she moved on. “What is it that you both do?” Her question was pointed obviously to the older two around the table. 

Spitfire stabbed her salad with her fork, “I’m studying finance at the local college, and I play in their soccer team. Being the hometown hero and whatnot.” 

“Finance? Ohh, an interest of mine as well.” Celestia nodded at her with a smile, “If you ever need advice on how to budget the taxes of a nation, I’m your mare.” They shared a quick laugh before Celestia looked to Soarin.

“I’m getting my business degree online with our inheritance money. Obviously I also run Clipper’s with the other time in my day.” Soarin said, “With music being pretty big here, I do fairly well.” 

“How exactly does that all work?”

Soarin mused, “Well, I often have to go to people’s houses to teach private guitar lessons, and I make custom guitars by hand. It’s rare that we actually see a customer come into the shop because most everything’s online, now. That’s how we take a majority of our orders.” 

Celestia nodded, seemingly finding that answer acceptable, “And how long have you known Sunset?”

Spits spoke up, "Been at least three months now that we've known Sunset. Misty brought her into the shop, and we all pretty much jumped to her defense from there on. Soarin and I renovated the back room of the shop to be more like a little apartment for her by hand, and the rest is history, really."

"Why is it that you jumped in?" Celestia asked, "Kind of strange to immediately take someone in, isn't it?" 

"...No, not really." Spitfire admitted, "I have a track record of helping out heavily bullied dorks and helping them get back on their feet." 

"You do?" Sunset asked, suddenly jumping back into the conversation. "I've never heard this story."

Spitfire chuckled, "Yeah, actually. I did it with two different dorks in my junior year. Both were being heavily bullied in middle school for two completely different reasons, and I scooped them both up. Definitely never regretted it."

Soarin shook his head with a slightly amused smile, looking back over at Celestia, "I've been in a position like hers before, sort of. So it was only natural that I'd try to help." 

"Neither of us were a part of this thing when it happened, either." Spitfire said, "So we didn't exactly have a bias going against her, and our friend Misty was vouching for her the whole way."

Celestia nodded at them both, looking over at Nightshade. 

"Me? ...Well, honestly she and I haven't talked much, but I'm indebted to her." 

Sunset looked over at Nightshade with a quirked eyebrow to find that the girl was talking right at her.

"I was targeted by Anon-a-Miss seemingly out of nowhere. I was the only student at Crystal Prep who Anon-a-Miss targeted, and the secret they spilled..." Nightshade lost her voice, and Soarin went to rise out of his seat before she continued, "Soarin told me that Sunset had been really upset when she learned that I was targeted, and had done everything in her power to stop them that night." Nightshade looked at Sunset again, only for a moment, before blushing and looking away, "I'm thankful that someone cared about me. Someone other than Soarin or Spits. I don't think I can repay that." 

Sunset was blindsided by the sudden admittance, and the room went quiet as they dined. Sunset glanced up at Nightshade a few times, only for their eyes to meet and break away again. Sunset then looked over to Soarin, who gave her a reassuring smile. 

After a while, Celestia spoke up again, "What a delicious meal." 

"Yeah, it was." Sunset agreed.

"I have dessert too if you'd like." Soarin offered as he stood. 

Celestia handed him her plate, "Dessert sounds delightful, thank you." She looked again at the other young women as Soarin went to fetch the cake. "So, I suppose I have one last question before I'm satisfied... What do you all think about Sunset, honestly?" 

"Pheenie's the best!" They heard from the kitchen. 

"...I imagine that she wants more than that, Soar." Sunset called back, deadpanning. 

"Well, I think she has a lot of potential, personally," Spitfire said, "She knows what she wants and she shoots for it no matter what. That's pretty admirable." 

"She's kind, too." Soarin said, coming in and placing a piece of cake in front of Celestia, much to her enjoyment, "And a hard worker. I don't think I'd be able to find someone else with half of the work ethic Sunset has if I tried." 

Sunset smiled at the two of them, feeling warm all over from their complements, "Thank you both..." She looked over at her mentor, only to find her face smeared with the chocolate icing of the desert. “And thanks for the dessert, too.” 

“As I said, not a problem.” Soarin cleared the table again once everyone was finished, and the group made their way to the door as Sunset called for the cab. 

They said their all too long goodbyes and strutted out of the door. Now in the cab, Sunset looked over hopefully at Celestia. 

“...Well?” Without a word, Celestia pulled Sunset into a side-hug. “I-Is that a yes, then?” Sunset laughed as she was ever so slightly smothered. 

Celestia rested her chin on top of Sunset’s head with a smile, “It’s a yes. I’ve seen everything I need to. ...I know that you’re in good hands with those two. And if you aren’t, you can always find Cadence and I when you need us.”

“And then you’ll probably both go on a murder spree.”

“...What?” 

“Nothing.” Sunset giggled, leaning forward and directing the cab driver to CHS. As she sat back, she felt Celestia’s arms wrap around her again. “Do you need me to come back with you?”

“I don’t think it’ll be needed.” Celestia smiled, “I know my way back, and I’ll be sure to tell Cadence that you have everything under control on your own.” 

They arrived at the front of CHS, the two stepping out of the cab just so that Sunset could launch herself at Celestia one more time, “Thanks for doing this for me. Thanks for everything.” Celestia squeezed her tightly back, swinging her around a little for good measure.

They broke the embrace, and Celestia pecked the top of her forehead, “You’re very welcome. Be sure to stay in touch, and understand that Cadence is probably going to show up unannounced at least once.” Sunset felt a slight headache coming on from just the thought of that, but ignored it as a tightness welled in her chest as Celestia began to walk away. 

“Mom?”

Celestia froze, slowly turning back to face Sunset with a serene smile.

“Be safe getting home, okay?” 

“Okay!” Celestia called as she disappeared into the night.

Sunset sighed once she was gone, slipping back into the cab and asking the driver to head to the nearest ice cream joint, sending out a single text, and almost feeling the vibrations of magic as the portal activated in the distance. 





Cadence was awoken as a knock sounded on her door. Shining and Twilight had crashed next to her hours ago, and the record they had been listening to was back to the second track, softly playing in the background as she opened the door. 

Her aunt was on the other side, her eyes red and watery, but a smile on her face.

“Auntie! You’re back!” Cadence greeted quickly, “But what happened? Where’s Sunset?” 

“She’s back in that world.” Celestia said simply as Cadence came into the hallway and shut the door behind her. “And she’s so happy there, Cadence, I think it’s best that we leave her alone unless she asks for us.” 

“Wha- But what about her safety? And why are you crying so much?” Cadence offered Celestia a tissue, and Celestia took it thankfully. 

“She’s safe as can be, Cadence.” Celestia said, “She’s a smart mare, and she’s built up a home for herself. And…” Celestia tried not to laugh into the tissue, “She clearly as a herd in progress. You can’t take her away from that if you tried, so why should we even bother?” 

Cadence’s eyes lit up with excitement, “NO! Really?! A herd?! How many? Mares? Stallions? Is Sunset at the head? Are they all attractive, Auntie? I have to know all of the dirt!” 

Celestia wiped her eyes, using the tissue to tactically hide the shit-eating grin on her face, “Ohh, Cadence, I think I’ve had enough for tonight. Maybe we’ll talk about it more in the morning.” She blew her nose as she headed off, totally not trying to conceal the laugh, “I-I’m sure Sunset will tell you all about it the next time that she visits.”

Cadence was left incredibly confused as to why Celestia was acting this way, but assured of one thing. “I knew Sunset wasn’t being fully honest with me last time! It’s that boss of hers, isn’t it? Oh man, looks like it’s time to remap the shipping chart again!” 

Celestia finally let herself laugh as she headed into her room and closed the doors. In the background, Cadence continued to ramble about all of the hurt Sunset was going to be in for not giving her the ‘juicy details’ she had been promised. 





Sunset’s shoulders set back as she drowned her relief into a scoop of neapolitan, “And that’s the whole thing.” She told a slightly slackjawed Misty Fly as they sat in her apartment. 

“Yeesh, I missed an adventure and a half.” She said as she bit into her cone, “So, your Mom’s back to being your Mom, you’ve worked everything out with your older sister, you’re now the dutchess of a city-state, and Soarin bribed his way into keeping you here with chocolate cake and well-timed complements.” 

“Pretty much.” 

Misty snorted, “And you have a crush on like three different people.” She paused, “Wait a minute, how come I’m not one of them?” She teased. 

“Because you’re not just taken, but smitten, and I don’t really have crushes on three people. That was just an in the moment thing.” Sunset said, taking another bite of her ice cream and regretting it immediately after. 

“Riiiight.” Misty elbowed her teasingly. “So now what’s the plan for you? You going to start going back to Equestria on the weekends? ...Can I come?” 

"I guess I don't see why you can't, Misty," Sunset chuckled, “But all in all, I'm going to play it by ear. Go to Equestria when I feel like going. Let the rest of senior year play out, and think about what comes after when it actually comes.” Sunset said, “On top of that, enjoy the moment while it’s here. I mean, I’ve got some kickass friends to share it with.”

“True that.” Misty chuckled, kicking back with a smile. “You know we’ll have your back from now on, no matter what.”

“Just don’t jinx it.”

They suddenly heard a vibrating from inside of Sunset’s locker.

“Damn it Misty, I just said not to jinx it.” Sunset stood, shooting her friend a playful grin, and opened the locker. As she expected, her magic journal that she and Twilight used to keep in contact was vibrating violently. Sunset scooped it up, and dumped it onto the table she and Misty were sitting at. Misty poked it curiously, and it vibrated again at her touch. 

Sunset sat down, wrangling with the moving book for a moment before getting it open to the newest page. In purple ink, Twilight had left her a message that spanned at least two pages. Sunset started at the first page of the new message and began to read, letting Misty scan it over from over her shoulder. 

“You’re fucking kidding me…”

“Wait, what?” Misty asked as her eyes read over the page again, glancing at Sunset every few seconds to see how she was reacting to what the message said. 

Sunset stared down at the message for awhile, blankly. She read it over again and again, letting out a few harsh breaths. Her hands clenched and unclenched.

“...Did you know?” Misty asked her quietly, sliding a hand over Sunset’s fist with caution.

“No.” Sunset bit back, scowling, “I never knew anything about a half-brother.”
> Fire Among the Woodwork
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset giggled quietly as Soarin made a show of drumming his fingers on the steering wheel of his truck to the music. Guitars flared and shredded throughout the melody of the song.

“I didn’t know musicals could be this intense.” Sunset couldn’t help but keep a grin plastered on her face. 

As the car rolled to a stop at a light, Soarin air guitared fairly accurately to the song. “This one is!” He grinned dumbly. “And it’s perfect to get us in the mood for the game!” 

In the distance, Sunset could already see the campus of Canterlot University. It looked more or less like a park with a few fields thrown in, and wouldn’t have known any better if a giant stone and brick sign didn’t spell it out for her. 

“This looks nothing like a high school,” Sunset nearly had to shout over the blaring music.

Soarin made no move to turn it down, instead opting to also shout over it, “Yep! Totally different worlds! Thanks for coming, by the way! Spitfire’ll be so surprised!” He grinned and took a hard right to turn into the stadium. 

It wasn’t exactly a stadium as much as it was a field with some bleachers, but it didn’t stop people from all across Canterlot from flooding in already. 

There were even a few highschoolers here that Sunset recognized. It was the same general crowd from CHS that Sunset was used to seeing in the bleachers with her during the Wondercolts games. Usually there to cheer on Dash, while everyone else took the sidelines. Though, to her credit, Dash was still pretty impressive as a player. Sunset had no doubt she'd be a professional player one day, and it seemed that everyone shared that sentiment. 

Soarin nudged her shoulder playfully as he passed. "I'd suggest getting snacks now if you want. I'll go snag us a seat before they fill up." 

"Want anything?" Sunset asked.

"Just some popcorn." Soarin nodded as he headed off in the direction of the stands. 

People of various ages were flooding around the concessions stand, so it was simple for Sunset to simply blend into the crowd and wait. It wasn't entirely her fault when she overheard the chuckles of two teenagers a few people behind her. 

"...make it up! Who'll actually know?"

"Like, the Captain? Aren't they, like, friends?" 

"So what? It'll draw Canterlot and Crystal Prep alike to the blog and shit." 

"Come on, gurl, if we're gonna smear, it's got to have some sting to it, ya know? Some truth." 

"It's the Internet, sweetheart."

"So what?!" 

Sunset's brows furrowed, and she looked behind her to try and pinpoint the location of the two girls' voices. However, she turned around only for an unfamiliar middle-aged man to look down at her quizzically. 

"Thought I heard someone I knew, sorry!" Sunset smiled at him before spinning right around again. 

As she got up to the concessions counter, Sunset told herself to just forget about the two and their baiting. It was none of her concern, anyways. To say that she was over dealing with high School drama was an understatement at this point. She almost succeeded at it, too, as she brought her and Soarin's food to where their spots were. 

"Thanks there, Pheenie." Soarin grinned as he took the things from her. 

From there, the game itself started. It wasn't anything spectacular - not that Sunset was a good judge of whether kicking a ball around from right to left to right again down a field was fun or not. No, it was Soarin's excitement that kept Sunset interested in the game. He was always on his feet the moment that Spitfire neared the opposing team's goal, shouting cheers and whoops with each goal that was scored. Sunset couldn't help but nearly vibrate and hop up with him each time. The electricity in the air was absolutely contagious.

So much so that energy was still coursing through Sunset as the final second ticked down, and the game had been officially won.   

She was still buzzing with that energy when Soarin got up and told her to wait there for him. 

That's where she saw the two freshmen again, this time, snickering to themselves. 

"Okay, now that's rich." One of the girls from before leaned back with a wicked smile on her face. "Wait until everyone hears about their precious hometown hero now." 

For a split second, Sunset knew that it was best to keep out of it. Just stay low and let whatever those freshmen were on about happen. 

The only problem was, they had let a detail slip that they really shouldn't have: the "hometown hero" whom they were talking about - was Spitfire. 

Sunset's body rose up without her truly realizing it. Her clenched fists tucked in the crooks of her folded arms, she approached the freshmen - two girls she didn't recognize from CHS - and fluttered her eyelashes. 

"Oh my gosh, I couldn't help but overhear... Did you two say that you run a popular blog?" Her falsely sweet voice disgusted Sunset, but there was no backing down from the interested charade now. 

The two girls looked at each other before smirking up smugly at Sunset.

"Like, you totally did overhear that. We've got over 2000 followers on HorseFamousNow. SimplePleasures. Look us up. We got a big story coming up and all." 

"I heard something about a hometown hero...? I'm here supporting the Vanhoover team, so I dunno who that would be." Sunset put her hand to the side of her cheek. 

"Aw shit, that's a good point. Nobody from outside of Canterlot will actually care about this." The first girl pouted slightly. 

The second looked up at Sunset, "There's a CHS graduate who's, like, the star of this team, right? We have, like, tons of photos of her smoking out back before the game!" She chuckled, "Which, ya know, wouldn't be a big deal if she hadn't had this whooole big inspirational piece written in the Equestrian about her being smoke free for months and that shit. It's gonna be all over the place, and we're gonna be the first ones to post it~!" 

Sunset's teeth clenched.

"Oh! Oh! AND she might lose her scholarship for lying about it!" The first girl said, "It's juicy, really."

"That's..." Sunset didn't really have words for that. She didn't even know that Spitfire smoked at all. She'd never smelled like it before, and Sunset knew that it was a hard smell to mask. Shocked as she was though, another feeling overshadowed the shock of Spitfire's secret. 

Rage. 

She uncrossed her arms. "Don't post it!" She snapped, eyes narrowing. 

"Woah, the Hell?" The first girl scoffed. "A second ago you were totally in on this." 

"Yeah, why are ya, like, a total bitch all of a sudden?" The second piped in. 

"Because otherwise, someone's going to get hurt. And not just Spitfire." Sunset said piercingly. 

"You're from CHS, aren't you? Fucking liar, just like all Wondercolts." The first girl stood, taking Sunset Shimmer's stare like a champ. "Don't listen to this pansy, post it now." She told her friend. 

Sunset launched herself at the two girls. For a moment, all that she could understand was the tangle and thrashing of limbs. Nails tore down Sunset's arm, but she didn't care. All that mattered in the moment was keeping these idiots from posting those pictures.

Sunset was suddenly sent crashing into the empty bench in front of the two, but caught herself with her hands. However, when she looked up, she only saw the terrified expressions of the two girls, entirely frozen in place. 

When Sunset pulled herself up from the bench, she finally noticed Spitfire pulling herself up over the railing of the bleacher towards her. 

That, and the large, inky scorch marks she had made in the bench she had landed on. Her eyes went wide, and when she turned again towards the two freshmen, they did what was only natural for any human being in that situation. 

"HOLY SHIT!" Sunset wasn't entirely sure which of them exclaimed the curse in between all of the shrieking, but she couldn't help but feel a little satisfied when they both fled the scene, shoving each other the whole way. 

However, that did still leave Spitfire standing over her. She didn’t look happy, either. 

“Clipper’s. Now.” Spitfire frowned as she saw Soarin turn the corner, a confused look written across his face. She pushed the two of them all the way into the parking lot, and took the passenger’s side of the car. Soarin lowered the music all the way down. 

“I-I’m confused? What happened?!” He looked between the young women in the car. 

“Sunset nearly lit two girls on fire at the end of the game.” Spitfire put her feet up on the dashboard, her expression stern. 

“You did?” Soarin looked back only to see Sunset’s expression mirror his own: muted horror, confusion, and a pinch of curiosity.

“I did?” 

“Yes, and we had to get out of there,” Spitfire replied, “I don’t have the slightest idea on how I’m going to cover for you on this! On top of that, I don’t think you’ll ever be allowed at one of my games again.” That seemed to be what she was most upset about. 

“I didn’t- The fire wasn’t-” Sunset stuttered, unable to know what truly to think about that. This hadn’t been how she wanted to figure out magic again. 

“Those two girls, what did they do?” Soarin asked Sunset at another red light, “What set you off?” 

“Th-they… They had taken pictures of Spitfire smoking before the game and were going to post them online.” 

Sunset noticed Spitfire suddenly go very still, and Soarin go entirely quiet. 

“I… didn’t know that you smoked, Spits,” Sunset finished. 

Spitfire let out a nervous laugh, “That’s because you weren’t supposed to ever know.” Sunset glanced to Soarin, only to see that he had traded Spitfire for her earlier expression. 

Soarin’s ever upbeat and slightly goofy tone had vanished completely. Instead, it dripped with disappointment. “You told me you had stopped entirely.” 

Spitfire sunk into her seat. “I know…” 

“No, you promised me you were clean,” Soarin stressed. 

“I know…” Spitfire’s repetition was even quieter now. Somehow, Sunset’s little fire hazard had entirely dropped out of the conversation in favor of Soarin berating Spitfire like a child. Or an old married couple. Whatever came first. 

“Why would you lie to me?” Soarin asked as he parked in the front of Clipper’s, “There’s literally no reason to!” 

Spitfire flinched as he turned to her, “I wasn’t lying to you for the first year…” She admitted, “But once finals set in and the big championships set in… With all the stress…” Spitfire rubbed her thumb and forefingers together, and looked directly away from Soarin. 

In response, Soarin sighed, leaning in and putting his hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s hard, Spits. I’m still tempted sometimes too, but you really should’ve told me that you relapsed.” 

“I know, I know, I know!” Spitfire sighed, shaking her head. 

“Wait, you smoked too?” Sunset almost missed that detail for a moment.

“Of course I did. It was the ‘cool’ thing to do in our freshman year, and we were both in that crowd. Stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Damn things are a trap.”

Spitfire silently nodded in agreement.  

Soarin pulled his hand away from Spitfire’s shoulder as he opened the car door and went to unlock the front of Clipper’s. 

Sunset was about to follow, when Spitfire turned to her, “We’re not done talking about what happened, by the way.” 

“I figured.” Sunset sighed as she pulled herself from Soarin’s backseat. With the door closed behind them, Sunset sat down at the counter. 

“Now, about the fire…” Spitfire started immediately. 

Sunset shrugged her shoulders, “I’m a bit blank on exactly what happened there. I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly to have magic work over here, but I haven’t had any success until today. ...And I’m not really sure how I did it other than being angry.” 

“Could it be that simple?” Spitfire asked her.

Sunset’s hands cascaded through her hair, “I hope not, for everyone’s sake.” 

“Why’s that?” Spitfire asked her. 

“Because, then we’d be dealing with dark magic.” Sunset looked over at Spitfire, “That may not sound bad to you, but it has… negative memories attached to it for me. Some memories that I’d rather not visit again.” 

“Just bad memories?” 

“Well…” Sunset trailed off, “That, and the fact that it’s outlawed in Equestria because of how incredibly volatile and unstable it makes ponies who try to use it. So, in other words: no, it’s not just because I’ve had bad experiences with dark magic. It’s because dark magic would make me no better than a ticking time bomb.”

Spitfire had nothing better to say to that but a simple: “Shit.”

“The fact that it reminded me of anon-a-miss didn’t exactly help,” Sunset huffed, placing her chin on the counter, “But maybe that’s also a good thing. We know that’s my big weakness or whatever.” 

“Your kryptonite,” Spits supplied. 

Sunset blinked, “Err, I’ll take your word for that.”

“Point is, you might not explode again if we get you some help on this whole anon-a-miss thing, right?”

“That’s my best guess.” Sunset shrugged her shoulders. 

“Well then, that’s what we’ll do.” Spitfire shook her a little, as if trying to wake her up, “Meanwhile, I guess that means that you should be more active in studying this magic thing, huh?” 

Sitting up again, Sunset readjusted her jacket. “I can get on that, yeah. Probably means another Equestria trip is in the works, sooner than I expected.” She glanced back at Spitfire. “One more thing though, what happens if those pictures get posted? Those freshmen were talking like it was going to get you kicked off of the team or something.”

Spitfire blew that notion off with a wave of her hand. “I don’t really care, if I’m honest. It won’t matter to my coach. Besides, the way you made them shit themselves? I doubt you’ll be seeing those pictures any time soon.” She playfully punched Sunset’s shoulder with a chuckle. 

That, at least, made Sunset feel better about how today had gone. 

---

“She’s a freak, Sour! A freak!” 

Normally Sour Sweet didn’t pay attention to the freshmen that passed through Crystal Prep’s halls, but considering how these two had failed her, specifically, caught Sour’s attention. “Who?”

“This chick, like, nearly set us on fire!” Simple Pleasures was panicking, “Sh-she had, like, red and yellow hair! It was kinda like bacon! She was really, like, pissed about us getting those pictures!”    

A smirk crossed Sour Sweet’s lips, “Ohh, I see now~” Her near-purr confused the two freshmen, who watched her pace in front of the school’s entryway, “It seems the demon queen of CHS has shown her true colors again… Perfect.”
> Dark Skies Still Bright (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset wielded the sander with great intensity as Soarin’s hands guided her smoothly across the surface of the wood. She wanted to get this right, for her sake and for Soarin’s. Luckily, the older bluenette’s instructions were easy enough to follow. 

“And that makes the third sanding.” Soarin nodded to himself as he looked over their work. He flashed Sunset a thumbs up. “Good work there, apprentice Pheeny.” 

Sunset smiled through her blush. “Th-thanks, Soar. It, uh, doesn’t look much like a guitar yet, though,” she chuckled. 

“Of course not, that was just set up to carve out the shape of the top.” Soarin took a marker to the back of the wood, carefully tracing out the shape they’d have to cut. “And the hole where the sound comes from goes here.” Sunset nodded as she watched. It didn’t seem very difficult so far, just time-consuming. Sunset could handle that, however. After everything Soarin had done for her, helping him design guitars was the least that she could do. 

At least now, she finally had the time. The past few weeks had been riddled with misadventures of the Equestrian variety, and had really left Sunset wondering about her future. Being able to help beyond checking Soarin's inbox and keeping the place clean would be a solid start to considering staying here. On the other hand, she had a few solid family connections in Equestria to maintain. 

For now, though, Sunset focused on guiding the drill over the lines Soarin had drawn. Soarin hovered over her, helping to keep her hand steady when it looked like she needed it. Soon, the top plate had been cut, and Soarin focused on tracing out the back plate on another sheet of the wood.

The door in the main shop rang before audibly shutting. That pulled Soarin from his work, and a soft smile split over his face. “That’s probably Shadey. I’ll be right back.” 

“Alright, I’ll be here.” Sunset watched as Soarin got up from his stool, and headed out of the workshop. 

The resounding “SHADEY!” that followed was loud enough to echo into the workshop, and Sunset couldn’t help but giggle. Good old Soarin was always so excitable when his sister was involved. 

Unbeknownst to Sunset, Nightshade seemed rather distracted from Soarin’s normal greeting as she walked into the shop that afternoon. “Hey Soar. Is Sunset here?”

Soarin pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward the back door into the workshop. “I was teaching her how to make a guitar in the back. ...Is something wrong?” He watched her readjust her backpack nervously and shuffle past him.

“I’ve just got to talk to her, is all,” Nightshade said. When Soarin went to follow her to the back, she whirled around on him, “Privately, Soar. Please? Just for a few minutes?” 

Soarin leaned against the nearest wall, “Err, sure, go ahead. I’ll go check the computer for orders.”  

When Nightshade walked into the workshop, Sunset stood. “Oh, hey Nightshade. How was DnD?” Soarin was nowhere in sight, which struck Sunset as odd.

Nightshade shrugged. “Fun, as always. How’s the apprenticeship going?” 

“Well. Soarin said that it won’t be long until I’m making my own guitars. I might even be able to keep the first one I make myself.”

Nightshade smirked. “You going to paint it with flames and shit?” 

“Oh, you know it!” The two chuckled, though Nightshade’s laugh seemed a bit nervous. “So… What brings you back here?” 

Nightshade tucked her hand into the pocket of her Shadowbolts varsity jacket. “Well, I won a raffle at school recently…” She pulled two tickets out of her pocket. “Soarin’s not one for big concerts, but I heard that you like this band.” She swallowed hard. “W-Wanna go with me?” 

Sunset blinked a few times. “Like, as a date?” 

Nightshade fidgeted, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. She glanced away with a blush, before returning her eyes back to Sunset’s. “Yeah, as a date.” 

“Absolutely!” Sunset grinned harder than she ever had. She couldn’t even express how much of a relief this was. “I’d love to go out with you.” 

Nightshade seemed to relax as well, “S-Sweet! It’s Saturday night, so maybe we could grab some food before the concert? The prices there tends to be stupidly inflated.” 

Sunset nodded. “That’s a deal. Who would we be seeing, anyway?” 

“I think they’re called the Dazzlings?” Nightshade said, glancing down at the tickets. “I’ve never heard of them before.”

Sunset stiffened very suddenly. “Th-the Dazzlings?” 

“What, do you not like their style or somethin’?” Nightshade asked her, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Nightshade, did Crystal Prep hear about the disaster that was CHS’s Battle of the Bands?” 

Nightshade nodded, “Sorta? I heard that you guys won and overthrew some sorta magical dilemma again. Crash wouldn’t shut up about it for two weeks.”

Sunset rolled her eyes at the mention of Dash’s bragging. “Yeah, well, they were the magical dilemma. They’re sirens-”

Nightshade gasped, “Did they try to drown someone?!” Sunset blinked blankly at her in response. “I’m going to take that as a no, but that’s what the legends say that’s what sirens do. They lure sailors in with their hypnotic song and drown them. And probably eat them.” 

“Err, no. Not the same thing. They're sirens from Equestria who were trapped here eons ago. They spread and feed on malice, and that’s what they were trying to do at CHS. But the thing about their hypnotic song is true.” Sunset sighed, beginning to pace around the room in thought. “So… I can’t ask you to come with me, but I have to check this out no matter what. Maybe we could just go to dinner?” 

“What?! No way! Getting mixed up in some magical shenanigans sounds like exactly the trouble I’d want to tango with.” Nightshade smirked, grabbing Sunset’s hand, “I’ll just bring earplugs, and we’ll sneak backstage to take down whatever evil plan they have cooking!” 

“No way,” Soarin’s voice broke through the excitement in the room, “there is no way I’m going to let you both try to face down any sort of magical menace on your own. A date to a concert was fine, but there’s no way I’m letting you two put yourselves in this kind of danger.” 

Nightshade jumped a little. “Come on, Soar, Sunset’s probably an expert at this. We’ll be fine!” 

“Nope,” Soarin said simply in response.

Nightshade slumped over with an annoyed groan, “Fine. What if we set up a double date with Misty and Charger?” Soarin raised an eyebrow. “Misty’s such a goodie-two-shoes! She’ll come crawling to you and Spits the minute that we do something suspicious!” 

Soarin blew out a breath, “I trust you two more than that. Just… Please promise me that you’ll go to the concert normally, or avoid it entirely?” 

“I promise I’ll just watch the concert just to see what they’re doing,” Sunset assured him, “they could be doing absolutely nothing for all I know.”

Soarin looked over to Nightshade. 

Nightshade sighed, “I’ll at least text you if something goes down. Fair?” 

“Expect me to be there if something freaky happens,” Soarin agreed, “now, Pheenie, can I have a word with you, alone?” 

Nightshade slung her bag over her back as she pushed open the door back into the main shop. “I’ll be doing my work, if ya need me.” 

As the door closed behind Nightshade, Soarin took his seat back in front of the guitar and motioned for Sunset to do the same. He smiled at her. “You know, I’m okay with this whole thing. I really am.” He swallowed hard.

“But…?” Sunset could nearly see the contradiction on his face. 

Soarin rubbed the back of his neck. “Nightshade and I have been through a lot recently with the whole… secret thing.” He flinched slightly at even the mention of it. “I’m just worried that this is more of a gut reaction in response to that whole incident and your involvement in it. Not that I think you’re a bad influence or anything, but… I’m worried about you two hurting each other.” Soarin bit his lip.

“Why do you figure that?” Sunset asked him.

“Because that’s Shadey’s coping method. When something like this happens, she puts herself in the way of risky situations to boost her self-confidence. She’s done it quite a few times, but now... I understand why.” Soarin shook his head slowly with a pensive expression. “I don’t really know how to put this nicely, but if I know anything about how Dash describes you, you’re kinda a magnet for magical happenings-”

Sunset physically recoiled. “-Are you saying that Nightshade might only like me because I’m known for getting involved in problems?!”      

Soarin grabbed Sunset’s hand, “What?! No! That’s not what I mean at all! I’m just worried that when these things do eventually happen; Shadey’s going to throw herself right at the problem! I’m worried that if I didn’t tell you about this in advance, she’d really get the two of you hurt! You’re already like a little sister to me, Pheenie, and I’d feel just as guilty and responsible seeing you hurt as I would Shadey. I’m sorry if I came off wrong and hurt you.” 

The admission hit Sunset harder than expected, and her vision rapidly grew blurry as she launched herself at Soarin. Her boss. Her friend. Maybe even her family.

“I can’t protect you two forever, I know that,” Soarin sighed, “but I need you guys to be transparent with me when something comes up. I’m here to help. Okay?” 

Sunset wiped her face with her sleeve, “Y-Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Soarin was getting a bit misty-eyed himself, but he smiled through them. “Now… Shall we get back to our guitar-making, my apprentice?”

Sunset pulled herself away from him. “Let’s do this.” She nodded firmly.

“Yeah, let’s- OW!” Soarin yelped as he went to touch the saw, only to yank away his hand from it. He pouted, “Damn it! Stop shocking me!" 

Sunset laughed, “Wooow! What a way to ruin a mood there, Soarin!” 

Soarin laughed with her, and the two went back to their guitar building. 

At the beginning of the next day, Dash loudly slammed her locker as Sunset explained the whole problem to her and Misty. “Wait, you’re dating Nightshade?! CHS’s sworn enemy?!” 

Sunset scowled, and Misty crossed her arms. “Really Dash, of all the things to be worried about, why would you focus on that?!”     

Rainbow leaned in and playfully flicked Sunset’s nose. “Because I’m being a piece of shit and I think you’re blowing this out of proportion a little. We shattered the sirens’ gem thingies, remember? They can’t use their song thing anymore, so why are they such a threat?”   

“I don’t know, honestly.” Sunset let out a breath and Misty relaxed behind her. “It just seems strange. The Dazzlings are back, and they’re putting on a concert that they’re giving away free tickets to? It just all seems so suspect. What if they’ve found a way to repair their amulets?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you that, at least. Them repairing their gem things would be waay bad news for us.” Dash said, shouldering her bookbag, “So you’re going to just throw yourself into things without us?” 

Sunset was reminded of Soarin’s words last night. “No. I’m just going to scout it out with Nightshade, and we might need backup. I know Soarin will be there in a heartbeat if we need him, but can I count on you two if things get hairy?” She glanced back at Misty. 

“Hell yeah!” Rainbow fist-pumped.

Misty smiled, “Count me in too. I’ll drive.”    

“Good, because I have absolutely no idea what we’ll find when we get there. It could be absolutely normal, and I could have nothing to worry about in the slightest.”

“OR those flying dragon things could use another thrashing.” Rainbow pounded her fist into her palm. At a flat look from Sunset, Dash added, “But let’s just hope for the normal, non-thrashing scenario.” She grinned innocently.  

Sunset closed her locker with a concerned frown. So much was happening at once now. Her first date, the Dazzlings, internalizing Soarin’s words from last night, the recent run ins with her Equestrian family, and the looming of the Friendship Games on the horizon. It was all a lot to think about, even if it was mostly good. For now, her best bet was to try and figure out what to do about the concert in a few days. And possibly what to do if Nightshade decided to go bolting right into trouble.