Wherever You Find Love - Part Three

Chapter Three: Tomorrow is Another Day


  Friday morning came at last, and with it Christmas Eve and the last day before winter break. As students made their way to their seats in classrooms throughout Canterlot High, more than one was huddled over their smartphones and puzzling over the latest Anon-A-Miss post. Those whose secrets had been revealed found themselves with mixed feelings, and those without them found themselves eager to see what was coming. More than a few, however, found themselves talking about what had happened the previous day at lunch, two in particular who had avoided scrutiny thus far taking a bigger interest than most.

  “So, you think they meant what they said yesterday? About Sunset Shimmer?”

  A sigh. “I don’t know, Lyra.” Sweetie Drops closed her locker door, but kept her eyes off her closest friend. “I’m not even sure I know what to think about what happened at lunch yesterday. Assuming they were telling the truth and…” She leaned her head against the cool metal as she tried to put her thoughts together. “I don’t like her. I don’t like what she’s done over the years. But her being executed? I don’t know how to feel about that, assuming it’s even true.” She pulled out her phone and went to the newest Anon-A-Miss post, the only one to appear since lunch yesterday. “The final secret comes Christmas Eve. That’s today.” She put the phone back into her purse and finally looked to Lyra. “You really don’t want Anon-A-Miss to be Sunset Shimmer, do you?”

  Lyra grinned. “I don’t see the problem in giving someone a chance.” She gently nudged her best friend and noted, “Worked out pretty good the last time.”  

  “Hey, Lyra! Sweetie Drops!” The two turned to find Sunset striding towards them, a smile on her face and her backpack being slung off her shoulders. “You two have a minute?”

  “Um, sure.” Both girls eyed Sunset uneasily as the more cynical of the pair asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Best I’ve felt all week, yeah.” She opened her backpack and pulled out a pair of packages, lovingly wrapped and marked with notes. “Thanks for asking. Anyway, these are for you two. Compliments of the season.” They took them in surprise, and Sunset explained, “I promise, they’re nothing dangerous, but I wouldn’t drop them. The glass might break.” She turned and waved. “Anyway, catch you guys later! Happy Holidays!”

  Sweetie Drops waved back with a shocked expression on her face. “What do you suppose…?” The sound of wrapping paper being ripped apart filled her ears, and she turned in shock to her friend. “Lyra?! What are you…?!”

  Lyra’s eyes lit up like Christmas trees as she looked to her friend and revealed her gift. “Bon Bon, look!” In her arms was a framed sketch, rich in detail and clear as day. Depicted in the drawing on the right hand side was Lyra herself, kneeling down with one hand on the ground, the other stretched outwards in front of her. Opposite the drawn girl was what was clearly meant to be a unicorn, posed similarly and with a hoof outstretched and meeting Lyra’s hand. Both were looking upon one another with sheer joy upon their faces, and the likeness didn’t end there – the pony’s mane was styled much like the girl’s hair, and prominent upon her flank was a lyre identical to the one Lyra had about her neck.

  Sweetie Drops opened her own package, and found herself looking at another sketch. This one also depicted a girl and a pony, both seated upon a bench and sharing a sympathetic smile. She recognized the girl as herself, and the pony very clearly resembled her, three wrapped candies upon its flank resembling the buckle to her belt. She smiled at the sight and then gently aligned her gift with that of her friend, the backgrounds making the two pictures look like one larger piece. “Okay, maybe she’s worth giving a chance to.”

  Lyra grinned hopefully, and the two tucked their gifts into their backpacks before making their way to their homeroom. They took their seats just as the bell rang and Principal Celestia began her announcements over the school’s PA system. :“Good morning, students, and Season’s Greetings to you all. In light of recent events, I and Vice Principal Luna are calling an assembly in the gym after lunch…”:

  -

  The rest of the day went by swiftly, and after lunch, the student body of Canterlot High found themselves assembled in the school gym for the impromptu assembly. Very few doubted what the subject of the assembly was, given the events of the last few days. As they entered and caught sight of the one they thought responsible for the mess, however, they found Sunset Shimmer seated near the front, surrounded by her so-called friends. Anger was swiftly replaced by confusion as more and more students took their seats.

  Sunset, of course, noticed all of this, and tensed slightly in her seat, only to find a comforting hand wrap tightly around her own. “Steady dear. We’re all here for you.”

  Rarity’s words prompted a smile, and as the last few students and members of the faculty filed in, Principal Celestia stepped onto the stage with a microphone in hand. “Good afternoon students. I realize that all of you are looking forward to the end of classes for the semester and your winter break, and probably very eager for the day to be over. Believe me, I share that eagerness. However, there is an issue that needs to be addressed, and I ask that all of you pay attention.” She took a quick glance over the gathered mass, and then continued, “As all of you are no doubt aware, this past week has been a tumultuous one here at Canterlot High. A MyStable user going by the pseudonym ‘Anon-A-Miss’ has been posting private information belonging to students here at CHS. I and Vice Principal Luna have been working to identify those responsible, however, doing so has been difficult for a number of reasons. Thankfully, however, an incident yesterday has led to a breakthrough.” She turned and nodded off-stage, and Vice Principal Luna guided Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo into view. “Apple Bloom, if you please?”

  The microphone was handed off, and the young girl nervously accepted it. “Thank you, ma’am.” She looked out onto the gathered students, looking for all the world to see like a deer caught in headlights, until her gaze found those she’d hurt most in all of this, and an encouraging smile and nod from one flame-haired girl gave her what she needed to continue. “For the last few days, folks here at Canterlot High’ve been following MyStable posts from Anon-A-Miss, and’ve probably been wonderin’ exactly who this person was. Well, ah haven’t, because it wasn’t just one person; it was three. Me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”

  Sweetie Belle took her turn at the mic and continued where her friend left off. “Like a lot of students here at Canterlot High, we felt that Sunset Shimmer had received a very light punishment for everything she’d done, not only the night of the Fall Formal but long beforehand. This, combined with us becoming jealous of the attention our sisters were giving her in comparison to us, led to us putting together the account, with the intent to punish her by framing her for new crimes not unlike what she’d done in the past and prompting our sisters to push her away.”

  Now it was Scootaloo’s turn. “The first secret was about Applejack; everyone in her immediate family knew about it. The pictures and videos of Rarity and Rainbow Dash and all the other girls at a slumber party were stolen from Sunset Shimmer’s cell phone, by Sweetie Belle. The picture of Rainbow Dash’s paper came from me.” More than a few students were murmuring in disbelief, which prompted her to note, “The next secret that we posted after that involved Flash Sentry. We didn’t get that ourselves; it was provided by Cherry Crash via e-mail.”

  One rocker girl with bright green hair, who until that point had been among those murmuring, suddenly blanched. Other murmuring students fell silent, their disbelief either squashed or at least discouraged.

  “That secret wasn’t the last one we were sent, and it wasn’t the last we posted, even after  we did what we planned on doin’ from the start. We started havin’ our misgivin’s about it, but we kept it up, mostly because we liked the attention. But it was wrong and…” Apple Bloom sniffled at this and barely managed to blurt out, “…And somethin’ terrible almost happened ‘cuz a us. And we couldn’t keep it goin’ no more. We’re all sorry ‘fer the pain we’ve caused and the trouble we’ve done.”

  As Apple Bloom handed off the microphone to Principal Celestia, a hand was raised in the audience. She responded with a nod, and Micro Chips stood up and asked, “What happened? Er, almost happened?”

  “A student nearly committed suicide.” The assembled students gasped simultaneously in shock, chatter starting up before she calmed them down. “Everyone, please. I won’t be naming names, but I can assure you that the student in question is fine, and we were able to get to them in time to prevent a tragedy. The fact that such a thing almost happened, however, is frightening, and I doubt any one of us wants anything like that to happen. Not here, and not anywhere.”

  Another hand was raised, this one belonging to Tennis Match. “Principal Celestia, why are all of us here for this? Not all of us sent secrets in to Anon-A-Miss.”

  “No, but all of you followed their posts. Had they simply been ignored, that may well have been the end of it. Instead, however, you not only followed them, but many here actively contributed to them. Is this what’s become of Canterlot High after the Fall Formal? Some months ago, Princess Twilight inspired all of you to come together and rally behind her, an outsider and a complete stranger. And now, you’re tearing yourselves apart over something this petty.” She could see the shame forming on the faces of her students, and went for broke. “I doubt she would approve of any of this.” Her gaze turned to the other student who’d left a mark that night, and she added, “But she would encourage all of you to forgive what’s happened.”

  Students looked among themselves at this, more than a few shamefully looking to friends that they’d divulged secrets about.

  “However, I cannot let the matter rest there.” Principal Celestia turned to Apple Bloom and her friends and noted, “As proud as I am that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came forward, their actions still brought harm to their fellow students and constitute acts of cyber-bullying. And they will be punished with two months of detention, beginning at the start of next semester.” She looked into the crowd and added, “Those who contributed to Anon-A-Miss’ posts will each receive a month’s detention themselves for their part in this venture. I and Vice Principal Luna received a list of e-mail addresses from the girls, and have linked each of them to students here at CHS. Your parents have already been notified.” Celestia took a breath and then noted, “I like to think that this is a teaching moment, and I sincerely hope that all of you learn a lesson from all of this. I also hope that it’s the right one, because I don’t want to have to do an assembly like this again in the future. Dismissed.”

  Students rose from their seats and began making their way to their classes, but more than a few hung back and watched as the trio behind Anon-A-Miss descended from the stage and found themselves embraced by their sisters, and then embraced by Sunset in turn, a proud but uncertain smile upon all their faces. The students themselves, Trixie among them, scowled, though how much it was being done to the three young girls and how much to the school’s former Alpha was unclear. Few would forget this, however.

  -

  The last bell rang at Canterlot High, and students were already starting to make their way out of the building, talk and discussion among them now on more positive topics as those who’d been divided by Anon-A-Miss came forward and properly apologized to one another, handshakes and fist-bumps and even the odd hug punctuating the renewals of friendly ties. Some would still face punishment, but for now, they were forgiven.

  A soft knock sounded at the door to her office and prompted Principal Celestia to look up from her desk. “Come in.” Her guest entered, and she gave a pleased smile. “Sunset Shimmer. I was hoping to see you before you left for break. How are you feeling?”

  “Much better than I was a couple days ago, thank you for asking.” Sunset closed the door behind her and pulled a package from her bag. “I just wanted to come by and give you this. Compliments of the season.”

  “Thank you.” The principal accepted the gift, but put it aside. “Since you’re here, I’d like to take this opportunity to give you a proper apology for what’s happened.”

  Surprise turned to reassurance as Sunset countered, “Ma’am, you don’t need to apologize. Nothing that happened with this Anon-A-Miss mess was your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you for not immediately suspecting me for it along with everyone else.”

  The principal gave a small smile. “I like to think you were genuine in your desire for a second chance. Speaking of, may I have your phone?” The girl complied, and Celestia inspected the device with an enigmatic look upon her face. “Sunset Shimmer, did you know you can clone a smartphone?”

  Sunset arched an eyebrow in recognition of her tone. “I’ve heard something about that, yes. I’ve also heard that it’s horribly illegal to do so.”

  “Indeed it is, because it’s a horrible violation of privacy and security. Not to mention an easy way to aid in identity theft and fraud.” She opened a drawer in her desk and placed the phone inside. “Of course, not having the security features enabled certainly doesn’t help to keep it safe.” She then pulled out another phone and held it out for Sunset with a smile. “Be sure to pick a good password for this one, hmm?”

  Sunset smiled back and accepted the new phone. “Of course.” A knock sounded behind her, and she turned to find Luna opening the door. “Vice Principal Luna? Is something wrong?”

  The junior administrator smiled and shook her head. “No, but it seems you have a Secret Santa.” She handed over a small box and explained, “I found this earlier today taped to your locker. I checked it over; it’s safe, but I wouldn’t bring it to school with you unless you want to lose it.”

  Sunset accepted the gift, then deposited both in her bag and pulled another from within. “I think this one will be more than safe for school grounds.” She handed it off to Luna and then made her way out of the office with a smile. “Happy Holidays!”

  “And to you, Sunset Shimmer.” The two sisters looked to one another, gifts in hand, and Luna grinned deviously. “What do you suppose these are?”

  A twinkle was in Celestia’s eye as she answered, “One way to find out.”

  Both gleefully tore at the wrapping around their packages, and smiled with delight upon their gains. Luna was the first to laugh and reveal her framed sketch, depicting her and her pony counterpart hunkered down on a sofa and merrily playing a video game. Both were wearing headsets and T-shirts adorned with the legend, “Mistress of the Night!” “When did you tell her that I was a gamer?”

  “She’s a bright girl, she probably guessed.” Celestia laughed and revealed hers. Depicted in it were her and her Equestrian counterpart, both happily nibbling away at slices of cake with cups and a teapot at the ready. “Oh, this takes me back.” A smile still upon her face, she examined the drawing and mused, “Thank heaven we didn’t lose her.”

  -

  “Sunset Shimmer?”

  Sunset barely had enough time to adjust her slightly-lighter backpack before the familiar voice called out her name. She turned back to the source and greeted her with a smile. “Miss Cheerilee! I was hoping to see you before I left. Thanks again for getting my journal back to me.”

  “It wasn’t a problem, and I figured it was important to you, considering.” She gently smiled and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Much better, thanks. But I’ve got a feeling I’ll be hearing that for a while.” Sunset then asked a question of her own. “So, should we be expecting you at Sweet Apple Acres, or…?”

  “I wish, but I’m going out to the city for Christmas with my family. If I’m lucky, I’ll beat my sister out there.” The young teacher smirked and noted, “But do me a small favor and try not to get caught under the mistletoe with Big Mac, hmm?”

  That prompted a giggle. “I’ll do my best.” The smile faded as she continued, “I know it isn’t my place, but I feel like I need to say something. Most of my family is gone, and what little biological family I have left is a long ways away. It’ll be years before I have the chance to see them again and make up for my mistakes. Whatever issues you have with your parents and sister, they aren’t worth the risk of losing them. Trust me.”

  Cheerilee nodded. “You’re right. I don’t want to lose them.” She then smiled and prompted, “Now go on, enjoy your holiday.”

  Sunset smiled and waved as she departed. She opened the door just in time to see the young teacher pull a cell phone from her purse and begin calling a number and closed it just soon enough to hear the words, “Hi Cherry. Yeah, it’s me. Surprise.”    

  Cap upon her head to block out the cold and a scarf about her neck, Sunset zipped up her jacket and made her way from the school’s main entrance to the parking lot. Snow softly crunched beneath her boots, and more was beginning to come down from above, adding to what had already accumulated over the last few days. All the more reason she was glad to put the Anon-A-Miss business behind her; she didn’t want to be in a big, cold apartment alone this holiday season.

  “Sunset!” Her attention turned to a familiar grey sedan as Pinkie Pie enthusiastically waved her over, Maud standing by the car and quietly watching her approach. “Over here!”

  “I see you, Pinkie!” Sunset laughed and sped up her approach, eager to get to them and get the holidays properly started. As she reached them, Maud approached, and the flame-haired girl greeted her, “Hi Maud. Happy…!” Sunset stopped as Maud took her into a firm, warm hug. “What’s this for?”

  “I’m glad that you’re okay.” Maud pulled back, her expression still neutral and her voice deadpan, and explained, “I hate the idea of losing part of my family over Christmas. And you are family.”

  Sunset managed a warm laugh. “Thanks Maud. And thanks for what you did earlier.”

  Pinkie managed a slightly-shamed expression as she admitted, “Yeah, I kinda made a big oopsy earlier over all this.” She then hugged her big sister and added, “But that’s what Maud’s here for, keeping her baby sister from making really big oopsies, and helping her fix the small ones!”

  “You’re not the official baby of the family, Pinkie. Marble’s a few minutes younger than you are.”

  “See? She keeps me honest, too!” Amidst Sunset’s laughs, the three climbed into the sedan, and Pinkie asked, “So, any stops you need to make before we get to Sweet Apple Acres?”

  “Two. I need to drop something off at the shop, and then get something from my apartment. Neither will take very long, I promise.”

  -

  The last of her remaining customers departed, and Zecora managed a sigh of relief as she followed them to the door. The last day before Christmas wasn’t nearly as hectic for her as it was for other shopkeepers, but it was still a very busy day, especially given she tended to get a number of last-minute shoppers. She didn’t mind, especially as more than a few became repeat customers. Still, it was more than enough for her, and it was time for her to call it a night, especially given what she’d heard about the coming snowfall.

  Just before she could reach the door to begin the process of locking up, however, it opened, but it wasn’t one last customer who stepped through. “Sunset Shimmer my dear, whatever brings you here?”

  Her newest employee beamed and pulled a package from her backpack. “Helping Santa out with his errands tonight, Miss Zecora.” She passed it along and offered, “Season’s greetings to you and yours.”

  The older woman accepted the gift with a laugh. “I’m happy to say the same to you, child.” She produced an envelope and passed it along. “And I hope that your holidays are beguiled.”

  “They’re looking up so far, thank you.” Sunset waved and departed, but not before taking a second to flip the store’s ‘Open’ sign around to ‘Closed’, thus saving her employer just a little bit more work.

  The door softly shut, and Zecora laughed as she walked up and locked it. She then turned around and unwrapped her gift, a surprised expression briefly crossing her face before turning to one of merriment. Her drawing was a flattering sketch of her seated opposite a zebra with a familiar look in her eye, a book of herbs open between them and cups of tea at hand.

  She’d have to tell Celestia and Luna about this later, but perhaps keep it from Lyra and Bon Bon for now. Those two needed to find their own way to embracing the unicorn in their midst.

  -

  “Hey, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo looked up from her seat at her honorary big sister and smiled gratefully. “I don’t know how you did it, but thanks for bringing us along.”

  “Yeah, especially after everything we did.” Sweetie Belle turned downcast as she quietly added, “School’s gonna be less fun than it already is after all of this.”

  The pair, along with their siblings and Fluttershy, were making their way through the snowfall to Sweet Apple Acres in the latter’s van, glad to be almost there. Rarity gently smiled and took her sister’s hand to reassure her. “Darlings, you’ll get through this. The rest of the school will as well, given time.”

  “Yeah, and as for us bringing you along, well, you’ll find out when we get there. You did the crime, but you still gotta do the time.” Dash gave Scootaloo a small hug and added, “Don’t let that get you down too much though.”

  “I guess not.” The van pulled into the driveway at Sweet Apple Acres and the five girls poured out and retrieved luggage and gifts. Maud’s car was already parked near the garage as they made their way to the front door. “Whatever it is, I just hope it isn’t too bad.”

  Fluttershy gently smiled as they reached the farmhouse’s front porch. “Well, not all of it will be, hopefully.”

  The door opened and Applejack greeted them with a smile. “Howdy y’all! Come inside an’ warm up! Assumin’ Pinkie ain’t chowed it all down, we got fresh cookies and hot cider for ya!”

  Rainbow Dash cackled gleefully as she slipped off her coat and hung it up near the door, ever eager to indulge in cider of any sort. The inside was festively decorated, assorted apple-themed touches added to the traditional holiday décor which warmed them even more than the promise of food and drink.

  The two younger girls barely had time to shed their coats and kick off their boots before they shared quick hugs with a laughing Apple Bloom. “Glad ya’ll’re here.” The farmgirl turned serious before noting, “Seriously, ah’m really glad ya’ll’re here. Maud’s been awful quiet since she got here with Pinkie ‘n Sunset.”

  “You think she’s still mad at us?” Sweetie Belle suddenly felt a lot more anxious. While Maud had graduated from CHS long before any of them had started attending, she had something of a reputation at the school that had lasted long after she’d left, enough that many still questioned how she and Pinkie could be related through any means other than adoption.

  “No.” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked to find Maud seated at the couch to the living room with Sunset beside her. She waved them over as she continued, “I’m satisfied that you three have learned your lesson. I just didn’t see the sense in repeating myself.”

  The three girls approached, all still looking nervous and penitent, as Sweetie Belle acknowledged, “Yeah. I wish we could take it all back, though.”

  Sunset reached over and gently ran a hand through her hair with a reassuring smile. “You’ve done all you could. That’s what’s important.”

  “But promise me that you’ll never do something like this again.” Despite her deadpan tone, Maud’s words discouraged any argument as she produced Boulder from her pocket. “And promise Boulder too.”

  The three girls exchanged a brief glance before chanting in unison, “We promise.” They then scrambled onto the couch, Scootaloo seating herself between the two older girls and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flanking Maud and Sunset respectively. Maud gave a small smile as the rest laughed.  

  “Who wants more cookies? Who wants more cider?” Pinkie sing-songed and passed out extra plates, giving them to the three young girls as she portioned out cookies to them. “Oopsy! Forgot the cups for the cider! Big Mac!”

  “Eeyup.” Big McIntosh approached from the kitchen and offered the two young new arrivals cups as he refilled those of the others. “Here ya go.”

  “Thanks, Big Mac!” Scootaloo took a quick sip of her cider and smiled at its pleasant warmth.

  “Alright everyone, settle, settle.” Granny Smith gave a hearty chuckle as everyone gathered in the living room, the electric fireplace going and the tree waiting and ready to be lit. “We got us a couple things t’ go over ‘fore we get the festivities started proper. Young’uns?” Apple Bloom and her friends turned nervous as she sat down in her rocking chair turned her attention to them. “Ah suppose yer all wonderin’ how we managed to get things so that all three a’ ya’ll’re here tonight. Well, there’s two reasons. First one’s simple; it’s because we’re all family here, if’n you realize it or not, and it ain’t right to leave family out ‘a stuff like this.”

  “And there’s always room for more family, darlings.” Rarity gave her little sister a small hug, then turned stern as she added, “That said, this also relates to your punishment.” She held up a hand before any of them could protest. “Yes, we’ve all forgiven you, but you’ve still done something horrible. And what we have in mind won’t be too strenuous.”

  Apple Bloom raised a hand. “Let me guess, we’re clearin’ out the snow tomorrow mornin’?”

  “No, the three’a ya’ll’re clearin’ out the snow the followin’ mornin’. That’s the front porch, the steps, the walk and the drive.” Applejack gave the three a firm look as she amended, “And you’ll be doin’ it at all yer houses, not just here at Sweet Apple Acres, one residence per day.”

  “Mine and Pinkie’s house as well.”

  The three young girls looked among themselves and nodded as Scootaloo reasoned, “I guess we can handle that.”

  “Um, actually, that’s not the only thing.” Fluttershy nervously explained, “You see, I’m going to be working on a project over winter break at my house. You three will be helping me, Rainbow Dash and Sunset with that.”

  “And I’ve got a project at my place that you’ll be helping with too.” Sunset smiled gently. “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it in the end.” They nodded, and she stood up and moved off to where she’d put away her gifts. “Anyway, that’s the bad news. Here’s the good.” She picked up the bundle and explained, “Back home in Equestria, we don’t have Christmas, or Hanukkah, or any of the other winter holidays you have here. What we do have is called Hearth’s Warming. Every family has its own traditions related to the holiday, and mine, well…” She smiled sadly and explained, “My mom and dad would give one another a gift on Hearth’s Warming Eve, and they later gave me a gift too. They were nothing special or elaborate, just simple homemade things, but I never got the chance to give them gifts like that.” She opened the bundle to reveal a stack of wrapped packages. “But all of you are family to me, and this is a tradition that I’d like to share, now that I have the chance.”

  Sunset passed out her gifts one at a time, and Rarity looked in surprise as her gift found its way to her. “Oh, Sunset! You didn’t need to do this!”

  “Yes, I did.” Sunset beamed as she affirmed, “Like I said, you guys are my family. I can’t let that go without acknowledging it.” She grinned and added, “Besides, I’ve been working on these for months.”

  “It would be rude to turn them down.” Fluttershy opened hers and gasped. “Oh my goodness!” She held up her gift with a smile. “This is so adorable!”

  Everyone present looked upon the gift, a drawing much like the ones Sunset had given out earlier depicting Fluttershy kneeling down and idly brushing the mane of a familiar-looking pegasus. Scootaloo looked to Sunset and asked, “Is that…?”

  “Fluttershy’s counterpart back in Equestria.” Sunset handed out the three last gifts to the three young girls and added, “And she isn’t the only one to get a gift like that.”

  “Oooh! Look at mine! Look at mine!” Pinkie Pie gleefully held up hers, which depicted her being launched out of a party cannon by her counterpart. “Sketch Me and Sketch Pony Me look like they’re having so much fun!”

  Sunset laughed as everyone else showed similar appreciation for their gifts. Some were more mundane than others; each of the Apples were shown either hard at work in the fields alongside their counterparts or, in the cases of Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, napping beside theirs in rocking chairs or gleefully playing, while the two versions of Maud were simply seated with their respective versions of Boulder. The two Rarities were shown comparing fashion designs, the two Rainbow Dashes in flight (the human adorned in a wingsuit) and the two Scootaloos speeding along on their scooters. Sweetie Belle looked up from hers, depicting her singing into an old-time radio microphone alongside her counterpart, and asked, “You really made these for us? Even after everything?”

  “I was hoping that by now, things might be better between us.” Sunset knelt beside her and smiled. “Didn’t think things would go quite the way they did, though.”

  “Guess not.” Sweetie Belle smiled back. “Thank you.”

  -

  “Oh, I am never going to get a better Christmas gift than this!” Rarity squealed gleefully as she hugged her drawing close, then sighed and turned to Sunset. “I don’t think I can ever thank you enough for this, dear. Especially after the last few days.”

  The flame-haired girl softly laughed. “All of you enjoying them is thanks enough for me.”

  Dinner and holiday festivities had since passed, and everyone at Sweet Apple Acres had retired for the night. Sunset and her immediate group of friends had gathered in Applejack’s room, dressed in their nightclothes and parked wherever they could. Sunset herself was on the floor, flanked by Rarity and Fluttershy, while Applejack and Pinkie were seated upon the bed and Rainbow Dash on a desk chair.

  “Still, I feel horrible about all of this.”

  “We all do, Rares.” Applejack turned to Sunset and sadly admitted, “Sad truth is, darlin’, ah don’t think we’ve quite forgotten ‘bout everythin’ over the last few years. These last few months gettin’ to know ya’ve been good, no mistake, but there’s still some scars.”

  “For all of us.” Fluttershy gently reached over and wrapped a hand around Sunset’s. “We’ve forgiven, but I don’t think we've forgotten. I honestly think we’re just lucky that you’ve forgiven us.”

  Sunset gently smiled back. “I don’t expect you to. I haven’t forgotten either.” She shrugged and admitted, “Then again, I don’t have a say in the matter. As for forgiving all of you, well, you’re my family. I pushed one away, and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

  “Still, you trusted us. We should’ve trusted you too.”

  The smile turned to a grin. “AJ, you said it yourself. You haven’t forgotten what I did over the last few years. That you had enough trust in me to let me into your homes within days of the Fall Formal, though? That spoke volumes.” A shrug. “Me telling you what I did? It wasn’t part of some scheme to get you on my side. It was me repaying that trust.” She sighed and admitted. “Of course, that didn’t stop me from keeping one big secret.”

  “Out of fear, darling.” Rarity wrapped a hand around Sunset’s free one and added, “It shows that we all have a ways to go.”

  A sad smile. “Yeah.” The smile faded as her thoughts turned elsewhere. “All that aside girls, this isn’t going to be easy, but I’ve got a couple questions I need answered.”

  Dash grinned in encouragement. “After everything that’s happened, if the worst we get from you is a couple hard questions, then we’ll be lucky. Go for it.”

  “Okay. Question one. If Twilight hadn’t asked you all to look after me, after the Fall Formal, would you have still done it?”

  “I would have.” Fluttershy squeezed her hand and added, “Maybe not immediately, but I would have given you a chance. I hate seeing others hurt.”

  “Me too!” Pinkie squealed.

  “I think we all would have, eventually. Though I’d be lying if Twilight’s request didn’t give us encouragement.” Rarity turned embarrassed as she added, “That said, I suppose that it would have been a coin toss over whether I or Applejack would be the last holdout. Probably me, given our history.”

  “Ah dunno, ah can be pretty stubborn.”

  The girls shared a laugh at that, and Sunset continued, “Alright then, question two. And I want an honest answer.” She turned nervous as she asked, “Am I a replacement for Twilight?”

  “No.” Applejack’s answer came without hesitation as she admitted, “Ah could never replace someone ah love. Not mah mom and dad, not Twilight, and definitely not you.”

  “Which makes us all the more fortunate that Twilight got to you when she did.” Rarity bowed her head and admitted, “It seems you’re not the only one who has much to learn about friendship.”

  Sunset laid a free hand upon Rarity’s shoulder and gave her a comforting smile, which the fashionista returned. The moment ended as the door opened a crack and Apple Bloom called in, “Applejack? Can we come in fer a minute?”

  “Sure. Come on in.” The younger girls entered. “Anxious gettin’ to sleep?”

  “Kinda hard to be anxious about getting lumps of coal.” Rarity scooted over to allow Sweetie Belle some space, and she sat down between her sister and Sunset. “Even if we do deserve it.”

  “Shame we don’t have an old-fashioned fireplace. Between the four of us, we could keep this house warm all winter and have plenty left over for a barbecue in July.” That elicited a chuckle, and Sunset gently smiled. “Better?”

  “A little.” Sweetie Belle looked to her with a remorseful look. “I really am sorry about everything, Sunset. Including trying to melt you. It was really easy to see you as a monster. I didn’t think you’d see yourself as one too. But you’re not one, though. Not really.” She smiled and added, “But now it’s really hard to see you as a pony.”

  Sunset laughed. “Well, I do look a little different from the ponies in this world.” She raised a hand to her forehead with the first two fingers extended and added, “The horn, for one thing.”

  That elicited a laugh from everyone, and Sweetie Belle asked, “So, does the guilt ever go away?”

  A shrug as she lowered her hand. “I don’t know if it should. But it does get easier to carry.” Sunset wrapped the other arm around her and assured her, “Every time someone shows you that they care. That they forgive. That they love.”

  The younger girl smiled at that. “Thanks. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what was it like? At the Fall Formal?”

  Sunset sighed. “It hurt. So very much.” She raised her free hand and examined it thoughtfully as she explained, “Changing into this when I came through the mirror didn’t hurt at all, but what happened that night was different. Having all that magic from Twilight’s crown rush into me was overwhelming. It was like being torn apart from the inside out, and then being put back together wrong. I really thought I could control it, but I couldn’t. I cried, but the tears evaporated almost as soon as they streamed down my face. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. And when it was all over, after I turned into that thing, I felt like I could do anything, and no one could stop me.”

  “Good thing they did.”

  Sunset snorted. “They didn’t stop me, Scootaloo. They saved me. Big difference.” A buzz sounded, and attention went to Sunset’s backpack as she pulled out her journal. “And that opened up so many possibilities.”

  “Is that how you got a message to Twilight?” Apple Bloom looked to her sister and asked, “How’s that work?”

  “It’s kinda like magic textin’,” Applejack offered.

  “Only not as fast. We can do pictures too, sort of.” Sunset opened the book and turned to the latest message, only to find an apparent illustration of Twilight awaiting her. “Huh. This is new.”

  “Hi Sunset!” the Twilight drawing greeted her with a wave of one hoof.

  Those to either side of her jumped back in surprise, and even Sunset showed some shock before she realized what she was seeing. “Oh my gosh! Twilight! This is one of Hayscartes’ methods, isn’t it?”

  “Princess Celestia suggested I look into them during the summit a few months ago. She even suggested that I use it to talk to you from time to time, but I don’t want to risk it too often. Time requirements.” As everyone else huddled close, the illustration smiled. “Hi everyone. Sorry I startled you.”

  “Wow! Magic texting just became magic video-chat!” Fluttershy smiled and laughed at the thought. “And that’s okay, Twilight, we just weren’t expecting it.”

  “What did you mean by time requirements, dear?”

  “This spell lets a unicorn, or alicorn, enter a book to more clearly study the text and information therein, but we can only do it for a few minutes at a time.” Sunset shrugged and noted, “I used it once or twice, but I was always more of a hooves-on learner.” She then turned sheepish and looked back to Twilight. “Sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay. I don’t mind you explaining when you know the answer.” Twilight smiled and asked, “I take it everything’s okay?”

  “Yeah, a lot better.” Sunset smiled. “Thanks, Twilight. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, me and the girls would’ve been trapped in there forever.”

  The illustration turned nervous. “Yeah, about that.” Twilight looked up and admitted, “Sunset, I’ve been studying how the bridge realm was created. You and the girls wouldn’t have been trapped in there if you’d managed to damage, let alone destroy, the way back to Canterlot High.”

  “You mean they could have gotten out?” Rarity asked.

  “No. Star Swirl’s notes on how he created the bridge realm described it as an extremely complicated process. The portal in the Wondercolt statue was a direct link, but the bridge realm was more like two incomplete links overlapping in the middle of the void between dimensions. It was an amazingly delicate operation done by parties on both sides. I’ll explain in detail later, but from what I can tell, any damage on the inside would have caused the entire thing to collapse. Best case scenario, all four of you would’ve been annihilated in microseconds.”

  “Worst case, we’d have gone tumbling into the void, never to be seen again.” Sunset gulped. “All of a sudden, I’m really glad I broke into song when I did.”

  “Us too.” Applejack tightly wrapped an arm around her younger sister’s shoulders and added, “And after all this, ah think we’ve got us a hum-dinger of a friendship report for ya, Twilight.”

  “Indeed, we’ve all learned something.” Rarity held Sweetie Belle close as she explained, “The five of us learned that just because something appears to be so, it doesn’t mean that it actually is, and that we need to be careful about launching wild accusations. Otherwise, we may end up losing something valuable. It’s a lesson we should have learned long ago.”

  “And we learned that just because someone’s done something bad in the past, that doesn’t mean you should do something bad to them, especially if they’re trying to do good.” Scootaloo earned an affectionate nudge from Rainbow Dash at that. “They might actually be pretty awesome deep down.”

  The little Twilight illustration smiled approvingly. “And you, Sunset?”

  Sunset smiled and answered, “I learned that it doesn’t do anyone any good to simply give up. Running away and hiding never solved a problem for anyone, even when the odds seemed insurmountable. When things seem their darkest is when you need to stand tallest and keep going. And when you need them most, your friends will always be there for you.”

  “Amen to that!” Apple Bloom laughed and asked, “So, what kept ya? That ‘Hearth’s Warming’ thing a’ yours?”

  Twilight shook her head. “There’s a six month difference between our worlds. I was actually busy with the Summer Sun Celebration.”

  “It’s how we mark the Summer Solstice in Equestria,” Sunset explained. “And Twilight had a big role this year.” She turned back and asked, “Speaking of, can you tell us how it went?”

  “Not right now, it’d take too long. But I’ll write you about it properly once I’ve ended the spell. And I promise that it’ll be worth the wait. Write to you soon.”  

  The illustration faded, and Sunset closed the book and sighed. “Must’ve been a big thing.”

  “I wonder how it compared to the previous one,” Rarity mused aloud.

  “Well, we’ll find out once Twilight finishes writing out her message. Don’t be surprised if it’s thoroughly detailed.”

  “So, while we wait, maybe y’all can tell us what we’ll be doin’?” Apple Bloom looked up to her big sister and asked, “Fer our punishment, ah mean. Besides shovelin’ snow.”

  The trio’s heads turned to Rainbow Dash, who grinned. “You three are pulling goalie duty for me ‘till your detentions end. Trust me, you’re gonna sweat so much, you’ll work off all that winter weight that first week.”

  The three grimaced at that, though Sweetie Belle noted, “Well, at least we’ll get plenty of sleep.” She turned to Fluttershy and asked, “And?”

  “Um, well…” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to Fluttershy, who nervously brought her hands together as she looked among her friends. “Well, all of you know this by now, but my bedroom really isn’t good for sleepovers. I’ve talked it over with my parents, and they suggested that I move into my house’s attic.”

  “Your attic? Darling, attics are drafty and cramped.” Rarity shivered. “I can’t really see you being comfortable in such a place.”

  “But we’ve barely used it, and it has a working bathroom. It just needs a little cleaning up, and for me to move some of my furniture and things up there.” She looked to the young trio and explained, “That’s what you’ll be doing for me.”

  “Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.” Sweetie Belle looked to Sunset and asked, “I guess you’ve got something really nasty for us.”

  Sunset shook her head. “I’ve been talking with my landlord about converting the office in my apartment into an entertainment room. All I was going to do was have you three help me move some furniture around and have dinner with me.”

  “Oh dear, you’re going to use them as guinea pigs for your sauce recipes, aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle looked to her sister, who smiled and assured her, “Relax, darling. Sunset’s attempting to replicate her mother’s pasta sauce recipe. We’ve all had our turns with it, and each of the results thus far has been rather good.”

  “Still not quite getting the spices right, though.”

  The girls shared a collective shrug. “Well, that’s not so bad.” She looked to Sunset and asked, “So, what comes after this? I mean, no way did we do you any favors.”

  “No, but maybe it’s time I stopped sitting around waiting for others to realize I’ve changed, and actually start doing something to show it around the school.” The fiery-haired girl grinned and explained, “I’ve got a good chance of being valedictorian for my graduating class. Maybe I can help out as a tutor.” She turned to Rainbow Dash as the grin grew wider. “Bare minimum, I can make sure my friends use a spell checker.”

  The athlete chuckled nervously. “Yeah. My bad.”

  “And you could start doing cartoons for the school newspaper!” Pinkie held up her gift and explained, “I mean, you do draw really good!”

  Sunset shrugged. “It’s an idea.” The book buzzed again, and she opened it and briefly skimmed over the newest entry. “Wow. I think it’s safe to say this one was a game changer.” Everyone huddled around her, and she began to read the entry aloud. “Dear Sunset, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you everything myself, but a lot happened with the Summer Sun Celebration, and I didn’t want to risk getting interrupted part way through. As you know, I’d been asked to take part in Canterlot this year, and I found myself in a guest suite in the castle when everything started the day before the celebration proper, [url=www.fimfiction.net/story/28413… and Spike and I awoke to see the sun and moon together in the sky…[/url]”


to be concluded...