As she looked out of the window, one of many in the grand throne room of the crystal palace, she couldn't help but feel as though the skies now matched the mood within. When she'd first arrived here a few days ago, and witness what she'd feared would be a dangerous confrontation, the skies had been cloudy and menacing. Now, there was no clouds to be seen, and the sun was shining gloriously. It was, to be sure, a sight that would bring a smile to anypony's face.

Turning away from the window, Twilight looked upon the gathering of ponies before her. Her brother, Shining Armour, and Cadence were both discussing matters with themselves about everything that had happened. Flash stood vigil next to the magic mirror, which would soon be used. And finally, Twilight smiled as she saw Sunset Shimmer, her old rival, standing alongside the Flash of the human world, both standing before Princess Celestia. They were speaking, but Twilight could not hear them, so she began to move away from the window. Once she was only a few feet away, she could finally make out the words.

"...and so we had to give them back to the tree to make things right again," Celestia finished.

Twilight smiled to herself, knowing full well what story Celestia was telling to the two ponies before her, both of whom were enraptured about the kinds of things that had been going on in Equestria since she'd returned. Sunset Shimmer though looked somewhat down every now and again, bearing a look of regret. Twilight tilted her head, perhaps wondering if she still felt remorse from everything she'd done. To receive forgiveness from Celestia was one thing, but she knew it would take time for the unicorn to forgive herself. She listened in as Sunset finally spoke up after a long silence.

"I've missed out on...so much."

Celestia glanced to her side, seeing Twilight there. The elder Princess gave a small smile to her favoured student before stepping forward and placing a hoof on Sunset's shoulder.

"There will always be other adventures. It's not as though there's anything stopping you from coming back anymore."

Sunset looked up at her teacher, at the warm smile on her face, before breaking out into one herself. It was here that Celestia spoke again.

"And...do try not to wait so long before visiting next time."

In spite of everything that had happened between them, Sunset chuckled at that, followed shortly by Celestia. It was a pleasant moment, that much Twilight knew. The thought that all the old anger and bitterness between them had finally been buried was a relief to say the least. She never wanted any enemies in her life, and now, she knew for certain that there was one less. Looking to her left, she saw her brother and sister-in-law discussing matters that undoubtedly related to the mirror. Now that there was a stable and permanent doorway between the human and pony worlds, this could well lead to many journeys, both from this side and theirs. And with it placed here in the Empire, Twilight knew that her brother, and his wife, had a lot of work on their hooves.

But even so, Twilight's attention returned to Sunset, who was still smiling at her old mentor, before stepping forward and embracing her in a hug, which Celestia promptly returned. Twilight knew what this meant, that it was time for Sunset and Flash to return to the human world. Once Sunset broke away from her hug, she looked over to her Flash, who gave her a small smile. Afterwards though, he turned to Twilight, causing the latter to look back at him in an unsure fashion. She looked on as he approached her and spoke.

"It's been good to see you again, Twilight."

Twilight was hesitant about this. The two had not really spoken all that much since he arrived in Equestria, and since she'd discovered his now-revived relationship with Sunset, she'd been wary about interacting with him too much. But still, she was at least happy she could keep this Flash as a friend, if nothing else. As that thought settled in her mind however, another came to light, and she smiled back at him.

"It's been good seeing you too. And...I never got the chance to thank you."

Flash raised an eyebrow, clearly confused as to what she meant by that. Affording herself a small chuckle, Twilight explained.

"For the dance."

It took a few moments, but Flash's smile returned, and he nodded at her, now understanding. That moment, when the two were together in the human world, was the first time anyone, pony or human, had ever asked her to dance before. And even though she'd managed to get over this boy in the months following her return to Equestria, she still held onto that memory as something to be cherished. Looking at him, at the way he was smiling, she knew deep down that he held onto that pleasant memory just as well.

Turning, Flash gave Sunset another smile and nod before making his way over to the mirror, standing next to Twilight's Flash, who regarded his formerly-human counterpart with as far less wary look than he'd been giving him. Meanwhile, Twilight turned to see Sunset approach her.

"It's been good, getting all this sorted out. But, before I go...I just want to say I'm glad Flash found somepony."

Twilight stared at her for a few moments, wondering what she meant by that. However, it wasn't long before understanding dawned on her, and she realised that Sunset was referring to the Flash of Equestria, not the human one she herself was now back together with. Twilight couldn't help but feel aghast that Sunset had figured this out. But, then again, she was Celestia's prized pupil at one point. You don't get to a position like that without some perceptive abilities. She'd probably seen Flash there and the way he and Twilight had looked at each other, thus figuring out that they had a relationship.

It was not as though Twilight was afraid of telling Sunset this, but knowing that Flash had been her ex in both worlds had made her hesitant to bring it up, if only to avoid any further bad feelings between them. Knowing that there would now be little chance of denying it, Twilight endeavoured to explain herself.

"I...I was going to tell you, but..."

But she was stopped by a raised hoof from Sunset, she looked at her with a soft expression.

"Twilight, it's fine, really. The Flash from this world and me never really hit it off that well. He knows it and so do I. I'm just happy that he's moved on."

Twilight looked at her, still a little unsure.

"And you're...okay?"

Sunset sighed a little before nodding.

"Yeah, I am. Besides..."

Sunset then looked over to her right and gave a somewhat sly smile.

"...I'd say we've both done pretty well for ourselves."

Twilight looked over to where Sunset was looking and saw the two Flash's, both standing near the mirror. They'd stopped staring at each other uncomfortably and were instead just taking, and even, to Twilight's surprise, laughing on occasion. This scene was ended by the sight of Twilight's Flash, still clad in his armour, reaching out and offering his open hoof to the formerly-human Flash, which then took and shook it. Understanding Sunset's words, she turned and looked at her once more, returning her smile.

"Yeah...I guess we have."

The two mares shared a private laugh for a moment, the tension lifting from both of them. When all was said and done however, they both knew it was time for Sunset and Flash to leave. The two ponies stood side-by-side at the mirror, smiling to each other before turning and waving their goodbyes to the assembled group behind them. Princess Celestia, who stood at the head of the group, nodded at her former student, the bad blood between them finally resolved. With a look of sheer relief upon Sunset's face, she turned back to the mirror and, with Flash by her side, stepped through it. There was a brief flash of the mirror's magic before all could see that the two had gone.

Twilight sighed, happy that all this had finally been put behind her, even though she knew this probably wouldn't be the last time she'd see either of them. The silence of the situation was interrupted however by a cough to her left. Turning, Twilight saw that it was her Flash, who spoke up.

"Twilight?"

The young Princess tilted her head.

"Yes, Flash?"

Flash let out a sigh before looking back to his mate.

"Do you think he was taller than me?"