The day had passed on like it usually did, peacefully and without incident, as the final strokes of the clock at last ebbed away, leading to the inevitable bell that signalled the end of classes. In a frantic rush, the students of Canterlot High charged out from their various rooms, gathering up their things, putting stuff away in lockers, meeting up with their various cliques and making their way home at long last. The atmosphere was one of excitement, as was so often the case at the end of a school day, and within mere moments after the bell had rung, virtually all of CHS had become empty. That is, except in one lone hallway, where Sunset Shimmer was taking a bit longer than usual to get her things in order. But, as always, she finally did so, and began to walk towards the exit with her bag slung over her shoulder.

After leaving, she began to walk in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner, ready to meet up with her friends. However, it was here that she stopped, having caught sight of someone out of the corner of her eye. Turning, her expression turned to surprise, and then to a happy smile, as she saw that there, standing nervously at the front steps of the school, was Twilight Sparkle. But this was not Princess Twilight of Equestria, but rather the Twilight of their world. Specifically, the star pupil at CHS' long-time rival, Crystal Prep, who had only recently competed against them in the "Friendship Games". Sunset, still smiling, walked over to the spectacled girl, who at last noticed her and began to smile back in response. Only when the two were a few feet away from each other did Sunset finally speak up.

"Hey there, Twilight. Didn't expect to see you back here so soon. I thought your transfer wasn't gonna be finalised for another few days?"

Twilight nodded at that, adjusting her glasses slightly before answering.

"Yeah. I guess I just wanted to come over before that."

After that, the timid-looking girl looked away a little.

"I'll admit that, after everything that happened, it was kinda hard for me to really feel comfortable being here. All that magic and, well..."

At that, Sunset let out a brief giggle.

"I know. It was...crazy."

Looking to her, Twilight paused for a moment before breaking out into a smile, after which the two girls started to laugh together. When the laughter died down, Sunset took a step forward, gently giving Twilight a friendly pat on the shoulder, which the latter smiled back at in appreciation. With one hand, Sunset gestured down the road, silently inviting Twilight to join her, and it wasn't long before the message was understood. Nodding back to her, Twilight soon began to follow Sunset as the latter began to walk off.

"So, how have things been at Crystal Prep the last few days?"

Twilight let out a sigh before answering.

"Pretty hectic. All that stuff about magic and other worlds, it...it was hard to take in."

Sunset nodded at that.

"Don't worry. I won't judge. Besides, you remember what everyone at this school was like when they found out about that kind of stuff?"

At that, Twilight stopped for a moment, looking to Sunset with confusion.

"Um...no? I don't think I was here for that."

Now stopping herself, Sunset gained a look of realisation, and then of embarrassment, as she chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head slightly.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. I guess I'm still forgetting that you're not...well...her."

It took a few moment for Twilight to realise what Sunset was talking about, but when she did, her expression became one of understanding.

"Ah. You mean the one you spoke of before? The...other Twilight? The one who came through the portal during our picnic?"

Sunset nodded, prompting Twilight to look off into the distance with a ponderous look.

"Another me...who looks just like me...but also happens to be a magical talking pony princess."

Letting those words sink in a bit, Twilight shook her head before letting out a grunt of annoyance.

"Ugh! I thought I could handle all this weird nonsense when you told me about it, but…argh! I don't think I'll ever be able to look at the world the same way again after all this!"

Seeing the way Twilight was struggling to take it all in, Sunset, to Twilight's slight annoyance, simply let out a chuckle.

"Like I said...it takes some time to get used to it. But I'm sure you'll manage. You're smart, remember?"

Looking to her, Twilight gained a slight blush at receiving such praise.

"Thanks. So are you, Sunset."

The fiery-haired girl smiled and nodded before looking away from Twilight, before then pointing off to something in the distance. Turning, Twilight saw that it was Sugar Cube Corner, and so put on a smile before, like Sunset, starting to walk off towards it. As they did so, however, they noted a pair of Sunset’s fellow students, a boy and a girl, walking in the opposite direction. When these two newcomers caught sight of Twilight, and her Crystal Prep uniform, they narrowed their eyes at her slightly, though said nothing as they walked past. Seeing this, Twilight looked down at the ground, and Sunset looked to her with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just..."

But Twilight raised a hand, stopping her.

"No, it's fine. After everything I did...everything I almost did...I'd be surprised if they weren't hesitant about being near me."

She considered that for a few moments before carrying on.

"Even if I didn't have all that behind me...I'm still technically part of Crystal Prep, at least for another few days yet. Our schools have been at each other's throats for years. I can't expect them to become friends overnight, even after what happened. Besides, there have been one or two back at my school who aren’t exactly happy that I spend so much time with you or the other girls."

Sunset looked to her carefully for a few moments before adding her voice to the mix.

"You know...have you considered changing your look? Since you'll be going to CHS soon, it might, you know..."

Twilight looked down at her uniform, tugging at the hem of her jacket a little before looking back up at Sunset.

"Actually...as unorthodox as it is, I was thinking of keeping my uniform while at CHS. It just feels...me. Although..."

She looked away before continuing.

"...I doubt it'll help anybody there forget everything that happened."

Sunset looked away, a slightly pained look upon her face.

"Believe me...I know that all too well. When you've spent a long time disliking a person...it takes a long time for that to give way to something better."

Twilight looked to her with curiosity, seeing a look on Sunset's face that told her that there was definitely a story behind those words. Sunset had already given her a fair bit of info about herself during their magical confrontation, but despite that, she knew there was more to be told. Even so, it was also a look that warned Twilight not to enquire to deeply, at least not yet. After all, the last thing she wanted right now after having made a friend like Sunset was to risk losing it by opening up whatever old wounds were on the girl's mind. So, the two simply walked together in silence for a few more minutes, after which, Sunset put on a small smile and turned to Twilight yet again.

"You know...I've been thinking."

The spectacled girl looked to her with a raised eyebrow, prompting Sunset to continue.

"Now that all that Friendship Games chaos is behind us, have you ever considered...you know...having our groups mingle a little?"

At that, Twilight looked quite taken aback.

"You mean...Wondercolts and Shadowbolts actually...socializing with each other?"

Sunset nodded in confirmation of that, leading to Twilight looking off and thinking the matter over carefully.

"Well...it's not impossible. I mean...if I can become friends with you girls, I guess my classmates can too...maybe."

Looking back to Sunset, Twilight's expression was one of concern.

"But are you sure about this? Like I said, our schools have never been friends…and it took all of that craziness at the Games just to get us to stop all this rivalry stuff. I mean...I know we were all friendly with each other at the end back there, friendlier than we've ever been in fact. But...history doesn't just fade in an instant like that."

At that, Sunset smiled and began laughing a little.

"Trust me. I'm pretty much the poster girl for proving that anyone can be friends with anyone. It'll take time, that much is clear...but yeah, I think it can happen."

Twilight considered that for a few moments before exhaling deeply, after which she gave a single nod.

"Okay. If you really want to try, then I guess I can talk to some of the girls back at Crystal Prep. I may be transferring out soon, but I think I can still get them to hear me out. Not sure it'll go over well...but I think they'd at least be willing to try."

Sunset nodded back, looking ahead as they both reached Sugar Cube Corner.

"I know. It won’t be an easy sell on my side either."

Raising a hand, Sunset pushed open the door to the Corner, and almost immediately, she caught sight of her friends inside. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were all there, sitting in their usual place, and gave the girl a friendly wave in greeting. She waved back, stepping aside to reveal that Twilight was with her, at which point the other girls took on looks of surprise. Although at first worried at this, Twilight soon felt relief as she saw that, one by one, the others put on smiles as they began to wave to her as well. Turning, Twilight looked upon Sunset, who smiled back at her and gave her another pat on the shoulder, before speaking in a somewhat hushed manner.

"But then...what better outcome could there be for the Friendship Games...than for some actual friendships to be born from it?"