Now, it was well known that, while there were indeed many rules to be followed at Canterlot High, like there were at any school, it was generally accepted that, every once in a while, those rules could be bent, provided there was good cause of course. Among those rules was that, on Saturdays, when there were no classes to be had, no student was to enter the school at all. And for a certain group of girls, getting together so they could throw a big party to celebrate one of their friends was indeed just such a just cause to bend that particular rule. It was probably in the rulebook somewhere. Probably. Possibly. If you really stretched your interpretation of the rules. And so it was that the Wondercolts, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack, had gathered in perhaps their favourite room of the school, the music room, ready to celebrate their newest friend; Twilight Sparkle.

And speaking whom, the girl in question was right there alongside them, smiling with joy over the celebration laid out before her. With Pinkie at the helm, this party was, naturally, one to behold, with balloons, streamers, snacks and all other manner of party staples, ready to let them all enjoy this day as much as humanly possible. But, Twilight was not the only one visiting them today, as there, entering the room behind her, were her cohorts from Crystal Prep. Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet and Sunny Flare. All of those Crystal Prep girls followed their spectacled companion into the room, looking just as impressed as she was at the sight of all of this.

“Wow! You guys have really gone all out for this!” Lemon commented.

Smiling as widely as normal, Pinkie giggled.

“Thanks! But then, nothing is too good for our newest, bestest friend, right?”

Twilight blushed at that, adjusting her glasses as she saw Sunset begin to approach her. As many of the other girls began to wander around the room, mingling with the girls of Canterlot High, Sunset and Twilight now stood together, smiling sweetly at the display before them.

“Well…guess our little get-together plan worked out pretty well, eh?” Sunset remarked.

A brief giggle escaped Twilight, after which she nodded before turning to Sunset.

“You know…there was a time when I seriously doubted this could work. The two groups together I mean. But you? You never doubted, did you?”

Sunset shrugged her shoulders a little.

“Not in the slightest. After all…”

A small smirk crept onto her face as she turned to face Twilight.

“…this isn’t the only time we’ve had to do something like this.”

Twilight looked to her, opening her mouth to speak, only to stop when another, distinctly sultry voice could be heard behind them.

“And in case you’re wondering, Twilight dearest, she’s talking about us.”

Turning, both Twilight and Sunset looked on with slight surprise as there, standing in the doorway, was another group of old rivals of theirs; the Dazzlings. Adagio, Sonata and Aria stood there in various poses, with Adagio in particular smirking at the two girls in front of them.

“I do hope you weren’t planning on starting this party without us, Sunset?”

Chuckling slightly, Sunset stepped aside, gesturing to the others in the room.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Please, come in.”

Nodding, Adagio and her sisters began to walk past the two girls, making their way over to the other girls assembled in the room. Watching, Twilight and Sunset saw them start to speak with all the others, with Pinkie, as usual, being particularly glad to see Sonata. Although, Indigo seemed more than a little wary of Adagio’s presence, though why this was, Twilight couldn’t say. Letting out a long sigh, Twilight adjusted her glasses slightly before looking back to Sunset.

“I…I wanted to thank you.”

Looking to her, Sunset smiled.

“It’s no problem. I’d do something like this for any of my friends.”

But Twilight shook her head at that.

“It’s not just the party. I mean…everything.”

Hearing that, Sunset raised an eyebrow, prompting Twilight to look away from her.

“Before this all started…I…I was so unsure about how to make friends with all of you. But…over the last few months…things have been…”

Letting out another sigh, Twilight looked back to Sunset, with a look of pure joy across her face.

“…they’ve been the happiest of my life. All the things I’ve done with you and the other girls, they’ve…I can’t even remember doing as much, or loving it as much.”

Raising had hand, Twilight gently brushed aside a stray strand of hair from her face, looking to her friend with a genuinely happy look.

“So…thank you…for everything.”

Needless to say, Sunset was rather taken aback by this sheer emotion on display here. However, she managed to get herself out of that shocked state, just in time to wear a smile of her own. Then, to Twilight’s surprise, she moved closer, raising both arms and embracing her spectacled friend in a hug. Now it was Twilight's turn to be taken aback, and, much like Sunset, she too got herself out of it soon afterwards, feeling almost relieved from this as she returned the embrace. The two girls stayed together for some time, but, like all good things, it came to an end, as the two of them began to hear the distinct sound of somebody clearing their throat. Turning, they saw that it was Sunny, who stood there with a hand upon her hip.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Moving back form one another, they turned to her, with Twilight brushing herself down a little while Sunset spoke up.

“Don’t worry, its fine. What’s up?”

Sunny looked like she was about to speak, only to stop when she looked to Twilight. Though the latter was by no means an expert on reading people, she knew a look of “I want to talk in private” as much as anybody else. Giving a quick smile and nod to Sunset, she began to make her way over to the rest of the group, leaving Sunset alone with Sunny. After a while, Sunny let out a deep sigh, after which she spoke to Sunset in a soft tone.

“I felt the need to tell you…you probably won’t be seeing much of me after today. At least not for a while.”

Raising an eyebrow at that, Sunset folded her arms.

“Is something wrong?”

Sunny smiled as she shook her head.

“Quite the opposite in fact. My Mother, she…well…she’s taking an overdue leave of absence. After working for so many years straight, she figured the time has come to relax a bit. And, well, she’s taking me with her.”

Sunset seemed genuinely surprised by this, which soon turned to a warmer look.

“I see. Where are you two going?”

To that, Sunny shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know. But…I’ll be able to spend more time with my Mother than I can remember doing for a long time. And that…that's what matters to me.”

Smiling, Sunset placed a hand upon the girl’s shoulder.

“Well…good luck, Sunny. You both deserve this.”

Sunny nodded in appreciation at that, but did not say anything further, as the two of them turned to the sound of somebody tapping a spoon against a glass. Naturally, it was Pinkie, and after she was sure she’d got everybody’s attention, she cleared her throat, after which she addressed the room.

“Almighty then! As we all know, we are gathered here today to celebrate the super-awesome fact that Twilight…”

With a single hand, she gestured to the girl in question, who naturally looked rather meek at being the focus of attention now. Giggling nervously, she waved to everyone as Pinkie continued.

“…is now officially transferred from Crystal Prep to Canterlot High! And I think I speak for all of us here when I say…”

Raising her glass of soda, Pinkie looked right at Twilight, smiling as she did so.

“…welcome to the school, Twilight!”

To that, everyone else in the room similarly raised their glasses, cheering her on. As one might expect, this caused a fierce blush to emerge on the girl’s face, though she nevertheless continued to wave and nod to each of the girls who were cheering to her. As soon as the cheering was over, however, each of the girls made their way over to the guest of honour, speaking to her in friendly terms about all manner of things, like how excited she was or what she was planning to do now that she was here. As for Sunset, she stayed on the side, looking at it all unfold before her, only making her way over once everyone else had said what they needed to. Now free of the admiring crowd, Twilight practically gasped for breath, eliciting a brief chuckle form Sunset.

“Well, you're certainly popular.”

Making sure her glasses were on straight, Twilight smiled as she looked to her friend.

“First time in my life.”

Reaching forward, Sunset gently held onto the girl’s hand.

“Trust me, you’ll do fine.”

Although Twilight looked like she wanted to respond to that, she was once more interrupted as a very familiar voice could then be heard.

“Believe me, Twilight, Sunset knows what she’s talking about.”

Turning, both Sunset and Twilight looked on with shock to discover that, now entering the room, was another Twilight, though this one with loose hair and a starkly different outfit. Smiling widely at this newcomer, Sunset took a few steps closer.

“Twilight! You got my message!”

Nodding, Princess Twilight smiled in response.

“Oh, there was no chance I was going to miss this.”

Turning, the Equestrian Princess looked upon her human counterpart, approaching her carefully.

“So…Twilight. Everything going okay?”

Although the sight of an exact duplicate would be enough to unnerve anybody, the human Twilight shook herself out of it, nodding in response to the Princess’ question before finally speaking up.

“Um…yes. I mean…this is all so overwhelming. Having all these friends, going to a new school. I mean…I’m excited, don’t get me wrong. But…I wonder if I’ll be able to cope.”

Princess Twilight turned to Sunset, and for a moment, a knowing look was shared between them. After that was done though, the Princess looked back to Twilight, stepping closer and placing a hand upon her shoulder.

“Twilight…listen to me. I know things may seem a bit much right now. But remember, you’re not alone in this. You may have spent a lot of your life finding it difficult to let people in, but trust me when I say that, once you do have friends…your life will be all the better for it.”

The human Twilight hesitated upon hearing that, looking to Sunset for a moment before glancing back in the Princess’ direction.

“You…you really think it’ll be that easy?”

Smiling, Princess Twilight gave a nod.

“Believe me. I’ve been where you are right now…in more ways than one.”

Silence fell between the two girls, but thankfully for all concerned, it was not in any way an uncomfortable silence, but rather one of deep thought, as the human Twilight considered everything that had been said to her. After a long while, however, she broke out into a small smile, nodding in acknowledgement over what the Princess had said to her. As for the Princess herself, her smile widened at this, as did Sunset’s, and before long, the three girls came together, forming yet another hug. This time though, the human Twilight was ready for it, and as such found the experience to be all the more pleasant for it.

A scene such as this, three close friends embracing each other in a feeling of mutual joy and comfort, it would have been the perfect moment to end any tale of new friendships.

At least, it would have been the perfect end, if it hadn’t been for it being suddenly ended by the clear sound of Lemon Zest calling out from the other side of the room.

“Er, Pinkie? Did you put something weird in the fruit punch? Because I think I’m seeing two Twilights over there!”